A Taste of Home

I had less than two weeks at home after getting back from school, but it was really awesome, and I'm thankful for the time. 

I got to spend a pretty good amount of time with my family and a lot of time with Miles, which was good too.

We played disc golf.

This is the beginning of his routine for throwing.

We explored the Catawba River.

And much to my dismay he spent most of the day trying to catch snakes and ended up snagging this little guy. Yuck!

I also had the extreme pleasure of getting to have lunch with Amelia...and she is engaged! It's really awesome. Her and her fiancé are both sound Christ-followers, and I am so happy for them and this new stage of their life. 

For Mothers Day Weekend we met my grandparents at Cracker Barrel, which was nice. 

I had to snap this picture because the two of them are just too much alike. 

Like father, like son. 

Mothers Day.

Man am I thankful for my mother. 

She rocks. She really really does. She is a rock and serves as the level-headed one in our family. She loves the Lord, which allows her to love our family well. She knows me inside and out and is quick to my rescue. She constantly encourages my heart. She is a fantastic mom and I couldn't imagine life with anyone else as my mom, much less wish for someone else to be. 

Since we were dressed up, I wanted to take some pictures, although I'm pretty sure I was alone in that desire. But the guys were cooperative, so three cheers for that. 

The family and Miles (who my mom considers family anyways) went to Charlotte for dinner and a movie. We saw The Amazing Spiderman 2. It was awesome. I highly recommend it. 

For some reason I really like super hero movies. Maybe I inherited the 5-year-old-boy gene from my dad. Hehe. (Love you Dad!)

Family selfie minus Josh

I can't go home without playing a game or two of Settlers. So we played a couple. We finally got my mom to participate, which is just short of a miracle, and we ate pizza bigger than our faces. 

Successful night I'd say. 

Finally, FINALLY, I got to go strawberry picking, and Miles was so gracious as to let me drag him along with me. It was so worth it. He may not have had an extreme amount of fun, but I sure did!

I also had the extreme pleasure of getting to go on the High School Retreat with my youth group. Admittedly, I originally didn't want to go because it was my last weekend at home, but I am so thankful that I ended up going. 

I got to spend time with sweet friends, hear about lives, pour truth into students, and lend advice to seniors who are about to come to Clemson. (They're the really brilliant ones). 

I also got to experience God's glorious creation and massive waterfalls at DuPont State Park. 

Hopefully I will be returning there with some college friends come August.

Monday morning I got on a plane at 6:40 am to fly to Birmingham, Alabama. 

I actually had a layover in Chicago. How sweet is this picture??

I must say, I really love flying, especially when I get a window seat. To see the world from high up...there is nothing to compare it to. When I see cars that look like toys and remember that there are people my size in them, I am reminded of my insignificance, but not in a bad way. In a good way.

In a really good way. 

I remember how huge the Lord is and that leads me to worship Him. I see the earth below me and think about how He spoke it into being. How He saw it and called it good. How we as humans have, in our sin, corrupted it all. And how, through Christ, He is redeeming His people and reconciling them unto Him. 

Oh praise Him, for He is worthy!

His goodness and grace in my life are constantly evident, currently through the fact that this week I am in Alabama for training week with Student Life camp. I am doing something that I have dreamt of doing since I was in 6th grade. While that is reason enough to thank God, the really awesome thing is that I am now here for Him and His glory, not my own. 

I will hopefully update my little blog world on training week adventures (mainly consisting of meetings) in the future, but until then, please be praying. 

Pray for my team, and pray for me, that I would be humble, that I would work hard, and that I would love and serve them well. 

That's a Wrap

Sadly I missed an Easter post. Life got pretty crazy, but Easter is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays because it is so essential to my faith. 

Paul says it well in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 17-19

"...if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is an essential gospel truth. The cross of Christ saved me from the penalty of sin, but the resurrection of Christ freed me from the power of sin. Because Jesus is alive, I am free to kill my sin, to truly die to it, and to live for Him. 

By the power and grace of God, Christ defeated death. The empty tomb screams of victory and life ever after in the presence of an Almighty God. 

Hallelujah that King Jesus is alive!!

I got to celebrate these glorious truths with sweet friends on Easter Sunday. The great thing is that I get to celebrate these truths with them constantly. I am incredibly thankful for this sweet, gospel-centered community that God has blessed me with. 

Grace on grace on grace. 

