IfYouGiveAMindensenABlog

I truly believe that FAITH is the balance between fear and foolishness

...but how do you find that balance?

February has flown by and March is rapidly moving along. Also, this will be my twelfth 'official newsletter' since I started blogging, marking one WHOLE year having gone by already. Looking back, SO much has happened that I'm glad I have this blog to semi keep track of it all.
Anywho, on with February. Like January, it was filled with guest groups, weekly almost full-camp cleanings, and winter retreats. My parents came to visit, and I saw many friends from the summer who returned to counsel or just help out with our winter retreats. There was great conversation, and ALWAYS lots of laughter. I know I'm glossing over everything, but honestly right down details kind of evade me.
I'm still in the process of looking for work this summer. I just sent in my first official application today. I still have to get my references in, but at least they have my app. A few other places have my resume. I don't know...continue to pray for me and the decisions I need to make regarding the future. I just got back from the Michigan sectional CCCA (Christian Camping and Conference Association) annual conference. I had some really good conversations, and learned a lot...I'll save those thoughts for another blog as I'm trying to keep this to a simple overview of FEBRUARY. (the conference was at the beginning of March!^^)
As Outfitters, we started doing Precepts (an inductive Bible study). We're doing the one on Covenant. Katie (my mentor) is teaching this year's study just like last year. I'm excited. It can get tedious at times, but having been through two other Precepts studies, I KNOW that in the end they're WELL WORTH the effort. Plus, it is exciting to learn all about God's promises, and ultimately about His FAITHFULNESS! What excellent timing... "'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 future.'" And I KNOW He does...If I seek him and trust him (like the rest of the passage goes on to talk about...) He will protect and provide for me. He has my future in HIS capable hands!

God is GOOD!♥

Sorry to all of you who have been disappointed with my low number of blogs. The last few months have certainly been VERY busy. Not to say that God hasn't been teaching me things (which would be FALSE!), but I just haven't had the time to thoughtfully process and express them in type.

Have you ever REALLY stopped to think about your priorities? What do your actions say is important to you? Do they match God's? Am I living with a heavenly perspective or an earthly one? On whom is my focus?

In the small time before major transitions it's often hard to not worry, getting caught up in future plans and their potential consequences; good or bad. Often we forget that we have a God who PROMISES in Proverbs 3:5-6 he will make our paths straight, and in Jeremiah 29:11 he promises a prosperous future, filled with hope. There is something we have to do though...trust HIM, seek HIM with all our hearts. If we aren't focused on what really matters, we aren't going to be living a life that really matters. Only God can ultimately bring meaning into our lives, just go read Ecclesiastes (which I recommend doing anyways!).

I have been given much to think about because of my reading "The Treasure Principle" last month and now "The Pursuit of God" this month. To quote Paul, I want to run the race "to get the prize". So, I was reading in 1 Timothy 6 the other day, and one of the last paragraphs sums up most of the ideas I've been thinking about over the last few months..."Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with EVERYTHING for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in GOOD DEEDS, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is TRULY life." (1T6:17-19 emphasis is mine =D)

God is GOOD!

Well, my Christmas break ended in a flurry of activities. I had a fellow Outfitter (Stephen) come visit for a few days, followed by another friend (Caitlin) from camp who I hadn't seen in awhile, and on New Years' I was happily able to see one of my past fellow Outfitters(Johnson) who now works at another camp. It was GREAT to spend sometime with him. Also, on New Years Eve, EVE...Caitlin and I were able to go back to camp for the day. I know, I'm weird, I live there all year long, and when I'm home on break I head back for a visit. However, a bunch of the Summer'10 Staff members were getting together for New Years, so I came up to see them. It was fun catching up with the one's who were able to make it out that day. I didn't stay for the whole holiday weekend, but I hear it went well.
We came back from break to a packed schedule, and pretty much stepped right into winter retreat season which is now pretty much in full swing. Our camp-run retreats actually start THIS upcoming weekend. We're excited. There is supposed to be a TON of snow... ^^
On top of work, I'm continuing to teach our Tuesday Bible Study. We are now in Book 3 of the Navigator series, and it's going well. For Thursdays, we've been meeting with Dave Stiles and discussing The End Times. It's been a challenging, but rewarding experience. I'm still a little confused, but who does have it all figured out when it comes to the End Times (If you do, PLEASE explain it to me!). Also, our book for this month is The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. I just finished it, and it certainly has given me much to think about...especially in regards to my future...speaking of which...
I'm also currently trying to deciding what comes next for me, as my two years in the Outfitters program is rapidly approaching an end. Not only do I have to decide POST-program plans, but also, as a part of the program, I need to decide what I want to do for this upcoming summer. PLEASE pray for wisdom, guidance, parental(and other...) understanding, and just a general peace in the overall process.

Thank you ALL for your continued support and encouragement. Let me know how I can pray/support/encourage you!

God is GOOD!♥

This morning I had the opportunity to attend church. However, due to some unforeseen car issues, I did not attend the church I typically go to when I have a free Sunday. I knew God had a reason for changing things up, and I was right. It was like the message today was written for me, and where I am RIGHT NOW. The church has been going through a series called 'Spiritual Targets for the Focused Christian Life', and this week was about how WE, as Christians ('truly born again believers') are to be COMMITTED TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND MATURITY.

The pastor talked about how we as humans are expected to grow beyond the 'baby-stage' in life, even though we're considered to be 'cute and cuddly'...in the same way, even though a new born CHRISTIAN can be exciting and fun, they too need (and are expected) to GROW beyond the 'baby-stage' of SPIRITUAL life. However, the process doesn't just END with getting out of the 'baby-stage'. There is ALWAYS another stage to reach...

