unashamed.

"as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be a all ashamed, but that withe full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death." Phillippians 1:20

can i honestly say that i am unashamed of being a Christ follower? is He really honored in my life? do i completely and wholeheartedly, not out of obligation, live my life in a way that shows complete devotion to the Lord and Creator of everything?

i used to struggle with this. but honestly i can say that my life is in His complete control. of course i mess up, of course i struggle, but i am human. thats the beauty of our Lord. He gives us mercy and grace. He gives me the opportunity to be forgiven. He has granted us all salvation to take hold of and no longer look at our sin. that is why my life is His. i continually work out my own salvation (phil. 2:12), daily, so that my life can reflect and honor Christ crucified.

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ." Philippians 1:27

can you tell i read Philippians? 

im movin' on.

well im moving. i thought this day would never come. the past few weeks have been very grueling and tiring, but well worth it.  i will be moving to the great state of Mississippi to work as a youth intern over the jr. high. weird. but i know that it is something the Lord needs me to do right now in this season of my life.

the weird thing about moving this time is that this is it. the chance of me ever moving back home is very slim. i mean VERY slim. so this is it. my official move out. kinda overwhelming if you ask me. im really excited about it. God has so much in store for me, and i cant wait to get started.

these past few weeks while this whole process has been in the works, the Lord has really taught me some things:

1. patience. i was telling someone tonight how it has been a resounding theme for me as of late. it has been really hard not to know things right away and wait for an answer. but i was and still am. God has provided.

"I waited patiently upon the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1

2. God really does take care of the details. you would not believe the things that the Lord has provided for me with this job. not only has he given me a ministry, but also the means to do so. he gave me a house. and yes, i said gave (that means it was free). he has given me the chance to already invest in lives of adults and kids. and so much more.

"...how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13b

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

3. when you truly seek after the Lord, everything will come together. it has been so cool to see all of this fall in place. i just wish everyone could see it how i did. i mean people saw some of it, and heard of it. but they didnt experience it like i did.

"But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Hebrews 11:6 

my faith has been stretched beyond belief and i pray that it continues to do so. i want to be challenged. i want to grow. i want to experience God in bigger and mightier ways! 

Lord, take me and make me more like you.

wettin' a hook.

wow. this past week has been somewhat of a doozy lets start with this weekend:

i had the opportunity to spend four days in beautiful greenwood, ms. upon my arrival i really didnt know what to expect from the town, but i was truly welcomed with open arms. i absolutely had the best time there! i got to hang out with some of the kids from camp, talk with the youth on Sunday night, and speak with the pastor and youth minister about a potential job. i must say that it was quite an eventful weekend.

i stayed with the ussery family all weekend, and i can sum them up in one word: amazing! they really made me feel like i was home. it was like my family away from my own. the parents were great, and their children Dillon, Shelby, and Hunter were awesome! i got to hang out with their son Dillon a lot. i have known him for 3 years now, but it was neat getting to see him in an environment other than camp. he is such a neat kid. he desires to know a lot. nothing really in particular, he is just a curious fella. on monday we had the chance to go fishing at his family's lake house. let me tell you, it was an adventure! we got out on the lake and began fishing. we just sat there and waited. we got to talk about a lot of things, including the Lord. he has such a desire to know Him better. it's really neat, and i got to share Christ with him on the boat, in the middle of a lake, on a beautiful mississippi day. after fishing for about 2 hours, the battery in our motor dies. we just laughed. we tried to paddle with our fishing poles, but it failed miserably. after about 5 minutes of sitting there, the Lord blessed us with a wind that pushed us to the shore. we then proceeded to paddle tom and huck style to a place where we could get out to go back to the cabin. on our way back we realized that we had left the key to the ranger in the boat, so i had to run back. after about 30 minutes of getting back to the cabin, we replaced the battery and continued fishing until we were ready to leave. he told me that it was probably one of the best days he had fishing out there, even though we only caught four fish. it was fun. so much fun with nature. we decided that we needed to start an outdoors show called: the adventures of daniel and dillon.

today i got to move my youngest sister to college. man was it different. i was not only taking my last sibling off to school, but i wasnt going back either. it was weird. but she is there, and i know she is going to have a good time!

things i learned from this week:

-fish like gummy scooby snacks as bait

-patience is so nice

-my place of ministry

-UNA has real lions!

mood: ready.

remind me, Lord.

