Keeping Asheville Weird

I have decided that Asheville, North Carolina, is my destination after college life. This wonderful town is thriving with the arts. There is a musician on every corner, an eclectic arts style throughout each shop and architecture that will blow you away. I've been here before a few years ago with the family in the summer to visit the Biltmore, but we never went to the downtown area. A lot of people say that Asheville is a place for the weirdos...hence why I LOVE it! While the rents and I were visiting the Mast Outfitters store in downtown, I came across a tee that said "If you're too weird for Asheville, you're just too weird" Perfection.
Our first day of vacay started on Christmas day. After a quaint morning with my stocking goodies and breakfast, we went to my grandparents house (mom's side) for the annual Christmas day doings. I was given some fantastic gifts, one being a handmade spool table that my granddad made that looks similar to something I pinned a few months ago that I loved:

Yeah, awesome I know!
We left around 2:30 that afternoon from their house and headed northeast. We got to Chattanooga and had some Christmas night Waffle House (DELISH) and then made the rest of our trip to Knoxville for our one night stay in a hotel. Monday morning we left before the sun peeped up over the mountains. Waking up early was worth it, the views coming out of town towards Asheville were fantastic. Here's a view after the sun came up:

Absolutely stunning. God's got some pretty things out here for us to look at. We got to Asheville early, around 9 that morning. We drove around town and got to Urban Outfitters quick (duh guys, you already know). I got a cute sweater, socks and sweater tights for a mere $36. Atta girl, thrify spender indeed. We headed a few doors down window shopping and saw a yarn shop open.

For those of you that know my mother, she's a yarn queen. She'll knit and/or crochet you pretty much anything you could imagine up. We hung out there for a good while and she got some crazy awesome yarns that were made and dyed in the store. If you've never been to Asheville, you don't really know the pride they have in the "home grown" mentality. I love it. If you can't make it, grow it or produce it, you get someone else in town to do it. Most of the shops and eateries pride themselves in being all local and organic (which is pretty awesome to me). Back to the yarn store; they had some fun yarns in there,

and this sweet pup:

We left there after she turned her hanks into balls of yarny goodness(I know a few things about yarn) and rode around a little more and visited some cute shops including the Mast Outfitters place, it's almost like a Reed's but so much better and much less snobby (think more outdoors, less boutique). We stopped for some lunch at the Mellow Mushroom because it's delicious (yeah, we didn't eat local, but it was WONDERFUL anyway). Here's a view of that deliciousness:

Pretzels for an appetizer....just because we can and we're on vacation (diet and exercise starts immediately following the beginning of school)

Main course was this beautiful pizza, the Red Skin Potato Pie. It was too good for words and you should try it...NOW.

After we hogged out we went to Asheville Mall for me to shop at one store, Aerie. Yes, I do work at VS, but that doesn't mean that I can't partake in cute panties that aren't neon and zebra print. I like a classy under-roo. The mall was packed because it was the day after Christmas and everyone was returning their crap gifts. Good thing I was given a trip for Christmas :) This mall is nuts. It's all carpet and beyond confusing to navigate through, but mission accomplished and panties were on sale (SCOREEEE). We left there and started to head to our sweet little cottage in Marshall, just North of town. I won't make you wait any longer, take a gander at the cuteness that is has been our home away from home.

My favorite part, and sure to be your favorite too (JoAnne Kent, that comment is to you) is this amazing little kitchen. EEP, so cute:

Dad messing with the hot tub pump...yeah that's a cedar hot tub to the right, reminds me of an old water tower or something (and yes....it's awesome)

Our little abode for the past 2 nights.

The place we're staying, East Fork Farm (click for info) has a pretty cool story. Read about it on their website. Here are some of their sheep that they raise (and lamb...that they turn into ground lamb for guests....yummmm!!!!)

GIANT sheepdogs that are sweet (and furry) as can be. I call the one in front Fuzzy McFuzzers.

