It's been quite an eventful break. I spent one week at home, then drove to Kansas to see my dad's family. It was so much fun to see Uncle Tim, Aunt Rena, and the cousins, not to mention the baby cousins. Emily makes my heart smile. :)
Not only did I get to see my awesome Whyte family, but I also got to see three of my favorite people in the entire world! Corey, Natasha and Tim drove out to Wichita to spend the afternoon with me. It was so wonderful to see them! :)
We didn't get a very decent picture of all four of us, but here's Natasha and me. :) I love this woman.
After Kansas, we drove to Texas and spent about a week with the Fackler family. I love the Fackler family. They are just ridiculous. I can't help but think everytime I'm with them that if a non-family member were to hang out with us, they'd probably think we were insane. I absolutely adore them.
Christmas was great, just hanging out with family. On December 26th, my uncle and I flew out of Dallas to San Diego for the San Diego Winter Conference. We had to be there two days before the conference started, because the worship band was having rehearsals. Everyone in the band got there on that day, and we started rehearsing our sets right away.
The conference was...incredible. Honestly, I came with pretty high expectations, because last year my life was completely changed by it. I couldn't help but think about who I was last year as I went through this past week.
Last year, I was fresh out of the worst year of my life, but God has brought me through, and I was eager to follow Him through the doors He had provided for me. I didn't know what those were, but at Winter Conference God pressed upon me to go on Keynote Summer Project. Ultimately, God used conference for that and to change the direction of my major.
Now here I was, standing in the same room, having gone on Project, changed the direction of my major, and given the opportunity to graduate a year early. I felt so much older than I felt last year, and I no idea what to do with that.
The conference was incredible. All the speakers talked about not wasting your life, which is common for college conferences. I knew I was planning on applying to Keynote staff, but for some reason I wasn't feeling as passionate as I had been. Spritual attack.
On New Year's Eve we got to see a 1 1/2 hour long one-man drama called The Bema. It was all about the second coming of Christ, and the judgement that will take place for Christians. Now this judgment isn't about your sin, but rather what you've done for the kingdom of God while you're on earth. It says in the book of Revelation that we will be rewarded for our faithfulness to what God has called us to do.
The play showed us the life of a fictional middle-aged business man named Daniel Matthewson. He was wealthy and extremely blessed, but he chose to strive for his own ambitions rather than the kingdom of God. When he approached the throne of Jesus, Jesus said to him, "Oh, Daniel. I blessed you so much. I gave you the gift of teaching, and you did not use it. I gave you so much money...and you did nothing with it."
Of course, Jesus loved him unconditionally, but the image was very powerful. How many of us want to get to Heaven and NOT hear Jesus say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant"? That would be awful. I know I definitely want to hear Him say that to me.
Lately, I've been second guessing my blessings, specifically the blessing of having the opportunity to graduate early. I keep asking, "Is this from You, God?" He blessed me with a lot in my life: a good education, the opportunity to graduate early, wonderful friends, parents that love and support me.
And the question from The Bema rang loudly in my ears, "What did you do with the blessings I gave you?"
It was at that moment that I came to my decision that I talked to you guys about in the last entry. I heard the answer loudly and clearly. God willing, I am graduating this summer and I am applying to Keynote staff as soon as possible. :)
I loved Winter Conference, and it did not disappoint. It was amazing. I am consistently being changed forever because of the way God uses those conferences and the people He has placed in my life. My prayer is that I will talk less and listen louder to His voice as I continue to grow into the woman He wants me to be.
The SDWC Worship band eating dinner together back stage on New Year's Eve.
Our epic SDWC 2010 band photo, minus Allie. Sad day, she had to leave.
Thanks for reading everyone! Continue to follow as we all make these next steps in our lives. :)
--Hannah
emily says, "that's me and HANNAH! she's my biggest cousin. she has LONG red hair." sometimes i wonder if she's going to marry a blind man. she gives descriptions of everything!
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