This week was so crazy! Between four of the staff getting the stomach flu, and dealing with unique circumstances this week, I don't know how we made it through other than by the grace of God. He has been so faithful in all that He provides to help us through each week.
I had a great time this week with the youth. There were definitely a few that I connected with on a deeper level, and I hope to remain in contact with them. It is so interesting to me the differences in group dynamics each week. Sometimes more than not, the dynamics are set by the adult leaders who bring their youth to Sault Ste. Marie. I constantly find myself being intimidated by the adult leaders...I don't know why I allow this to happen. Usually by the end of the first day of programming, I realize how silly I'm being and that the one thing that matters is that I bring glory to God through my heart and actions...not if the adult leaders think I have it together and know what is going on. I constantly struggle with this. Feeling accepted by peers, and those younger & older than me...I guess I didn't realize that as much before as I have this week. I'm hoping God helps me grow in this area. Obviously I know where my focus is to be & where true acceptance lies, but why is that sometimes so hard to put into action?
Thank you so much for your continued support through prayer this summer. I have been incredibly challenged within the last four weeks of programming. The perfectionist & planner in me daily struggles to find the balance between flexibility & maintaining a sense of order. God had given me a lot of grace to help me be flexible with a joyful attitude. :) Please continue to pray for guidance & a continued focus on God for the remaining four weeks of programming. We are halfway done with programming, and although I am excited for what the next four weeks hold, I am also excited to know what God has store for us. Please pray for me to be patient & to wholeheartedly trust in God's plan....I know it is a great one!
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Week 3
Yay for doing well with my summer goal of weekly updates! Don't expect this to last once the summer is over...I'll do my best though!
Week three has been amazing in so many different ways. The youth this week were really a blessing to work with...and they had a lot of surprises to deal with throughout the week. On Monday morning, due to a church function, all the girls had to move their ALL their stuff upstairs for the day, and reset it Monday night. Also on Sunday night, the water was supposedly supposed to be shut off for only 5 minutes, but it turned into 15 hours of no water. Monday afternoon we realized a toilet was broken, and the 40-something girls were down to two functioning toilets, and then, the 12 hour flu started to spread on Thursday night...but through it all, we heard zero complaining about any of this. Really, looking back on this week, it is quite comical. Thankfully, the youth were great about everything, and even intentionally looked for different ways in which they could help out.
God also blessed this week by giving us energy, health, and breakthroughs as a team/staff. I am extremely blessed by my team and how well we work together. Everyone has so many different strengths, and it is really great to see how those strengths come in handy in different situations. I'm excited to see what week 4 will bring!
Week three has been amazing in so many different ways. The youth this week were really a blessing to work with...and they had a lot of surprises to deal with throughout the week. On Monday morning, due to a church function, all the girls had to move their ALL their stuff upstairs for the day, and reset it Monday night. Also on Sunday night, the water was supposedly supposed to be shut off for only 5 minutes, but it turned into 15 hours of no water. Monday afternoon we realized a toilet was broken, and the 40-something girls were down to two functioning toilets, and then, the 12 hour flu started to spread on Thursday night...but through it all, we heard zero complaining about any of this. Really, looking back on this week, it is quite comical. Thankfully, the youth were great about everything, and even intentionally looked for different ways in which they could help out.
God also blessed this week by giving us energy, health, and breakthroughs as a team/staff. I am extremely blessed by my team and how well we work together. Everyone has so many different strengths, and it is really great to see how those strengths come in handy in different situations. I'm excited to see what week 4 will bring!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wedding!
Here is the special post I promised! I would have posted sooner, but being that I forgot to bring my camera, I had to wait for the other faithful bridesmaids to post pictures from the wedding....so here are a few! :)
The Happy Couple, Randy & Kelsey Kidder!
Ashley and I (obviously a beautiful bridesmaid!)
Me and the girls I grew up with! I already miss them!
The Happy Couple, Randy & Kelsey Kidder!
Ashley and I (obviously a beautiful bridesmaid!)
