This week was a little crazy...I was in the library every chance I got, sometimes doing work, other times not so much:p Well when you're with Steph squared and Tay-Wow it can be a tad bit hard to concentrate!
So the main reason I haven't blogged in the past week was because I was waiting to finish editing the pictures from the SAO Spring Retreat!!! Tonight I officially finished and although I came home with 800 pictures, I narrowed it down to approximately 407:)
Retreat was absolutely amazing and life changing!! Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend....
A weekend full of:
Jesus
Jumping into the 30 degree lake:) I can officially now say that I've completed a polar dive!
French Braids
Nature
Sisters
Bonding
Laughing
Singing/Music
Late night chats
Fishbowl
A new SAO pet: "Buddy"
Fish of every sort:)
The theme of this years retreat: Fishers of Men! Kudos to the Retreat Committee for the awesome shirts!
I had such an amazing time with each and every one of these beautiful ladies, I created some new bonds and feel deeper in love with Christ. The devos were amazing and I came back feeling so refreshed. I realized that it's time to get out there and share this wonderful gift that God has gracious given us. During the last devo, Steph C asked us to think of one person who is close to us that doesn't know the Lord, she asked us to pray that God would give us the strength to share his love with that person. The one person who popped into my head was: My Dad, although he claims he is a believer, he doesn't understand my mother's dedication to the church and I believe that he has lost his connection with Christ. I am making it my goal to share Gods amazing gift and love with my father this summer. It will definitely be a struggle but I know that God will be right there with me, helping the words of his love flow from my lips.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19
Over retreat I also realized what selfless compassion and love truly are. My beloved sister, Stephanie Cancro showed me this. On Saturday night I was an emotional wreck, my friend and I were struggling through something and I was just so hurt. For those of you who know me, I am not a big crier, it takes a lot for me to cry and when I do it's not like a couple tears, it's massive, I basically drown myself in saltwater and snot and the sounds that come out of my mouth are scary! I was laying in the darkness of my room at the lake house when I heard someone climb into bed beside me. At this point, I had been crying for about 20 minutes and my "nankie" was already covered in snot and tears. I turned over to find Steph laying beside me. She stayed with me until I stopped crying which took about 2 hours, the entire time she silently scratched my back, except for when she got up to go get me tissues aka a roll of toilet paper she had stuffed in her sweatshirt pocket in an attempt to conceal it:) She never asked questions, she just laid with me and scratched my back while I sobbed. I was so shocked. I have never had anyone who has ever done that for me. Through Stephanie I learned what unconditional love was and how to show it. I realized that I desired to have that kind of unconditional love and compassion for my friends. Thank you Steph for everything, you have no idea how much that meant to me and how much I learned. I love you so much. God has truly blessed me by placing you in my life.
Needless to say, the Retreat was amazing and so humbling. I love my sisters so much, I don't know what I would do without them in my life.
Nothing to exciting recently, just editing pictures for the past week, doing homework, and hanging out with my SAO sisters who are everywhere: I love it:)
Until we meet again....
No comments:
Post a Comment