That's our place. Today, Tuesday, we visited a little bit bigger house, the Biltmore. If you don't know about it or have never heard of it...climb out from under your rock and look it up (jk). It's the nation's largest standing home and was built by the Vanderbilt family (yep, same family as the University). I've been to the home before, but never at Christmas. It. Was. Stunning. Even though we had a pretty rainy morning, the ambiance it set in the house for our 9:30 tour was awesome. The hallways and rooms were dark and the Christmas decorations and lights were beautiful. I couldn't take any pictures inside (sad day...because the decorations and architecture are SO droolworthy)but I got a few outside, one from a stairwell window and one in the basement (shh, secretly did that one).
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Breakfast and coffee after the tour, that's dad eating his treats (treats and snoozin, snoozing and treats):

Simply amazing. We went to the winery after and did the tour and tasting.

Champagne room, where they add those bubbly bubbles:

Fermentation Process:

I determined after a tester of their Champagne and a tester of a white "sweet" wine that fermented grape juice just simply isn't my thing. It smells great and looks fun, but they both tasted dry and...well...rotten (duhs). It might would help if I enjoyed grape juice in general also. It was a fun experience though. I mainly wanted to do the tasting because I'm 21 now, but they didn't even check my ID (the angst in every newly 21 year old's mind). We left the Biltmore, grabbed lunch at a good local Tex-Mex place in the Biltmore Village and then headed out to find some boots for your girl (me...). I came up empty on the boot search (I can't find that perfect pair...unless the are $328 at Frye.com), but we had fun in the town of Hendersonville, about 30 minutes away from Asheville. We left there and came back to downtown Asheville for me to look for boots, but all the shops were closed. We'll try again tomorrow morning before headed to our next leg of the trip, Wears Valley, TN.
It has been an awesome time in Asheville and an even better time in our cottage. This place is so fun and home-y. If you plan to visit Asheville, I suggest staying here. It's worth the little 20 minute drive. I don't have any cell service out here, but that's not a horrible thing. It's kind of nice. I do, obviously still have my wifi though :)
I'll be blogging again on the trip...and hopefully showing you a new pair of leather boots! We shall see.
I'm leaving you with this picture of downtown Asheville right before dark.

Until next time, partners.

Living life in letters,
Jennifer

Jennifer

Christmas Time is Here, Happiness and Cheer

I seriously have GOT to stop abandoning my blog. I feel like I'm slacking on you guys! Maybe all of that non-blogging is what helped me get all A's (9 A's to be exact) and one B (Music Theory III) this semester. Considering how hectic and stressful my semester has been, I do believe I did wonderful. Best semester of college yet! Next semester, 18 hours, 12 classes...4.0?! We'll see.
So, enough of my ridiculous bragging about my 3.78 GPA this semester (OKAY, seriously done now), let us now talk about what has been on my mind lately!
CHRISTMAS. <---click that word in bold, italic and a different color to discover a wonderful version of "Joy to the World" done by a long time favorite of mine, Josh Maze (from Tandem if you listened to them in your high school days like I did). It is sure to get you in the spirit of Christmas. This year for Christmas I tried and tried to think of what I wanted. I have a closet full of clothes and half of them should be taken to resale and goodwill stores. I have plenty of everything and honestly can't think of anything I just terribly want or need (growing up makes these gifting decisions hard). I told my parents this summer that instead of doing a Christmas present for me, all I wanted to do was go on a trip to the mountains. My wish has been granted! I am going to be rocking around the Christmas tree Sunday morning at my house and then by Christmas night I will be in Knoxville starting my Christmas trip :) We're doing 2 nights in Asheville and 3 nights in the Pigeon Forge area. Meet my cabins, they are wonderful!

That is for Asheville

That is for Tennessee

Needless to say, I am excited. We'll be going to the Biltmore house and seeing all the Christmas lights too! :) I'm such a kid.
Christmas is going to be AWESOME!
Next year, hopefully the boyfriend's family and our friends the Kents' and Backstroms' will join us and we can get a huge cabin together! For now, it's just me and the 'rents...and I love that!

