she said it best.

2010 was a quite a year.
I've been wondering how to put it all into words.
I just read a blogpost from Maddie Helman that sums it up perfectly.

2010,
you and I had a wonderful, maddening relationship. From the very start I knew you would be a tough one to hang on to. Through the year you made me cry, laugh, smile, rejoice, miserable and persevere. You were the year that taught me the most about myself, about others and about the God that I serve. You made me see, through more bad times than good, that God is the one that will never let me down, even when you find it easy to leave me hanging on for dear life by my bloody hands. You, 2010, showed me that I can get through whatever stumbling block in front of me. There were many times, 2010, that I wanted to give up on you all together. Never has a year been so cruel to me. But I knew that I couldn’t let go of you because you weren’t done teaching me things. This past year with you, in the 17th year of my life, was one that I will be reliving for the rest of my life. Many years have gone by and I haven’t had such a close bond to them as I have with you, 2010. I thank you for helping me overcome so many things and see that the people I lost and the people I gained were a gift from God to help me make it through this past year. You have helped me see the potential that my future holds, if I rely completely on my God and leave my plans out of it. I am glad to see our relationship come to an end, 2010, but know that I am so much stronger for having known you. Please tell 2011 to make this next year not so much of a rollercoaster; you made me feel carsick a lot 2010. I need a smoother ride this next year. Thanks for all you gave and took away from me this year, I can’t wait to meet my new friend 2011.



swak,



Madeline Kay (Eden Christine)

You Are More: Tenth Avenue North

There's a girl in the corner


With tear stains on her eyes

From the places she's wandered

And the shame she can't hide



She says, "How did I get here?

I'm not who I once was.

And I'm crippled by the fear

That I've fallen too far to love"



But don't you know who you are,

What's been done for you

Yeah don't you know who you are



You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.



Well she tries to believe it

That she's been given new life

But she can't shake the feeling

That it's not true tonight



She knows all the answers

And she's rehearsed all the lines

And so she'll try to do better

But then she's too weak to try



But don't you know who you are?



You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.



You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.



'Cause this is not about what you've done,

But what's been done for you.

This is not about where you've been,

But where your brokenness brings you to



This is not about what you feel,

But what He felt to forgive you,

And what He felt to make you loved.



You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.



You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.



You've been remade

You've been remade.

You've been remade.

You've been remade.

Renewal '10 Tweets

Over the weekend I got the chance to lead at GSM's middle school retreat, Renewal. It was an absolutely incredible experience!! So many lives changed! During that time I made a note of stuff that i thought was 'tweet worthy' and decided to save it for until i got home...

Friday:
Bus 2!! The Hannah Montana songs have already begun!

Hahaha i love that most of the bus knows this song, 'Hide your kids, hide your wife...'

No promises, if I've got gas, I've got gas. ---- Megan Stevens. (This also sparked Ninja Farts)

Finally made it!!!

Camp Geneva has the nicest cabins I've ever been in.

Session one begins NOW!! Seth Bible is in the house!!!

JUMP!

Epic night games... Underground church. Will you find your pastor?

'I'm morally against showering.' 'Not this weekend.'

Nearly 1am and getting ready to head to bed, excited for what tomorrow holds!!

Saturday:

Abi laughs and talks a lot in her sleep... we may have been making fun of her a little bit...

Session 2!!! LIFT!!!!

Whats up rain, we aren't scared??

Dodgeball champs, yaaaaa orange team!!!

DC: 'How'd you hurt your pinky?' Me: 'Playing the Korea game.' DC: 'You should probably stay in America from now on...'

PickerUp ThrowEm Shield time!!!

Session 3!!! FRESH START: leave it all on the cross.

Amazing session, so many lives changed!!!!

Emmi Meyer has nicknamed the Celebration Center 'The Nursing Home' lots of injuries!

We dont need a camp fire to have smores... we just bring in 3 microwaves!!

'What did you do to your ankle?' Emmi: 'Oh, I stepped on a spider..............................'

Sunday:

Took me about 5 years to get out of bed this morning..... and about 5 more to wake up our girls!

ORANGE TEAMS WINS!!!!!

