Heart to Heart: Mountain Top Experience

Every summer I have the privilege of going to a week long camp with my youth group. I look forward to that time of fellowship with my closest friends but also focusing on God’s Word 24/7. At the end of summer camp the pastor always seems to have the same message- "don’t lose this mountain top experience. Don’t go home and fall back into the patterns that you had before camp. Start having a quiet time with God every day, don’t hang out with your friends who might not be the greatest influence on your life, and get involved with the youth group".  If you have been to a summer camp I am sure you have heard a message close to this one and have felt a tug on your heart to come home and focus more on God.  First off, that’s so exciting, I am glad that your passion for God is becoming stronger and I know that He is excited too! I want to encourage you not to slip into your old habits. Don’t lose hope when you tell your friends about your amazing experience and they don’t share the same enthusiasm as you or when you are exhausted and want to sleep in instead of waking up to do your quiet time.  Keep going steady because in the end, spending time with your Creator and worshiping him with your all is far better than anything else on this Earth!

 Some actions that I would suggest you take to help make this transition easier is to reserve a special time for your quiet time, find an accountability partner, and make sure you are plugged into your youth group.  I have always found that having my quiet time first thing in the morning is the best for me. There is no better way to start you day off than with reading the Bible. If you aren’t sure where to start reading in the Bible start in the New Testament; Mathew, Mark, Luke or John are all great books to begin with!  Another step to take is to find an accountability partner. Your accountability partner needs to be someone who you trust to always be 100% honest with you, someone who isn’t afraid to hurt your feelings by telling you when you are steering off the path.  The last thing I would recommend is to find opportunities to be plugged into your youth group. If that means that your goal is to actually start going to youth group that’s great! Being able to have mid-week encouragement from fellow Christians is always great for me.  When I have a bad start to the week I look forward to Wednesdays because I know that when I get to youth group I will be surrounded by people I love and who love the Lord! If you do not currently have a youth group I recommend going out and finding one.  Try asking some of your Christian friends what youth group they attend, I’m sure they would be happy to take you along!  

Having mountain top experiences is the easy part; it’s the coming down back to base camp that’s the hardest. Hopefully this advice will make the journey less rough and you will be able to keep God at the center of whatever stage of the mountain you are on!

2 Thessalonians 3:13 ESV- "As for you, brothers,do not grow weary in doing good." 

Galatians 6:9 ESV- "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up"

Romans 12:12 ESV-"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

Love,                                               

Caroline 

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Study Tips + Organization | Katie

Studying can be someone's worst nightmare-I know it's mine! I believe the key to studying is staying organized so that you have everything you need when it comes time for that test. Make sure you are taking notes and actually paying attention in class. Also it is always good to keep your previous assignments so if you need to look back for reference you can do so. Here are a few tips that will hopefully make studying a bit easier this upcoming school year. 

Tip #1-Make a List
Put things that are most important at the top so you aren't wasting your time. This tip is simple yet effective. 

Tip #2-Have a Calendar

Having a digital calendar is great but I find that having a visual calendar is more beneficial to me. Having a visual calendar is easier because I can hang it up in my room where it will be seen more often. This is helpful when I have upcoming due dates because I can plan out my studying time wisely on my calendar. Your visual calendar does not have to be fancy, I usually just print mine off of Google but, it can also be turned into a fun DIY project. Sometimes making the calendar cute and fun makes using it sound more appealing!

Photo by: http://www.bandittapegun.com/category-1/diy-dry-erase-calendar/

Tip #3- Actually Studying 
 My favorite way to study is making note-cards. I make a note-card for everything whether it is learning Spanish words or definitions for science class. After I have studied my note-cards I try to make a quiz to test myself on how well I actually know the information. A couple years ago I found Quizlet. It has the tools to help you make note-cards, learn the note-cards, play games with the information, and then it builds a test for you to take. I encourage you to download this app or check it out on the internet if you ever need any help studying.

I hope that at least one of these tips will help you in some way this upcoming school year to stay on task and try your best. I wish you the best school year yet and that you will make memories that will last forever. Make sure you check back every day this week for more back to school posts! 

XOXO

Katie :)

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Welcome to the New Blog

We are very excited to share this new blog with you!  A new feature that we are delighted about is that you can follow us by email! All you have to do is put your email address in on the right side and ta-da, you are all set!  You will receive an email whenever we post. Some other features on the left side of the blog are the categories and the blog archive that will make it easier for you to catch up on old posts. Our hope is that you will grow to love this new website as much as we have! This upcoming week (August 3rd-August 9th) will be our Back to School week long series. We will be sharing about how to prepare and get a kick-start on the school year. Back to School week will be a blast for us and we hope it is for you too. 

