Series of Little Posts #3

Friday (yesterday) was our last day working at McDonald's and at the beginning of the summer I thought that I would LOVE this day, but as it came, I found myself dreading it. It was definitely a challenge but was so good for me. We were able to get close to so many of our coworkers and two of them (Melissa and Nate) even reevaluated their lives and have began to life for Christ again. The other day I walked to the room where you take drive through orders and take money and one of the two, Nate, was back there memorizing verses. He said that he had seen us doing it and realized what a great use of time that was and seemed very excited about it. God did so many amazing things this summer at work and it was just so sad to leave. Here's some pictures...

Me and Nate

Me, Mary and Melissa

Kait and the Nuggets!

Me and Ovet

Roomies and Goodbye Cake

Me and Brenda

Series of Little Posts #2

We found out a couple of days ago that we will be leaving project this summer a day earlier than every one thought or what was planned. This caused me to really think about all that has happened this summer and the things that I will truly miss as I go home but also what I am looking forward to when I get home. So here they are..

Things I'll Miss...
1. The intense community with the Body of Christ.
2. My room mates and the accountability that they have given me this summer.
3. My brother and the ways we have gotten closer this summer.
4. The beach.
5. The learning times that we have been provided almost every night.

Things I'm Excited for Again...
1. Being back with all the people that I love.
2. Getting to implement all that I have learned into daily life at home.
3. Getting to share the Lord in real life situations.
4. Getting to see the new house all set up.
5. Having free time again.

Series of Little Posts #1

An Analogy that was given to me a couple of weeks ago...

After a long run one day, I went down to the beach, listened to my music, and just looked at the creation on the ocean. At this time, I had been really struggling with realizing that my childhood house would be moved out of when I got home and that we would be in a new house. This just felt like one of the comforts of my life was being stripped away and there were also other things going on that added to this feeling as well. As I was standing on the beach this analogy came to my mind and has truly been a blessing...

Standing in the Sand

As you stand barefoot on the beach, at first your footing is very solid, but as the waves come crashing up, the sand underneath you gets pulled out. This leaves you feeling very uncomfortable and many times one would take a step to gain solid ground again. The thing is that although it is uncomfortable for awhile, eventually the waves cover your feet with sand leaving you in a much more solid and 'guarded' place to stand.

This is like life. As we stand in life and the waves of God's love and discipline crash upon us, we might feel as though we are losing all of the security that we once had and want to try to stand in a new spot or move on to something else to try to get solid footing. The thing is, that if we just wait to the Lord to finish His work and stick out the uncomfortable times in life, we will end up being in a more solid and 'guarded' place by holding on to Christ.

At the beginning...

After the waves of life...

A couple of dates!

Every week this summer, a guys' rooms has the opportunity to ask a different girls' room out on a date and plan it for them. We have been asked on three so far and had LOVED them.

#1- The Laundry Mat Date: We were taken to a laundry mat on our first date. The guys had taken our laundry earlier on that day and were beginning it when we got there. They also had supper set up for us and flowers for each of us. After dinner we had dessert, played charades, got in the dryers, and just just played around. Then we went back to the hotel and did some intense swing dancing and were even taught some flips and such. It was so much fun just to see the guys be very creative and enjoy treating us to a fun date.

#2- Mellow Mushroom and Put Put: This week the guys took us to Mellow Mushroom, which is wonderful pizza restaurant and just sat for a long time and got to know each other better. It was great to talk to some of the guys that I had never talked to before. After dinner we went to a put-put course and played mini golf. This course wasn't just a normal course but was quite difficult and had plastic life size animals all over it. This made it super fun to take pictures at. :)

#3- Back at the Hotel: This night the guys' room decided to stay back at the hotel. They grilled us salmon, asparagus, and made rice. The food was INCREDIBLE! Then we all made bracelets and had to put some sort of a meaning into what we made. I put the word secured on mine and a fish because lately I have been greatly reminded of how we are secured in Christ and even when we wiggle around (a.k.a. sin or do things against Him) He still holds us and doesn't let us go. Then we played a game and made homemade ice cream sandwiches. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures but I'm sure you can figure out on your own that we really enjoyed this date as well.

Life in Florida...

So here’s a random little update about various things that have been going on in my life for the last couple of weeks.

McDonald’s has been INCREDIBLE! First of all… It’s hard. We work SO hard and I get so tired working there. So never complain at any fast food restaurant ever again. I have been doing the first window for drive through a lot but then also filling the drinks for the drive through, handing out the food in the drive through, and front counter register. It has been very humbling and my patience has also been tested many times. But God has been moving through me and my roommates there in awesome ways. Three of our coworkers are coming to our meetings every week and are very hungry for the Lord. And Friday, another one of our coworkers told me that she just bought a Bible and really wants to read it and learn about some stuff. We have also been able to have great conversations with a ton of other coworkers and just have really gotten to know them. God is faithful and has really shown me the importance of carrying the gospel wherever I go and relying on Him.

