"Jesus is good and the devil needs his arm ripped off..."

"You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you." Psalm 8:1

This verse could not be any more perfect to describe the last week.

We had the opportunity to spend the week at Southside Baptist Church providing a free Upward Basketball Camp for local kids. In the morning we taught the basketball basics (passing, shooting, rebounds...) and then we had a Bible story and discussion time before the kids could scrimmage--which was definitely the only reason they came back every day. Macy and I had the first and second grade girls and what a challenge they could be! They had so much attitude, sass, and energy! Our patience was tested and our eyes were also opened by our small group of sweet girls. Even when we didn't think they were paying attention in Bible Study, they always surprised us in our discussion. They answered all of the questions and always remembered the memory verse. A few of them even had questions about just how big and great God was and we got to answer them! Hearing their innocent explanations of God's creation and the simple everyday things they were thankful for made me really examine what I value. Rather than being miserable on rainy days (which we had a few of this week), we should rejoice! Without the rain there wouldn't be soft green grass and shade tress for us to enjoy on sunny days! Working with inner city students was definitely a challenge, but such a rewarding experience. I really saw that no matter what background a child may come from (Kanakuk families or families in South Jackson) they are all full of life and joy and a willingness to learn and soak up everything around them!

After basketball camp and lunch we went to We Will Go Ministries in downtown Jackson. There is a group of missionaries living in one of the worst parts of our state capitol who are daily ministering to the people who live there. They provide food and comfort to the people in need and they even have a church service on Sunday mornings! We had the privilege of helping them gut a house they recently inherited in preparation for the sheetrock man. We pulled nails and pulled down walls, we even pulled down a ceiling! Lots of manual labor on one of the hottest days of the summer, but so worth it! We also got a little preaching in from one of the women who started the ministry. She encouraged us to go out into our local mission field and make a difference. Spending time in this area of Jackson was another eye opening day. People live here in abandoned houses with no utilities and walls literally falling down around them. This incredible ministry is working to get these people back on their feet and to restore this community. They have a huge passion for the people of Jackson and are doing so many incredible things.

Friday night we had a worship service for the parents and families of the campers and it was a huge success! There were so many families there and they heard an incredible message! The week was great and hopefully we will have an even bigger turnout next year!

I was also the dog/housesitter for the Peacock's this weekend because Abby couldn't stay alone! Macy and I slept all day Saturday then laid by the pool! It was so relaxing to have a "Big Girl Day" to rest and recover from the last week. On Saturday night we had dinner at the boys house! Spencer and Chris cooked spaghetti and we brought the salad. It was so much fun and SO GOOD! We have such a fun intern family.

This week is super busy, I have three tests before we leave for the beach Thursday! Needless to say, Thursday cannot get here fast enough! After the family beach trip its off to StudentLife at the Beach! I can't wait!

Off to more studying...story of my life until Thursday-then I'm FREE!

Peace&Blessings

new blog title. thoughts?

So, after much consideration I've changed my blog title. I'm fully aware that this a county song, but thats okay with me. Sometimes I feel like I live in a country song, so maybe its appropriate. Not to mention the word "hallelujah" is a Hebrew word meaning "Praise Yahweh," what an awesome word! My prayer is that I daily live out my "Hallelujah song," or my praises to my Heavenly Father! A lofty goal, but hopefully an attainable one.

My other idea for a new title was "The Climb," you know, like the climb to the top of the mountain, facing struggles daily and overcoming all of the obstacles. Then I decided that paralleling my life with my girl Miley might not be such a great idea. She's not the same "Hannah Montana-girl-next-door" she was a few years ago.

I've also discovered that I have way more friends who are bloggers than I thought. Johnna, Anna, Katherine... the list goes on and on! Katie pointed out today how exciting it is that we can all be so spread out and far away from one another this summer, yet still be so connected and up to date on each others lives! Its like we're never more than a blog post away from one another. And if I can't hear Anna read sunshines every Monday at chapter a blog has to be the next best thing.

ANYWAYS, yesterday and today were two pretty average days at Turkoyz. Other than selling a few pairs of earrings and a purse or two nothing exciting happened, except two unexpected visitors! Lori Beth and Katie Smith! How exciting! Loved catching up with them, I seem to become a hermit whenever I come home to Brandon. And this summer macroeconomics and western civ are taking over my life.

Next week we're taking the high school students to Southside Baptist Church in South Jackson for a mission project. The first part of the day we will be running a basketball camp for local kids, and after lunch we'll be ministering to the local community! I know that God has so much in store for next week and I cannot wait to see! This is sure to be an eye opening experience for all of us, this is a part of Jackson that I am not at all familiar with.

