My Girls...

I’m leaving in a matter of days…off to Camp Pinnacle a camp I attended as a child and honestly can’t wait to be back up there! Camp Pinnacle is a place I will call home for 7 weeks of my summer vacation and I couldn’t be more excited. But as I get ready to leave there is one reason why I’m skeptical to go… You see I just finished reading this book called girlfriendship. It’s a book about friends and how much our friends really mean to us and the difference they make in our lives.

As I began thinking back to the past 2 years when I can truly say that my life with Christ has only gotten better and better, I have had the amazing opportunity to be a mentor to a dozen girls: Brandy Oglesby, Allison Dyches, Holly Nance, Kristine Aliff, Kim Shepard, Lauren Saxon, Tory Baxter, Sarah Fort, Amanda Duff, Emily Hendrix, Brittany Mensing and Destiny Mills.

Each of these girls has taught me so much about life, love, and happiness, I have learned that no matter what others may think about you that you always do what God commands of you…if I had not listened to Him I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet any of these girls.
Through mentoring these girls I’ve learned about many Family Problems, eating disorders, suicide, low-self esteem, unsaved souls, self mutilation, boyfriends, spiritual questions, alcohol, drugs, pregnancy, friendships, divorce, broken, bruised, confused, and burdened girls these are just some of the names that have been put into the lives of these girls but many of these girls have turned into the saved, my prayer warriors, sisters and above all friends.

Through the past 2 years one of my life verses has become 1 Timothy 4:12—Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example to the believers in love, life, speech, faith and purity. Over the past 2 years I have been able to do just that as I have been able to share my journey with Christ the good, bad and ugly with these girls. Many of them have become more like my sisters than friends…and all of them have a special place in my heart. Each one of them has taught me something that I didn’t know or strengthened me in someway, form or fashion.

So to each of you girls know that your problems, concerns, triumphs and failures each problem that is important to you is important to me. God has blessed me with being able to be your friend in the troublesome and joyful times. Thank you for allowing me to be apart of your lives…I thank God for you!

Your Friend, Sister & mentor,
Stephanie

My Summer Job :)

These are some pictures of where I will be serving this summer! This is Camp Pinnacle, State Girls in Action (GA) camp. I attended Camp Pinnacle the summers following my 5th & 6th grade year. I LOVED it and look foward to seeing what God continues to do at a Camp like no other!

If you are reading this please take time and pray for the staff, the directors, and especially the campers who will be attending camp this summer. pray for open hearts to what our Savior will be doing! Check back here periodically this summer for updates & pictures!

One door closes the other opens..

This is what i said i was blogging about. Since i used your story in here i didn't want to post it anywhere until you had told me i could do so...let me know what you think.I'm graduating High School in 1 1/2 weeks. Last week as I was walking with a friend she suggested that we talk to 5 people about our hearts and about God in the next 5 days. I think it was just said and then we were both like ok yea, we are going to do this! Thus began this journey...First off, I don't think i've ever seen so many hurting people in the world they are EVERYWHERE!!! I don't think I ever really understood this until lately... My friend & I walked on Friday & Friday night when I was out with my parents I was talking to a friend from church, who had recently told me that she was not yet a believer, this was a wake up call to me. (We average any where from 100-130 teenagers on an average Wednesday night) I really felt God had allowed me to begin this conversation and friendship with her to show her the truth of His Word & that He really does love her, MUCH more than she will ever know! It has been an amazing journey of being able to talk with her and answer her questions and God just keeps showing me that He IS working in a hurting world. I KNOW what a BIG God I serve & He WILL prevail. She is getting so close to accepting Him and turning her life to follow Him. Its not an easy journey but its TOTALLY worth it. Please keep praying...God IS answering prayer.My second opportunity came not even 12 hours later as I was talking with another friend from church. I had asked about life as usual when I was told that she had been caught in an underage drinking 'party'. This made my heart sink as I know God has been at work in her life...or to me it seems He has. I didn't know what to think anymore yet I kept talking asking questions and just letting her know that yes she had made a mistake but that God wanted her to turn and flee from that mistake and ask for His forgiveness. Once again there was another hurting person God had placed in my path...One that the world says has it all yet she confused and mental and emotional tired of the names that the world has labeled her with. We talked about how we can't make these labels or reputations completely go away but that through HIS mercy & HIS grace we can change a reputation into a Testimony of His amazing Love & changing power!I could continue to list the opportunities they go on and on of the friends who are hurting because of family problems, Divorce, pregnancy, neglect, lonliness, confusion, fear, the unknown, the future, friends, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self mutalation, low self-esteem, no one to care, no one to say I LOVE YOU, no one to say i'm here and i'm not going to leave you...The WORLD is full of hurting people yet, I know the one that heals the broken and the sick, give hope to the hopeless, is a father to the fatherless and give us a HOPE to get through any circumstance that comes our way. He tells us that He is the only one that really matters...He is THE forever friend..the one that never leaves the one that never disappoints and the one that always LOVES...for eternity.The past few weeks have been a spiritual low for me i'm not going to lie...but only in the sense that its VERY difficult to go through a world of hurting people..you pass them in your work place, in our schools, in public, in our churches, they are everywhere...their are hurting people searching for answers...searching for the ONE that will step in and save them from the chaios that they themselves can not handle nor control. YET how many of us truly know the ONE that brings this peace, Love, grace, mercy & forgiveness...how many of us pray regularly for our brothers and sisters in Christ being persecuted? Those in oppression? Those struggling? How many of us take the time to see the hurting all around us?I have decided to let God use my life, my gifts, and abilities that He has blessed me with to share the HOPE that MY SAVIOR gives in that FREE gift called Salvation.So I look foward to the journey that God has allowed me to have as a Child of Him. I LOVE Him soooooooo much & pray that the same will happen in others lives as they seek HIm & listen to His call.I really do believe we are fixing to see a revival break out among the unbelievers...our time is NOW...we are here for such a time as this!