Graduation Trip! :)

    Oh my goodness, where to start! Let me first say that my graduation trip was a great one! There was so many things that we did that I will probably never get to do again! There were so many blessings and adventures! I am so thankful God let us do everything that we got to do and kept us safe through it all! :) 

 
                              Early Saturday morning we packed up the car and headed out!! :)

          First stop was NC to spend the rest of the day and night with our dear friends the Bruce's! We were so blessed by their generous hospitality! We had such fun taking walks, eating the yummy food that Mrs. and Ms. B prepared for us (thank you ladies!!) and great fellowship!

                      And of course, no trip would be complete without a little silliness right? ;)

Sunday morning we got up and headed to DC! Our first stop was Georgetown Cupcakes (as seen on the TV show "DC Cupcakes" that comes on TLC ;)

                    It was crazy how many people were in line to get cupcakes! We waited in line for... about a hour. :) It was tons of fun though. :)

                                                Can you see us in the line? :D :D :D

                                                               Our yummies! :)

                               Sarah insisted she get a picture of me eating my cupcake.... hehe.... :D

                    Monday we got up and headed out to the International Spy Museum and that was totally fun! :) I really enjoyed getting to learn the history of spy's and learning about the network and weapons, gadgets and so forth. :D

                                                 Well, look who showed up! :D haha!

                                                        Do ya see the camera? :p

This car would come "alive" and show the different weapons you could hide in a vehicle! It was super neat! :D

                                          It was really neat learning the history of the Ninja's and how they had a part in the spy network. I learned that they weren't so much as fighters (as portrayed in the movies. :D) but were used for undercover work.

                                          Next it was off to The Library Of Congress, but we stopped at the reflecting pool to take pictures. :D

                                     The architecture of the library was amazing! It was such a beautiful building! I was so thankful that we got to go in and look around!! :)

                                                                 The Gutenberg Bible

                                 That night we ended up eating at a Irish Pub! A first for me! :) It was quite the adventurous experience and lots of fun! :D       
                                            

                                  And of course I got one of my very favorite dishes... fish and chips!!! :D The food was AMAZING! :D

                   Monday night we headed out to PA. Tuesday morning we went to the Amish village where we went out on a tour of a Amish home built in the late 1800's!  

                       It was so interesting to learn more about the Amish and the way that they live!
                      (Fun fact-- our tour guide said that big pot on the far right weighed 60 ibs. without anything in it! Can you imagine how much it would weigh when it was full? :0)

                           Then we went on a bus tour and got to learn more about the Amish and see some beautiful countryside!! :) 

                                    Tuesday night it was off to the Hershey Theater to see "The Piano Guys!!!!" :) (Personally it was my favorite thing we did on the trip!!!! :D )

                          Cool story: Sarah asked me if I could hear the Piano Guys play one song which one would I choose? I answered "What Makes you Beautiful" (note: I have never heard the original) I said that one because 1. It is so beautiful when they play it and 2. it is so awesome to watch them make so many instruments out of a piano!!!
     Well, they didn't end up playing it. And while I had a great time I was slightly disappointed they didn't play that song. Then there was a encore... and they came out and played the song. I was thrilled. I left the theater praying, "Thanks God, I know that was You." :D     

                     Wednesday me, Mom and Poppa went shopping at a Amish store that morning and then that afternoon we all went to see the play "Moses" at "Sights and Sounds theater"It was tons of fun and very well done.  :)

                                              Me and my lovely Momma at the theater. :) 
 
               And then Thursday we got up early, packed up the car and came home. I am so thankful to God that we had such a amazing things!!! It was a wonderful trip, and one that I will never forget! :)

Hope ya'll enjoyed the pics!! :D

Run From Temptation

      Purity is a subject that's not talked about a lot. Why? Honestly, I don't know. I think some people don't care. Some people don't know anything about it. Some people don't like the idea. And some people are too scared to talk about it.

    Purity is a subject I have been passionate about for a long time. Why? Well, especially in my teen years, I have seen how much making the wrong choices and  impurity can hurt a person. I have seen lots of teens squander their purity and chances for witnessing for the Lord, only to come out hurt and with a broken heart.

    In our teen years, its especially hard to keep pure and live for the Lord. Why? Lots of people say it's the prime of life. The time we will look the best, and our minds will be well developed. Honestly, I think it's because we are changing. Not just physically, but also mentally. Especially in our later teen years, we are making up our minds on what our beliefs are, what we think is right and wrong. Do we believe the same thing our parents believe or do we believe something totally different? It's a very difficult time, it's easy just to throw it all up in the air, fall into sin, and give up.

    So what's all this got to do with purity? Teen years are the time when we will start considering what purity really is, and what we think about it. Its sad, how so many teens throw their purity away, simply because they do what makes them think will give them fulfillment.

    How many times have you heard someone else say, or said yourself, "I want to be pure, but it's so hard!"

    You hit the nail on the head! It's really hard! But often, making the right choice is hard. So, what in the world are we supposed to do to keep pure? So glad you asked. :) This is what God said;

    James 1:12
    "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." 

    We're all going to be tempted. Period. What are we to do when we face temptation? Endure. It's hard to endure temptation... we cannot do it without the Lord's help. But what does He say will happen if we do endure temptation? Look at the last half of the verse. "receive the crown of life."

    Joseph is a prime example of this. Joseph, was quite young, and he was tempted continually by his master's wife. What did Joseph do? He fled from temptation. (Gen. 39:7-13)

     While we struggle through these hard years, I think this is when Satan is most focused on driving us away from the Lord, because this is when we are most vulnerable. Temptation is the best way he can do that.

    The Bible says, as followers of Christ, we are examples of Him on this earth.

    1 Timothy 4:12
    "Let no one despise you for your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

    If we are not following in the footsteps of the world, (especially as young people) how much of a example do you think we will be?

    I feel as if I am rambling (which wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. :D) so you might be wondering what my point is to all of this?

    Resist temptation. Run away from it. Look it in the eye and say that, with the Lord, you are stronger than it. Don't let it in-slave you. Let your purity shine before the world, that people may see your good works, that they may glorify your Father in Heaven.

    It's hard. Whenever you feel down cast, pressured by the world because it doesn't consider your purity cool or hip, remember this, that the Lord loves you. Search for a relationship with Him, not acceptance with the world.  His love is what will last.