"True friends are able to comfort you, encourage you, and hold you accountable. But they do more than this; they also shape you." -Redefining Life: My Purpose

It's so neat to have special friends that you can trust and that trust you. I was looking at this quote and I realized that I am soooo blessed with friends. I have a lot of friends that I can trust and I know will comfort me. It's been amazing how God has placed friends in my life, and how they have impacted me. This quote is so cool because it points out the characteristics of a true friend, but it also brings up the point that friends also shape you. Sometimes you don't realize it, but your friends impact you. It's so funny to realize. I've noticed little things that my friends do I have picked up on, and started to do also. Unfortunately friends can impact us both positively and negatively. So many of my friends actions have impacted me to be a better person. One of my close friends is very outgoing and she doesn't really care what others think. She doesn't allow others opinions of her form her into who she is. I greatly admire this quality in my friend and though she might not have realized it she's encouraged me to also live "out loud", and not to place my worth in what others think of me. Unfortunately, people also can affect their friends negatively. There's an illustration that I'd like to use here. Imagine there are two people standing next to one another. One is on a chair and the other is simply on the ground. They are holding hands. Now, is it going to be easier for the friend on the chair to pull their friend up with them, or for the person on the ground to pull their friend on the chair down? When I first heard this illustration it made me stop and think. We have an impact on people every single day whether we realize it or not, and we have an even greater impact on those we spend time with the most-our friends. So I guess I'd just like to encourage you to try to positively impact your friends, and let your friends know that you appreciate that they "comfort you, encourage you, and hold you accountable"! :)

Megan's Birthday

Here are some awesome pictures from Megan's Birthday....

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well, thanksgiving is right around the corner...what do you think of when you think of Thanksgiving? I immediately think punkin pie! Growing up in Michigan, my Nana use to make the most amazing pie ever. The crust was homemade and always melted in your mouth. We use to pile on the whipped cream and eat every last bit. I seriously would lick the plate clean.



Another tradition at my house for Thanksgiving is the "Thankful Tree". We write something we're thankful for on a leaf and then hang it on the tree. Of course there's the usual: friends, family, a home, food, water, and Jesus. But there's sooo much more we can be thankful for. The fact that you even woke up this morning is a blessing in and of its self. What about living in the U.S., having parents who are truly interested in you and what's goin on in your life, friends who you know will be there for you through thick and thin, and if none of these apply to you remember God loves you soooo much. Words cannot describe how extravagant his love for you is. He sent his son to this earth for you so that you could live an full and eternal life. How awesome is that? So, while your diggin in to that amazing piece of punkin pie remember God loves you and wants you to share his love with all those around you. Now, that's something to be thankful for!

Oatmeal...

You may have already read my older post about bananas. Well I'm on the food subject again, and this time it's oatmeal! Oatmeal is one of my favorite foods. I got hooked on oatmeal about three years ago on a hiking trip. We had oatmeal for breakfast, and although I had been eating all my life I instantly loved it. I love to eat in the fall and winter especially though. I mean do you seriously hear of people digging into that warm bowl of oatmeal in mid-July. Not really. So therefore, I constitute oatmeal an autumn food. My favorites would have to be Cinnamon Roll and Maple and Brown Sugar. I love the sweetness of them. Now, usually I eat instant oatmeal, but when I decide to actually be patient for once and make the oatmeal in the pan I looove steel cut oats. They have this chewy thing that just makes 'em taste really good. Another absolutely fantabulous oatmeal dish is baked oatmeal. The first time I had it fell in love. It's great. I don't know the recipe, but I'm sure if you google it you'll come up with a bunch of results. So basically I love oatmeal, and I'm now craving a big bowl of it. (Good thing we have some (; ) Anyway, whether you like oatmeal or not (you people are crazy) I hope you're enjoying you're fall.
Signing off,
Ky

Fall is Here!!!

Hey there,
Sorry I haven't written in quite a while; lots of stuff goin' on. Lets just say school had something to do with it. Anyway, this past Monday was the first day of fall! I love fall! Although, living in Texas it still had been getting up to ninety degrees...it's fall! Fall is my absolutely favorite month. I love to go outside and feel the breeze, look at all the different colored leaves, and especially watch the sunrise in the morning. There's something really beautiful about a sunrise in the fall. It's different from in the summer when it's all hot and you can practically see the heat coming up off of the sun at seven in the morning. But in the fall there's a slight breeze, and the leaves are rustling in the wind, and you're all bundled up in your favorite sweatshirt with a cup of coffee, and the sun begins to rise. There's this place near where I live which is on my bus route, so we go up there every morning. And let me tell you, you have not seen a sunset till' you've seen one here. I live in the hill country, so you see all the hills covered in a cloak of early morning fog, and the sun peeking out around the various hill tops. It shines beautifully all over. Some mornings it's very vibrant oranges and yellows, while other mornings it's deep, vivid reds and purples. That's one of the things I love about fall. I also love being able to just take a walk and not having to worry about the hot sun beating down on you, or your fingers freezing off in the cold. It's so peaceful and perfect.
In the fall is when I experience the most "Texas mornings" too. When I was little before we had moved to Texas we had come on vacation to visit some relatives. When I got up in the morning, first thing, I always use to open the door and take a deep breath and just look around. Well, on this particular morning I woke up and went to the door to smell the air, and the first thing I said was "Mmmm, smells like a Texas morning." I was about four, but ever since then any time I've woken up and gone outside, and smelled that certain smell, I've said, "Smells like a Texas morning." I really don't even know what the smell is or if it's a certain plant, or the air, it's just always been known to me as a "Texas morning". It always makes it extra special in the fall too cause it's my favorite season.
Soo, basically I loooove the fall! It's the month when I get to see all God's beautiful creation magnified, and when I enjoy being outside the most. So, go ahead and wake up early, maybe smell yourself a Texas morning, grab yourself a cup of coffee, and watch God's beautiful creation get highlighted by the sunrise!

