Wednesday Love

Hey friends!

Today is our last day of swim practice till August. :( I am going to miss my Makos so much! So, today's Wednesday Lovin is on my year round swim team- the MTHEA Makos! My swim team rocks. We have SO much fun! I am so blessed to be a part of this team! I have made some of my best friends on the Makos! This year we got moved up to the top division in our area. We have fabulous coaches who support and encourage us to do our best! We swim and compete for God's glory. Check out our website here.

I love these people!

Here are some pictures from the past few years... :) I will have to take some today :)

HS Team 2009-2010 season
last day of swim practice 2009-2010 season

HS Girls' Photo Shoot with Maddie! 2009-2010 season

Post-meet dinner at SATCO 2009-2010 season

last day of swim practice 2008-2009 season

post-meet dinner at Jason's Deli 2009-2010 season

HS Girls' Party at Third Coast Clay 2010-2011 season

Regionals 2010-2011 season

HS Girls' Party at the Cheesecake Factory and mall :) 2010-2011 season

Post-meet dinner at Panera 2010-2011 season

HS Bonfire 2010-2011 season

HS Girls' Party at the Cheesecake Factory 2010-2011 season

Rockin the podium! 2010-2011 season

GO MAKOS!

One Thousand Gifts:: Take Eleven

Before I start (and this is something I am thankful for :), you know how I just posted this?

As I am trying to figure out what my plans are for this summer, I sometimes wish God would tell me what I should do via neon billboards. Saying "Do this" or "Don't do this" or "This would be a great thing for you" or "This would be a really bad decision." Alas, He has not chosen to work in that way :)

These verses comfort me greatly when I am feeling stressed about plans for the future.

Jeremiah 33:3: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 139:16: Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

I am so thankful that God is SOVEREIGN. And His plans are much much better than mine!

... God really made it clear today. :) He swung a door wide open! I am so so thankful! Y'all, God is SO GOOD! All the time! And He will provide! Whoo hoo!

So, now onto what I am thankful for this week :)

224-252

224. that God flung a door open :)

225. peace and excitement

226. a family who rejoices with me and deals with my craziness :)

227. fun chemistry labs

228. beautiful weather

229. dance parties with Julia

230. dance parties while we all wash dishes

231. special time together washing dishes while our dishwasher is broken

232. a great day at school last week

233. finishing all of my work last week

234. a lighter load due Thursday

235. lots of laughter

236. dear friends

237. flowers blooming

238. my swim munchkins conquering their fear of the deep end

239. a great day at church

240. our amazing church family

241. hearing the Gospel preached from Ruth

242. having a super fun swim practice today- all out game day! whoo hoo!

243. my amazing coaches

244. the fabulous friends I have on the Makos

245. anticipation of the MTHEA Teen Banquet!!

246. really wonderful stories about how awesome God is

247. that God will ALWAYS provide!

248. my spectacular family

249. a day out with my favorite guy- Dad!

250. skyping with a dear friend for about an hour yesterday :)

251. very fun and dear friends coming for dinner last night!

252. Hebrews 13:5a "“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Be blessed today!

Lily :o)

Kodak Moment:: Day Twenty

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

A lot like Day 15... :)

London

Scotland

Ireland

The Philippines- our church has supported students here for years and I would love to meet them!

... and other places I can't think of right now... :)

Kodak Moment:: Day Nineteen

Day 19 - A picture of a

letter.

I have several! Here are some that are on my board in my room:)

-Valentine's card from my dad

-note from my friend Megan

-letter that says "I like swimming" and "I like you" from one of my swim students :)

-a letter from my friend Pauli

-a letter from my friend Anna while she was at camp

-a letter from our sponsored child in China

Photo Shoot:: Julia

I took these a few weeks ago but never posted them!

My sister is so beautiful!

I love you, Julia!!

tHoUgHtS oN a FrIdaY

Hey friends!

I hope that you are having a fabulous day!

You should read this post by my dear friend Jenny!

Following along the line of swim lessons, yesterday was our last day of the March session. I am SO proud of my kids- they have all done so well! I was so excited to see my first group lesson kids conquer their fear of the deep end! When we first went to the deep end there were several tears. After the 3 1/2 feet and 4 feet, the 5 feet deep end became their comfort level. When we had to go to the 7 feet for the first time they freaked out. Yesterday we had to move from the 5 feet to the 7 feet - and they did not complain at all! It was so awesome to see them conquer that fear and be comfortable in the deep end! Yay! I love teaching swim lessons- it makes me happy! :)

I had a wonderful day at school yesterday. I love my school family!