P.S: I've been learning how to quilt. I'm no master, but I'm pretty dang good for a beginner. More on that later...promise it won't be 2 months again.

Alright kids, it's time for me to go lay in my bed with the heated blanket on and watch some Disney channel (told you I'm a kid).

Living life in letters,
Jennifer

Peace Like A River

Wow, I've been quite negligent to my blog. Sorry boys and girls.
I've had quite a time since the last time I blogged.
School has become maddening, music has become harder, choir has become amazing.
I turned 21...that's pretty awesome. It's the last birthday that people look forward to and I celebrated it just I wanted to, with a surprise visit from the sweetest parents in the world and a night with my friends in Starkville.
The beginning of this month was definitely a struggle. I lost my grandmother, Nanna as we call her, at the beginning of October. Most of you that know my family also had the privilege of knowing that precious, beautiful lady. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in April of my freshman year at State. She, being the strongest woman I've ever known, didn't give up. In that year and a half of having cancer, she lived, loved, traveled, and fought. When I say fought, whoa, did she ever! She had help from her sweet husband, Danny. I cannot begin to explain my heart for that man. God brought him to her and in turn gave me an even bigger family to love. My grandfather passed away from brain cancer when I was 7 years old. Even though that is a young age, I remember him so well. He had the best laugh ever and he always let me and the other 4 grandchildren sit on his lap...sometimes all together so no one would feel left out. I have been beyond blessed to have two of the best examples of leadership in my grandfathers, both by blood and by marriage.
I have the best memories of Nanna. There's the umpteen million dresses she made me, including my senior year Madrigal dress. There's the spend-the-night parties she gave each grandchild; a night with her all to ourselves including a dinner and outing (with my bookworm ways, my outing was ALWAYS Books A Million). Then there's those precious little uplifting moments that I will always cherish; her and I sitting together in church while I played with her jewelry, her singing me happy birthday every year...opera style, her kind words when I needed them, her uplifting spirit that could always fix any problem, her humor and making faces lessons, her obsession with birds (that's been passed down to me...just look at my pinterest and bedroom), the dress up parties and hair salon nights, and the always famous "I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck" song she sang to us before we left her sight. My grandmother was the most amazing woman to ever live and I am so blessed for being able to have her in my life. I am sad for her to be gone, but knowing that she was ready makes me have relief and comfort. I am so thankful for the family she has given me, the two awesome husbands she had, and the family that I have been woven into though Danny.
I was reading the other night during my quiet time and I came across one the most uplifting passages for this season of my life. I was skimming the pages of John and came across this chapter.

John 14:27-31
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father because the Father is greater than I. And now i have told you this before it occurs,s o that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father..."

God is so powerful when we are weak. When I read these few verses, I was given peace. I read the verses a few times and realized that the hymn "Peace Like a River" is built on the beautiful words in this passage. I am singing the song "Peace Like a River" in Chamber Choir this semester and I honestly cannot think of a better song to sing. Nanna loved coming to my concerts and hearing all of the choral pieces (I got my love of singing from her). After seeing this passage, singing this song is going to make it so much more special to me.

Even if she and my grandfather won't be there to see me graduate from State, get married or have children, God's promise rings out true; I will see those two sweet people again one day. I cannot wait for that day, but until then I will try to live my life out in the best way I can; loving, living, serving and fighting while trying to honor God in the best ways possible.

Living life in letters,
Jennifer Landreth

I'm sailing home to you, I won't be long.

Before we get started here, I have an announcement:
Some of you who follow me on the Twitter (@jennlandreth) or have me on Facebook have seen me blow up your feeds with my obsession with Josh Garrels. His music pertains to this post, so I'm embedding a player from Noisetrade into this blog. You can enter your e-mail and zip code on the player and receive the whole album for free...AMAZING deal. Listen to this while you read, start with the song titled "Ulysses"...be prepared to cry from the beauty of it. It's going to make your life better, promise.


