Washington/Canada Trip Day 3

 So on Sunday, we had church and then had fellowship at one of the homes. It was really great getting to hang out with some girls my age, making new friends. To avoid the looooooog lines at the main border, we drove through the countryside of Washington to go through another border that isn't so busy. The scenery is absolutely stunning, even in the rain and the houses are HUGE! But from what I hear, the houses are so expensive in Canada that a lot of families share - a.k.a rent out a room or basement suit. I personally cannot imagine sharing a home with anyone but family, but you do what you can do, hey? ( there I go talking Canadian again :P ) So anyway, without further ado, here are some pics of the Washington countryside, some huge houses and border pictures. :D

A.M. pic of the cranes out our vacation home window -
I think this shot is so awesome!

Rainy, but BEAUTIFUL! :D

The roads are very " wavy " as a certain little girl dubbed them ;)

Oh Canada!

This border is so much better than the one I've been through before!

Yay! 

LOVE this house...but isn't it HUGE?!

And yikes, what about THIS one!

At the other border where we had zero success.
40 minute wait ahead, so we went the back way ;)

Just because :D

Love the building style!

Would've been cool to stop in :/

  

Another huge house!

Cloud break! Soooo lovely.

Crane on our dock Sunday night.

And now that I've probably begun to make a certain friend of mine very homesick, I will bid thee adieu! :D

Washington/Canada Trip Day 2

 Well, we are home now, as of yesterday! :) I'm at Cobbs until tonight at church, then I will be home-home. :D Had a fabulous trip with fabulous people, fellowship, and services. ;) On Saturday, we slept in...yay! The beds were sooooo comfy! Charity, the little girls and I went shopping at the little mall a few minutes from where we staying, then came back and entertained for pretty much the rest of the day. It was great! Here are pics:

View from bridge near where we stayed.

Probably the prettiest watermelon I've ever seen!
Love those swirls :D
( It tasted FABULOUS too :D )

Getting ready for supper - Sis Joe on left, Sis Em on right.

How many guys does it take to start a grill? :D :D :D

Instant friends
:)

The sunset, oh the sunset...mmm

The End

( for now )

We Are In Washington! :D

 So I'm here in Washington, just miles from the Canadian border with my " family " the Cobbs! Bro. Rich Cobb, my pastor, is holding some services at a church across the border. We are at a lovely, lovely house right on the bay in Blaine. We arrived yesterday and it has been SO fun and relaxing. :) Absolutely in bliss. :) We will be here until Tuesday! Yay! I have been taking lots of photos. Here are a few of our drive up and of the view from the house.

Seattle - the big city :)

Seattle

Seattle

Seattle - the Space Needle
( I've been here when I was little! :D )

Sagit River Bridge Collapse

The house we are so blessed to stay in :)

View with tide coming in

Tide in, view from pier

Someone Who Died For Me

 Thought I would post this because it went right along with the message this morning - so moving I was almost crying!

I have Someone Who died for me.

Someone Who broke all my chains,

Who cleansed my sinful, sin-sickened heart.

Someone Who set me free for eternity.

This Someone died on a cruel, rugged cross.

He was buried in a tomb - a grave - for me.

He went down and broke through hell's gates

To rob darkness of a key.

A key to my soul.

My poor, wretched soul.

I don't know why He chose my key,

Or why He loves me so,

But He told me Himself that He does.

Told me that the filthy sin stains I once had

Were washed away at a place called Calvary.

I then realized that this, His blood, His scars,

Had saved me from a hell I deserved.

Oh! Wretched man that I am! 

He loved me.

Despite my sin, my guilt, my shame,

He simply loved me!

He has taken me in as His own,

Called me by name.

He then placed underneath,

Written in His blood,

Ransomed, Redeemed, Free.

How I weep for joy at those words,

Realizing their meaning.

Knowing that they spoke about me.

I didn't have to turn back to a sin-filled life,

Nor did I desire to.

I, a wretched sinner, condemned to hell,

Had been set free and was now a child of The King.

Worthy was I now to worship at His throne,

Worship with all other Ransomed and Redeemed

At the feet of Jesus,

My Lord, 

My Savior,

My King!

