wow.

WOW.

It's been forever since I've posted anything on here. I feel terrible! I'm so sorry for not posting in over 6 months.

If I still have any readers, I'd like to update you on some highlights of last summer, last fall and winter, and this new year! Wow, I have a lot to tell.

The biggest highlight of summer 2012 was going to Crystal Springs Baptist Camp for a July 4th family camp. It was, to say the least, life-changing! I met so many amazing young people who have a fire for Jesus, and are very encouraging in my walk with the Lord. The teenagers had a late-night Bible study (I'm talking 12 am!) downstairs in the dorms where all the different families stayed. We dug through God's Word, pulling out different passages to discuss and pray about. One of the highlights of the whole weekend was the last night, Saturday night. All of the youth (about 10-15 people) went down to a beautiful spot down by the lake where there were benches and other places to sit. It was a breezy summer night down by Crystal Springs Lake. Two of the guys (David and Christian) had guitars and we began to sing praise songs to our King. None of us cared what anyone else thought, we were in total abandon to Jesus as we sang cries of praise to Him. Everyone was there with one purpose-to gather together and praise the Lord that saved them all! After our worship time, Nate took prayer requests then he prayed for everyone who gave him a request. I shared with the group about my grandfather who is an Atheist. I broke down crying because of how much I hurt for my grandpa, who does not seem to want to open his heart to Jesus. Nate prayed for my grandpa, and I started to cry even more. My friend Lauren sat down by me and squeezed my hand, and my other friend Rachel came and hugged me, which made me cry even more! I'm so blessed with friends who are there for me, no matter how much I get to see them in person. After Nate finished praying, we all we crying and hugging and it was a very amazing experience, standing under God's creation and singing praises to Him. We expressed how none of us felt worthy to be allowed to talk to him so freely, thanking Him for always being there.

By the time this ended, we decided to star tip! Now, for those of you who don't know what star tipping is, you're missing out big-time! :) Star tipping is where a person focuses their eyes on one star in the sky, then begins to spin around in a circle while looking at the star. After the person is done spinning for about ten or fifteen seconds, another person shines a flashlight in their eyes,and then they start running around. Well, the combination of spinning and a bright light in your eyes is enough to make you fall over! It's a really fun game to play at night. You'll have to try it this summer!

It was about two a.m. by this time, but none of us were going to bed just yet! We went into the dining hall where we played Scattergories for an hour. We had some good laughs. One of the activities at family camp is a cake-decorating contest, and there were several cakes sitting out on a table in the chapel. Well, Hayden proceeded to shove Nate's face into the cake that his family made together! This was a sight to behold. Nate was covered in icing! :)

After some fun times in the dining hall, we decided that no, it was not time to go to bed! We tried to have a Bible study at 3 a.m. This was not a good idea! None of us could concentrate. We had a really hard time concentrating on what we were studying! We would start talking about a passage of the Bible, then go off on rabbit trails. We decided that this was not a good time to try to focus, so we all went to bed. It was an amazing few hours.

The rest of family camp was a blast too! There's Family Olympics, Cake Decorating, Sword Drill, free time, swimming, and all sorts of other fun things! I cannot WAIT to go back there again this summer and be reunited with all the friends that I made there. We keep in touch through Facebook and texting, and we miss each other immensely!

That was just one amazing thing that happened in summer '12. I also went to another camp by myself which lasted for 5 days. I've gone to this camp for 4 years in a row now, and I absolutely love the camp! There are so many godly college students that serve as counselors, kitchen crew, and all sorts of other positions around the camp. Of course, the camp is run by older adults with children. :) Highlights include growing closer to the Lord, volleyball, dodgeball, staying up super late, making new friends, bonfires, the rabbit hunt (a giant all-camp game of hide-and-go-seek!), Gaslight Theatre (a series of hilarious skits put on by the staff), and much, much more!

I'll have to finish catching up later.

Blessings!