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