flappin' around some more

So I have just been flappin' around some more. Last night I "packed" (aka had a dance party) and then downloaded a bunch of music for my running playlist. I'm really weird, I like to run. I have one of those Nike+ things and you can download all these personal training things and I got one where Serena Williams (the tennis champion of the world) coaches you through an interval run and I am really really excited to try it out.

So other than being a workout nerd, I have been listening to sermons all the time. Church up here in Abingdon is very...not worshipful. And I have been spoiled by Hope Point. The first Sunday was here, my home pastor was on week four of a twelve week series on the tabernacle. And I was like "...Really?" so I just got up and left! And I felt bad, but I didn't. Because that is what Byron McCane's OT class is for, Pastor Paul. So then Philip sent me all these churches to download podcasts from, and they are SO GOOD. I have been listening to Richard's sermons from back in Spartanburg. [Back home, really. I call Spartanburg "home" and it makes my parents really depressed, so I try not to do it too much. I even set Abingdon as my home in my GPS, but I am just going to change it tomorrow.] And then I have also been listening to a lot of Frances Chan's stuff. He is the pastor at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. And he is so good! I have done one of his sermons as a part of my quiet time/thinking about God time and it has really been a joy! And you just really need to go download his podcasts. I will make you a list of websites and churches that you all need to check out while I am just keepin it real in the nation's capital for a week.

Cornerstone Church (Simi Valley, CA)
http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/
--Go to iTunes and search for this, the podcasts are amaaaazing.

Hope Point Community Church (Spartanburg, SC)
http://hopepoint.org/
--This is Richard's church! We are best friends! iTunes search for this, I especially like the sermon "Are You Ready?"

Mars Hill Bible Church
http://www.marshill.org/
--This is Rob Bell's church! There are a lot of good resources on the website, but you can do pdf downloads of his outlines and powerpoints through iTunes as well.

Just Stop and Think
http://www.juststopandthink.com/
--This is just a fun little website. I actually have been to it one time, and that was five minutes ago, and that was because there was a link on Cornerstone's website.

Okay okay, I am officially going to get my act together. And finish up packing. And tie up some loose ends here in Abingdon, because I am out of this place tomorrow morning! Whoop whoop! I am really really really super pumped about that business! So just...have fun. And soon it will be time for Wofford and that is just the best thing in America.

“And you, my daughter, will be called the prophet of the most high, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to our path of peace.” Luke 1:76-79

i should be packing

I reaaally hate packing. That is a problem! Because I am going to Washington DC for about a week! And I leave on Monday! So I have really got to stop flappin' around and get my game face on and start putting stuff in a suitcase.

(Note: "flappin' around" is a term that some of my VA friends coined that means basically wasting time and doing nothing, especially when you should actually be doing something important.)

The conference is with Campus Outreach, which is an organization at Wofford that focuses on making disciples through building relationships. I actually do not know anything about it, to tell you the truth. My friend from high school, Becca, that goes to Wofford is basically in charge of it and she invited me to come on this little trippy trip, so off I go! It's from the 29th to the 2nd and then I will be staying in Gville and Spartanburg until it is time to go back to Wofford! I loooove school, is that weird? Maybe it's not so much that, I just do not like spending a lot of time at home with my parents. And do not get me wrong, I love my parents, we just do not see eye to eye on a lot of things because I am a hardcore Jesus lover and they think I am a freak of nature because my mom is agnostic and my dad is athiest. How I got out of that household alive, I do not even know, by the grace of God for sure.

They also reaaaaaaaally do not like Young Life. Their biggest fear is that I will not go to medical school and go to seminary instead to be on Young Life staff. That is always the battle in our house. They think that by stopping me from going on Young Life trips, they can totally throw that career route out the window. They are wrong-o. Nothing's going to stop God from doing me what He wants me to do. I think about this a LOT. My parents want me to be a doctor because they want me to have lots of money and have a huge house and really be something to brag about I guess. That does not make sense to me. Why would I pick a career because of money? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That would mean I would be miserable my whole life! I just think it is really really really really silly that my parents are more concerned with how much money I will make or what my GPA is than they are with my walk with Christ! I was talking to my grandparents that love Jesus this weekend and they said my parents are just looking a gift horse in the mouth, aint that the truth.

