a glimpse of the kingdom

this week has been insane! i got to take my first senior skip day... let me tell you its amazing. just a day to throw my feet back and relax. but i also took it because i got to go to busch gardens with my best friend and his family and we didnt get back until late Sunday night. Let me just tell you it was my first time being on a rollercoaster since elementary school. you know when people say there stomach was in there mouth... after something scary. not only was i petrified and could barely walk after apollos chariet, i also didnt even think i had a stomach.. going down that 90 degree drop i literally thought i was going to die. lololololol but i had such an amzing time. and got the crap scared out of me thanks to hallow-sceam... thanks to it i can safely say i have slept with all my lights on every night. hahahaha. i also got to see my sweet va beach and chesapeake friends and it was just so great to just hang out with them.

Today was a great day. its funny for the past two days i have just been hit with the transition between being confronted with my flaws, and seeing how i can just give them up to the Lord and go into a time of thanksgiving. I am just so greatful for this. because these past few weeks have been hard. it has broke down many walls in my own heart that i didnt even know were up. I realized how self centered, and prideful i am and it has just been really cool to see how the Lord takes my flaws and turns them into His masterpiece.

Today i got an amazing opportunity to hang out with one of my new special needs friends from school that is in graphics while i am in photo. He is awesome, today we got to go take pictures around the school for his graphics project. it was the first time he has ever held a camera and got to take the pictures he wanted to take. at first he took a picture here and there and then all of a sudden it was click click click click click. He started laughing and just pointing the camera at whatever he wanted and just clicked away. The whole time he had the biggest grin on his face, and was having the greatest time ever. He started running up and down the hallways and his aide kept saying i have never seen him so happy. i had an amazing time just seeing how happy taking pictures made Shaheem. in this i saw the Lord. i saw the Lord in Him and giving him joy alot of high school students dont have these days. Shaheem is full of life. and its amazing.

later tonight i got to sit and talk with three of my closest friends about real stuff. about following Christ and how our hearts feel. I am so fortuneate to have this every wednesday night. we have been meeting since the end of my sophomore year and i just cant even tell you how much the Lord has worked through our own hearts, and in each others lives. as i sit here and write this my heart just swells because i am just so blessed to have them in my life keeping me on track and pursuing me in the Lord.

tonight we talked about the Kingdom of Heaven and what it looks like to us.

I cannot wait to get to the Kingdom. One time becs was talking and she was saying that once we get to heaven every kid that we have walked through life with, every kid that we have felt called to, every kid that we loved on for Christ, we will get to wrap our arms around them and bring them home. the kingdom to me is going to be with all my closest friends, all the kids that i have walked throuh life with, my family, everyone sitting at this table (kind of like that classic movie huge thanksgiving table like where the whole family is there eating and is so happy to be with each other you know?) eating dinner with the Lord. I imagine that were going to get to sit there with our Father and have no more pain, were going to have no more fear, and we are just going to have extreme joy, and life, and love. Its going to be the best. i imagine that the Lord is going to come up to me and were going to finally get to be together. when i think of heaven i think of the Lord my dad and i just going to get to go the the field and hit some softballs around. i just cant even wait.

i get chills just thinking about it. but the Kingdom doesnt have to wait. the Kingdom is here now. Jesus is already here. He is living in us and the Kingdom is here. we no longer have to hold back, we no long have to hide because Christ is here. high school is a dark place but Christ is there. the kingdom is there. Christ goes with us to our jobs, our homes, our colleges... everywhere he is there. The kingdom is there. dont just wait for the kingdom because it is right infront of us. live like you are living in the kindom everyday. just like my friend shaheem, he found it. i believe with all my heart that Shaheem has found it. he has found where there is life.

have you?

home sweet home.

oh my gosh seriously i am so sorry i havent posted in so long. basically my life has been so crazy lately i havent had time to slow down. but right now i just got home from a day trip to DC and im WIDE AWAKE!!!! ahhhh school should be fun tomorrow lololololol.

