His Day

Today represents a lot of things. And for some reason my mind has been preoccupied with a lot of them today. Today we celebrate our fathers, but with that comes hurt too. Some of you have been abused, abandoned, or hurt by your father. Today is painful because the image of your father is faint, non-existent, or heart-breaking. Still others of you feel the very pain of wanting but not being able to be a father yourselves. And today others face the hurt of losing their father and it's surreal. Brokeness is very real on a day like today.

Today I faced stories, my own hurt, and the reality of these things amongst the people around me. My heart ached just thinking about each senario. Who would have ever thought that a day meant to celebrate the lives of our fathers, could be such a painful and numbing day?

All this reminded me of one thing that stands true in all these circumstances. Regardless of our past, present, or future...regardless of our hurt and pain...we all have a Father. One who has always been there. One who will never hurt us, leave us, or abandon us. For some that is hard to believe. Having faith in Jesus alone is a hard concept, and a crazy one. But to believe that He will never leave us on top of that, in light of the hurt, abandonement, and loss that we've faced first-hand...why should we believe that about a God we can't see? ...Because it's true. Because He won't leave us, forsake us, or disown us. Because God sent His son to save us. We have a mighty Father in heaven. With all the hurt we've faced, I've realized that today is a good day to celebrate our everlasting Father. Today was hard for me in a lot of ways, but when I realized that today was just as much about earthly fathers as it is about God the Father, suddenly my heart was delighted. I wanted to celebrate...I became very thankful. And in that I found ways to be thankful about my circumstances here on earth, in light of my Daddy in Heaven. It's amazing how that happens.

I don't know if any of this is making sense. There is so much I wish I could convey, but I don't know how in this moment. I guess I just wanted to remind those of you who were hurting today, that we also have a reason to be joyful. Today was Father's Day in heaven too. In fact, I think every day is Father's Day in heaven. Although our relationships with our fathers may be broken, non-existent, distant, or temporarily stopped...today we can look to heaven and remember Jesus, who forever wants to maintain that father-child relationship with us. He wants us to invest our lives in Him as He does in ours. Today is a day Jesus deserves my thanks, as is everyday. In the midst of my hurt I became joyful in knowing my faithful Father.

Just like any other day, today was His day.

ConGRADulations!

Graduation came and went like the lighting that surrounded us tonight. In ways it struck and left a mark on my life and a memory in my mind, and in others it is just another story to tell. I don't really know what to say or how I'm feeling because I don't know myself. But I do know that I had a blast celebrating a major part of my life with some of the best people I have ever known. I am overwhelmed with love and support from all around. It amazes me how a family can just whip up a little get-together and so many of the people I love dearly show up! It was a blast and I'm so thankful for each and everyone of them! Considering I don't know what else to say, but thanks, I will just throw up a few pictures and make this my shortest blog ever.

P.S. Graduation was a lot of fun...

P.P.S. I give credit for the title of this blog to Lance...he must have told me this a million times after graduation on Friday :P

A Close to the Year

Okay, so these past few days have been so hectic...I can't even believe it. Not only that, but they've been so hot!! Our gymnasium lacks AC so we were sweating like no one could imagine in our cap and gowns during graduation practices! I finally came home and took a shower tonight after our second award ceremony today and I feel completely refreshed, other than the fact that I need some sleep. But for some reason I'm blogging. It could have to do with the fact that I'm excited/anxious about tomorrow (graduation!), or maybe I still have a lot of energy leftover from my hyperness today, or it could very well be due to the fact that I just ate my dinner not too long ago. Anyways, as I mentioned, today we had two different award ceremonies where they announced awards and scholarships and so forth. I heard very many of the same names and saw many of the same people walking up to receive their awards. Most of these people definitely deserved these awards, don't get me wrong, but I grew a little envious of them after my day came to a close and I had not received one scholarship after applying to all the ones that I did. It's a little frustrating because I have worked extremely hard, as most of these others who received awards have as well. I guess it's that little selfish part in me that wants to be acknowledged for her achievement over the past 4 years and beyond, and it made me jealous when I wasn't. More so I was just upset because I am working hard to try and do my part in paying for college by receiving scholarships now, but it didn't seem to be working. But after thinking about it, I know I have nothing to worry about. Part of me strongly believes that this is God's way of saying "trust me, Kelsey...I will provide for you". And He will. There's no doubt about that. That's what I have concluded. Plus, please don't get me wrong...I was/am SO excited for all those that did receive scholarships today because that's an awesome accomplishment, and great money. Congrats you all!

So tomorrow's the big day! Graduation! 2pm eastern time...incase you were wondering. haha. It should be good. I also have been unable to blog about my senior cruise on Monday. It was probably my favorite activity I've done through school my whole senior year. It was so laid back, fun, and beautiful! It was perfect weather. I'll leave you with a few pictures from that and say goodnight. I am getting more delerious as the minutes progress.

Thanks for reading! Much love! xoxo

This is me and my friend Jen at dinner!

The boat!

A sail boat!

Pretty flag and sun

bridge and sunset

My friend Megan!

My sweet friends Megan and Jen...we had so much fun together!

How Can I Stand Here & Not Be Moved By You?

I am a big fan of our church. LifePoint has a way of bringing out the truth and authenticity in everything and everybody. This skit has that same power. It reminds me that no matter how much pressure this world may bring, my Jesus can handle it all. It gives me chills because it's so true. And this is just a tiny representation of what He can do. This past Sunday was fantastic in so many different ways. Thanks to all that helped put it together! You all are awesome!