Hello friends and family! I haven't done this in a few weeks. Shame on me, I know, but I've been too busy on Pinterest...for some reason I just can't balance out my networking life.
It felt weird to already have a break in school, and it's even weirder that this week starts the first rounds of testing in my classes. Have we really been in session that long?!
So, I was supposed to go to my second home (Bayou DuLarge, Lousiana) this past weekend for the Labor Day holiday, but apparently Tropical Storm Lee had other intentions. My mom told me Friday morning that we would not be going due to the storm's development. You can imagine my sadness if you know just how much I love that place. How could you not love this, though?!

Anyway, so even though we were unable to go and watch the storm roll in with our great friends, the Lacoste's, Luke's and Moser's, I still had a good weekend with my family. Friday night I got home and went to eat dinner at my favorite place EVER, Agnew's Steakhouse. That place honestly has the best steak in the world. I was there with my parents and the rest of my "family", the Kent's and the Backstrom's. Both of those families are my second favorites. I love spending time with all of them! We went back to my house after a great dinner and we played a few rounds of the card game Golf. I still couldn't tell you how it is played, I was half asleep while we were playing it. Briley Backstrom and I were ready to pass out and all of the adults were just chugging along playing and being the kids, a nice role reversal.
Saturday morning I woke up with the feeling of death in my throat. When the temperature jumps from 98 to 65, my body doesn't know what to do. I got some good food loving all weekend though, so it helped ease the pain of the sickness. My dad found his inner Cajun and cooked chicken and sausage gumbo; it was FANTASTIC. The man can cook! Sunday afternoon I went with my bestest friend Savannah to see The Help. Talk about a great movie! I finished the book a few weeks ago but I haven't had the chance to go see the movie until Sunday. It was a great interpretation of the story and I loved seeing Greenwood, MS throughout the scenes! Savannah and I snuck some yogurt in from Tutti Fruitti and that just made the movie experience even better. A movie isn't good unless you smuggle in your own goodies, sorry but $4 for a box of Milk Duds ain't cuttin it! After the movie we went back to my house and enjoyed some taco soup and homemade chocolate cookies, courtesy of my mom and dad. Obviously they know how to take care of a sick child, feed her real good!
When I left late Monday afternoon, it had stopped raining for good (first time in 2 days). I absolutely love the way everything feels after a good and long rain. The grass is shiny, the roads are clean, the sky is gray but so pretty. When I was coming back to Starkville I saw one of the best sunsets I've seen. The top picture is an unedited (just framed) picture of the sunset. The bottom picture is at the very beginning when the sun was just barely peeking from the clouds that lingered from Lee.

It might have been because the sun wasn't out for 2 days, but it was still pretty. I looked directly to my left and saw a rainbow that arched SO high I could see both ends. It was beyond gorgeous.

I had to stop on the side of the road and just breathe in the beauty that surrounded me on both sides of my car. To the right I had a sunset that peeped from under dark gray clouds, to the left I had this giant rainbow that took up the whole sky with color. It was one of the best things I've ever seen. All the while Josh Garrels' "Flood Waters" was playing. I, being the music geek that I am, loved the parallels that were happening between real life and the song.

Can you see why I just love Josh now?! Go download his stuff before I have to punch you...I mean, it's 18 free songs, ALL great!
Ight, I'm done now...remember...DOWNLOAD ;)

Living Life in Letters,
Jennifer Landreth

For Kayla:
I love you....................................roomie.