This isn't a super interesting post, but I have successfully procrastinated even more. Now its off to do more homework!

Peace&Blessings

FInally, halfway.

Today is the day. I am officially halfway finished with my 7:30 am Summer School class! Only two more weeks of rising with the sun and fighting traffic to get to class on time! I can hardly contain my excitement. As soon as I take my last test in two weeks its off to the beach for a week with the fam, then on to Student Life at the beach with my favorite group of high schoolers!!

This week has been pretty uneventful in Intern World. With the middle schoolers and most of the staff out of town we haven't had much to do! We did, however, have the joy of cleaning out a "Mucho Nacho" nacho machine that was probably used in the late 1970s and a popcorn machine that had at least 15 years of popcorn grease built up, how fun! Oh, the things we do for TNT. Which, speaking of, was a success. TNT #2, "Nacho Libre" night was great! The movie is no Academy Award winner, but the popcorn, nachos, and pink lemonade were the best Brandon has ever seen. I'm so sad I have to work at the store this week. Yesterday, at noon, Dorsey and Tyler decided to go to Atlanta to meet the middle schoolers at SixFlags! I'm so jealous, and wish I was going too.

I'm also upset that I missed out on lunch with the Middle Schoolers yesterday. They had my (not) favorite, corndogs. Everyone on staff makes fun of me because I referred to LSU fans as "corndogs" and called something in Baton Rouge "corndogy." I would appreciate some support from the Ole Miss fans out there who know our unofficial nickname for our biggest rival.

I also got a new phone yesterday! Its the same ole iPhone 3G model, but it will stay on silent and doesn't have any hairspray build up, well, not yet anyway! But I haven't gotten my numbers to transfer from my computer to my phone just yet, hopefully that will happen sometime today. I think I'll reward myself with a new phone cover since my phone lasted a year and a half without me breaking it! So proud.

Thats all for now, off to the working world.

Peace&Blessings

First Blog. Ever.

Due to a bit of peer pressure, and the need to feel like I fit in, I'm going to start blogging. Nick is blogging (and vlogging) about his trip to Italy, Mallen is keeping everyone filled in about DC, Katy kept everyone up to date on martin9 last semester, and my two fellow interns, Macy and Dorsey, are bloggers. I follow my friends blogs and twitter accounts, so I figured creating my own blog was the next logical step. I guess I'm a bit late starting since this is week three on staff at FBC Brandon, but I guess better late than never, right?

Our first week was your typical intern work--all the work nobody else wanted to do! We cleaned out closets at the east campus and threw away thirty years worth of junk. Not to worry, we kept all of the important things, such as Softball Trophies and old Bible Drill Bibles. However, the electric drum set from 1994 and the couches crawling with who knows what kind of bugs had to go. Then it was off to Kids Kamp! My cabin of second graders was definitely the best, even if we didn't win the spirit stick. And, on a side note, Kids Kamp made me miss Kanakuk and the beautiful Kountryside more than ever!! Then when we got home from Kamp the other girl interns, Macy and Kristen were in town! Yay! Finally more estrogen! Being the only girl staffer with Kevin, Rushing, Tyler, Spencer, and Chris was starting to get old. Then we did more intern work, but this time at the west campus! We organized and cleaned and now we have shelves with labeled drawers and neat bins! How nice, all it needed was a woman's touch. Thursday we had an intern/staff retreat then TNT! Thursday Night Throwdown Round 1 was a HUGE success. Glow in the dark capture the flag was the most fun I've had in a long long time. Then Friday we went to the MBraves game and had a blast. I love baseball!

We had our first college worship service, Refuge last night and it was great! Turnout was better than expected and I can't wait for the CYPs Bible study tomorrow night! Today me and Kristen got to sit in on a staff meeting! Woo!! We're so powerful now. Officially on staff and running the show-ha! This week the Middle Schoolers are at Student Life in Shocco Springs so the office is going to be slow. We're having a "Nacho Libre" night for TNT this week and tomorrow we get to clean out the vintage nacho machine! How exciting.

Oh, and on a side note-not intern related-I made a 95 on my Macro test! Finally, success in a business class. The fact that the class is a Hinds summer school class is only reinforcing my decision to be a high school teacher, rather than an accountant.

That's all for my first blog, maybe one day I'll be advanced enough to vlog. Who knows, maybe I'll get inspired like "Julie and Julia" and I'll start cooking and blogging about it...?

Peace&Blessings