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!!!!

The End... Sort Of

Since this school year has started I've had tons of people ask me how it feels to finally be a senior. I always say the same thing "You know, excited, can't wait to be done!" But inside I'm screaming, It can't be over, I just started high school!!!!! I was a little 14-year-old freshman like 2 days ago. Wondering around Penn High School figuring out the fastest way to get to Biology from lunch. I'm not ready to leave yet; slow down, give me a few minutes to catch my breath. I never share this information with anyone however because I like to appear composed and cool, like a mature senior in high school.
But straight up, 2 things scare me about the fact that I graduate in 8 months.
1. I can't figure out how in the world the time started going so fast!! When every physics and geometry class seemed to drag on for hours, but then suddenly the year was over. Then, suddenly summer was over and classes were starting again....
2. I'M ABOUT TO BE DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL. Like over, like I won't be coming back. I will walk out on the last day and never return as a student. Even as I write those words it doesn't seem real. But I have tons of college applications and a huge senior exit project packet to prove that fact.

If i get a chance, you know with all my busy senior things, I will write a post on highlights from every year of high school, but for now... I found a picture from all four years that I think you'd enjoy... warning... they're a little bit scary.

Freshman Year... mehhh braces.

Sophmore Year... still had braces, but LOVE this girl.

Junior Year... j-love!

Senior Year... so far.

Majesty.

1 Chronicles 16:27 --- Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.

Isaiah 24:14 --- They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD's majesty

Moments in life that bring me joy...

• Spending time with my family
• Times of worship
• Sunny days
• Reading the bible
• Watching my brother talk about Jesus with complete strangers
• Getting to be apart of Brax Vandervort's life.
• Seeing my sister grow older.
• Leading groups of students at camp, gsm, and journey classes.
• The opportunities in life that God gives me to shine for Him.

Today is the day that the Lord has made, let us REJOICE and be glad in it.

Here's a fun story.

Last summer was my first experience at CA. (camp adventure) I was picked to be a counselor without ever having been to camp before. I was SUPER excited but really nervous.  At the big sunday night meeting the day before the campers got there on monday, I found out that none of the 6 girls in my group went to Granger and all their ages were spread out; I had 2 6th graders, 2 7th graders, and 2 8th graders.  I was freaking. out. None of the older girls are going to listen to me, they're all going to hate camp, and go home and tell their parents that I was the worst counselor ever. wahh. Ha, ha, ha. I was so wrong.
After meeting my campers and their parents at check-in, still a little un-easy, we headed out to home in the woods.  Once I finally got all of their names down, it was all uphill.  Even though they didn't know eachother, suddenly they were all best friends.  The age difference didn't matter.  God comepletely came through, and live's were changed in huge ways. 
So, now to the point of this fun story.
One of the girls I had was going to be a freshman in high school when I had her as a camper. (i was only 2 years older than her) Her name is Jordyn.  Throughout the course of the week I got close with every single one of my campers, and I love them to death even to this day. 
Jordyn and I hit it off really well at camp, and after she left and I started to cry, that we'd be friends even after camp.  And now Jordyn is one of my best friends.  She came and visited me a month after camp, last december, and just a few weeks ago as well.  I love her so much, and i'm so blessed that I had the chance to meet such an amazing girl.

I've been a little busy....

This summer:

Vacation.

Birthdays.

TREE:

Chicago.

Camp Adventure.

Jordyn.

Weddings.

and breathe.....

What is camp...?

Camp is amazing.

Camp is life-changing.

Camp is a week of high energy excitement.

Camp is a chance I have to help 6 middle school girls stay on the path towards Christ.

Camp is a place where Jesus shows up.

