snow in mississippi.

well Christmas weekend in July is well under way. we have done Christmas eve dinner. we have done Christmas morning brunch. we opened presents from our secret encouragers. now all that is left for the festivities is to complete the staff talent show. what amazing weekend.

my secret encourager was the "silent killer". Emily Godby for those of you who don't know her by that (honestly i think i am the only who knows her by that name--haha!) she did an awesome job encouraging me these past few weeks. she completed my gift with an awesome CK3 signed soccer ball, lemon drops like my grandmother use to give me to shut me up in church, and a frame that has my life verse in it (Romans 8:38-39). it was so AWESOME!!!!

so how about we had snow too. yeah we ordered snow and had snow fights in the parking lot. but that funny thing was that even though it was real-artificial snow, there was a hazard. it made me laugh. but it was soooooo much fun!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

are you sure?

this is the question that has been the theme for the week. whether it was kids or the Lord, i was asked if i was sure. that could be with the things that the Lord says, or with a question from a child. and i am sure. i am sure that God is gracious, merciful, loving, and true. He is amazing.

my 12 year old self was here this week. his name is Noah Frank.  he is such an amazing

 young man. God has taught me so much through him, and is actually still working on me through him. Noah asked me one night if i was sure that God wanted me to be a teacher (elementary that is) and not something else, and it was in that tone that i know something that you don't. WHAT? a 12 year speaking truth into my life.  he obviously saw that God may have something else in store for me. so i have begun to pray. i am praying that the Lord will help me understand what i need to do with my life. i know it is to be teaching children, but i am not sure in what capacity. i am just so blessed to have been able to come to camp this summer so that the Lord can teach me new things. Oh how I love Him so!

I have also been getting to the feelings to preach at CK. yeah, i know. crazy. but it has been on my heart for a few weeks and it actually came out of some fellow staffer's and adult's mouths this week that i should be one. so I'm praying about that too.

man i need to catch back up on my sleep.

mood: blessed.

it's what i do.

i came to the realization that me and my friends have the best job in the entire world.

this week i had the most amazing opportunity to hang out with kids and tell the about Jesus(for the fourth week in a row) which is just awesome in itself, but i also slid down a huge slip n' slide. we did this for two hours. talk about a fun day. but as the sliding continued on you must expect that the ground turns soft and turns a great brown color. so after about thirty minutes it was no longer a slip n' slide, but rather a mud slide. so much fun!!!! we had races and distance challenges! they had an amazing time!

after that we had a firing range. we had some left over water balloons for missions, and me and several of the staff lined up against the wall and let the kids chunk balloons at us. it was one of the most scary moments of my life. i did get hit in the jugular artery with an un-busted balloon so that hurt, but the fact that i was in an "execution" line was enough.

tonight we are going to a baseball game for the 4th of July. there will be fireworks, but i think the best part of the night will actually be getting to do something with 22 of my closest friends other than camp and eating. i am really excited. God has really blessed me this summer! i am so thankful for all that he does. all things do work for the good of those that love him(Romans 8:28), even through the people who are placed in you life.

i am so blessed!

a taste of what i do.

These are some of my sign language kids that absolutely rocked my face off this week!!!
This is Trent (the boy called into ministry that I talked about from my last post)
My Bible Study won OMC this week! We did an awesome cheer that was themed after Star Wars (hence my Jedi Costume). It completely rocked!!

doubt.

why do we doubt so often? i mean, why in the world do i doubt the work of the Lord?

this week at camp has been crazy. crazy in a good way. the beginning of the week was rough. there was so much in front of the people here. they had huge barriers on their hearts. it lasted through tuesday. it killed me inside. i was moved. just like Jesus was moved and troubled because the people around him didn't understand that he was God. i guess i felt sorta the same way. these people (kids and adults that is) didn't see that he was God. and so i prayed.  i gave up my life as a sacrifice on wednesday and i want to tell you that the word of the Lord does not return void. God did a mighty work. you wouldn't believe the life change that happened. it's one of those moments where all you can say is that it was the work of the Lord. He moved. and I am so thankful.

there is this boy in my Bible Study named Trent. as soon as I saw him on Monday, I knew that God was doing something in his life.  I could tell that he wanted to get something out of him, and he just couldn't muster up the strength to confess it.  but on wednesday, God broke him. it was so amazing. i wish that everyone could have seen his heart. he poured it out. he was that little child that Jesus calls us to be in Mark 10:15. he understood that Jesus was perfect, spotless, and without blemish. He understood that Jesus loves him, and willingly gave himself up for him. he understood that without Jesus he couldn't get to be with God in heaven. all he did was thank God....over and over again.  he understood God. so amazing! and that really isn't the best part. he feels that God is calling him to preach. INSANE!! a 12 year old wants to start preaching! 

i am telling you people that God can move in great ways, so why do we doubt Him? i want to stop doing that. Psalm 9:10 says, " And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." i want to trust him better. that's what i want to change in my life right now. pray that over me.

Mood: thankful

broken.

when was the last time that you were truly broken? I experienced that tonight. God did a huge working tonight at camp. It is so amazing to see children answer the call that Christ has placed on their lives.

week 2 is over and week 3 is about to start. it seems like only yesterday i was leaving my house in good old Decatur to come to camp, but now it is a third over..... 

"sometimes I wonder whether we are moving through time, or if time is moving through us...." -Donald Miller

i love my team. they are all amazing individuals. we all stayed together tonight after worship and continued to pray for the kids for another 30 minutes.  that just shows me that this is a group of people who really seeks after the Lord's heart. they want Him to be exalted and lifted up. they don't see this job as an obligation, but rather as an opportunity. man i am soooo blessed!

Jesus rocks my face off!!!!!!

act natural.

wow. two weeks of training week are coming to a close and we start camp TOMORROW! honestly it seems like it has been forever since i left my house to drive to camp. where has the time gone? its ok really, i just feel like i have been doing this for months now....

my team is great. they are funny, loving people. we like to joke around a lot. i love this in us, but i worry. i worry that it will come to a breaking point where it will hurt our ministry, where it will hurt one another. i saw that happen before and i experienced it, and i dont want it to happen again. division is never good in the body of Christ. we need each other. we cant do it on our own. pray we will be that body. that we will grow in faith and fellowship together....

i really have no reservations for the summer other than what i have just expressed. God is going to move in some awesome ways. i know that. im ready for that.