I Don't Want To Go Back!

I've been king of worried about this lately: going back to school and being totally influenced by my peers. I have grown so much in the Lord this summer, and I am nervous to go back to school and just go back to my old ways. I pray about this a lot. Last night I wrote this in my journal:

"...those hethanistic, worldly people with the sinful attitudes aren't attractive to me anymore! But, that's what I'm afraid of. Going back to school in a month with all those unsaved people. I hate to admit it, but they influence me so much. I feel so inferior when they don't except me. Why? I don't know. Satan can seem so appealing when you strive to please yourself, and not God."

God wants me to please Him, and Him only! That's another thing I learned at camp last week. P.D. gave the illustration of a balance. We are the left side and God is the right. Wanting to please God should totally outplace the want to please ourselves. When we do things our way, we get instant satisfaction, but when we do it God's way we get eternal satisfaction. I mean, I would much rather struggle for a little bit, but then be happy for the rest of my life in one area than be happy for a bit and then get sad and keep sinning to have satisfaction in tiny intervals.

In the past, I haven't wanted to go back to school just because I don't want summer to be over and I have to sit in a hot classroom all day with homework when I get home. Now this year I don't want to go back to school because of the people there. I mean, yes, there are a lot of nice people, but the majority of them are wicked, wretched, vile, sinners. I do not want to be part of that environment! I hate it! Lately, I have been looking into my yearbook at all of the people and thinking "will I be able to stand up to that person? How will I not be influenced by that person? Is that person really somebody I should be hanging around with?"

Every single year that I get back from camp I say the same thing to myself: "I will not go back to my sinful ways and actions. I will not be caught up in the wicked world that I live in." Yet every year I find myself right back there. I feel so ashamed in myself that I can't stand up for myself and God and just say NO, I will not do that!

Fortunatly this school year, one of my very best Christian friends will be at Hyre with me. I am so happy that I will have a real friend to go through school with. Hopefully she will give me the encouragement that I need to stay strong for Christ as I go through the long school year.

Please, pray for me as I go into school, that I won't be sidetracked or influenced by my peers. I need them. I know that He will help me get through.

P.S. If you have any good devotional books that could help me continue growing in the Lord, could you please let me know about it! I want that to be another goal of mine, to keep a good steady devotional time. Thank you :)

**Wow. Right after I posted this, something told me to read my Witnessing post. I found this, and I quote myself: "I mean, of course the world will laugh at me and try and tear me down mentally, but why should that phase me? I have the Creator, the Father, my Father, behind me 1000%" I think that I need to take my own advice. God will be with me as I go into school. Wow. I love Him so much.

Results

The results are in! You voted on what you get out of my blog, so here's what you guys thought...

I Love My Sister

Audrey is my best friend. Without her, I would not be the same person many of you know today. She has taught me many things in my life, such as to tie my shoes, ride my two-wheeler, how to spell my name, attempted to teach me to read, and how to be a better person. Audrey is an awesome role model for everybody! Audrey can balance her priorities great. She is also a great mediator, if you are ever in a rut with somebody.A smart and beautiful girl. But, most importantly, she is a young woman who follows God. She has taught youth group on important issues, and strives to please Him. She uses her many talents and gifts to serve God. She sings in the school and church choir, plays violin, sings for special music, teaches young children in church and VBS, and is just a nice person you can talk to and never get bored!
I have had so many memories with Audrey. I remember washing that station wagon while at our old house. She would always try and persuade me to play Barbies, but I never would. While camping, we always play football. She even tackled me on Monday while we were playing with the Kozy girls. She is absolutly hilarious. Audrey is one of those people with a sense of sarcasm, which not a lot of people get.
Audrey is honestly the best sister I could ever imagine.
I love you, Audrey!

Sisters, Sisters,

There were never such devoted sisters

Never had to have a chaperone "No, sir"

I'm there to keep my eye on her

Caring, Sharing,

Every little thing that we are wearing

When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome

She wore the dress and I stayed home

All kinds of weather

We stick together

The same in the rain or sun

Two diff'rent faces

But in tight places

We think and we act as one

Those who've

Seen us

Know that not a thing could come between us

Many men have tried to split us up but no one can

Lord help the mister

Who comes between me and my sister

And Lord help the sister

Who comes between me and my man!

