*GASP* No FACEBOOK...and pumpkin whoopie pies...

I've been doing some thinking recently. What are my priorites? This happened after a friend of mine texted me to say she was fasting from facebook and other media for and unknown amount of time, so she could focus on God more. I thought that such a wonderful idea..but I didn't think I could do it. Seriously? So I thought about it...and thought about it...and thought about it...and prayed about it...and decided that yes, I will do this.

So from October 1-31, Victoria Utermoehlen will NOT be on facebook!

Honestly, I don't think it's gonna be that hard, although I know somedays it will be crazy, but God will help me through it! :)
I'll still be updating this blog, because I am anticipating lots of new revelations from God while I'm spending more time with him and of course I'll want to share them!
......................

On to a more cheerful topic.
I'm now addicted. To SLR cameras with macro lenses. End of story. I've been trying to decide which I want more: a macbook pro, or Nikon camera.....with macro lens. THE CAMERA it is! There's no denying it now! I'm in love!!!!!! ♥
I got to take the work camera out yesterday(and today...and over the weekend), to get pictures regarding water. Oh my was it ever fun! I'm going to post some of my favorites below:



I did edit this one.

                                                   

My evening began by helping Nina clean the house and prepare supper for guests. I helped make cole slaw. AND it actually tasted really good...considering I usually don't like cole slaw! :) There were 2 exchange students from a local college...one from Ireland!

OH MY did I EVER LOVE HER ACCENT!

One day I will go to Ireland!

When everyone left, I just chilled alone for about an hour. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I loved being alone. The silence was so relaxing. And spending time alone with God is becoming something I look forward too. YAY!

 When the Van Kampens got back, Sara and I dove into a new adventure: pumpkin whoopie pies! I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've baked something since before summer. And for the record-the whoopie pies were amazing!!

After such a fun filled day; believe me, I slept like a baby.

Now that I've briefed you on my glorious Wednesday, I must get out into this rain and get some more pictures and video. I love my job. haha.

God Bless

♥

   

Airplanes and Panera Bread

I'M TELLING YOU GOD WAS LAUGHING WHEN HE MADE ME!
My story today revolves around just a normal trip to the dentist to get a filling.

check that.

not so normal.

It's 12:12pm on a rainy Monday.

I walked into the dentist office, and for the record...I like going to the dentist. I sat down in a chair in the waiting room and proceeded to watch whatever was on TV at the moment, which happened to be a news story about Southwest Airlines buying AirTran, or something of that nature. I sat there for about 5 minutes waiting patiently for mom to get there. She didn't get there before I got called back. :(
 I walked, into room number two. I sat down in the chair and chatted with the Dental Assistant. We talked about the rain and allergies and life. THEN the dentist came back. I've had Dr. Stout since I was little and he's still my favorite dentist. He asked me about my job and how things were going and we talked about Panera Bread while they started numbing my mouth. I actually felt the needle going into my gums and it kinda made me woozy, but I just laughed in my head and thanked God I don't have needle phobia like my best friend. :) 

The shot was done and I felt my mouth getting tingly and however else you describe that feeling after they numb you. Dr. Stout and the assistant left and told me to chill for a couple minutes while the drugs kicked in. I'm sitting there, chilling, and staring blankly at the wall. I think they should at least put designs on the walls so people like me don't get bored. But this adventure is just beginning.....

All of a sudden I started to feel really funny, like I was getting waves of hot flashes and started to feel really sick. My first thought was "oh gosh, i'm gonna pass out." But being the determined person I am I decided I WASN'T gonna pass out at the dentist!!!!!!!! So I stared at that wall with all the focus I could muster in my body and stared quoting the first scripture that came into my head: "God you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." -Psalm 63:1

I quoted it and quoted it, then BAM! the walls went spotty and started spinning. I knew I had to tell someone that I was going under, but no one was around. I wasn't gonna panic, after all for some reason I like to pass out in places like the eye doctor, or randomly in the car...

Thank God the assistant was coming back right then and as I turned around in my chair, I woozily said "I'm gonna pass out now." And out I went. Just like that. 

I was spinning around flying an airplane...and spinning...and spinning...and going above the clouds...and all around...and spinning....and then I grabbed some Panera Bread and was eating...and spinning...and spinning some more.

Then for some odd reason, I woke up, in the dentist chair...NOT my bed!!! This was not supposed to happen. I always wake up from dreams in my bed. H-whaat?? "Where am I?? What's going on?? Why are these people staring at me??? 

Then things started to come back.

I'm at the dentist.

Getting a filling.

I passed out from the anethestic.

I'm hungry.

"Would you like some water?" the dental assistant asked. Oh boy would I ever! haha.

The next thing they asked was when was the last time I ate and what I ate. 

