His Hands

I have unanswered prayers



I have trouble I wish wasn't there


And I have asked a thousand ways


That You would take my pain away


That You would take my pain away






I am trying to understand


How to walk this weary land


Make straight the paths that crookedly lie


Oh Lord, before these feet of mine


Oh Lord, before these feet of mine






When my world is shaking


Heaven stands


When my heart is breaking


I never leave Your hands






When You walked upon the Earth


You healed the broken, lost, and hurt


I know You hate to see me cry


One day You will set all things right


Yea, one day You will set all things right






When my world is shaking


Heaven stands


When my heart is breaking


I never leave Your hands






Your hands


Your hands that shape the world


Are holding me, they hold me still


Your hands that shape the world


Are holding me, they hold me still





When my world is shaking


Heaven stands


When my heart is breaking


I never leave...


I never leave Your hands

He's not finished with me yet...

Today I had that Brandon Heath song "Wait and See" stuck in my head...

There is hope for me yet


Because God won’t forget


All the plans He’s made for me


I have to wait and see


He’s not finished with me yet...

I'm trying to wait and see what His plans are. He knows them all of course, but to me, it is a mystery. I guess that's a good thing. God knows what I can bear. If I knew all about my future, I'd go crazy.  Life would lose some of its spice and excitement... anticipation is half of the fun.
I want my heart to be set up on those heavenly things, not the temporal things that will fade away. 
Matthew 6:23 is convicting to think about:

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." 

I want to have what God wants in my mind. The things of men fade away. They don't last long.
As it says in Colossians 3:1-4:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

I am dead. My life is in Christ. I feel joy in the thought that God has got me.

It doesn't always make sense, but I know that what God has in store is SO much greater than anything I could plan out for myself. I know that I can trust Him.
Time after time, after time, after time, He has shown Himself to be faithful and never has He let me down.
I'm glad, exuberant, joyful in the fact that I am His daughter, His princess. He's my Friend, my Brother, my King. Hallelu!!

...I just finished another week of counseling. I promise that at some point I will post about the fun and craziness of two weeks of counseling. The week was wonderful.
There are MANY funny stories that I could tell. (8-10 year olds are very joyful. They can be goofballs, but they also teach much...from the mouths of babes and all that)



...as for right now, I can say that whatever my lot,
He has taught me to say
that it is well,
it is well with my soul.

Line, please!

Sometimes titles come to me instantly. Today, not so much.
Perhaps, if you are reading this, you might want to know what's going on in my sphere of influence.
Or perhaps not.
But, as this is my blog, I am going to post some of the happenings of the past two weeks:


After a fun week of housesitting, I was asked to come help out in a camp kitchen as a cook. Me? In a kitchen? heh heh heh.
No, really, I love cooking. I've just had some experiences with food that are potentially good stories (not now, but years later). I'm sure you can relate. Everyone has at least one crazy food story.
Anyways, back from that red herring. I went up the winding mountain road to camp with a broad assortment of bandanas (you have to have your hair covered to be in the kitchen) and a very full suitcase.


I'm an over-packer. I'm working on this issue.
 I always think that I'll be sorry that I didn't bring extra _________ (be it toothpaste, sunscreen or...) along with me. Because you know, that stuff is "impossible" to buy at the local wal-mart.


So I went up to camp (as you saw in my previous posts) and extended my cutting and saran wrapping capabilities. I worked with seasoned pros in the kitchen. They had all been there at least eight camp seasons.
I roomed with one of the cooks and her daughter, Julia. Julia was only 6, mind you, but her knowledge and ability was impressive.


The week went by quickly, Wednesday morning I went up the mountain with Meredith. It was about 6:15 or so, and it was GORGEOUS. The sun was already up. I was tired and I could tell that she was too, but it was a refreshing way to start the day. Overall, a very cool memory.

So the week flew by, and on the weekend, I went off-mountain with the summer staff to celebrate one of the staffers birthday. It was great fun. We ate at a Mexican restaurant that had some very cool t-shirts, grooved to live beach music, and saw a lovely and long fireworks display.


