"I hear you loud and clear!" :)

It is finally November and the long awaited D-Now has come upon us. Well, that was my feeling last week. :)

Last Friday, Nov. twelfth 2010 Kiley, Kole and I packed up in Kiley's truck for the long awaited D-Now. We piled in not really sure how the road trip would go or if I knew the directions all they way. However, it ended up being one of the best road trips and we didn't get lost! :) We got to the church during worship and was introduced to our students then we wished each other good luck and headed out to our separate host homes. I stayed at Bro. Tracy's house which was beautiful and so much fun. I had three girls in my senior high group.
The first thing we did when we got to our "home" for the weekend was set up beds and then do our first bible study.
I was so nervous to lead this by myself but it turned out really well. The first lesson opened up doors for me to share my testimony which in return made the girls feel as if they could relate to me. After the first session we went into the kitchen for some late night snacks where out on the counter laid the best invention EVER...a s'more maker! Ahhh...my first s'more all fall/winter season and let me tell you it was to die for! The marshmellow was the size of a baseball...no joke. We made such a huge mess but that mess turned into a great photo opportunity. ;)
Once our tummy's where full we headed to the girls room to hang out and have some "girl-talk" time...however the girls acted as if they wanted to share then stopped so considering it was the first night i decided that I'd let them sleep and we would push the subject more tomorrow...
I left their room and went into my room, crawled into bed and was all about sleeping when i heard a lot of noise then my door opens but i can't see anyone, why? Because those silly girls were on the floor crawling to my room, needless to say they all piled into my bed and started opening up. It was some of the best conversation and was a great time to share with these girls that no matter what their past entitles, God still Loves them! After our late night "spill your guts" talk they went to bed and so did I. Only to be woken up by them before my alarm went off...silly girls. Saturday was the only full day we got with the students and it was packed full with 4 sessions, a picture scavenger hunt, dinner at Ta'mollys, worship and fellowship time with friends. A great day to say the least!
I think God for the D-Now weekend and not just because it was a chance for the students to grow but a chance for us college leaders to grow as well. I realized that weekend that I had allowed myself to be overly busy to the point were God was coming last. I also had a "I hear you loud and clear God" moment during our late night conversation when I kept telling the girls that they needed to guard their hearts and not to let a guy run all over you and bring you down. Yet, once i stopped and analyzed my own life...i was doing the exact opposite of EVERYTHING i had just told them. I was dating a guy who had broken my heart at least three times and who ran all over me. :( I wasn't happy and joyful anymore I was being brought down, made to feel awful about life, myself and our relationship. However, i wasn't the only one who experienced one of these moments because Kiley and Kole both had their own realization that weekend.
The weekend ended with one of my girls getting saved and another one of my girls rededicating her life and both joining the wonderful church family that I myself have come to love, Unity Baptist!
Oh, but don't fret us college leaders have made the necessary changes in our lives to account for what we learned that weekend too.
All in all the weekend was wonderful and God never ceases to amaze me!!


This is part of the D-Now group...we are missing a few. It was such a great weekend!

Juniors Already?

I have been a junior in college for two months now...WOW! That just seems crazy to me. However, it has been wonderful. I love it! I have a new roommate and it is going so good. We get along great and we spend 90% of our time laughing together and 10% of our time sharing our frustrations...and trust me there is a lot of them. We are definitely stressful educated. haha.
My friends and I started a girls night...we are the self proclaimed Hellcats! It is so much fun we all get together eat dinner and then pile up in someones living room to watch a movie. I sure do love my friends and all the fun we have together.

Nikki Bain, my roommate, is great! She came home with me for a one night trip last week. We drove in and met some of my friends at our favorite restaurant, El Acapulco, and then went to the mall where we did a little bit of shopping. Next, we came back to my house and watched the movie Remember me which is UGH...i do not like it, it frustrates me beyond all measures. :P lol Then Saturday we got up, got ready and went with my mom for some BBQ nachos...Yummy!! haha After, lunch we went to  Katie's 6th birthday party. It was so cute! I love that little girl! :) Overall, it was a fantastic weekend! I loved it and I loved having Nikki home with me. Can't wait for the next time she comes home with me!

Here are some pictures from our trip...








