Summer Thoughts

      I know what you've been wondering. How was my prayer retreat? If you don't know what I am talking about, stop reading now and go back to the post titled, "A Retreat," to find out more!  --~~--         I still wasn't sure where to go on my retreat when I woke up Saturday morning. But thanks to my boyfriend's suggestion, I decided on Lake Lurleen State Park.       I brought my lunch and started the prayer day by praising the Lord for his goodness and faithfulness. It was such a beautiful day. I sat on a swing that I found and stared in awe at the clouds, admiring my God's handiwork. That was the start of my praise, inspiring the words I wrote in my prayer journal.      After lunch, I decided to search for a walking trail. I found one that looked curvy and fun, so I began to walk that one. As I began, I realized that as I was praising the Lord for the past hour, I had been in the first part of the ACTS ac...

     I've been involved with the Navigators International Student Ministry for about a year and 8 months. I first joined a Thursday night spiritual discussion on forgiveness on zoom in October of 2020. I started helping with events and leading bible studies a little more than a year ago. We started a Women's Bible Study that had many of women excited to be in community with other believers and grow closer to the Lord. It made me and my friends who were leading the bible study with me so joyful to see these ladies' engagement and thankfulness.      This last Friday caught me by surprise in many ways. We had a dinner to celebrate some friends' birthdays and to enjoy fellowship together. Getting there was a bit chaotic, and I ended up getting there late with the girls I gave a ride to, which is not my favorite, but it ended up being an awesome night. Of course, it was really good to see everyone who came and to hear updates on how they are doing. But God ...

     I've been going through a Bible reading plan that goes through the Bible in chronological order to read the Bible in a year. I try to set aside time first thing in the morning to read the passages for the day and reflect and pray after, but I have to admit there are mornings when I prioritize other things. So, I have not been caught up, but trying to catch up by reading a set of passages at night too.      It amazes me that even when I'm not caught up in the plan, I find something in God's word that hits me and is so relevant to me at the time. In my discipleship group, we have been hoping to go on a trip to Monte Sano State Park for a day of prayer. We haven't been able to find a date and time that works for everyone, so we are planning for the trip to be in the fall. From the first mention of this day of prayer, it sounded so nice to get away and be in conversation with the Lord all day. The idea was exciting, especially because I had been in the mid...

       My summer has been so busy and lazy somehow at the same time. It sounds weird, but it makes sense in my head. Sometimes I have so many things to do and places to go to, and other times I can just sleep in and do whatever I want.       Two weeks ago, I had a packed schedule in Tennessee, my main responsibility being to lead a bible study for middle school girls. The youth group from my church back in Birmingham went to Student Life Camp to learn about how God used David, the unlikely king of Israel, and how God can use us too.      God worked in so many incredible ways throughout the week. There are too many to tell everything about them here, b ut o ne thing I thought about a lot was the contrast between this year and last year, which  was my first time leading a group at Student Life Camp. I was so nervous about leading a bible study by myself, but God proved his faithfulness and strength for me by the end of the w...

       Do you ever hear a song that is so relevant to your current circumstances, which makes you think about how amazing God's timing is? Maybe it's a worship song that comes on many times on the radio during a stressful week, reminding you to praise him in the middle of the struggle. Maybe it's a song that you hear for the first time that uplifts you after hearing some discouraging news. This has happened to me many times, and it never ceases to amaze me.      Well, this time God used a whole album to encourage me! My brother, Luke, decided to experiment with Spotify's new feature of creating a playlist based on multiple friends' favorite songs. We ended up with a really interesting playlist... it is a little weird and random. But one of the songs I found from my mama's musical taste is called "Find You" by Jervis Campbell. "Teach Me to Dance" is a song that I have loved that is also by him, so I was intrigued to listen to this one. Th...

  My run this morning was a lot harder than my run on Monday. It's a little surprising because Monday morning was my first time running in months, whereas this morning was my first time running in four days. I was just hot and pushing through to make it to the end. My playlist made it so much more doable. It always does.      As I sat on the driveway, stretching and breathing in and out, I remembered why I actually love going for runs in the mornings during my summer breaks. Maybe I am too introspective and I think too deep about things... but I think that going for a run is a beautiful metaphor of life and faith in Jesus.           My running playlist is called "Runnin' for Jesus" because they are all fun songs that encourage me in the run and give me a way to praise the Lord as I put one foot in front of the other. Singing praises to the Lord in the midst of the current struggle puts things in perspective for me. It reminds me whe...