::Take off your sandals and have a barefoot encounter with God::

Hello
I am back from my week long stay at one of my favorite places in the world...Church Camp! I have been going to church camp for NINE years...ever since I can remember I have loved church camp mostly for the fun. Starting this blog back in February was a branch from the relationship that I had built with God, and since that relationship started, my God has changed my life so much and it has been such an exciting adventure! So, this year at church camp, I came to camp ready for God to draw closer to me and me to Him. The moment I stepped foot on the camp grounds I knew God had in store so much for me at camp. I didn't come because of the fun, I came because God was waiting for me there and I was ready to meet Him! Sr. High Church Camp this year has been the best camp experience out of all of my nine years of going and God blessed me and had so much more in store for me than I ever could have anticipated!

The theme this year at camp was "Bare Foot"..."Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground"~Exodus 3:5. It was all about the life of Moses and how God used Moses who was broken and used him for something more than Moses ever could have imagined and brought healing to his life. It was about Moses bare foot encounter with God. And I will say, I had an awesome barefoot encounter with God this week at camp! God brought healing to places in my life that I couldn't handle on my own, I mended relationships, I made new friends, and I learned so much about how God uses broken people for the glory of Him!

My small group was absolutely amazing, and we all were so open and it broke my heart to see some of them broken and to remember a time when I was just as broken. It was truly a blessing to see all of them grow in the Lord and begin healing! I loved quiet time with God and I loved the services...Andrew Brown was an amazing speaker and God definately used him in my life! My cabin was amazing too and we had great heart to heart talks at night and really connected to God...even with the spiders listening...yuck! Our cabin had so much fun though...it was great!

We had campfires, worship concerts, games of capture the flag, hikes up communion hill, and so much more...last night was the best! We went down to the ampitheater and looked across the lake and some guys reinacted the scene with Moses and the burning bush...they even had a real huge burning bush and it talked...it was so cool. It looked super cool in the dark. Then we all let our problems go by writing them on hot air balloons and letting them go by setting them on fire and watching them float up in the night sky. It was beautiful...and then we had fireworks over the lake and stayed up like forever!

It was an amazing spiritual week, but I still had fun with other camp activities!It was so hot! Despite the heat though, I had so much fun! We played two games each day...like ultimate frisbee, kick ball, dodge ball, and volleyball, and then I went swimming after that for like two hours everyday!It was so much fun and I got tan! I had the best week!

Now I am going to wash and repack, because I have to leave to counsel camp tomorrow...yay! So excited...pictures soon hopefully and another blog post hopefully soon too. I tried to tell you all so much...and I know I have so much more to say, but until next time,
Lahni Blair

::Awarded!::

Apples, oranges, or bananas?I know this is weird, but I like unripe bananas
How many siblings do you have? four(one passed away before birth)
How old are you?15 years,8 months, 8 days
Do you live in/on a swamp,woodland,prairie, or city?no
Scissors or glue?I like both of them for different reasons
Describe your dream house. I want an old fashioned house in the country
Is your room clean? yes
If you could be a movie character for a day who would you be?Elizabeth Bennett
Would you like to visit Italy, Greece, France, Spain, or England?England, and I'm not sure why,it just seems better than all the rest.hehe.
What denomination are you?non-denominational,but I am a member of the churches classified as Church of God
Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?(BE HONEST!)No
Gum, chocolate, or jelly beans? I don't really like any of these all that much
What is your favorite book?Before You Meet Prince Charming and all of the books for young woman by Leslie Ludy
Favorite ice cream flavor?I am lactose intolerant but I do enjoy some Birthday cake and fruity flavors(no peach though!) occassionaly when I take my pill
If you had to eat one food for two weeks what would it be?fresh fruit salad
What is your favorite olympic sport?Summer gymnastics,winter figure skating
If you woke up one morning and found out you were Miley Cyrus what would you do?I am not a Miley fan,so I would probably scream!hehe.If I was I would...well idk
Describe yourself in three words:outgoing,hypocondriadic,and extraordinary
What chore do you hate?Putting away clothes
If Elmo came into your room with a gun what would you do?I would be very scared,and like Abigail said..I would think I was dreaming
I award this to:
Chloe at Blooming in Christ
Jenna at Feminine Farmgirl
Bekah at Laying Aside Every Weight
Mckenzie at Pecan Pastures
Emily and Michelle at Sisters of Grace
Lydia at Something Beautiful
Aubrey at Never The Same 2010
Emily at (:My World:)
Angie at Bring the Rain
Becky and all the girls at iheart