10:30 and toast were the answers. That was why I passed out they said. I didn't eat enough and the drugs reacted and sent me poof. :)

They didn't waste any time. Out came the drill and that spit vacuum and the filling started. Dr. Stout told me to raise my hand if it hurt too much or I thought I was gonna pass out again. Nope, I was good to go. I remember nothing except the sound of the drill then they were done. YAY! I got up and walked slightly dizzied to the desk where I met my mom. "Mom I passed out!" were the first words out of my mouth, then I proceeded to tell her the story. She told me to go sit in the van for a minute with dad while she paid my bill. Dad told me stories about when he passed out, so apparently this is a genetic thing. 

The world was foggy, but it wasn't like my eyes were seeing things foggy. It was definitely my brain. I wanted a milk shake from McDonalds so bad, but mom wanted to make sure I could walk straight/see straight/drive straight before she let me go anywhere. I assured her I was fine, except that my face was numb and my eyes felt like they were popping out of my head, and I looked like I was high or something. Off to McDonalds I went. As mentioned earlier, it was raining and there was a 'wet floor' sign in the entrance of McDonalds. I opened the door and pheeewwwwmmp, down I went, flat on my butt. :) My parents, being the nice parents they are, wanted to make sure I was Ok and followed me to McDonalds. They happened to be pulling in right as I made my 'typical Victoria entrance" and Mom pulled up and told dad to get out and make sure I was Ok, because she was sure I had passed out again. I love my mom.

A strawberry milkshake was in order and being that we are in Mercersburg, we knew pretty much everyone in McDonalds. The topic of conversation naturally revolved around my dentist escapade. I learned that in 1953 it cost $2 to get a tooth pulled and $3 to get a filling. And NOBODY got pain killer back then. :) Yep...I'm a baby.

I wanted to go to the DG and get some Gatorade, being I couldn't eat for two hours and the smell of french fries was about driving me up the wall. I assured my parents that I was ok, things were still a little foggy, but I could function ok.

Doller General. Slowest checkout line in America, and I was feeling really woozy. My parents were on their way to Chambersburg and I had no one to call to drive me, so God was gonna get me home. I just knew it!

Whoa baby. That drive home. Wow. I'm so thankful there were hardly cars on the road and that coming down the cove I got behind a truck going 23mph. Being dazed makes me wayyy more ADD that I usually am. I had to force myself to focus on the road and not the trees or ever just to stare into space.

FINALLY! 

I was home! 

Thank you Jesus!!!!!! :D

I walked in the door, and called over to the Eshlemans and asked if I could crash in their basement and watch TV all afternoon, or at least the two hours I had to wait till I could eat. So I chilled with Shane and Angela and watched Toy Story and CARS. What a fun afternoon! I don't remember how much I nodded off during the  movies, but i do remember waking up and realizing that my mind was no longer foggy! SCORE! :) The aftermath of whatever drug they had in me...whoa. Lets just say we ended up on the floor laughing a few times. haha. Although that's not too much out of the ordinary for Steph and me. ;)

...and thus ends the exciting events of my day off.  I learned I should eat a big breakfast before getting a filling, and that I'll never make it in life as a drug addict. I have too much fun sober. hahaha. Also, God really does watch out for us wherever, and whatever we're doing. And I'm thankful, because I wouldn't have made it home otherwise.

And besides, all these random odd events just make for more stories for me to tell in group settings! Beware!!

God Bless you all!

I dream of Antarctica!

No, I am not crazy...ok that's debatable..but anyway, I found out last night that one of my friend's grandparents went to Antarctica!!!! Seriously! I was in an awed shock for the rest of the night! I didn't even know you could like go on a tour to Antarctica. haha.  I've always joked about going there, because hardly anyone goes to Antarctica!
  I was thinking about that while going to sleep, and I started thinking about all the wild and crazy dreams I have/had for my life like I was gonna be a famous worship leader, and speaker, and actress and photographer, and football player and acne surgeon etc... I'm a huge dreamer! I was letting my imagination run wild for a few minutes...then all of a sudden God decided to hit me with a reminder. 

 I can follow MY dreams and do everything I want to do with my life, or I can follow His heart and HIS dreams for my life. Even if it means I don't get what I WANT.  A life of constant surrender and faith. What fun huh?  Psalm 139:17,18 comes to mind: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Where I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."

God's thoughts for each one of us outnumbers the grains of sand! Don't you think His dreams are much bigger than ours? Well that's all the thinking I have for today folks....God Bless!