~Irving Berlin's "Sisters"

Unexpected

I was very shocked to find out today that my Uncle Don had passed away. I was totally surprised when my dad told me. I mean, how? I was just with him a couple of weeks ago, laughing and having a good time. And now he is gone? I couldn't believe it. I still don't think I do.
Tonight was VBS. I found about this about 45 minutes before we left. I tryed to keep on a "happy attitude" so that I would set a good example for the little kids. It seemed too easy for me, and that made me upset. I love him very much, yet I can't cry. I mean I cried when Dad told us, but the tears aren't coming back, and that makes me feel guilty. I am aching inside though.
We visited my grandma, great-aunt Ruthie, and Uncle John tonight after VBS. I cannot even imagine the pain that she must be expiriencing. She is a tough woman who seems to hide her pain, but I can tell that she was absolutlly heart broken through her eyes. It was a very quiet visit. I don't think that any of us has let it sink in yet. It just doesn't seem possible. But it is.
My grandfather passed away a month ago Wednesday, and now Uncle Don? I won't question God's plan, though. It is all in His hands, he knows exactly what He is doing. His timing is perfect. And for that, I love Him. I have Him to turn to and know that He has all the answers. I do not know what I would do without Him. Well, I'd be an absolute mess.
Dad says that he has hope. When he would question Uncle Don about his salvation, he could tell my dad the time he did it and everything. That is good to know. I have hope that I will see him in Heaven one day. Then I can tell him how much I love him. You can never say that enough.
Throughout these times when I have lost a loved one I have learned something: Spend as much time with your family and friends as possible. You never know when they won't be around anymore. And take every oppurtunity that is given to you to witness to them. I mean, I wish so bad that I could have spent more time with my grandfather than I did. I wish I could have seen Uncle Don more than I did. Both of their deaths were unexpected to me. So take advantage of the precious times you share together and hold on to them. Don't hold a grudge against anybody. Tell them that you love them constantly.

I Y you Uncle Don

...and with your final heart beat

kiss the world goodbye

and go in peace and laugh on Glory's side

and fly to Jesus...and live.

Mr. No-Hands Waiter

I Y Mr. No-Hands Waiter!