well to start out idk what the heck has been up with me lately but following the Lord at school has been extremely difficult. but you know this is a process and im just trying to figure out how to follow Christ through this crazy life. (:

well anyways this past weekend i had some incredible people come down to visit. the kids that came down were from my work crew and we just had a blast... well i know i did lololol if you dont know what work crew is its where high schoolers volunteer a month of their summer at a younglife camp and serve kids that are going to camp. Work crew was one of the most amazing things i have been able to be apart of and i am so so so thankful for what the Lord has provided me through that. For my work crew we were only working for 2 weeks up at Rockbridge. its about an hour and half away from here. and seriously Rockbridge is home to me. I have actually never been to any other younglife camps. fun fact of the day (: 

but Rockbridge is what i consider home in Middle school i realized that following the Lord is what i was created to do there at Rockbridge. that week i felt Christ love for me way down in the depths of my heart for the first time. also at Rockbridge i met my two best friends tyler and tommy. we were the three kids that were always at club on friday nights and we just decided at camp one day that we wanted our friends to expirience the same thing we were expiriencing so from then on we have been best friends chasing after our other friends to come to club. then i also went with my two of my best friends for summer camp going into junior year. Becca our leader talked to me and hans about really just chasing after the girls that were going to be in our cabins. just laying it all down for Christ and chasing our hearts out for these girls. so all three of us buckled down and gave it our all. we lived every moment by Matthew 10:39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. and by the end of the week i had seen the Lord do HUGE things through my own life, and my friends lives, and just about everything. That week was one of the best weeks of my life. Because of that week i realized that attempting to chase after Christ and my friends was not a crazy far fetched idea, but it could be a reality. Later that fall i was given the opportunity to lead a cabin at fall weekend full of sophomore girls and a few freshman at Rockbridge. This is where i knew this is what the Lord was calling me to do for the rest of my life. my heart was so broken for the girls who didnt know Christ. and i just fell in love with Christ using me to chase after His lost Children. at Rockbridge Christ called me to the Younglife ministry and i will never forget that. but now to this previous summer. i was able to go back to that beloved place, Rockbridge, and serve kids coming to camp behind the scenes as a laundry girl for two weeks. i met some of my now best friends that i have no doubt in my heart that i will walk with them through life every single day. work crew was one of the best things that has ever happened to me and i will always cherish it in my heart and i am just so blessed to have these incredible people surrounding me as i walk with the Lord.

but this weekend was different. this weekend wasnt at Rockbridge but at my own home. the fellowship, and love, and friendship are all still the same even though we are not in Rockbridge. and it made me realize that Rockbridge isnt just in Virginia, but its in each of our hearts going with us out into the world. But heres the thing Rockbridge wouldnt be so special if it wasnt for Jesus. It wouldnt feel like home if it wasnt for Jesus. Work Crew would have never worked if it wasnt for Jesus. And because of Jesus working through each of these things we are now able to take Rockbridge to others. Even if they arent at camp. Rockbridge is just a tool for Jesus to bring kids back home. but He is the real reason why Rockbridge is so special.

Jesus isnt just a person who came here and did cool miracles that we still talk about today. Jesus is a person who died so that He could know you personally, and so that you could be free.

sweet ohians. and joel... he's from scotland 

all of us at my house for a quick photo op

right before everyone left

alot of the work crew couldnt make it this weekend and we missed you all terribly. i cannot wait till were all reunited again. i am constantly praying for all of you and i miss you terribly. you are all incredible people and i am so lucky to have you a part of my life. keep chasing after the Lord as hard as you do because the Lord shines so brightly through each and every single one of you. one thing we talked about this weekend was that work crew doesnt just have to exsist with our group, it doesnt just exsist at Rockbridge. getting a group like this one it can happen anywhere. with your friends at home, your family. anywhere. Jesus can do HUGE things through just some people trying to chase after Him. He CAN bring groups of people together to make a big difference. dont ever stop believing in His mighty power.

i love you all.

hp

family ties

this weekend i got to get away. i needed to get away from my busy life and just have the opportunity to slow down and find myself. i needed time to see what the Lord has done in my own life. i think alot of times we get so caught up in the rush of our lives and we forget to slow down and take care of ourselves. also it was homecoming weekend in Blacksburg so i took the opportunity to get as far as i could away from that. hahahaha homecoming isnt really my thing i would much rather be spending my time in the mountains, in a little town called Independence. so i got in my car friday after school and headed to Independence.

Independence is a little town that only has two stop lights, it used to only have one but in the past five years have put in another one. i love it here. i love small towns and the culture that lies in the people. i love sitting in a resturaunt with my family and everyone that walks in knows you. i love how a brief hello turns into a ten min conversation of how your week has gone. my mom grew up here so most of the time i am introduced as Marquetta's oldest daughter and then that proceeds to awww i remember when you were this big. (indecating the last time they saw me i was the size of an umpa loompa) i keep starting sentences with i love. but i really cant even resist because my heart literally has fallen in love with small little town and longs to be a part of it.

i see Christ in this town so much. i see how people genuinely care about the individual, and i see how they see the importance of family. i see Christ moving in the deepest most inner parts of people here. wheather or not they believe, Christ is so evident and reminds me how no matter where we are in our walks with Christ He is with us always. Here there is no concept of time. There is no "were going to be late" and no "hurry up" its all at everyones own convinence.

