Thursday, August 11

thoughts.

a few entertaining journal entries from the summer: 

June 13. my top five list from the first 48 hours: 
1. riding placements
2. Sunday picnic
3. brownie fingers
4. staff fellowship
5. petit fours

June 15. Please give Raven the patience to not kill me. 

June 17. "The only place you can experience God is right now." -Phil

June 18. "There's a whale in the Atlantic." "Can we brush that?" "What's 17 plus 4?" 

June 20. Lord, please help me to not feel responsible for the horses actions. I know you're with me through the panic and peace I feel about the barn at all times of the day. 

June 22. Dear C-Cabin, Thank you for giving me a great place to come home to. Thank you for picking up my slack when I can't do it anymore. Thanks for stretching me to love those that aren't easy to love. Thank you for your encouragement and constant love. Thank you for your fellowship and for your quiet. Thank you for your joyous love and praise. 

June 24. One thing I've learned from a child this summer is... Fear is okay. Fear is good. It amazes me the kids that come down to the barn obviously terrified, but push through it anyway. All it takes is a pat on the leg and a "you can do this," and they simply respond with "I know..." and continue on their merry way. How many times do we even get on the horse? Not normally.. 

June 27. At camp I've seen the kingdom of God through... onward Christian soldiers. dining hall worship. starry nights on the tennis courts. senior retreat. encouragement. morning watch silence. twinkle lights. sweatshirts and jeans in June. 

July 5. It's packing day first term and... the horses are gone. the horse show is over. we've made it through one term. I've been home and come back. I'm praying hard for the Tribble's. 

July 10. Oh sisters let's go down, let's go down, come on down. Oh sisters let's go down, down to the river to pray. -Alison Krauss

July 14. All we HAVE to do today is teach a child to ride a horse. 

July 17. Dear Lord, we come before you with grateful hearts this morning for the opportunity to gather in this gym full of people that we love and sing praises to you. 

July 20. God today I need.. encouragement and strength to get through five class periods. I need perspective to remember when I am here and why I am standing out in the heat with 28 horses. 

July 24. Copy machine faces can make anything better. 

July 26. I marvel at God's... abundant strength that He refills me with every, single morning. I marvel at His strength and provision and His plans for me that are so much better than my own. 

July 28. A Christmas Day thank you list.. Thank you for Christmas fun. Thank you for what this summer has taught me. Thank you for keeping Katty Cox here for the whole summer, and thank you for bringing AC back again. Thank you for surprise friendships. Thank you for the very first day and the first fall. Thank you for the last day. Thank you for protecting us every single day in between. 

July 30. I do not want this to be over, and it is. I don't want to leave the barn this afternoon and I'm going to have to. I don't want to be done because this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. 

July 31. "I want to build a house up on this mountain, way up high where the peaceful waters flow, to quench my thirsty soul.. up on the mountain. I can see for miles up on the mountain, and troubles seem so small they almost disappear. Lord, I love it here, up on the mountain." 

August 3. One thing I will take away from this summer is... the confidence that God has gone before me and is walking with me. That He is proud of me and takes joy in my life. 

Thursday, August 4


I love to sing and I love to pray

Worship the Lord most every day
I go to the temple and I just want to stay
To hide from the hustle of the world and its ways

And I'd love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord
I'd love to stand on a mountain top
'Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

But I've got to come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
Or they'll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord

Now praising the Father is a good thing to do
To worship the trinity in spirit and truth
But if we worshiped all of the time
There would be no one to lead the blind

But I'd love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord
I'd love to stand on a mountain top
'Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

But I've got to come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
Or they'll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord

Now I am not saying that worship is wrong
But worship is more than just singin' a song
It's all that you say and everything that you do
It's letting his spirit live through you

Still I'd love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord
I'd love to stand on a mountain top
'Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

But I've got to come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
Or they'll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord