The Good Samaritan!

So...this happened quite a while ago but I never got around to blogging about it. Not being able to drive is very problematic, so I decided I would explore trails on my bike to see if any could lead to my friend Lane's house so that over the summer I could bike to see her. I was just turning down random roads and had been biking for about an hour when my peddles stopped going. They were rotating, but the rotating was leading anywhere. I didn't really know what to do because I was about 2-3 miles from my house. I started pushing my bike thinking, "Awesome! Really??? What in the world is wrong with my bike? It's not even that old and now I'm pushing it in heat for 3 miles." My happy, carefree, tree-hugging I love biking attitude quickly shifted. Some other bikers passed me and a few runners. They would just look at me pushing my back and then go on with there happy, carefree, tree-hugging biker/runner attitudes. However, there was this one guy that was running my way. He looked like he was in his 30's or so. As he got closer he took out his ipod head phones and asked me if I was all right. I told him that I was just biking along when all of the sudden the peddles stopped pushing me forward. He said the chain had just fallen off and he could easily put it back on. I was so thankful that the Lord had sent me a good Samaritan that was willing to stop his work-out and help me finish mine. Once the chain was on, his hands were pretty dirty. I told him I was sorry he had to stop and get all dirty but that I was very appreciative. He said no problem and then continued with his run. As I got back onto my bike, the chain was fixed, but now the peddles weren't moving at all. "Oh no," I thought, "what's going on now?" As I turned around to see if the man was still nearby I saw that he was already running back towards me. "Is it not working?" he asked. I told him that the peddles weren't moving at all. "Oh, your gears are just out of shift from the chain being off." He did a few more things than it was fixed. I remember saying thank you a billion times to him because he had been so nice to someone he hadn't even met. There's so many cruel, rude people nowadays, but there are still so much more good, and genuinely kind people. As I biked off I turned around to wave. He stayed on the trail and watched me for a few seconds to make sure that nothing else went wrong. My happy, carefree, tree-hugging I love biking, thankful for nice people attitude was back! God really showed me, through that man, what it looks like to be a good Samaritan.

I'm Cinderella and My Daddy's the King of THE World

Friday night, I was able to go to Show Hope's Cinderella Night! It was...MAGICAL! Some amazing actors and actresses performed Roger and Hammerstein's version of Cinderella. At the end Steven Curtis Chapman sang Cinderella and Spring is Coming. During the last song he was accompanied by children who had once been orphans but had now found their forever families. They were precious and I wanted them all. Hearing his words and watching those children gave me chills. I know they Lord has called me to adopt and I can't wait to see the plans he has for me this summer while working with orphanages in China.

It's God's Money

Towards the end of April we had a high school retreat. We were given the opportunity to take an envelope with a $5, $10, or $20 dollar bill inside. The money was God's money and you were suppose to pray about it and then use it in whatever way God wanted you to. After praying about it, my best friend Lindsey and I decided we would do a Bake Sale/Lemonade Stand to multiply God's money and use it in various ways to glorify him. We made a cute flyer to give to everyone who bought something or donated money to our "Goodies for Good Works" so they knew what their money was going towards. Lindsey and I stayed up until about 2 AM they night before and woke up at 8 to get our fundraisor (sp) started. After 5 long hours we found ourselves with $224. My $20 bill and Lindsey's $10 bill from our envelopes had definitely multiplied and we were so excited. The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 comes to mind when I think of the way our money was multiplied. The Lord simply told me and Lindsey to bring him what we had and he was would use it to help many. We hope to do 3 or 4 more Bake Sales/Lemonade Stands throughout the Summer and continue to raise more money. Below I've inserted portions from our flyer because I have no idea how to actually insert the flyer.

GOODIES FOR GOODWORKS!!!!!

Your Donations Can Change an Orphan’s World, help Flood Victims, sponsor mission trips, and go towards an HPLS patient!

Where Are Your Donations Going:

-Lindsey’s Mission Trip to Missouri and Caroline’s Mission Trip to China

-Nashville Flood Victims

Philippians 2:4- Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Ayden was born about 3 weeks ago and is currently in recovery in the PCCU. .He was born with HPLS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome). In layman's terms, the left side of his heart is grossly underdeveloped, which leaves the right side to do all of the work. He has gone through his first surgery and will continue to deal with this problem and have various surgeries throughout his life. His mom, Allison was both of our 7th grade Literature teachers. A portion of our donations while go towards helping
the Mills Family!

