I have passed both of my state exams and am now an official licensed Cosmetologist!

Praising Jesus right now~!

Took my last of the two exams, and today's exam was four hours long. But I passed, so I am the happiest person on earth right now!

♥

When I Am Weak...

How often do we talk about our weaknesses?

If you're like me, I don't like to let those who I don't know very well know my weaknesses. In some cases, even those I do know very well I don't share my weaknesses with. I am ashamed of the things I can't do, the things that I really need help with. I feel like I am less of a person because of those things. People see me like I should be able to do those things, and when I fail, I feel not only like I have disappointed them, but that they are secretly judging me by what I can't do.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, I read something that Paul wrote that makes me feel different about my weaknesses:

"But God said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, For Christ's sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Isn't that uplifting? The things we need the most help with are the things we should delight in, because those are the things in which we seek God. We need His help with those things, and only He can help us. We are brought closer to him because we CAN'T do it, because if we tried to do it ourselves we would fail and hurt ourselves. In my Bible it explains the verse further, and I love how they put it: "When we are strong in abilities or resources, we are tempted to do God's work on our own, and that can lead to pride. When we are weak, allowing God to fill us with his power, then we are stronger than we could ever be on our own.God does not intend for us to seek to be weak, passive, or ineffective -- life provides enough hindrances and setbacks without us creating them. When those obstacles come, we must depend on God. Only his power will make us effective for him and will help us do work that has lasting value."

I will try my hardest to not worry about things I can't do, or things I don't know. Those "holes" in my abilities will be filled with God's power so that I may work more effectively for him. Those things that stop me from doing God's work (I'm not smart enough, I can't do this, I can't speak to crowds, I can't lift things, I can't teach) are the things he will help me with if I trust him to help me.

Talk about a courage-booster!

Have a wonderful Friday, my friends! ♥

Around the Yard in Search of Autumn

Fall is very close, methinks. How exciting!

I treated myself to a walk around the property, as it has been some time since I last wandered about with my camera, and was out for about an hour and a half. I did various things, including helping my parents shuffle the cars so the could get the boat pulled out and washed. It was a cool breezy day, and I couldn't help myself but walk around enjoying it. I sprayed my legs down with mosquito repellent, since they were following my like a pack of (unfriendly) hungry puppies, and began to march about the yard with my photographer eyes on. My favorite subject, as you may have guessed, were these simply adorable little pink flowers that sprouted in herds all over the yard and even in the garden. I don't know what they are, but I love them!

The fig trees are growing nicely, with one having leaves bigger than my head. There are little tiny figs sticking out everywhere, and if they had been close enough, I would have gotten a picture of them. The baby blueberry bushes have finished blooming and are settling in for the cold quite well, too. They're getting bigger and bigger slowly, but I can see the difference. There are teeny tiny apples on the trees, which look something like cherries to me in the pictures, and the pears have long since finished producing fruit.

The air is crisp and fresh, very clean and cool, and the sun is starting to feel different. Perhaps not as hot as it does during the summer. It always feels significantly cooler in the fall.

All in all, I think fall is making its way through the door, and that makes me quite the happy girl.

Camping season is getting clooossseeerrr! Hollah!

Choir rehearsal tonight! Have a wonderful, blessed Wednesday, everyone! ♥

How My Summer Has Ended

{There is nothing more magical than the look of leaves from the bottom as you stare past the canopies and into the sky above.}

 

{The shallows here are clear and bright, filled with milky caramel sand and small stones, and overflowing with tiny wildlife.}

 

{These are the most intriguing spiderwebs I have ever seen. This was not the first time I had seen them, but the first time I think I have taken pictures of them. They are quite prevalent in the trees not only around the lake, but around this part of the state around this time of year. They have leaves and all sorts of clutter in them, and look quite like cotton candy wrapped about the tree branches.}

 

 {The lake is very rich with life and light here.}

 

{As my mom and I explored around an island, we were stunned to come across a rusted, very dented Dodge that had apparently been smashed by a fallen tree, then left. It must have been in a field before the lake was either there or before the water was that high, but it was abandoned. There was also a very large and green fish skeleton in the back of it, and a tree growing out of the hood.}

 

{These trees were so fun. Especially the top one! It looks like a cactus! (This fishing is also VERY good near it.) }

And this is how the ending of my summer has been.

Have a lovely weekend, dear readers! ♥ Love you all!

Still Alive and Well!

I'm not dead, I promise.

So, you all know that my main, beautiful computer's hard drive died. Got it. So I decided I'd use my laptop until I could get it fixed. Good plan, except that the little box in the cord for my laptop decided to fry, so now I can't get my laptop to charge anymore. After a few days of putting up with no working computers of my own (and I hate to borrow someone else's PC because I feel like I'm invading, you know?) I remembered that I could still get my old 2005 Windows XP up an going! Up until last January 2012 I had been using it since it was bought in, but then I was gifted a lovely, souped up Windows 7 when I started college. My XP runs great, but she's slow and I spent a whole day updating the antivirus software because she hadn't been run in a year. So I do have a computer to use, but there are a few things that make her jam up, such as trying to put the camera card in to get pictures off it. Nu-uh. She hoses up when I try to do that. And for some reason the CD drives won't open, which causes a whole new set of problems for me in relation to learning songs for choir. I hate to impose on family members by using their computers, but I want to learn a song to sing at church for my first solo that I hope to get.

So, either I'll post pictures from my life way back when, if My Pictures will open without "not responding" popping up.

It's an adventure over here for sure, but I'm not complaining. I have a great computer that still works, and it gets the job done...even if it puts a crimp on blogging. I have tons of pictures to share with you all from my last few days of constant fishing, but the computer can't handle it.

I suppose I can try to write posts that have no pictures, you know, all article like, but the week has been so packed already.....Heck. I could write about that! There is enough content there for that, I do suppose.

For now, though, I shall be off. I woke up early this morning to be off toward Atlanta to take the first part of my Cosmetology state licensing exam, and I passed it! The next exam is on the 23rd, so prayers would be appreciated! ♥

Have a wonderful Tuesday, my friends! God bless you all!