Camp Pictures

The bus ride there (16 hours) we stopped @ a hotel on Sunday night and we went swimming in there pool but they didn't have the right amount of chemicals and I always swim with my eyes open. So .... i was REALLY bloodshot that night! ow! We got to the WILDS after lunch on Monday

My cabin (my cabin was the plankwalkers on the Sapphire Bay Schooners! blue)

3 .... 2.... 1 .... GO!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

This was one of my fav.

This was where we had our lake day!! The jump tower was THE BEST!!! It felt like slow motion when you were in the air.

Me and Erika. It was SO HOT!! We were all miserable until we got to the falls

The looooooooooooooooooooooooooong walk! But it was totally worth it!

WOW!! isn't this just breathtaking??!! When I saw this I thought to myself that nobody but God could've been so creative to make something as gorgeous as a waterfall!! Amen!

I was sliding dow the slippery slope. really fun

me and Allison

you can barely see my head on the bottom left

amazing ...

The reason I'm all sandy is b/c my cabin had a competition with our brother cabin to see who could say all of their verses first. As you can see, we lost. So we had to jump in the river and roll in the sand. It was actually a lot of fun :)

This was where we ate all our delicious meals; but that's only half the building! there's a lot more campers to the left and right!

Like my blue make-up? he he he :) don't worry, i wasn't the only one!

My cabin celebratin' cuz the blue team won!!! yay! (that was only part of our cabin, there's 4 others)

Me and my awesome counselor

(no, she didn't dye her bangs!! lol It's a barret that you can clip in your hair)

Me and Michelle, sad and happy to be home. We already missed camp once we left :(

Ok, so it's been almost a month since camp and I finally have all my pictures loaded (thx dad). The waterfalls were AMAZING! They're always the best part!

God Bless,

Bri

Back to blogging!

And I'm back!!
Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been quite busy. I was @ camp the 12th-18th and once I got back I had 2 days to get back on schedule till I had basketball camp for 3 days (from 8a.m.-4p.m.)
The bible camp I went to with my youth group (12th-18th) was in North Carolina called The WILDS. Our biblical theme was on Jonah which I learned a lot about. I never really paid a lot of attention to this story and all I would think is that is was about God giving second chances to Jonah and the Ninevites. That week I learned a bunch more! Every morning in chapel we would learn something about Jonah's Magnificent God. His magnificent presence, power, patience and persistence. I will share with you some of what I learned:

God's magnificent Presence: Jonah 1

Where do I start?! Well ... we all know that Jonah tried to hide from God. Did he succeed? NO! So, why did he? If you have an all powerful and mighty God the why would you want to run from Him? God is omnipresent and so it's absolutely impossible to escape from His presence.
How do we know God is always with us?
A. B/c of His all seeing eyes.
You can hide stuff from your parents, friends, family etc. But NOT GOD!
B. B/c of His unchanging faithfulness
C. B/c of His communication thru His Word. Sometimes we forget Gods word, so that's why He wrote it!
D. B/c of His INCREDIBLE creation!
There's not a square in. in this universe that doesn't show His creativity
E. B/c of His constant availability.
F. B/c of His fear in my heart
Do you fear God like you fear man? Be concerned what God thinks of you. Not your friends.
G. B/c of His power over creation
H. B/c of His conviction in my heart
I. B/c of His Desire to draw unbelievers to Himself

God does what is best for His glory and our good.
Remember you can't run from the presence of God ... and why would you want to?

God's Magnificent Power Jonah 2

God's Magnificent Power can be seen ...

A. in His creation and control of the great FISH
Jonah prayed to God in the fish. What is prayer? Praising and talking to GOD. If you love God you'll not only talk to Him, you'll talk about Him.

B. By the power of the sea.
He controlled the storm they were going thru.

C. In His control over Jonahs life
Jonah didn't forget God. Even when he was on the edge of running. Don't forget Him.

D. in His Salvation freely offered to all men!
Salvation is of the Lord. It isn't a choice between heaven and hell. It's between God and your sin. Repent, Believe and Christ Receive. Salvation is a heart issue and no one can do it for you. It's your choice.

