The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

Last week I enjoyed for the first time the role of being a camp counselor and I loved it. I know it was only successful because of God's power and the prayers of many family and friends back home.

The well known, Philippians 4:13, became so real to me last week. I did many things I could not have normally done and I was placed outside my comfort zone many times, but because God was my strength I was able to accomplish much for Him.

I loved everything about being a counselor: directing, counseling, and discipling five sweet girls, making awesome friends, meeting with other counselors for prayer 6:30 in the morning, meeting and getting to know many campers, learning about God and His Word, participating in fun camp activities, helping campers memorize Scripture, eating the delicious camp food! etc. etc.

But the most joyous part of my week was leading four campers to Christ. Of course it wasn't I who did it; God just happened to use me and put me at the right place at just the right time. And they were so ready. Through the sermons and nights of devotions, their hearts had been softened to the gospel and they were ready to give Christ their life. I listened to them pray and they sincerely asked Christ to be their Savior. It was such an exciting time!! I never helped lead anyone to Christ before so I couldn't help to be moved. I was so thankful for God's working in these girl's lives and the others who surrendered their lives to God.

God did so much last week and answered so much prayer. He not only worked in the camper's hearts but mine as well. I give Him praise for that.

Philippians 4:13 is almost a cliche' among believers, but I want to encourage you to really think about and believe in its meaning. Without God you can do nothing (John 15:5), but with Him you can do anything (Phil. 4:13). You can do all things with Christ if He is your source of strength (Ps. 27:1). And when He is, it's endless of what you can accomplish.

....The Seas and All That is Therein...

The air is fresh; the breeze is rejuvenating. The rays of the sun gently touch my skin as the yellow ball of light rises over the horizon. The water is buoyant and feels refreshing on my legs and feet. There's not a soul in sight as I continue to walk and leave fresh footprints in the sand. I take it all in and all the beauty around me. This is one of my favorite places to be.

There's nothing like the ocean. Something about the water is so deep, so mysterious. As I stand in front of the massive sea I am in awe of God's power and how small I actually am. God created this vast body of water and life and they all belong to Him.

I love every part about the beach: long walks in the early morning, the soft sand between my toes, spending time with family, jogging along the shore, reading on the porch, watching dolphins, soaking up the sun, finding shells with the kids, feeding the seagulls, taking a swim....it all is grand.














Nehemiah 9:6~
Thou even though art Lord alone. Thou has made heaven, the heavens of heavens with all their host; the earth, and all the things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou perservest them all, and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

A few shots of a wonderful, much needed vacation

Trying to make it look vintage (they struggled not to smile) ;)


Normal :)

A Week with Jadon

This is Jadon my little buddy (picture coming soon.) I watched him last week for a family down in Savannah Georgia. I had such a good time and I love Jadon dearly! He's one of the happiest babies I've ever met.

I left Sunday and it took me exactly 4 hours and 25 minutes to reach the family's house. This was my first road trip alone and I had a wonderful time! The drive was the perfect time to pray, think, sing and listen to some fantastic CD's I recently ordered from Vision Forum. The highway wasn't congested being a Sunday, so I had a very relaxing travel.

Jadon and I had a great time together. He'll be 1 year old soon and he's standing up but not walking just yet. Taking care of him brought back a lot of memories of helping Mom with Jeremy. You think you'll never forget all that goes into it but they grow up so fast. It's a lot of fun but taking care of a baby is also a lot of work!

I have never been to Savannah before. Jadon's mom gave me a tour of the city and it is absolutely beautiful! She also took me to see the Georgia coast which was pretty exciting. 

I went to church Wednesday night to one we found off the internet. I had such a sweet time. The first 30 minutes were spent in prayer. This kindest woman invited me to her prayer group and we took turns praying for different request. The rest of the service was spent on the lesson which was on being a doer of the Word. I am so glad I went. The sweet lady gave me a hug and told me to come back next time I came to town.

                                                                                       

I am deeply grateful for this opportunity God has blessed me with. Not only is it great pay but I also earned even more experience of taking care of little ones. It also felt almost as a vacation as I got to tour town and see the coast when I wasn't working. I couldn't be more thankful! We're scheduling for me to work again in March and April. I look forward to doing it again.