::Here's what's happening::

This is the banner for the mission trip I am going on above
This is the banner for IYC
This is Morgan on the left and I beside her at church camp last year having a mud fight!Hope she doesn't mind I put it up!ha!I love it!
This is the sink hole in Guatemala City that happened this week!
Hello my dear blog readers!
I'm getting there...I'm working on it...I know everything is going to be just fine...all because of God!My life is a little hectic right now,a little stressful,a little painful,a little scary,a little nerve racking,it's just lost in some areas right now and it's tough but each and everyday I am falling in love with God and that is what keeps me going!This introduction is pretty blunt and I want to keep it that way,so all I ask is that you pray for me,and that I would greatly appreciate!And by no means am I complaining,I just want to let you know how I am doing and how a life with God in it is worth living!

So, on a happy note,this week is the last week of school!I sure do know what that means...senior high church camp,counseling middler church camp for the first time,Guatemala for my first mission trip,International Youth Convention in Florida with my youth group,Kings Island with my youth group(an amazing amusement park),my practically sister's wedding,a family reunion,a concert,hanging out with my Abigail before I leave for all of my summer adventures God has blessed me with(She is awesome,she is going to help me pack!Love you girl!),walking across the golf course to the pool,laying out,staying up late(wait,I already did that...I guess it just has a different effect knowing you don't have school in the morning!haha!),hot weather,tans,bleached hair,going barefoot sometimes,ice cold drinks outside,tan lines(sometimes not good one either.lol!),so much more and so much fun!!!

Here is a more detailed account of what I will be doing over the summer...Next week I will be preparing for all of my summer plans by shopping for the things I need on my mission trip and other things I will be needing at camps and so forth.After next week I will be leaving for senior high church camp for a week which is always a blast!I love roughing it and enjoying God's incredible creation in the great outdoors...no seriously our church camp grounds are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains and woods and I absolutely love it!I love building a stronger relationship with the Lord and strong relationships with other teens with a love for the Lord as well!I will be there for a week exactly,and then...

I come home for less than 24 hours to pack for counseling middler camp which I will be there about a week(4th-6th grade campers)and then leave the next day!My friend Morgan is counseling with me and so we are coming home from senior high camp,washing clothes,getting as much rest as possible,and then heading that way.This year will be my first year of counseling church camp and I am so excited!!!I am looking foward to leading my cabin of girls closer to God(through Him by me of course)and watching them grow in their relationships with the Lord!I am getting them a little gift and making devotions for them as well.I am pretty sure I am going to get them each a small mirror that they can hang on the cabin wall and write in dry-erase marker a Bible verse and give them a dry-erase marker so they can write on it too!I am probably going to get them a little notebook and pen as well so they can write notes about the sermon during service or jot down prayers and things like that throughout the week!I have some other things planned as well,I just don't want to take up too much room in this section talking about everything,but I am sure my girls will enjoy these things,at least I hope so!

Then,this is where my Abigail comes in(she is my best friend who has a deep passion for the Lord as I do...I call her "my Abigail".hehe!)...I will come home from counseling middler camp and have only two full days to pack for my two-week mission trip to Antigua Guatemala.She is going to be a huge help!Thanks Abby!Then I will fly on the airplane by myself to Miami,Florida for training and then head off with all of the other teens who are going to Guatemala a couple of days later!I am so excited!I hopefully will be able to post some blogs while I am there to keep you all updated,but no promises b/c I think we will only have like 15 minutes each day to be on the computer in which I will probably be e-mailing my family,but if I have time I hope to blog!If you don't see much from me,our trip has a blog that they will be keeping up to date while we are there!Here is the address to it...http://neverthesamemissions.blogspot.com/

Guatemala has been experiencing some pretty bad things lately...they have had 115 people die and maybe more from a tropical storm this week.The volcano Pacaya erupted too and spewed lava in places in Guatemala including where we are going.On top of that they had a sink hole...if you don't know what that is take a look at the picture posted somewhere in this post!I know though that this is the enemy trying to scare us though and I know that he can't b/c I have God and He is way bigger than the enemy!I hope these disasters soften up the Guatemalan's hearts more and open them up more!Everything happening is part of God's plan!Prayers please!

Then, after I get back from my mission trip, I will have about two full days again(I think)and then I will leave for Florida with my church youth group for IYC(International Youth Convention)!I am so excited!Francis Chan who wrote the book Crazy Love is speaking as well as other great speakers and musicians such as SuperChick(their band sings stand in the rain)!I will be there for about a little less than a week.

