“We need winds and tempest to exercise our faith,

to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence,

and to root us more firmly in Christ.”

- Morning & Evening

Our Big Sandy trip, last weekend, was incredibly fun, but also challenging. Each activity we did showed us just how much we need each other, and how working as a team gets things done that are otherwise impossible. We also learned more about each of our strengths and weaknesses, and used that knowledge to accomplish the goals set before us.

Mrs. Farr shared with us Thursday night, and something that stood out to me was the idea that we need to “Lift Others Higher.” Philippians 2:3 says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Whether we are mentoring someone else or just wanting to encourage a friend, our goal should be to make them more successful than even ourselves.

In life each of us go through trials and times when we can't do things in our own strength; no matter where we are, God will always make a way for us to move forward. Philippians 4:13 says, “ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” If God is calling us to do something, He is the one who will do it through us.

“Events and things come with the moment;

but God comes with them too.”

– T.C. Upham

Best weekend ever!

Saturday was the last day of the Big Sandy Camping trip. I feel like an elephant just stepped on me multiple times. And what does that feel like you may be wondering? Pain, and the interesting question of, did that just happen to me?

The Big Sandy trip was most defiantly the most fun I have had since I have been here at Advanced EXCEL. I don't know about you, but I am a big fan of camping and anything that has to do with outdoors, fire, and hiking. They defiantly had us stretching some muscles that I didn't even know I had. Let me tell you, that was an unpleasant feeling.

The first day we got to the ALERT campus we got settled into camp and ate lunch. After that we all headed over to the volleyball field. We played a bunch of games and had an awesome time. That night we went to Mrs. Farr's house, who is the wife of Mr. Farr who runs the Alert cadet program. She challenged us with a really interesting topic: mentoring. This made me think for quite a while. I have just finished EXCEL, where they mentored me. I am going through AE where they are again mentoring me. But Mrs. Farr is talking about me mentoring someone? That was a totally different thing! I had never really thought about it really. I mean, I knew that someday I would be helping other girls, and teaching different classes, but it just never occurred to me that I could start mentoring other girls in the way of the Lord. This was a really simple, but awesome discovery.

Mrs. Farr went through some different points on successfully mentoring girls. We talked about how in the Bible it says, Admonish the unruly, encourage the faint hearted, and help the weak, so in simple terms, when mentoring, I need to correct the wild ones, encourage and push the one who think they are too small or not good enough, and help in whatever way you can the ones that are too weak to help themselves. She also told us when mentoring someone there are five steps. First you show them what to do. Then you teach them how to do it, then you do it with them, then they do it. Then when they can successfully do it on their own, the cycle starts over again, and the person you helped goes on to help someone else. I was really encouraged by all that she had to say and it made me want to get out there and start trying it out!

That night it was really cold, but we managed to all live to see the next morning, and thaw out by the nice warm campfire the ALERT staff made us. They also made us all our meals, which were all very tasty. They were all pretty much amazing.

Some of my favorite activities we did throughout the weekend were the river crossing, and the rope course. They river crossing was where you are in a harness, and they hook you to a rope that goes across the river, and you have to get all the way across by kicking your legs and pulling with your hands. It was cool to look down and see the water a foot under you, but know you’re not going to fall, or probably not going to fall. Anything could happen though, it’s a fifty fifty chance!

The rope course was really challenging for me since I am pretty short, because on a lot of them you have to reach across to grab a rope or your partner, but in my case, me and my partner Chrissy just had to trust each other and fall, knowing that when we leaned on each other the weight of each other would hold us both in place. This was an awesome way to learn teamwork, and trusting your partner! I think we did well for two short girls!

Another one of my favorite things we did was the rope swing. There was a little platform on both sides, and a rope in the middle. You grabbed the rope and swung to the other side. You know, the whole Tarzan and Jane thing? Our team had seven people, six of us girls and an ALERT staff guy. Everyone went by themselves across except one of our leaders, the staff guy, and me. We all went across at the same time. My strategy was to grab the rope as high as you can, curl up in fetal position and hang on for dear life! I am proud to say that we got across successfully every time. It took our whole team sixteen seconds to get across. Yes, we won.

