The First Goodbye

Today is the day I have been dreading for quite some time. The day I finally have to say goodbye to my best friend and the day a piece of my heart is gone leaving a hole nothing could fill. 7 months ago I never thought it would be this hard to say goodbye. I also never thought I would meet my best friend 7 months ago. I can't help but wish for more time. Sadly, I'm coming to the realization that there's never gonna be enough time with the people you love.

Saying goodbye to Brendan today was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I didn't know it was possible to love and care for someone so much in such a short amount of time. I think what gets me the most is knowing that things will never be the same no matter how hard I try to make them be. It breaks my heart to know that I will no longer be able to call up my best friend and him be at my house in a matter of minutes. Brendan has one of the biggest hearts I know. His constant outpouring of love and care for each and every person he encounters is something I think we should all strive for. I am so thankful that God blessed me with such an amazing friend to live life with and I am so thankful for all the memories I've been given. The amount of joy Brendan has brought me is immeasurable and as much as he says I changed his life, I think he's the one that has changed me. I don't know how I am worthy of such a friendship. The Lord is so good to me. No longer will I be able to listen to an eminem song and not hear him singing every word. No longer will I be able to eat Chinese food without thinking "let's go eat Chinese food cause that's what real best friends do". No longer will I be able to go stargazing without laying in the back of a truck with a bunch of pillows and blankets. Brendan has taught me a lot of things. He has taught me what it means to be a true friend and what it means to truly desire the best for someone. He has taught me that you can make friends anywhere at anytime, all you need to do is be open to it.


My heart is sad because I know that my time with Brendan has come to an end for now. Things are going to be a lot different from now on but I know I will never be the same because of Brendan Mcguigan and his power to change lives. I am forever thankful that God brought such a loving man of God into my life and helped him make such a big impact on me. Although I am going to miss him terribly and as much as it pains my heart to know he's so far away, I know Richmond is where he is meant to be right now and that he is going to do great things there. Praise God that I was given the privilege of getting to know such an amazing person. I now know that there is never gonna be enough time, but if you learn to cherish the moments you can always make up for it. Richmond may be taking away my best friend, but I know Texas will always be home with all of us.

Living A Good Story

Today was nothing special, just an ordinary day. But I seemed to see God in everything I experienced today and I couldn't help but share. I saw God in the breath-taking sunrise my Dad woke me up for, that painted the sky the most beautiful colors and made for a gorgeous sunny day. I saw God in my parents love for each other as I watched the sunrise with them. I saw God in my beautiful sisters as we spent time climbing rocks and doing crazy jumps off them into a surprisingly clear lake. I saw God as we walked into mass today and I was instantly greeted with friends, old and new. I saw God in our visiting priest's homily as he spoke about missions and
our job to help people who can't help themselves and that even though we may think our contribution is small, we are still helping to change the world. I saw God in Father Izzy as he embraced me with the hug of a long lost best friend and claimed he wouldn't ever let me go. I saw God in little Amelia as her and her radiant smile entered graciously back into my heart and as she gave my the best present I've ever received, a shirt with Pope Francis's beautiful face on it. She brought so much joy to me through the simple act of love as she thought of me when she went to Rome. I saw God in the beautiful sunset that he left across the sky as a reminder that life is short but the blessings we receive are endless. He was so ever present in my day and I am so thankful I let him be. Nothing can compare to the joy you feel when you are content and know that this life is good and that we are far more blessed than we'd like to acknowledge. God gave us this crazy, beautiful life and told us to go out and live a good story. I can only hope that I'm living these days out to their fullest, surrounded with a beautiful family who loves me dearly, my faith to get me through the good and the bad times, and the beautiful sky to remind me how beautiful this life really is.

Fransiscan LEAD

July 14, 2014. I boarded a plane with one of my best friends Delaney to finally enter into the week I had been waiting for all summer. I had no expectations of what the week might look like but I was hoping that my faith would be renewed. I knew that God was going to do something good in my life this week but I had no idea that it would be as significant and life-changing as it was.