Camp Patmos 2005

I just have two words to describe this past week at Camp: Absolutly Amazing. The speaker was downright awesome, the atmosphere was beautiful as usual, the people were fun to be around and friendly, and most importantly I grew in my relationship with Jesus Christ.
The speaker's name was Pastor Don Jackson, a.k.a. PD. He is a youth pastor in Michigan. PD taught us all about The Seven Checkpoints, being Healthy Friendships, Moral Boundaries, Wise Choices, Others First, Ultimate Authority, Spiritual Discipline, and Authentic Faith, and living the Barbarian Way. Thursday night he talked about Authentic Faith. It really hit me that my faith wasn't as it should be. True faith is confidence that He will do everything He has promised to do. And at times, I would doubt Him and even my own salvation. Not that He couldn't do it, just that he wouldn't. PD asked anybody who needs to rethink their faith to come up to the front of the Chapel and pray. He told us that we should have the guts to do it infront of everyone there. I literally jumped out of that seat, knelt next to the stage, and cried my eyes out as I handed my entire life to God that I had been selfishly holding on to. Mrs. Kozy talked to me and my other cabin mates that had gone to the front also after Chapel. We stood in a circle and prayed. It was definatly a life changing moment in my life, and many other Patmos campers that night. I am 100% positive that if I die right now, I will be in Heaven's glory. He was an amazing speaker.
The theme this year was "Shine". Mrs. Kozy did an excellent job in leading our devotions. Two nights we invited staff members into out cabin to share their testimonies. Wednesday night, Amy, the program director came and shared her testimony and Thursday night Julie Jackson, PD's wife shared hers. It was really nice to hear their different salvation stories.
Of course, I had a ton of fun at Camp, too. Kristen and I learned to sail with Anna. Wow, I must say we are quite good. We took Mrs. Kozy and Emily out sailing on Thursday. I almost wacked everybody in the head with the sail, but other than that, I think that I did a good job. The only hard part was attaching that clip to the bouy. I went tubing and Torpedoing, too. I'm still attempting to stay on the entire ride, but my boat drivers, Keith and Nate, were brutal. Speaking of which, I got beat up pretty bad this week. No, not by some kid, by myself. Ok, first, I fell and scraped up my leg while running to give Andy my team's paper for the scavenger hunt, I cut my toe in the swimming pool, scraped my leg again on somehing, I don't know what. And then on Thursday we went to the East shore. Me and Kristen banged heads (mouths actually) into eachother. I chipped part of her tooth and she moved my tooth causing me to bite my lip and bleed. Thankfully, none of our mouth renovations are noticable. Oh yeah, and finally, while playing a game on Friday for All Camp Activity I hurt my knee really bad. The object of the game was to try and grab a sock that was on a person from the other team's head before they crossed the line to steal your eggs. Well, my friend Jon from the other team started to fun for my eggs. I was like "nuh-uh, no he doesn't" so I chased him, literally jumped in midair, grabbed his sock thing, and came crashing down on my right knee. Wow, that hurt. But it was pretty funny, I'm sure.
All in all, this week was awesome and I can't wait to go back next year. I just have so much fun and I learn so much. Last night at the bon fire, JP and Keith (two staff members) told all of us campers how we feel so onfire for Christ now, but it's a long time until next year and how easy it is to allow others to toy with our fire and ultimatly put it out. They encouraged us to not let anything, or anyone, put out that fire. Just please pray for me and even all of the other campers from this week that the fire in our hearts will not be tampered with by the World and that we will have the courage to stand up for our Lord.


P.S. I have added a photo album to my sidebar of my camp pictures. Look in the announcements section of the sidebar. Make sure once you click on the button and the page opens that you go to the yello sidebar and click on Camp Patmos Pictures.

Witnessing

While spending the night at Emily's, we watched the movie "Left Behind". That's a Tribulation movie that really makes me anxious for the Rapture, more so than usual. Although, I think it would be cool to be on Earth while all of God's prophecies come true, like the rebuilding of Soloman's temple, peace, the rise of the Anti-Christ. Don't get me wrong, I am very glad I won't be experiencing the Tribulation.
It also makes you want to witness. I really realized how stuck up I can be sometimes in the fact that I feel too shy to witness. Those people out there need me to lead them to Christ and I won't do it because I am afraid? I mean, of course the world will laugh at me and try and tear me down mentally, but why should that phase me? I have the Creator, the Father, my Father, behind me 1000%. He is pleased with those who witness. It is a commandment and I need to fulfill it. I need not to be ashamed (Romans 1:16).
As a youth group, we have gone out many times to witness to non-believers. During that time, I feel really pumped up and excited to share the Gospel. But when it comes down to witnessing by myself, I am not as pumped up and excited. I am scared, nervous, and shy. Many times a great opportunity has dropped right on my lap and I let it slip away. I have to realize that I am not always going to have fellow Christians around to help me and "motivate" me to reach out. I need to be prepared. Everything I need I am able to access in the Bible. God has prepared everything (Heb. 11:3)
Another part of witnessing I myself need to work on is living for Him through my actions. I want people to look at me and say "Hey, she's different. No matter what the circumstance, she always seems to have peace. She is a good person who obviously is confident about her life." That is another great way to draw people to Christ. If they see you as a person worth exemplifying, they will want to be like you. They will be attracted to you and your lifestyle. If you try and witness to somebody and they remember the language you use, your gestures, actions, and emotions that are not attractive, why would they want to be like that? They will think that God is just an inconvenience and a bother. That He makes you into some depressed person. But that's not true and they need to see and realize how exciting it is to be a child of God.
As my Dad tells me, witnessing should become habit. A good habit. We should pray to God saying that we are available. That He would bring the perfect opportunity into our life that we may witness. I mean, we shouldn't be like "Oh, who should I witness to today?" and then draw somebody's name from a hat. No. God will bring us the opportunity to witness in His perfect timing. And with that, we should all be ready to witness with courage, confidence, and God right next to us.

