being in love...

this weekend i had the opportunity to go on a winter retreat with my church's youth group at Amigo Centre. i felt so intrigued about the things i learned and how i was inspired that i feel the need to share. Jessica, our speaker for the weekend, had us look through a stack of photos of some very different images. the first time she had us pick out a photo that made us think of faith and what we believe faith looks like. i chose a photo of what looks like a person walking up an escalator but it only shows their feet. for me faith is a journey of walking with God. its like we are climbing up a mountain/escalator and we have those high experiences along the way when we feel "high" on God in a way then like the escalator may pull us up or down. we also have low times where it feels like life/escalator is pulling as down. its like a roller coaster. the second photo we had to choose was a card that showed, in our opinion, what a perfect faith looks like. i chose a picture of a bride on her wedding day. for me if i felt like this bride did about her new spouse as i did about God i would have the perfect faith. so in love with God and wanting a full relationship with Him. i long for the feeling of being fully in love with God and all that He is and does. to me that is what a perfect faith would look like. realizing there is a journey beginning just as the wedding day symbolizes. words that come to mind when i think of this kind of faith are the trust, the relationship, the hope, the commitment, the promise, and what binds it all together...l o v e. i long for the kind of faith that has me being so in love with Him that obedience to Him comes naturally. the third and fourth cards we had to choose had to symbolize worship for you. i chose a card that showed a girl sitting in a dark church sitting hunched over in a pew. she could've been praying or she could've been struggling for the right words. whatever the case i think it is important to realize worship is a time where we can simply sit at the feet of Jesus. soaking in His presence. no we dont need to have it all together. but simply taking the time to listen to Him and spend time with Him. that is what worship is all about for me. the other card i chose was more of what i sometimes see worship as in a not so helpful way. it was a picture of a silverware container with the forks, knives, and spoons all in the specific compartments. the different types of silverware symbolized for me that there are different ways of worship. just like the forks, knives, and spoons all help while eating so do the many different ways of worship. there isn't a right or wrong way. but to remember who and why you are worshiping.

Romans 8:15-17 (The Message)..

"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!"

take care. 

a tradition..

in past years i have taken time to look back on that year and remember the highlights and have posted about it. i have made it a tradition that i wish to continue. so here are my top highlights from the past year 2012.

J A N U A R Y 

if im honest i cannot seem to remember anything that happened during this month. haha. 

 F E B U R A R Y 

snow camp at amigo with MYF. 2 hour long snow ball fight. kent miller's words of inspiration. tubing in the dark. snow in the toliet thanks to the guys. huge game of spoons. laying in the snow looking up at the stars with katie. long walks with meg, mara, and holly. 

M A R C H 

fiddler on the roof. first musical ever. tzeitel. new friendships made. playing with a "real" baby. memorizing lines. lots of makeup. kiara surprising me. roses from dad. lots of fun. 

A P R I L

winter jam. front row seats. cutting in line. kari jobe. mcdonalds with liz and mom. taco bell. 

M A Y 

worship night at the Back Bay. the band Polen. amazing speaker. hands held high. renewed. refreshed. on fire for HIM. 

J U N E 

SWAP in Kentucky. mountains. MYF. DQ walks. singing on the stage with gabe. heat. learning life lessons. giving but not always receiving what you intend. pickin and grinnin. beef stand. threshers convention. serving more than 200 burgers in a day. me and mara. grease. sweat. fun. HOBY. unique experience. leadership conference. pettisville's sophomore representative. new friends. cheers. seminars. carnival at the nursing home. emily. alex. razzmatazz. make life sparkle. feeling of being empowered. Minnesota. cousins. sleeping on the trampoline. straightening chris's hair. exploring. walks with anika. hiking. waterfalls. biking. floating down a river in tubes. sun burns. naked people in Madison. huge farmers market. 

