ooooOOOoooooOOOOOOooOOOoooOOooooo....Gooooooooo

So my title is me trying once again to imitate a song. The OOOooo is a fluctuation in the tone of the UCF fight song in case you're wondering. Sometimes I wonder if I already live there. lol

Anyways, I still have to pack, and then my dad and I are driving up to UCF this evening around 6:00. It's going to be a long, late night. I don't feel so hot, so please pray that the ride up isn't too uncomfortable.

A big praise from yesterday is that Comp is *kind of* over. We just have to turn in papers on Tuesday. I'm just so relieved, but will be more so once I get my final revisions done on my paper. Yippee!

Well, I need to go pack. Emily, I hope you and your family feel better! Anna, see you Sunday! And whoever else (I doubt anyone else reads this), have a great weekend!

Britt

I've got a suite life...duhnahnuhblahblahblah

In case your wondering, my title is the theme song from "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody". I'm watching it right now because...well there is really no good reason.

I picked up Angie from the vet's office today. My mom took her in yesterday after we found that she had blood with her urine (gross right?). Apparently she has bladder crystals. So this means that we have a new routine with her:

1. She has to eat 1/4 can of wet food every morning and night
2. She can only drink bottled water (lol!)
3. She has a new, prescription, dry food
4. We have to give her pills for a while (that is going to be difficult)

All in all, she should be OK but I think it's funny because she's becoming more high maintenance than a human. Well, I have to go retrieve her from the bathroom that I put her in while she was eating her wet food. If I don't, the other fat cat will eat it instead. Jeez, Boo!

Have a lovely day tomorrow! You should go to bed early tonight, like I am, because you should. I'm actually excited about going to bed early because I've been so tired lately. Yay for sleep!

Yes Emily, go knights!

I'm sitting here in my brother's apartment pondering why I decided to come up and finish my paper rather than go throw the Frisbee with him and some friends at the hall. I think I simply didn't realize that there wasn't a whole lot to fix once I got back up, so now I'm done and just pondering different things about life. Scary, huh?

I'm just thinking about all the changes that are going to happen next year, because I am living in this very town, in this very building as a college freshmen in less than a year. I knew it was coming, but man oh man is it coming much faster than expected. People always say to enjoy the time you have as a senior because it flies by-and does it ever!

I'm super excited to get out of a small town and experience something new, but at the same time I'm going to miss a whole lot that is staying in LaBelle. It's going to be really difficult to leave my church, my family, EmOly, Anna (even though she isn't staying in laBelle...still two hours away *tear*), my animals, and so much more. But you know what I've been thinking about lately? God is bigger than my problems. He is going to provide me with the strength to get through everything that comes. Look at what he's already done. I never expected the last few years of my life to turn out the way they did, but I wouldn't change one thing. I'm just so appreciative for all that he's generously given me.

So, as I sit here and ponder about what life is going to be like, I take comfort in knowing that God is with me (and everyone else) during every transition. Life will never be the same, but it will be OK, maybe even fantastic. For He knows the plans He has for us, and they are great ones!

Britt

Turkey day is officially almost over...

So I'm sitting here bored, and I actually have time to update on how Thanksgiving was. We went to my aunt and uncle's house around 1:00 ant ate. I think the synopsis of what I had is:
turkey
ham
stuffing
mema's mac & cheese
mashed potatoes
green beans
pea salad
fruit
a biscuit
yams
cheesecake (with lots of delicious chocolaty stuff in it)
pumpkin roll
lots of sweet tea

Writing all that makes me really thankful for all that I have. That is a ridiculous amount of food for any person to eat, yet I did it without even really thinking about it. I think we all need to take a step back sometimes to appreciate what we have.

In youth group on Sunday, we had time of prayer for different missionaries, and I got to lead the table for the lovely Kroll and Conner families. I was so looking forward to talk about them and all that they do. During all the time that different groups that came to my table, I really thought about what they have given up to do what they do. It was a humbling experience that I desperately needed. God is so good!

Another thing to add that I am thankful for is that I'm finished (for now) with my rough draft proposal paper! I was not looking forward to doing that at all, but I forced myself to sit down and finish it today so that Matt can help me revise. One more thing that I need to reiterate that I'm thankful for is my family. As many know, my family was split by the church split last year. It was hard for so long to deal with that, but today I felt like we kind of put it aside and had a good family time. My cousin John and his wife Holly came down with the adorable baby James (they have 6 kids together, but the other kids were at their other parents houses). I wish I had taken some pictures. He is just precious. It was so fun to play with him all day, because I don't get to be around babies a whole lot. I'm thankful for his precious skin, his sweet eyes, and his hilarious laughter.

I guess I'll post a photo of thanksgiving from last year, since I neglected to take pictures this year.

Hope everyone had a great day!

Britt

Happy Turkey Day!

So...it's Thanksgiving. Lots of food, friends, and family. I'm definitely looking forward to all of the food at about 1:00 PM. Yummy.

Thanksgiving is always a time to remember what you are thankful for. I'm thankful for too many things to list here, but I'll list a few that I've recently really been thankful for:

God's consistent pursuit of me
Spending time with my whole family
My frieeennndddsss
The guys from Article One
Jesse, Kristen, Trinia, Joel, Stephanie, and all the other missionaries around the world
My kitties
UCF (I've been accepted! I'm officially a "Knight" now)

Yes, there are tons more, but again, those are ones that I've recently been reminded of!

