What will summer hold

College life is going well and I am doing just fine. I hope that you all have a good week and are looking forward to another. As most of you know I have been trying to figure out what to do this summer. Until two and a half weeks ago I was unsure of what i would do at all this summer. As far as I could tell I was probably going to end up in Chicago for the summer working longs hours of the week. At first glance summer did not look appealing to me at all and I had no wish of it's arrival. The main reason for such feelings, was the fact that I would be so far away from the events that where going on with the family back east. (Mom and Dad moving, Tim and Mary having a baby, and just hanging out with the family.) I feared that I would never see friends from back east again and that what I thought was a short time good bye would be a long term good-bye. I felt as if all that I held dear and near to me was being stripped away. (Several months ago I was challenged with a question. "If everything was taken away from me, friends, family, and possessions, would Christ be enough, would be satisfied me, would I treasure him?) As I have looked toward the summer and have reflected on the past I asked myself this question. Up to a couple of weeks ago my answer to this question was no. I was holding and placing my friends, family and experiences before Christ. They were more important to me than Him. Two and a half weeks ago I received a email from Brian Luke. In the email he asked what my plans where for summer and if I wanted to be a teen leader this summer at camp. He said that no male leader had applied yet and was wondering if I was interested (No Pressure). At first glance of the e-mail I kinda shrugged it off and chuckled at the idea. (I personally thought that there was no possible way in this world that I would be a college leader this summer.) Well this goes to show two things. (Our plans for our lives are not always God's plan, and God is always working in our lives and it is not until we look back that we can see the puzzle peaces come together.) Later that week I was talking with Mom and Dad about Summer and what I was going to do. (I was dreading the conversation, but knew that the time had come to talk about it) I told them that I could work in Wichita (but it was unprovable that it would actually happen) and Chicago. My conclusion was that I would probably end up finding a job in Chicago, while living with Grandma and Grandpa. I would try to take some time off around a weekend and go and visit Tim, Mary and the baby (since we do not know the sex of their unborn child, it's title will remain "the baby") So we started to talk about that and figuring out what type of job I would do in Chicago. Towards the end of our lunch I ended one of my conversations about Chicago with (Oh! Brian Luke email me and said they need a guy leader for Camp this Summer) by Mom and Dad's reaction I could easily tell they were surprised and brought back. I told them that I replied to Brian saying I'd pray about (when I replied to Brian I was prepared to give him some excuse and a simple yet not so simple NO) I did not think Mom and Dad would think it was such a great idea either but I was wrong on both accounts. The rest of the meal we talked about what it would mean as well as the pros and cons of working at camp this summer. (Pros - I would be near the east coast family this summer and possibly around when Tim and Mary's baby is born, plus I would raise support for summer and any extra support goes toward next semesters bills. Cons - If I did not raise enough support I would hardly make the money I need to meet next semesters bill (well that part is still in prayer I do believe God will provide) We ended our conversation the thought of a new possibility for summer. The most comforting things I brought away from that conversation is that (Mom,Dad and I all believe that if it is God's will for me to work at Camp this summer he will equip me with what I need to work there as a leader and that He will provide the means for me to pay for next semester.) I was also comforted by the Prayers of Dad and Mom in seeking God's will for my life this summer. For the next week I prayed and prayed about what God would have for me in my life. As I prayed I was able to reflect on my past year. I realized that I had not fully put Christ at the center of my life nor had I treasured him. I have been working on becoming dependent on God rather than myself and seeking what He wants me to do this summer. These past couple of weeks I have been able to spend time with God in his word and prayer. I have been challenged to treasure Christ and each day I have been working towards that. I have come to a place where I am becoming more content with what I do this summer (whatever it may be) Last summer I was challenged with the idea of surrender my life to Christ. (something that does not just happens once but is a daily process) As I look forward to this summer, I surrender it to God. I am continuing to seek His will and plans for my life. Two Wednesdays ago I had a really good talk with Brian Luke about the leadership position. He encouraged me to continue to pray and told me that the camp staff would be praying as well. Last Thursday I sent in my return letter for camp (a reapplication) and had a really good interview with Nathanael Tice and Denise Luke. They were able to tell me about some of the changes that would be going on this summer and a little be about the role that I would be playing. From my talk with theme it sounds like some amazing things are happening and God is bring some great people to work at Camp this summer. And so I conclude this lengthy email with one request. My dearest family, would you pray that God's will would be made clear to me for this summer and that I would continue to seek and treasure Jesus.

Solidarity

I finally Shaved my head

Stop, Pray, and Listen

Have you ever heard the saying stop and pray before you start a search for a lost item. Well I had and apparently did a bad job of putting into practice the wise advise of friends and family. Last Tuesday I lost my cell phone and it was all due to the fact that I am an unorganized person. Anyway I lost it and was quite unable to reach the world (well at least by closest friends and family.) It was not until Wednesday that I started to seriously search for my phone and low and behold I was depending on my own means to find it. In the middle of my search I asked God to help me find my phone. I continued the search and as each day passed I started to lose hope that I would ever find my phone. Then tonight I had a conversation with my father. He was very calm and helped me run through the day that I lost it. Towards the end of the conversation he told me one vital thing. To stop and pray, asking God to give me a clear picture of where I had lost it. Although I had done this once before earlier in the week, I knew I needed to stop amidst my frantic searching and to depend on God for his help and depending only my strength alone. After I took a minute to pray several places came to mind of where I might find my phone. I took one more sweep, retracing my steps of Tuesday afternoon and finally came back to the room. I attempted to take another look around the room when I remembered the one place I did not look at all (my suitcase) I pulled it out from under my bed and low and behold there was my phone. There are several morals to this story. The first is that one should keep their stuff organized so that it is easy to find their stuff when they are in a hurry. Second and more importantly is that we need to depend on God and not our own wisdom or strength to help us get through the everyday things of life. No matter how big or small a problem may be, depending on God is a whole lot better than not.
- Proverbs 3:5