Reckless Abandonment

What do you think of when you hear those two words?  I will always think of a girl's weekend, the book of Ruth, and what it means to truly follow Christ.  Last weekend the girls in my youth group loaded on a bus and set out for Gatlinburg for a weekend of laughter and praise.  {and more than a few odd faces}

We stayed in a huge cabin, sharing a room with anywhere from four to eight girls, which honestly can be quite chaotic and crazy, not to mention slightly dangerous.  Maybe the people who built these things shouldn't have put ledges close enough to the beds to jump off of.  Just saying. 

We hung out and rode the bus, which I have to say is amazing.  I'm pretty much in love with bus trips.  Yeah, I'm weird.

We even got dressed up and went for a fancy dinner.  And I did it all with my best friend and sistah, Holly.  Isn't she just BEAUTIFUL!  And do you like my bangs?  I love them!

This has to be my favorite picture of the weekend.  It's just so genuine and un-posed.  It truly showed the emotion of the weekend, not to mention the beauty of these girls!

Yeah, we were weird too.  And we like to "hold" people.

And all the while there's me with my camera snapping pictures at really odd times. 

I love the sunflare in this picture.  It makes her look like a model or something.  And let me just say again that these girls are gorgeous inside and out!

And because I'm the "resident photographer" I got volunteered to take these lovely ladies' pictures.  I must say it was my pleasure because they entertained me more than I did them!

And we ate, who can forget that?

Worship was so amazing.  The girl who lead it had a voice that sounded like Adele's and the songs she chose really spoke deep into my heart.  We sung a song called Break Every Chain and every time I heard those words;

There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
To break every chain
To break every chain
To break every chain

I just wanted to forget the world and lift my hands in praise to the One who can break every chain that holds me back---all the worries and jealousy that mar my life.  It was absolutely amazing to take a timeout from my chaotic life and just stand there with no distractions and thank God for the blessings He's given me and to ask him to direct my path.

The book of Ruth really spoke to me too.  Ruth had gotten a taste of God during the years she had been with Naomi and her family and she wanted to know Him so bad that she was willing to leave everything comfortable and known behind her just so she could grow spiritually.  I just thought that was so eye-opening.  God has been changing so many things in my life lately and it's just interesting to see that He uses changes like that to show me that I need to continue growing and that if I have to get out of my comfort zone to do that, I need to.

I also really learned about being a leader in this kind of setting.  On the last night it was like things just snapped for many of the girls and people just started sobbing all over the place.  I felt like God was telling me just to go and hug and pray with my friends and with people I didn't even know all that well.  It definitely made me think about what being a leader in the youth group really means.

{doesn't this look like a double exposure?  It's really just a picture though the glass door!  It's crazy awesome!}

And honestly, what's a girl's trip without a little OneDirecton? (or a lot) {and maybe a little JB?)

I'm not kidding, I had his song Boyfriend stuck in my head for days because they played in on the bus like eight(y) times!  haha!

And overall, I just got to know a lot of really amazing people I had met before but never really known.  I had a pretty amazing weekend.  Have you had these kind of experiences before?

i'm a freshmen :)

yes, you heard me right.

And this is what this freshmen wore on the first day of school.

minus the guitar of course.  i love playing the guitar.  love it.  i just learned how to play the song, Hallelujah and i love it!  i'll have to post a video of me singing it for you all sometime.  :)

oh, and don't you just adore polaroids?

i spent a lot of time with my new best friend Hadley this summer!  i've only known her for around six months but i feel like i have known her for years!  love her!

this picture was taken with my sister's new Ipad {yay} when Hadley was over some time this summer.  we were trying to do our cheap imitation of freerunning and look like gangstahs at the same time.  we are so cool.

 

 i also got to go back to Doe River Gorge for a day with a bunch of my friends!  we did a bunch of ziplining and yes, i even got blobbed...you should have seen my face...that's all i'm saying.  

when i got out i started taking pictures with my new ipod {i'm in love} and this is what came out.  isn't it interesting?  i love it!

 and then my friend, Morgan joined in on the action and we took some really cool sunglasses photography.  and yes, i was in a way copying D.J.  sorry...i couldn't resist, his phone photography is so amazing!

that's it folks!  i'm going into the third week of school tomorrow.  I adore my class---all eleven of them {i go to a tiny school but it's a jump from eight} and i think i'm really going to like all my new subjects and my teachers.  

one more thing.  i probably won't post for a week or two.  my class is going on a retreat to Wesley Woods on Thursday and Friday and then i leave to go camping.  Oh, how i love camping.  i promise to bring back lovely pictures to show you all when i get back!

cheerio!