There's No Place Like the Smokies!

Excuse me for the lack of posts. My family and I have been on vacation at the Smokey Mountains (one of my favorite places) for the last week. Our Grandparents and our aunt and uncle joined us and we had a very enjoyable time. We were able to do much Christmas shopping and have a lot of fun with the family.

We went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium on Tuesday. I love that place and in my opinion it's way better than the Georgia Aquarium, even though Georgia's claims to be one of the best in the world.

I find it fascinating to be able to view thousand of sea animals from all over the world in one place. It's very educational and entertaining.

Each of the creatures are so intricately designed. They're complex, unique, distinct, and astounding in their own personal way. How can you observe them without acknowledging their Creator? It baffles my mind how one could not do so and believe they "occurred" by chance. Who else could have imagined such detail and created such wonder? Not only is each creature amazing in their design, but they fit so perfectly in their ecosystem that even if one is missing or over-population occurs all the rest suffer. Only God can create such splendour!

We were able to go out to eat on different occasions. I found it humorous that one place offered a choice of dessert titled "Lydia's Chocolate Suicide." How ironic. ;) So good it's worth to die for, right? Or perhaps it's so fattening it's a killer? (lol)

On one occasion we were leaving and Jeremy (my three year old brother) stopped a waitress and told her she was beautiful! He's never done anything like that before so it was cute and quite hilarious. The woman was in her late 50's or 60's and apparently he found her attractive. She had to bend down to hear him speak and didn't understand him at first. She understood the second time and she was evidently flattered. :)

During the trip Grandma taught me how to make her homemade turkey and dressing. It's a recipe I always wanted to know how to cook so I am very appreciative that she took the time to teach me (it's so delicious!!). Grandma also surprised me with a turkey roaster after we returned from shopping. Now I can cook turkey and chicken in half the time. How thoughtful of her :) I am looking forward to using it.

We were also able to spend the day at Dollywood before we left. The park was absolutely stunning and glowing in Christmas lights. It was a lot of fun (click here to see some pictures from my sister's blog.)

We are now preparing and looking forward to Christmas. I still have Christmas shopping to be done among other things. Autumn had a nasty temperature of 103 degrees yesterday. Thankfully she is much better today.

I have lots to be done so I must leave. I had to update though---2 weeks absent from posting is not acceptable in the blogging sphere! ;)

Blessings to all!

Week at the Wilds

My sister Holly and I recently returned from a Christian teen camp called the Wilds and what an amazing time we had! We had a blast and were able to participate in many games and activities and meet some great Christians. The main highlight though, was definitely the things the Lord taught us. The Lord is so faithful to teach His children! I will have to share some things some time. :-)



O Jesus, I have promised
To love you to the end;
Please be forever near me,
My master and my friend;
I shall not be troubled
If you are by my side,
And I'll follow you always
If you will be my guide.

Adapted from a hymn by John Ernest Bode

Great Week at Camp

Camp is over and I am back home. Last week is one I will always remember. I had the best time and God did so much in my life. I met some awesome people that I hope to always keep in touch with. God also taught me a lot as well. Oh, I miss that place! I hated saying goodbye...

I don't know where to start!! Boy did I fill my journals up...

I awoke each morning at 5:50 a.m. and started working in the kitchen at 7. I set the tables, helped prepare the food, served the food and helped clean up. Serving the food was my favorite part. Three times a day I served the campers and staff. So, three times a day I was able to see everyone's faces and get to know some of their name's because of their name tags. So, even though I wasn't a counsellor and was in the kitchen a majority of the time, I still got to know some of the campers. I love all the kids that came. They all were precious!!

I know I would have been really lonely stuck in the kitchen all day if Carolina and Jonathan weren't working in there as well. Carolina works for Mrs. Gail, and Jonathan mostly does jobs outside but helped serve and clean up. I got to know them both by working with them and they are both just grand!! I also met some great girls in my room, both counsellors and campers.

