A Letter to Myself

Written on 2/21/15 and Edited on 11/8/15

Dear Hannah,
Praying that as you continue your daily life, you will strive to become a godly leader. Be a "Paul" to those younger than you. Be a hero to the younger students. Show them how to be a leader by using your words to edify and not to distract them from God. Don't drag them down or be controlling. Kindly show them how to do their job well. Be an encourager to those around you, young or old. Great leaders aren't afraid of opinions and use their words to set others free. Always edify others.
Leaders have fallen apart. The difference between a leader and a great leader is that great leaders ask God for help in getting out of the mire. Knowing that God is always your refuge will help you fight the good fight.

Don't be afraid of silence. Silence can be God's way of working. Pray at all times. God works through continuous prayer. Thank God for the trials and the issues, and praise Him for who He is.

Philippians 4:6
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Don't be afraid of failure or making mistakes. God has worked through many people who have messed up. Think of Rahab, David, and Paul. All three of these people messed up, but God still used them. Your toil is not in vain-- keep trying, but realize your role in everything. You don't always have to be in charge or be in the spotlight to be a leader or to influence the lives of the people around you. 

1 Corinthians 15:58
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."

Take time to relax. Having fun is important, but maintaining focus is crucial. Use academics not to show off, but to help others learn. Remember, not everyone understands everything.  Show the gospel to everyone you meet and use your words wisely. You have an impact on people around you.  Your mission is to share God's love to others. Be confident in who He has created you to be and shine His love to others. Strive to love God in the open every single day. Be bold for the Gospel.

Respect mom and dad. They love you so much and although sometimes it may feel like they push too hard, realize that they only do that because they love you. Work hard, not to please them, but to glorify God.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable."

I can not say this enough. Watch your words. They can either make or break your relationships. Desire to speak wise words. Wise words lead to healing, harsh words can lead to heartbreak. Satan wants to use your words to destroy your life. Be careful.

James 4:6
"And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquities; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by hell."

Above all else, Follow God. He sometimes calls you to make hard decisions. Trust Him and His plan. Pray for wisdom and follow Him. Follow his calling. There are many things that you could do well at in life-- the goal is to find God's calling for you and pursue it.


Esther 4: 14
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"


As life continues, remember to strive to reflect God's image through everything. You reflect His image -- follow Him.

Have Courage,
Hannah Newbold

T-5 Days to Senior Retreat...Who is Praying?

Next week I leave for my third senior retreat with Living Science. I'm excited that I've been with this school for 4 years, and I can't wait for my third Senior Retreat. I get the opportunity to be on the worship band, hang out with my best friends, play games (y'all know that's my favorite), learn science, learn more about the Bible, and grow closer to God.

As I started packing my bags, I've continued to pray for this trip.

I'm praying for the D's as they make the journey. Mrs. D just had surgery and I'm praying that there are no complications during the week.

I'm praying for the students going. I would love it if we all got closer to God on this trip and got to know Him better. The week is filled with learning about science and God and connecting the two together.

I'm praying for the chaperones. It's hard dealing with lots of high school students. At some point, we all get cranky and that makes us hard to work with. Please pray for patience and grace as well as for the chaps to have fun!

I'm praying for the house captains and co-captains. I haven't experienced the amount of work they put into leading a house, but I know it's a lot of work. They also do a fantastic job and I know that they love doing it! Pray for safety and strength. 

I'm praying for Advance Team. They leave on Friday morning to make the journey to "Mars." I'm praying they make it safe and get everything set up with no difficulties. They set up everything before the students arrive on Sunday afternoon.

I'm praying for health as I make this trip. Last year, I fell the first night and sprained my ankle. I learned a lot about myself during that trip. I had to be patient with myself and with the people around me.

I'm praying for grace to accept the things I can not change. Whatever happens, is in God's hands. I can't change that. However, I can do my best to serve others and make it the best trip Living Science Students have ever been on.

Please join me in praying for God to bless this trip and give us strength, peace, and grace to learn more about Him!

Have Courage,
Hannah Newbold

Living Where I Am

Life is hard. My parents have told me that it doesn't get much easier. But hard is good.
Life is hectic. It hasn't slowed down much. But it is always fun.
Life is full of disappointment. But there is always something to be happy about.

