March Madness

March has been a very crazy month! Heres what I have done so far...
I went to the wonderful state of COLORADO for my spring break! Here are some pictures.



I tried snowboarding this year! I liked it, but I don't know if I liked it more than skiing.




This is me at the very top of the mountain!




This my friends, is Copper Mountain.




Seriously, it was SO pretty.



We left on Sunday afternoon around 2pm and we stopped in Goodland, Kansas at the fancy Super 8. (ha!) We left around 10:30, or 9:30, I wasn't sure about the mountain time and with daylight savings time. My room ended up waking up at 7:30 not 8:30.. The fact that we got less sleep than we wanted was pretty frustrating. We were on the road for another 5-6 hours and then we made it to Frisco, Colorado! I can't even describle how pretty the view is on the way to Colorado. Getting to watch the mountains grow bigger and bigger until they are surrounding you is insane.
I had a really great time and Im so glad I got to spend my week here!
There is A LOT going on next week, so stay tuned for a long blog. :)
XOXO
Bethany

A semester later..

I have had zero time to blog about what all has gone on. If you would of told me a year ago that I would be at Hillcrest High School, working at Subway and living with my Papa Paul, I would of told you that you were out of your mind. But thats where I am at right now in my life. I am in my second semester at Hillcrest and I guess it has gotten slightly better. First semester was a mess. I cried a lot. I had the worst attitiude over everything. I stopped reading my Bible. I was awful. I never saw my grandma anymore. I missed hanging out with my friends. I was angry at God and what he was making me go through. But over the last 5-6 months, I realized something. I got saved this summer, and God knew that I needed to be at Hillcrest for a reason.. but why?! Our work, our school, wherever we are is our missions field. Since going here, I have witnessed to numerous people and I have been able to be the light in a very dark place. You could say that I've gotten better, and yeah I think I have. But I still have my moments when I get upset over a rude comment someone says, or when I think about what I "should" be doing at Ash Grove. I still get emotional and shed silly tears. But thats just a part of the grieving process I suppose. My heart will always have a spot for Ash Grove and I believe thats where my home truely is here on Earth. But its only my temperary home. Heaven is my real home, so there is no use in getting upset over things on Earth. Through this experience, it has helped me realize things about myself that I need to work on. I don't do well with change, even the slightest bit. I close people out and take my anger out on them. I also keep to myself and dont let people in even when they try to help. Worst of them all, I took God out of the equation. Not only was I closing my family out, but I closed off from God. Im still working on mending that relationship, but it's getting better.
I will try and post more often since I am in a computer class and have a lot of free time!
XOXO
Bethany

My testimony

So God has done some crazy things in my life this year, but especially this week. I'm going to share my testimony and I encourage you to read it to the end!

Okay, so I grew up going to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I knew that my parents werent going to let me get out of going to church, and when I was sick and had to stay home, I would be excited! But on June 12, 2002 I got saved. I wish I could tell you about that night, but unfortunately, I dont remember that night. The only reason why I know the date is because it was written in the Bible Id recieved upon my salvation. I dont know if I felt any conviction, of if I just wanted to get saved because a friend wanted to. I dont know if I meant what I prayed or if I even knew what the gospel truely was. 

After that, I had gotten baptised, but the only reason why I know that is because people have told me. I dont even remember the day or moment I got baptised. For some reason I thought it was okay that I didnt remember it. But growing up, I didnt really crave a personal relationship with God, rather just trying to follow his word and be a good person and live a good life so people knew I was a Christian. I had never once doubted my salvation, but I would get jealous to others who were growing close to God and I wasnt and I didnt know why. I had never doubted my salvation because I thought since I wanted to be good and obey the Bible that I was saved, but just because youre a good person doesnt mean that you deserve to get into Heaven, you have to have that personal relationship with God. 

Anyways, this week I kept having thoughts in my head like, "I cant even remember when I got saved, am I saved?" and I would tell myself, "Yes of course you are, you are a good person and you read your Bible and blah blah blah" Well when invitation time came, I got this weird feeling kind of like butterflies, but butterflies are in your stomach, and this was in my heart. I kept ignoring it, and I told my friend Bethany Bumpers what was going on and she just told me to pray that if I wasnt saved that God would keep convicting me, but if I really was saved then to take the doubt away. Anytime a preacher preached, I couldnt focused because my thoughts were just invaded with doubts and conviction. 

Now before I had gone down the isle, new thoughts entered my mind. "What will people think about me?" "Will they make fun of me?" But then I realized, that 1. My eternal soul is at stake 2. If they are truely saved, then they will be happy for me and 3. I dont care what anyone thinks! Going down the isle took alot of humility and it made me realize how prideful I really was. But I took my pride level down, and humility up and walked down the isle.

On Wednesday June 27, 2012 I went down to go pray to have the conviction stop, and before I could start praying, I just started crying and I couldnt stop. I knew then that the conviction was so overwhelming that God was telling me that I needed to get saved because I never truely had when I was six. 

After church I went to Bethany Bumpers and we went to a room. I knew that I needed to get saved, so she prayed for me and then I got down on my knees and I admitted that I was a sinner and needed God. I believed that God sent his only son Jesus to earth to live a perfect life and he died on the cross for my sins, but rose 3 days later and is living in Heaven and is soon to return for his children soon! I confessed my sins and right then I knew God was living in my heart.

After that, it was just like I had been carrying a backpack all week, and finally I got to take it off, and God took it for me.

I know for sure that I am saved, and I never have to doubt again!!! Im looking forward to getting baptised to publicly announce my salvation!