I have been given the opportunity to serve as a counselor at Camp Adventure for the past two years. And those two weeks that I have been at camp have been some of the greatest weeks of my life.  I have built relationships with the other counselors I have been with, and I have grown so much closer to God.  Camp has taught me a lot about myself.... mainly, that I have limitations. That I can't do everything on my own.  And God can't take over fully until I admit that I fall short in some areas and let him take the wheel. I would be dumb to say that everything that has happened in the lives of the campers that I have had is because of me and my leadership.  God has allowed me to lead in this kind of setting, but there is no way that I have what it takes to do it on my own. And I don't have to.  Whenever I reach the point where I am at the end of my rope, and I don't feel like I have any more to give, thats exactly when God comes in and fills in the gaps that I leave.  I'm continually amazed at how much God changes lives at camp.  And I'm so excited for all the middle schoolers, and counselors that will continue to fill the camp for years to come.

Pray for Cassie

Cassie has been in Mexico for the entire month of June and was supposed to come back this weekend and head to camp on sunday.  But due to hurricaine Alex hitting Monterrey pretty hard she is stuck there longer then expected.  Please pray for not only for Cassie's safety, but for the safety of all the people in Monterrey.  Especially the ones who's homes are simply a dirt floor and a tarp.  And also Back2Back.  Flooding has created many large problems. As of now, we don't know when Cassie will be able to fly back, so please keep that situation in your prayers.

Chicago Tweets

I chose not to tweet anything about our trip while we were there because I wanted to stay focused on the task at hand.  But I made a mental note of some things that were for sure 'tweet worthy.'


Tuesday:

• On the road, Chicago, here we come!!!
• Just passed Navy Pier, we're getting close!
• Just got off the bus, time to feed the homeless.
• Met some really incredible people today, theire stories amaze me and their faith encourages me.
• Picture of Hampton on Dairy Queen cup??

Wednesday:

• Happy 50th Birthday, Dad!!
• Partnering with Blitz Build today to help build a house!
• Song on bracelets is the same as one of the songs in one of our devos, awesome!!!
• 'When I close my eyes.... all i see... is bricks.'
• Long day of good, hard work.
• 'I could stick it in my armpit for 5 seconds and it would still be just as good.'
•  Jeff Myers came up to the table at the food court with a blizzard and a soft pretzel.  He ate all of his icecream before the preztel, and we asked him why... thats what he said.
• Just lost power in the hotel!

Thursday:

• Little India today, visiting a Hindu Temple. Not sure what to expect.
• Our middle school students amaze me. They asked questions that even made the priest a little nervous.
• Just experienced a Satsong; an Indian worship serivce that praises and glorifies the One True God!!
• I love that our group got to end the Satsong by singing 'Our God.' So powerful!
• Scavenger hunt on Devon Street!
• Just ate an Indian dessert that tasted like french toast drenched in honey.
• Time for dinner and an Indian buffet!
• Red chicken?? Oh yeah.
• Singing Disney Channel show theme songs on the bus on the ride home; awesome.

Friday:

• Back to the house we started on Wednesday!
• The HUGE pile of bricks we started on Wednesday is dramatically smaller, yay team!!
• Just pulled a big tree out of the ground with our bare hands. Yeah buddy!
• Our team works together so well, we are incredibly blessed!!
• WHIRLY BALL!!!!!!!
• Everyone's comparing battle scares from whirly ball. :)
• Late night euchre games, it's fun just to watch!

Saturday:

• Heading downtown to prayer for the buildings and the people in them.
• Such a powerful way to end our week.
• It's hard to fathom the amount of people that are touched by the prayers prayed by our team today.
• My heart breaks for all the homeless that are here.
• Watching the end of US-Ghana game!! Come on US!!!!
• Saddened by US loss :(
• Giordanos for dinner, woohoo!!!
• Sears (errr Willis) Tower Skydeck!!
• 103 floors up, wow what a view!!

Sunday:

• Up early, heading to Willow Creek for church!!
• Just sayin, we have the sweetest team shirts EVER.
• Dani just sneezed and nailed her head on the counter at the cafe... may be the funniest thing i've seen in a while... or i might just be real tired.
• Love the worship here, Jesus is definitely doing amazing things in and through this church!!
• Today is Willow's baptism service and the last bit they played Amazing Grace and invited anyone who wanted to come to be baptizied.  I cry everytime Granger or anywhere else down this. So cool!!
• Lunch at Willow's food court!
• Last team debrief.
• On the bus heading back home!

