The Northwoods Winter Adventure Pictures

Here is the most of the group at the table for breakfast on Saturday morning.













Amanda and Reuben, I like this picture...














Betsy. It was a little far away though.















A good portion of the group before the skating really started.













Hockey just starting, practice mostly.














Deciding teams I believe...














Just getting started.






































Betsy watching the hockey.











A wild game in progress.









Clayton was a party-pooper and wasn't skating. So the girls felt sorry for him, and came to talk to him.









Jeannie and Rebekah eating, I tried not to take any terrible pictures.

I did take a couple pictures of Katie around this time too, but they didn't turn out very well.








Benjamin waiting to be given a job.









Benjamin and Emily. Ben was ready and waiting for this one, but I wasn't zoomed in enough.











I really like this one, Katie was being admonished by her mother to go and lie down for a while, and she asked Laura to come with as well. So in the end they were both sent to go lie down, the looks on their faces are priceless.

Jesus Draw Me Close

Jesus, draw me close
Closer, Lord, to You.
Let the world around me fade away.

Jesus, draw me close;
Closer, Lord, to You.
For I desire to worship and obey.

This is a song that I feel is a desire of my heart right now. I want to grow closer to Him. I desire to have a very personal relationship with Him. I want Him to be the complete center of my life, to take all of my plans, fears, hopes, tears, every single thing in my life and make it completely HIS. I do not want to retain anything for myself, I only want HIM. Nothing more, the rest, God You can have. "Take my life, and let it be, consecrated Lord, to Thee." I am tired of trying to do this all myself, and not getting anywhere because I am not competent. I give up, I give in. I have been fighting for too long. Whatever You want Lord, is what I want too. Whatever You will, I will do. Give me the strength and the courage to follow, to let go, to wait, to be patient, to be willing to go where You want me, to stay when You want me, to speak Your words, to do Your will, to act for You, to be You living through me, to let my whole life and being emanate You.

I kind of turned this into a prayer, but I am only saying what I feel needs to be said.

I feel so far away from God, and yet inherently drawn to Him at the same time.

I keep thinking about this decision that I have to make. I am trying to decide where to live and what to do. As far as where to live I can 1. stay here and find a new room-mate 2. stay here regardless of a room-mate 3. move to a different place in town 4. move home 5. go on the mission field. And as far as what to do, I am considering whether or not I should finish school, and if I should finish school should I do it here in Rhinelander, or back home in Rice Lake. I am also trying to decide how and when to go out on the mission field. I know that I should go, but then when and how is the hard part.
So anyway, I just keep thinking about this, and there are no easy answers that seem to pose themselves. I want to be praying about this, but each time I think about it, I find that I simply cannot pray. I am not sure exactly why, but I think that I am so afraid of what God's answer is going to be that I am unable to even talk to Him about it. So as a result, I feel far away from God, but at the same time, I feel so drawn to Him, in that I keep thinking about praying and yet each time I cannot.