Thats my testimony and I hope you enjoyed. :) 

Slacking

Sorry I haven't really posted lately.. I've been super busy! My house is still for sale and I'm still in ash grove. It's sometimes hard being in ash grove when my time is done here and it's time to move on, but there's a reason why god still has us in ag and obviously he wants us here a little longer!!! I'm anxious and excited for the next year ahead and you all will get to hear all about it!!

change has come!

Well, I havent exactly posted in a while, because so much has been going on!
Well, As I suspected, change definatly did happen!!
heres the story behind it all..



First of all everything that has happened in my life the last weeks, and soon to be, is all apart of Gods plan and I cant wait to see it take action!
Well, our life started changing when we began helping at Freeway Ministries. My parents got involved, dicipling, and I got involved in child care. We began going every Saturday, and soon it was put into the everyday schedule.
Another thing that changed in December was my brother, Bryson, graduated and moved out! Talk about some quick changes!
Things sort of slowed down, but then I heard something about my dad applying for a job. What? Leaving Ash Grove? Moving? No way. I had my life exactly planned out. This was definately not in the plans!
After a while, I didnt hear anything about the job, and so I sort of put all the changing on the back burner and continued my daily life at Ash Grove.
Then Spring came. More talks about job positions. Business Teacher, FBLA advisor and football coaching. (God was obviously opening some doors and was telling us it was time to leave ash grove)( I just didnt realize it at the time because I was being too stubborn)
Dad applied for a Glendale position. Oh boy, change had been taken from the back burner to the front and it was boiling! I began crying over the silliest sings because it may of been my last. But I knew that God was in control and I really started reading his word, sincerely praying, and giving him my life because I had put all my trust in him. Weeks went by, and we didnt hear anything. I was getting nervous, because I did not want to go to Glendale! Later that week, they posted the job, and my dad never got an interview.
So I thought, good. All that nonsense is over with..
Later that week, a hillcrest job had come up. Now I knew some people that went to hillcrest, and that location was close to church, so I was a little more open about it. (This is when I began to accept that change was going to come and I started my blog Im letting Go that talked about change) I was still upset because I knew somehow or another I would be leaving my friends, but especially my best friend Katelyn. Dad then recieved a phone call from a football coach, things started to get a little more serious and hopeful that he would get the job.
Coach Beckham assured him that he would get an interview. Sure enough, he got one! My mom and I began looking at houses, just in case. I was getting a little excited about the fact that Hillcrest may be my high school. But dont get me wrong, I was still mega upset about the thought of leaving my school and Cheer friends.
Dad nailed the interview. We would know by Monday!
(By the way, this was like a month long process! I am not a very patient person! God definately made me learn patience!!!)
The weekend was choir state, and I knew that would be my last choir state at Ash Grove.
The weekend flew by, and Monday was the day I was going to find out.
I was the biggest ball of emotions. Happy. Sad. Mad. Confused. Angry. Nervous. You name it.
I came into his room during the day, and found out that he had gotten the job!
That day was the worst. I cried all day at school! I was super emotional, because I knew for sure that my life would be changing and I would never graduate with my best friend.
My plans obviously werent what God planned for me, otherwise I'd still be at Ash Grove!
Through all of this, I know that God really does care about me, and he has a plan fit perfectly for my life.
Im excited to see what God is going to do in my life as I leave Ash Grove and go to hillcrest after the summer!


So thats my story! I know that one day I will look back and see why God is doing what he's doing, but right now its so hard. Its hard leaving friends and cheer and what I know as normal!!
Please be praying for my family as we make this transition, and that we can sell our house!
thanks for reading!
Stay tuned to see what god does!!
XOXO

Change

AH! It has been such a long couple weeks! Change may or may not be happening. I will be able to post the WHOLE story on Wednesday. Just please please please, for all those who are reading this, please be praying for my family tomorrow!! Thank you!!
XOXO

Change

To be or not to be.
God provides us with my doors. Some open and some closed. That illistration shows us that God gives us oppertunities and sometimes it isnt met to be in his plan, so he closes that door.
In my families life, some doors have been opening, but then not too soon after closing, one is opened right now, and obviously I would like it to stay open, but I keep fighting with my flesh. It doesnt matter if I want the door open, it only matters if God wants to keep the door open!
God is teaching me how to be patient and trusting and relying and depending on him!
So far, its been an adventure. My flesh was furious at first. ( along with upset, angry, hurt, shocked ect.) But after a few days of prayer and bible reading, I began to start getting happy and rejoicing. Because when God is intentionally opening doors, you know that change is going to come.
Its so awesome to know that the God of this universe is opening the doors, and closing the ones that should be closed, because he cares about ME and my family!! Me, a speck on this Earth. Yet he cares so much about me and my life that he goes out of his way to make doors open.
Whoever is reading this, I serve a mighty God. You may be saved and have that close personal relationship with him like I do, but you may not. You may be a lost sinner and have no hope on this Earth. Let me tell you, with God, you cant help but have hope, even in troubling times!!
Living for God is so much greater than ANYTHING this world can offer you!
Living a sinful, pleasure filled life isnt worth spending forever burning in Hell.
Spend each moment of your life living for God and doing His will, because eternity in Heaven will be so worth it!
And why wouldnt you want to praise the one who created Earth? Who created everything so delicately and carefully. He is so wonderfully perfect, you cant help but praise and love him!
Just a little bit of my thoughts and encouragement of the day.
XOXO
Bethany