Stepping Out for one who Stepped Down

All of the Christmas festivities were finally over and it is time to get ready for an event that i had been looking forward to for a long long time...JOY EXPLO!! Joy Explo is a New Years Eve rush party where we have a speaker, a band and youth from all over come and worship together. This year the speaker was Dr. Joey Dodson :) and the worship band was Pocket Full of Rocks!! This year was especially neat because I was asked by the President of the Ar. Baptist Student Ministry to help work the event. I love working with youth and helping guide them in the right direction. My teen years were kind of rough and if I could prevent any other young lady or young man from experiencing some of the heart ache, pain and confusion I went through then I'm all for it. I feel like God has given me an ability to be able to relate to teens so when asked to help in this event I was ecstatic!
This event shows teens that they can worship however they want that it doesn't matter what the person next to you is doing it only matters if you are focused on God. Joey Dodson had all the youth groups get together and pray out loud...this was neat because i have found that it is so hard to get youth to pray out loud...but they did it!! It was such a blessing to be apart of this experience to witness youth stepping out of their comfort zones and praying/worshiping to the King of Kings without hesitation or regards to those standing around.

Here are a few picture of the girls that went...
This one is of me and another youth worker Charla.
I went to this event with Unity Baptist Church. For those (3) of you who have followed me since I've started know that I was a youth intern there this summer. Well, at the end of July I started feeling like God was trying to tell me something but I wasn't sure what it was or if I was ready for what He was asking. In about September I knew that God was telling me it was time to move my membership from my home church to Unity but that was a big request. To move from the only church i've ever known, where my family are some of the first members, to a church i've only been attending for months was a big deal. I informed some close friends of my struggle and asked for prayer. I needed courage and the ability to step out of my comfort zone and trust God...
After, the youth showed their ability on New Years Eve I knew that it was my turn which was only confirmed that morning when the pastor of Unity, Bro. Tracy, started preaching about trusting God in everything. So I took that step, on January 2nd of 2011 I requested a change in membership. It was hard but after all of the church came forward to welcome me and tell me "It's about time!" I knew that it was the right decision. I'll miss my church family from Friendly Hope but I know that they agree that I should follow God's instructions above all else. A big thanks goes out to all of those that have been praying for me during this decision process. Also, this last Sunday a dear friend of mine, Kasey, asked me to walk forward with her as she too requested a change in membership from her home church. I think I can speak for both of us and say that we are super excited about getting involved and becoming apart of an Acts 1:8 church. We love all of the members and thank them all for making us feel so welcomed and loved. :)

My prayer for the New Year, to focus on what God is doing in my life and pressing forward not dwelling on the past. I pray that this is your prayer as well...

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained." Philippians 3:12-16

God Bless!! Happy New Years!

Letting God Do The Writing

Life just continues to fly by so fast. It's Winter Break and I'm sitting on the couch watching a movie with my brother. I'm not really sure what movie this is or what's going on all I can think about is how break is about to be over. I'm beyond excited and ready to be back at school where i have a routine, my best friends, and freedom yet I will miss my church, family, and friends here at home like always. However, I've done this three times now...yep that's right i'm halfway done with my junior year of college. I have a year and half left of undergrad, that is crazy!

Having only a year and half left makes me think about life in a whole new light...
I have friends getting engaged, married and having kids and I can't even decide on which medical school I want to attend. Life two and half years ago was completely different than it is now. I've come to understand that no matter what chapter of my life I'm in that as long as I continue to let God write my story I'm where i need to be.

Below is a few glimpses of what life has been like since I last wrote...

These here are from Thanksgiving with the Bennetts.

Braden, Keaton and Me showing "the Bennett Eyes"


This would be everyone that was there at the time...I sure do love my family! We are a bunch of crazies :)

These next two are from my FIRST EVER MIDNIGHT MOVIE PREMIER :) I went with a bunch of lovely friends to see Harry Potter the first half of the 7th one.




These next two are from the R.A photo shoot. These girls and my mentor Erin are some of the greatest blessing God could of given me this year. They are always there to encourage and great for a laugh. :)



I'm so thankful for Family, Friends and the lovely memories that I have with all of them! I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into my story that God is writing and until next time...God Bless!

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:14-19

"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."