Far as the Eye Can See

I wrote a poem one day while we were in New Mexico. It was on Thursday, while we were still on the Native American reservation. I was staring out at the amazing scenery that's so very different from what I have here at home. I've been looking through the pictures people took of the scenery, and I'm still in awe of what I see in them. Anyway, here's my poem

I stand here amazed
All I want is to sing Your praise
You've blessed me with this view
Full of things I never knew

I see the mountains touch the sky
From a mesa way up high
I see sparse trees and lots of sand
All I know was created by Your hand

I look at Your sky with its many moods
Though it once held lightning, Your sun shines through
I think of houw it came to be
You spoke into existence what I now see

Down I look to see Your bugs
Though they're not much, You show them love
I know You also care for me
You love me more than any bug or tree

I hear my friends as they work hard
You love them more than I could, Lord.
To see this much leaves me in wonder
My Father's power speaks louder than thunder

The Simple Pleasures

Tonight, my dad had a church-league softball game. He didn't actually go, but I did. I got to hang out with some of my best friends and a couple of my cousins. We swung on the swing set, chatted, looked through my photo album from our mission trips, took goofy pictures (haha thanks Cassidy) and rolled down the hill. I was thinking about why we were created. God created us to enjoy Him, and in a way, I got to do that tonight. I got to spend time with some of the godliest teenagers I know, and I got to have fun enjoying the simple things like rolling down a hill and swinging. I saw God in those simple pleasures.

Wild Wednesday

So, we had Wild Wednesday tonight at church. We went on a scavenger hunt, and I had an AWESOME team!!! We went to Pruett's, the local grocery store, and prayed with a woman who Tamara knew, then we went and prayed for two random houses and left them notes saying as much, then we went to China and learned a new word in Chinese and gave the woman who waits on our group EVERY Wednesday an encouraging note, then we went to a bunch of other places, too. There were ten places we had to go. I have two favorites. My first favorite was going to Signal Point. We prayed for Signal Mountain and for Chattanooga. Then, I got to share my testimony with a man and woman who were sitting at picnic tables there. My testimony is something that I find awkward to share in certain company, but I did it anyway. I'm proud of that, but also, I was encouraged by the fact that the guy, Will, was really cool about it. I asked him if he would mind if I shared my testimony, and he was like, "sure." So I did, and he really listened. He nodded, agreed with me in places. It was awesome and touching. My other favorite was singing to a woman from our church in Alexian, the retirement home. She was so sweet about us coming in, and was so attentive as she listened to us sing. We sang Sanctuary, one of my favorites. The whole time we were singing, I watched either her, or the cross over her bed. I always either hold my cross necklace or my ring with a cross on it when I sing, but instead I got to stare at a cross. I know that's silly or whatever, but it was special to me. I really loved tonight. It was another perfect moment that I will treasure forever.

Perfect Moments

Oh. My. Gosh. If I've ever felt God's presence, it was in this past week. I spent this past week in New Mexico on a mission trip with my church. It was amazing. I can't even describe it. Two weeks before that, I had been on a mission trip to Kentucky with the same group. They were awesome in Kentucky, but the trip to New Mexico was way better. Not only was there less drama in New Mexico, but I felt like I had a purpose there more than in KY. I felt like that was exactly where I belonged. I didn't know why, but I knew. I had so many seeking God moments, but I'm only sharing my perfect moments in this post. Now, my perfect moments are seeking God moments too, because they are like sneak peeks of what Heaven will be like, so don't think this post is a waste of time or anything. So, I just have a list of perfect moments, if that's okay with you, because I feel like putting them in one big paragraph is a bit annoying. And quick disclaimer, I don't know the order of them. They aren't in chronological order because the week was a bit of a jumble for me.

• I had my first perfect moment on Monday. I had been praying about getting to know some of the people on the trip (Sam, Brooke, Jacob) and I got to work on a side of the church with mostly just them. I really felt like I got to know Sam, Jacob, and Brooke, which was awesome, because I had been praying seriously about that.
• The next perfect moment was Monday night before VBS. I was sitting in what is now officially "My Spot," and scrubbing the dirt and paint off of my arms and legs with baby wipes. I was watching a big group of the youth play basketball. Slowly, the group thinned out, until only one or two remained. After the other guy left, the last guy walked over and talked to me about the sky and the upcoming storm, things I was too preoccupied to notice. I loved that moment because it was a reminder to me that God isn't in a rush. God has things planned to go exactly the time and way he wants them too.
• The third perfect moment was sitting with Emily on the curb. I got to share my testimony with her, which was special because I had never shared it one on one with anyone before, without holding anything back. I had a great time because I felt like I could be 100 percent real without saying something that could be perceived wrongly. And even though I did mess up my words, it wasn't awkward because I was right there with her, and she could ask me questions too.
• Another perfect moment was waking up to see the sunrise. The day before, I had intended to go, but circumstances and a personal decision made me choose not to. Because of all that, I was overjoyed to see the beautiful sunrise in the huge New Mexico sky.
• Yet another perfect moment was that one night, either Sunday or Monday night, I did a lot of singing, and my voice was mostly shot. I got to dance in the rain and listen to some really awesome guys sing instead of me, a welcome change for a girl who often ends up singing a lot more than my voice should. I really loved that.
• Many perfect moments involved me singing with or listening to music with or listening to Jacob. Jacob is so musically gifted, both in his music discernability and his voice and guitar skills. I had a ton of fun with him this week, although I accidentally ended up calling him my brother's name multiple times.
• One of the last perfect moments I had, I was sitting on a metal swingset, watching Michaela, Sam, Kenton, and Justin playing basketball. I know that doesn't sound like much, but a storm was coming, and I really enjoyed that moment, feeling God's power in the storm and his love through my friends.

The best part of the week is that that isn't even half of my perfect moments. Those are just my favorites. They were all special, but I really felt God in them, and got a preview of heaven.