So, okay, the main deal: Middle Girl’s week.
Maybe it deserves its own post. I have a feeling that it will be long.

sickness and sunshine

I think I am sick.
This is a horrid feeling.

I'm working on a fun post, but I thought that I should just mention the fact that I have some sort of ickiness. I thought it might be allergies, and it still could be that, but...
Everything feels slightly off in reality. I feel sleepy all of the time. My nose is stuffed, I can't stop sneezing, and I don't feel comfortable in my own skin -- literally.
This too shall pass.
I need to be joyful and make the best of this.
But it is hard.
SO HARD when I feel miserable.
Benadryl has helped some, but it makes everything even foggier.
What's the lesser of the two evils? Mental fogginess and feeling okay? Or to have mental acuity but feel not so great?
Today I had my braces tightened.
When it rains, it pours, right?

I'm going to stop whining now. I'll go count my blessings.

This week is a chill week. It's summer!!

I got my SAT scores back, and they weren't terrible.

I have many friends who love me.

I have a wonderful family...

I'm going to keep going, but I won't post them all on here.

Wow, I'm feeling a bit better already...

Camp season!

Camp season is here people.

It's a happy time of the year. 

I'm SO looking forward to next week! When I get to counsel. 

This week I'm serving in the kitchen. It's fun, and I'd do it again if I was asked.
Feeding people is always rewarding. 

I'm becoming a pro at cutting large quantities of things, breaking eggs, and I have MASTERED (or have a better grasp of) saran wrap. That stuff is crazy. It loves to wrinkle up. ugh. BUT, after much practice, I can indeed use plastic wrap to cover various  food items.
What a feat!  

Housesitting and the Joys therein

I've decided to abandon the ABC title thing. It was becoming too confining. I reached the letter "p" but "q"... ah well.

This past week, I've been house/dog-sitting for a family in my church.
It has been great fun. There are many adventures to be relayed. I'll take time to post them later. But a taste:

The dogs are both shih tzus. One is Max, the other is Molly. They have some personality, that is for sure. The one in the picture is Molly.
Molly is a dog's dog. She rolls in the grass, attempts to eat things that are lying on the sidewalk, and loves attention. She's a bit on the dumb side, but she's CUTE!
Max is an old man at heart. He takes FOREVER sniffing telephone poles, plants, anything. If I let him, he'd stop every few inches to sniff.
The dogs go for at least four walks a day. (That sounds impressive, no?)
But really, the walks are only usually about half a mile to a mile in length. It's just so they have an opportunity to go. Because it's a townhouse that we're in and the yard is pretty much non-existent.
I like this neighborhood. All of the houses look about the same. I don't really like that part, but I love how the landscaping is so pleasing to the eye, and how the trees hang down over the sidewalk. It's also very well lit, so at night you feel like it's mid-day.

House-sitting has been great too! The family, or at least the dad, loves gaming. He has the set-up. Crazily enough, I haven't even used the 360 or ps3. I'm afraid that if I start, I won't be able to stop. I have been checking out thier vast collection of movies, I can use the excuse that it's only an hour and then it's done...
In case you didn't know, I'm compulsive. I think I inherited it from Mom. So if I were to get stuck on a level in a game, it could be HOURS, DAYS... who knows.

It's good to AVIOD temptation, right? What's that verse? About fleeing youthful desires? I don't think Paul was referencing gaming, but for me, it would be a time-sucker.

...Because I want to be productive while I'm here. In about a week, I'll be counseling at camp. I want to make sure I'm prepared spiritually, mentally, and physically. And any other "-ly" that I can't think of at the moment.

Camp is so fun. I pray that it will be so. I love my girls. I'm praying for them this week.