I think all in all everyone had a blast the last three days. We got to do some really intense and fun activities, learned about team work and leadership, and I am pretty sure we all know quite a bit more about each other. Even though I still feel like an elephant trampled on me multiple times, I would gladly do it next weekend again if it meant being able to have a fantastic with all my friends and eat more smores.

-Rebekah

Bruised Legs, Sore Muscles, Smiling Faces, Unified Team

This past weekend has been my highlight of Advanced Excel. Why? Because we got to be outside the whole time. How? We went camping. We slept in tents, sat around the camp fire, and stretched and pulled more muscles than we thought we had. We were pushed to our limit d beyond. All the while learning about leadership, teamwork and TRUST.

Thursday afternoon we arrived anticipating all that we would be doing this weekend. We played several competitive games of volleyball, and ultimate Frisbee, with trust building games between those sports. Would you trust someone to lead you through “a” frames and around cones while blindfolded? I didn't have a choice. Teamed up with the shortest girl on our team I was praying I wouldn't hit my head on the “a” frame. She did a marvelous job of looking out for me and my head.

Dinner was a lovely four course meal prepared for us by Mrs. Far. It was quite unexpected to be sitting down to a table of china and crystal and we all felt somewhat out of our comfort zone because we were dressed for camping and eating a dinner that you'd eat at a 5 star hotel. After dinner Mrs. Far talked to us about mentoring others and being a wise leader. The thing that stuck with me the most was a mentor will lift others higher than themselves. She gave a picture of children standing on there parents shoulders, being lifted to higher callings, bigger dreams and greater ambitions. ( Thanks mom and dad for lifting me higher, for having confidence in me.) She gave us all food for thought.

Back at the campsite we all got ready to spend our first night sleeping side by side in the biggest camping tent I've ever seen. All eight AE students slept in this tent and our fabulous leadership team (Grace, Chrissy, and Hannah) slept in a separate tent. We layered up and crawled into the sleeping-bags, longing for sleep, needing the rest and eager to see what the next day held for us. Even with the crowded tent the cold snuck in. We woke up Friday morning freezing somewhat sore, and tired, but looking forward to the days events.

We did the climbing wall first. There is one big wall 70 ft high with three separate challenging walls on it. We were all impressed and a little more cautious of Chrissy who was the only one of us to do all three walls. I tired to do all three and managed to make it a little more than half way each time. I was disappointed about this. In looking at the wall it didn't look that hard. I had given myself a false confidence that this wouldn't be to hard. God wanted to use this wall to teach me something about myself. Often God will take our fleshly confidence and grind it to dust until we are willing to put all our confidence in Him and in His strength. God showed me that I can't be good at everything. I thought I was strong enough, tough enough and able enough to conquer that wall. God chose that moment to show me the real truth about myself, and it was rather disappointing.

After lunch we started our Excel Challenge...this challenge pulled us, pushed us, bruised us and came near to defeating us. We pulled, pushed, received the bruises and conquered the challenge. In 4 and half hours we learned how to work as a team, be leaders and willing followers. We learned to trust those that guided us while being lead backwards or blindfolded. We encouraged those who got weary and were encouraged when we got weary. We saw God bond us together in only the way that sweat, dirt and pain can bond people together. I find it amazing that God can use so many different ways to teach us unity. In the 7 challenges we had that afternoon unity was a part of every one of them. Dinner was craved for and sleep was sweet that night. None of us had any trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or staying warm.

Saturday morning dawned and with it 7 surprised girls, the leaders had chosen this time to have a little fun and they collapsed their tent on them...why only 7? Because one of us got up and out of the tent before it happened. That person had a wonderful time taking pictures of the rest of the team in the flattened tent. The girls managed to climb out and set it back up without to much difficulty. It will be a good memory to think back on.

This was the confidence course day, which included more sweat, more pain, and more trust. We also learned the importance of communicating with one another and not being afraid to speak up with solutions to problems.

