In Christ Alone: The Past Few Months

Woah. It's been way too long since I last posted. But Junior Year decided to invade my life these last few months.
So many things have been going on lately.
1. I have started teaching MS girls Sunday School at church.
2. God has taught me SO much these past 6 months.
3. I AM NOW A SENIOR.

A few months ago God really started laying the sweet middle school girls in my youth group upon my heart. These girls are the cutest things ever. They are all smiles, some are crazy, and some are quiet. They are true sweethearts. There had been a need for an assistant teacher for them for quite sometime. Amelia, my youth pastor's wife, has been teaching them for a few years now. And let me tell you something about this woman, she radiates with beauty from the Creator. She loves Christ and shows it to us girls week in and week out. I approached her and her husband about possibly helping out and learning the ropes of teaching. They were very excited that I was willing to help out. In March, I started shadowing Amelia for a few weeks to "learn the ropes." Then, I was able to lead a lesson all by myself. What an eye-opener. Doing this has caused me to be involved in the Word daily. It has taught me so incredibly much. These middle school girls are crazy smart. They are so mature for their ages, and constantly challenge me. I LOVE it. It's also so cool to see how the Old Testament relates to the New Testament. Not many people pick up the Bible and decide to read Deuteronomy. Over the past few weeks, it has literally become one of my favorite books of the Bible. The Israelites are so much like us today. They are constantly having to be reminded about what God has done in their lives and what God is doing. God's faithfulness is reiterated constantly throughout this book, and it has allowed me to grow so much in my trust of God. I absolutely love teaching this book, seeing it relate to the New Testament, and relating it to today.

Six months ago, I decided to deactivate my Facebook. I was tired of all the drama that was occuring and honestly wanted to communicate with people face-to-face not screen-to-screen. These past 6 months have been such learning experience for me. I have had more time to spend with my Savior, focus on my studies, and hang with my amazing friends.
God has definitely hit me upside the head lately. My biggest struggles in life are my pride, judgementalism, and showing compassion. All three of these things have been addressed or pointed out to me through multiple situations lately. I have realized that I am not the center of everything, that my opinion of other people doesn't matter (they were created by the same Creator who made me), and that compassion was shown on the cross and should be shown in my life as well. I am not saying I am perfect or have all this together, but the fact that my eyes were opened to these things has really changed my life.

I AM A SENIOR. Okay, not until tomorrow at 3:05, but still. The seniors finished their school days last week, and now my class rules the school! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. I still feel like I am in my freshman year. I am so excited for what this next year holds. I know God is going to orchestrate some pretty awesome things and I can't wait to see what they will be. Also, I am now embarking on the lovely road of deciding everything for college. I had the oppurtunity to visit Cedarville University in April, and definitely feel that is where God is leading me to go. I want to major in Nursing and possibly minor in Cross-Cultural Nursing and Spanish (we'll see about those though, because CU automatically minors their students in Bible). I am so excited to see what the future holds!

If I had to sum up the past few months in 3 words it would be: Lessons, Excitement, and Growth. I hope to be able to blog more now that it's summer, but we'll see what happens! :)
Hannah <3

Here are just a few pictures from some recent events :)