It's That Time Again

It's that time of year again...the time of the year when my friends wonder if they still have a friend named Savannah or if they have just befriended a permanent library statue...the time of year when my mom calls me to make sure I am taking my vitamins and sleeping a little bit. It's crunch time for those of us who still haven't learned how to start on papers at the beginning of the semester. The Lord has really been teaching me to trust him more fully and not let my attitude toward life, Him, and others be dictated by my workload. My joy is dependent on him who is constant and him who has given me everything I need for life and godliness in him.

As far as an update on my life:

• I had the opportunity to go back to Smyrna, TN and spend my spring breatk at Community Servants. It was refreshing to go back and resume some relationships from last year. I had a wonderful team who came together and really leaned into each other for mutual benefit and lots of laughter. http://www.communityservants.org/

• I have a great roommate and wonderful friends at school who put up with my antics, love the Lord, and want to serve the Him and others in everything.


• There are lots of changes with friends as life continues to move forward with engagements, weddings, graduations, and general life changes from all sides.


• I was looking for a communication-related internship this summer and applied for one at the Georgia Family Council. They have a three-pronged approach to their organization. They work with public policy and legislation, they act to foster a more educated Georgia, and they put forth community initiatives. I was ecstatic to find that they had asked me to join their intern team this summer. http://georgiafamily.org/


• We (some students and I) have pursued getting Young Life closer to starting in Rhea Co. There have been some moves forward as well as realistic glimpses of the road ahead. Please continue to pray for direction and wisdom in this.


• This week in chapel we have been focusing on reconciliation in the world. This is a good documentary about the aftermath of life following the Rwandan genocide. http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/index.php

So, is life crazy and almost unmanageable at times? Yes! Is God faithful and constant even in our unconstancy and hecticness? YES!

I have three major papers due at the end of next Thursday and multiple daily assignments between then and don't know how they are going to be completely done, but I do know what I am going to do: trust the Lord and work hard.

I want to encourage you where you are. Maybe you don't have the stress of college papers right now. Maybe you wish that's all you had to worry about.

Whether life is as calm as a blue sea or as tempetuous as a hurricane with no end in sight, I want to encourage you. Regardless of where you are standing, I urge you to move closer to the Father. He has our lives in his hands and lets nothing befall us that he doesn't plan to use for our benefit. He is so worthy of our trust and devotion.

Many blessings on your spring days!

Psalm 62:1-2:

"For God alone my soul waits in silence,

from him comes my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken."

Late Nite to Spring Break

It's been an eventful week to say the least.
Step 1: I finished my classes on Friday, March 5th and drove to Sweetwater to hang out with some high school friends. Then I crashed at Lindsay's house for a few hours before about 40 high schoolers from Monroe Co. piled into a big yellow school bus and headed to Young Life's Late Night!!!
We had a blast! We really did. Monroe Co. merged with Loudon Co. and Anderson Co. for a great night of club, fun, Jesus, ice skating, gymnastics, Zuma fun center, and a movie!
Hanging out and delving deeper with high school friends made pulling an all-nighter so enjoyable!

Step 2: After Late Nite, I headed back to Bryan and a group of 7 girls and 1 guy drove to Smyrna (outside of Nashville) to spend the week working with a ministry group called "Community Servants." Over the weekend, we met and played with the neighborhood kids. These 3 brothers (Mu, Dada, and Gregory II) are part of an immigrant Karen family from Myanmar. We played Ninja, soccer, and silent ball with the kids. During the week, we heard testimonies from 2 moms aobut how much they like living in the community and how God has worked in their lives.

Monday through Friday was spent primarily working on 2 houses, painting the interiors. We met the people moving into both units and got closer as a team. One of the highlights of the work was on Tuesday when I got to drive an ancient white truck around all afternoon taking loads to the dump and brush to a burn pile. It made driving my truck seem like a dream!

Thursday we changed gears and went into Nashville to help Craig, a man who has been a missionary and worked in intentse disaster areas for the past several years. Craig is working hard to finish his own home after he has helped so many others get back on their feet. He just needed some encouragement, so we were able to come alongside him and do the simplest of tasks, but ones that aided in his ultimate project goal.