*This thought brought to you today from the mind of Victoria Utermoehlen*

I AM

I am hope

I am peace

I am your Savior

I am

I am strength

I am life

I am rest

I am

I am Alpha

I am Omega

I am the way

I am

I am a consuming fire

I am a mighty rushing wind

I am the rain

I am

I am the bread

I am the wine

I am your joy

I am your fortress

I am

I am the Most High

I am the Good Shepherd

I am Messiah

I am

I am Almighty

I am your healer

I am the Famous One

I am

I am Beautiful

I am the Righteous One

I am your Creator

I am

I am the King

I am a shelter

I am faithful

I am

I am joy

I am your future

I am your jubilee

I am

I am Love

I am Holy

I am Exalted

I am

I am the Lion

I am the Lamb

I am your Freedom

I am

I am your lover

I am your Father

I am your comforter

I am

But the question is...

Am I ENOUGH?

...If the earth was the size of a golf ball...

Pretty much anytime I hear someone talking about the vastness of the universe or the complexities of the human body, my mind is drawn back to the Louie Gigleo DVD series "How Great is Our God" (which I highly recommend watching!). 
The sermon yesterday...if you call it a sermon...I felt like I was in science class...was one such experience. A guy from the church did a 2 week series on Creation, while the regular pastor took a break. Yesterdays title: "A Walk Through Creation". 
As you probably figured out by now, his text was...of all things Genesis 1:1-2:3. With each day of creation he gave some awesome scientific facts that left me in a shocked awe of the creativity and intelligence of our God! 


Day one- God said let there be light. Light is one of the most essential things on this earth. 
Day two- atmosphere.
  -Water is the only natural substance that is found in all three phases of the earths surface - liquid, gas, solid.
  - The satellites and space station are still in the outermost layer our atmosphere...
Day three- dry land/earth/soil.
  -In 1tsp of soil there are::40miles of fungal hypae, 100 to 100,000 protozoa, 5million to 500million bacteria in Ag soil, 20million to 2billion bacteria in forest soil. 
 -372,775 species of plants, CURRENTLY.
 -The earth is 25,000 miles around the equator.
 Day four- Sun, Moon and Stars
-the earth is average 240,00 miles from the moon
-92,935,700miles from the sun.
 -The sun is one million times the size of the earth.
 ...If the earth was the size of a golf ball... 

-the sun would be 15feet in diameter. 
 Now lets talk stars. You know those little blinking things we see in the sky. They're not so little.
Star #1:Betelgeuse. Twice the size of the earth's ORBIT around the sun. If the earth was the size of a golf ball-Betelegeuse would be the height of 6 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other! 262 TRILLION Earth's would fit inside this star.
Star #2:Mu Cephei. 3,000 light years away(btw a light year is 5.88trillion miles). If the earth was the size of a golf ball, Mu Cephei would be the width of two golden gate bridges from end to end. 2.7 quadrillion earths fit inside this star. To quickly put quadrillion into perspective: A quadrillion SECONDS ago is 30,800,000 years ago.
Star #3: Canus Majorus: If the earth was the size of a golf ball, Canus Majorus would be the height of Mt. Everest. 7 quadrillion earths fit inside this star. That's enough to cover the entire state of Texas 22inches deep in golf balls! 


Day 5-fish and birds. 31,300 species of fish. CURRENTLY. 9,998 species of birds. CURRENTLY.
Day 6-animals and humans. 
The Human Body: 100 Trillion cells, 206 bones, 600 muscles, 20 internal organs, LIFE-breathed into us by God himself.

He ended his lesson with the statement: "If God created all this in only 6 days, what can He do in our lives if we surrender to him?"


How many days to we go through without even stopping to thank God for creating all this beauty? That really caught me as I walked up the hill to my house from my car at 1:30am. I always look up at the stars when I walk up, but last night they seemed 10x more beautiful. Fall skies are my favorite. As I pictured it in my head while I was going to sleep, God struck me with an awe-inspiring thought. I saw Him running around painting the sky with sunsets and stars and flowers and the smells of nature with a huge smile on His face, then turning He comes over and says "Look! Look! Look at what I painted you!! Look at the stars, and the sunset and smell the flowers. I created these for you, just because I love you and I love to see the smile on your face when you look at my creations."  He did all this, just because he could. Just because he loves us. Oh how he loves us. So take a moment to thank him for the beauty of His creation. :)

19 years and counting

Happy 19^th Birthday to me! Haha. Once I hit 16, birthdays really weren’t all that amazing anymore, except for the money that comes in the mail and who could forget the ice cream! :) It’s really just another day, the one that makes me a year older. Of course I do love using it as an excuse to not do chores and eat cookies for breakfast. And the cookies were amazing….but mom still made me do chores.  :(

    I decided this year that my birthday would be a ‘day of reflection’. And not where I stand in front of the mirror and wonder whatever happened to my cute little kid face and big brown eyes. Haha, but a day where I reflect on what has changed in the past 365 days and what the biggest thing that sticks out of the year I was 18.