What could be so hard staying balanced on a log? What if all 11 of you get on and then have to get into alphabetical order without touching the ground? What if then 3 of you fell off at the same time??? U-oh is right. 2 other girls and myself fell off the log in trying to get to our proper places. 1 of us got to hole a basketball to hold and I got blindfolded. All the sudden you have no choice but to rely on the others around you to help you keep your balance and get you to your proper spot. Trusting in others goes up a couple levels when you can't see anything.

What do you do when you have to crawl through 5 rubber tires without touching the ground? You just start doing it until all 11 of you are across. You talk to one another and learn to swing tires at the right time. You work as a team not an individual. I must say, I'll never look at tire swings the same every again.

It was a stretching morning, learning to be patience, using your brain to think up solutions, and being willing to stick your head out with a new idea. Sometimes the ideas worked great, other times they failed. Failing is ok if it doesn't defeat you. We all fail in life its impossible not to. Its how you deal with the failure. Will you jump up and try again and keep trying or will you just lay there be defeated and be a burden to others?

AE 18, learned that unity, communication, and trust are all very important in our walk of life. We can not become dependent on ourselves. God made us human. We are to depend on others not only times of trial, weariness, and pain but also enjoy the times of success, strength, and joy. God not only made us dependent on each other but also on Him. I know that if it wasn't for my Heavenly Father this last weekend would have been a total disaster, but as I put my faith, trust and confidence in my wonderful, merciful Savior, He allowed me to have one of the most unifying, painful yet enjoyable, and trust building weekends of my life! Soli Deo Gloria

Katie Wuerffel

“One tree can start a forest

One smile begins a friendship

One star can guide a ship

One word can frame a goal

One vote can change a nation

One sunbeam can light a room

One candle wipes out darkness

One laugh will conquer gloom

One step must start each journey

One touch can show you care

Once voice can speak with power

One life can make a difference”

I started and ended my speech on Monday with that quote. I did that because I’ve recently realized how much of an impact just one life can make in the world. It’s amazing to think of how one person influences another and the influenced one influences another, and that continues suit.

The eight of us are here learning how to be that person who makes the difference. In Life Vision class, Grace has been teaching us about how the fears and lies we believe affect the person that we are. Besides having a terrifying fear of snakes, I’ve always thought I was fearless and didn’t believe any lies. My bubble was busted when I found out that wasn’t the truth, but God’s showing me His Truth in so many ways during my date with Him every day.

Saturday, we all discovered our hidden photography skills….or the lack of them. We went out and tried our hand at modeling for each other. Starbucks and laughter was included in the deal, so I was a happy camper.

Miss Stacey Smith has been with us the past two days. Her life is the prime example of a life that’s made a difference. She has an incredible testimony of a life that God’s redeemed and she’s using it to influence countless ladies in prison. She ended her time with us by signing “The Power of the Cross.” It gave the song a whole new meaning when we saw her signing it.

Tomorrow morning, we’re going camping in the rough and rugged wilderness. That’s a slight exaggeration, but it will be intense, I’m sure. Two of the AE girls have never been camping, so it should be an adventure. I’m not much of a camper, but I’m all about the social part of it and the group that I’m with can make anything fun. Our hope is that there won’t be any casualties, so stay tuned for exciting and exhilarating camping stories.

Drink Starbucks, try your hand at photography, go camping, laugh a lot, and make a difference.

-Whitney Hall

Sarah’s BLOG Entry

Over the weekend my classmates and I were surprised with a special valentines dinner. This was not just any meal, it was specially prepared by our fantastic leaders, Grace, Chrissy and Hannah. We were privileged to reap the benefits of their culinary talent. We clothed our steaming pasta with spicy tomato sauce, dipped our bread in bruschetta, and colored our plates with Caesar Salad all under the candle light of the AE room. In addition, our night was fragrantly topped with Chocolate Lava cakes. The sound of that name makes me hungry all over again. What would Valentines Day be without chocolate?

As I was away from my family on that special day, (I do miss you terribly btw Dad, Mom, and Melissa!!!) I was blessed with the reminder of my Divine Valentine.