Of all the different activities we did in conjunction with Community Servants, two things impressed me the most. The first was that each morning Bruce, one of the leaders, would come by and orient us to our day and remind us that relationships are more important than the physical work we were accomplishing. He would say, "All this is going to end up in a land fill anyway one day, so let's focus on people." He also talked a lot about paying attention to the kind of treasures we put into our hearts.

The second thing that impressed me was the heart of two young interns who live at Wherry Housing and work with Community Servants. They run an after school program for all the kids that want to come from 3:30-5:30 every day. When I first met them, I assumed that was their full-time occupation: ministering to the neighborhood kids. No, I found out they attend college full time, work part time jobs, and minister to these kids. The more I was around them, the more clearly I saw this beautiful picture of incarnational living done by 2 girls my age. It really challenged and encouraged me.

Feel free to check out their website: http://www.communityservants.org/

So, that is my crazy week in a nutshell and I am back at Bryan ready to hit the books and activities hard until the end of the semester. I am heading to Atlanta on Wednesday with the ACTS project to visit OM (Operation Mobilization) headquarters.

Be encouraged this week and know that I am praying for you!

Closing a Journal

I wrote on the last page of a journal I have been writing in since Jan. 2009. I always like going back and reading all of the places God has taken me, all the low and high moments I have experienced, and the ways I have grown. Most of its contents are between me and God, but I wanted to share a couple of things it reminded me of.

First, this summer I worked on Summer Staff at Young Life's Sharp Top Cove camp in Georgia. Every Sunday morning, after the campers had left Saturday night and before the new campers arrived Sunday afternoon, we would all get together and worship and be encouraged for the upcoming week. One Sunday, Jim Branch (speaker and director) had us all take a nametag and write down the name that we believe most of the time about ourselves and stick it on our shirt. We looked around and realized who most of us believe we are. "Not enough," "Trash," "Failure," and "Unlovable" were just a few. Then he had us tear up the name we call ourselves, write the name that God calls us on a new nametag, and stick it on. I realized that I call myself "fearful, falling apart, needy one" whereas God calls me "whole, healed one" and "mine." Just last week, I came to the realization that while I let the Lord heal my life before, I expect it to be over for good and then wonder why I continue to struggle so much. He did heal me from my pain and from myself, but also wants to be my daily healer and when I live my life on my own, I am ultimately refusing to let him be my healer. Healing can be a one-time event, but it is, more than not, a daily process. So, this week I have been calling God my "daily healer."

Secondly, the Lord has brought me to so many places this year that I have been before. He has brought me to these places as a way of reminding me of his underlying, constant faithfulness in my life.

• I went to SharpTop as a camper in May of 2008--happy to experience Young Life and unsure about college. I met Lindsay Oaks for the first time and got to talk with her. My grandparents came to visit the very last day of camp. I returned to SharpTop in June of 2009 happy to serve the campers and excited to get to know my fellow summer staffers. Lindsay was there as a head leader and we shared life stories and future hopes. My granddad had died since I was at SharpTop and my grandmother moved continents.
• I returned to Windy Gap (YL camp in NC) in the fall of 2009 as a leader with Sweetwater after going for the first time in the fall of 2006. First time, I sat behind a garbage can and wrestled with with my issues and with God and coming back I realized how much peace and life God had given me since then.
• I shared Urbana 2009 with close friends and I asked better questions. Urbana 2006 was great and 2009 built on what I learned. In 2006, I was looking for a short-term opportunity and in 2009 I was looking for opportunities after college. In 2006, I was exposed to issues such as human trafficking and in 2009 I was impressed with the amount of collaboration between mission organizations, the enablement of local missionaries, and the holistic view of missions.
• Every time I come back to Bryan after a break, I am reminded of all the things God has done for me in this place and all the things I have learned. I am grateful for the friends I have, the skills I have learned, and the person I am becoming.

Finally, Psalm 62 has really inflitrated my life and thoughts this year.

Psalm 62
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work. (ESV)