Last week I got back from vacation at Odell Lake with several extended family members, on my dads side. Never heard of Odell Lake before? Well, it's gorgeous. And just what I needed. Funny how God orchestrates that kind of thing . . . Before the trip I was seriously considering not going - not that I didn't want to see my family, but the weeks surrounding were busy & stressful, and being home with the house all to myself for 3 days just sounded wonderful. But as much as I wanted to at the time, I didn't feel like I should stay home (and I'm glad that I didn't!). Those mere 3 days were full of fear facing, adventures, laughter, family, heart to hearts, lie silencing, and more fun than I was expecting - starting with the first night. Let me give you a little sneak peek into my family: The first night there we hung out in the main meeting area and developed a "Pooping Satisfaction Chart", discussing (in detail and from personal experiences) the many variables for what makes pooping satisfactory or not. We did so in all seriousness, and it went on for at least an hour. Meet my family ^.^
In fact, the next morning I woke up at 7:00am (actually I woke up at 3:00am, 5:00am, and 6:00am, because I'm me, and because my dog fell off of the bed and made a rather large THUD, waking my cousin and I up) and went down to the dock with Lacey and spent some time with Jesus. I was a little frustrated though, because it was such a great opportunity, my mind went into "get something significant out of this" mode, instead of "just rest in His presence and soak it up" mode. Eventually, however, I was able to let go of that for the most part and ended up watching a bald eagle fishing on the lake. So neat! Later that first morning the majority of us went to Salt Creek Falls - a beautiful place! That's where I got my significant moment with God. Yet another beautiful reminder that I'm not in control over such things. It was wonderful, though. I travelled off of the hiking trail to a little pool I spotted higher up. The rest of the family kept going and I just stayed there for a brief moment. iPhones come in handy. I started playing Your Love Is Extravagant (one of my favorite, most special songs with Jesus) and walked along to another little pool and then back onto the main trail where I leisurely walked down closer to the falls. I got to just sit for a little bit and soak up the words of the song, as well as the sight of the waterfall (which is apparently the 2nd largest waterfall in Oregon at about 286 feet). I then caught up with my mum and aunt, who were staying behind because they couldn't/didn't want to join in the the expedition that the others (my dad, sister, and 2 cousins) embarked on. They decided to vacate the trail and climb down to the base of the falls - which was a decent way down. I decided to join them. Only instead of going the way they went, I went a different route - an apparently more difficult route that wasn't exactly the safest. I went down a rather steep embankment type thing of dirt and rocks on my hands and bum (my pants will never be the same), causing all sorts of dirt and rock slides. 10-15 minutes later, I reached the base of the falls and joined the others! And dang, what an experience. Not only did I feel super accomplished for getting down there, but it was absolutely beautiful. From above you could see a rainbow, and it reminded me of Homeward Bound (which has nothing to do with the rainbow). From below I felt as if I was in Lord of the Rings, when Faramir captured Gollum from the Forbidden Pool in The Two Towers. So great. The mist from the waterfall felt so good after climbing down there, and just being in the sun. I wanted to swim in it, buuut by the time I got down there they were about ready to head back up. Totally worth the short time I got to spend down there though. After climbing back up (a different, better way) we all headed back to the cabins and got ready for adventure #2 : swimming in the lake. And oh, how much fun it was! We ended up going to a different lake than the one we were staying at; one that was about 7 minutes away, called Crescent Lake. I was a little hesitant because of my love-hate relationship with water, but the water was clear as can be! No weird "what's underneath me?" feelings were felt (for the most part). It still got deep though, but I walked out until I my feet could barely touch the sand beneath me. It was so much fun though. I love my family. It was my aunt & uncles labradoodle's first time swimming, and she and their other dog joined us the whole time, tossing the frisbee around. My dad and I played catch for a while towards the end, which made my heart happy. He and I used to play catch all the time growing up. I still got some swing in my arm ^.