Divine Valentine

-A valentine may give you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all, Jesus. “I am the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valley.” Song of Solomon 2:1

- A valentine may be far away but God is always with you.

“I am with you always” Matthew 28:20

- A valentine may give you something, but God has given you everything.
“God…gives us rightly all thing to enjoy” 1 Timothy 6:17

Sarah Feeny

Sarah Kim

“O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. (Psalms8:1)”

‘Photography is the documenting of the magnificent glory of God,’

says our IPS speaker, Sarah Danaher.

Sarah arrived today to teach us and share with us her love for photography.

Seeing the wonderful creation of God through the lens,

sharing His glory with all kinds of people,

sending a special message to this world…

Photography is so much more exciting than I ever thought.

After learning about the important tips of taking great pictures,

we went to the park to produce our own work of photography.

The green trees bravely standing in the midst of the cold weather,

the dim sunlight shining through the clouds,

the rough, brown texture of tree trunks running up and down…

God is truly, a magnificent artist.

The snow made everything more beautiful.

I never expected this much snow in Dallas, Texas but

God gave us girls a special present

to make us smile J

We finished two weeks of Advanced EXCEL

and we are set and ready for the next exciting week.

How time flies!

I marvel at God’s perfect, intricate, and amazing plans He had for this Advanced EXCEL.

Listening to the testimonies of how God led each one of us here,

I was filled with gratefulness.

God called us here together,

in unique ways, with different goals, and for diverse purposes.

He worked in each of our lives, at this point of life,

so that we can be here, right now, right this moment.

God led each of the leaders through

the difficult and startling paths of their lives

and brought them here right now, right this moment.

God equipped them so perfectly

so they can love, encourage and challenge us

with their testimonies and lives.

The God of the impossible,

the God Almighty,

the God that sees,

Intricately planned and guided each one of our lives

So that we would be here today,

as sisters in Christ,

learning more about Him,

and loving each other.

Thank you my Lord!

God knows where I am right now.

He knows where you are too.

Let us stop for a moment and remember His faithfulness.

Then walk today in total trust in the God who will never forsake us.

It’s been snowing all day, most of us slept in until about six, today’s assignments have been turned in, verses have been said, it’s almost meal time, and we got to pla….work with caulking and compound all day. Yes, that qualifies for a good day. They treat us pretty good here.

This morning, it started snowing and as I’m writing this right now, it’s still snowing heavily. I’ve lived in East Texas my whole life, so this snow is pretty spectacular to me. It’s absolutely gorgeous. After breakfast, we went outside for a group picture, and somehow that turned into a short impromptu snowball fight. My hands were not prepared for that, and I’m pretty sure I lost feeling in them for at least ten minutes afterwards. It was definitely worth the fun, though.

After the exciting time in the snow, we all headed to the sixth floor to get suited up for the day’s class. The sixth floor has a closet full of “precious treasures” in the form of old and paint-stained clothes. We all picked out our lovely attire and quickly got ready so we could start class with Mr. Holdeman.

We got a quick picture before starting work. We made up a pretty good team. L-R Katie (pre-EXCEL student), Myself (Pre-EXCEL Leader), Sarah Feeny (Pre-EXCEL student), Graciela (Pre-EXCEL leader), Carissa (Pre-EXCEL student), Sarah Kim (“Mr. Bell”), Beka (DMC Staff), and Olivia (DMC staff).

Mr. Holdeman started us off teaching us about some plumbing. That was a new experience for several of the girls. Mr. Holdeman was a great teacher and kept us highly entertained with a courtship story which we all loved. He also gave us the chance to unleash anger with tearing out the wall paper. J We had so much fun ripping that off. The poor bathroom’s walls looked horrible when we were done with that part.

After doing all that, it was time for caulking. That was probably by far the most exciting part of the day because it meant we got to get messy. Beka and I had a little too much fun with the caulking. I think we forgot that it’s supposed to go on the wall and not each other’s faces. We did show our support of Advanced EXCEL with putting AE on our cheeks.

As they say, all good things must come to an end, and our good day is following suit and coming to an end.

