According to Keara

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Processed Thoughts - weeks 8 and 9 SMSM

July 31, 2017

"On the mountains I will bow my life to the One who set me there In the valley I will lift my eyes to the One who sees me there When I'm standing on the mountain I didn't get there on my own When I'm walking through the valley I know I am not alone You're God of the hills and valleys" Hey y'all! This is strange because I am sitting in my local Dunkin Donuts, not the one in Gatlinburg, writing the last blog from my Smoky Mountain Summer Mission trip. I have been home now for 3 days and I am still processing what the past nine weeks have taught me. Its hard to compact every little thing that occurred into a blog post, but I will do my best to explain to you what this summer meant to me. So, to begin, the last two weeks of the mission were my favorite weeks of the whole summer, even with all of the emotional goodbyes. Staff left and us students got closer than ever before. We had to learn to rely on one another and lea...

Be Still - weeks five through seven SMSM

July 10, 2017

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 Hey yall! I have successfully not completed a blog post every week. In fact, I have not even completed it every other week, since it has been three weeks since my last one. With that being said, it has been a crazy three weeks, and by crazy I mean busy, exciting, emotional, and everything else you could wrap up into that word, yet I remain calm and still in the Lord because through all of that craziness he is teaching me so much and I want to share that with you. I have been soaking up the scenery here in Gatlinburg. The rivers and mountains, all if it is breathtaking. It has been a journey of learning to be okay in silence and listening for God to speak to me. I am reminded of a new song by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family, "Still". While here this summer, a large part of where I see God showing h...

Let Them See You - weeks three and four of SMSM

June 20, 2017

Let Them See You - weeks three and four of SMSM "Let them see you in me, let them hear you when I speak, let them feel you when I sing, let them see you." To start, please forgive me that I have skipped a week on an updated blog. This is usually how it goes...oops. However, I wanted to take another week to process my thoughts and really give you all a glimpse into how my mind works. It takes me a bit to process things and then write them in a way that makes sense to everyone and not just my blubber. So lets begin. I have had the opportunity to do some awesome touristy things while here in Gatlinburg. We have one night and one day, every week, of free time , if you will. Most of our days are pretty much scheduled out with a bunch of different things including, a CRU weekly meeting, bible studies, women's development, a night of reflection, and outreach, so when we get the chance to explore the beau...

God's Grace is a Kingdom - week two of Smoky Mountain Summer Mission

June 07, 2017

"Word Of God Speak" I'm finding myself at a loss for words And the funny thing is it's okay The last thing I need is to be heard But to hear what You would say It's hard to believe so much time has already gone by, but I am remaining optimistic because there is so much time left! The Lord is certainly showing up in places I would have least expected, but that's just how it works...right? This past week we finally began our "normal" schedule, and if you know me, you know I love consistency (keep reading to find out how God has been working on this aspect of my life). Because our schedule is becoming normal, I was able to work my job at LandShark from Tuesday through Saturday. My job has also allowed me to have really awesome conversations with some of my co-workers. It is incredible how once I trusted God to step outside of my comfort zone, conversations just fell into my lap and the Lord began to work. So far w...

Week One Complete

May 30, 2017

Hello from Gatlinburg, Tennessee! What an amazing time I am already having. I feel like I have already been here for weeks and I love that feeling, it only makes it feel more like home. The Smokies are INCREDIBLE! There has been so much hurt here in the recent months due to the wildfires that broke out in November unexpectedly, but that does not take away from the beauty of this place. God truly knows how to take something so terrible and turn it into a humbling experience for many. Johnna and I arrived early Wednesday afternoon, after driving a little bit from Virginia. We woke up feeling ready and excited, but nervous. We were about to meet 40 other students plus staff, and if that's not the most intimidating thing, I don't know what is. However, by God's comforting hand, we are on day six and I feel like I've known some of these people my whole life. I have four awesome roommates, two of which are from North Carolina, one is from ...

The Start of an Unforgettable Summer

May 23, 2017

Back in January, I received a phone call that I was accepted to spend nine weeks in the Smoky Mountains on a Summer Mission Project through CRU. Over the past two years, CRU has been the one thing that has changed my life for the better. It has been a place of growth and learning for me. If it weren't for CRU my relationship with Jesus would not be anywhere close to where it is today. I accepted Christ as my savior when I was 7 years old, but never truly knew what it meant to have a relationship with God. CRU has given me so many amazing opportunities that I would not have gotten anywhere else. And this summer is no exception. So when I applied to go on a summer mission, I was trusting that this is what God had in store for my summer. I was willingly giving up an entire summer spent at home with my friends and family, and I can promise you that this was the hardest thing to do, because in that moment I truly wanted to be selfi...

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