Another Survey

I take quizzes and surveys when I am bored, and make you suffer by putting them in my blog. LOL. Here is one I took, enjoy!!


:QUICK STUFF:
Full Name
Elizabeth R. Hembree
Height
5'2''
Eye Color
Brown
Hair Color
Brown
Where do you live?
Ohio
Do you like it there?
Yes
What is the weather like?
At the moment--rainy
Do you want to move? (If so where?)
Maybe someday..IDK where
Do you have any siblings?
Yes
If not: Do you want any? If so: Do you want any more?
No
What is/was your favorite subject?
Science
Did/Do you like school?
Not particually
What is your favorite color?
Green
What is your favorite thing about yourself?
My hair
What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
My eyebrows
Do you get along with your parents?
Yes
Are they split or together?
Together
Do you want to get married?
Yes
Do you want a family?
Yes
:DEEPER QUESTIONS:
If you were to die today would be happy with the things you have done?
Yes
Thoughts on war?
I support it
Religion?
Christian
Abortion?
NO!
Drugs?
no
Abstinence?
yes
What do you think happens to us when we die?
You either go to Heaven or Hell, depending on if you have confessed your sins to God and have asked for forgiveness
:WOULD YOU RATHER:
Die by burning to death or freezing to death
Neither! but since I have to choose...freezing
Be stuck in an elevator with someone who talks too much or doesn't at all?
doesnt talk at all
Be in a movie theater behind three tall guys or a group of giggling girls?
giggling girls..i can tell them to shut it, but i cant tell the guys to shrink
Always loose or never play?
always loose
Kill winnie the pooh or bambi? (ahaha)
bambi, not Winnie!!
Have a bucket stuck to your foot or 5 bottles stuck on your fingers?
bucket on the foot
Have the worst case of acne on record or have your spouse deal with it?
me
See your own future (can't change it) or everyone elses (can't tell them)?
everyone else's
Cheat on your spouse: no one knows or not cheat: everyone thinks you did
Not cheat
Have a head twice the normal size or half the normal size?
twice the normal size
Make a public idiot of yourself or do 50 stupid things only you know about?
public idiot
:YOUR FAVORITES:
Drink
Dr. Pepper
Food
Mac & Cheese
Sport
Football
Hobby
Hanging out with my friends
Movie
Titanic
Song
Love Song For a Savior
Band
Casting Crowns
Animal
Three Toed Sloth, most def
Flower
white roses
Sports Team
Ohio State
TV Show
Any game show
Board Game
Clue
Computer Game
Mafia/Titanic: Adventure Out of Time
Place to go
Cedar Point! woot woot
Vacation spot
Camping..anywhere
Place to relax
my nice warm bed
:WHO...:
Can you give all your problems to?
Jesus
Do you trust the most?
Audrey
Could you spend the rest of your life with?
I'm not thinkin' that far ahead
DO you know the most about?
Audrey
:Finish:
Are you slightly less bored?
Yes!
Was this slightly more interesting than other quizzes?
Oh yes....

Christianity

I made this picture on Paint. I think it really illustrates my familes, churches, and own personnal beliefs. The cross on Calvary Christ died on to save the world from their sins, the empty tomb that shows that Christ is not a dead God, He is alive! and the clouds show that he is coming again to take up all the Christians on Earth to Heaven. The Bible is our map in life and is a way of knowing God and learning his commandments.

I Love Camping!