On the bus on the way home... I like watching people figure out how to sleep on buses. It's quite humorous!

20 minutes away from home!!! Get ready @gccwired, here come 200 middle schoolers!!!

Legacy

The first GSM of the school year DC pulled all the seniors together and talked to us about this word legacy. He said that we have a big impact on how this year goes and then he asked this question, what legacy do you want to leave with this ministry and these students when you graduate at the end of this year? I've been thinking a lot about legacy lately. How many people I come into contact with in a day and the impact that I could have on them. As I begin to lead a small group of sixth grade girls this idea weighs heavy on my heart. I'm far from perfect, but I want to be a good example of Christ to these students. I cannot do this on my own though. Because on my own... I am nothing. I need God to be in every step I take and word I say this year to make the biggest impact possible. I also need people around me that are lifting me up, encouraging me, and challenging me to become a better person. I can't be the best leader I can be if I am only reaching out and helping others, without being fed spiritually myself. Which is something that challenges me a lot. I hardly ever just sit and listen. There's a story in the bible about Martha and Mary. Long story short, Mary was the one sitting at Jesus' feet soaking up every word he said while Martha was in the kitchen preparing a meal. And at one point she comes out and tells Jesus to tell Mary to come help her because she is by herself doing all the work. And Jesus says to her, ""Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it's the main course, and won't be taken from her." Mary was doing the most important thing at that point. She was listening to her father's words. I want to be the kind of leader that sees a need and and jumps in to fill it, but also the kind of the leader that doesn't become too busy with seemingly important tasks that I miss things that God is trying to tell me.

College

Like any senior, I've been thinking about college. A lot. What I want to study, applying for scholarships, getting ready to make big life altering decisions. And as all of this weighs heavily on my mind, I keep wondering where all the time is going. Days keep going faster and faster and faster. So, the other day as I was reading mt bible and doing some journaling I was reminded to just sit a breathe for a while. Not worry about my plans for the day, the week, the month. Just sit and enjoy the moments that I have to be with my family, to hang with my brother and sister. Because soon enough those moments will become fewer and farther between. Because of the kind of person I am, I tend you get in the mind set of one thing, like tunnel vision and I forget everyone else and everything else that is going on around me. But it so incredibly important for me to sslllllooooowwwww down. I don't want to miss things, or opportunities because I'm too focused on later instead of here and now. There is absolutely no point to me being anxious about what tomorrow will bring.

Matthew 6:30-33 If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.


34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

I love when this passage says 'What i'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving.' This is so convicting for me, and as I am continually faced with decisions this year, I pray that God will help me to turn it over to him and to realize that I am not gaining anything by worrying.

10,000+

Friday night was the mishawaka-penn football game. It was basically the biggest game of the year. Tons and tons of people were there, parking was a nightmare, people were walking for 15 minutes just to get to the stadium, then standing in line for another 20 just to get in. Someone told me that there were 10,000+ people there. WOW. It is crazy to me that that many people were willing to go through that much just for a football game. The 1st thought that came to my mind when I heard this statistic was this... What does this game have that so many people are drawn to it? The 2nd was... What could a church do that would make their service and encountering Jesus so electrifying that people would park 1/4 mile away, walk in the cold, and stand the whole service because they just want to be a part of it and see what God is up to??

I don't really know how a church could do this... but it's something that I am passionate about finding an answer to.

Riley.

I just officially met Riley Vandervoorde over the summer at Camp Adventure.. but ask anyone, I stalked him before that. (and still do...) He is seriously one of the coolest kids I know. And as a freshman at Penn he has already made more of an impact that I probably made over all 4 years. He's also hilarious.

I have lunch with Riley every other day with a bunch of other gsm friends. So today, we were talking and Riley told us a story...



"When I went to Little School, errrr Elementary school, I used to think that when the teacher was taking attendance before class started and she would call everyones name and the girls would raise their hands and say "Present!" I thought they said that because they thought that they were a present to the class. And i found out that I was wrong... last year." Ohhh Riley, you're so cool. Haha we all got a good laugh out of that. Riley also wants to be a pastor, which is AMAZING!! If you don't know him... you probably should, just sayin. Riley, you're awesome buddy. Glad to call you a friend!!!!