Then sometime my youth group is going on a Kings Island Trip which is an amusement park with amazing roller coasters and such!I also will be in a wedding of my practically sister Lauren!I have known her since I was really little and I claim her as my big sister and friend!I also have a family reunion and a concert to go as well as all of the other enjoyable summer activities(if I can find time.hehe!)I am one busy girl but I can't wait!

If you all need me to pray for anything feel free to ask me and I will!I hope you all have a great summer!Until next time...
In Christ,
Lahni Blair<3

::ponder,pray,persevere::

Before you read my post today,I have some pictures up!YAY!They are from this spring...enjoy! We decided to take some naps in the grass and just enjoy the beautiful day!

This was at easter!from left to right:Taylor,me,Ashlyn,and Kensi!I love my sisters!!!I should've worn my hair down...I'm the only one with it up...lol<3

Hi Dear readers,

I am so sorry that I haven't posted recently,but on the bright side it hasn't been one of the longer periods of time I go without posting!First I just want to go ahead and ask you to be praying for me alot!I will explain more about my prayer needs in a minute.I also would like to say that I am so happy that I have blog readers of mine and that I thank each and every one of you who do read my blog!If you are a reader please let me know by sending me a comment!I would greatly appreciate it!

Furthermore, I would like to tell you all that the 30-day challenge I am doing(if you have yet to remember,or did not read the post about my challenge,it is a challenge from the magazine SUSUIE to get in shape physically,spiritually,mentally,financially,and in other ways too!)is quite the challenge.Here are where your prayers come in...This challenge has been difficult and I will tell you I have wanted to give up and let go of all that God was calling me to do through this challenge.The devil has been tempting me to give up and to not listen to what God is telling me and it has been a little rough!Ok,alot rough!Though I have not given in to the temptations of the devil as I have recently started this challenge,I would still love for you to pray that I become stronger throughout this challenge and that I would tune out the devil and tune into God!Not to long ago,I memorized a Bible verse that says"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.The spirit is willing,but the body is weak."~Mark 14:38.I know for me,I have fallen prey to the weakness of my body.Many times I have thought,committed,and have been so sure of doing something....only finding later that I give into my selfish desires of my body.That is something that I need to work on so much and this challenge has challenged me to do that.I am going to have to watch and I am going to have to pray alot,but I know that I will get through these challenges and I will definately try my hardest to do them all for the glory of God!I do know this...I have been pondering,praying,and persevering and I hope to do these things even more!

I would like you to be praying for several families in particular as well.As you know I posted about a young lady at my high school who passed away the other day from being in a car accident.Monday we lost two more lives in my town.A young boy who was disabled died from complications from pneumonia and a adult in my town committed suicide.On top of all of this my sister's friend's mother died on Wednesday(I think it was Wednesday...but it could have been early Thursday)from a brain annurism.I can't remember a time where so many lives in my life were taken...and taken earlier than I would have thought.Even though I didn't know them through a close relationship,i still knew them somewhat and I cna't imagine what their families must be going through right now.So keep them in your prayers if you would.

P.S.-sorry to end this post on a sad note...remember to comment me if you read my blog.thanks.have a great day!

Blessings,

Lahni Blair

::I don't know what to call this post::

Hello dear blog readers,
I don't really know what to call this post because I've been feeling alot of emotions lately about alot of things that have and are going on in my life right now!

Since last Sunday I have been dancing like all the time, everyday!Last Sunday and Monday I had dance rehearsal for dance recital.(oh and each night I have been getting home anywhere from 8:00-9:30).Tuesday and Wednesday I had dress rehearsal.Thursday,Friday I had recital and on Saturday I had Saturday matinee and then another recital that night.I'ts over now and I made alot of fabulous memories!We had amazing performances and although my costume changing was a little hectic considering I was in four routines,it was thoroughly a blast!Saturday night was the most emotional for me because...ok I'll start with the happy part.Our hip-hop routine has a two songs,one called forever by Chris Brown and Everbody by Laura Bell Bundy.Now, Laura Bell Bundy is an alum from the dance school in which I attend and she is really famous today.She went on to be Elle in Legally Blonde on Broadway and she has done other such musicals on broadway as well.She then went on to write country songs and they are really popular...even among the many students at my school!She has appeared in popular magazines such as PEOPLE and has been on popular television channels such as CMT.So.....back to the story....We were dancing to the last song(LBB song)....and LAURA BELL BUNDY jumps up on stage from where she was out in the audience and starts dancing with us!IT WAS AMZING to say the least!Then I got to meet her and talk to her and it was absolutely awesome.But then the sad emotions started kicking in, my ballet teacher,previously a rockette, announced a few weeks ago that she was leaving to pursue a career in recreational therapy.So it hit me that this was the last recital where she would be a teacher.I am sure she will come back next year to watch and you never know...jump up on stage...and well,you know the rest.LOL.It was also sad because this coming week is the last week of seeing my dance girls and teachers everyweek until dance starts up again in the fall.Of course,I will get to see some of my teachers because I am taking private lessons some this summer!It was also sad because my high school lost a young lady Saturday morning in a car accident.