We made a lot of memories today that will be remember for a long time. I love each and every one of my team members and leaders, and I’m so grateful for God sending me here and putting each of them and all of the speakers in my life. God’s more than good to each of us.

Live life to the fullest. Have unexpected snowball fights. Write with caulking on other people’s faces. Take fun pictures. Change the world.

-Whitney Hall

“Don’t live for the one thing everyone else lives for.” - David Powlison

We're now halfway into our second week here, and our days are filling up fast. God has blessed us with many opportunities to grow and expand our thinking. This morning Mr. Bell talked about being a leader and how each of us influence those we are around. I'm very thankful for the leadership team he has placed over us, and I thought I'd take a moment to recognize them for all they are doing for us.

Hannah, Chrissy, and Grace have been wonderful examples to me the past week and a half. From specific examples in each of their lives they have shown me more of who God is, and just how much he cares for me. Among other things, they have challenged me to break the boxes that I've put myself in, and too search things out for myself ...instead of believing whatever I hear.

I have loved getting to know these extraordinary girls, and hope that over the next several weeks God will greatly encourage and bless them for their willingness to serve.

Olivia

Well, yesterday morning started out as usual, I got up at 5:45am, yes mom, I really did it. I went downstairs and did pilates. Did you know that if you do enough thigh teasers that your leg literally lights on fire? Yup, its a fact. So, continuing on to breakfast. We had a nice meal of leftovers! Best days ever! Whitney and I continue to go back for seconds, only because we tend to enjoy our food more than some. But have no worries, we always get some little bit of food for someone else at the table also.

After Breakfast we had "Terrifying Speech Class!" We had been working on our speeches all week. The Topic was, "How God led you to Advanced Excel." It had to be 5-10 minutes long. They started the speeches in Alphabetical order by middle name, therefore, I went first! Actually I was happy about that after I got up there. Since I went first, that meant that I did not have to sit there and be nervous the whole time!

All the speeches were spectacular! I loved each ones individuality and story. Even though many were similar situations, they were all really different and unique! I thought it was neat how alot of them had alot to do with not having enough money and God totally provided every single penny. God truly blesses those that trust in him, and it was so relevent in all the speeches.

We also had a really awesome session with Mr Cantrell. He taught us two really interesting sessions that everyone engoyed alot. He just publish a book called "From the Shop Floor to the Top Floor" purchase one at your local bookstore today!

I would like to tell you also what I have learned today already. We had a class with Grace Gallager on "Life Vision Planning" this subject didn't really thrill or interest me until today. She talked about fear. This has never been a big subject for me, I have never feared death, or anything in extent that much until she asked a question to all of us that hit me really hard, She asked us, "What is your greatest fear?" I had never really thought I had any. But God put a few things ony my heart that just really made me start thinking. My fear was kind of a different kind, not really for me. It was for someone I am really close to that is lost.

During my date with God, I was really struggling with this, and trying to give it to God. I realized that I had never given this person up to God, I would just pray for them, and then try to figure out a way that I could help, in case God decided not to. Ha! that wasn't very clever of me. I decided right then to fully hand over my problem to him. What a relief ! I didn't have to worry about it anymore! Realizing God will handle every problem I have is an incredible feeling. I don't have to fear anything, as long as I have him to hold on to. So, thats a short part of what I have learned so far at Advanced Excel, and this is only the second week! I can't wait to see what God is going to do in my heart, and all the other girls hearts these next four weeks.

~Rebekah Grace

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!

Saturday, February 8, 2010 was an exciting day! The day started out with us being able to sleep in…we were all so happy. As we came out of our rooms the delicious aroma of cinnamon rolls greeted us, causing great joy. Coffee and cinnamon roll…what a great way to start out the day.

After our wonderful brunch we had a session with Grace on food. She talked to us about what basic ingredients we should have in the kitchen. She went to the library and got like 20 cookbooks, which were fun to look at.

We then got to go and cook dinner for the EXCEL girls. We went into the kitchen at 2:00 and started cooking! We made Cajun pasta and garlic flatbread. Since it was Lauren Bell’s birthday, we made cappuccino mousse pie. We all got different jobs and went to work! Some cut up bell peppers, some garlic and onions (poor things), and still others cut up the meat, etc.