I just thought that this would be a great oppurtunity to share with you my summer love. Camping! I have been camping ever since I was in the womb. It's that rustic, hillbilly blood in me I guess. There is no summer activity I love more than camping. If you have never gone camping, you are definatlly missing out on something beautiful. There is nothing quite like making your supper over a warm, blazing fire, sitting around roasting marshmellows, waking up and just sitting around the fire pit drinking hot cocoa. As you can tell from that picture, I love S'mores, possibly the best part of camping. They just don't taste right in any other setting.
This picture was taken when I was about 2 years old. We were camping with the Keys family at Jellystone Park. Oh yes, old Jellystone park. That place is awesome! Right when you pull in, they have is humongous basket with Yogi Bear, Booboo, and that other girl bear to welcome you. That's the place I got my green baseball cap. Heh heh... That is my favorite camping site, and I have gone to many. Some of them include, Jellystone Park, Peir-Lon, Moheekin, Cherokee, Marlynn, Salt Fork, and Niagra Falls, along with many many others. Lately, my family has been going to Peir-Lon. That's a really nice place. Last year, we went up (or down...) to Salt Fork with the church group. That was a fun expirience that I look forward to again in September.
Another awesome thing about camping is the bonding time I have with my family. No electronics, media, anything. Just you and your kin and a big ol' campfire. I mean, there is nothing to do except talk and play, and work (such as obsessively sweeping out your camper.) You make many memories while camping. I remember last year at Peir-Lon, Audrey and I went for a bike ride around the grounds. My bike had those foot thingys on the pedals I was having a difficult time. A truck was coming our way and I fell off, and got taggeled up in the pedals. I was all scraped up. I cut my toe REALLY bad and was bawling in the stinky bath rooms while Mom tried to bandage it. I look back and laugh. Another great memory is while camping, I got burnt really, really bad on my face. We got back from camping on Sunday and I went to Camp Patmos the next day! Well, if you've ever been to camp in July, you know good and well how sunny it gets. My face was peeling like old paint. I seriously had two differnt color skin tones on my face. Yes, I must say that was a good expirience too.
I hope that this blog post has encouraged YOU to encourage your FAMILY to pack up the mini van and head out into the wilderness for a weekend of good old fashioned CAMPING. Take it from me, you'll love it.

Which Reality Show Am I?

I know, I'm a little obsessed with QuizFarm.com, but it's fun to take these quizzes! This time, I took at quiz on which reality show I should be one. Here are my results...


You scored as The Amazing Race.
Get your passport! You should be on the amazing race. You love to travel and you love exotic places and cultures, heck even if you lose the million, you still get to do what you love...TRAVEL!!!

Hey, now everyone should want me on their team for the youth group's "Amazing Race" game, huh? Yeah right.

Loooong Day

Yes twas. Today was mighty long. I woke up, eh, around like 9:00ish and I forget everything that went on. Oh, well, Dad made me and Philip (Audrey was still sleeping) French toast. Mmm mmm good! And then me and Audrey watched "The Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Wow, that movie is hilarious. Of course, as in all movies, I wept my heart out. It was so sad in some parts. I also got "Finding Neverland", but I have to wait to watch it until later. So, I will give you my critique some other time. I heard it's really good though. I will even cry in that, I know it. I cry in every movie: Tarzan, Lion King, Mulan 2 (notice the Disney theme), and practically ever movie I have ever watched in my life. Especially Snow White, but that's a whole other story. Well, Philip had a baseball game today. It's the Hotstove tournament. So, they had to be at the feild by 2:30 (we got there early) and then the game would begin at 3. Well, another team was still there when everyone got there. They ended up playing like an hour and fourty five minutes longer than they were supposed to! So, that delayed our game until like 4:45, so everyone had already been there 2 1/4 hours long before the game started. Wow, we were there from 2:15 until 7:15. That's FIVE HOURS long and THREE HOURS longer than we were supposed too. *Grr* I was getting anxious. I called Kristen up on the cell phone and Mom bought me a bag of peanuts, so that helped me manage. Audrey was teaching herself to shuffle cards for like 4 hours straight. I don't know how many games we played. Like 7 games of Speed and 4 games of War. (Like 11 then I guess) Ugh, and the sun made it even worse. Oh, and then the game went into extra innings. So, just knowing that I would be there a lot longer made it even more restless. But, who's complaining? Definatly not me. Well, a good thing is that in the bottom of the 8th inning, we were up by two runs and the pitcher struck 2 kids out and the first baseman caught one pop fly. So, the last inning wasn't too long. During the 7th innings, like all of the parents called the pizza parlor to order dinner. Hey, we all didn't know that we would be there well into dinner! The pizza was good and the anticipation towards it made it all the more sweeter. And that was practically my whole day!