Prayer is powerful. That sounds cliché, I know. But prayer is you communicating and communing with the maker of the universe. I don't think I know that you can't get any more powerful than that.
Wow, have you ever thought about something and it gives you a chill? That just happened when I took time to actually think that I talk to THE MAKER OF THE UNIVERSE. I have a relationship with Him.
Wow.
I should so be unashamed of that.
It makes everything seem dull by comparison.
Serving Him to my utmost is going to be my goal this summer. It's easy to get bogged down in details, as I am apt to do, but I'm going to try out some perspective.

In which I say nothing, but there are words to be read.

Much to say...

So, I decided that I wouldn't post anything until I went for my run.
Tonight, I got one in.
How I LOVE running.
The endorphins, the accomplishment. The feeling of being fit...

Okay, now I don't know what to blog on.
I have a wide variety of topics here.
I could talk about my life, my thoughts, etc...
Ugh. before I thought I didn't have anything, now there is too much!
Should I go chronologically?
That would make sense, I suppose.

Welll, next post will pick up where I left off.

This post is simply here to annoy you.

Did you notice something about my posts? They're alphabetical. In reverse order.
Q may be a hard one...
Oh, and this one does not count as a "real post".)

mkay, where is that sign off button?
ah,

Pensive Pondering

I've been reading about HOPE. 

Where do I put my hope? This passage is a good self-check.
Asking myself, "are my eyes haughty? Am I messing with things that aren't my business?"
 I like the peacefulness of this passage. That's how my soul should feel when I still and quiet it before Him:

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

 ¹ My heart is not proud, O LORD,
       my eyes are not haughty;
       I do not concern myself with great matters
       or things too wonderful for me. 
² But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
       like a weaned child with its mother,
       like a weaned child is my soul within me.
 ³ O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
       both now and forevermore.

osculate vs. oscillate

I feel like I need to be inspired. 


There is plenty of inspiration all around, I know. 
But getting the creative juices flowing is an arduous task. 


Did you know that to osculate is to kiss
but for something to oscillate is to "vacillate between conflicting opinions"? 
...be careful in your pronunciations....

The nuances of being a neologist

I feel like rambling a bit
...again
This is what this blog is for, right? Right.

Summer is OH SO RAPIDLY approaching. I'm feeling giddy.
Summer is pretty much the best time of the year. At least right now it is. (In August, I just might be ready for some snow, but I doubt it.)
I remember this past winter thinking to myself,
"I'll miss the cold in July. I'll be whining about how hot it is. Maybe I should just soak up the cold."
So I did. I sat in the car, before the heat cut on, absorbing the chill. Let me tell you, it was nothing like soaking up sunshine or a warm day.
It was, well, cold. Not terribly pleasant. But I did it so that I wouldn't complain in the summer. And this past summer, I did not complain (about the heat, at least).

I've begun to value sleep. Perhaps that's a sign of maturity.

There are some cases where sleep is unimportant.
And that's okay. Every once in a while.
But trying to stay up every night does a number on one's immune system, brain, etc.

My sleeping patterns have been messed up lately. I've been feeling sick and crummy.
So, the past few nights, I've been going to bed at a somewhat decent hour.
The difference is drastic.

I'm still a night owl, but...
I'm beginning to understand that if I don't get at least 8 hours in, life becomes a haze. Life becomes no fun.

So a word to the wise: sleeeeep!

(and a neologist is someone who coins new words! FUN FACT ALERT!)

My name is Makenzie

Yes, it is.
Spelt M-A-K-E-N-Z-I-E. NOT Mckenzie, MacKensie or any other way.

MAKENZIE.

I understand that it's hard to know the right spelling... but if you can help it, please TRY to spell it right. I don't really know why, but it's one of my pet peeves.

And Brain Regan does a nice little piece on that:

Names.... click here to watch

It's a family name.
Mom wanted the name to have its own special twist, so she and Dad decided it should be spelled that way.

My middle name, Elizabeth, has a backstory too.
Both of my grandmothers and one great-grandmother has that middle name.
It's my Mom's middle name too.

Just a random factoid about yours truly...