Do you know why I want to be a doctor? Because I want to go do international mission work! I want to be a doctor or a surgeon or whatever here in the US, but I want to go do free clinic work in Guatemala and Equador and Bolivia! And I want to go hang out with orphans! And I want to fund missionaries and travel all over and tell people about the love of Jesus! I don't want to be a doctor so I can just make a lot of money and keep it, that is not prospering the kingdom of Heaven. And that is the desire of my heart. I want to adopt little Guatemalan children and free people from hunger and poverty and do free medical work in the name of Jesus Christ. And I want to fund Young Life and be on a YL committee and still have that in my life. I just want to do big things for God.

One day, at a Hope Point lunch at someone's house whose name I cannot recall, I was sitting with our pastor Richard, who is the bomb. And he asked me what my major was, and I told him that I was a pre-med neuroscience-concentrated Biology/Spanish double major. And he said wow. And then I told him that I either wanted to be a Young Life leader or a surgeon. And do you know what he told me? He said, "I think you need to be a doctor. I can see why you want to be a Young Life leader, and that's admirable, but I think that you are a very big picture person and I think you would be a lot happier with a big sphere of influence in God's name." And i just thought that was the coolest thing ever ever ever and now Richard and I are best friends, he calls me Neuroscience Girl and I think that is hilarious.

So you know what? If God wants me to be a doctor, that's what I'll do. And if he wants me to be a Young Life leader, shabam, it will happen. He is pretty unstoppable and I have full faith that He will give me the strength necessary to do either thing. He is cool like that, He equips you especially for what is coming. And who even cares what my parents say, they are delusional. That is the best word for it. Love them, but shew. They give me a headache with all their talk about evolution and how I am a brainwashed fool. I really like being a brainwashed fool, in that case. Delusional! And God loves them anyway, and they just do not even know how cool that is. That makes me smile.

Anyway, I should really stop flappin' around and get my pack on! But I will leave you with 5 more songs I think you need to know about.
1. Hookers and Robbers - Charlie Hall (I know, I know, but look it up!)
2. Rest - Big Daddy Weave
3. Hurricane - Jimmy Needham
4. Yours - Steven Curtis Chapman
5. Sanctified - MercyMe

Now do me a favor...and have a great day!

a million steps ahead

I think I am getting old, because I am getting tired really really early these days. I am talking like...8:30. This is not a good thing.

So I am ridiculous and I'm already thinking about what I want to do this summer. Actually, I think I "know" kind of the way I always think I know things, but then God does the whole "I am a million steps ahead of you, Amanda" thing that I am quite fond of. But anyway, God-willing, I reaaaaaally want to go do a month of summer staff at Young Life's Frontier Ranch! That's it in the picture, part of the rappelling course. It's in Buena Vista, Colorado and I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo excited. It is so beautiful! I would be right in the middle of the most beautiful parts of Creation, growing and learning and serving and worshiping...for a month...with like 50 other Young Life leaders who desire the same thing...just thinking about it makes me smile. I think I would want to work at the store, since I could be all happy and brighten peoples' day just being my smiley self. I would say I want to be a high ropes course intern and hang out up in the trees all day, but I have not had wrangler training and don't think I can get that done by the time applications are do. But I mean, whatever, I just want to serve.

