A blog to share…

I’ve been reading the blog Bring The Rain for awhile now. The story behind it is so sad. The family is so beautiful. And yet it is often a source of encouragement. It’s a blog worth reading.

The latest post, which i just read, was just….

Well, it brought on some serious tears.

You can read the latest post here.

 

Meet some campers…

Including ME! Head on over for a visit at Kat’s blog for Camp TSLOK where i’m one of the featured campers! I have some very fond camp memories….definitely some of the best weeks of my life. I attended the same church camp in both Wisconsin and New Hampshire. In Wisconsin we had cabins…all the bugs, cold nights, and trips to the bathroom in a completely different building in the middle of the night. In NH camp was in a big house….nicer, warmer and cleaner, but more chances of getting caught when serenading the boys past our curfew! At camp i experianced first crushes, first real dares, first heartbreaks, first times getting into trouble (scrubbing the bathroom floors with a toothbrush as a penalty!)…i think if i could stay at camp forever i would!

One of my favorite parts of camp during the week were the campfires at night. Singing all those silly songs, hoping you grab a seat next to your crush….and trying not to throw up as you sit next to him for the last hour! Then slowly walking back to your cabin, hoping the boy will walk with you and if at best, give you a hug goodnight before one of the counselors said “hey! get off the girls side of camp and get to your cabin!” It was all so romantic.

What are your favorite camp memories? Do tell…

 

Just something to think about…

“God does not give us direction for consideration, he gives it out for participation.”

“The problem is not God’s unwillingness to communicate, it’s most of the time our unwillingness to follow through.”

“It’s surrendering to the known will of God that paves the way to the discovery of the unknown will of God.”

“Great leadership isn’t about making decisions on your own, it’s about owning the decision once it’s made.”

“One of the primary ways that God will direct you and guide you in your life is by giving you a big picture vision of your life, and the clearer that vision is, the few options you have and the easier it is often times to make a decision.”

– All quotes by Andy Stanley, Pastor of North Point Community Church in GA…my new favorite podcast!

 

Image Is Everything, Beware When You Swear…

Can you recite the Ten Commandments? Sounds easy….but the average person either can’t name them all, or list them in the correct order. 

 I’m going to find out just how well a group of high school teens know their commandments. I’m co-leading the teen group at a church conference I attend every year at Grove City College in Grove City, PA in just 3 weeks. My friend Peter and I will have the teens in our care, 3 hours a day, for 6 days. It’s a scary thought….

We’re using an Ed Young study guide titled, “First and 10″…a real life guide to the Ten Commandments….the foundation of our faith! The titles are catchy, such as the title of this post, and we’re hoping to give them an exciting week of both learning and faith building.  We have a ton of activities planned….spoofs of TV game shows, great discussion questions, and many many surprises scattered throughout!

So that’s what has been consuming my free time lately. Thinking of ideas, planning out lessons, and consuming my mind with ways to apply the Ten Commandments to a teen’s life. I’m so thankful i’m not a full-time teacher! I don’t know how they do it!

 

 

 

The Shack

I just finished this book.

Oh….MY.

That’s all i can say. A friend gave this to my mom to read. She told her is was the most disturbing book she had ever read. My mom passed it to my grandmother and she said it was interesting and controversial book she had ever read. My grandmother gave it to me and i say…wow, insightful and i certainly had some double-takes. Now I’m passing it along to my mother. She wanted me to read it before her. I’m anxious to hear her thoughts!

Have YOU read it? What are your thoughts? Do share!

 

Ready For My Breakthrough…

“My Desire”

You want to be real
You want to be empty inside
You want to be someone laying down your pride
You want to be someone someday
Then lay it all down before the King
You want to be whole
You want to have purpose inside
You want to have virtue and purify your mind
You want to be set free today then lay it all down before the

Chorus:
This is my desire
This is my return
This is my desire to be used by you

You want to be real
You want to be emptied inside
And I know my heart is to feel you near
And I know my life
It’s to do your will

It’s to do your will

Bridge:

All my life I have seen where you’ve taken me
Beyond all I have hoped and there’s more left unseen
There’s not much I can do to repay all you’ve done so I give my hands to use

-Jeremy Camp

 

I was talking to a great friend over the weekend. She was telling me that her pastor has been preaching about “breakthroughs”…people having breakthroughs in their lives, and that he feels 2008 will be a year of breakthroughs for many people. She told me that i’ve been on her mind…a lot. She’s been praying for me…this will be a year of breakthroughs for me. She feels it. I hope for it. She’s a true prayer warrior. And she is doing her very best to help make that happen. She’s a beautiful friend and i am grateful for her relationship….and also reminded that though i may still be waiting for my breakthrough, i have a strong support circle all around me. God is good.