Me and the girls I grew up with! I already miss them!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Week 2
Although we are into our second full day of week 3's programming, I still think it is okay to blog about week 2 since I did not get a change to over the weekend. :)
Week 2 was beyond challenging...to put it simply. I was extremely excited to meet the youth with a non-labeling attitude...but despite that, connecting with the youth last week was simply put, a no-go for me. I felt like I was barely hanging on to get through the week. Physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion was rampant through me, but God still worked through me and our other staff. Nights when Club (basically youth group for the teens starting at 8:45 pm) seemed impossible to do, God filled me with the energy I needed to play music and give talks...I and the other staff noticed that the talks given last week were phenomenal. I'm not saying that because I want to brag, but out of a sense of awe at God's provision when I barely had the desire to be in the front to speak truth and love into the youth. He provided in huge ways for me last week, and I know many of our other staff would say the same for themselves. :)
A special blog post is to come as soon as I have access to pictures. I was unable to blog about last week over the weekend due to my friends getting married! Randy and Kelsey got married on Saturday, and I had the honor of being in the wedding. It was so great to see the friends I grew up with, and some of my family as well- it never gets old going home and seeing friends and family....no I am not at all homesick!
I hope you all have an amazing week!
Week 2 was beyond challenging...to put it simply. I was extremely excited to meet the youth with a non-labeling attitude...but despite that, connecting with the youth last week was simply put, a no-go for me. I felt like I was barely hanging on to get through the week. Physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion was rampant through me, but God still worked through me and our other staff. Nights when Club (basically youth group for the teens starting at 8:45 pm) seemed impossible to do, God filled me with the energy I needed to play music and give talks...I and the other staff noticed that the talks given last week were phenomenal. I'm not saying that because I want to brag, but out of a sense of awe at God's provision when I barely had the desire to be in the front to speak truth and love into the youth. He provided in huge ways for me last week, and I know many of our other staff would say the same for themselves. :)
A special blog post is to come as soon as I have access to pictures. I was unable to blog about last week over the weekend due to my friends getting married! Randy and Kelsey got married on Saturday, and I had the honor of being in the wedding. It was so great to see the friends I grew up with, and some of my family as well- it never gets old going home and seeing friends and family....no I am not at all homesick!
I hope you all have an amazing week!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Week 1
Tomorrow our first group of youth will head home after an intense week in Sault Ste Marie, MI! I have been blessed and stretched in so many ways this week. It is hard to believe today is already Thursday and tomorrow morning by 9:30 am the youth will be heading home. I feel like a mother bird shooing her babies out of the nest for the first time. I want them to go home, spread the word, share what they've learned, be changed, but part of me wants to keep them here longer...prepare them more for the realities they are going to face at home. But despite my desire to do more with them, I'm giving them over to God...and placing them in the best place ever- His hands.
Getting to know the youth that came here this week has been nothing short of amazing. At first I was so intimidated and nervous....will they like me? Is that even where my focus should have been? Probably not. To be honest, at first I was put off by some of the youth and the attitudes that came with them. I was frustrated- don't they know how much we and others have been praying for them and their time here? Don't they care that one of us is talking right now and that it is not appropriate to be talking? Silly me...I learned a valuable lesson early on this week. One that I've always known but haven't really had to put into practice until this week. People seeking for attention will do whatever they need to get it...unfortunately this looks like acting out in negative ways. It hit me that if someone is seeking attention in a negative way, and I can see they are hurting, or desperately need some love, why should my first reaction to that be negative? I realized that if someone really needs attention that bad, than I should love on them, give them the time of day, and provide something constructive for them to do. I have fallen in love with these youth this week...and I'm sure its something that will happen for the remaining seven weeks of our time in Sault Ste. Marie.
This was supposed to be a somewhat shorter post, but as usual, it ended up being much longer than I intended. Please continue to pray for us. I know that the only reason I made it through this week was by the grace of God and prayers lifted up on my behalf. I've never been so dependent upon God for physical energy and strength before...it is a weired but freeing dependency for me to experience.
A new staff joined our team this week. J from Maryland has been a huge blessing, and I don't know how we operated without him before he got here!
Please continue to lift us up on prayer. Tomorrow morning-early evening will be spend wrapping up the week, and prepping for Sunday afternoon when our next group arrives. I hope you're enjoying the first couple weeks of summer!
