Summer is Zipping Shut

Imagine a zipper. It's a long one like on a sweater. First you attach the bottom of the zipper into the other half. Then you begin to pull up. Up and up it goes, bringing together the zipper halves with each little pull. This zipper describes my Summer. At the begin it was open and seemingly endless. Now the last little notch is being pulled together and my Summer is coming to a close.

Oh! What a great Summer it was. So many events happened, places visited, and friends seen. I came home from Covenant looking forward to a break from studying, exciting adventures, and time in God's Word. And I'm happy to say all these things took place. I wish I could retell all that took place this summer, but that would be a very, very long blog post. So, I will stick to simply telling or retelling the highlights of this summer.

One major highlight, or zipper notch ;), of the summer would be time spent with my family. It struck me after a month at Covenant just how blessed I am to have a God fearing family.

I met a handful of people at college who had grown up in a family where their parents were divorced, or they had parents who weren't believers, or they had siblings who they didn't love at all. It made me so thankful to God for my family. Something that I just took for granted way to often was the fact that I have parents who love the Lord and serve Him and who have raised me and my siblings according to God's Word. I love my family! And I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be in this family. So, yes, a highlight of the summer was spending time with my family. They make me laugh, encourage me in my walk with the Lord, and are just wonderful friends. It was especially nice to get to spend the entire summer with them knowing that they may go back to Zambia while I'm in college this year. It will definitely be hard knowing that they are more than a few states away, but it's encouraging to see them follow the Lord's leading.

Another highlight of my summer was time spent in the Word. I remember one of the things stressed during orientation week at Covenant was to spend time in the Word no matter how hectic life got. Life certainly got hectic and there was a time when I would read the Bible when I woke up, but I wouldn't meditate on it. I would only read it because I knew I should. AH! Well, let me tell you, life was awful. I felt awful, school felt awful, and nothing felt right. But, God gave me the time for His Word every morning and He helped me to spend time meditating on the Word. But, I couldn't wait for summer break when I could study the Bible and pray for as long as I wanted without the interruption of classes. And summer really was great for studying the Word. And not only in my personal time in the Word but also with some girls in the church. I got to be part of a women's Bible study in our church. We went through the book of 2 Timothy which was great. I also go to be a part of a girl's Bible study. It was encouraging. We talked a lot about prayer and studying the Bible. It was wonderful! I'm so thankful for God's Word! I'm thankful for friends to study God's Word with. And I'm thankful that I got to spend the summer doing that!

Another zipper notch highlight of summer would be all the road trips and adventures with the family :)We drove down to Arkansas at the beginning of the summer, drove out west to Colorado, and just finished another trip down to Arkansas. I love road trips. And road trips with the family are phenomenal! Our trips down to Arkansas are always filled with fun and friends. We got to stay with the Bennetts both times and both times were packed with laughter, stories, and fellowship together. They are great friends and I'm thankful to them for opening up their house to us :) It is always fun and refreshing. It is also great to go back down to our home church and fellowship with them.

As for our Colorado trip, that was fun! It was a great family time, and also a time to see some fun and unique things, like a huge Van Gogh painting in Kansas, the Olympic Center, the Arches of Utah, and God's amazing creation. It was a great time :)

There are so many other highlights of my summer, but I think for now this is a good wrap up of how my summer has been. I'll blog again before going back to Covenant because I have more to say :) But until then, enjoy the end of your summer. I hope it has been a refreshing one!