Wedding Season

As many other individuals in their twenties can likely identify with, there are various periods of time throughout the year when it seems that every couple you know is headed down the aisle. I suppose you could refer to these popular marriage months and times of year as wedding seasons. Personally, I'm a huge fan of weddings. There is something so touching and inspiring in the deep love and commitment shown by the bride and groom. I love to take in the atmosphere of the church, the bridesmaid dresses, the glowing bride and groom, the beautiful reception hall, wonderful food, and lots of dancing. In the next two months, two very special couples I know will be tying the knot, and I'm looking forward to both of their special days.

In one of my favorite devotionals, "Grace For The Moment" by Max Lucado, I recently read some words which touched me. Lucado writes, "And who is this bride for whom Jesus longs?...You are. You have captured the heart of God." As beautiful as each wedding is and what a wonderful occasion for celebration, it moves me to think that Jesus loves me as much as, and yet infinitely more than, any groom or bride could feel on their wedding day. I am only human. I stumble, I fall, I make mistakes, and yet I "have captured the heart of God." How overwhelmingly beautiful and magnificent it is to be absolutely loved as a child of God.

I'd like to share with you a wonderful song I heard on KLove recently. The artist Jason Gray describes the journey of our relationship with God not as simply a religion but "more like falling in love" with our Savior. His love is a perfect love indeed.

Country Roads Take Me Home

Every home needs a front porch...

You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. Don't get me wrong, I love living and working in the city. It's an exciting place to be with many activities to get involved in and diverse groups of students to teach at school. I'm so very content exactly where I am. Nonetheless, sometimes it's quite comforting to follow the road that leads you back home. In visiting my dad recently, I took the two hour drive right back to where I grew up. Cruising across the country roads, the lack of traffic and stoplights is like a breath of fresh air. I love rounding a corner and seeing a field of corn or passing the tiny little grocery store that sits in our town. To a stranger, it may seem behind the times or too quiet, but for me, it helped build the foundation for who I am. Looking back at my childhood and adolescent years miles from the interstate and off the beaten path, I learned:

-You can survive for several weeks without making a quick stop at Walmart, Target, or other large chain stores that provide convenience nowadays.
-A creek and woods can provide all of the entertainment that two little kids need for an afternoon.
-Before you learn to drive a car by yourself, you may learn to ride a horse.
-A lunch including a canned soft drink, bag of chips, and freshly made sandwich tastes infinitely better when purchased from a tiny grocery store.
-Sweet iced tea makes the perfect refreshing summer beverage.
-Graduating with less than one hundred classmates may mean that you'll have tiny class reunions down the line.....but that you will actually know them and care about catching up with them.
-Those classmates will also remember and remind you of the embarrassing outfits you wore in elementary like matching vinyl American Girl outfits with your best friends.
-Sitting out on the front porch never goes out of style.
-Having a southern accent doesn't necessarily mean you grew up in the south....it may just mean that you grew up in southern Indiana.

It's funny that when I go back, I often see the little town in which I grew up through very different eyes. It isn't really a bit like the city that I now live in, but smaller doesn't make it less important. Every now and then, when those country roads take me home, they take me back just where I can reconnect with that small town country girl me.

In His Steps

All good things must come to an end. Tomorrow the last official camp session will reach its conclusion and the campers will travel back to their respective homes. I too will be packing my many camp t-shirts, work clothes, twin size bedding, and various belongings to return to my usual life. After two months filled with long hours and hard (and often hot) work, I'm eager to return to my usual routine. I have missed the opportunity to spend time with my family and good friends and to participate in my usual activities such as church at home, teaching, and workouts at the gym. Reflecting back on the past eight weeks, though, this truly has been a summer to remember and which has really touched my heart. Each weekly session has brought a fresh group of directors, cabin leaders, and eager campers to the grounds. It has been a joy to meet so many individuals who have come together for the sole purpose of growing in our knowledge of God mixed in with lots of outdoor activities, singing, food, and good old-fashioned fun. The members of our staff are individuals I have learned to admire for their strong faith and eagerness to serve God. How truly blessed I feel that God placed before me the opportunity to be in this place.