Getting to know the youth that came here this week has been nothing short of amazing. At first I was so intimidated and nervous....will they like me? Is that even where my focus should have been? Probably not. To be honest, at first I was put off by some of the youth and the attitudes that came with them. I was frustrated- don't they know how much we and others have been praying for them and their time here? Don't they care that one of us is talking right now and that it is not appropriate to be talking? Silly me...I learned a valuable lesson early on this week. One that I've always known but haven't really had to put into practice until this week. People seeking for attention will do whatever they need to get it...unfortunately this looks like acting out in negative ways. It hit me that if someone is seeking attention in a negative way, and I can see they are hurting, or desperately need some love, why should my first reaction to that be negative? I realized that if someone really needs attention that bad, than I should love on them, give them the time of day, and provide something constructive for them to do. I have fallen in love with these youth this week...and I'm sure its something that will happen for the remaining seven weeks of our time in Sault Ste. Marie.
This was supposed to be a somewhat shorter post, but as usual, it ended up being much longer than I intended. Please continue to pray for us. I know that the only reason I made it through this week was by the grace of God and prayers lifted up on my behalf. I've never been so dependent upon God for physical energy and strength before...it is a weired but freeing dependency for me to experience.
A new staff joined our team this week. J from Maryland has been a huge blessing, and I don't know how we operated without him before he got here!
Please continue to lift us up on prayer. Tomorrow morning-early evening will be spend wrapping up the week, and prepping for Sunday afternoon when our next group arrives. I hope you're enjoying the first couple weeks of summer!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Summer Team!
This is our amazing team for the summer! Please remember to keep us in your prayers as we serve the community of Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Final Countdown!
02 days until the chapter of "Employee of PESI Law & Accoutning" closes
10 days until a four-year chapter "College" of my life is closed
11 days until the chapter entitled "First Year of Marraige" closes
12 days until a new chapter of my life starts..."YouthWorks"
What is with me and all this counting down? I'm not desperately awaitng for my life to being...for it clearly already has! Maybe (due mostly to graduation), I'm just realizing that I'm not a kid anymore, and God has plans for me in the future- whether I feel ready or not!
God doesn't call the prepared, He prepares those He calls. That's how I feel right now. God is preparing me (and Andy!) for an amazing summer...but even more than that, an amazing future. Andy and I recently said to one another "if the first year of marriage is the hardest, we have it pretty easy!" I am so incredibly blessed by my husband- he daily encourages me to grow in my relationship with the Lord, yet at the same time, doesn't give me anything but grace and forgiveness when I mess up. At one time during my college career, I thought I had my future all figured out (laughable, I know), but now I've thrown my hands up and have said, "okay- I get it God. I don't have you figured out, or what You want from me...other than to love You with all my heart."
After the summer, we don't have a plan figured out, but for once in my life, I'm fine with not having every detailed figured out. What's it worth anyway? By the time I have all the details figured out, they've all changed! I have definitely been stretched beyond what I thought I could be this semester, and have finally realized that God is a much better planner than I will ever be. Although I need to be responsible, I need to find the balance between being a control freak and lazy couch potato. Oh extremes...you have to appreciate them.
I think I'll chalk this post up as one of the more random ones in a while. But hey- at least I posted again before two months went by! :)
10 days until a four-year chapter "College" of my life is closed
11 days until the chapter entitled "First Year of Marraige" closes
12 days until a new chapter of my life starts..."YouthWorks"
What is with me and all this counting down? I'm not desperately awaitng for my life to being...for it clearly already has! Maybe (due mostly to graduation), I'm just realizing that I'm not a kid anymore, and God has plans for me in the future- whether I feel ready or not!
God doesn't call the prepared, He prepares those He calls. That's how I feel right now. God is preparing me (and Andy!) for an amazing summer...but even more than that, an amazing future. Andy and I recently said to one another "if the first year of marriage is the hardest, we have it pretty easy!" I am so incredibly blessed by my husband- he daily encourages me to grow in my relationship with the Lord, yet at the same time, doesn't give me anything but grace and forgiveness when I mess up. At one time during my college career, I thought I had my future all figured out (laughable, I know), but now I've thrown my hands up and have said, "okay- I get it God. I don't have you figured out, or what You want from me...other than to love You with all my heart."
After the summer, we don't have a plan figured out, but for once in my life, I'm fine with not having every detailed figured out. What's it worth anyway? By the time I have all the details figured out, they've all changed! I have definitely been stretched beyond what I thought I could be this semester, and have finally realized that God is a much better planner than I will ever be. Although I need to be responsible, I need to find the balance between being a control freak and lazy couch potato. Oh extremes...you have to appreciate them.
I think I'll chalk this post up as one of the more random ones in a while. But hey- at least I posted again before two months went by! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