God came into my life this week and did some amazing, unforgettable things. He has set a burning desire in my heart for him and opened my eyes to the life I need to be living. Because of this wonderful week with my LEAD family I am forever changed. I never want to go back to the way and the person that I once was. Before this week my faith was running dry. I felt like I was just stuck in this rut and didn't know how to escape. I was feeling so alone and distant and God just welcomed me back into his loving arms without hesitation. The love our Father in Heaven has for us is so incomprehensible but to even grasp a part of the tremendous love he has for us will change your life, and that's what happened to me this week. I truly believe that once you realize how much the Lord loves us, you can never be the same. God sent the most wonderful people into my life and I am so thankful for all the laughs and friendships that came from it. Imagine the most encouraging, loving, passionate, on fire for the Lord humans and you'll see my LEAD family. Having the most God-fearing, humble servants of the Lord all gathered in one place to share in the same faith has got to be one of the most beautiful sights to see. I thank the Lord for all the kind-hearted lights that he brought into my life this week. I am forever grateful that I met people who were so hard to say goodbye to. Saying goodbye to the people that had quickly become so important to me was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It is so hard waking up and not being surrounded by 20 beautiful souls ready to encourage and love on you all day long. I truly knew that God's love for me was so strong when I realized how blessed I was to have 20 new people to call my friends. Their faith inspired me to grow deeper into mine and to seek true companionship with the Lord. These people will always have a special place in my heart and I pray that God continues to work in our lives and hopefully write our stories with each other in mind. I thank the Lord for new friendships and new beginnings.

This week God has taught me humility and compassion through the washing of feet. He has taught me the importance of silence and the peace it can bring to even the loudest of hearts. He has taught me what it means to truly worship and praise him for all the goodness He has provided us. He has taught me love through the sending of 20 of His amazing children of God. He has taught me that there are times when I can't do it on my own and that sometimes all I have to do is look up and ask for His guidance to help conquer the battles of life. He has taught me the importance of prayer and spending quality time with the Him, the one who gave his life for my sake and for the whole world. He has taught me that I don't have to be scared or anxious if I don't get an immediate rush of emotions or answer when spending time with him in prayer because he is working on me and my story even when I am unaware. He has taught me to pray as I AM not as I OUGHT. That I am right where He wants me and that He loves everything about me. He wants all of me. All my brokenness and my problems, all my past mistakes, he wants all of me especially the messy stuff of my life and He longs to make me new. 

LEAD was no doubt one of the best weeks of my life. I can't even describe the amount of joy this week has brought me. God has blessed me with a new family, with 20 brothers and sisters to help strengthen me on this faith journey. A week full of prayer, adoration, and worship has left my heart full and my eyes looking up to the cross. I am so thankful to have been given the amazing opportunity to fall in love with the one who gave us all his love. I am comforted in the fact that If Christ had to endure the cross all over again just for me, he would do it in a heartbeat just like he died for the whole world. This week has brought me exactly what I needed in my life and more. My prayer life has dramatically transformed and I am no longer the checklist christian I once was. I believe that God has a perfect plan for all of our lives and that even through the struggles of life and the pain, He is there trying to write the perfect ending. Our God is not a God who fails to answer prayers or one that is going to abandon us. Our God is forever faithful and will never stop fighting for us. There are no words to describe the impact it truly had on my life but I now know that I am not called to be normal. I am called to stand out and to be radical in my faith. I am called to spread God's love to the ends of the earth and bring praise to his holy name with all that I have.

So long, farewell

And just like that another week of camp come and gone. But this time it's completely different because I'm not gonna be back as a camper again. While this makes me extremely sad I'm so excited to be able to be on work crew and possibly be a coach in the next couple of years! But that's a whole nother adventure.

