BY, here I come.

well, i haven't posted in, what, a month?! i call it, "One Busy Month In The Life of Laney Tyson."

anyways, i now have an excuse to blog, because tomorrow at about 2:30pm, Haley Swank, Mary Jennings, my mom, Eve Soulta and i are headed to the extremely freezing country of Belarus, situated right outside of Russia, for a mission trip. we're going to be meeting up with some of our Christian friends that live in Belarus, and have been in ministries there for years now. they work with orphans all over the region, help with foster homes, and are active in their Church. along with all of the persecution that they go through, our friends have huge hearts for serving Christ, and we're going to do the best we can to pitch in and help.

i want to thank all of you that helped us financially for our trip, because we couldn't be going without you guys. mom told me that every time she's preparing to go to Belarus, even when it looks like there is no way whatsoever financially, God has always provided. we learned this year that He also has great timing. we had planned to go back in the summer, and were disappointed that we couldn't, but now we have another opportunity, and God has provided above and beyond what we could have ever hoped for!

thank you for all of your prayers, and keep them coming! i'll try to post a few times while we're over there to keep everyone updated, but no promises. i might even put up a few pictures! :P don't think i'll be using much french over there, so might as well use it while i can! AU REVOIR! :D

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
-James 1:27

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Hey everybody, so it's Thanksgiving.....but why? Why are we celebrating by giving thanks today? Well, we all know the story of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock, but the real reason for Thanksgiving Day is to remember and reflect on ALL of the things that God has given to us, and to be 'thankful' for them. Why can't we do this everyday? We can! Yet, in the busyness of our day, we often forget to do so. We overlook how much we have truly been blessed with, and the MILLIONS of ways that God has provided for us.....but should we? No way! So don't let Thanksgiving come and go with a thanks here and there....make it an EVERYDAY thing. :) Hope you all have a great one!

Laney

"The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" 

whoa man...

struggle: well, the semester is at the beginning of the end. school is picking up speed, and getting really tough. i'm really struggling in one of my classes right now, which is hard for me considering i'm a slight perfectionist. but through all of the struggle, i'm learning.

my prayer for the past few months has been that God would teach me to be humble. well, He has. i'm definitely learning humbleness through what i'm going through right now. i'm learning that you don't necessarily have to be the smartest person in your class, and you definitely shouldn't think that you are! i'm learning that there are more important things in life than that of how good a grade you receive, and that sometimes no matter how hard you study for a test, or how well prepared you are, sometimes you just don't reach your personal goal. i'm realizing that the expectations i have for myself aren't always the best, or what God has planned for me.

so i just want to encourage everyone that no matter how bad a grade is, (and i can tell you, mine wasn't too pretty), God doesn't define us by that. He looks at our hearts, and if they reflect what they should (being humble and willing to serve God), then that is what really matters. a simple letter on a paper or point average at the end of the semester is not going to matter in the end. just remember that if you do your very best in a way that will glorify God, nothing else matters. :)

uncertainty: so i visited Berry College this past weekend. the campus itself was BEAUTIFUL. 26 thousand acres of bike, and hiking trails, gorgeous lakes and tons of woods. pretty ideal to me. the best part, you ask? waking up to 50+ deer grazing in the huge fields, just outside your window. :)

i pretty much fell in love with the campus, yet i have NO idea what college i'll end up at, so i'm trying not to get too attached, but i am definitely going to keep Berry in my top ten. :) my future, like most everyone else's, is very uncertain right now......i have absolutely no idea where i'll be this time next year. but hey, i'm not going to stress over it. it's in good hands. :) anyways, enough of my blah blah blah, one more thing, and then some photos from my weekend. enjoy! :)

comforting respite: He's got it. guaranteed.

mom and Lillie 

the color was still so stunning, in november!?

dorms......aka castles.

some deer. :)

swan lake.....

yay!

yes, yet another chaco commercial. in november too, it's great. :)

this verse doesn't really relate to this post, but i read it today and it's a favorite.

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning,  that you may be blameless an innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."
Philippians 2:14-15

such a chilly sunrise

well, it happened. school has finally arrived in full force, and my schedule has been crazy these past few weeks. anyways, one day last week i decided to step out on one exceptionally chilly morning to watch the sunrise, and it was very much worth the freezing toes. yes, i like my chacos......

 here are a few photos from that morning. :) 

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!"

Psalm 113:3

season of rainbows

ok, so i'm finally getting around to a new post! the rain and storminess of the past few days has made lots of leaves fall already........

sad: because the leaves are almost gone

content: because its easy to take pictures of leaves that are on the ground.

happy: because i do love storms. :) 

this verse doesn't really relate to the post, its just one of my favorites. :)

"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 

1 Peter 3:4 

slacker

ok, so i've really slacked this past week in providing another post. school has gotten busy, and just life in general! hope to get some more fall photos up here soon. :) i just want to share a verse that has been a help to me these past few week.

"The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philipians 4:7

hope you all have a great day. :)

broken lady

i was sitting on a park bench at Lee this afternoon studying chemistry, when i noticed a beautiful yellow leaf on the ground. there was a lady-bug on it with a broken wing. :( here are a few photos. :)

whoops, there she goes!

he was a very studious little thing. or rather "she" was.

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed spirit. "
Psalms 34:18

the little things are sometimes the most amazing-part three

here are a few last shots from red clay. i'm pretty sure that was one of the most beautiful days this fall. :)

"Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun."
Ecclesiastes 11:7

the little things are sometimes the most amazing-part two

here are a few more from red clay. these are my favorite, just because of the detail and intricacy. this seems to run through most of my photos. :)

give me some feedback on these. which one(s) you like, why you like it(them), and what i could do to make it better. thanks!


























this kind of goes along with the "theme" of this post, so i just wanted to mention a little somethin, somethin.

the past few months i've learned that you don't have to do something "amazing" to make a difference, or to impact someone's life. God put each of us here for a reason, and He's using us in awesome ways, even if its just the "little things". some of us will be noticed for the things we do for God and others, but the important thing is, to be humble in whatever it is you're doing. simply saying "hello", smiling, giving a compliment, or just by being can really impact a person.

so anyways, that's all for now. hope you all have a great day. :)

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you."
James 4:10 (ESV)

the little things are sometimes the most amazing-part one

my family and i went out to red clay state park today. lets just say the weather combined with nature, me and my camera was my ideal way to spend a tuesday afternoon. :) by the way, has anyone besides me noticed how beautiful the clouds have been the past few days? i have just been in awe at the amazing artist God is! anyway, here are a few shots (out of about 350) that i made today. enjoy. :)

this is the little stream thats coming from the blue hole on the other side of the bridge. Roy, my little brother, was so excited about being able to drink from the fresh spring. he filled my frisbee full a few times, silly boy. ;)

a few fallen leaves in the fresh, little, blue hole spring.

ok, so i know this is total advertisement, but i do really like my chacos. :) they've been thru some rough times, as some of you know. :P

                                                                                                                                                                

"Now hope that is seem is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

Romans 8:24-25

colorful fall? i do hope so.

so i'm hearing that there's going to be no color this fall, and its making me very sad. i hope all of these people are wrong! sorry those of you that said that.....:/

anyways, here're a few photos i took on this enticing fall day. enjoy. :)

i see some color in there!

maybe this is what they're talking about, being dry and all.....

and my beautiful little assistant, Lillie. :)

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains."

James 5:7