Those 365 days being 18 had tons of “firsts’ for me. I think I’ll just make a list of some of them(because I’m sure I wont get them all)….

 First time:

Eating Tomato soup

Working 3 jobs

Going off jumps on a snowboard 

Getting prophesied over

Taking a road trip by myself

Going to Geneva College

Driving the turnpike

Playing the game Settlers

Touring Pittsburgh

Eating cheesecake from the cheesecake factory

Sharing parts of my testimony in front of more than 5 people

Being a counselor for Winter Retreat

Ripping my pants while doing a cartwheel

Off-roading

Midnight bowling

I played my guitar on a worship team

I danced in a church.

I had Mint Moose Tracks ice cream

I went to Penn State and the Creamery!

Creation Fest 2010!!!!

Time at 6Flags

Roller coaster ride

Time eating at Chick-Fil-A

Dumpster diving

Swing dancing

riding/driving a dirtbike

…..and there are more….

I also liked not having to ASK mom if I could spend the night or if friends could spend the night, I just sorta told her and went. And there's Steph and me who would hang out and come sneaking into the house at odd hours of the night and spend the night, just because we could. Gotta love my best friend. ♥

I'm glad I decided not to go to college right out of High School. It gave me the opportunity to grow alot in my relationship with Christ and go places and do things I wouldn't have been able to if I had college. It almost seems weird that one year ago I didn't know half the things I know now. I didn't even know my friend Winnie a year ago and she was/is such a blessing to my life!! I've become more bold about my faith, and less afraid to talk about it. I've pushed myself out of my comfort zone and continue to do so. I've realized I am making a bigger difference than I will ever know. I've lost my space bubble and love to give people hugs. I don't care so much what people think about me and am becoming more content with the weird person God made me. haha. :)

So much can change in 365 days! So what's next? How will I change in the next 365 days? What are God's plans for me?!?!?!

I leave you with this verse: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and steams in the wasteland." -Isaiah 43:18,19

Goodbye summer 2010, Hello new adventures.

September 1. 2010.

Summer is over. Really? Already!? I think summer gets faster every single year. I'm telling ya!

2010 was a packed summer for me. I had 5 week of camp, dance 1 week, Creation Fest another and then there was weekend trips and spending time with friends and riding dirtbikes and swimming....phew...what a summer!

Yes, it was a fun summer, but fun isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I look back. Difficult is the first thing I see. This summer was different. I started the summer stressed with finishing up my video project and getting ready for camp, hoping and praying I was prepared for being a camp counseler for the entire summer, as well as keeping rested enough for the dance production. By the first week of camp, I was wiped out...and it was only the beginning! Camp was amazing this year! I got to see God use me and I'm still seeing the results of being open and available for Him to use. Two things stick out as I'm recalling summer camp 2010:

First, when we are weak and tired and completely worn out, if we just let God take over us and use us in our weakness-others will see His strength in us. Basically when we are weak, He is STRONG. Secondly the staff at camp this year really showed me how we as the body of Christ we need to constantly be building eachother up and encouraging eachother...even when it doesn't fit with our agenda for the day or we're just as tired as the person snoring next to us in staff devotions. I don't think I would have made it without them by my side. So just a quick piece of advice...you never know how much a smile or a hug or a short note of encouragement means to someone! 

This year was/is the first time I've made a point to do follow up with my campers. I've set a goal to write each one at least one letter through the year. I've also had the opportunity to see many of my campers and meet their families. Even the ones that live in Virginia! I never realized how much of an impact we can be, or how much campers look up to me. I was midnight bowling last Friday and there were 4 campers there with their youth group. They crowded around me and wouldn't stop telling me about their lives and school issues. They even wanted my advice on...get this...relationships! HAHA! Me..the girl who's never been in a relationship giving advice. God does have a sense of humor.  :)

 I guess what I'm seeing looking back is that God has given me gifts and He loves to use them. I don't have to be some well-schooled person or even someone famous. I just need to be available for God to use in everyday situations. We tend to get into the mindset that God will only use us if we're 'good enough'...as in educated, popular, etc...but in reality God uses anyone willing to be used. How many of Jesus' disciples were fishermen???? Yeah, get my point.  God doesn't care about your social status, where you grew up, who your parents are, God wants you! He wants to use you to do big things, by being just who he made you. You don't have to try to do great things for God, be content with the little things, because those little things could possibly change someone's life. 

I'm gonna sum this up by listing what I've learned:

1. BE AVAILABLE!

2. I AM good enough for God to use.

3. In my weakness God shows His strength.

4. Relationships do take alot of work(if I can get my thoughts straight on this one perhaps it'll be a post)

5. Never underestimate the impact you can make.

So God...what's next? What new adventures do you have for me this year?