Back in the Saddle Again

I'm back in Starkville. I promised a blog with pictures of my house and all that, but I just haven't gotten around to doing that much. I've been busy with all of the decorating and chatting with my roommates, Kayla Moore, Kelsey Hart and Mary-Kathryn Quigley. They are all pretty fantastic and we've been having extremely too much fun in our little house. Even though we live across from the CLASSIEST (nastiest) bar in Starkville, we still have a blast! Thursdays through Saturdays, also Tuesdays, all we hear from 10p.m to 2a.m is bass from the music they play. We'll end up getting sick of it by next month, but right now it's some of the best entertainment.
Since I got back, I've been being busy with the decorating and visiting most of the time. I've been going to Pinelake Church since I got back and it makes me SO excited to be back there! I have really missed the people and the lessons from Pinelake.
We just started classes today, and I have had a SUPER busy day. This blog's going to be on the short side, because I still have to make dinner (being domestic is weird).
Here's a few pictures of the house and my first few days back in Starkville!

Lucy's newest rendition of Life In Letters

Here I am with a random, unplanned blog post! YAY!
Lucy just posted this to her facebook and I KNEW I had to share it with my blogging family (how could I have not though...it is the title of my blog and all).
Now, I'll let you stop waiting and get to the beautiful music that is Lucy Schwartz.

Now, seriously?! You just can't get any better than strings and that perfect voice. I love watching Lucy sing. You can tell it is what she loves to do and she sings with such passion. When I saw her life she was so entertaining to watch. You couldn't really take your eyes off of her because she has so much passion. She's also such a goofy person, which really makes her stand out from other artists that just stand there, sing, perform and leave. She interacts with the audience. So, there's my favorite song, redone to make it my favorite again.

Living life in letters,
Jennifer

August

For real, no WAAAAAY it is August?!
I feel like the older you get, the faster time goes by. I've had 3 months of a break and I feel like it has only been a few weeks. I want to go back to school, but then again I don't. I miss all of my friends and all my girls that I'll be living with (shoutouts to my women, Kelsey, Kayla and Mary-Kathryn), but I just really don't want to go back. I'm one of those people that LOVES being at home and I may be one of the only college kids out there that actually enjoys being around my parents! I am so dang excited about having a house this year though! It's going to be so different and so much fun! I'm just excited about all the decorating and actually having a kitchen!
I move into the Highlands this Saturday, and you kiddos can BET that I'll be having a blog up sometime shortly after that with pictures of our lovely abode! And, of course, I will have housemate pictures up too!
I'm a bit worried about this year school wise. For some reason, "sophomore slump" is just now hitting me this summer (which is just great because that means that I've done NOTHING to prepare for school). I also got some pretty sucky news the other day from my voice teacher. Long story short, she will no longer teach at MSU after this year. This woman is the ONLY professor that can keep me sane in the whole music department at State, so this is going to be a big transition. I know I'll be fine, but I'm one of those people who doesn't like change unless it is for the better and this just won't be any better. However, our new choir director is going to be auditioning all choral students before school starts...uhhh, PUMPED! I have always enjoyed choir, especially at State. I think this new era is going to be a good change for the choral department and hopefully for the music department in general. I'm blabbing about stuff you probably don't care about...but whatevs!
Hey, guess what?! I found a song perfect for this August 1st occasion!

Rilo Kiley is a pretty fantastic band, if I do say so myself.
I'm going to leave you guys with this ramble and this song. I'll be back later with finished crafts and my home! (I know, I'm still not done with all my crafts...it's CRUNCH time.)

Living life in letters,
Jennifer

Gettin Crafty: Crayola Magic

Project #1 is completed!
I bet you all are curious cats wondering what in the world I did (well, at least I hope you are.) I made some canvas art, but not with paint or charcoal. Nope, I used good ole Crayola Crayons! Shout-out to my friends over at Crayola, still making the best craft supply known to man, the crayon! If they ever quit making crayons, the world will end directly after. Anyway, so it's a canvas with just crayons on it? Haha, no sillies. MELTED crayons. I got my inspiration via Pinterest from this wonderful artist on Etsy, check her out *here*. As most of you know, I don't like to buy things that I can make. It just turns out more personal and interesting when you get inspiration and do something yourself. Hence my DIY craze (I do believe I get that from both of my parents, thanks guys). So, here's how I did my crayon art. Personally, I like them better than her's, but that is because I put my time and creativity into them. Believe me, it's SO much fun and SO cool too. It can match any decor you've got!