We had so much fun and i hope all four of my readers enjoyed hearing about it. :)

God has laid this passage on my heart lately:
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when the carry out their wicked schemes.?
Psalm 37:4-7

God Bless!

Long Past Due...

It has been awhile since the last time I wrote on here so I'll do a quick recap of whats been going on. After the road trip to see wonderful friends I went to work for a week at GCBY. GCBY is Greene County Baptist Youth Camp, it was a unique experience. Going from the first camp i worked at this summer where i knew EVERYONE...to this camp were I knew less than 10 people it was a little bit different. There was some drama but when is there not drama when teenagers are involved. There was even some grand theft auto...done by yours truly! :) Yep, that's right one of the guy counselors was brave enough to give me the keys to his car to unlock it for two campers yet instead I stole it for a very brief joy ride. The guy was standing in the middle of the road laughing waiting for me to give him back his car well i wasn't stopping because I knew he would move to the side but one of the teenagers had yet to close their door and yep...I hit him with his own car. Don't worry we only going 5mph. 


After, camp I went home and got ready for a leadership conference with some other OBU friends. It was a great conference with wonderful speakers. It was one of those things that can only be describe with it was a God thing and it really was. This conference opportunity came at a perfect time when I was so burnt out and exhausted and needed my cup refilled and this conference was great for that. Some of the speakers just spoke right to my heart while others gave me ways to improve my leadership skills. All in all it was just a great growing timing.


After, this I went and served on a youth mission trip to Nebraska. This trip holds a dear place in my heart. This year makes my 4th year on this trip. I love it up there and i love the kids...oh how i love those kids. Our team did wonderful and worked well together this year. It seemed for the most part we were all on the same page! :)

Well, that was all of July now to catch up on August...school started and i had to be back early for R.A training. I love Ouachita Baptist University and believe that it is truly a place to call home. However, when getting ready to come back to school I had mixed feelings. I wanted to be back here yet the church i worked at all summer and a boy that I became close to still had my heart stuck at home. Not saying that I can't have either when I'm away its just not the same as being there day after day. Yet, Alan and I got together one last time before I came back to school and went to watch a movie and just hang out and said our goodbyes...kind of sad! Although, not as sad as when i had to say goodbye to the church I've worked at all summer...that was bad. I cried all the way home. The friendships and relationships that I worked so hard on building this summer were about to be stretched. We were going from seeing each other everyday to a once every 3 months. That's rough! I am proud to say however, that once i got to school i was beyond HAPPY to be back! I loved seeing everyone and meeting all the new freshman. 

Here are a few snap shots of all that was gabbed about above...The above picture is half of the mission team after working on a house for a pastor. I learned how to use power tools :))) haha

This picture is me and my Best-friend :)This picture is how R.A's entertain themselves during move-in!

This picture is 2 of my best friends! We spent a day out on the lake right before school started...it was FANTASTIC!! :)

***God is great, life is good and I am one blessed young lady!! I think God for everything he has given me!


Psalm 37:4-7 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of you hear. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Blessing this week!

Friends...are those who laugh with you, cry with you and dance on the Wii together! :) Oh How I love my friends!

I spent the best 4 days with friends right after camp. I left Sunday to drive down and stay the night in Hot springs with Kayla. She took me out to dinner then we just picked up where we left off and decided to lay in bed to talk and watch a movie. It was so wonderful to have some REAL girl talk, to catch up on each others lives. Man have I missed her.

Monday Kayla and I got up and headed to Glenwood, Arkansas where we would be spending the next 3 days at Kiley's house. Kiley is such a sweet girl. I met her this last year at school b/c I was her R.A. however, she happened to be one of the girls I connected with most. The very first night we all went for a swim in their heated pool...AHHH!!! lol Before this however, Adam came over and we all played the Wii till we laughed so hard we wanted to cry. :) We even had Adam on the dance game...and if you know Adam then you know..."We don't dance, we're baptist!" haha I love my friends.
Tuesday we all got up to waffles and bacon...lovingly provided by Mrs. Kim. Then headed out to the lake. Mr. Casey, Mrs. Kim, Ben, Lindsey and Kiley taught Adam, Kayla and myself how to wake-surf, water ski and wakeboard(only Adam). We even tube for a while! Lets just say wakesurfing is more my thing, Kayla's is the water ski and Adam...pretty much mastered it all. lol
Everyone got some tube action...except Kayla. It was so much fun yet, very painful! lol When we all got back in from the lake and dinner we all crashed. Literally, laid down in the living room and slept. I was BURNT like i've never been before in my entire life. I was FRIED! lol But it was totally worth it!! On Wednesday even though we were all sore Kiley treated Kayla and myself to a special part of her life...her horses. :) I feel so privileged that she shared with me. I had so much fun riding on Sugar, she's a very precious/sweet horse. I am normally very scared to let my horse run or go any faster than a walk yet this particular day I didn't care...I went for it. I loved every minute of being on Sugar and am looking forward to being able to ride again.