After church we felt it a necessity to have an Easter Sunday lunch. So we went to the restaurant that most resembled authentic home-cooked food: Cracker Barrel. 

And whaddya know, I'm a genius!

This actually happened!

Apparently it's an annual tradition to burn Christmas trees at the end of the year with all of the college connecting point groups (small groups) at Crosspoint's college pastor's house. 

The Christmas trees had had plenty of time to dry out, and they were huge. 

Let's just say the fire was not disappointing. Far, far from it. 

Poor quality picture, but great quality girls!

Clemson's freshman counsel held a movie night in Death Valley. 

We watched a movie in the football stadium (?!?)

This right here is one reason among thousands why Clemson is incredible. 

My second to last weekend was one for the books. I spent approximately 5 days in a row on the campus beach. Friday night we played sand volleyball and spike ball by the lake, spontaneously jumped into the lake, and then went to the dikes to watch the sunset. Oh and one of my friends randomly brought a watermelon, which was basically devoured. 

After leaving the lake, we all kicked back and relaxed. Well, all except for these guys who played some intense video games. I mean, just look at Kathleen's face. If that's not determination, I don't know what is!

The next morning I was up bright and early in order to see these amazing people graduate from college. Yet another amazing thing about Clemson is the Clemson LIFE program. This program is giving hope to young adults and their parents by providing them with opportunities that they thought they couldn't ever dream of, such as going to college, and beyond that, graduating college.

They all gave speeches at the ceremony and did a wonderful job. Getting to know them this year has definitely been my pleasure and privilege!

It has also been quite a treat getting to know this sweet girl, my mentee for the entire year. I sure will miss her, but I am so proud of the progress she's made this year!

I then spent the rest of my Saturday at the lake. 

After church on Sunday was a church wide lake fellowship. It was such a sweet time, especially because three of my dearest friends were obedient to the Lord and got baptized! What a beautiful picture of the gospel baptism is. Praise the Lord that He raises us from death to life!

CP group lovin!!

Then came finals week, and with it came college visits! It was great to have everyone from home rallied together plus the one and only Kylie McDonald, who it's always a treat to see!

Finals week also included some...craziness? silliness? all of the above?

Some of the girls from my hall went out to dinner as a final outing together and to celebrate Samantha's birthday. 

Man oh man. I am so grateful for these girls and the blessing of living with them for a year. 

God is so good. 

On Friday our guy friends had approximately seven hours worth of exams, starting at 8 am. Mackenzie had the brilliant idea of serving them by making them dinner the night before. 

And so that is what we did. 

We may have gotten a little bored waiting...

Then it was time to say goodbye. Goodbye to 7B4, goodbye to Byrnes, goodbye to freshman year, and goodbye to sweet friends. 

I will be missing these crazy girls way too much

I have had the extreme privilege of being asked to serve Crosspoint on their college leadership team. So I left Clemson and headed to Hilton Head with the rest of the team for a leadership retreat. We had devotions together, celebrated and evaluated the past year, and dreamt of things for the upcoming school year. We then began to plan events for the upcoming fall semester. 

When we weren't doing any of the above things, we were either kicking it on the beach, eating delicious home-made food, or playing games that made everyone roll around with laughter. 

It was a sweet, sweet time. 

Miles quickly became known as the King of crabs. He caught 13. 

Abby and I love finding shells!

When I had to say goodbye to these people...oh man.

 I. Lost. It.

My freshman year of college has been nothing short of amazing. I wouldn't trade it for the world and wish I could live it over and over again. One of the main reasons for that is because of these sweet Jesus-loving people. 

I am going to miss them so much. 

I am thankful for the different ways that they are using their summers to further God's kingdom and His glory. I can not wait until we are reunited again where the Blue Ridge yawns it's greatness. I can't wait to hear the stories of God's glorious and gracious ways. I can't wait to hear about how God has radically changed lives for His name's sake. 

I can not wait.

But in the difficulty of waiting, I will praise God for their lives, and especially for the placement of their lives in mine. I pray that God would use me where He has me, right now, and that I would remember that He is sovereign. I pray that He would use me in spite of my prideful and selfish ways.

I'm home now, and I'm truly thrilled. I only have two short weeks until I pack up and hit the road again to start a new adventure with Student Life. But until then, I am depending on God to help me love and serve my family well with the short time I have. 

And that's a wrap freshman year. This sophomore is on to the next chapter of life.