Two months in retrospect

For those of you still checking my blog, I applaud you. You're persistence should be commended. I humbly thank you for sticking with me. It's not that nothing has been going on, but rather too many somethings. This will be an attempt to fill you in on the highlights...hope you're getting excited!

May was pretty much filled with busy work stuff. The approaching summer hits with an onslaught for the student ministry minded and onslaught it did! My time was spent getting ready for Senior Recognition, a senior boat trip, camp preparation, camp preparation, camp preparation and a thousand other things I already forgot about. But, the highlight of May was definitely going to Louisville (that's looavull for you foreigners) for Will & Kristi's wedding! It was such a wonderful weekend and HUGE gift from God to me. I didn't think I would be able to go because plane tickets to L'ville are not-so-cheap and I'm not exactly Mrs. Moneybags these days. But, God being rich in mercy and lovingkindness provided an incredible way for me to go. An incredible young and poor married couple decided that since they weren't able to go to the wedding themselves, they would like to help pay for me to go. Wow! So awesome! So, I booked my plane tickets and got excited. Will has been my fellow student ministry guy, friend, brother, goofball for the past couple years so it was very special to be a part of his big day. AND!!!! Kristi is my relatively new (since last summer) dear heart connecting kind of friend and so I wanted to be there for her as well and be in the house party and all that good stuff. My favorite moment of all the wedding festivities was when Kasey and I spur of the moment helped her bustle her dress in a public restroom right before the reception. Ahhh, good times. AND...also so fabulous was that I spent the weekend staying with and catching up with old friends from my seminary days at Southern. I had such a blast staying with my old roommate Alicia and her husband Bo and playing with their two babies who I hadn't even met before! And then I spent some time with Homola Granola (also known as Connie) who used to teach my sunday school class. And I got to eat pizza from my favorite pizza place in the whole world - Tony Boombozz - TWICE. So yummy! AND I got to worship at my old church and see lots of old friends and it was just so refreshing. AND I spent one afternoon with my super special friends Rob and Chandi and their two little girls (who I also met for the first time!) Wow, it was such a great weekend!

So, that pretty much brings us to JUNE. I just thought May was busy. I had no idea. June has pretty much been camp, camp, and more camp for myself and the whole youth crew. But it has been amazing. After lots of long hours, and even longer days, and God being extremely and sweetly gracious to me in exactly the moments when I needed it, all 372 of us finally got on buses and headed to camp about 5 hours away. It was a glorious week with God's favor resting on us in amazing ways. We had fabulous weather at just the right times, I had a great group of kids in my tribe, we had so much fun, the creation was simply breathtaking (God said "Good morning" to me that first Monday morning as the sun peeked over the mountain at me) and God moved in the hearts of our students in a way that left no doubt that it was all Him. So sweet. This year our camp theme was walking through Exodus and one afternoon we all trekked like the Israelites (except for a bit less than 40 years) up the hill about an hour or so, had dinner up on the hill and then trekked the rest of the way to a life-size recreation of the Tabernacle complete with the ark of the covenant and all of the elements and the high priest's proper dress. It was an amazing visual for me that I will never forget. The theme of the week was basically the gospel and how we must live in the gospel every single day. His grace and only His grace is sufficient for us to meet with God. Sins paid for. Once for all. The curtain has been torn. Jesus is the only way. Here's what we memorized during the week...Hebrews 10:19-22 "Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, opened for us through the curtain that is his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." That's it. That's what's we live on. Paid for. Everyday.