Between breakfast and lunch Mrs. Gail gave me about an hour and thirty minute break where I usually went back to my room and read my Bible and journaled a bit most of the time (I am addicted to journaling.)

After lunch I helped in the snack shack, which I really enjoyed. The snack shack is a little building full of snacks, candies and drinks where I helped Carolina work the "cash registers." (I put that in quotations because there were no cash registers but we worked with the money.) The little thing quickly filled up with campers ready to purchase something. I enjoyed it...

Between that and dinner and after dinner I was free to do whatever. I enjoyed doing different things: watched the kids fish, tried my hand at some archery, went canoeing with Carolina (that was fun), took a walk, danced with Austen (to praise music), talked to the kids, watched any special activities, slipped into chapel (I was only able to do that once, but the message really spoke to me), took a nap, journaled, took a little swim in the lake, and I even had the privilege to go to Carolina's house one day (I love that girl!).

Wednesday we had a shaving cream war. That was sooo much fun!!! Ahh, I loved it. Austen was helping Jonathan and I in the kitchen that afternoon and we were rushing furiously to get it clean so we could participate in time. Thankfully we did. Jonathan (great guy and great friend) got us there fast by driving us down to the field in the golf cart.

Basically, everyone was handed a can of shaving cream and in a marked off area everyone sprayed each other and whatnot until not one person was left unconvered. So, random people were spraying and slapping shaving cream on each other. After that, they had an slip n' slide. I didn't have the nerve to do that...

This picture is of Leslie and I. The fun wasn't even over when we took this pic ---------->

Rinsing off was torture as the water was freezing!! The camp has a tradition that if you don't scream you are part of the "polar bear club." Guess I am now a part of the club :-) It was so funny because as I was walking off Alex (my fishing buddy) called me and goes, "Brooke! Don't forget that the polar bear club rules," and gives me a high fist. LOL--I couldn't help to laugh.

We had a very worshipful time at the campfire Friday night and it really touched me. I don't think I could properly describe it...Slowly and quietly each person in the dark walked to the campfire on a path lit by candles. Once at the campfire kids one by one gave their testimony as they felt led. That was really special. After that we had an lovely time of talking to God Himself. Oh, it was amazing!! Each person took turns as they felt led to tell God one of His attrobutes by saying, "God you are ----." It was beautiful and I know it must have blessed God's heart. Everyone kept going around describing something God is.

God, you are love.

God, you are my Shepherd.

God, you are merciful.

God, you are my joy.

God, you are unchanging.

God, you are powerful.

God, you are forgiving.

God, you are faithful.

God, you are my rock.

God, you are the only thing worth living for.

It kept going on and on and on and on. He's undescribable! Oh, it touched me so much just to know what a great God we serve. I could strongly feel His presence and I was very humbled of how wonderful He is. I will never forget that night.

We then sang praises to the Lord. Anyone (again as they felt led) would start a song and everyone else would join in.

The last part of the campfire was real significant to me. It was a time of surrender. You picked up a pinecone (which represented something in your life) out of a bucket then you threw it onto the campfire as a symbol of letting it go. I knew exactly what the Lord wanted me to surrender, something that I had been wreshling with through most the week at camp. But that's just between Him and myself :-) I threw the pinecone unto the fire and watched it burn until it turned to dark ashes. It is His now. It was hard but I know that He knows best.

I know the kids must have learned a lot last week. The main message was about the two greatest commandments: loving God and loving others. The missionary taught about having a full heart for God, not an empty or half-hearted one. It was so neat because I only had the privilege to sit in on one chapel messages but what the man spoke I knew God was teaching me as I had read the same verse he referred to that very morning. I could feel God basically tugging on my heart the whole week at camp.

I am very thankful that I was able to be a part of this camp last week in some way. This post was just a short summery of my week. Man I had a blast despite the hard work in the kitchen. I am so grateful I was able to go!!

Thank you to all who prayed for me. God is good!

Hopefully I will write more at a later time. Below is a slide show :-)

God bless.

~Miss Brooke~

Beach Vacation Photos

Click here to read of our trip last year


Brooke2008