Ingredients:
-Crayola crayons (no off brand, you want some good ones)
-Canvas board, size depending on the amount of colors you have (I found the canvas with the hardback is a better/sturdier choice than the canvas with the profile)
-Hot Glue Gun with HOT TEMP glue sticks (don't worry, mine didn't melt off the canvas)
-Heat Gun

Steps:
1) Lay out your colors the way you want them to be, any order is fine but I just preferred for mine to be in rainbow order.
2) After you've got the design set, hot glue each crayon to the canvas with a strip of hot glue going all the way down the crayon's back. I chose to have my crayons with labels saying "Crayola" out, but you can do whatever, this is your creativity at work!
3) After you have glued your crayons down to the canvas, prop the canvas at an angle (I slanted mine about 2 or 3 masonry bricks high on the wall, so the drips wouldn't just run off as soon as they melted).
4) Get your heat gun and blow at the tip of the crayon down towards the blank part of the canvas. Do not get too close and set it at the lowest setting...because you will burn your crayons or canvas. The burn may turn into an awesome effect, but let's keep it safe for now :)
5) Just keep the heat gun going across the canvas and then let the wax dry for a few seconds, it doesn't take long at all. Go back over it a few more times to get the right amount of build-up, runs and puddles that you want. Then, Ta-Da!!! There's your fresh, new, AWESOME piece of artwork.
Be careful handling the canvas. After the wax dries again it becomes brittle! I'm going to put a frame around mine and probably make some homemade shadow boxes to keep the dimension showing, but to protect the wax from breaking off so easily.
Here are some pictures of my process! Please, comment and let me know if you did this project. It was SERIOUSLY some fun. I mean, obviously...I did 3!

Costs:
2 boxes of 96 count Crayola crayons: $3.97 (Walmart was having a Back to School sale!)
3 pack of canvas board: $10 (I'm guessing, my moms has the receipt)
High Temp hot glue sticks: $3
I already had the glue gun and heat gun so I don't know how much those would be :)
Total Cost: $16.97+taxes. Not bad for 3 canvas pieces!
That's all for today! I'll be back later with more crafty goodness!

Living life in letters (and crayons),
Jennifer

Starkville and Crafting

I've got good news...I'M NOW A KEY HOLDER TO 1546A ST. ANDREWS :) I don't think you guys understand my excitement. Living in a dorm is good and all, but I get my OWN room, my OWN bathroom, my OWN closet...a kitchen...some pretty decorations...FURNITURE! Oh man, I've never been so excited! I'm also excited about living with 3 of the funniest, most precious friends. Let me just say, if you are weary about dorm life and living with a stranger, don't be(whomever is reading this that MIGHT be going to college soon). I cannot be more thankful for having the awesome Kelsey as a roommate last year and this year...and probably more years to come (since we both will NEVER graduate). She's my perfect match. I mean, I can't complain, I've had some good roommates in college, Lauren was my first and she was absolutely hilarious and fun to live with (her random thoughts that just came out of her mouth were usually the highlights of my days in freshman year). I'm hoping this year will be just as great! Anyway, my parents and I went last Thursday to get the electricity set up for our house, then we went to the office at the Highlands and I got my key and the ONLY garage door opener (that's right...pumped) right then and there! We went down to the empty house and I was just so excited about all the potential that sweet little yellow house has! Even if it IS across from the most redneck bar in Starkville (and that's saying something).
I had another trip to Starkville Saturday with the boyfriend. We went and visited our precious city because our even more precious bearded friend was there! Justin Coulter, if you don't know him, is most definitely my number one guy friend, other than David but we don't count him anymore due to the boyfriend status. David and I got to Starkville and ran by my house (how could I not have run by there...I have a key...I just had to look again) and then went to meet up with Justin at our favorite little joint in town, Grumpy's. You wanna talk about some De-LISH food? Just, whoa. It's good. We sat for a few hours and ate and talked and talked some more. Then we went to Bop's, yet another guilty pleasure of ours. Justin talked us into going to see a movie (it didn't take much talking into, actually) with him and our friend Roxy joined! It was just so good to be back with friends from school. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do this year without Justin and a few others that have already graduated. Looks like I'll have to find a new Monday Open Mic Night partner (Jonathon Giuffria has already stepped up to the plate for this one, ALRIGHT!).
Anyway, I have seriously been crafting like crazy. Getting ready to move into a house is hard work! I won't show you what I've got so far, because I want to do blogs later on about my work and give step-by-step tutorials on them. So far, I've got a freaking awesome coffee table made from an old electrical wire roll. I also am working on an old desk. I purchased it this weekend and will be painting it to give it a new, more Jennifer-styled life :) Think coral and Tiffany blue. I'm coming up with awesome ideas for wall art too. I've been working pretty much all week and weekends for the past few weeks, so going furniture/decor shopping in Birmingham is proving impossible. I'll be alright, money is needed for SURE. I'm hoping I'll be able to find a job in Starkville, even if it is just a little one (haha, yeah that's what all 20,000 students at Mississippi State want...a JOB!).
I'll be back in a few days with HOPEFULLY a completed project for you guys to see!

