counting.my.blessings{1} + Texas church camp notes

So I'm starting these "counting my blessings" posts which I'll probably do once a month or so... just listing things I'm thankful for! The Lord has blessed me with so much!

The litter of 11 Golden Retriever puppies our Kinsley had!

Completing some sewing projects

Hearing Lilliana say new words

Sweet tea in a mason jar on a sunny afternoon

A sweet letter from a friend in the mail

Doing a photo shoot with Paige, will share a few photos soon

Fresh picked wildflowers

Finding bunches of blackberries on our land...

...and Mom making a pie with them! Yum!

Time in God's Word + iced coffee!!

Bike rides with Dylan

Finishing a few wonderful books

Adorable little smiles to brighten my day

Jeremiah 29:11

Encouraging texts from friends

Caden's birthday on the 14th! :)

My rabbit getting better after being sick

Antique milk cans

Baby sister at breakfast wearing a fuzzy sleeper, cowgirl bib, and a morning smile :)

Going to a "Low Country Boil". T'was fun! My little sister, Paige, started her own blog (check it out!) and blogged about it here. :)

God's beautiful design being displayed everywhere, down to even this little bitty moth I found one day. Isn't it neat looking?

Fishing and swimming at Roaring River

Succeeding at a couple new recipes

Loving on my horse. <3 :D AND how good he's doing with his training/riding, I'm so proud of him!

HAY BALES

Taking the little ones to Flat Creek and watching them have so much fun

Finding a bunch of great reads for only 25 cents for every 4 books!

Surviving a week with Mom gone ;)

Finding great trails to ride horses and four wheelers on

Two hour trail ride with the sister 

Talking with a sweet friend on the phone

A recent clothes shopping spree at the thrift store

Meeting two blog friends!! It was so wonderful meeting these *sweet* girls, so glad it worked out! :D

And ya'll need to seriously go check out their blogs because they are wonderful: Heather and Tashia

 Date with Mom<3

Having fun wandering through Hobby Lobby with a friend, love that place!

Being given a big bag of sweet corn/shucking it/eating it :)

Okay, so I really don't have many good pictures from the trip that Dylan and I took down to Texas sadly. But that is definitely a big highlight from this month! We were able to hitch rides with friends and go down there for a church camp. There was several great messages, wonderful singing, youth Bible study, volleyball, rip-skating, and I got to see a friend that recently got married and moved down there as well! It was a very encouraging time, so thankful we were able to go. So, yeah, there's a glorious picture from our MacD's stop on the way home for ya. :P

One of the men who spoke at the camp shared this verse (John 15:9)

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."

He spoke on how much the Father loved His Son, His one and only begotten Son. Can you even imagine how great a love that was? And just as He loved His Son, Jesus loves you. He loves me. And we're to show His great love to others. He then wanted everyone to take out the you and put your name in that place instead. Like this:

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved Ashley Trask: continue ye in my love."

 I'm not sure anyone really said the whole verse aloud as he asked us to because halfway through he broke down crying. But I wrote it down in my journal anyway. He was a very sweet old man (the kind you just wanna go up and hug, y'know?) and what all he said meant a lot to me.

Saturday almost everyone was wearing a sticker that said "It's not about me!" and the message that night was on our focus needing to be on the Lord, not ourselves. Striving to be full of the Lord and then we won't have a need to talk or think about ourselves, but instead a need to talk and think about Him, giving Him all the glory and desiring for our lives to show Christ! I want to trade in all that I am: my selfishness, worry, wanting instead of being content = my weaknesses, for all that He is: love, mercy, kindness, hope, joy = His strength to be able to work in and through me for HIS glory. I want to diligently seek Him and His will for me and have Jesus be what people see, not my talent, courage, gifts, money, or sacrifices made. Anything good in me is all because of Him.We have no greater privilege than representing Him!