^ Also, my dad was throwing the ball to my mum, who was standing in the shallow end, hitting it with her can. It was by far one of the cutest things ever. Just picture my mum standing there in a sun hat and sunglasses, holding her cane in the air like a baseball bat in the water. My mum was a hardcore tomboy, and she was all in when it came to baseball and four-wheeling and the like, so it's always fun to see her get to do some of that again. After we all got back from the lake I got a little bit of time to myself. I watched Star Trek: Into Darkness, cleaned/organized a wee bit, and wrote. It was nice to be able to retreat for a bit and have some quiet. After I had finished writing, I headed over to my aunt & uncles cabin, where everyone was congregated around a fire, talking and laughing. We told told stories mostly. We tried to tell ghost stories, but the majority of them were more comical than anything, haha. Which I was all for. After most of us dispersed, my cousin & I went out on the dock and star gazed. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me, as I love star gazing and I haven't seen my cousin in 2 years and haven't spent much time with him for years before that. So it was wonderful. A beautiful starry sky, the sound of the water underneath the dock, and lovely conversation with one of my favorite cousins. Also found out that he just learned some WCS at one of my favorite places to dance, from one of my favorite leads. What?! Dancing will definitely be in the near future haha. When I got back to the cabin that night all the lights were off and everyone had gone to sleep. This turned into mission: impossible. I was so hungry, and those floors creaked more than any I've ever heard. I managed to stealthily make it to the fridge, but I looked over and (as best as can be done in the pitch black dark) saw that the room to my cousins door was open, and opening the fridge would have flooded their room with light, no doubtely in my mind waking them up. So I went to bed hungry. The next morning I came into the kitchen and saw that their door was closed. Fail. I was also excruciatingly sore. Not doing much physical activity and then hiking, climbing, and swimming all day . . . We were all sore haha. After breakfast my dad, uncle, 2 cousins, and I went to the railroad tracks nearby and laid coins on the track. After waiting for the train for a little bit I had to head back so that I could upload my video for the Anthem Lights contest. There's only wifi in the lodge, so I camped out there with my mum's laptop and finished watching Star Trek: Into Darkness. It took forever to upload because of the connection, so I ended up having to head back when it was only 34% done upoading (my cousin is awesome though, as he was there studying anyways so he watched the laptop while it uploaded more. It got to 53% before he had to leave). At 1:00pm the majority of us journeyed to Crater Lake. So freaking beautiful. And hot. We went to 2 of the viewpoints and then split off into 2 groups: one to drive around the rim and one to head back to the cabins. I headed back to the cabins with the greater part of the group . It took much longer to get back than it should've because there was a rockslide. When we got back to the cabins I went back down to the lodge to finish uploading my video (which y'all should watch again so that my chances of winning increase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqVEZRIrwhM ^.^). I sat and watched the first part of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as I waited. It was most delightful ^.^ After that I went back to the cabins and a handful of us went down to the lake to watch the sunset for the last time this trip. I'm really gonna miss being on the lake . . . The sights, the sounds, the star gazing . . . I enjoyed it greatly ^.^ That night everyone gathered in the main meeting area again and we all played Apples To Apples. I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time! Laughing to the point of a headache, sweat, and tears. And it had nothing to do with the game hahaha. There's no way to write out what happened, but let's just say that my family is just great. I wasn't ready to go the next morning. Two of the families left earlier so they could stop and visit the grandparents before making the long drive back home, while the rest of us left at about 11:00. Since everyone that was in my cabin had left earlier, I had the whole cabin to myself for a little while ^.^ So I gathered all of my stuff into the living room, sat back in the armchair, and watched more of The Hobbit while eating meatballs and chocolate ice cream. It was definitely a good way to end the trip :) After that we loaded up the van and headed home. I'm gonna miss having something active that I can do every day - like in Georgia. But Summer isn't over yet! I've already had a constantly-going-for-21-hours day for my big bro's wedding that I was in last Saturday, with one more wedding to go in a week! Life is crazy, but it's good :) Let the adventures continue!