Abigail, from Amazed By Grace, prayers to you during your recital!

Ok, so today is day 3 of my 30-Day challenge,and it has been a little more challenging the past couple days due to recital but I managed to get everthing done.I would appreciate it much if you all would pray for me throughout the rest of this challenge.Thanks so much!

Well, the business doesn't stop here,it just gets crazier...I'll be sure to post some picsand some more posts hopefully soon.Have a great day!
Blessings,
Lahni Blair

::30-DAY CHALLENGE::

Hello dear blog readers,
I am very sorry that my blogging frequencies haven't been as regular as they have been at some times in the past.But, this week is my dance recital week which means it is the last week of dance for the year...except for the party that takes place next week.So, although I will miss dance very much, I am hoping that this little break will allow me to post more...which is exciting!

I have something very exciting I would like to share with you all!So, here it goes...I recieve a magazine every month called Susie Magazine,a magazine for Christian teen young ladies that is absolutely outstanding!In the issue I recieved this month, there was a 30-Day Challenge that will allow you to get in shape physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and financially!I am starting this weekend and I am so excited!I definately know that it is going to be a real challenge and I am going to have to do ALOT of challenges each day...some of which are outside of my comfort zone...but I know that God is calling me to do this and that He will be there right beside me the whole time!Each week I am going to try and post what challenges I have done and how God is working in my life through this challenge.OOOPPS!Actually I will not be able to post one week at all,because one of the challenges is to not use the computer for a week....sorry!But hopefully that means I will have more exciting posts the next week so that I can catch you all up.And, I get a really cool T-shirt for doing it!All I have to do is send in $10,a paragraph on how the challenge has affected me positevely,and a photo of myself!The magazine creator is Susie Shellenberger,I am going on her mission trip this summer to Guatemala.YAY.And then next summer I am going to Quito,Ecuador...and then the next summer they do not yet have posted where they are going...but I am going...I can't wait!

I hope you all have enjoyed my post this fine day and if you have any questions about it feel free to ask!I hope you all have a wonderful day!I will try to add more pictures soon!!!I know you all like looking at pictures just as I do,so I will most definately be working on that!Well, I have to go and get ready for blocking for dance recital!YAY!!!Have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Lahni Blair

::must see movie::

Hello dear blog readers,
I just recently got finished watching the movie "End of the Spear",and I must say that it is now one of my favorite movies!Now,if you are not familiar with this movie,let me give you a brief understanding of it.It is about five Christian missionaries who go deep in the jungles of Ecuador,along the Amazon River Basin to spread the gospel to the Waodani.The Waodani are an Indian tribe who at the time were considered the most violent group in the world...ok,now I am going to stop there and you will HAVE TO watch it to know the rest of this AMAZING story.I am not to fond of violent movies...actually not at all,but this was an exception even though I had to cover my eyes up a few times.God really spoke to me through this movie and I know He will speak to you too!"We can't shoot the Waodani,son.They're not ready to go to heaven-we are."~end of the spear.That quote really stuck out to me...we should be willing,no matter what,to give up our lives for God even if it means dying.Anyways,I wish I could do a whole post about this movie in detail,but I really want you all to see it so I won't give the whole movie away.I will leave you with a couple of thoughts about it though...well first of all,it is a TRUE STORY which made it even more emotional for me to watch.Also,it is rated pg-13 because of the violence but that's really the only reason it is rated that,so I will say if you are younger in age and get scared easily...or even if you don't,I would encourage you all to watch it when you are older...and I am not saying that out of a motherly reasoning,but in my humble opinion I would wait until you are older because I know it hit me at a more personal,emotional level with God that I do not think I would not have got when I was younger.So,I am definately not underestimating your level of maturity or spirituality,I just think It would be better to wait if you are under 13 or so.So,make yourself a note to see it ASAP!!!Have a great week!
Blessings,
Lahni Blair