I'm learning to live where I am. This semester has had great days and terrible days, success and failure. And I'm ok with that. Sometimes you have to learn to let things go and move on.

I've had my share of success. I've gotten some "A" grades, played in the school worship band, lost some weight, and worked two jobs. (So far, I'm still vertical and breathing.) However, I've also messed up on a few things, gotten a few grades I didn't like, didn't score as high as I wanted on my SAT, lost control of my organization and my sanity for a few days.

But God is good. And with Him, it's gonna be ok.

It took me a long time to get this point, but I'm ok with making mistakes now. I still strive for perfection, but I've recognized that I'm not always going to be the best person out there. It's impossible. If I was the best, Jesus would not have had to die for me. I've come to accept life being hard as a reality. If life was easy, we wouldn't need Jesus.

I'm learning to live where I am. I'm happy with what I'm doing, and it doesn't matter what others think about me. God has me where He wants me. And I love it.

Following God means making hard decisions. It means choosing to serve Him above people. And that is HARD. I've always been a people-pleaser. I hate it when I can't help everyone or please everyone. I've had to say "no. I can't do that." to people this semester. If I said yes to everything, I probably would be dead by now. And I hate saying no. I can't stand it. But you have to, because that's part of being an adult.

But God is good. And with Him, everything is accomplished.

I'm learning to live where I am. I've stopped pushing others away from me. I have always had a hard time making friends. I've kinda pushed people that were my age away from me for the past few years. I felt like I didn't fit in. But I've stopped. And I've had more fun this year than I've had in years. I've gone out to eat with people, gone to small group with my girlfriends, and made new friends in college.

God is good. And I am happy because I'm living where I am. Not constantly pushing forward, but slowing down and enjoying where I am. And it has been fantastic.

Have Courage,
Hannah Newbold

Water Is Falling

I have officially hiked 12 miles. Y'all should be proud! And I didn't hurt myself. Although my youth pastor Josh was very concerned about the possibility of me getting injured. He had a good reason to be worried.  Last summer, I ended up in the hospital in Chicago, on a mission trip, after getting a spider bite. It wasn't good. And then I had an allergic reaction to the meds they gave me. Let's just say that I am extremely careful now with what I do.

It was beautiful. It had a gorgeous waterfall and the water was cold. The hike back was shorter than the hike there. I had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the water.

Have Courage and Be Kind!

xxx
Hannah Newbold

See The Beauty (A Cinderella story)

I have just finished my sophomore year of high school. And it's been smashing. I've loved every second of  school and music. I kinda do a lot of school, more than most 16 year olds. My dream is to be a marine biologist. I want to study whales and live in New Zealand. Okay, maybe Australia. In reality though, I'll probably teach biology to high school students and get married. Not that that's bad, at all.

To get back off the bunny trail and slowly trekking back onto the mountain, my favorite subject this year was Biology. In a few weeks, I'm going to take the Biology CLEP test and get out of taking the first biology class at college. :) It's so exciting, mitosis and all.

Anyway, I love kids and today I got to babysit two little kiddos. Charlie Parker, 8, and Henry, 6, are possibly the cutest kids I've ever met. They bicker and tease each other. They say the funniest random things and crack jokes that aren't even funny.

Today, we were watching the Incredibles and this is the conversation during the previews:

Me: I love watching Cinderella
CP: I can't stand Cinderella. It's so romantic and all.
H: You have to see the beauty in handsome romance.

The SIX year old is telling the eight year old about romance. I've officially seen it all. Not even kidding.

Oh. And I also got a haircut today. I would post a picture, but I don't have any good ones yet. :) I will soon though.

Tomorrow I'm going on a hike with the youth group. It'll be fun and then we are going to the lake!!! I'll post pictures of wake boarding. 

Have courage and be kind.

xxx - Hannah
 

I'm so sorry!

Hey everyone!
I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to post in a long time. Honestly, I just forgot about my blog. I'm going to get back into the swing of posting. I'm going to post tomorrow! Miss you guys! Comment if you have anything you'd like me to talk about?

Hannah Newbold