This was fun but one of my favorite parts about the whole weekend was being able to share camp stories with Kiley. :)

I have grown so much in my relationship with the Lord over the past year and am enjoying every day that passes that i continue to grow and grasp a better picture of how marvelous God truly is! I am incredibly blessed with an amazingly supportive family and wonderful friends who love God as much as I do!

(Kayla, Me, Kiley, Lindsey and Ben)

(Ben, Lindsey
Adam, Me, Kayla and Kiley)

"A Friend Loves At All Times and A Brother is Born For Adversity." Proverbs 17:!7

Living Sacrifice :D

I'm aware that I am way overdue for a post but life has been crazy...in a good way! :)

(Me and Taylor..Sisters?, then Sarah, Skip and me

Me, Sarah, Erica...leading worship, then Jeremy and me)

Mt. Zion Youth Camp 2010 is over and the theme was Living Sacrifice. Based on Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

That week was all about teaching the kids to stand on the Word of God and how to stand up for their beliefs. I love being a counselor at youth camps it is so much fun and always a learning experience. God was definitely working in the lives of our youth. After, the first two songs Monday night at worship a girl came back to talk to one of the leaders...and right then and there asked Christ to come into her life! Praise God! If that isn't proof God was moving then just wait it only gets better. A group of boys that i was lucky enough to meet and become friends with, started to make changes in their lives. At first I wasn't so sure they were even listening...then they would come up to me and tell me all about things they were learning. It really opened my eyes that even if we don't think they are listening...they just might be!

(Hunter, Jacob, Me, Matthew and Jordan) Another big decision that was made was....Johnathan (my younger brother for those of you who don't know him) accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior!! Woo Hoo!! :D I had been praying for this day for years. I am so proud of him! :) So please join me in praying for him as he continues to grow in Christ!
God is good, oh so good! However, i also have to thank God for the leaders he placed at camp that week and below is a picture of almost all the leaders.
Following is just some random pictures from camp!

(Wesley and Me)

That is only a small portion of an amazing week at church camp. However, to write about everything would take forever. So instead how about just join me in praising God for the 4 salvation's, 8 re-dedications, and over 20 something prayer request. Please be praying for our students as many of them expressed the need for an accountability partner or prayers for their family members. Pray that they will be strong in God's word. That they will be Living Sacrifices!! :D
-Vikki Kay :)
Psalm 119:172 "My tongue sings about Your promise, for all Your commandments are righteous."

Birthday Surprise!

Well, today's blog is not what I had planned...but here I go. My mother and niece both celebrated their birthday Wednesday. However, my mother's surprise turned bad!

My mom had been in a lot of pain since Sunday and this pain turned into EXTREME pain Tuesday night. So as any normal person she made a doctor's appointment for Wednesday...yep on her birthday. Well, as mom was gone to work Wednesday morning (before we knew about the doc. appointment) my little brother and I decorated for mom's little surprise birthday get together, we went to pick up the cake then everything stopped when i got a text from Bill telling us mom was on her way to the doctors and my come by the house first. So we had to finish everything real quick. :/ Yet, she did not come home...why...b/c she was being emitted into the hospital. The nurse came and took mom to prep her for emergency surgery to remove her appendix before it ruptured. Even though I knew laparoscopic appendectomy was a rather easy and non-invasive even rather safe...i was still nervous. And for those of you who know me...i'm not a patience person so the waiting process was the WORSE!! However, i'm happy to report that mom is okay...they got the appendix out before it ruptured. Praise the Lord! Mom is now home today but still in a lot a lot of pain. Please pray for a quick recovery and an ease to this pain.