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I'm finding that things often start out with a specific purpose, only to turn into something very different. I've always noticed that before, but it seems to be a thing in my life right now. A few days ago Anthem Lights posted on their Facebook page that they were gonna do a fun, creative contest. Make a video (and be creative) set to any Anthem Lights song, post it on Youtube on July 15th, and whoever has the most views on Youtube by August 15th gets a whole bunch of signed Anthem Lights merchandise. Naturally I was like, "Heck yes!". Though it's HIGHLY unlikely, the opportunity to win a bunch of free merchandise from one of my favorite bands AND to play with videography for the first time in years sounded A-OK to me! But somewhere along the line the purpose of getting free stuff faded and a new purpose emerged. I'm not sure anyone will really grasp all of the reasons for why this video means so much so me, but I'll try to explain: The song I chose (Can't Get Over You) is very dear to my heart. It's one that I can sing to God wholeheartedly, meaning every word. It's a song that has been the instigator and background noise for many of God and I's most treasured moments together as well. It's pretty cheesy to say, but it really does make my heart dance - as Jesus always does. With that being said, it's also a song where that dancing of the heart often pours out through my feet (unless I'm driving). Dancing for Jesus as a means of worship is one of my greatest joys, and this is one of few songs that I'll do so to, as I'm unable to freestyle dance any other time (I shouldn't even do so for worship, but screw it, I do sometimes). The other reason why this means so much to me is because of what God laid on my heart to speak about. It's a subject that weighs heavily on my heart that I wish so badly I could articulate - a few subjects, actually. The subject of how God can create beautiful things out of something ugly, painful, or hard. And also the subject of who God is to me. I will never be able to put into words all that He is to me and what He's done for me, but being able to verbalize just a taste of that overflows me with joy ^.^ So this project started out as an opportunity to potentially win free merchandise, but it turned into an opportunity to share a little piece of my heart with people, and also face some fears and lies in the process. I'll be honest, I feel kinda silly posting it. I know that many people will most likely view it as something it's not, or just straight up think it's ridiculous or lame. But it's a wonderful way to solidify that what others may think or say doesn't determine your worth or your identity. Still wrestling with that lie at times, but by golly, it's through opportunities like this one that I'm determined to kick it in the butt! So here you go. Give it a watch or two. And if you want, put it on mute and just play the dang thing over and over and over to get as many views as possible. I love the opportunity for growth, but that doesn't mean I can't possibly get that bunch of free Anthem Lights stuff! ;) What a wonderful morning its been. I'm learning to take risks. I'm learning to put myself out there more despite the chance that I'll fail. I'm learning to cultivate my creativity in balance with business knowledge. Strive for growth, not perfection. I just made my first display purchase for the store, with no idea what my boss will think of it, no backup plan for what to do with it if it doesn't work out, and no returns. These are all things I don't do. I'm frugal. I don't spend money unless it's cheap, it can be used in another capacity if what I'm getting it for doesn't work out, if I know for sure that it's what someone wants/needs, or I can return it. None of which come in to play in this scenario - except for the cheap part. $7 technically is cheap for what I got, buuuut I'm me. And there are no guarantees. So unless it turns out to be a sure-fire home run, it's not cheap haha. But God's growing me. He's teaching me to take risks when necessary and to not come down on myself if ideas don't work out. It's not a reflection on my character or my worth, just a little disappointment - which never really hurt anybody. And growth! Because growth comes from disappointment. So not only am I being grown NOW, with these things I've just mentioned, but I'm also setting the stage for MORE growth - whether my idea works out or not. BONUS! Strive for growth, not perfection. So we'll see what works out. If my idea works, then sweet! We'll have a little more creativity and know that style works well and can play off of it. And my idea doesn't work, then we'll know that style doesn't work for us as a store and I'll keep the display piece for a who-knows-what opportunity in the future. Let me share with you part of why my morning was so wonderful. I love growth. I love seeing how God is working in the little ways in my life that can add up to the big things. And not only do I love growth, but I love music - music that perfectly captures the essence of a moment (especially when it's with God). It's like having your own little soundtrack. And as I drove home from Goodwill, air conditioning blasting and sun shining, I listened to the first two songs on Anthem Lights CD, You Have My Heart : "You Have My Heart" and "Follow Your Heart" (both of which are excellent sunny day driving songs). I like what God is doing, guys. And I'm excited to see what the next step is that He has for me, and what growth can come of it.
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