- We hit the halfway point this week, which is really hard to believe
- I worked with Hillside last week and they were awesome
- We had Mandatory Fun Night last night at the pool, and it was also Matt Stephens birthday
- I met my family in Bryson City this weekend, which was nice. They brought me food
- I'm eating a bagel right now and I just dropped a poppy seed into my keyboard. dang it.
- Megan wants me to tell everyone that i think she's awesome and that i'm glad we're friends. this is true
- my friends are coming this week/end. Kelly, Lindsey, Madison, etc.
- My birthday is also this weekend. sweet deal.
- There is obviously more important stuff going on than surface details, but I have staff church in ten minutes.
Camp is going great - there's definitely been some not-so-great moments, but overall i love it and i love being here.
6.28.2010
6.13.2010
week two
I had a group from Mississippi this week. They were a cool group and I loved it, but it was exhausting for tons of reasons. Some annoying cold/sinus junk has been making it's way around the staff, and I caught it (but thankfully not until the weekend so I can get some good sleep), I had SWOMP this week (and as much as I love SWOMP, the following day[s] aren't always fun, especially on top of sickness) and I've had some conversations and situations with both campers and staff that have really just been heavy in my thoughts this week.
One thing I'm really worried about right now is being sick, like I mentioned before. I have four individuals next week, which i'm REALLY excited about because one of the girls was one of my campers last year. I'm just worried because if I was to get/still be sick next week, I won't have any backup with my girls.
I think this week I've really just learned how thankful I need to be, and I need to be continually reminded of that. I'm thankful for a family who loves me and who has taught me to make good decisions. I'm thankful for friends who encourage me and pray for me. I'm thankful that God has protected me and kept me from tons of trouble that I could have gotten myself into at some points along the way. I'm thankful for Snowbird and the community of people I'm able to spend the summer with, and how amazing of an environment it is to grow and learn in. I'm thankful for my campers, who probably teach me more than I teach them.
The phrase "Sun Stand Still" has really been stuck in my brain all week as well. A conversation with a friend on staff made me think of a sermon series from Elevation Church that I listened to when I was closing at Coldstone with a girl I didn't like a couple years ago. About having audacious faith and not being afraid to pray for HUGE things from a God who works miracles, like making the sun literally stand still in the sky (Joshua 10). I've found myself praying for the sun to stand still in the lives of a couple people this week - current campers, past campers, staff and friends. It's a cool analogy.
On a more pathetic note, I am terrible at spider solitare. I've played 12 games in the last week (camp internet is lame) and won 0 - I'm a failure.
One thing I'm really worried about right now is being sick, like I mentioned before. I have four individuals next week, which i'm REALLY excited about because one of the girls was one of my campers last year. I'm just worried because if I was to get/still be sick next week, I won't have any backup with my girls.
I think this week I've really just learned how thankful I need to be, and I need to be continually reminded of that. I'm thankful for a family who loves me and who has taught me to make good decisions. I'm thankful for friends who encourage me and pray for me. I'm thankful that God has protected me and kept me from tons of trouble that I could have gotten myself into at some points along the way. I'm thankful for Snowbird and the community of people I'm able to spend the summer with, and how amazing of an environment it is to grow and learn in. I'm thankful for my campers, who probably teach me more than I teach them.
The phrase "Sun Stand Still" has really been stuck in my brain all week as well. A conversation with a friend on staff made me think of a sermon series from Elevation Church that I listened to when I was closing at Coldstone with a girl I didn't like a couple years ago. About having audacious faith and not being afraid to pray for HUGE things from a God who works miracles, like making the sun literally stand still in the sky (Joshua 10). I've found myself praying for the sun to stand still in the lives of a couple people this week - current campers, past campers, staff and friends. It's a cool analogy.
On a more pathetic note, I am terrible at spider solitare. I've played 12 games in the last week (camp internet is lame) and won 0 - I'm a failure.
6.06.2010
week 1!
This weekend, I'm in Clemson with three of the most amazing girls ever, so thankful that I live close enough to be able to come here for a couple days. I LOVE camp, but sometimes it's nice to be able to get away and recharge. Plus, a shower, laundry, Crosspoint and Groucho's are also in the deal which makes it even sweeter. Tonight, we went to Anderson for dinner, went with Elizabeth to get her tattoo (where I took a nice nap on the couch) and went swimming in the Berkeley pool. Such a fun night.
I really enjoyed this week. I worked with Faith Baptist, a church I recognized from last summer but had never really interacted with before, and they were great. This week was undoubtedly a crazy one, but I think it really helped a lot of the staff realize that we are GOING to have situations that are out of our control and that we're not going to make it through the summer by relying on our own strength and abilities.
I've been reading Ecclesiastes for the last three weeks. It's good stuff. It's really applicable to my mindset towards the summer in addition to just being solid truth for life in general. Solomon pretty much talks about two worldviews - looking at things from an earthly perspective and a heavenly one, and how if we're just examining life from a view "under the sun" it's inevitable that we'll fall into the trap of thinking life is nothing more than an endless cycle of repetitive routines... but if we look at it from a perspective bigger than ourselves, we can see that God is constantly working in different ways and makings things new.
That's really important to keep in mind when it comes to something like camp. It would be all to easy to get caught up in the routines of a camp week. Same schedule, same sermons, same recs, even the same meals... but that's the earthly perspective. On the other hand, we have different kids come in every week. Students with different backgrounds, different stories, and different personalities. God is working in their lives in completely different ways, and is going to both teach us and use us in drastically different ways throughout the summer... so really, it's never going to be the same.
Because I'm in Clemson, the fact that I'm in the middle of the summer and in the middle of camp doesn't really seem real right now.
I really enjoyed this week. I worked with Faith Baptist, a church I recognized from last summer but had never really interacted with before, and they were great. This week was undoubtedly a crazy one, but I think it really helped a lot of the staff realize that we are GOING to have situations that are out of our control and that we're not going to make it through the summer by relying on our own strength and abilities.
I've been reading Ecclesiastes for the last three weeks. It's good stuff. It's really applicable to my mindset towards the summer in addition to just being solid truth for life in general. Solomon pretty much talks about two worldviews - looking at things from an earthly perspective and a heavenly one, and how if we're just examining life from a view "under the sun" it's inevitable that we'll fall into the trap of thinking life is nothing more than an endless cycle of repetitive routines... but if we look at it from a perspective bigger than ourselves, we can see that God is constantly working in different ways and makings things new.
That's really important to keep in mind when it comes to something like camp. It would be all to easy to get caught up in the routines of a camp week. Same schedule, same sermons, same recs, even the same meals... but that's the earthly perspective. On the other hand, we have different kids come in every week. Students with different backgrounds, different stories, and different personalities. God is working in their lives in completely different ways, and is going to both teach us and use us in drastically different ways throughout the summer... so really, it's never going to be the same.
Because I'm in Clemson, the fact that I'm in the middle of the summer and in the middle of camp doesn't really seem real right now.
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