Week 6

So, my first week of camp ended less than 24 hours ago and the next week begins in about 2 hours. Time here flies on the weekends and it is a challenge at times to get recharged. 

I had a great week full of wonderful 2nd and 3rd graders, lots of yelling, pool time and blistered toes. Totally worth it though!

I had a 2nd grader named Morgan who is a total fireball. So much fun and takes DAYS to tie her shoes, but it didn't matter. Being here is not about me or my time, it's about this....

It's about getting to be the first one to know that she has decided to accept Jesus into her heart and getting the privilege of helping her tell her parents. It was such an honor. Her dad cried and spun her around. Those are the moments that you could care less about how long it took her to tie her shoes. That's what being here is all about... Loving on kids only because Christ has loved you. 

I could tell you a thousand funny stories about what they say, but it really doesn't matter. Eternity matters. Hearts matter. 

Here I come Week 7... Father use me.

Call it Selfish, but it's My Time

My whole life I have struggled with time management and sometimes I see the light on my struggle.

Being home this summer has been really good and I am really learning how important time is. Like my post below this, I indicated that at camp I have 144 hours to be intentional with sweet little lives. The same applies to being at home. I don't get a lot of time here in Bartlesville very often, so now that I have it, I treasure it.

I treasure it so much that I am having a hard time giving it away, and honestly, I am OKAY with that. So, I apolgize if I don't go to a party or stop by a social gathering, it's nothing personal. I get 2 more weeks with my precious family and that's about where my time is going. I have a little brother who is growing up so fast and its hard to keep up with him, but I know that making an effort to try and keep up with him is well worth it.

I want to stay as connected to the people that will always be here for me and always love me. My family is my priority and I have 2 weeks to get to know them a little better than I already do.

2 Weeks. Go.

144

In three weeks I get the privelege of serving God in a very unique way. Camp. I am determined to not be apart of the clique statement of being "a Christian camp counselor." At A&M and other places too, everyone is expected to work at camp and do that "Christian college kid camp thing." I refuse. I don't think that camp is to be joked about in that fashion. I am given the lives of 8 little girls for 6 days. 144 hours.

I have been calculating how many hours that I have in order to give myself perspective. In our lives 144 hours is a blink. I have a "blink" to show these girls how much their Father in Heaven loves them. Challenging? I think YES!

It is such a blessing to be given the trust that Pine Cove is blessing me with. I feel honored to get to serve 6-11 year olds. I must admit, that Satan was really try to tell me that I just wasn't good enough to work with older kids, WHAT A STUPID LIE. Anywhere the Lord puts you is not "below" you and not a place where He cannot work. You can pray that the devil stays away and stops telling me things to get me away from my goal. Which is the fact that I have 144 hours.

Top 10- Cambridge by Caleb Ryon

Caleb Ryon's Top 10 things I am going to miss about living at the Cambridge

10. The food, all you can eat between the hours of 7a and 7p

9. Sneaking up behind Abby-Lane Barnes and scaring her

8. The parking lot because it is not a parking garage

7. You don't have to drive to see you friends, you can just walk

6. "Studying" with Dave Linhart until 3:45a in the study room

5. Walking into Brandon, David and Justin's room whenever I want like I own the place

4. Pool Basketball

3. Waking Will Stockdale up by scaring him

2. Unlimited Meal Plan

1. All the people that I won't get to see everyday anymore... Boo Hoo Boo Hoo 

Top 10- Kate

Top 10 Reasons I will Miss Kate this Summer:

10. My room will most definitely be a wreck ALL THE TIME

9. I won't have an errand buddy

8. I won't have anyone in the room with me at night to laugh our butts off about really stupid things

7. I will have to supply my own toilet paper

6. I will probably get fat, because no one will be telling me how many calories I am consuming

5. There will be no one to Facebook chat with 2 feet away from me

4. I won't have anyone to pester when I am in a really onry mood 

3. No one will start singing a song about whatever I say, even if it is about cleaning my room or being "wishy-washy"

2. I won't have anyone to pester about politics

1. I won't have anyone to share clothes with. :(

Top 10- Friends

The top 10 things I love about having best girlfriends:

10. Always having people to call when I am on the long 9 hour trek home

9. Watching ridiculous TV shows and thinking that they are the coolest thing ever... aka, The Hills, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and The Bachelor

8. Going away from one another and coming back talking for hours about every boy we saw and thing we did while eating either snow cones, ice cream or something else really fattening. 

7. Going shopping with each other and telling each other, "YOU DON'T NEED THAT"

6. Having a support system to call when you need to vent or need advice

5. People to procrastinate studying with!

4. Making each other sweet gifts and letters before we all leave each other for the summer. 

3. Committing to pray for one another this summer and wearing matching bracelets as a reminder. 

2. Being able to love on them and do fun little things for one another.

1. Having girls who love Jesus and are seeking Him just like me and being able to center our relationships around Him! 

Onward on the top 10's

So, I have decided to make another top 10 list.... here goes. 

Top 10 things I want to do before I graduate college and get a job:

10. Watch the economy get better... sorry, I had to. :)

9. Date, maybe

8. Have a giant dance party at my house

7. Go to the beach with my friends for spring break

6. Study abroad

5. Decide at midnight that I want to go on a roadtrip with my girlies and see where we end up

4. Get my aggie ring... the shiny gold one with a diamond in the middle

3. Meet George H.W. Bush and ask him if he will let me take him out for lunch

2. Be able to know that the relationships I make here will be lifelong and that the women I meet here will stand in my wedding.

1. Learn as much as I can about my Savior and become so grounded in Him that when it is time to leave this holding ground called college, that His thoughts and directions for my life, will become mine, by His grace alone. 