As I am trying to figure out what my plans are for this summer, I sometimes wish God would tell me what I should do via neon billboards. Saying "Do this" or "Don't do this" or "This would be a great thing for you" or "This would be a really bad decision." Alas, He has not chosen to work in that way :)

These verses comfort me greatly when I am feeling stressed about plans for the future.

Jeremiah 33:3: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 139:16: Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

I am so thankful that God is SOVEREIGN. And His plans are much much better than mine!

Be blessed today!

Love,

Lily

Kodak Moment:: Day Eighteen

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.

I honestly cannot think of anything!

So instead, I will close with the new Julian Smith video. You should watch it :)

Verse of the Week :: from JFarese

~~By Keith Beauchemin~~

Ephesians 2:12,13

"...that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."

Negatively, you were without Christ, strangers to the promises, without hope and without God. But now because of what Christ did on the cross for you, you have been brought near. So, positively, to have been brought near means that you are with Christ, and He is with you. Let that thought sink in. Right now Christ is yours and you are His. Also, all the great promises of God are yours. You are no longer without hope. Now you have the hope of eternal life, the return of Christ and the resurrection, all of which are so glorious that they are beyond our comprehension. Finally, you now have God the Father. In His eyes you are His precious child.

How is it, O God, that you have given us these rich blessings? It was by the costly blood of Christ.

If you are ever discouraged and feel you're without hope, or Satan tries to convince you that you are without God, remember the blood of Christ was shed for you to purchase the hope of glory, the precious promises and your relationship with Christ and God the Father. Nobody can take away these blood-bought gifts.

Kodak Moment: Day Seventeen

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

~ Reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller- I highly recommend it!!

~ what Christ has done for me- dying on the cross for my sins

One Thousand Gifts:: Take Ten

189-223

189. beautiful weather

190. my swim team- especially since we only have four more practices :'(

192. my amazing coaches- Coach Dawn, Coach Lezlae, and Coach Andy

193. picnics with my sisters on lovely afternoons

194. cameras

195. a great Lord's Day

196. good and long chats with dear friends

197. fun times at the pool

198. my munchkins swam several whole laps by themselves (!!!)

199. walks with the fam

200. ice cream creations by Cara

201. breakfast last week with Mom, Nana, and Aunt Barbara

202. lunch with wonderful friends at BCA

203. hanging out at the mall with a dear friend

204. friends that let me invite myself over :)

205. a super fun afternoon with the fabulous Graves!!

206. lunch at Moe's with BCA friends

207. hanging out at Panera with two amazing friends and discussing life and our futures

208. afternoon tea at a tea house with my favorite Nana!!

209. a fabulous spring break with lots of fun and partying and celebrating

210. that God answers prayers

211. that God cares about the little things that may seem unimportant

212. protection of our family and house when our dishwasher had serious electrical problems today

213. that God had laid it on Dad's heart to pray for our protection today

214. wisdom and advice from fellow swim instructors

215. all of the patient people that listen to me talk about swimming and my swim lessons :)

216. chatting with new and old friends at my "second home"- the pool :)

217. flowers blooming

218. the arrival of spring

219. hunger for the Word

220. encouragement and motivation to finish my work

221. my dear dear family

222. Pandora

223. Jeremiah 31:31-34 " ³¹"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

Kodak Moment:: Day Sixteen

Day 16 - A picture of a

person who inspires you.

My mom! She is AMAZING! She is a genius and crazy smart, a fabulous cook, a great tennis player, and the best mom is the whole world! All of my friends think she is really cool too :) She loves us very much and takes great care of us! She always wants the best for us and wants us to have fun. :) She is always willing to host our friends! She is the best and most hospitable hostess I know! Mom also has great taste and always buys me really cute stuff! Mom has a great sense of humor and makes us laugh! She is always cheerful! :) She is very supportive of whatever we are doing and will listen to my stories (which she could probably tell of them word for word by herself ;) She is very encouraging! Mom gave up working so that she could be a full time mom and homeschool us! Not only has she taught me a lot about life she has taught me about Jesus! She loves Him and that is very evident through her life! I could go on and on about how wonderful Mom is! She is the BOMB :D I hope I can be like Mom when I grow up :) I love you very, very much, Mom!

Wednesday Love:: Belated

This week's Wednesday Lovin is....

Dr. Pepper Cake! Check out the recipe here!

Kodak Moment:: Day Fifteen

Day 15 - A picture of something you'd like to do before you die.

- visit castles in London, Ireland, and Scotland

- go snorkeling

Kodak Moment:: Day Fourteen

Day 14 - A picture of a person you couldn't picture your life without.

My family! I really cannot even fathom my life without them :) They are wonderful!!