When it comes to SPIRITUAL growth, our goal is to BE LIKE Christ, which is IMPOSSIBLE to achieve in this sinful world. NOBODY in our world WILL EVER be able to PERFECTLY imitate Christ. The purpose of the goal though is NOT to discourage, but rather, it points to God's holiness, and HIS intended purpose for us to be holy as well. Also, God KNOWS that perfection is humanly unachievable, and simply takes pleasure in our IMPROVEMENTS. It's our CONSTANT STRIVE TOWARD IMPROVEMENT that brings glory to God and is pleasing to him. God doesn't want us to grow stagnant in our faith, but wants us to grow ever closer to him. We, however, cannot do this on our own.In order to grow, we need God's help.

On our own we are powerless to change. The Good news is that God HAS provided ALL that we need 'for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness'(2Peter1:3)Did you catch the key? through our KNOWLEDGE of him The Christian life is NOT about a religion it's about a RELATIONSHIP with GOD. As we grow closer to God, we are able to better understand his will for our lives, and will become more willing to and ABLE to follow his leading. Our love for God makes us WANT to be more like HIM. If we don't LOVE him, we won't want to imitate him.

In order to grow closer to God we need to be getting into HIS WORD. Good communication is key to any healthy relationship, and God uses the Bible to speak to us. If we aren't regularly getting into his word, how do we expect to grow? Going back to the physical growth analogy, if we stopped eating food, we would stop growing, in fact we'd eventually die. In the same way, when it comes to spiritual growth, God's word is our food, and some of us are trying to live as 'spiritual anorexics'. We are SPIRITUALLY starving ourselves and then wondering why we are not spiritually growing. We need consistent spiritual nourishment, through a regular 'diet' of God's Word and pouring in of biblical truths into our hearts, in order to grow and mature in our faith.

The two ways the pastor talked about getting regular biblical nourishment are through daily personal reading/studying of the Bible, and through corporate Bible teaching. It is important to do BOTH. Sometimes, we excuse our not doing of one because we've done the other, but without both we only make it harder for ourselves to grow. "The Spiritual battles of our lives our fought on the battlefield of our thinking"...In Ephesians 4 it says that the lost 'walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them..." If we are not THINKING in a biblical way, we will not LIVE in a biblical way. In order to do that though successfully, according to Joshua 1:8 we need to 'mediate on it day AND night'. Continually, it's important to have CORPORATE biblical teaching because it's through our fellow believers that we are able to be 'sharpened', and by whom we are spurred "on toward love and good deeds' (Hebrews 10:24).

In the end though, it's important to remember that spiritual maturity doesn't happen over night. It's a regular walking with the Lord. A steady diet of His Word. A day-by-day, night-by-night, week-by-week, etc. of mediating and leaning on His TRUTH. It's a LIFE long process taken most often in the tiniest of steps; Baby steps.

God is GOOD! ♥

I can NOT believe it's already Christmas! The last month and a half since my last 'newsletter' update has been a time of change and hurt, but at the same time great joy.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, there have been some changes to the Outfitter program, but as much as I wish they could have come through a different set of circumstances, I have to admit that I really like how things are right now.

I finished teaching book TWO of the NAV 2.7 series that we're going through on Tuesdays and I'm going to be preparing to teach book 3. It's been a learning experience to say the least, and I didn't even really teach most of the days. I think I ended up only doing 2 or 3 lessons by myself. Therefore, the coming book should be an even greater stretch, but I'm excited. I'll be making some suggested changes, but I've really enjoyed our Tuesday classes together.
Another new aspect to the program is grocery shopping. We are all given $50 gift cards to Meijer each month, and we have to eat almost all our meals at home now. At first, I was a little nervous (I wasn't too big of a fan of cooking previously), but I'm having fun experimenting. It's been especially helpful because of my gluten sensitivity. It was getting hard for me to find food at camp that I could eat on a regular basis. So, having more control of my food supply is nice :)

Also, last month (for those of you who don't know already), Jeremy and I did break-up. It was an agreed upon thing, and God has continued to reassure me of his goodness through the whole thing. I can't say it's been easy, but as far as break-ups go it is fairly un-messy, and I'm thankful for God's continued guidance. I KNOW he was the one who led us into the relationship, and I still trust him to be guiding us as we have now stopped being in a relationship together. I thank God for all he has taught me through the whole thing (Pre, during, and Post). God is SO FAITHFUL...and VERY Good!!!

I have also started applying to schools for next fall. Prayer for guidance for that is GREATLY appreciated. I know I want to study some aspect of business, but what specifically I have not decided. I'm looking at a few places, but deadlines are coming up quick. I'm starting to feel the pressure. On top of that, I'm working on planning my 2nd summer of the program. I'm not supposed to spend it at camp, and options are pretty much limitless...pray, pray, pray!

As crazy as it all seems, in an odd way, the last few weeks have been some of the best weeks of my recent years. I have felt more at peace with myself and God...more generally happy than I have in a long time...my mom would say it has to do with my now more gluten-free system, which is probably true, but there really is something to be said for thankfulness, peace, and joy that comes only from really resting in the loving arms of our Savior JESUS Christ, whose birthday we are celebrating today.

Thank you Jesus for coming to earth to save me...Thank you for loving me enough to die for me...thank you for being there for me...thank you for making the way for me to be in a relationship with God, and for giving me a chance at an abundant life if I choose to follow you!

God is GOOD! ♥

What was FAIR about the cross???
-I didn't get what I deserved!

As He died He spoke MY name
-He was THAT committed to being in a relationship with ME...

♪♫"What's love got to do with it?" ♫♪ ...EVERYTHING!

JESUS=a GIFT!

It's NOT about us!

I want God to bless ME, so...

"Do unto others..."
"Pray for your enemies..."
"Forgive and you will be forgiven..."