In case you didn't notice up there, I've been accepted to UCF. I just checked my application status last night online so I'm excited! I'll be even more excited once I get the actual letter in the mail.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day. Emily, enjoy all of your family today! I know you will. Anna, I hope you're not in too much trouble from last night. =)

Love and turkey,

Britt

I can't think of a title

Dave (Matt is in the one above)

All of us after the show!

Mark

Nathan

All the photos posted here were from Emily Hunter. She did an amazing job!

So. Jubilation Jam is finally over. I thought that I would be happy to finally get some sleep, but I find that I just want more time. I just want it to happen again so that we can have more time getting to know each wonderful person that was there. I don't think there could have been a more wonderful group of people at that event last night. So...here's a run-down of what happened each night.

Wednesday:

Most of the work on the stage was completed on this night. The extension was done by the Methodist Men so that we could get everything else ready on Thursday. It was a good day, but nothing particularly interesting happened.

Thursday:

Emily and I arrived at the church at 3:00 for a lonnnng night. We finished clearing off the stage, and put the black panels up to hide our equipment. Actually, we attempted to do that, but once again, the Methodist Men ended up taking care of that. While they did that, we set up the merchandise tables for the bands. The sound company arrived later on, and they are such amazing guys. I tell you, if you ever need a production company, just call Creative Sound Solution in Cape Coral. They are a very talented, knowledgeable, and fun group of guys that really do a great job. The lighting guys were also there, which was just a blast. They experimented with fog, which caused all of us to sit around and just watch out of amazement at what was actually going on in our church. We never dreamed that it would look like that. Then, we took a break with Frappuccinos and peanut-butter m&ms. Yummy. This is also when some of the work was done on the name-tags. Good times Emily, right? =) As the night went on, the people started to leave. Emily, Anna, and I were sent off on a food run to KenTacoHut. Unfortunately it was closed, so we went to McDonalds. Emily had Cody on the phone and was calling out the orders to me. Let me tell you they were very specific. McDonalds now thinks that we are crazy. Access 218 arrived soon after that, and then we went home. The night did not end there however, as the cops were called on our church at 3:30 AM because they were 'sound-checking'. Haha.



Friday:

We arrived at the church at 9:30 AM for an even longer day. We went around and got raffle prizes (my personal favorite was a 'guitar-star' that was donated from Ace-hardware that we had all the artists sign). Then, we walked around the neighborhood warning the neighbors about the noise level. Actually, I think that only two people answered their doors, but hey, we tried. Article One was running a bit late because of traffic delays, but were there as we arrived in the church. Let me mention again that these were some of the nicest, most fun guys that I have ever had the pleasure of being around. My great aunt passed away on Thursday, so it was great to have a support system of friends that lifted me up and made me laugh. I don't even know how to explain how the rest of the evening went, but I'll copy Emi once again and just give some highlights:

1. Being beaten by Preston 'the fooseball master'
2. Challenging Dave that he couldn't make a paper airplane. Get ready Dave..here it is: SORRY! 3. Having a huge time of prayer with most everyone for the event.
4. Praying with Article One before their show.
5. All the band's shows..they did great!
6. Scripture's guitar player's guitar breaking (I hope it is not an expensive fix, however).
7. Eating.
8. Monkey Face!!!! (probably one of my favorite moments EVER).

9. Emo pictures (ok no, this is my favorite).
10. Phillip's evil story about Wal-Mart
11. Eating
12. Seeing the lovely Shelia again.
13. Throwing grapes at Matt on stage.
14. A certain girl and her introduction to Mark.
15. Mark's hilarious impression of that to Dave (ok this might be my favorite).
16. Talk of the electric wheelchair entrance on stage (I'll have that ready for you guys next time).

There were so many more moments that I could talk about. I'm truly sad that everybody had to go, but it was so fun to make new friends! I just had an incredible time, and thank you to all who helped! Hey Dave, can you say it again please? =)

Britt

won't you break free?

Oh my goodness gracious. I just had one of the most amazing weekends of my life! I just cannot really explain it in words...but I can say that Break Free by Hillsong United is one of my new favorite songs.

I think part of what made this weekend so amazing for me was that I had lost an intimacy with God. I don't know if it was just the stress of Jubilation Jam, Comp, business, or what...but I know that I really wasn't as I should be with God. I truly believe that I gained that back, plus much much more! The pure, raw energy of the people in the building during worship was amazing. You could just tell by the faces that God was working in that place. Wow.

I just have a whole new energy now, and I'm just ready to lay back. I think I've come to the realization that I simply have to sit back and watch what GOD does with Jubilation Jam, not what I can do to make it amazing. Just as was mentioned this morning, God was faithful in the past, why wouldn't he be faithful now? I know that he is the most important audience, and I know that this will be pleasing to Him. So you know what? that's it...all I have to worry about. Now I know that there are little technical things, but I've just been released from worrying! It's an amazing feeling. I laid so many things down this weekend, and I don't ever want to pick them back up. Never ever. I will always be ready to Get up and dance for my Lord! Woohoo!

So this may not have been a post about what exactly went on this weekend, but who can put that into words and give it justice? It was all a God thing. So won't you break free, won't you break free, get up and dance in His love? His LOVE NEVERENDING!

Hallelujah,

Britt