Precious Trials

Hello darlings!

Well, the Winter Retreat is over ~ I am oddly enough flooded with joy and tears at the same time. I can't help but think how wonderful our God is... and how we were all able to experience Him in such a real way over the weekend. Something else that just tickled me... we ended up having 99 students at camp (since some had to cancel at the last minute).... and when I heard that we had 99 going to camp, the Lord threw Matthew 18:12-14 into my mind:

12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

How awesome is that? I just love how we can tie that to the youth group - and to our lives for that matter! So though we had an awesome Retreat and I would do it all over again in a second... I cannot wait for this Sunday to roll around and to minister to that 1 student who couldn't come on the retreat! Praise God for what He is going to do in the coming days! :)

Here are some Retreat pics:

(Sara & Liam)

(Josiah - always a ladies man)

(Our whole group - what an awesome site!)

(Cleaning the 9 inches of snow off our cars!)

(Joey during Praise and Worship)

In the meantime, I would like to share how our Beth Moore Bible Study is going. We have our first table of high school girls... and we are just loving the study of Esther! The main point of our Monday night lesson was that we become the women that God created us to be not inspite of the trials we go through... but because of them. It is taking everything I have inside of me not to put an exclamation mark at the end of every single sentence in this blog!! I titled this blog "Precious Trials" because though our trials may not be fun or enjoyable... they are indeed precious - they help mold us into the Christ-Centered Women that we desire to be!

I love you ladies!

-Susan Elaine

Retreatin' With Some New Tunes

Hello My Darlings!!!!

First off, I would like to point out the new tunes that I added to the blog- Some of my favorite songs in the world! I particularly love the first song... I just think it grasps how a woman (or young lady) should feel about her presence in God's kingdom.

Secondly, I would like to ask for prayers for this weekend... In T-minus 2 hours we will be leaving for our 180 Winter Retreat. The weather is extremely cold, and J.D. is up at the camp setting up even as we speak. We have been praying like crazy for the Lord to show up in all His majesty, and if you could pray that with us this weekend it would mean so much to us! Truly, we want this camp to be a time where everyone involved can refocus themselves and get back to the basics with our Lord and Savior. Thank you for your prayers, and I will post some pics of the weekend when we get back!

Serving an Amazing Savior,
Susan Elaine

Bringing in the New Year

Hello Ladies! Wow has the Lord been working like crazy already in 2009!

First off, I would like to start by saying that I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that Christ's Birth is shining on you more than ever before! Secondly, I would like to ask for quick prayer requests - My mom just went through a PET scan on New Years Eve to scan for cancer through the rest of her body... we haven't received the test results yet but we are actively praying for God's guidance and clear result. If you could also keep lifting my mom up as she has been pretty sick for over a year now and is so badly wanting to be better again.

Now... onto the good stuff...

Our first 180 of 2009 was amazing! Our students cam out and worshipped Him with all their energy - it was incredible to watch God moving through that sanctuary! It truly was a place of worship! :) We heard a message about living in the NOW and not missing the moments that God has given us to relish in 2009. JD and I am extremely excited about what God is going to do in 2009!

We were sitting up last night and doing our Bible study... and I wanted to share with you a little bit from what we gleaned:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lamentations 3:23-26

The first part of this verse is the verse that you will see at the very top of this blog, and the reason I love it so much my dears is because of how true it is. Sadly, we often think that we have to wait until January 1st, until the "New Year", to have a "new start"... but the truth is darlings that our LORD gives us a fresh start each and every morning - I love the Casting Crowns song as it states that He has removed our sins "as far as the east is from the west.... from one scarred hand to the other." What power there is in those words!!!

My prayer is that we will use this day as it is the only one that matters... and that in it we will know that the Lord is looking on us with fresh eyes, through the fresh blood of Jesus Christ!

I love you girls - get in the word. study hard. be blessed.

With Everything I Am,
Susan Elaine