My Kayaking Story

I went kayaking for the first time in years last weekend. I had a blast! My bestie and I went to one of the nearby lakes and rented a two person Kayak. The people working tell you nothing! They don't even ask if you know what you are doing they just send you on your way. We had no idea what we were doing... I didn't even know how to put on my life jacket!

We got into our Kayak and the guy pushed us out into the water. We didn't know how to paddle so we starting drifting towards him. My friend, Christy, yelled, "Excuse me, we are coming right for you!" He turned around and gave us another push. We finally made it out of the bay, but not even five minutes later, we hit a brick wall. Christy was sitting in front so she used her paddle to push off from the wall. I told her not to paddle while I tried to figure out how we turn. I figured it out and from there we were good or so we thought.

We didn't bring our phones because my dad was convinced we were going to tip and honestly, if we did, neither of us would have been surprised! Without our phones, we were unable to keep track of time and the rental place charges by the hour. After spending what felt like a few hours on the water (I'm still not sure how long we actually had the Kayak) we starting paddling towards shore. Our timing was perfect- There was a Sailboat class starting and I'll admit, our navigation skills were not the best! As we got closer to the bay we decided to cut through the docks where the sailboats were anchored. We made the turn and then immediately hit a draft... Right in front of the rental place and hundreds of people. But it's okay, we returned to shore and gave our boat back thankfully, in one piece!

We had quite the rocky start in this adventure but by the end, we had it down! I have been told Sports Authority has Kayaks on sale and I would love to buy one. Kayaking could totally be my new hobby and it would be well worth the money, renting is not cheap! But, until I have place to store a Kayak I'll have to rent or borrow my uncles. :)

Jesus Calling Devotion

I wanted to share an excerpt from “Jesus Calling” from last week:

Bring me all your feelings, even the ones you wish you didn’t have.  Fear and anxiety still plague you.  Feelings per se are not sinful, but they can be temptations to sin.  Blazing missiles of fear fly at you day and night; these attacks from the evil one come at you relentlessly.  Use your shield of faith to extinguish those flaming arrows.  Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel.  If you persist, your feelings will eventually fall in line with your faith.

Do not hide from your fear or pretend it isn’t there.  Anxiety that you hide in the recesses of your heart will give birth to the fear of fear; a monstrous stepchild.  Bring your anxieties our into the Light of My Presence, where we can deal with them together.  Concentrate on trusting Me, and fearfulness will gradually lose its foothold within you.

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

Teddy Bear Colors

Teddy Bear Colors:

- Multiple colors of Construction paper or Cardstock
- Teddy Bear template from Google
- Marker to draw on faces
- Scissors to cut out the bears

Buzzzz!

Start this rhyme by putting on the glove and hiding your hand behind the beehive.  Then say something like this: Do you know what this is? It’s a beehive!  Do you know what lives in a beehive? Bees!  And what sound do bees make? Buzzzzzzz.  Everybody buzz like a bee!  Keep it going…

Here is a beehive. Where are the bees?
Hidden away where nobody sees.
Soon they come creeping out of the hive (have one bee peek out)
1-2-3-4-5! BUZZ! (bring each finger out as you count)
(make your bees fly all around the hive)

Thanks, Sunflower Storytime for this great idea!

Berry and White Chocolate Scones

Blackberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry and White Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:

3  cups Flour
1 cup Oatmeal
2/3 cup Sugar + 2 tbsp
2/3 cup Milk
11 tbsp melted Butter
1 package White Chocolate Chips (I use less)
2 Eggs
2 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
1 pkg (fresh Raspberries or variety of fruit)

Preheat oven to 375. Measure all ingredients and put in a bowl; except for white chocolate chips and fruit. Mix ingredients together. Add White Chocolate Chips. Carefully fold in Raspberries until easily distributed. Some berries will be smashed in the process. Batter will be sticky. Drop dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until browned.

Overwhelmed

Ever had one of those days, weeks or months where you feel completely overwhelmed? Last week was finals week for my summer classes. Instead of having 16 weeks to complete four classes with labs I had four weeks. I was overwhelmed from day one, but kept reminding myself to take it one day at a time. This week, I started an internship for school. On Sunday night, I wrote out my schedule and just looking at it made had me stressed out. The only thing getting me through this crazy month of June is God’s Word. Below are some verses from Scripture that have stood out to me these past few days and maybe they are just what some of you need to read too!

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” Psalm 28:7

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:19

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3

“For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

“But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.” John 14:1