My Summer

I said in my last post that I would talk about my summer. Lets just say it has been a crazy one! In June, the middle school ministry at my church took 160 or so middle schoolers to Island Lake for five amazing days. We did archery (my first time ever), high ropes course, motocross, worship, devotionals, and messages from a great speaker. I truly enjoyed spending time with God and with the middle schoolers and leaders. It was also very bittersweet because it was the last time to really hang out with my small group girls who would be moving onto high school. I got to meet my new group of sixth-graders, and they are AMAZING! They are excited to be entering middle school, and I am excited to walk alongside them.

We also went on our annual leadership retreat, where we did some training on how better to interact with the parents of our middle schoolers. I am excited to walk alongside them as they guide their daughter to grow and mature in Christ.

With my internship program, At Home At School, we held our summer program at Silver Star and then MLK Elementary. We had different classes for them to attend, and provided breakfast and lunch for them as well. I was able to help in a variety of classes and it was great to interact with the teachers and students!

The family that I nanny for welcomed a new addition to the family, Bradey. He is such a sweet little boy, and Evie loves being a big sister. I love working there and they are a great family!

I had the chance to go up to Seattle to see my Grandparents who were visiting from Canada, and I also got to see the people I worked with at PCBS and it was so fun! We had a fun-filled weekend to say the least!

So it has been a crazy summer, but an enjoyable one! I am looking forward to what God has in store for me next.

Until next time,

Morgan

New Semester-End of a Chapter

Hey guys! I started my final semester as an Undergraduate at Washington State University, and it has felt really weird to say I will be graduating in December! It seems like yesterday when I first started at WSU. The campus has changed (new buildings being built and additions on some others) and the classes I have taken have been amazing! I feel like I have grown a lot in the last five years.

To say that college gives you a different perspective is very true. I have taken psychology, anthropology, history, and other classes that are outside my comfort zone, but they have given me a different perspective on the world that I can take with me out into the workplace. There are so many different cultures and people with different life experiences, and I feel like when I get out into the workplace, I will have a better understanding of how I can relate with them on a more personal level.

Now that I am almost done, I have to ask the question "what is next?" Well, only God truly knows what is next, but so far it seems likely that I will be applying for the Masters in Teaching program in October, and will find out in April if I have been accepted or not. Since I am graduating in December, and the program does not start until Mid-May, I will be applying for a full-time job at a hospital in the area as a patient advocate. I have always felt that I want to work with children in some way, and if I don't get accepted into the masters program, I will pray about this job as a permanent one. As I have heard before "another door closes, God will open another one" and I believe this is true!

I hope everyone has been having a safe and happy Summer! I will be writing a blog to tell all about mine in the near future! :)

Morgan

Tea Cup

It has been so long since I have posted a blog on here! These past few months have been crazy! I am almost finished with school (16 more weeks!) Until I graduate! I have truly been blessed to be able to attend college and I am looking forward to what God wants me to do next! I am going to be applying for the Masters in Elementary Education program starting in October, and I would ask for your prayers on this! :) I have also been blessed to lead a wonderful group of now high school freshmen girls this past year. We have just under two weeks until GRIT, our summer camp, and then they will join the high school ministry. It has truly been one of the greatest gifts I have had in my life to mentor these beautiful ladies! :) I am looking forward to attending my cousin's wedding in October, and spending time with them and my wonderful family! I adore Ashley and am blessed to officially welcome her into our family even though she has been for over two years. The years have flown by, and in just over four months, I will be 24! hard to imagine! I also recently visited my grandparents in Vancouver Island, and had a fantastic time! I will post pictures soon.

My grandma sent me this email this morning, and I would like to leave it as my final thought:

I love this story - you will not be able to have tea in a tea cup again without thinking of this.


There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an
exceptional cup, they asked, "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me, pounded
and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that. "I don't like it! Leave me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said, "Not yet!"

"Then WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. "Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!," I screamed. But the master only nodded and said
quietly. 'Not yet.'

He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. "Help! Get me out of here!"
I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'.

When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought. But after I
cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. "Oh, please, stop it, stop," I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'.

Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would
never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next?"
An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, "That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!!!"

Quietly he spoke: 'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the
wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed
and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for
long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'

The moral of this story is this: God knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill. His good, pleasing and perfect will.

So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this: Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, then sit down and think on this story, and then, have a little talk with the Potter.

Well, that is all for now! More posts coming soon!

Update!

Hey guys,

I have not posted a new blog in a LONG time!!! I have started my senior year at WSU-V! Wow how time flies! I will hopefully be graduating in May if all goes according to plan! I know that God is watching over me every step of the way and is guiding me! I love WSU and the Human Development degree program is amazing! I am applying to the Masters In Teaching program at WSU and hopefully I will be able to start that in the spring.

I have also been doing my nanny job for over a year now! The baby I nanny for, Evie, has grown SO much since I started working there. She is now 15 months old, and walking and talking up a storm! It is amazing to see and hear what is she is learning each and every day!