JOY. If I had to describe my last week at camp it would be joyful. Joyful because I got to spend a week with an amazing group of girls who make me a better person each and every day. Joyful because I got to see a whole new side of God and my faith. Joyful because making memories that would last was something extremely important. And lastly joyful because I am finally happy with where I'm at. 

COLLEGE. Leading up to camp, the all consuming stress of college had been weighing heavily on my shoulders. I've known where I wanted to go my whole life but the reality that I might not end up there is something I'm slowly starting to realize. With scheduling college visits to schools I don't even know that I could see myself at and getting back SAT and ACT scores that just "aren't good enough" it's been a real struggle on my mind lately. 

PHILIPPIANS. But at camp a constant theme of our weeks book of the bible, Philippians was just being conent with where you are at. Being content that you are right where God wants you to be and being content that things are going to end up just how they're supposed to. Another constant theme was that we are called to rejoice in every circumstance. To rejoice in both the bad and the good and to be joyful even though our trials. It was incredible hearing these messages over and over and just letting them sink in. It was a total God moment just being told over and over just about how God's plan for us is already perfect and thought out and that we are right where he wants us if so comforting. It's like all the pain and worry I was having about college didn't need to be there and I could finally breathe and take a step back. But that was only part of it. 

WHITE ROCK. This week God blessed me with the most amazing group of girls I could have ever asked for. He have me 11 other sisters in Christ that I could just pour out my heart to and let go of all the things I had been keeping inside to them. They seriously rock and are the best support group I could ever have. Every night we would all come together on the floor in a circle and just share about ourselves and have deep talks about life and our walks with God. And let me tell ya, I live for those late night talks full of truth and love. The last night we went around just affirming each other and giving each other the love we couldn't seem to find in the world. 

WOG. WOG (women of God) was absolutely incredible. Just getting that time to be with just girls and share about what it's like to be a woman of God. We talked about all the blanks in our life, all the things that we let keep us from not feeling good enough not only to other people and guys but not good enough for God. We learned that we are enough. We are enough just the way we are and God have us each other so that we could see all the beautiful things about each other even when we can't see them ourselves. 

MAIN THING. All of the talks were incredible from talking about grace to our sin to being content. So much so that even if we lost everything we would be okay because we still had God. 

LAKEVIEW. Just getting the amazing opportunity to sing out over God's amazing creation was so awesome. Singing while look out at the beautiful lake and the stars that soak the night sky is truly one of my favorite sights. With beautiful singing and acoustics nothing can beat worshiping in the overwhelming presence of the God who created our beautiful with one word. Nothing can beat Lakeview. 

ACTIVITIES. From high ropes to zero shock to pool to tubing and wakeboarding to  tradition day it's safe to say you are never bored. Being able to be apart of Christ-filled adventure is such a blessing. I love getting to do all the activities cause they rock. 

KRAUSE. Something as seniors that we got to do was adventure over to Krause springs. It was so much fun and full of lots of laughter and wayy too much pizza but go big or go home right? We just explored and ended up finding an awesome waterfall and took some sweet gopro pictures. We got to go off an awesome rope swing and even ventured into a dark cave that made for a hilarious video. It was such a blast getting to spend time with all my favorite ladies and definetly a great memory to have. 

CAMPFIRE. One of my all time favorite things about Camp Travis is getting to sit around a campfire Wednesday nights and just share in each other's lives and struggles ( while getting to eat some kick butt s'mores btw :-) ) which is absolutely amazing. Becoming so vulnerable and open is sometimes hard at first but you learn so much about yourself and your friends and as the night goes on it starts to feel comfortable and you're able to free yourselves of the things that are holding you back from being joyful.

I could never say enough able the place I call home but I'm so thankful to have gotten to spend two years at such an awesome place to grow in faith and make new friendships. The things Camp Travis has done in my life has truly changed me and for that I'm forever grateful.