I got to make the pie with Stephanie! It was a lot of fun. We had to do the recipe 10 times. The pie took the longest to prepare because we had to make so much. We had chocolate and whipped cream all over our area. I think we made the biggest mess.

When most of the chopping was done, several of the girls went and decorated the food line. They decorated it 50s style. So we had black and white checkered table cloth on the serving line and cute pictures of the wall. It looked really cute. They did a great job.

We finished the day by going outside and play ultimate Frisbee. It was so much fun! It was cold outside, but that didn’t stop the fun. I learned how to play Frisbee here at the DMC and I have loved it ever since.

Saturday was a full, but fun day. I think that we all had a great time together.

Carissa Koehn

Hello to all in the blogger world!

Although my third day of Advanced Excel is coming to a close, the excitement and anticipation for what God is going to do through this class continues to increase. I’m so glad the gloom and rain from outside this building wasn’t a part of our day today inside the Dallas Ministry Center. I think our laughter last night must have spilled over to brighten this day that God has given us…

One of our assignments this week in speech class was to give 3-5 minute speeches to both our roommates. Well, the speech adventure for room 308 began. I was the first to release my nervousness. Both my roommates discussed a topic to give me. I was given 30 seconds to gather any thoughts, then our impromptu experience begun. After the intense 15 minutes, our laughter quickly banished any nervousness we might have had earlier that evening. I’m thankful for encouraging roommates! Over these next few weeks, I’ll be excited to see how God will pry us out of our comfort zone for us to rely on Him during our public speaking assignments.

Sarah Feeny

I have been here for less than 36 hours and the God I serve is already blowing my mind away. Arriving here I wasn’t all that nervous. Now I am beginning to wonder what I got myself into. I can tell already that I won’t be going home the same girl.

I am just starting to see what God is the same now and forever means. He did so many amazing things and how dare I put him in this box, limiting what he can do in my life. Well, I am just about super excited to be here and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me, both in Advanced EXCEL and in years to come.

It’s amazing being back at the DMC, reunited with friends. Weird enough, I am in the same room as I was in EXCEL and sleeping in the same bed. For all who know me, I had the pleasure of having baked oatmeal yesterday for breakfast and I still get really excited over food.

Although, it’s a little strange being a part of such a small group I am sure that God will work all that more intensely through us. Several people have commented on my Ice Age watch and I believe that was the most “business professional” watch I could buy at the Dollar Tree. Well, I already know there is more to come so tune in next time to find out what happens to the Advanced Excelables.

Graciela Tineo

Advanced Excel 18

Ready or not here I come!! As I get ready to begin a new adventure I feel like a small child playing hide-and-seek in the dark. My anticipation builds as the numbers get higher... 97, 98... every muscle strains ready to take off 99... 100!! Ready or not Here I come!!! I shout as I take off running.

Have you ever felt like that? Full of nervous excitement. You have a mission and you know you are in the right place but there is still a measure of uncertainty. God has given you a goal but anything could lie between you and the finish line. This is how I feel about this fantastic class of leaders.

God has given them the goal of Advanced Excel and anything is possible in Him. I look forward to watching them mesh as a team, see their relationship with God strengthened, and their leadership skills sharpened. Their foundation is sure, and their future full of promise. They have a hope and a calling and I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do in and through them during these next few weeks and months.

During these next few weeks we hope to help the girls discover more of who their God is,who He made them to be, and how that translates into everyday life. We desire to share our life experiences with the girls giving practical examples of how God changes people from the inside out and equips them to follow His lead. Through out their time in Dallas they will also have guest speakers each week that will cover topics such as: Leadership and Influence, Basic study skills, being a godly woman in today's world, principles of business, Photography, and much more.

I would encourage you to join me in praying for each of us: leadership, students, and speakers. During the time here in Dallas, practicum at home, and hopefully for the rest of their life as they walk with God.

Living a Legacy,

Advanced Excel 18