J U L Y 

Little Eden. cabin in the woods. phil. brandon. sarah. boats. snapping turtles. perfect weather. campfire on the beach. sunsets. relaxation at its finest. cherry spitting contest. kayaking with an. volleyball camp. university of Michigan. patrick. autographs. long hours. gatorade. subway. bdubs. 'rach's birthday'. laughter. concert. kari jobe. mom. kate. anya. inspiration. big church. great music. panera bread. sunset. love. dying hair . kaylyn. yari. fun. purple. teal. 

A U G U S T 

volleyball. varisty team. conditioning. dedication. learning. fall retreat. setting up tents. MYF. jim. jill. sleeping under the stars. fishing. long hours of playing volleyball. caleb&zach vs. josh&me.

S E P T E M B E R 

first bite. taco bell. supreme crunch wrap. aaron. gabe. caught on tape. hot sauce. driving skills. walmart runs. baptism. testimony. water. dad. towel with my name. sparkling shirt. hugs. tears. love. joy. beginning of a journey. 

O C T O B E R 

square dancing. liecthy's barn. candy corn. cider. new moves. MYF. virginia. surprising ki and others at the musical. bowl of good. sleepover with ev, ki, and kat. two worlds collide. 

N O V E M B E R 

chrysalis flight. butterfly. beautiful beloved brunettes. prayer. candles. candy. speakers. poster parties. friends. jordan. feeling HIS presence. 

D E C E M B E R. 

leading worship. planning. preparation. peace. affirmation. lori. learning. birthday. lights at the zoo. ear piercings. 17. happy.

what a year it has. i look forward to the coming year. i cannot wait to see what God has in store. 

take care.

a break..

laughter.. smiles..sleep ..no school.. family.. friends.. snow.. peppermint stick mocha's.. gifts.. thoughts.. shopping..mmm this break from school has been wonderful. being able to just relax and have nothing i feel the need to worry about has been so amazing. i've been able to spend time with  both sets of grandparents. i've been able to both give and receive. when asked what my favorite gift has been i've been responding with a not so normal one. on Christmas day my family and i were apart of a group that served Christmas dinner to a group of about 200 people in the Archbold community. some were there simply for the fellowship and some were there simply for the food. my heart reaches out to those who are less fortunate than i. yes, i am so happy for all the many different gifts i received from my family. but being able to give others what i was able to give was  truly joy giving for me. Jesus calls us to reach out to others who are less fortunate. He calls us to humble ourselves before Him, and in doing that we realize we are not on this earth for the well-being of ourselves. we are called to be the hands and feet of Him. i am so grateful for the many opportunities i have had in my life so far to reach out. i believe it has made a huge impact in how i view my life and the struggles i encounter by putting them into perspective. well those are my thoughts for right now..i hope to post again soon.take care. 

time..

I feel a little guilty. My last post was November 19th and its already December 10th. I was telling a friend the other day how crazy it is for me to think that I am almost half way through my Junior year. And in 5 days I will be 17 years old. Wow. And on December 22nd it will mark 2 whole years that my family has been here in Northwest Ohio. Wow, where does the time go? A quote by Alan Lakein, "Time = Life, Therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life." In so many ways I waste my life away by spending too much time on things in my life that do not deserve my utmost attention. I worry, preoccupy, tire, and waste my energy on the future and the past when really I need to focus my energy one day at a time. The next 2 weeks are ones that will require me to focus my energy on mostly school work. With Christmas break approaching and exams next week there is a lot to get done. I have studying to do, finishing projects, and preparing for leading worship this Sunday. I tend to get pretty stressed about these kind of things. But this time around I'm trying to take a different approach. This upcoming Sunday's theme is Peace. Peace is freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility. I find my peace in God, and only Him. These upcoming weeks will test my brain, and my strength but I will choose to find peace a midst the struggle. May you find peace as you face the challenges in your week to come. As we look forward to Christmas let us find joy a midst the hustle and bustle and be reminded of the true reason for the season. 

take care. 

a dream of mine..

in English class we have been learning about Transcendentalism. in case you might be wondering the top five signs that you might be a transcendentalist are: 

you believe that nature demands the most serious reverence. 

you believe that intuition is more important than logic. 