Mom said I thought on your birthday you were suppose to get stuff not have a body part taken! haha...i know that shouldn't be funny but since everything is over now....i can laugh. :P

So needless to say mom's surprise didn't turn out like planned but when she walked into the front door there was a banner that said "Happy 40th Birthday" and a bunch of black balloons that said you're 40 and over the hill. However, due to all this excitement there aren't any pictures...well that i have...i think mom has some on her phone. lol. Anyways, thank the good Lord she is A-Okay and at home resting! :)

Baseball + Concert + bbq Nachos = SUMMERTIME!

In the car going to meet everyone!

[Me & Aubrey...all four of us...Sarah and Elizabeth]

I have had an incredible weekend! Friday night my little cousin stayed the night with me and we watched Alice in Wonderland. I loved it! :) However, we stayed up way to late considering we had to get up early Saturday. Once we woke up I had to go pick Sarah up then go to the Schalk's where we then all piled into one vehicle to head to the church where the Schalk's, Sarah, Jenna, Dallas, Jessica, Mr. Ben, Amber, two others and myself took off for Memphis. We went to a Redbirds game followed by a Rush of Fools concert! Let's just say it was a wonderful day filled with baseball, nachos, laughter, tears from laughter and of course praising the one true God! :) I don't know about you but I can't think of any better way to spend a Saturday (besides sleeping in a little later ;P)! It was crazy because our group sat right behind the redbirds dugout yet, my parents were up in our club box and considering it was so so so hot outside me and Sarah decided we wanted to sneak upstairs to the air conditioned box. :) haha Well, on the way up we met the Wes Willis...the lead singer for the band Rush of Fools!!! Ahhhhhhhh.....(((((: how amazing! lol. He was with his wife Mechelle, who by the way is pregnant, he told us we better be careful or she might eat our nachos before we realize it. ha! Then later we saw the whole band and instead of being calm and saying hello we were creepers. NO JOKE...we awkwardly walked slowly to them then stood behind them speechless!! My parents had a field day with it! Below is a few picture from the game and the concert! Oh by the way, the Redbirds beat the Cubs 6-2 :) it was a great game!

[Top: Mom, me and Bill...amazing pitcher:)

Bottom: Sarah and me...Jenna and Dallas]

[Top: Wes Willis (lead singer/new friend), Me, Elizabeth and Sarah showing our Excited faces (:

Bottom: Keven (keyboard/electic guitar) Wes, Jamie (drums)]

Now, to what God is teaching me. Love. Strange I know. However, i feel as if God is constantly reminding me to love others even if they are different. I notice that when working with youth that i find myself reminding them to love each other and be nice. You know the saying..."If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." It's as if kids just don't get that. Which I remember when i was a youth...I wasn't always the nicest...nor am i now. But I am better at catching myself. I just challenge those reading this to watch what you say, watch how you look at someone, and how you act toward them. Remember God loves us unconditionally even though we don't deserve it so the least we can do is love others! :)

Branson, Shopping and Noah's Ark! :)

I've been on a youth trip in Branson for the past four days.This trip opened my eyes and tested my patience more than once. It was a trip filled with high-fives, a few tussles, a lot of laughs and even a couple screams. We left Sunday afternoon and arrived that night just in time to check into our rooms and make our way down to the pool. We got up early Monday in order to be at Silver Dollar City by 9 o'clock. This was my first trip to Silver Dollar City and I rode a few rides that I never EVER thought I'd ride...which is where the screams come into play...oh and lets not forget about the laughter that poured out of the rest of my group as they saw my facial expression. Anyways, Tuesday we all got up and headed out to the Branson Landing for a morning full of shopping. We only stopped for a wonderful lunch at Olive Garden :) to only continue the day afterwards with more, more, more shopping! However, I didn't buy a single thing the whole trip...wow, I know!! Even though the shopping was great fun my favorite part of the day was Noah the Musical! It was an incredible experience. I don't want to give much away because if given the chance I would encourage everyone to watch it. Oh and before I forget to mention it...a lot of the animals were REAL!! :D Ahh...horses, lama's, Camel's, pigs and all other kinds of animals running up the aisles to get onto the Ark...INCREDIBLE!! :)

