"Let's Find the Easiest Trail to Hike"

So...the easiest trail ended up being a "moderate" one in difficulty, which isn't the best idea for a gal who is out of shape. A few girls from school and myself decided to get out in nature and get a little exercise while we're enjoying it. So during the drive to Whiskeytown Lake, we figured out which trail to take and somewhere read that it was a little over a mile long; it was actually over three miles.

Anyway, we find the trail start and head out with our water bottles, which soon emptied and had to be refilled in the stream several times during the two and a half hour hike that should have been like one hour. A little uphill and some rocks to begin with...this isn't so bad, right? And then thirty-minutes later we're still going uphill. The burning in our legs wasn't the only thing letting us know that uphill hiking isn't good for out of shape people.

Our main goal was to get to one of the falls and get some pics; we start running short on time, so one of the girls and I decided to jog the rest of the way to get there quicker - we find a road that's fairly flat going the same way as the trail so we stick with that for our 15 minute jog only to come to another part of the trail that definitely did NOT lead us to the falls. Now running late we decide to truck it the rest of the way back - down the road and down the trail; so an hour of jogging later I'm apologizing to my legs and feet begging them not to hate me in the morning...especially since it was going to be my birthday!

A few things I learned from this hike:

1. Moderate trails+running+higher elevation=not so great for someone out of shape that hasn't exercised in months.
2. If there's a flat road available instead of a trail the whole way - take it! Uphill can't be good for beginner hikers for a long distance.
3. Everyone is at a different point in their hiking skills; go at your own pace and don't worry about holding someone else up - you'll all get to the same place; enjoy the climb.
4. The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes are the hardest. Use your friends motivation for the first part and your body's need to crash and get out of the woods for the last.
5. It's always better with friends, so that when you yell in pain to help you get motivated to finish, they can laugh with you at the fact that you're in the middle of the woods, sweaty, dirty, blistered, out of shape and yelling at no one.
6. The flowing stream is the best place to be cool down, re-energize and be refreshed.
7. It sucks at first, and it sucks toward the end, but you get some good memories in the middle and man do you feel GREAT afterwards...I mean, immediately afterwards...not like the next two days, because then you're really sore!

This was as close to the "falls" as we got Friday

       

Welcome to Redding...? Yes, I'm a little late on the introduction.

So, I just found several pics on my phone of the journey to Redding and the first few days after getting here that I hadn't posted to Facebook yet, and figured I'd post them to my blog instead, because then I can write about them AND share it on FB.


Let the picture montage begin! 
Starting off with Morro Bay: After leaving San Diego (from seeing my awesome Aunt Nancy), we decided to take a coastal approach; we hit Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and L.A. (all of these are on FB), and then it was on to Morro Bay for the night - a cute little coastal town that happens to be right beside Morro Rock (a volcanic plug that is about 576 ft high!). Unfortunately, the marine mist was so thick you couldn't really see anything :( sad story - this will be the case for most of our trek up the coast.

 

Yeah, it was a little chilly being right there in the bay, and the mist was so thick it was like walking through a sprinkler. Neat little marine town though!




Next is Saaaaan Fraaaaancisco...I sing that song in my head every time I think about San Fran. It was nice to see the bridge...well, kind of see the bridge, but I definitely could never live in town there. We caught the main streets, Haight & Ashbury - where hippies were born - and then the super curvy road that I forget the name of. Good thing I had my motion sickness wristbands!

 

It was crazy how the marine mist was so thick in one area and then  totally clear in the next

.

Like I said, marine mist pretty much took away the fun of the things I actually wanted to see                 

.

The super curvy road that every tourist was taking pictures of.

                       
                             

The beautiful bay area

FINALLY - Welcome to Redding!

We stopped by a couple of the major attractions including the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Whiskeytown Lake (about 15 min west of Redding), and Shasta Lake (well, a faraway view of it).

The biggest sundial EVER

Shasta Dam at Shasta Lake, WAY off in the distance behind, you can see Mt. Shasta with a bit of snow!

 

 

And that's a little bit of the end of my journey and the beginning of my new home...well for the next eight months anyway. Another update coming soon

PS. My birthday is Saturday, so feel free to wish me a happy, quarter of a century birthday! :)

You Know it's Going to be a Good Day When...

You know it's going to be a good day when you walk into the main sanctuary full of 900 students from all over the world that are ready for and expecting an amazing time of worship...by Jeremy Riddle.

You know it's going to be a good day when you have a God-encountered time of worship led by Jeremy Riddle followed by Kris Vallotton welcoming 900 students from all over the world.

You know it's going to be a good day, when you are filled with laughter and words of wisdom from Kris Vallotton, followed by Bill Johnson and all his awesome wisdom and "papa" ways ALL IN THE SAME DAY.

