One of THOSE days

It has just been one of those days. Those days where your brain is foggy and you just want to go back to bed. It is one of those days where your eyes burn from tears that are hidden below the brims. I knew that it was going to be that kind of day the moment that I arrived at work. My personality immediately adapted to the sullen feeling that cloaked the office. Every task that I accomplished exasperated my boss and it eventually began to effect my self image of myself. I started to buy into my self talk. "Jeeze Alli! Why did you even ask that?" "Stop pushing him." "How would you even come to that conclusion?" No one even likes you." I didn't know my role for the day too and that made my tasks for the day even blurrier. After working a full work day in this environment, I feel defeated. I am not looking forward to going back in tomorrow. And after exploring why I feel that way, I have come to realize that it is because I am fearing making even more mistakes, which amounts to people not liking me in my mind. I thrive off of that approval, so how can I shift that self thought into positive thinking.

This is what I can tell myself in days like these.

• I don't need anyone elses approval except fot the approval of my Savior
• My self worth isn't dependent upon anyone elses view of me
• I had the right intentions behind each action
• Someone on this earth loves me 
• I am beautifully and wonderfully created
• My only purpose on this Earth is to show people the love of Jesus and I will not always be able to make people happy, I am human
• Not everyday will be like this
• God's will will be done ultimately

After reading those statements, I am able to calm myself down enough to realize that a new day will come tomorrow and everything will be okay. That's right, everything will be okay in the end. 

On another, happier, note.... I GOT KEEGAN TO NAP IN HIS CRIB YESTERDAY!

It's the little things in life that make me smile:)
Take a deap breath with me. It's just a bad day, not a bad life.

Love,

A Gift to My Campers

In less than one month I will be heading with 100 students to summer camp where they will hopefully encounter Jesus in a life changing way. I will be in charge of cutivating spiritual growth for my 15 campers who will be staying in my cabin. I have been praying for them for multipule things; that they will be comfortable at Mazama, that they will find someone to bond with, that I can connect with them, and ultimately that Jesus will rock them and become part of their lives.

I was racking my mind for somehting that I can give each one of them on the first night that they are their so that they know that I care for them and that I am there for them. I searched far and wide for ideas on pinterest and other blogs and then I finally decided that I would make something on my own and then share it with you all.

This is what I came up with...

 

A glittered notebook that the girls can record their experiences in, and stone hearts showing that Jesus cares for all of their hearts. On the first page of their journals, I wrote them a heartfelt note explaining my heart for the week. 

So here we go, this was the process of painting, glittering, sculpting, baking and gluing. 

First, I created the the hearts. 

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and mixed up in a bowl: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and some cold water. 

I mixed it into a dough ball and then grabbed my cutting board and heart stencil.

Then I flattened some dough with a spatula and placed my template on

the dough.

I then used a tooth pick and knife to cutout the heart shape. 

After cutting several of these hearts I placed them about a 1/4 inch on a baking sheet covered with tin foil.

 Then I placed them in the oven for 2 hours.

After 2 hours I removed them and painted them gray to look like stones.

Now, for the notebooks. 

I bought 15 70 page, college rule, notebooks from Walmart for $0.17 each! Then I gathered my supplies.

• The Notebooks
• Paper Towl
• Paint Brushes
• Paper Plates
• Paint
• Newspaper
• Mod Podge 
• Glitter

I painted 2-3 coats of color on each notebook and let them dry for an hour.

After drying I painted a coat of Mod Podge on a corner, while using a piece of paper as a guide. Then I scattered different colors of glitter on each book, and let it dry.

Then finished the glitter with a sealant of Mod Podge.

 Then, after drying for another hour I coated the whole cover with Mod Podge and let it dry.

This is the finished product.

This is the letter that I wrote on each one of the first pages. 

I hope that this helped some of you with ideas of what to give with your campers.

Grace & Peace,

Creating lasting friendships.

Let me start off by saying that, I am not the most outgoing individual when it comes to meeting new people. I have a hard time initiating conversation with strangers and then turning it into something more that just a friendly conversation. That is partly because I am extremely self conscious and I do not want to be judged. So with that being said, this year, going into school, I was terrified. I feared being lonely and becoming an outcast. I spent hours in prayer, asking the Lord for His direction and peace. And after this year, I can proudly and humble say that I have created solid and lasting relationships with some wonderful girls.

