Weekends of Celebration

Psalm 16:11 You make known for me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The last two weekends have been wonderful blessings to me!  I am so thankful for my friends and family, and I got the opportunity to celebrate some exciting events with many of them.  On July 1&2 I got to hang out with some beautiful ladies to celebrate Whitney (now Snyder)'s upcoming wedding!  We had a girls day and night at Stonewall Jackson Resort.  It was so great to meet up since we all live in different places now (Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Morgantown, Charleston, and Summersville) and spend the day together!!  We relaxed by the pool, took an adventure hike, and got dressed up for a delicious dinner!  The next morning we met together and read 1 Peter 3! It was an awesome and refreshing time studying the Word together and encouraging one another.  I will miss all those morning Bible studies with the ladies from WVU!  

On our way to dinner!! 

Then, I continued to head north to Morgantown to celebrate my niece's 4th birthday (along with her two friends Libby who turned 5 and Joe who turned 3).  It was a "candyland" theme party at the park!  I hadn't been home to Morgantown since I left at the beginning of June! I really enjoyed the family time.  After the visit, I had to head back to Summersville to work.  For the 4th of July - I spent 14 hours at Applebee's after an early morning drive back to Summersville.  It was a crazy, busy, and long day! 

Joe, Libby, and Ainsley (my awesome niece)

This past Friday, Sam and Whitney Snyder got hitched at the University of Charleston!  I had a wonderful weekend with some of my friends.  The wedding was beautiful and a great celebration.  I can't wait to see how the Lord uses Sam and Whit to impact His Kingdom for eternity! I'm thankful that I got to spend the last 4 years living life alongside them in the Morgantown YL community! 

Mr. & Mrs. Snyder

Now, I am back in Summersville working at Applebees for the next few weeks until I am officially on full-time Young Life staff for Nicholas County!  I will be moving into an apartment in the beginning of August.  It's definitely a time of adjustment, but I am continually trying to seek the Lord in it and wait on His timing!  The Lord has truly been so amazingly faithful and DOES give me what I need for each day.  I have to constantly remind myself to live day-by-day.  Just as the Israelites in (Exodus 16) were impatient, I become impatient with living and trusting God to give me what I need each day.  I want to see into the future - I want to know how I will be arriving at the destination.  For example, there are many things in life right now that I am 'waiting' on - ministry with many kids at NCHS, settling into my new place, being on YL staff full-time.  I question, I fear, I wonder, I want to plan...Yet I can't do much, but hope and pray and wait!  However, I read this great quote today in a C. H. Spurgeon commentary on Psalm 16 - "Our Lord was poorer than we are, for he had no where to lay his head, and yet, when he mentioned his poverty he never used a word of murmuring; discontented spirits are as unlike Jesus as the croaking raven is unlike a cooing dove."  We are like Jesus when we are content, whether in plenty or in want (as Paul says in Philippians 4).  Discontented spirits stood out to me.  How quickly I have a discontent spirit!  I get a day to relax and instead I am anxious because I am "bored" or have nothing to do.  I am busy at work and I can't wait to get home. Etc. Etc. Etc.  So silly! It's so easy to do.  I think it takes quite a few things to get the mind of discontentment under control.  Some are things that I have been learning for some time now.  And this is just another area of life to apply them to:

• Live day-by-day (Ex. 16)
• Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• Remain in Christ (John 15)
• Choose joy (Philippians 4:4)