God Delights in Us

Hey Girls!

Today we had the amazing opportunity to learn from Matt Chandler! He is a pastor in Dallas, Texas and flew all the way to Branson to talk to the Kanakuk Institute about Jesus! What a blessing! One thing that stood out to me today was when Matt said that God likes us and He delights in us! This is something that we need to be reminded of every day! This verse shows us how much God loves us!

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

• God is with you! Not just sometimes or when things are going well, but ALWAYS!
• Mighty means with impressive power or strength! God saves us with His power and strength! Nothing can break that!
• He will delight in you! We cannot mess up! God takes great pleasure in being with us always!
• He will quiet you with His love. I like to think of those moments when I'm upset and crying or frustrated, that God is there (because He is with us always!) to calm  me down and quiet me!
• He will rejoice over you! THIS IS HUGE! God will rejoice over us! We take time to rejoice in Him and all of His marvelous works and He does that for us!

Can't wait to share more of what I am learning with y'all! 

Miss ya!

Ali

Hey Girls!

Tomorrow I give my Bible Overview, where I basically teach the whole Bible in 30 minutes. As I've been preparing for this, I have noticed that our God is very detailed. Look at this example with Moses:

Exodus 14: 29 "But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left."

This passage comes right after God parts the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites. Notice how it says they went through the sea on dry ground. If you think about it, the ground would be wet and you would sink into it. But no, God allowed them not to sink and the ground was dry so they could safely walk across. 

Could you imagine walking through the Red Sea on dry land with a wall of water on both sides? How crazy would that be?!

God pays attention to the little details, don't forget that!

Love y'all!!!

Ali

Hey Girls!

It's already starting to look like Christmas here in Branson! The landing already has reindeer and Christmas trees set up! As much as I love Christmas, I get so sad that Thanksgiving is so easily skipped over. I think that it is important that we are thanking God for all that He has provided for us!

Last week I had to go through all the cabins and take down some cleaning signs that were left up. I had to stop and thank God at the beauty He created. Kamp is beautiful in the summer, but it is just as beautiful in the fall!

Here are some pictures from the cabin area!

This one is from Cabin 2's porch.

Look at all these colorful trees! This is on Cabin 15's porch!

I challenge you pray and tell God how thankful you are for all that He has created and provided for you! Make sure you're telling your parents and everyone around you how thankful you are that they are in your life and for everything they do for you!

I'll leave you with one last thing to let you think about: What if tomorrow you were only given what you thanked God for today?

Hope y'all are having a great start to the week!

I'm thankful for you!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is one of my favorite holidays because I love dressing up and the CANDY! When I was growing up, my mom would always make our Halloween costumes. I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of my old costumes with y'all!

Here is the bee costume my mom made! I don't know why I was so sad! And my cousins were Power Rangers!

Can you believe this is when I was two years old?! My mom also made this costume!

My mom didn't make this costume, but you can see the pumpkin I carved by my feet! The clown is one of my dear friends still today! 

What are y'all dressing up as this year? What's your favorite candy on Halloween? Comment below with your answers! 

Love y'all!

Ali

Hey Girls!

Yesterday we were discussing our Bible study over Abraham and we talked about Genesis 18:14 which says "'Is anything too difficult  for the Lord?.." This verse goes on to talk about how God will fulfill His promise and give Abraham a son. But how often do we think that things are too difficult for God? I think God can't handle a lot of my problems, which is not right. He could handle each trouble I face, way better than I could ever plan. I think that some of the things I am dealing with are too little for God or that God can't handle it. When really, I can't handle it without God. I have been trying to pray and ask God for assistance when things begin to be hard to handle. I encourage you to do the same!

Here is a picture that I had hanging in my dorm all throughout college. It was a great reminder that God's plan will ultimately prevail and that nothing is too difficult for Him!

I hope this encourages you this week! Miss y'all!

Love ya!
Ali




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Hi!

Sorry I haven't posted lately, I was able to go home and visit with my family! On Friday night, I went to my old high school's football game to watch my sister perform with the marching band. They have a really cool tradition called Light Show. Light Show is where they turn all the stadium lights out and perform the whole marching show with glow sticks! I haven't been to a Light Show since I was performing in one during high school! 

This is a picture of my drill team friends and I after Light Show in 2006!

Here is a picture of my youngest sister and I watching this year's Light Show!

While I was home, I also got to just spend a lot of time getting to catch up with my mom and grandma! We spent hours just talking about everything that was going on! It was such a fun weekend and I am so blessed to have such an amazing family! Hope y'all had a good weekend!!

Love ya!

Ali

Hey Girls!

I was just thinking about Kamp and how much I missed spending the night in the Party Barn! It was so much fun to get to swing at night and have ice cream sundaes made by the lovely Osages! One of my most favorite memories about the Party Barn is when I got to give the nightly devo for my kabins when I was a U.C.. 

Jesus says "...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

That verse is a great reminder of how we must be an example of Christ for others. We should be servant hearted, love unconditionally and be encouraging. Not only should we do good works, but we are called to revert all the glory, back to God. By giving God all the glory, we will humble ourselves before him and show others that we are not living for the approval of man, but for the approval of God. Keep on living a life that shines for Christ!

Miss ya!!

Ali