I had a great summer of working and hanging out with friends. I also went to GRIT, which is Summit View's middle school summer camp. We took about 122 middle schoolers to a lake for 5 AMAZING days! We got to spend a lot of time with God and each other. Now we have started our fall, and I am SO excited to see what God has in store for our students and leaders! I love working with the leaders and the students, and they have been like family to me for almost a year now!

I will try and post blogs more often! Stay tuned!

Morgan

Life

I have not posted a blog in awhile, so I thought I would update you guys! I have been busy with school (WSU-V) and working two jobs. I am a nanny to a 9 month old who is growing bigger everyday! It seems just like yesterday that I started working for them. I love watching her grow! I am also involved with the middle school ministry at my church. God has truly blessed me with the opportunity to lead a small group of girls :D They are awesome and I know God is working through us to grow these students to maturity in Christ! We went on our winter retreat in February, and it was AMAZING! 17 students came to Christ that weekend! I have also been going through an awesome bible study, about the Parables. I have never gotten too deep into them, and they have so much to teach us! I am blessed to be a part of a small group of women who are going through this study and who are praying persistently for one another.

I am so excited that I get to go visit my Dad's family in May! They live in South Carolina and I have not been back there since I was seven. A few of my relatives have come out here when my sister and I graduated, but I really miss all of them. I am also going to Atlanta to watch my cousin graduate and spend time with my half sister and my nieces and nephews. I have only met one of them so it will be great to finally meet all of them!

God continues to give great blessings everyday, and I am praying for everyone!

Morgan

A New Year

Hey everyone,

Just thought I would give you an update..It is a new year after all! I am now in my second semester at WSU and so far so good! God has truly blessed me with the gift of an education! My sister is in school as well and I hope she is enjoying it as much as I do.

I have been going to Summit View for over a year, and I have been truly blessed by what that church has done for me! They are amazing group of people who have a real sense of community and serving God! I have recently become involved in the FOCUS middle school ministry, and I absolutely LOVE the students! We have an upcoming retreat called SnowWhat and I am encouraging the students to invite a friend who does not know Christ and to have a great time skiing, snowboarding, or tubing! This is going to be quite the adventure for me, considering I have never been on the mountain before! I hope I can go tubing! Not sure about skiing and snowboarding! I ask for everyone to pray for the retreat and the students! As well as Summit View as a whole! Several people I know are on a mission trip to Nicaragua right now, and I pray for the mission and their safe return!

I am a nanny, and I have been working for the family since the baby was about 8 weeks old or so. She is now 7 months old, and she is the most awesome baby! She is now crawling and getting her first teeth! It is amazing how fast they grow! I can't wait to be married and have kids of my own someday! God has truly blessed women with the ability to have children!

I pray that the new year has found many blessings for everyone!

Morgan

Happy Holidays!

Wow it has been awhile since I have posted on here! It is around this time of year that I think about family, taking a break from school to breathe and relax after studying hard for finals. I have four of them next week! I have already turned in all my papers, now I just have the exams to complete. As I look on this semester, I can tell you that it was challenging and rewarding at the same time. I got a new perspective on what poverty is, I learned a lot about how children develop physically, emotionally, and cognitively from birth to adolescence. I also learned how to write a research proposal (final product was 12 pages, not including the review board form!). I also learned how to manage clients in a human services situation.

I also just completed the Beth Moore studies at Summit View. If you have not heard of her, you should go to lifeway.com and look at her studies! They are amazing! They have taught me so much more about Jesus my Savior! And how amazing He really is! It totally related to my life, and it was just what I needed to hear! I would like to thank Vicky Dillion and all the women at Summit View, especially my small group,who are helping me slowly better understand Jesus and how to deepen my relationship with Him everyday.

I have also been speaking and hopefully building a relationship with my half-sister Oneida. She is my Dad's daughter from a previous relationship before he met my Mom. She found me on Myspace, and we have been talking and sorting things out that happened in the past. Hopefully if all goes well I might be seeing her in May when I go to South Carolina to visit my Dad's family, and drive with them to Atlanta to see my cousin Jeremy graduate from Morehouse! I am SO proud of what he has accomplished in his life. I wish he and the rest of the family lived closer!

Last but not least the election was a historic event! The part that saddened me,however, is all the negativity that both candidates spread throughout the election, and how their personal issues overshadowed the issues that the American public needed from them in order to make a decision that affects ALL of our lives. I think that we have come a long way since the first elections in this great country of ours!

With Christmas around the corner and in the economic times, we are all struggling. Lets remember that Christmas is not all about gifts, and parties. It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and all that He has done for us. If Summit View is going out on Christmas Eve to Downtown Portland and serving food to those less fortunate, you can believe I will do it again! I did it last year and it was a very humbling experience. The stories I heard and the connections I made were incredible.

I hope that this sees everyone well, and may you be blessed this Holiday season!

Morgan