God's Magnificent Patience (this one was my top favorite) Jonah 3

A patient God ...

A. Gives CLEAR warnings
So why is God so patient? He doesn't want any of us to perish to hell.

B. Loves and looks for a repentant heart

1. A repentant heart believes God
2. It is serious about brokenness
3. It allows God to break him
4. It is obvious by its humility
5. It intensely cries out to God
6. It willing turns from its evil

C. Holds back His anger against my sin
Know why God hates sin? B/c He loves you! Sin is the only thing that will separate you and Him forever and He doesn't want that!

Gods Anger:
1. While slow is easily aroused
2. Is to be dreaded
3. It's not to be provoked

D. Allows us to live another day!
Every day God lets us live is such an incredible blessing! Every breath we sometimes take for granted.

E. Promises forgiveness
You can't forgive yourself. Only GOD can!


God's Persistent Love Jonah 4

How do I know God's love for me never changes?

God's love never changes ...

A. When I'm Moody :)
Jonah was focused on himself. It was all me, me, me, me, me, me, ME!

B. Even when I disagree with Him
We're all disagreeable and argumentative.
Disagreeable:
Jonah disagreed with a gracious, merciful, patient, kind and forgiving God!
Why would we disagree with such a great God?!

C. When I'm incredibly selfish

D. When I'm angry with Him
Anger is anger no matter what 'degree' is the thermometer. It is always defensive and is right in its own eyes. You may be right but you were wrong in reacting. That is something I struggle greatly with. Anger is consumed with self and some people would rather die than be proved wrong. We learn to be right by being wrong!

E. Even why I'm constantly 'up-and-down'
This kinda goes with He loves me when I'm moody

F. Even when I'm defensive and stubbornly refuse to change
We get used to doing what we want to do. So we are saying 'no' to God

G. Even when I choose not to love others the same way God loves me. (another one I stuggle with)
That's being hateful! It's hard to love people who get under our skin. But then we need to think how God loves us and the person we find hard to love. Just think, we sometimes get so frustrated with one person and meanwhile God is loving over 2 billion people unconditionally in this world! WOW!!


Well, that is all of my 'Jonahs Magnificent God' notes I'll share with you. Once I get my Pictures on the computer I'll post those so you can see how much fun I had and how beautiful it is there.

God bless!

Bri

Still here ...

Hey guys!
Still at my grandparents. They live on a lake so my dad, brothers and I might go tubing today!!! Whoohoo!!! I can't wait! Sometimes I like to fall off the tube on purpose :D Only it's a challenge to get back on! I'll also be posting pictures from here when I get home.

Before I sign off I'd like to write one of my favorite life verses;

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified and do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God is with you WHEREVER you go.

This verse always reminds me that God is always with me and the I am never alone. God is always in control when there is a "storm" going on in our life and we need to put our trust in Him.

Bri

Weekend

In a little while I will post pictures of my 4th of July weekend, it was a BLAST!!!! We went to the R. families house on Friday night and just hung out and ate dinner. The S. family arrived once we finished. Later that evening, Jenna, Joshua, Abby, Bethany and I went to someones house so we could take care of their animals. It went quite ... interesting. I won't give you any of the details but I laugh at it now! :) The horses were my favorite; they were so beautiful!

When we got back we played freeze tag in the dark which was also fun.

My family left @ 11 that night; I think I slept better then the kids that slept in the barn! lol

My siblings, dad and I went to the Dorr parade on July 4; we sat with a bunch of our church friends. After the unending parade, we went back to the R. house for lunch and went swimming in our pool in the afternoon; but it wasn't the warmest :) We still had a lot of fun teaching people how to dive. I'll always laugh at that experience. (hee hee hee!)

We had a bonfire that night and roasted smores (well, I pretty much burned all of mine! lol)

We went home late again that night and sadly said goodbye to everyone. We enjoy doing this so much every year. I believe we've been doing this for like 5-6 years!!! ahhhhhhhh!!! lol

Right now I"m on my grandparents laptop so I can download the pictures; sorry!! :(
I'll post them tomorrow, until then, GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Bri