I feel like I have been at a conference all week long, when actually I've only been at orientation week at school. I'm pretty sure no other school even comes close to comparison. It has been an amazing week of meeting new people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds, jumping in without reserve, meeting our awesome leadership team who's sole desire is to honor the Lord as they empower us to be who He's called us to be...and to see us fail? Yep, that's right - we were told that if we didn't make it through this year without failing at least three times, then it hasn't been a successful year. Soooo, to help us out with this, we (all 900 of us) had to find a partner that we didn't know, pray to the Holy Spirit, and ask for a word of knowledge...and we were only given a few seconds; needless to say, most of us failed when we couldn't tell our partner what their mother's name was. I definitely had no chance with an Indian partner who's from South Africa that's lived in England for 15 years. That was just cruel of Daddy God to do that, but it was fun and full of laughter and amazing to see that some of the people actually got their partner's information right! The point of this exercise was to take a RISK. The more risks we take, the more opportunities we create for the Holy Spirit to use us and reveal the Kingdom of Heaven and the heart of the Father. I have a feeling it's going to be a year of many risks and new levels! Bring it on!

A FEW NUGGETS:
With Kris and Bill being our main speakers for the week, there was so much knowledge, wisdom, and revelation to receive, so I'd like to share just a few statements from this week.
Kris Vallotton

• You become what you think the most important person in your life thinks you are; IF God is the most important person in your life, you'll become what YOU think He thinks about you; IF you have the mind of Christ, you'll KNOW what He thinks about you and become who He has created and destined you to be. 
• Adam and Eve were trying to get through performance (being like God like the serpent said) what they already had through creation (they were already created in God's image and therefore like Him).
• You were born to be amazing!
• God loves us, because He does.
• Are you living from earth towards heaven or from heaven towards earth? If the former, you'll always live a reactionary lifestyle.

Bill Johnson

• When you pray TO God, you don't pray WITH Him - you pray past the miracle.
• God lights the fire in the alter, but it's the priests that keep putting stuff in the fire to keep it going.
• There's an oak tree in the acorn - ie. You pray for $1,000 and God gives you $100; you steward the 100 well and $1000 will come out of it.
• A delayed answer is gaining interest.
• The Lord answers us with acorns instead of oak trees to see if we will walk through the challenge of being good stewards so we can then walk in the breakthrough anointing.

Did you catch all that? If not, just ask the Lord for revelation haha; I'm sure some of it would sink in more if you heard their whole messages, but hopefully you can get the gist of them.

PS. Not to name drop, but our worship this week consisted of sessions by Amanda Faulk (now Amanda Cook), Kristene Mueller (now Kristene de Marco), and Brian & Jenn Johnson. Now I just need to see Kim and I'll be set! So much more to come! Be blessed!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Nothing profound today; just a little update. I dropped my mom safely off at the airport Wednesday; she is now home enjoying the Georgia humidity! Oh how I miss it...and the pine trees if you can believe it!

So, I actually live in a neighborhood where they actually do "neighborhood" things...such as neighborhood garage sales. So my new roomie and I sat up this morning for our part of the garage sale. It was nice until the hot winds came around 11:00. And of course the weather decides to make today the hottest day of the summer here - the only day we have to stay outside. We'll hit it hard again in the morning and hope everything sells...otherwise Goodwill will be getting a good load from us!

So, it's not 100% home yet, but I'm sure in a few short weeks it'll feel more like it - minus the humidity ;) Registration is Monday and school starts Tuesday! I'm enjoying the relaxation time before it gets busy, but I'm ready to start and meet the new friends that God has lined up. For those of you that know me well, being the people person I am (I'm sure you got the sarcasm in that line), I'm getting out and about before school starts to make the most of my leisure time. A movie in the park tonight with some of the gals and a worship session at another students house tomorrow night. Yep, I'm already pushing my limits - it's going to be good though!

I pray you are all blessed beyond what you can ask or imagine and that your cup is filled to overflowing!

Housed and ready to go!

So I guess it's time for an update...oh, and I have a good one! So I began the summer with three roommates; slowly the Lord led us in other directions, but I'm thankful for new friends through the process - there's that word again. I'm sure I'll be hearing it and writing about it a lot over the year. I came here knowing God wanted to do something outside of the box, and I think He definitely has.

Our first full day in Redding was last Sunday; after church we met a young couple who were super sweet and gave us their contact info if we needed anything. I think in a desperate attempt to find housing we gave them a call Thursday night. And lo and behold a connection came up Friday!

So Friday at noon I got to meet who would soon be my roommate and "mom" while away from home. We meet, have great conversation, see her place, and not only is she a great conversationalist and sweet, but a woman of God who loves young people! It may not be what I planned, but I have my own room! haha So I'm definitely thankful for the ways the Lord works.

I didn't find out until yesterday that my mom's prayer while here had been that the Lord would provide a mom for me while I was away from home...and Papa is so good that He provided TWO - my current house mate AND the women who opened her house up to my mom and I while we were looking for a place to live. So my new "moms" are the two people that have kept me from being homeless while in Redding. Yes, God is definitely good!

Oh, and just to add that little extra to show that He is God - you know how He does that - Well, I told the Lord I needed a dog, half jokingly, half serious, but I know I can't afford one right now. The lady that housed us while looking for a place has a small dog that I fell in love with. And now I can play with him any time I want and doggy sit off and on throughout the year. Yep, there God goes again showing off His goodness!