No Applause Necessary

do you ever shop at a thrift store? i do often...thrift stores and garage sales, my favs! yesterday my mom, my aunt colleen, and i were out thrifting...our last stop was Y's-Buy's, it's like a Saver's but better (and cheaper). we were about ready to head out of the store with our great finds when i decided to make a last stop at the coat corner. i started at the smalls, the rack was circle, so i headed from small, to medium, to large, to x-tra small. it was honestly, my last coat on the rack i had not yet seen. it was very red, which is pretty bold for me, but it looks brand new so i decided to pull it out and take a chance anyway. i stood in front of the mirror sliding on this heavy, red, wool coat...and as soon as it was slipped onto my shoulders, i had fallen in love! this coat is not only what i had been looking for, but it had my name written all over it! i stepped out into the aisle to show my mom and my aunt. they turned and saw me in this brilliant coat and the only words they could muster from their mouths were "Aahhh, Oooohhh...Amanda you HAVE to get that!" and that was that, i bought the coat. the price tag read $9.99, but on Thursdays, everything is 25% off. i purchased this coat for only $7.49. i was so happy with this coat! the quality and weight meant it had to be worth something...i had to look it up on the internet. the tag said "VIA", i don't know much about name brands so i had no idea if this was a quality brand or not. i typed in those 3 little letters into google, and on my first find, this coat appeared on the internet right in front of my very eyes. the normal price? $168.00

thank you Y's-Buy's.

John 15:1-8

John 15:1-8 (NIV)

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

this passage was a focus for the counselors out at camp shetek this summer. it was just what i needed to get focused to reach campers and in order for me to see clearly what the Lord wants me to work on in my life. when i was meditating on this passage all my focus fell on defining what the "fruit" is in these verses. "fruit" can mean different things to everyone, but my first thought was the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. i have known the fruits of the spirit since i was in sunday school, but i never really took the time to apply them to my life. do i show love and kindess to everyone (loving the unlovable)?...am i joyful in everything i do?...do i show goodness to people, or have patience with them, or with God?...am i self-controled? i never asked these questions before. but now that i have, i am ashamed at how often i am impatient, unkind, unloving, unjoyfu, etc...when i think of my future spouse someday, i want him to possess all these attributes! but how can i expect God to bless me with someone like that when I myself lack in all these areas? 

this self evaluation made me think to camp shetek's theme verse last year (Psalm 139:23-24). this verse is often recited in my head to remind me that i need to led God mold and shape me into the women He wants me to be.

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Camp Shetek 2009

Prison Break

 Jussy. Amanda. Benjy

i have been at camp shetek since 3rd grade. this year was my 11th year. wow. God is so good to let me be at camp for that long. how can i sum up 5 weeks of camp shetek in a short paragraph? impossible. but God is so amazing. this was one of my all-time favorite years out at camp shetek, ever. God's beauty and glory and power was evident everywhere. thank you Lord for all you did out at shetek this year. 

Some '09 Camp Shetek Highlights:

• new/old relationships formed/grew
• gopher hunting...yacob
• God's beauty
• egg bake, granola
• thunderstorms (& rain fall) on a tin roofed cabin
• shetepardy, Yhtomit Roos
• "mine" game
• early morning coffee
• 8:00 staff meetings
• 20 minutes before bed in the Gray's quarters
• the chapel floor
• movie soundtrack
• the weekends with staff

In the mind of a 5th grader...

• (prayer request) "God please help me find a girl at camp shetek who would like me. P.S. - Please God, today!"
• (child's definition of 'your walk with God') "it's when you walk, y'know, walking. You light your God candle and walk.
  
• (asking for forgiveness of sins) "God please forgive me of all the sins i have done...especially always asking my grandma to make me cheese and crackers"

Music

• Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
• You're the Best Around - Karate Kid
• I Gotta Feelin' - Black Eyed Peas
• Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue (Album) - Jason Gray
• Always Forever - Phil Wickham

It Has Begun

today I was inspired to begin my very own. i've always found blogs interesting just never thinking i'd have the time, i never started one. until now...it has begun. with my faithful, reliable, MacBook by my side, scriptorium has had it's beginning. what is scriptorium? the dictionary explains it simply as a library where manuscripts are stored, read, or copied. I will store My manuscripts on this blog for you to read...or copy. i don't know where this blog will lead me, what i will write, or who will read it. taking a year off of school i feel like i will have the ability to take the time to nurture this beginning. i will have the time to grow closer to God, spend more time with family, and share stories and thoughts. i might share funny stories, serious stories, simple thoughts, or fun adventures. either way, i am excited to get started!