Also, we have had some great hang out/social times. One of them was a scavenger hunt where we were split into teams and all had to dress up. Our team dressed up like bikers and then we all had to run all over Panama City and do all these different activities. Here’s some pictures.

My roommates all dressed up!

I also had the blessing of being able to go out to supper with Matthew the other day and just had some great conversation. We actually don’t see each other very much at all and have hardly talked so this was so great. I loved getting this time with him and just being able to share our lives with each other for a little bit.

And last but not least, God has been teaching me some incredible things since I have been down here. Some of them are: His divine plan, His control, His strength, the power of the gospel, and also that He will never bless us beyond what we can handle. I think that the last one is a big one for me because I often can’t figure out why God takes so long in answering my prayers or what I think that I need in my life. But in reality He sees the big picture and knows that if He were to give me certain things, there could be consequences that I can’t see or they could cause me to sin in new ways as well. This has been a hard thing to wrap my head around, but very worth it. God has the ultimate plan and He understands what is best even when it doesn’t match what we think is best.

I miss you all and I REALLY miss Iowa and the beauty and smallness of it. It truly is a blessing even you don’t see it. I can’t wait to see you soon!

A realization...

So tonight I realized that one of my biggest fears is being in front of people when what I am doing is unplanned. It's kind of funny because I have NO fear when I know what I am doing and have practiced it, but whenever it's improv of any sort, I FREAK OUT! I realized this when we were playing a trivia game and every so often we had to have a person from our team go up to the front and do some sort of improvisation. I never had to do this but I still was so scared. SO... random new fact about Amy for ya... :)

Forts, Sunburns, Roomies, Mickey D's...

FORTS- So this last week has held SO many new sweet experiences. To start, before our room got the bunks in it, the mattresses were delivered. So me and my room leader, Mary Griffith, who by the way is AMAZING, decided to make a fort out of all the mattresses and sleep in it. It was so much fun and a great bonding experience. Mary is a very gentle, genuine woman of Christ but at the same time has her wild and crazy side which makes her so easy to be around and we instantly clicked. I am so excited to get to know her more throughout the summer and grow with her.

The Finished Product

Paige, a girl in my apartment, and Mary creating the fort

Mary and I in the fort

SUNBURNS- I have also acquired some sweet tan lines since being here in Florida. My first one was on the third day here and I had just gotten some new spray sunscreen. But for some reason my bottle was dysfunctional and spraying a straight line of sunscreen instead of a mist, so I got all these spots of it on my back. I rubbed it in but it must not have worked because all these white dots appeared later on in the day and people thought that I had a skin disease or something. It was funny.

And then today I sat outside for like 5 hours with a bunch of people in my swimming suit, tank top, and shorts. It was a gloomy day so I didn’t put sunscreen on but I sure should have because I now have sweet tan lines on both my shoulders and legs. It’s amazing.

My sunburn :)

ROOMIES- Since my last post I have also met me two other roommates for the summer. Their names are Kait Erhard and Lindsey Dolph. So far we have gotten along amazingly and I am so excited to get to know them more. Kait is CRAZY and always talking which makes for some sweet times. She has a ton of energy and is always doing something, but also loves having quality talks and sharing her heart. Lindsey is so sweet and is a little crazy in her own way too. She has a great heart for the Lord and is so willing to serve others and encourage them in any way. They both are very athletic and go to North Georgia University. All four of us; Mary, Kait, Lindsey, and I; work at McDonald’s together and that has been so good. We have had some great times and I am so excited just to be able to serve, encourage, and love on them all summer.

My roommates- Mary, Lindsey, Kait, and Me

MICKEY D’S- And as I just mentioned, I am working at McDonald’s this summer. It is quite challenging actually and I now know that not anyone can work at McDonald’s. It takes skill and is so much harder than it looks. Never take those people for granted anymore and never complain to them. They work SO hard. So far it has been great and I have been able to begin creating some great relationships with my coworkers. One older lady, Terry, is so sweet. She looks like she’s gone through a ton of troubles in her life. She wrecked her car in March so she walks home from work every day. We have offered her a ride, but she is just very humble and hasn’t taken us up on it yet. She is one that you all can pray for this summer. I am excited to see how God’s going to work in her life.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST… I have started to get a bit of a southern accent I have noticed. Not much but a few words here or there. It’s crazy how easy it is so pick up. Kinda fun though! And more pictures are to come on this post, but I just don’t have them on my computer right now. I hope life where ever you are is incredible!