Our counselors challenged us to memorize Romans 6:1-5:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” (ESV)

The chapel sessions were about having a cross-centered life. I was reminded that I need to die to my sin and live to Christ. I realized that I love my sin and too often I let it take the center of my life, instead of the Gospel being at the center. I am not truly living to Christ if I’m still living in sin! I loved learning more about the Gospel and worshiping God with singing.

I made some great friends, good memories, and I grew closer to God. It was a great way to start a cross-centered summer. I loved being at camp and I can’t wait to go again!

“A glad heart makes a cheerful face.” Proverbs 15:13

Today I was sitting in church thinking and not really paying attention to anything going on around me (before the service started!).  I must have had a sad looking face or something, because a lady came to me and motioned, telling me to smile. I responded with a smile and after that I tried to keep a smile on my face. It was a good reminder that what I wear on my face is important. My attitude is my choice. I can choose to have a positive attitude and smile, or I can choose to be negative. I can’t smile all the time, there is a time to mourn. But most of the time my “mourning” is rooted in self-pity and can be remedied by a change of my attitude. I’ve noticed that when I’m in a bad mood, all I have to do is smile and my attitude changes along with my face. Proverbs 15:13 says that “a glad heart makes a cheerful face”, but it is also true that a cheerful face makes a glad heart. Smiling is good! Another good thing about a smile is that it is contagious. Not only can it change your heart, but the hearts of people around you. So try smiling today!

Photo taken by my dad.

I watched the sunrise over the lake today. It was a beautiful sunrise. As I was watching, a thought came to me. The sunrise wouldn’t be half as beautiful if it just popped up instead of rising slowly. It reminded me of the verse I quoted above. The slowness of the sunrise is what makes it beautiful. It is God’s perfect design for His creation. He makes everything beautiful, in its time. Sometimes we wish we could make time go by faster. Last night, my little brother and I were working in the kitchen. “Don’t you wish we could fast forward through life?” he asked. “If we did that, we would miss out on all the little stuff. And the exciting parts of life wouldn’t be as exciting.” I replied. The little parts of life are just as important as the bigger things. God’s timing is perfect, and His timing makes everything beautiful.

Photo taken by my Mom. See more here.

• Emma by Jane Austen
• Wrestling Prayer by Eric and Leslie Ludy
• A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot
• Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot

These photos were taken by my brother, Luke.

I love fall, especially when we do things like we did today or go on “fall color tours” with the family. I love hiking. I like to walk slow so I can take it all in. I miss the flowers and sun of summer, but nothing beats the colorful trees and quiet moments of fall. There’s just something about a beautiful day that makes me feel closer to God. If you read my blog often, you know how much I love His creation. I look forward to when all the leaves turn colors, that has to be my favorite thing about fall. I’ll savor every minute of this season, because I know it won’t be long and there will be….snow….falling (I hate to say that). Well, I like winter too, when it doesn’t last too long, but I’m not ready for that yet!

The acorns are falling. Our trees have had a bountiful harvest of acorns this year. When they fall on the roof, it sounds like some one is throwing rocks. A couple of nights ago as I was lying in bed, an acorn fell so hard on the roof that I jumped up right. When I walk around outside, it feels like walking on marbles.

The leaves are falling. While on a walk with my mom the other day, I found a red leaf. It was one of the first I had seen this season. There is a tree in front of the church that turns a beautiful color red in the fall. When that starts changing I know fall will be here for sure.

The footballs are falling. Or flying, if that’s how you want to say it. My family really likes watching football. I like college football. Well, only when the Buckeyes are playing (Go Bucks!). Other than that, I am not really in to football. My little brothers have spent hours outdoors this week playing football. I think I might join them one of these days.

I will miss summer though. I will miss wearing flip-flops and walking on the beach and swimming. I will miss lying in the hammock and being lazy. I will miss sitting around a campfire and eating s’mores. I will miss the breeze coming in through my window and the songs of the birds in the morning. I will miss summer, but I will enjoy this fall season. There are plenty of things to enjoy about fall. What is one thing you enjoy most about this time of the year?

My mom took this picture, you can see more of her shots here.

This picture I took today of the bean plants. The carrots and onions I planted have sprouted as well but they are too small for me to take a picture of them. There are some brave little weeds poking up too. It din’t take long for them to show up on their own.

I look forward to seeing some produce from our garden. One of my favorite things about gardening is seeing all the stages of a plant’s life. Isn’t it wonderful how one little seed can grow into a big tomato plant, producing multiple tomatoes that are full of even more seeds? This all points to the Creator of the earth that commanded living things to be fruitful and multiply. God is so amazing!