I feel so incredibly blessed to have been a part of this mission trip.  The students floored me every single day with how mature they were and how they handled the situations that they were put in.  God did absolutely incredibly things through this team!! And we pray that our work would not end here but that God would use our prayers to go farther than we could ever imagine!

'Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done here!!'

'Hey Chicago, what do you say?? We're gonna show God's love today! We are the light to reach this place, so come on everybody let's show His grace!!!!'

follow our team on Chicago!!

after months and months of preparation the Chicago mission trip team leaves tomorrow morning.
we would love it if you would follow us on the team blog and leave us a note. if you leave a comment on a post, that night during debrief the team will read through the comments and we love hearing encouraging notes from family and friends :)

please keep us in your prayers, we are so excited to see everything that god has prepared for us!!!

gsmchicago.blogspot.com


'hey Chicago whatdaya say? we're gonna show gods love today!! we are the light, to reach this place, so come everybody let's show his grace!'

Chicagooooo!!

In 2 weeks,
6 days,
and 17 hours
I will be on a bus
with a group of 23 students and leaders on the way to go be Jesus in Chicago!!!!
We have been preparing for this trip since February.
We have played crazy games, worked, and prayed as a team.
God has placed each of us on this trip for a reason, and we are ready.

Please join us in prayer that we can make the biggest impact possible for the Kingdom of God.

"Go into all the world..."

Last summer was given the privilege of spending two entire weeks 
serving next to Cassie Hallam. At camp in June we were both 
counselors, and in July we both went to Mexico. I got to experience 
first hand her servant heart. After being in Mexico for a week Cassie 
really felt like God was calling her to more. So she applied to be an 
intern at Back to Back in Monterrey, Mexico for the whole month of June 
this year. So, in a little under a week Cassie will be on a plane 
headed down to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Cassie is one of my best friends. We are in a small group 
together and are more alike than most people I know. She challenges me 
in ways that not a lot of other people do. She's an absolutely 
incredible woman of God. I'm so proud of her that she is following the path 
that God has put her on to go somewhere that is pretty dangerous to be 
in right now. I'm asking you all to pray with me for the month 
that Cassie will be down in Mexico. For her safety, and that God would 
wrap his arms around her and that she would feel his love and 
protection around her all the time.

WE LOVE YOU CASSIE, AND WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU ALL THE TIME!!!

Reasons Why I love My Brother

-Well let's get the obvious out of the way first... he's a STUD.

-He can rock a pair of aviators like nobody's business.

-I scream for him as loud as possible at every sporting event he's in and he doesn't get embarrassed. (Not that it would stop me if it did embarrass him...)

-He watches Gilmore Girls with me.

-He worships God like crazy with everything in him.

-He plays Wii with me even though i'm really bad and he kicks my butt every single time.

-He talks to me even when he's around his friends.

-And probably the biggest reason I love my brother is because of this conversation he had with a girl at his school.
          Girl: Hey, why are you reading your bible?
          Christian: Why are you reading 'Twilight?'
          Girl: Cause it's a really good book, and I like it a lot!!!
          Christian: That's exactly what I read my bible.
          Girl: Oh...
Christian takes his Bible to school everyday, reads it when he has free time, and has even memorized some verses.  He inspires me.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH CHRISTIAN!!!

(Reasons why I love my sister... coming soon. for real.)

Goings On

So what's been happening...??
Let me show you.

I like to take pictures of flowers... especially in Chicago.

I've had several (meaning a million) Passion Fruit Iced Tea Lemonades. I have fallen in love.

I worshiped Jesus along side 11,000 people at a Hillsong United concert.

Beccah Sarah Rendall went to prom and she let me do her hair! It looked amazing!!! Love her!

Oh yeah... her dress was pretty sweet too! :)

And I spent an evening with some of my best friends jumping around, getting wet from waves, and laying in a tent on the beach at 9:00pm... oh how i love those nights.

life. is. good.

I'm Not in Florida.

It's cold, and wet, and a little snowy. Ughhhh so frustrating!! So I'm  here, and with about 1,000 blogs floating around in my head, ready to write about everything, or nothing, either way here we go. 