Living life in letters,
Jennifer

Forgive me

It seems that I have been slacking in the blogging area lately. I do apologize for not entertaining all of you to the fullest.
I missed last week's blog time because of Super Summer. I had my computer there but didn't have the time (or energy) during free time to write about life and its happenings. Again, forgive me! I was VERY blessed by my Super Summer experience this year, which doesn't shock me because every year I am blown away by the love and grace that is poured onto the students by God. Being a Team Leader is beyond amazing. You get to see firsthand what it takes to bring Super Summer together and you get to be that person that all the students look up to! Here's a brief history (through family group pictures) of my 6 years at Super Summer:
Silver School 2006

Brown School 2007

Lime School 2008

Green School 2009

Blue School as a TL 2010

Silver School as a TL 2011


It is so strange to see all of these pictures consecutively. I've spent the past 6 summers preparing for my favorite week of the summer, and these pictures represent it. Super Summer holds some of my dearest memories. I have met some of my best friends through Super Summer and I have strengthened my faith and leadership through it. There is just so much good that comes from it!!! Seriously, if you don't go...something is wrong with you.

I'm going to share with you the most eye-opening thing that a speaker has ever made in my life. It is just a simple definition from a few verses of scripture that makes our faith so rock solid and strong that I read it at least a hundred times during the worship after Greg spoke. Here's the passage:
Romans 3:21-26 "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
The word that is in bold is the word that we should focus on. This word is only written in the ESV translation of the Bible, but the Greek word "hilasterion" is used in the original manuscript of Romans 3:25. This one word changes how we view God's grace and ultimate sacrifice. In other translations, verse 25 says "sacrifice as atonement", which we view as a big deal. A sacrifice of (by definition of atonement) reconciliation. BUT, the definition of hilasterion was not just a sacrifice, the hilasterion is the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. It is where the blood was placed during a sacrifice. This was where God and man met for forgiveness. After Jesus gave up his life for everyone else to be forgiven, the blood sacrifices weren't needed anymore. Why? Because of his propitiation. There are two kind of atonements, Expiation and propitiation. The definition of expiation is to pay face amount of what is due. The definition of propitiation is an offering that removes wrath. When we look back at verse 25 with the new term defined, we see that it reads "...whom God put forward as a offering that removes wrath by his blood, to be received in faith." The wrath that would come to us for our sins was COMPLETELY removed by the blood of Christ. Umm, hello...that is AMAZING. I don't know if that was as awesome to you as it was to me, but I sat in awe and gratitude thanking God for his great mercy.

Living life in letters,
Jennifer