My Playlist

They say you can learn a lot about a person by the songs on their Windows Media Player playlist. Well, I have updated my playlist so here are the songs.

1. Phantom of the Opera (Overture)
2. Refiner's Fire-Provident Group
3. Wonderful, Merciful Savior
4. Be Thou My Vision-4Him
5. Camp Patmos staff video 2004
6. Camp Patmos tour video 2004 (High)
7. Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus)-Chris Rice
8. Singing In the Rain-Gene Kelley
9. Nothing-Bebo Norman
10. Natural Woman/Can't Take My Eyes Off of You-The Jerry Bruno Orchestra
11. One Jump Ahead (Reprise)- from "Aladdin" soundtrack
12. Circle Of Life- from "Lion King" soundtrack
13. My Heart Will Go On-Celine Dion
14. Shackles (Dance Mix)-MaryMary -- I think...
15. Hampster Dance-Hampton and the Hampsters
16. You Raise Me Up-Josh Groban
17. What A Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong

Independance Day

I don't know about you, by my 4th of July was awesome. First, my brother, dad, uncle, and cousin went on the firetruck in the Stow parade. Mom, Audrey, and I sat and watched. Wow, it was so hot out! After the parade, we all came back to our house to get ready for the picnic we were having at our house. Soon, everyone was there: Grandma Iris and Grandpa Jose, Uncle Vic and Jordan (they rode on the truck and were already at the house) Grandma Kay, Uncle Jeff, Uncle Don, and Aunt Linda. We set up camping chairs on the patio and a picnic table under the tree. While Dad was grillin' the goods, Philip and Jordan were inside playing video games (surprise, surprise), Audrey and I played football *tough grunt*, and the adults talked. Audrey had a little trouble catching the Nerf, and throwing it, but other than that, I think it is a fair bet to call her "Ray" lol. Anyways, soon the food was done. Wow, I think Mom may have went a little overboard with the cooking. We had burgers, hotdogs, potato salad, homemade salsa (her salsa is soo good!), pasta salad, chips, pop, lemonade, iced tea, fruit, along with the numerous condoments for our burgers and dogs, and Grandma Iris made Spanish rice. Then, since it was my Grandparents 13th wedding anniversary, my mom made Grandma and Grandpa a cake. It was good. It was a lemon cake with her homemade icing (Cool Whip mixed in with strawberry Jell-O mix). Of course, each slice had a little American Flag tooth pick to keep up with the Patriot theme of the afternoon. Well, everyone left around 7:00 and it was just the Hembree's hanging out, well, hanging out after we cleaned up, around the house. At 9:15 we went downtown to see the fireworks. Before they started, Philip was entertaining us by doing head-stands and rolling down the hill. Some kid threw a sparkler onto the deadly dry grass and caught it on fire. The fireworks we kind of hard to see because we were on a hill and a sidewalk tree blocked out half of the veiw. Even if we could see them, they still wouldn't have been as good as the Firestone Park fireworks we saw with the teens. But it was nice to be there with my family. We don't really do a lot of thing together, all there, anymore. The fireworks lasted about 20 minutes. Philip was asleep, but woke up after the big "ka-booms" of the Finale. I carried him on my back (and he's 9 and quite heavy) back to the car. Dad decided to take his "secret short cut" off some bridge. Sorry Dad, but it wasn't that secret. Traffic was pretty bad, but we got home around 10:20. Then we went to sleep. It was a very nice family gettogether, but I made sure to remember all the military solider, past and present, who have died fighting for the rights of the American people.

Remember what our Founding Fathers made our country based on: God. I thank Him that he has given us His grace to be a strong and powerful country. Without Him, we wouldn't even be in exsistance. Nothing in America happens that He does not want to happen. That should give us peace.
Thank you.

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall. --John Dickinson

Look At These Beauties!

Here is a picture of the Hembrees/Kozys up at Camp Patmos last year. Look at our tans! This picture was taken by Mrs. Kozy before our tubing on the big Torpedo.
Can't wait until Audrey gets home Tomorrow!