What's been goin' down? Not a whole lot.
Can't believe we're so close to the end of the school year. I'm startig to get that anxious, heart racing, "everything counts so give it all you got," kind of feeling.  Heather, Mr. Stevens, and I are heading down to Taylor University for a visit tomorrow!! We're reeeealllllyyyy excited about it!!!! And so the infamous college search begins...

This past Friday I was in the Windy City with some friends for the day.  We walked Navy Pier, went to a great Italian restaurant, walked more, and rode the Ferris Wheel at night, which was absolutely amazing. 
(Pictures to follow...)

I celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Palm Sunday and Easter services at Granger were incredibly amazing; if you weren't able to be there, go online to gccwired.com and watch them.  They'll change your life, serisouly. 

Though Spring Break has been a nice change of pace... I'm kind of ready to be back to a normal schedule.  Because once we go back to school, the closer we get to summer. And that makes me happy!! :)
Plus, I have missed my GSM friends like CRAZYY!!!!

This is all for now... and to make up for the lack of pictures in this post... my entire next post will be all pictures. Get excited!! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by.

Bye for now.

Amazing Song...

Picture This....

This Car with the windows rolled down...

+ This Family pulling up to a stop light...

Rockin' out to this christian rap artist...

With the bass booming.

= Awesome.

Authentic Worship

But the time is coming-it has, in fact, come - when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.  It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.  Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of ttruth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.

John 4:23

So now: Fear God.  Worship him in total commitment. God rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped. You, Worship God.

Joshua 24:14

My life is pretty darn good...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article7054630.ece

These people are my heroes.

"Survivors told The Times that entire families were killed, some to the chants of Allahu Akbar — God is Greatest."

That's how I want to be remembered... I want to leave this earth singing praises to God.

God, help me not to take for granted the life you've given me. 

Somebody's always watching....

(My group of girls at the middle school Renewal retreat)

DC has said at leader's meetings time and time again, "You're never 'off." Meaning, that you're never not a leader.  Someone is always watching every move you make.  Leadership is not something that you "turn on" when you come to middle school GSM or to a Wednesday middle school journey class or to Camp Adventure.  And then "turn off" once you go home.  There will undoubtedly always be someone watching you when you're at the mall with your friends, or at school.  So, if this is true, than what do people see?  Do you act differently when you're not in the "church atmosphere?"  Would you be embarrassed if a 6th grader heard you talking to a friend from school, or saw a text you sent? Being in leadership is probably the hardest yet most rewarding thing to do. Take time to think about what the people that are watching you see when they look at your life outside of church...

1 Peter 4:10

10 As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.

Peace

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."  --- Francis Chan: Crazy Love

Support System

It's better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, but if there's no one to help, tough!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

When life happens, and the weight of the world is on your shoulders, it's important to have people you can count on.  People just to talk to, who might not even have all the answers but are there to listen.  And though sometimes we go through rough patches, I love these girls and know that they would do anything for me.  Who do you have in your life that doesn't care what you've been through or where you are but just wants to make the hard situations in your life easier?

Joy

There have been a few moments in my life that stick out...

The moment we turned on to that amazing dirt road before arriving at Camp Adventure.

 The moment we landed in Mexico.

 The moment that Jordyn arived in my driveway.

The moment right before I start to dance.

The moment I saw the "Welcome to the Sunshine State" sign.

The moment I was baptized.

I got to thinking about all of these moments, and a million others, and I realized that during them all I had the same feeling.  Honest, pure, authentic, indescribable joy.  There's a verse in the bible that says, "Every good and perfect thing comes from God." In all of those moments, God was there.  God loves to see his children happy. And if he is happy whenever any of us are happy, he must have a lotta joy goin on!  And even in the moments where I am down in a valley, and crying out to God, I know he's there to.  In every moment, the amazing, or the not so great.  He's never going to leave; more faithful than a brother.  You can't shake him off, no matter how hard you try. He cares about you, he cares about me. 

God, show me how to love like you love.