Back To School

Back to school...the three most dreaded words in history. For most kids the sight of school supplies in their local grocery stores makes them scream and run for their lives. Yes, I agree when I saw all the ads, commercials, and posters I did slightly cringe as well. Starting school is always an intimidating time, and for me is sometimes a test of my faith. Yesterday, I found a verse that I found very encouraging and I hope you do to; it is Romans 12:2 which says, "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will if God." Going back to school can be a little scary and I know for me it's a test of my faith. I seem to get caught up in the drama, clothes, and just, well...school. That is why I want to encourage you to not conform to this world. Don't just go with the flow, go against it; be truly you, an amazing new creation preciously treasured by Christ. Well I hope I've helped you at least a little bit with some of your "back to school jitters", and remember God created you to be you and nothing else. There is no standard we must reach or a group we must get into, you're already God's beloved child and not anyone, not anything could separate you from His unconditional love.

You've Got It All!

Hey there i just wanted to encourage y'all this afternoon. I got an e-mail recently from a guy named Matt Smith. He started Y-LIFE ministries and came on several retreats with my youth group. In the last retreat he taught and in this recent e-mail he brought the same analogy. Imagine your playing go-fish. The idea of the game is that you have the most amount cards so you can get the most sets and win. Well what if you had the whole deck? Why are you still playing? You've already won. When we make the decision to ask God into our hearts and we surrender our lives to Him he gives us everything. He gives us patience, kindness, boldness, joy, anything you could ever imagine! He's given it all to us! So we don't need to ask Him to give us boldness to witness to someone. He's already given it to us we just need to trust that He will provide whatever we need for any situation. This is an amazing truth that I was privileged to hear from Matt and I hope it will also encourage you. Have a great Monday and God bless!

Still Water Sports Camp

June 29th-July 3rd I went to Still Water Sports Camp, which is a Christian sports camp. This particular camp was a volleyball camp in Columbus, TX. Anyway, while I was there I met some great friends, and was blessed with amazing counselors and mentors. Although, it was hot and we had two hours of sports training in the morning and enjoyed every minute. I made some new friends and was able to really get to now my counselors Tiff and Lisa. Lisa was a spitfire, she knew how to make anyone laugh, and you felt at ease almost immediately around her. Tiff was great, first of all because she loves coffee too, but she also has an amazing love for God. Someone else I met was Molly. I was blessed to be able to hear here testimony and later on talk to her. Overall, I had an amazing time, and enjoyed making new friends and memories.

Zach

Hey there I just wanted to take a few moments to talk about my "old" youth pastor Zach. Zach was an amazing guy and I had the oppurtunity of being in his youth group for a little under two and a half years. Now, Zach always made anything and everything fun for everyone. We've done some crazy things such as...ice blocking, make crazy videos about random things, go on amazing retreats, playing ultimate frisbee, and take long drives in 15 passenger rental vans. Anyway, Zach was an amazing youth pastor. He taught me that we have freedom in Christ, and it's okay to be spontaneous every once in a while. I've learned through his example to be joyful for the Lord and live in greatful expectancy of what's to come. Zach taught me and so many other's this message, and we were all truly blessed to have him placed in our lives for the period of time he was here. I'm so excited for him and his fiance and this new chapter in their lives. So if you could pray for them. So Zach if your reading this I love ya, and I thank God that you were placed into my life for the time you were.

Going Bananas!

Hey, well I have nothing really to write about at the moment, so I'm going to pick a random subject to write about. Bananas. As in the yellow boat shaped fruit you buy at the grocery store. Now, I prefer my bananas almost yellow. So they're not quite fully yellow and they have green still around the top. I also like banana bread which is funny because you use very ripe bananas to make it, which is the exact opposite of how I will eat them normally. Oh yeah, and if you would like an amazing breakfast spread peanut butter and honey on toast then cut up a banana on top. Talk about a little piece of heaven! Anyway, I really had no divine inspiration for this post. (As you probably have noticed, since I just yammered on about bananas and how I prefer to eat them.) Anyway, I better go...maybe I'll eat a banana! :)

My First Blog

Hey there! Well my name is Kyleigh, and I'm new to the whole "blogger thing". (So bear with me!:) ) Anyway, I currently live in a small town in Texas with my family. Which includes, my mom and dad, my brother Cobi (10), my sister Ally (7), and my youngest brother Elijah (4). My family and I moved to Texas four years ago and have really enjoyed it. Actually just about two weeks ago my whole family went back up to Michigan to visit family and friends. I had a great time! I went to my cousin's high school graduation, Binder Park Zoo, my friend's baptism, and Lake Michigan. It was so much fun to hang out with my friend Kat again. I've known her my entire life and we hit it off right away. She and I spent our time together taking an insanely long bike ride to get eggs. But it was all worth it in the end because we saw some adorable kittens. Anyway, we had the most fun at Lake Michigan on my last day there. It was really cool to spend the whole day with her somewhere where we both grew up near. Well I better take off now, I got an amazing Youth Group party to hit. So I'll talk to yall later!
Ky