I could talk about Young Life forever and ever. Part of the reason I looove being a Young Life leader is because I just get to be crazy and love Jesus and build relationships with high school friends. And those are three things that I am a pro at! It's really hard...really really hard, but it's a ministry that I really believe in and really have faith in. When I get discouraged, I always think about my leader in high school (Laura)...she really did a lot for me. She was my best friend without question and she was the primary person that helped me piece my life back together and cling to Jesus and persevere after I didn't get into Harvard and Yale and Princeton and all those other schools. She was ALWAYS there for me. And so I just have a huuuuge heart for this, I want to be someone's Laura! I can't think of a better way to serve God! And sometimes I think about that...and think about if I reaaaally want to spend a billion years in medical school. Not being a Young Life leader. That is something that God and I talk about all the time, but I don't really feel like He is leading me in a certain direction, does that make sense? I feel like Wofford is something that God LED me to...and man I was kicking and screaming! I wanted Harvard! But you know what he said, "Amanda, I am a million steps ahead of you" and He just once again totally blew away all my expectations and just threw my little plan out the window! I love it when He does that! I am such a planner and God thinks that is really funny because I am also basically an idiot, but I'm sure that He is never bored because of people like me.

Now, one of my favorite favorite favorite things ever...is music! I love listening to music, because it is just another way that people come up with beautiful ways to talk about God! And sometimes I am like, "I wish I could come up with this stuff" but that is obviously Jeremy Camp's spiritual gift and not mine. And that is okay, because he is a lot better at it than I am. So good job, Jeremy Camp. Anyway, all I have done on break is take naps and listen to music. And so here are 10 songs that I basically play over and over and over again. Because they make me smile and they just make me feel like I am really really really worshiping. So you should listen to them or download them or look up the lyrics, because really, would I lie about this kind of thing? Noooooo. I would not. When it comes to worship, I am about as legit as it gets.

1. Savior, Please - Josh Wilson
2. Where the Love Lasts Forever - Hillsong United
3. Give Me Jesus - Jeremy Camp
4. Clinging to the Cross - Tim Hughes
5. How Great - David Crowder Band
6. In Me - Casting Crowns
7. I Know Who I Am - Jeremy Camp
8. Heart After You - Luke Wood
9. Scars - Paul Alan
10. For the Life of Me - This Beautiful Republic
11. Mercy - Parachute Band
Okay, there are 11. Actually there are like a thousand that I like. But we are sticking with 11 for...blog longevity purposes.

So...coming soon:
I'm going to tell you all about Laura, my Young Life leader
I am also going to DC on Monday...so I do not know when that will happen!

Get excited!
God bless :)

reading books and taking naps

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Sooo...I figured it was time for another try at this whole blogging thing, thank you Mesha for being my inspiration! I figure that at least this will be a good outlet for me to talk about how much I love Jesus and all the things He is teaching me. So I don't know, please get excited.

So guess what I did today. Nothing! I'm back up in good ol' Abingdon, Virginia holdin it down for Christmas break and I have dont nothing exiting yet! Sad day for real. Smudge (my dog) and I have taken lots of naps and I've found a new love for apples and peanut butter, but that is as good as it gets. It's not even snowing. This is Virginia, it is supposed to snow. That's like...a rule. But it's either 70 degrees or raining, which is just not going to cut it for me come December 25th.

However, I did just finish reading The Shack! So good! Go buy it right now and speed read it (Mesha!) so we can talk about it because it is SUCH a good book! And I don't really know how to tell you my favorite parts without spoiling it for you...so you will just have to ask! But there are some goooood quotes in there that gave me a new way of thinking about the presence of God. And I looooove finding new ways to see God! Whenever I am excited about something, I add lots of unnecessary vowels. Or type in all capitals. And I've heard a lot of people who have critical things to say about the book...saying that it's "giving people the idea that they understand the Trinity!" and things like that. And you know, I don't understand the Trinity, I will always always always be overwhelmed by the mystery of the Godhead three-in-one deal...and I didn't put down The Shack thinking that I had God all figured out, either. That will never happen. Would you want a God that you can wrap your whole mind around? Nooooo you would not. This book doesn't do that, so stop sippin' haterade. It is just one man's beautiful interpretation of God's hands-on LOVE, and please add my name to the list of fans.

I mean, I have nothing exciting to tell you. But I was digging around on YouTube and I found a video that Mesha and I made for her blog waaaay back in the early days of September! So here it is!


I think it is a little bit hilarious that I talk about hating Spanish...and now that is part of my major! I like God's sense of humor.


Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.
1 Chronicles 16:11-12