here everyone is family.  which has taught me so much of what the body of Christ looks like. recently i have been reading "Kings Cross" by Tim Keller. he says "to gorify others means to unconditionally serve them, not because we're getting anything out of it, just because of our love and appreciation for who they truly are." i know i forget this almost everyday. serving becomes such a chore, and i forget that i am not serving a stranger, but someone who is part of my family in Christ. i am not serving them just because they are lost. but because of how Christ has chosen every single one of us to be a part of the HUGE family. this family does not just consist of our friends and our relatives, but people we have never met. people that are of different ethnicities, and different cultures. they live on different continents, and in different countries. when i look at the people around me i shouldnt see a stranger, but a brother, or a sister.

but even though Independence is a wonderful small town there is still hardship here. people still struggle with what everyone else in the world struggles with. people here are still lost. they are still searching for something that will give them life. and i pray for them. i pray my heart out that they will eventually see the Lord. i pray for the kids that go to school here, i pray that they know that there is a huge world out there waiting for them. i pray that one day they will see the love here in this town, that they will remember how one person took the time out of there day to see how they were doing, and know that it was Christ.

my heart has been renewed this weekend. Christ reminded me of how much i love showing people how much He cares for them, and how much He loves them. i was reminded of how i am called to serve my brothers and sisters back in Blacksburg. and yes it is hard. and somedays i am over whelmed with how my heart breaks for my friends. but our God is an awesome God and He is walking with us every single day at our own pace. and He loves us so much and cannot wait for us to come home to Him.

you are called. & sweet baby brooklyn

as i sit here in write this for the 20th time i have no idea what to write about. the past week has brought extreme highs and extreme lows. i have felt lost and alone in this walk with the Lord, and i somewhat gave up hope that i am called to walk into a high school and be an example for Christ. alot of days i sit through class and im like what the heck am i supposed to be doing here. i look around me and see a bunch of kids who think i am crazy. i miss my work crew friends aton, and i now understand how much i took for granted those 14 days that we were all together and had the opportunity to just sit and talk about Christ whenever i wished. time is flying by and i am still trying to catch up with last week.

but our God is a great God who see's me struggling and picks me up and carries me through this.
 
Matthew 4:18-22

¹⁸ One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ²⁰ And they left their nets at once and followed him.

²¹ A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. ²² They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Just like these disciples Christ met me in the middle of what i found life in. and he called me. i was called to follow a God that i knew nothing about. i was called to love on my friends, my family, and my enemies. i wasn't called to follow the crowd but to follow Christ. i am called to let Christ do the work through me and allow Him to equip me for what His plans entail. and its hard, like these past few days have worn down my heart. i mess up and i believe in the lies satan puts infront of me but it doesnt matter because God gave His one and only Son to die for me. to die for you so that through our mess ups. through our disbelief, through our times of trials, He could be there with us every step of the way. that He could bare the pain for us and love us anyways.

we are not called to sit around and do the things that society tells us to do. we are not here to follow the plans that are normal. we are called to follow Christ. we are called to love Christ. and when we do that we will witness what we were blind to before. we will witness His mighty power. we will feel His endless love. we will be a part of something that we never thought was possible.

when you are struggling dont give up hope. i promise, it will get better i promise that the Lord is fighting for you. i promise that in the end you will witness Christ in ways you never have before. i am praying for all of you reading this and struggling. i will continue to pray for you. know that you are not alone in this, know that there are so many of us that are here for you, and we will continue to be here for you forever.


Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

Exodus 14:14
^"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”


one last thing.

this weekend i got to meet an incredible woman who literally radiates Christ light. Her name is Kristen. Kristen and her husband gave birth to a sweet baby girl name Brooklyn three months ago. Brooklyn was born with a hole in her heart and has recently had surgery. although the surgery went well B's post ops have had huge complications. in the past week she has been put on strong medicine that have huge side effects one of which her brain could start bleeding. But brooklyn is a fighter last week she has fought with everything she has to survive. Both her parents work, but have exausted their FMLA between having to work to mantain daily life and going back and forth from here to Charlottesville to be with Brooklyn.

and for alll of you reading this. i am asking you to pray. pray with everything you got for this beautiful little girl. pray that she will not start bleeding because of the medicine, pray for the doctors hands, and for her parents. pray for her parents that they will find rest in the Lord as they do as much as they can for their daughter. pray that they will not have to worry about anything except for the recovery of their daughter and that the financial needs will be provided. please pray for baby Brooklyn's recovery.

if you would like to help or would like more information about Brooklyn and her family please contact me at hhailey.p@gmail.com