So faithful, so constant
So loving and so true, so powerful in all you do
You fill me, You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never, forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come now
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who you are

So patient, so gracious
So merciful and true, so wonderul in all you do
You fill me, You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never, forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come now
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who you are

You Are For Me by Kari Jobe

last days.

this past week of camp was an amazing one! God really showed off in my life and in the lives around me! it is really cool how he puts the bible studies and track times together. 

sign language track was amazing this week! i had six wonderful kids! they really wanted to be there and learn the song, but at the same time the were really open to the Lord. we got to know each other so well that i was to the point that i could call them out on their sin and the still respected me for it. we had some good times. we literally rolled on the floor laughing on thursday! God brings us so much joy!!!

one kid in my bible study really encouraged me. his name was josh anderson. he genuinely loved the Lord. he has dealt with a lot of things in his life, but his faith is still strong. as i was talking and encouraging my kids on the last day, i told them how cool would it be if 10 years from now i bring my children from the church i will be working at to camp and they were our camp counselor. as i was scanning the room saying this, me and josh made eye contact, and he kind of smiled and he knew that i was talking directly to him. he was made for it. i could just tell.

well this is it. i only have a few hours with some of the people i could spend the rest of my life with. i love me some CK3.

they have shown me what real christian community looks like. they are a people who genuinely love the Lord. it is so encouraging.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" -Hebrews 12:1

they really helped me in my faith. they truly cared for me as an individual, which doesn't happen a lot. they called me out when i messed up, and the praised me when i succeeded. God truly blessed me with these people.

i really can't express in to words my feelings for these 22 amazing people. i wish everyone could get to know brandon, brent, sparkle, billy, liz, david, delape, chris, lauren, whitney, alice', ansley, eric, ashley c., abi, alicia, mason, emily, morgan, thomas, henry, and ashley a. like i did! i pray for only the best for all of them!!

daisy chains.

No I don’t understand 
And I can’t comprehend 
This power that draws me to you 
But I know for the cross 
I’ll consider it all lost 
In an effort to tell of the truth 

That the world may know 
That the world may know 
You have been heaven sent to us 

Fearless by Building 429

well it has come. the last week of camp. kind of bitter sweet. i don't want it to end. but that is how God designed it, and i must be satisfied with that truth.

this past week God really burdened me for the kids. i had 5 kids in my bible study who were unsure about their faith. this was the most that i have had all summer. one kid in particular stuck out in my mind. his name was caleb. i called him "peanut". he received my heart in prayer last week. their was just something about him that made me want to invest in his life from the first moment i met him. later that week i sat down with his adult leader because i wanted to know what was going on in Caleb's life. he told me everything he was going through and it is no wonder God laid him on my heart. this kid needed some serious love. love that could heal him. love that could only come from Love itself. on wednesday night of camp i was sitting with caleb out by the volleyball pit talking. we started talking about stuff we had been learning this week and i just had the urge to ask him about his relationship with the Lord. i flat out asked him, "Do you have a relationship with the Lord?" he responded with, "I dunno?" we talked about it some, but he just didn't seem that it was something for him. i let him know that i was praying for him, and as soon as he came to the realization that i was doing that he freaked. his response to that was "You pray for me?" that showed me that he either has never experienced someone p[raying for him, or no one has ever told him that. it really broke my heart, but it really made me grateful that i had the opportunity this past week to invest in his life. even though he never made a decision, i still did my job.

"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." 

1 Corinthians 3:7

i am not ready to leave this team. they are my best friends. i was talking with one team member today, and we discussed how we could convince Lifeway to put us all on the same team again next year. i would totally do it too.

this weekend we have been getting ready for the MEGA last week of camp. that means we have approx. 800 kids. CRAZY!! so we have had to move our stage stuff, and prepare for a huge registration process. great fun. it really helps you realize whether or not you like the people you are working with. honestly i had no problems--except for the fact that we had to do auditorium inventory (which i absolutely despise!!) but it is all done and i am ready for campers to come.

i am so ready.

i am not.

wow.

i am not.

God is. He always is.

To accomplish anything I must be dependent on something.

He is not dependent on anything.

what an amazing truth.