As I prepare to say goodbye until I volunteer as a cabin leader next summer, I also think about the camp theme, In His Steps, and verse this year.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps.
1 Peter 2:21
I have such an awesome God who sent His only Son to Earth to love with the greatest love, to teach, to heal, and to save us. He lived and died for me, a sinner, so that I might find relationship with Him and spend eternity with my Creator. As we have watched campers leave throughout the summer, we have hoped that they will have been touched by this message and will carry it into their normal daily routines and lives. It's much easier when we are living in community with fellow believers and are encouraged with Christian advice, messages in chapel, worship songs, and the removal of daily distractions. Now it's my turn to prepare myself for my usual life and routines. I have no illusions that following in His steps is easy. It never has been for Christians past to present. I too know from personal experiences each and every day. However, there are some things I have learned this summer that I believe can help Christians to be encouraged and to keep our eyes turned toward our Savior. These aren't anything new; however, it's always good to be reminded.
1. Find time to study God's word. - Studying God's word both independently and with a group provides deeper insight into God, faith, and Christian life. There's a reason that this habit is emphasized in the Bible itself!
2. Find solid Christian friends for encouragement and support. - Nothing can influence your activities and behaviors quite like those who you spend your time with. Find solid Christians who you are comfortable sharing with and who will reciprocally encourage and support you.
3. Immerse yourself and let go in Christian music and worship. - Chapel continues to be my favorite part of church camp. I love to join with other believers in singing beautiful songs of praise and to simply worship God. This is something that I can carry into my daily life by listening to stations such as KLove or Christian artists on my computer.
4. Find time to get away from the distractions of the world. - In particular, camp has taught me that trying to remove yourself from the distractions of the world and focusing first and foremost on God puts everything else in perspective. I have been amazed at how little I have felt stressed or worried about other things in life. When we place God as number one, our outlook and approach to other areas of life is much more balanced, healthy, and productive.

I wish I could say that I was proficient at the actions listed above. Unfortunately, I have such growth to strive for in every area. I believe, though, that walking in His steps is a continual journey. Living more in the way that has been shown us takes continual effort and change along the way to become a more mature Christian. It is my hope that as I return home, others will see me and recognize that there is something different about those that follow in His steps. If you are a fellow believer, I ask that you encourage me in this continued lifelong journey as I wish to do the same for you.

Indian Creek Baptist Camp
(View looking toward chapel)

Redefined Priorities

As described in my previous post, I have been spending the last month working on staff at Indian Creek Baptist Camp. This is a small church camp which I have attended many times as a camper and cabin leader. I have felt very blessed so far by the wonderful people who have passed through the gates seeking to follow more closely in the steps of our Savior. During a portion of last week, I had the opportunity to take a break from working on staff and instead be a cabin leader to a group of third and fourth grade girls. Although the heat and constant activity was often exhausting by the time lights out rolled around, it was nice to step back from my usual work tasks and instead laugh with, play with, and teach the campers. As I watched the youth and adults interact with the kids and the resulting bright and shining smiles on the campers' faces, I felt a deep respect for the volunteer cabin leaders. These individuals had given a week of their summer or vacation time to serve God in this place. Each week, I watch a new group of cabin leaders arrive and it continues to remind me how critical it is to have our priorities properly aligned. If only my biggest concerns and worries always revolved around serving the Lord instead of solely taking care of myself, what a more balanced perspective this would be. Years down the road when I reflect upon my life, I am certain that money, status, and accolades will be of little consequence to me. Instead, I hope that I can be proud of a legacy that I leave behind in which I have sought to honor and serve God, where I have loved and lived for Him.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21

Be Still and Know

Tomorrow morning, I am heading to spend my summer working at one of my very favorite places. I know it probably seems strange to think of being that extremely anxious to start a summer job, but my employment for the next two months will be a very unique and wonderful experience. I have the privilege to work as a staff member at Indian Creek Baptist Camp, a church camp which I attended as a child and in more recent years have spent weeks as a cabin leader for elementary age campers.

Whenever I tell people about this job, I know that they may just brush it off as working at a summer camp. Yes, there are many camps that exist out there and which I believe provide wonderful experiences for youth across the nation. Maybe I'm even a little bit biased, but I think that Indian Creek is a place like no other. I'd be willing to say that much of my connection to this place goes back to my own days as a camper. I can still remember begging my parents to let us leave for camp early so that I would be one of the first to the cabin and thus have the best pick of bunk beds. Flash forward about a decade and a half and I still see glimpses of that little girl excitement shining through. I can barely wait to get there this year too! However, I believe my deep connection to this place runs so much deeper. It's the wonderful Christian friends I have made there, the heartfelt songs of worship which have been offered up during chapel, the tears running down faces of those laying down deep burdens and surrendering to God. It's walking down a trail into the woods to read Scripture, listening to a testimony shared during campfire, or quietly swaying to the motion of the much loved swings all while feeling the presence of God in this place. As a Christian, I am able to find God in any place where I look for His presence, but there is something so beautiful about eliminating the distractions of the world and turning my eyes to the cross. I know that the summer will be filled with hot days and hard work, but more than anything I feel fortunate to have such an opportunity to see lives impacted and changed.

