Victories in Him

Last week was there were a lot of trial but as the faithful God we have He helped me grow throw them. And this week it has been amazing to see victories in Him! I have seen Him really do victories in the lives of some of the girls I am working with. Victories in my own life learning to trust Him more and learning more about graces. It goes on and on. I was also able to really enjoy the mountains last week. I started the week taking one of the girls I am mentoring on a 3.5 mile hike, then a couple of days later I went with two more girls I am mentoring on a 9 mile hike, and then I ended the week with a friend doing a 13 mile hike. The last hike was so beautiful! It was pretty easy up until the last 2 miles. The last two miles we were going through a lot of snow and then the last mile it was going vertically through snow (not so easy), but it was a lot of fun and a great challenge.

The Lord really has been blessing me with rest and victories in Him. Thank you for all your prayers.

Needing God to fill me

This has been a very draining week. I felt like God placed me here but it was a very hard week. A lot, a lot of counseling, late night talks, and tough situations. God is doing so much lives of the students here. Please pray God would reveal the lies they are believing and show them His truth. They would take the time to rest and spend time with God. They would see where He is working and seek His will for their lives. With all the things going on here it is a battle to do those things.
So many other things have happen this week, one student fell 15feet when hiking and was hurt pretty badly but the Lord was so strongly present and he is recovering well. Another student was fired from the Y but God is working in his life. The directors of the LT program here where able to get him into another LT program in South Carolina. Please pray God would take a hold of his life these next few weeks.
Please keep me in prayer that I would not draw in my own strength but Gods strength. That He would give me wisdom when counseling and mentoring. He would speak through me.

The summer is going so fast!

We had 4 Birthday's in one week in our project group. Grant, Jessica, Stephanie, and Nick
Our group helping out serving a sister church in Fort Collins

Sisters

The verse Annna picked is so good Galatians 6:17 "Let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus"

The last two weeks have been so busy! I am looking back and I am not sure where the weeks have gone. sorry I have not posted anything in a while. Adding mentoring to my schedule has really taken up a lot of my time. I also went to Denver one day to visit my brother Cisco and sister in law Jen. So life has seemed crazier then normal, but I am having a lot of fun and it has started to warm up which is so nice (makes it more enjoyable to hike and spend time outside). I am ready for the snow to stop, it rained today but it still seemed warm. I went with Annna my sister to go get a tattoo last week too. Jessica came with us and she repierced her eyebrow. I also pierced my nose but no one has really noticed not even my brother he just thought I already had it. Kind of funny really everyone I have talked to has said it just looks so natural they thought I already had it. So I guess that is a good thing. It is very little too.

Trying to get a routine down

I think i am finally getting a routine down. It has taken a while but things are starting to flow a little better. My days off are on Mondays and I have been spending part of the time with friends hiking. It has been a very good rest for me.

Wednesday we had a great project group even with the snow and wind. We celebrated 4 birthdays in our group this week so we had some fun with that.

Here are some pictures from my last hike. Some of the pictures I took but some are from a friend that borrowed my camera. Click on the picture below to see more.

Bridal Veil Falls

Snow again!

It snowed on and off but mostly on ALL day today! What is going on? It feels more like winter then summer.

Bluegrass Music

This weekend I went to the Rock Inn Mountain Tavern for Bluegrass Music. It was..... well lets just say I felt like I was in a movie. We went for dinner and one on the appetizers they had was Devil's on Horseback (roasted garlic stuffed, bacon wrapped dates served with homemade garlic aioli), they also had some great buffalo burgers (real buffalo). Dinner was great and then the real fun started. Right were we had been sitting turned into a dance floor. The back ground to the bluegrass band "Glentucky Funkdownw" was tie dye sheets, a big flag, and a large moose head hanging above. There was some great dancing going on with dogs running free all around inside (labs and other big dogs) and a bomb fire outside. Everyone seemed to have 40s even the band's music stands had 40s in them. It was so different and far from anything in LA. It really was a fun night. I am not sure my description did it justice but you will have to just use your imagination.

On a very different note this verse really spoke to me this week. Psalm 25:1-5 "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

I was thinking about the shame that I sometimes hold onto and all the things in my life that are "enemies". It was really powerful to give those to God and to seek Him to guide me.

Snow

ok so it is not a lot of snow but it is snow
It is snowing today! I went for a run this morning and the very wet snow has now made me so cold it is hard to type.

The last couple of days I have been having amazing God conversations with students. It is so great to be in this spot (even with the snow/rain).

First real hike

I went up Estes Cone with a group of staffer today for my day off. We had planned on going up a different mountain but because one of the guys that we were going with had just done that one we changed our plans a little. It was a lot of fun, relaxing, challenging, but refreshing. It was the first real hike I have been on this year 6.1 miles. It was such a beautiful day too. For the first week it was pretty cold up here but this week it has started to warm up. So that is it for my day off now I am just playing around on the computer which is pretty nice too!

walk and talk with God

Friday I had a wonderful walk and talk with God. The pictures are from that time. (I am also practicing with the settings on my camera.) I think getting out in nature alone is what I am loving about being up here. In LA I can not just walk out my door and do that. LA the sights, sounds, and smells are very different. Funny there has was a helicopter around here and the break in the peace it made was drastic. Yet in LA that is just one of the many sounds you hear all the time. Yet I love LA and will be happy to go back. Yesterday was a very busy day with work for the Y, staff meeting, meeting with different people, and the Rock service. I think it all hit me today and I am just trying to recover. Tomorrow is my day off though and I am going on my first big hike twin sisters (7.5 miles). It should not be to hard and will help get me ready for some bigger ones. :) I can not wait!