Kindred Spirits

 I had the most amazing experience if a lifetime today! There is this new little cafe in town that my folks discovered that we have been going to that is gluten free. The owners are really nice, and Christians too. Today I went in to drop off a resume of sorts because they had mentioned that they may need to hire on more help in the coming months. There is this girl that works there that I had noticed the first time I went and had briefly chatted with about baking, which is pretty much her main task at the cafe. Well, when I went in today, after I had talked with the owner for awhile, she was like, " I am going to take my lunch break and would love to talk to you, can you stay awhile longer? " I was so excited! So I did, and we had a blast! The Lord is so faithful and true, providing above and beyond what we ask for and need as His children. Yuliya and I have been texting and we have found that we are true kindred spirits, even down to loving Anne of Green Gables. :) So, today my heart is exceedingly glad for the new friend that has been given to me right when I needed one. :)

Untitled

 This post is dedicated to my wonderful, beautiful friend Elena who came to visit me ( okay, and her family ) this past week and a half from Florida. Here she is! :)

 We went to the Salem Riverfront Carousel that day...Saturday, I guess it was. Quite a lovely, long day in which we did an crazy amount of walking and staying up waaaaaay too late for a pre-church night. ;P But hey, that's what having best friends are for, right?

 I didn't get a lot of pictures, but she did. I will post a few of mine at a later time. Right now my brain is kinda fried from staying up late three nights in a row and being on the go so much too. ;P 

 Back to my Laina, though. Wow, this girl is AH-MAZING! :D She'll roll her eyes and "hate" me for saying all this, but I'm just gonna spill on how special she is. ;) She is so alive! Even when she is being really quiet, if something strikes her just right, she will let out this laugh that makes you bubble with laughter right along with her. Creative, spunky, gifted, loving, and downright hilarious, this girl is the best. :) Understanding, sympathetic, a good listener. We had so many heart-to-heart talks and moments where we would have a whole conversation not with words, but by sharing just a look. Or, like, we'd talk about something in front of someone and no one else got it, but we did. Isn't that the best? :D 

 She left me today, and is at this very minute in the air somewhere flying " home " ( :P ) to Florida. Always a bummer to have her go, but I'm thanking God that there is email and skype and blogger and good, old-fashioned snail mail. ;) That is the best part, really. Knowing that even though someone you love has to leave, that you will stay in touch by all means possible until you meet again. Those are the best kind of friendships. :) 

Love ya, Laina!

Walk With Me Jesus

 Today's post is quite personal to me, but I know that many will find it personal to them as well, for this is a battle we all face at one time or another. 

" Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even unto me with all your heart, 

and with fasting, and with weeping and with mourning. 

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God:

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger,

and of great kindness and repenteth him of the evil. "

Joel 2:12-13

" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thy own understanding. "

Proverbs 3:5

 You wonder at the purpose of these verses. In the past, I have talked about idols and victory and struggle and many other things besides just the " fun stuff. " The last week or so ( perhaps even much longer than that, for things sometimes creep up slowly ) I have felt so alone. I berated myself, saying that I am not alone, God is always with me. But it didn't feel like he was. I went around doing all the things a Christian ought to do. I went to Bible study and church, read my Bible and prayed. Yet, I felt...that I was lacking something. What, I did not know.

 Finally, I broke down. I had begun to make many mistakes. I felt worse than ever. Crying out to God, I told Him I had hit rock bottom. It hit me then. That was exactly where He wanted me. I had been trying to survive on my own self-righteousness. I had been trying. Trying to be a good Christian, trying to do all the things I am supposed to do as a believe in Christ. That was were I had begun to fail. You know that part of the verse above, about rending your heart and not your garments? I see that as letting Christ do the work in you instead of you trying to do it all yourself. 

 So, I let go. I prayed through. Really. For the first time in a long time, and not out of " obligation ". And you know what? It has been amazing ever since. I am so much happier. I feel so light and free. Realizing that I shouldn't do things out of obligation or because ' it's the thing to do ' freed me up to let the Holy Spirit move freely. Now He can satisfy my longing. Now I can have peace. Now I can have victory. Because now, I am not trying. Jesus came in and touched my heart and heard my cries. He is healing the broken pieces. Thank You, Lord Jesus. I love YOU!!!