I know that not everyone has the opportunity or ability to get away to a retreat, conference, or camp. However, I challenge you to take time this week to contemplate a place where you can sit quietly and truly seek God's presence. It may not be in a camp chapel service or dining hall but perhaps your office, bedroom, or car during your morning commute.

Turn off the TV. Silence the cellphone. Push pause on your iPod. Stop talking. Take time to simply BE with our Creator.

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Home is Where the Heart Is

I have made the executive decision that I am not doing that again for a long time. The "that" that I am referring to is moving. Moving furniture, moving boxes, moving clothes, moving from one home into another. My first big move took place when I left for college my freshman year. I remember packing up everything I needed or thought might possibly come in handy in my dorm room. I quickly learned a lesson about under packing instead of over packing when I tried to fit everything into a room the size of a cracker box that I shared with my roommate. Each year of college brought a move back home and a return journey the following fall into a new room in my sorority house. My senior year, I got an extra does of moving when I lived the fall semester in an apartment for my urban student teaching experience and then back to campus for my last term. Those college moves became a routine after four years, and then I experienced a new change. I moved from my small town to an apartment in the city. My roommate and I enjoyed getting acquainted with the responsibilities of living on our own without anyone looking over our shoulders to fix every little problem. We added our own little touches throughout that really made our apartment feel like home. But alas, summer has come and we are placing our furniture and belongings in yet another place. I'm happy to say, though, that my roommate's house which we are moving into is quite an upgrade from our dimly lit apartment. Every time I walk out onto the screened in porch or the pool deck, I have a strange feeling as if I was on vacation. Not a bad feeling at all! It's nice to finally live back in an actual house. J and I realized that besides summer vacations, we have not lived in an actual house for five years. I'd say it's about time!

All of this moving has brought into focus thoughts about what feels like home. Of course my dad's house where I grew up and my mom's house will both always feel like home to me, but not in such a present sort of way. I think moving puts me into a strange sort of limbo leaving me struggling to grasp onto a feeling that I am settled in a familiar place. I know it will take time for new routines to find their way into my days. I'm alright with that. No matter what other changes take place around me, I know that God, my family, and my friends are always a constant in my life. It's not about the structure in which you live or where you lay your head at night. It's about the time you spend anywhere with those you love that brings that sense of belonging and rightness. I guess such a cliche saying has become that way for a reason; home is where the heart is.

Connecting the Dots

I really love the thrill of new opportunities and fresh adventures in life. On the other side of that coin, I'm also very much the type of person who loves routine and consistency. I'm a planner. I like knowing what to expect. One day earlier this week, I began to have an ache in my stomach, and I knew exactly what was causing it. Things were about to change... After spending a school year in an amazing elementary working with incredible individuals, I began to feel sad at the prospect of leaving. Furthermore, my roommate and I are preparing to move into a house that she recently bought. On top of that, I am leaving in a few short weeks to work as a staff member at church camp. With so many wonderful experiences to look forward to, I still felt a bit anxious because everything that I have come to know in the past months were taking a new shift. I continued to remind myself, though, that God is in control and that I can always find peace in Him. God spoke this truth to me in many ways this week, and one quote from a daily Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional reminded me, "We can't possibly see the road ahead or try to understand where it is going, but I guarantee you the Creator of the universe is connecting your dots." Boy oh boy, was He ever connecting my dots this week! God has truly been at work in my life the past few days as he has led me to new opportunities in my teaching career. Just when I begin to feel anxious, he reaches His hand into my life in such an obvious way to remind me that He will lead me to the places I should go. Though consistency may wane and changes both beautiful and frightening will come in life, I can be at rest in my Savior. The next surprise around the bend is something new, but completely exciting! When you too have those days when you can't see what lies around the bend, remember that our Creator is connecting the dots of your life, too, as part of His master plan. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) What a glorious truth to rest our faith in!