Dolly Parton and Sweet Tea!

As most of you know, I have spent my entire summer in Pigeon Forge, TN being a leader for a Christian program called Discipleship Focus. DFocus is a program near in dear to my heart. I was a student in the program here in TN in 2005 and a student once again in 2006 in Branson. I've always wanted to come back to TN to do leadership and this summer gave me that sweet opportunity. I'm going to share with you some of my favorite parts of this summer and what God has been doing in my life.

The summer has been excellent. I came away from a school year that was so BUSY. I see now that I was TOO busy and never made time for myself, and ultimately God. This has been a sweet time for me to reconnect with the Lord and just to allow myself to heal from the hardships of this world. Being a leader, I had the choice to work at Dollywood or to not work at all and I chose not to work. I'm so glad I didn't work because it allowed my schedule to be open, flexible and free for the first time in a LONG time.

So what have I been doing? Well, as a leader I am in charge of leading a small group of seven girls and then meeting with each of those girls one-on-one each week. I have absolutely LOVED being a small group leader. It also helps that my group is AWESOME and that I LOVE each of the girls. We have had so much fun together. We laugh, we eat, we share, and then laugh some more! It has been so good for me! I honestly think I came into the summer with no expectations for my own personal growth. I guess I just thought I would guide these girls and encourage them and that's where it would stop. Not so!! I think I have learned more about myself and my relationship with God as I have been leading these girls than I ever thought possible!! My time with Him here has been so good and my desire to be in His Word has been rekindled, which is such a blessing.

Another responsibility I have had this summer has been leading worship. Now, I've been involved with Harvest's worship team for several years but I've never been the leader! There is so much work that goes into it! Choosing music, rehearsing, powerpoints, etc! While challenging, it has also been really cool because I have finally learned how to play djembe and sing at the same time and it has made me want to learn to play guitar better. Which leads me to my next topic of the summer...

My new GUITAR!! I bought a guitar a few weeks ago and I have LOVED it so much! I have practiced almost every day and even have some really good callouses! It was my goal by the end of the summer to put together a song for Talent Night and I did! I sang the song Arlington by the Wailing Jennys with my sister Victoria and a girl in my small group. And I played guitar at the same time! For those of you who know my previous guitar experience, it was very limited! I only knew about 6 chords and could only play Jolene by Dolly Parton. I'm excited about continuing my new found desire to play guitar! Maybe I'll even be a rock star someday...

One of my other favorite parts of this summer was getting to be around the Fullers again! I fell in love with Dennis and Shanna Fuller along with their children when I was down here in 2005. I've always wanted to come back to Tennessee to be around them again. I've loved our great conversations, laughing, and eating great meals together.

One of my other favorite parts of the summer was getting to know my roommates: Ashley Sue Bell and Heather Campbell. I had met Ashley several times and knew of her, but I'd never done the program with her. Heather is a high school teacher from Phoenix, and we actually shared a room. I have loved LAUGHING with these girls!!

For the first time in my Dfocus experience, I had a visitor! Miss Victoria Billington, my sister! She flew in for a week and we had a BLAST! We did some pretty adventurous things: Zip Lining, White Water Rafting, rock hopping in the mountains, and walking through rivers. We went to Dollywood 3 times, saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, saw two movies, ate lots of good food, and learned a song for Talent Night! It was a BUSY week but one of my favorites!! It was just so good to share why I love this program so much with someone so dear to me.

Top Ten Things I Will Miss About Tennessee:

10. The mountains! These are my favorite mountains in the whole country because they are so GREEN!

9. Dennis and Shanna Fuller: 13 hours away is just TOO far!

8. The Tin Roof Cafe: This little cafe serves only fresh panini sandwiches and the best fruit tea.

7. The free perks of having a Dollywood ID: This little plastic card gets me free into just about ANYWHERE.

6. Living a more simplified life: Living in an apartment with only a fraction of my belongings has shown me that I don't need so much STUFF in my life and that I don't have to DO so much STUFF. I wish I had a yard back home or a garage so I could have a GARAGE or YARD sale!!

5. Mellow Mushroom Pizza: Oh my!! The best pizza I think I've EVER had!! and they only have them here in the south! :*(

4. Pigeon Forge Library: All summer I have been going to the library and have read so many adolescent fiction books. I wanted to read the books that 5th graders are reading so I can be on top of my game. I've also studied a lot about John Adams and Helen Keller!

3. The expectation of vulnerability that comes with living in such a tight community: Everyone here is so open about the hardships and blessings of life. It has been refreshing!

2. Dolly Parton and Sweet Tea!: Need I say more??

1. The people I have met here this summer: I really hope to stay in touch with so many people from this program. I have been truly blessed to meet them and love that I have been honored to see them grow so much.

This is getting long but I just have to add this as well...

Top Ten Reasons I Am Excited About Going Home:

10. Sleeping in my own bed and having my own shower...

9. The ability to go outside my condo and walk 100 feet to the swimming pool

8. Grilling!! I have missed grilling steaks, chicken, burgers, brats, etc.

7. A more structured time to work out and having the facilities to do so: Walking/running in 100 degree weather is not my favorite. I'm excited to work out on the ellipticals at school and playing tennis with friends.

6. My Harvest community: I have missed my Church!!

5. My small group: I have missed Kate, Allison, Kristen, and Ann Victoria a lot this summer. There is something about having an encouraging group of girls who just know you so well!

4. Simplifying my life: I want to get rid of a lot of the STUFF I was referring to earlier and really think about the motivations for why I do so much...why I'm so BUSY!

3. Starting the school year with a posititive attitude: I really want to go into this year depending on God and try to be an encouragement to those around me.

2. My friends: I have missed many fun moments with them this summer and I can't wait to see them all, catch up, eat good food, and LAUGH.

1. My family! : I have missed 4 family birthdays (including my own!), Father's Day, Madelyn WALKING, 4th of July and SO much more!! I haven't even seen Grant since his wedding day! Crazy! Being away makes me appreciate my family and I can't wait to see their faces!

I know this is long and if you made it to the end, congrats!! I'll be home late on the 8th and will enjoy my last week of vacation before school starts!!