-The Girls

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Summer Adventures~Exploring Wichita

Summer-the season for friends, ice cream, and late nights. It's also the days of wandering aimlessly and exploring new places. This summer I decided to find the hidden and even the not-so-hidden treasures of Wichita. Here are stories of my recent adventures:

This summer I have been watching 2 girls who have joined me on some of my adventures. We walked through Botanica and played in the Children's Garden. This was a fun place to stretch our legs and take in God's beauty. The Children's Garden has a lot of fun interactive stations for young and restless kids to run free and be able to touch and explore everything in their sight! 

When I am not with the 2 girls I have been spending my time catching up with friends. I visited Reverie for the first time and ordered a latte which was really delicious and artfully decorated. Some other coffee shops that are unique to Wichita are Meads, Doughnut Whole, Verita, and Hurts Donuts. These have all been great places to relax, drink coffee and have a discussion with a friend.

One of my favorite places that I have been to this summer is the Keeper of the Plains. I love the feeling of crossing the bridge and looking out across the water to see the beautiful skyline of the city that I have grown up in. Sitting down by the rocks, listening to the two rivers join together and flow down to the next stop is one of my favorite pastimes while I am there. It always fills me with pride to visit this statue that was made specifically for Wichita. (Also don't forget to look for the troll) 

These are just a few of the places that Wichita has to offer. I feel like I have barely scraped the surface of all that Wichita is hiding and I can't wait to unveil the rest. The memories that I have made at each of these places I will cherish forever and always remember the pride that I have for living in this beautiful city. 

with love,
Caroline 

Summer Parties~What to Wear

Do you ever have those times when you feel like you have absolutely nothing to wear? That happens to me whenever I have an event that I need to go to. Summer parties can sometimes be difficult to dress for because of the hot weather. Here are a few outfits that you can wear if you have a summer party to go to.

I ordered this dress from Francescas online a couple months ago. It is a casual dress you can wear anywhere. If you needed to you could dress it up with a statement necklace and heels. Or you could just wear some Keds or Converse with it to make it more of  a casual day-to-day outfit. 

I am in love with this outfit. It’s super comfortable and it looks really nice and classy. I got the shirt at Versona and the shorts at Ann Taylor.

This outfit is super casual but also super cute. You can definitely wear this if you wanted to stay cool and comfortable. I got this shirt on sale at LOFT for $8 & the khaki shorts from LOFT on sale also.

Tips on How to Start a Journal

Why Should You Start a Journal?
We all have a multitude of thoughts and feelings that we need to express. Writing them down helps me to process my thoughts. What about when you have children and they want to know about your childhood or how you met your spouse? I would love to read about my parents' childhood, just to see how much I am like them. You might want to have all your memories stored up so you can remember them someday. When you look back at your journals you may laugh or even cry. Your life may seem pretty boring to you but in the future they will bring you laughter. 
What is a Journal?
The definition of a journal is "a personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis" The word journal comes from the French word "jour" and from the Latin word "diurnalis" which means daily. 
How Do I Start a Journal?
Find or purchase a notebook. You can decorate it anyway you want. One example might be drawing your favorite things all over the cover, like a collage. If your journal is already decorated that is great! Keep it on your desk or a table near your bed so you know where it is at all times. Pick a time of the day to write in it. I write in mine at nighttime so then I can recall the events of the day. I like to use the same pen every time I write in my journal. When starting a new entry, put the date and then the day of the week at the top of the page. I also put the time because it's just another detail that I like to remember. Then start writing about your day, you can write about who you saw that day, where you went, and what you did. The hardest part about keeping a journal is writing consistently. Make it a goal to write in your journal everyday. You could also be like Anne Frank and pretend you are writing to someone specific. She wrote "Dear Kitty," every entry on the top of the page, like she was writing a letter. Your journal is personal and limitless so make it reflect who you are. I hope you enjoy starting a journal as much as I did! 
                          Anna Banana 

Thank You Thank You Thank You

Wow! Yesterday Katie, Anna and I decided to take a leap of faith and make social media accounts for our blog. We didn’t think that we would get a lot of attention from it but you all have surprised us tremendously! We girls could not have felt more loved from the feedback that we have gotten. We could not begin to tell you how excited we became after one new person liked something of ours! This blog has become a huge part of us and we can say with a grateful heart that you all have helped us reach a new level. Katie, Anna and I are excited to see what’s in store for this blog and how you all will be a part of this journey! For now we can tell you that you can look forward to seeing a back to school week-long series, how to start a journal, and more devotions that we hope will encourage you in your faith! Thank you again for all the love you have shown us this weekend and we hope you enjoy reading! 

-The Girls