you believe that ALL knowledge comes from inside-- one does not need the past, the family, or society to act as guides to behavior. 

you believe strongly in a philosophy of individualism and self-reliance. 

you insist that we should follow our instincts wherever they may lead no matter what rules or convention might demand. 

in the process of learning about this we read some pieces from the famous transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. the one we read today in class titled Walden written by Thoreau made me think more than the others. in the book Thoreau describes his experience of living as simple as simple can get. Thoreau spent a time during his life living in a little one room cabin in the woods. he built it on his friend Emerson's land and lived right near a pond. Thoreau lived off the land and wrote much about his experience there. as i was reading this i begin to dream. i began to dream of a time where i could do just as Thoreau did. finding a little cabin in the woods somewhere and living in solitude for a couple months. spending time listening to the birds, writing, watching the sunsets and sunrises, and living as much as i could off the land. taking time to separate myself from the society that adds so much stress to our lives. i wonder how would that experience change me? i am so curious to know. because i believe the more we are in tune with nature the more we will be in awe of God. i envision that time to be a time where God would be my only source of survival. now even though i wouldn't call myself a transcendentalist i do believe taking care and being aware of God's creation is very important. now i ask you what are some of your dreams? do you even take time to dream? 

ill leave you with a quote from Albert Einstein and some pictures....

"look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

Here is a picture of the pond Thoreau lived by. 

This is the one room cabin Thoreau lived in. 

one of Thoreau's quotes....

take care.

inspiration...i have been inspired by these quotes below...i hope you can be too..

i love to ponder this quote. how would our lives be differently if we chose to take a moment  and think of something else besides ourselves and all earthly things? 

i think i fully grasped this quote after my experience at Chrysalis. i cried a lot during that weekend. not always because i was sad but because of how amazed i was at God. 

i struggle with this A LOT. i think we all do. loneliness makes us do things we wouldnt normally do. ive learned and i am still learning to gain my confidence from HIM instead of him. its a hard thing to do. and i havent fully mastered this one yet.  

this quote doesnt really need explaining. its one of my favorites though. 

i try to do this with every person God brings into my life. because we are all hurting and we all need to know someone cares. 

i love my friends. 

amen. 

 i need to do this more often. 

i love music so very much. it always seems to calm me and put things into perspective. 

this quote puts exactly how i feel in words. its one of those things that inspires me in life. 

i surrender to you Lord. own me . i am willing to be changed.


i hope you have been inspired by these quotes. i know i have. take care. 

beautiful BELOVED b r u n e t t e...

my name is emily kauffman northwest chrysalis flight #28 table of B cubed which stands for beautiful BELOVED brunettes (this is how we had to introduce ourselves during the flight) and wow..wow..wow..wow..i could go on forever..for me right now "wow" is the only word that can kind of begin to describe how my weekend was. like i said in the previous post i went on a chrysalis flight this past weekend. i dont think i will be able to describe my experience in just one post so this post will just be a summary of what it was like for me. there isnt one word to even begin to describe how it went! i have never felt that loved or inspired in awhile. the most important thing that i came away with was the confirmation that Ohio is truly where God wants our family to be. there was a group of 7 girls from pettisville that went on the flight. we grew so close thoughout the retreat and think of eachother as sisters now :) we shed so many tears together, laughs together, smiles together, and prayers together.  it was so awesome! all the feelings of loneliness and fear were wiped away for me. i am loved. i am accepted. i am so grateful i had the opportunity to experience something like this. during the weekend i also got to know my table group. i was so inspired and challenged by their own journeys. it was truly amazing to be placed in such a mature group of believers. i was so grateful. there were 15 talks during the 3 days. that may seem like a lot but they were all so so good. i went into the weekend thinking i had it pretty much all together. but i quickly learned that i dont. God is so good! thank you to all of you who wrote letters to me. i shed many tears while reading your sincere words to me. you all mean the world to me. and i thank God for the role you each have played and continue to play in my journey. there will be more to come, dont worry. take care.