Day 3 - August 18

Graduation Day was full of activities. It began with Sunday morning church and a powerful sermon - to listen to Eric's message click here. We were all dressed up and were able to snap a few family pictures after the service.

 

We talked Moose into getting dressed up for the occasion. It probably won't happen again for awhile, but we enjoyed it while it lasted. :)

 

 

 

 

These lovely ladies were Kaley's roommates for the semester. Charis is from Kansas and Sarah is from Brazil.

 

And here is the entire Summer Class of 2013:

 

After all the pictures, it was time for a picnic! During the picnic, Eric also made some special presentations to a few of the students, and we were blessed with a performance from the His Little Feet choir!

 

 

 

After the picnic concluded, we had 30 or 45 minutes before the graduation ceremony started so we just hung around on campus. I believe the ceremony lasted over three hours! Eric gave another sermon, a couple students gave espeehes, they shared pictures and stories from the semester, and then they recognized each of the graduates. After the ceremony, we ran back to the hotel to change into more comfortable clothes and then headed out for Mongolian dinner with the entire group!

  

 

I had never had Mongolian food before, and I was rather apprehensive about trying it. However, I was surprised to find that it was pretty good!

 

Days 1 & 2 - August 16,17

Day 1: Friday

Day one was actually only a partial day...I worked part of the day on Friday, then packed my bags, and headed out that afternoon with Christopher to meet up with Mom, Dad, Bandy, and Julia in Salina, Kansas. So in a way, it was a very full day - just not full of vacation. We parked my car at an airport, transferred bags to the official vacation car, grabbed fast food dinner, and headed west into the setting sun. Our excitement was barely contained. We stopped in a small Kansas town to spend the night (I think it was about 9pm). Here are a couple pictures - I know they are not that exciting, but you have to remember that it is Kansas and there is just not much to see. The exciting pictures will come later. :)

Day 2: Saturday

Here are some pics of the travelers on Day 2!

 

It's not a Mills Family Vacation if you don't drive on empty at least once. We like to live on the edge.

I believe it was around noon MST when we crossed the border. We properly documented Julia's first time in the state of Colorado.

We stopped in Burlington at the welcome center and I snapped this photo because I thought it was humorous:

Mills Family Vacationing, at it's finest. :)

Oh yeah, did I mention that I had a final the day after we got back from the trip? I had to bring my massive textbook along and do some studying on vacation. Bummer.

The plains of I-70 don't provide a lot of food options so we drove through a couple towns and on our third attempt at finding a suitable place for lunch, we exited at Strasburg, CO. We were welcomed by a sign that stated we were nearing the OSU Memorial of the 2001 plane crash site. There was a collective gasp in the car as we realized our detour was Providentially guided. There was a local cafe at the first intersection (Patio Cafe, anyone?) so we sat down for a bite to eat, before heading into the countryside to find the memorial. We asked some of the locals for directions. It was on a gravel road a few miles east of town. The memorial was simple, but sacred. There was a gravel path leading out to the actual location of the plane crash; Oklahoma native grasses had been planted along the way. It was a very sobering moment for me; I remember that event, but never dreamed I would actually visit the site.

 

 

  

 

 

.......

I think it was around 4 or 5 when we made it to our hotel in Fort Collins. It was very hazy that day so the mountains that are typically visible from I-25 were nearly indistinguishable; we were a bit disappointed for Julia's sake. After we checked into the hotel and unloaded our bags, we went to Ellerslie to see Kaley!! It was a happy reunion. She gave the family a tour of the campus and then we went to eat at Chick-fil-A and went back to the hotel to spend time together before her curfew.

 

The Chick-fil-A in Loveland has a unique way of finding you after you have placed your order. They give you one of the state flags and assign it to your food order. They randomly gave us the Oklahoma flag. What a "coincidence." ;)

 

Julia was sitting in the passenger seat waiting for Kaley, but we thought it almost looked like she was driving! It won't be long before she really is...four more years!!

 

Kaley was relieved that Julia had not outgrown her yet.

 

Day 3 up next!!


P.S. I had an incredibly difficult time trying to get the pictures uploaded and the formatting also was not cooperating with me; I spent a few days trying to get this posted and it's still not quite right. Oh well. Better this than nothing.

Coming soon...

...to a blog near you:

Pictures from our Colorado trip! :)

the will

Matthew 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

"Christ has taken the castle, both in-works and out-works, when He has taken the will - the proudest enemy that Christ has out of hell. When Saul rendered his will, he rendered his weapon. This is mortification, when Christ runs away with your will." - Samuel Rutherford

As a second-born, stubborn-from-the-womb, saved-by-the-grace-of-God human being, I was struck by Rutherford's quote. I have found it true in my life. My strong-will has probably been one of the greatest battlefields in my life. My parents can certainly testify to that. But Samuel Rutherford so eloquently described something that exposes a great truth: when Saul surrendered his will, he handed over his weapon also. When he gave up his stubbornness, he released his ability to fight back. That's why it's so difficult...I want to keep my ammunition, thank you very much. I still want a say, a vote, security, control, a back-up plan.

But no, Christ must run away with my will. That is the only way to truly follow Him. And when I finally stopped fighting the Holy Spirit, and handed over my weapon, I felt the freedom of being released from the will. It was instant change - the old was gone, the new has come. I had found Someone I couldn't out-fight, out-argue, or out-last.

It's a continual mortification process. As an adult, the stubbornness comes out in different ways. My strong-will still raises its ugly head, but the difference is that I gave it to Christ so He controls it. I still look down sometimes and find my weapon in my hand, but I am not under its control. I am in Christ - I have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.

All I have to do is let Christ run away with my will.

stand in the gap

And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. ~Ezekiel 22:30

I read this verse in my devotion a few days ago, and it really caught my attention. The context, of course, has to do with the wayward Israelites, but I believe that God will still ask us today to "stand in the gap" at times. It may be interceding for someone, standing in front of satan armed for battle, rebuilding broken relationships, standing for truth, or carrying on His work in a barren land.

I will!! was the battle cry I felt rising in me. I will stand in the gap! I want to be that person He can count on. But how? The power is not in me, I can assure you. I can stand up to satan and put on a brave face, but when he comes with his battering ram and volley of arrows, I fall to my knees, crying to Jesus. Satan knows exactly how to knock me down.

Psalm 18:34-39
He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has held me up; Your gentleness and condescension have made me great.
You have given plenty of room for my steps under me, that my feet would not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
I smote them so that they were not able to rise; they fell wounded under my feet.
For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me and caused to bow down those who rose up against me.

God of angel armies, teach me how to fight. Train me for battle against the powers of this world. Empower me to hold this position.


"Let us not glide through this world then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet long and loud for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure from the field of battle." C.T. Studd

Charles Spurgeon

"If thou hast anything that perplexes thee, the simplest plan for thee will be, not to try to solve the difficulty, but to seek direction from heaven concerning it. If thou hast, at this moment, some doubt that is troubling thee, thy wisest plan will be, not to combat the doubt, but to come to Christ just as thou art, and to refer the doubt to Him."