For any of you who seem to have the same difficulty with creating initial friendships here are a few tips that will hopefully give you some peace of mind with making friends in a new place.

1. This might be extremely obvious, but... spend time with people. For me, I had the initial fear of giving too much of myself, and then our friendship not working out. Go somewhere together and talk. Don't be afraid of empty words. There will be those time and that is when you can reflect on the conversation and the other person's actions. Watch T.V. together, go on a walk, hangout with a group. Time is what helps flourish friendships.
2. Find friendship in groups. For me I got to know my friends through mutual friends and now we are just one be 15 girl friend circle that does almost everything together. Try to find the balance with hanging out with people one on one and being in groups. 
3. Be available to help and support. So many of my friendships started be cause someone needed me. Whether it was me helping someone study, loft a bed, or just listen to them talk. I was available and placed myself in situations where I would listen.
4. Be yourself. I was nervous to do this initially because I am WEIRD. Initially, I think that I tried to mask my weirdness if that is even possible, but it's not. Stand up for what you believe in even if it not something that the other person agrees with, just don't be invasive about it. All of my friendships have gotten stronger because of am honestly myself and my weirdness just radiates off of me. 
5. Don't talk about anyone behind their back. Just don't. It creates copious amounts of doubt in other's minds. 
6. Tell your friends that you like them and that you care. That sounds stupid but people like hearing that they are validated.
7. For some rare reason someone doesn't like you, don't worry. There will be those people, but don't fixate on them. Focus on the friendships that you do have pour your heart into them. 

My friends have been so important to me this year and I am so thankful for everyone of them and all that they individually bring into my life.

 

 

Thankful,

God's Hands

In a little less than a month, I will be heading with my coworkers and 100 students to Mazama Bible Camp near Winthrop, Washington to put on a summer camp. For the past two to three months I have been blanketing this trip in prayer. I am praying for the right kids to come and fill the camp, that all preparatory work will come together without a hitch, that I will have the right words for the kids and that God will direct me while leading my small group, and most of all, that God's hands will be working in all of it and that His will will be done. If just one student finds Jesus over the course of the week it will all be worth it.

To prepare my heart for the girls that I will be leading, I have been reading and talking to God. I have come to learn that I just need to be open to God's direction and be prepared to be honest with the girls. I want to be and know that I am an example to these girls and I want to live a life that it is worth something in their and His eyes. I found Jesus at one of these camps 8 years ago and it has only made my life more and more incredible.

This year, I am going to pour my whole heart into the trip and working for the kids. This year I don't want the trip to be for me at all. I want it to be for and about the kids 100%. If you are willing please pray for wisdom for me and patience, pray that my heart will be awakened to the Lord's direction and requests. Please also pray that God's hands will be in all of this. Pray that the kids will feel his touch and find salvation. 

 

Here are the students from last summer.

Humbled,

Rose:
There are so many roses this week. I think that is because I am taking time to notice the little things that I normally take for granted. Here are some of the roses from this week:
1.  I have gotten to spend countless hours with my best friends, doing goofy things.

2.  I am done house sitting and it feels so good. It was so nice having an abode on my own, but it is nice being back home and having an opportunity to unpack my school stuff. 
3.  The weather is BEA-u-tiful!

 
4.  I had the opportunity to go watch my other nephew, Josiah on saturday, and I fell in love! He is growing up so fast.

5.  Work is going a lot better and I am excited for our upcoming summer camp.

Thorn:
On Monday's I usually get to watch my nephew, Keegan. He is the cutest 9 month old around and I love him. He is full of energy and curiosity but he still loves his snuggle moments. Watching him would normally go under my "rose" section, but I don't have him this week or next, and I MISS HIM! I am counting down the days until I get to squeeze him and hear him giggle. Until then, I will just have to look at these pictures and hope that they suffice.

Bud:
Two Saturdays from now I will be heading down to Seattle for a concert with my two of my favorite girls from WWU who are just wonderful. I hope we will be able to somehow meet Landon Austin.


That's all folks,