amanda
So President Bush was in Clarks Summit, PA to talk to Keystone College. None of us BBC students thought that was cool though, he so should have come here... oh well. So anyways, rumor had it that he got ice cream at Mannings, so the spontaneous BBC girls that we are, decided to make the walk down the hill. Of course just in case anyone was worried there were 6 of us and Joy had mace haha... (that was for you mom, but it's true!)

anyways, we got there and there was still a camera crew there! We ended up talking with the owners for about 20 minutes. They informed us that the president was a very nice man, who talked to the owners of Mannings about farming. They said he didn't talk about politics at all and he was just a very down to earth nice guy. And just in case you were wondering... he got prelene and caramel ice cream (i had to ask) :-)

So the following pictures are of us and Mrs. Mannings who shook the president's hand and scooped his ice cream, and all of us with Mr & Mrs. Mannings, and of their cute little ice cream shop. It was amazing, their ice cream is great, here is some free advertising just for them...

Mannings.....

who knows who you might run into!




On that cheesy note have a great night and enjoy the pics :-)



PS: My Picture feaure is being dumb, so these are all the pics for now, there is a few more pics and also one of alyssa and I with Senator Santorum from this morning because he came to BBC. To see those click on "my pictures" link and they are under the Album, BBC Memories 06-07

amanda
"God gave us His love even when we didn't deserve it, and one look at the cross is all we need to take our eyes off of ourselves." ~Dr. Jim Lytle

"You yeild your members in accordance to who you are." ~Colin Smith

You know what I hear far too often from the people I love the most? They always seem to bring up the point of how low a self-esteem I really have... the people you love always seem to pick up on the part of yourself that you often try so hard to hide :-) funny how that works out. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, and how I worry so much about what others think. How there have been so many times where I would do a much better job at something if I would just let go of myself and give it my all regardless of who is looking on.

Funny how many times I have already mentioned my "self." I love both of the quotes that I previously mentioned because both tie into the fact that who I am is a believer in Christ. Everything else I do stems out of that. My beauty, talents, attitude, and ability to do anything is all found in Christ. I am the first to admit I don't act like thats where it stems from a lot of the time. I worry far to often and am often fearful of doing the things I most want to do because I don't have enough confidence, but the solution to that is to remember who I am looking at in finding my confidence.

I'm sure if I were to look at my posts from the past year, a lot of them would be similar to this very topic. It just shows how everything in life is a growing process that takes a long time to overcome. I just pray that I would keep pushing ahead and not fall back in realizing that everything I make or do is all Christ's working in me so I should not be afraid of sharing everything that God is doing in my life, because it's all Him in the first place. It's when I yeild my members to Christ, and it's just one look at His cross that I will find my confidence, beauty, and ability to live life to the fullest.

Again I fall back on this phrase...

Life is a journey...
seize every moment
amanda


What an awesome time at home... I got to hang out with these cuties all weekend :-)

God has blessed me with such a great church family who I love so very much, thanks to all of you who made my weekend extra special :-)

Can you believe it... 5 weeks till my next visit? ( i think that's a record ;-) Surprisingly though I think it will go by really fast and I have so much to look forward to at school right now... except all of those tests and quizzes :-P, but I'm halfway through the semester already!

miss you all and love you like crazy!
amanda
This week has been AMAZING!

Bible Conference was a much needed break to hear from amazing men of God talking about "Rock Solid Faith," and hearing from Sherrie Holloway, an amazing woman of God, talking about grace. One of my favorite parts wass also the singing which has been so beautiful. We have been sitting in the front a lot and to hear so many people echoing their praises to God in a gymnasium where the sound picks up so well, is so refreshing. Not to mention Doc Harris' smiling face and crazy facial expressions, makes you want to sing with everything in you. I wish all of you could meet him, he is awesome! Whether he leads us in singing hymns, choruses, or "spiritual songs" it is always so focused and I love that!

A new song we sang is so precious called "In the Valley" by Sovreign Grace Ministries:

"...So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley's where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You're near with every breath In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley's where Your power is revealed"

I needed this week to refuel. It has been so nice to have a little break for so much God time, and to just be in God's word so much. I am also a small group leader of four girls in my dorm, and we met this week. I am having such a blast in that position and I see God using me and stretching me. I feel like a new person this week, and it is truly amazing watching God strip things away in my life that I have been holding onto for so long. It has been so nice experiencing that joyous freedom as He continues to teach me to find my joy in Him and Him alone. I have been experiencing more and more that faith is an everyday battle, an every minute, and every second battle. Before I guess I would always look at it in larger lengths of time... if I can just make it to next week... But oh how much of life have I been missing by waiting for something down the road instead of relying on God this very second?

I feel so free and I feel content and happy. Yes I have struggles, and yes there are areas of my heart that are hurting, but Jesus loves me :-) I just thought I would share with you guys some of the quotes that I have heard in the main sessions and workshops this week. I hope they encourage you as much as they have encouraged me:

"God understands our weaknesses and yet He works out His purposes despite our weaknesses."
~Dr. Chuck Emert

"Unexplainable circumstances may be the beginning of the greatest oppurtunities to serve Jesus." ~Dr. Chuck Emert

"Grace shows us that we need to get back to seeing God and reject anything that "dummies down God" like worry and idolatry and to replace it with meditating on God's faithfulness."
~Sherrie Holloway

"Rock Solid Faith commits itself to do the best of things in the worst of times."
~Dr. Don Shirk

"The difficulty in waiting is it feels like nothing is happening, but the adventure is that God is in our days." ~Dr. Don Shirk

"Often times we don't give God a chance, out of lack of faith that He can change the mind of others."
"Our God is Faithful, we just don't have Faith in Him."
"You can pray for needs for yourself and not be selfish, but God says He is going to supply our needs not neccesarily our wants."
~Coach Davis

"Validity of Your Faith is always determined by it's object."
"Whatever hinders serving Christ must be abandoned."
"Emotional decisions short-circuit biblical Faith and Spiritual growth."
"Motivation for doing God's will must be based on rational thinking and biblical revelation."
"Faith just begins, when man's power ends"
"Biblical Faith believes the the Promise of the One who made them. Yahweh is still God."
~Dr. Chuck Emert

"Rock Solid Faith has confidence in the authority of Christ."
"Information that doesn't fill your heart and develop your faith is worthless."
~President Jim Jeffrey

If any of you are interested in checking out the messages you can click the link below. Chuck Emert's were both really good, although you cannot get the full effect without his humorous power points. And Don Shirk's messages were pretty good too!


http://www.bbc.edu/chapel.asp

Anyways, I just hope that God would be teaching all of you how to be the best man or woman of God that you can be. And that He would continue to strip you of the things you cling to, as hard as that may be. As I have heard a thousand times since the summer, God is in control!

Be Blessed and Keep seeking after Him in everything!
love always,

amanda
Hebrews 11:6
amanda

Courtesy of a bank Lollipop :-)