Flood Moments

Wow!!! Never in my life have I seen anything more crazy in Nashville then THE FLOOD! Driving around Saturday, I didn't think much of it. You know, just the normal rain that comes quite often here lately. It just kept getting harder and by about 4 in the afternoon it was getting BAD. Erin, Aubrey, and I were driving to the BA Dance Show and every road we turned on was getting closed because certain parts were flooding. Sunday, the same thing happened. By Monday, there was over a billion dollars worth in damage and EVEN Brentwood Academy had cancelled school. There are so many people that need help. Just the other day, I was riding my bike through River Oaks with a friend. I hadn't been able to go inside a flooded house and help anyone yet, but this lady was cleaning off her porch and looked like she needed help. My friend and I went over there and soon found out it was Mrs. Yarbrough ad BA mom. She gave us a tour of her house, which was devastating. We were able to help her clean her porch and she was so grateful. I truly didn't know how bad the damage was until Mrs. Yarbrough showed me her house. The entire downstairs had been ripped up and they weren't even living there at the moment. As we were riding our bikes away all I could think of, was God doesn't guarenteed (sp) anyone tomorrow...only today and WHY IN THE WORLD DID THE LORD CHOOSE MY HOUSE TO BE SAFE? I very well could have had a flooded and demolished house, but by the Grace of God I didn't and I will forever be thankful. As I went home and told my mom about helping Mrs. Yarbrough she told me she had just talked to her a week before the flood. Their house had been on the market recently and it was one parents wanted to buy. My mom said her and Mrs. Yarbrough had talked about if our house sold had sold, we possibly would have made an offer on there house and if ours did sell this summer was she still interested in selling hers? Mrs. Yarbrough said yes and was giving my mom details of the house. She said they had always had flood insurence (sp) but at the beginning of this year decided not to renew it because of putting the house on the market, plus it hadn't flooded in 10 years. 1 week later their entire downstairs was flooded with no insurence (sp) to cover the damages. That could have been my house. My mom always complains about our house not selling. By the Grace of My Savior it hadn't sold yet, because if it had there is is a high chance we would be in the position the Yarbroughs are in right now. I can't wrap my mind around all this damage. It's insane. As soon as school gets out (JUST A FEW MORE DAYS!!!) I want to go start helping more flood victims because I know that if I had been in their shoes, with a flooded home, they would be helping me.

A Reminder of Who's In Control

You NEVER Let Go!!!

"Oh no YOU never let go, through the calm and through the storm! Oh no YOU never let go in every high and every low! Oh no YOU never let go! Lord, YOU never let go of me!" WOW!!! What a thing to praise the Lord for! Knowing that he goes with me everywhere (Joshua 1:9) gives me so much comfort. These past couple days have been rainey!!! Never before have I seen Brentwood, TN FLOOD! It's even made national news. The national guard are here and Brentwood and Franklin have been declared to be in a state of emergency. I keep thinking to myself..hey Lord are you sure you don't want be to build an ark? He keeps assuring me that he holds the whole world in His hands and he's got it under control. What a pleasant reminder of the one whose truly in control...OUR CREATOR. The YMCA is completely flooded. Jake and Diane (Paul and Erin's friends) got their car flooded at River Park off Concord Road. The Lees have 10 in. in there backyard. The Bechtels have a flooded basement. The Heyens' and Wallaces' yards are under water. The basement of the Fine Arts building at my school looks like an indoor swimming pool. Our "creek" that is never full of water is overflowing. It showed on the news today that a lady had to have the doctors come to her house to deliver her baby because she was trapped inside. Call 911...no Call on Jesus! The Tellers have been my rainbow and sunshine these past couple days. Their precious children light up my life! Tonight Erin was driving me home and said, "Caroline, maybe just maybe the Creator trying to tell us something. A little sprinkle just isn't enough for this world anymore. Maybe it's about time we all WAKE UP! People get so consumed by their material possessions and maybe now without some of them, they will be able to truly fix their eyes back to Christ." Erin was soooooo beyond RIGHT! We have to wake up and turn our eyes back to Christ. We have to realize that no matter how hard the rain falls, or how much the river overflows...that HE NEVER LETS GO!

"You are on the Path of My Choosing" -Jesus Calling

My daily devotional book, Jesus Calling often speaks to me every time I open it to read. Today's title was, "You are on the Path of My Choosing." I am on the path that God's chosen. That is so hard for me to comprehend sometimes. It's a constant struggle to not swirve onto Caroline's path. I'm a planner and I plan everything. I find myself so often lying in my bed after a full night of homework stressing and worrying about something days, weeks, and even months away. "Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived. They avoid the present by worrying about the future...They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present" -May 1st Jesus Calling. Coming up on the end of the school year, I have tried to get better about not stressing and worrying and just giving it all to God. It has definitely given me peace over all that's been going on. I strive to stay on the path of Christ, because I know that he has INCREDIBLE pit stops along the way and a few floods that he'll help me swim through whenever they arrive. As a follower of him, it is my desire not going to worry about the floods now because they are in the future. I long keep my head in the present, and let the Lord direct my steps and enable me to walk along His path.