OH MY OH MY OH MY

I cannot wait to come home to Oklahoma

My top 10 reasons I love an Oklahoma summer...

10. The fact that my family loves to eat outside on our back porch.

9. Chandler, every summer, attempts to teach me how to pitch in the backyard.

8. I love going to the pool and getting a good tan, then going home and getting ready to go out for dinner and a movie with my family.

7. I love watching Chan mow the grass and the smell of it being freshly cut.

6. I love getting to go to Pine Cove and watching lives get changed for Jesus.

5. I love going to graduation parties and graduations where everyone wears their pretty summer dresses and dreams of their future beyond high school.

4. I love that my mom puts Christmas lights on our back porch and a CD player so we can sit outside at night and read while listening to music. 

3. I love seeing my friends and having no cares.

2. I love the fresh outlook it gives you on going BACK to school. 

1. I love spending time with the people I love, and THIS SUMMER, I will not take it for granted. 

The Ulitmate

So, I have recently made an observation, that I would like opinions on:

I hear people say "they got married... and then lived happily every after."

Is marriage what we are suppose to be waiting for? (this is really a rhetorical question)

Does life and happiness start with being married?

I am just finding it hard to believe, that God would put that kind of limitation on a life. 

Just my opinion. Let me know what you think.

Beaten, Bruised and Finding God in it All.

I am so tired... I feel pretty beaten up, I mean can't you tell I am writing this at 3:45 in the morning. I am trying to find what it means to allow the Lord to "carry you" and to for Him to take over your life. I guess I am struggling with all the of "Christian lingo," what do these words mean? What does it look like to be "consumed" and how does that happen? I may just be writing this out of frustration and exhaustion, but geee whiz... I am wrestling. 

Jacob wrestled with God, and God did 2 things:

a. put him in his place

b. blessed him and allowed him more opportunities to glorify our Lord and Savior

So, put me in the ring... It's time to wrestle. 

B-O-L-D

"Paul's idea of service was to pour out his life to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference." --Oswald Chambers

This blog is simply about what the Lord has put on my heart lately, being bold. 

We are not called to live lives of complacency, which is BEYOND easy in "Bible-belt America." We are COMMANDED to live lives that are full of truth, blatant truth... I mean think about it, when was the last time YOU shared the straight Gospel with someone? Can't remember, I sure couldn't. So, I'm changing that. I want to be like Jesus and Paul. Whether there is praise or blame, I care not(or am at least giving it an effort).

Matthew 28:20

"...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, as a ransom for many."

One last thing that can sort of tie in, but is simply just on my heart to share is the fact that everyone know what Philippians 4:13 says, but no one knows the verse before it... it makes it all the more beautiful.

Philippians 4:12-13

"I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I HAVE LEARNED THE SECRET OF BEING CONTENT IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Contentment has been a struggle for me and one that the Lord has dramatically grown me in. I love seeing the desires of my heart change... I CAN AND AM CONTENT IN THE LORD. 

goodnight... L

I'm NOT your biggest fan.

The one word I despise the most right now... FORMAL.

Why do we create such things? I mean I know why, but it really just makes people freak out and feel crummy about themselves (well I guess you are the one that truly makes yourself feel that way, but hey, it sure ain't helpin'). I really have no good male friends that I want to spend a whole weekend with. Honestly at this point in the opposite sex relationships I possess, it would all be horribly awkward. 

I am really okay with NOT going, but "NOOOOOO," cry the people, "YOU HAVE TO GO!!!!" Why do I have to go? My mom told me today, that I needed to go, and that she would pray for me to find a date. HAHAAAA... I love her. 

It's kind of strange, this whole boys and college thing. Everyone says, "They will be everywhere, wait until college to date, its SO much better." I have not found this to be true. They are not so much better, they are actually worse. All of the boys I meet are not worth my time. I really think it must be me, or a closed door that God has on my heart. Don't think I am trying to pity myself, because the truth is, that is okay with me. I don't want to get hurt again and I don't want to waste my time. 

Back to the subject of this 'rambly' blog. I know that I can go to formal with a "guy friend," but I simply don't want to. I just want to be left alone, formal free. 

Okay, done be cynical. It's late... I'll just sleep on it.

Surprise!

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.  ~Charles R. Swindol

Well, I think it's my turn to start helping make some memories for my mom. 

I decided to surprise her at a Pine Cove scrapbooking retreat this weekend. It was great, but I think I distracted her from getting much done. Oh well! :) 

Mom's (well at least the one I have been lucky enough to have) spend a lot of their time making plans and caring for their kids. A very selfless life.  I think at some point, whenever you find fitting, take over. 

Sometimes when I am talking to other girls, especially younger girls, I find myself saying over and over again, "You just DO NOT UNDERSTAND, that woman that you have been blessed with is one of the most amazing gifts you will ever receive." I tear up every time I think about it. 

So, yeah, I am sappy about my mom. Sure, we fight and disagree(mostly about how much she calls me (: ), but we hardly ever go to bed mad at one another. 

Simply put, I just really love my mom. I am excited to surprise her more and change her diapers when she is old, if I have to.

The 3 W's

I have been doing a lot of thinking about this coming semester and what goals and kind of perspective that I want... Oswald Chambers helped inspire me.

Worship- giving back to God what He has so mercifully given to ME.

Waiting- praying and asking God for clarity and direction to do His will.

Work- putting into action what God has revealed and asked of ME.

These 3 W's have really helped me think of things in a more eternal light. It really sums up the way that we should live day to day. All surrounded by His glory and grace and yet totally unique to each persons passions and desires for life.

So AWEsome.