It was eye opening to sit there and watch as Noah had to leave his brother behind and how his son's wives were made to leave their families. They were mocked and ridiculed. People thought they were crazy as they built the ark yet they got through it and the ark was built. However, then i was challenged to think about how it must have been to live on the ark for a year. Some of the struggles could have been fighting over how much to feed the animals (due to not knowing how long they are to stay on the boat), also getting tired of feeding and taking care of the animals...i mean can you imagine living next to the giraffe quarter's? I can't! Yet, it did however get me to think! Imagine your mother, father and siblings laughing at you and calling you crazy because you are helping you husband and his father build an Ark. An Ark for a flood...a flood that no one had ever heard of. How hard would that be for you to leave them, once they realized everything you said was true. Noah and his family had faith that I can only one day hope to have! Faith I strive for! Faith in Jesus whether its the good times or the worst times, whether your family is on your side or against you!

I made some new friends on this trip and got to know some others better!

[top left: Bro. Skip and Tyler, top right: me, Charla, and Miss Elizabeth...

bottom left: Me and Mrs. Christal, bottom right: me, Courtney, Aubrey and Elizabeth]

[Charla and Michael...two new friends] :)

Overall, this was an incredible trip which i enjoyed! I learned a lot about Skip's youth and a lot about myself considering some of his youth like to test my patience. haha. ;) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading about trip and i encourage you to re-read the story of Noah and place yourself in his shoes and think about it....it's hard but will be rewarding...by making your faith stronger!
Thanks for reading,

God Bless! :)

Giggles, paint and...humility?

Hey guys I know I've missed a few days but it's not my fault...I've been away from Internet access. I know that sounds crazy this day in age but it's true. lol. I have been babysitting the Schalk girls and then spent all day today working a block party. I spent literally all day outside and am now bright RED...including my feet! Yikes! However, it was great fun. I did lots of everything from face painting, to staffing games, serving food and just about everything else possible. I loved it! :)

Also, I'm super excited because I leave tomorrow for Branson! I'm working as an intern for Unity Baptist Church.

[Elizabeth and Me]

[Jenna in her Rocking Rainbow Shades]....(we were board while waiting for time to start)

[Courtney Rocking the St. Louis Cardinals Symbol]

All in all the last three days have been so much that I don't even have enough time to write about it. there is also a lot, a lot of pictures yet I only have like ten minutes to do this b/c i still have to pack. However, the purpose of this blog is to not only tell about my day but to talk about what God is teaching me. And God has been teaching me a lot. A lot about humility...and being humble. If you want to be humbled I suggest reading Job 38-39. I don't understand how someone can read that and not now that God is real or read that and not need to get down on your knees and pray. This world teaches that humility is weakness but that's false...being humble doesn't mean you be little oneself or anything. Humility is attained by simply opening our eyes to reality.

Beth Moore said "Humility is not something we have until humbling ourselves is something we do." I personally would rather humble myself than force God to humble me. "Let's allow the circumstance, weaknesses, and any thorns in the flesh God has chosen to leave to do the job they were sent to do...provoke humility." This is so true but also makes me laugh!

Well, I have to pack and get to bed...it's going to be another long day tomorrow. I urge you to read Job 38...then mediate on it.
God Bless! :)

Jesus, Friends and Good Ol' Andy's! :)

Today is the first day for me to blog and though I'm not sure anyone will actually follow me I am here to say hello to those who do. :) So please join me on my search to know more about Christ and have fun reading some of my crazy stories.
I am very blessed with wonderful friends some are more like sisters, and well anyways today I got to see one of my best friends, Candice, who is in town for a week. Candice, myself and two other wonderful friends ventured out this afternoon to our favorite ice cream shop, Andy's, and then to church. So, take a look below at three wonderful little sisters God has blessed me with. This was them around this time last year! I sure do love them!

[Candice, Sarah and Erica]

Well, now that you have met them let me share a little of what we talked about. When the four of us are together lets just say Jesus is the center of our conversations. I shared with them how God has been teaching me patience and to wait on him. Turns out God is trying to teach my friends that as well. However,

Psalms 37:7 says: "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently on him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways..." To be still before the Lord and wait patiently tend to be a challenge for me. Yet, my goal is to learn patience!

So dear reader...if there is any...I challenge you to look at yourself and see if you have patience. Do you? If not join me and the beautiful girls above with our journey to learn how to "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently..." not an easy task but it can be done. Well, this concludes the end of day one.
God Bless! :)