Here's a video of my awesome last week as a camper at the wonderful Camp Travis. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/fMYNn31ykMs

Camp Travis Bound

Today's the day. The day I've been waiting for all year long! Today is the day I get to go home to my happy place. Camp. I couldn't be more thrilled to finally be starting my last week ever as a camper! I am beyond excited to see how this week turns out and what good things The Lord will do in my life. Being only my second year I can't say that I have been at this amazing place my whole life but just from last year I know it's where I'm meant to be! Camp brings me complete and utter joy. Being surrounded by the most God-loving people who are constantly lifting you up is one of the most special things. Without camp, I would have never met the people I call my best friends today. Camp has given me an extended family I'm honored to call my own and has given me somewhere to grow deeply in my faith. From lakeview to meals in the rio, I'm going to miss my camp home deeply but I'm prepared to make this last week as a camper something to remember. I know the Lord has incredible things waiting for me this week and I'm so stoked to see how things turn out. I'm coming in with an open heart and open mind ready to make the most of the precious time I have left at this heaven on earth.

                                  

I was 16 with an open heart

And there it goes. Another birthday come and gone. But I can easily say it was the best birthday I have ever had. Being surprised with my friend from Florida only started the great joy I would receive this past weekend. I was blindfolded and taken to an unknown place but was soon suddenly face to face with my wonderful friend that I hadn't seen in almost a year. I still can't believe something so big and special was surprised just for me. Showing Bradley Austin wouldn't be complete without delicious Kerby Lane breakfast, some home slice pizza to make your heart happy, and some sweet Amy's ice cream to top it all off. As our day came to a close with a hammocking adventure in the rain my heart was more than full; it was overflowing with joy. Little did I know I would have another surprise waiting for me. While doing the last fixes for the party my sweet sweet friends started to trickle in and that's when Emily (a.k.a. The best person you will ever meet) walked through the door embracing me with the biggest hug I could ever imagine. I couldn't believe that my friends would surprise me with two of my most favorite people in the world all in one day. Laughs were had and friendships were made as the night went on and I still could not comprehend just how blessed I was. It wasn't until my wonderful father told me "You really have some great friends Reya. You picked them well." That I realized just how amazing they all truly are. With a lake weekend following the night I couldn't have been happier to spend more time with the people I loved. It was time well spent playing games, tubing till our elbows were all cut up, and being goofy all the while. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend filled with the most amazing people. I was finally reunited with my little sunshine Eliza bear and I couldn't even contain the happiness she brought me. How was it that I could have all this in one weekend? But everything came back to my incredible best friends. I will never be able to describe the love I have for these Jesus loving people I get to call my best friends. No one had ever made me feel as loved as they did this weekend and for that I am incredibly thankful. There is no one I would have rather wanted to spend my birthday with than these fools. I love the life I have and the people who can instantly brighten my day. I can honestly say I don't know what I would go without their constantly encouraging words and compassionate hearts. 16 treat me well. Can't wait to see what 17 has to offer with the best friends I could have ever asked for.

                                                 

The Rest Is Still Unwritten

As the school year begins to come to a close, one thing always comes around; high school soccer banquet. A time when some of the last laughs as a team are shared, way too many pictures are taken, and tears are shed as seniors speak about how fast high school went by. Year after year you keep getting older yet you never think that someday YOU are going to be the one who is up at the podium crying your eyes out just wishing for a little bit more time. 

Realizing that this would be "the crew's" last year that we would all be living in the same town we knew we had to do something to make the most of the short time we have left. So the six of us decided that we would make our own sisterhood of the traveling pants to make sure we would ALWAYS be together some way. Today marked the first meeting of the traveling pants which wouldn't be complete without candles, junk food, and of course, the pants. Beginning with a beautiful opening prayer and coming up with our own rules for our sisterhood tonight marked only the beginning of something that will always hold us together. 

We may not have much time left together in this town we have all called home for so long, but we are determined to live our lives to the fullest this last year we have been given. We may not know what crazy twists and turns life will take us on but we know that we will always be "the crew". Because after all, the rest is still unwritten.