faith like a child

ever wonder what that expression means? "faith like a child"...it was actually first introduced to me when i was a camper...a story about how the camp family's kids would run up and jump on her from behind whether she was ready or not...always knowing and trusting that she would catch them...and how this is how our life with God should be reflected. we should be able to throw everything down and run to Him and always trust that He would catch us-and be unhindered by that...

that being said, it's not ironic that i would be re-introduced to this analogy at the same camp and by the same family. the youngest child of this family has stolen my heart. he is only 8 and the fears and anxieties that exist within his little mind are beyond me. they are beyond some of the biggest anxieties and fears i've had at age 23, let alone 8. while babysitting them, some of these fears were starting to creep into his little mind. before we left the house it was just he and i and he asked if we could pray to God. all i could say was yes, of course. we established that he wanted me to say the prayer and we did. i knew there was so much i wanted to ask God for this little boy but had no idea what words i could say without messing up that would also comfort him. i knew the prayer wasn't for me, and that God was gonna work through it for him...but still

what's the point? it's not to put this family on the spot, or to say hey, i prayed with this little boy, isn't that awesome...it's about having faith like a child. the first thing he wanted to do amidst fear was pray. and he was comforted by it. why does it seem to get harder and harder to drop everything and pray and trust wholeheartedly that our God is going to comfort us as we pray to Him. it seems that the older we get, the harder we try to solve our problems on our own. i'm learning from him and everyone in this family-they are truly inspiring and God is teaching me so so so much through them-much more than i ever could have guessed.
it's late and i'm not even sure it all made sense, but that is my story and my prayer-that if you're reading this, you'll be reminded to have faith like a child-to throw everything down that is hindering you at the foot of the cross for your Savior to take and carry for you.

more photo documentation justice

i realized i couldn't fit all the photos i wanted into the other post, so this is part two of the documentation.

here we have more snow shoe documentation (sunset on the lake!) my lakeview family (tim and john) my lutherhaven family (don and celine) and our group adventure shot (all in front of the falls we went to see) and documentation of the jam session...matt and sarah and splenda all got phone calls of tim and i singing "knockin' on heaven's door" before we realized it's finals week and everyone is tired! it was great

ice cream on a snowy day

so i didn't really eat icecream on a snowy day...but it was a nice thought.

i got to spend 4 days at "rump" at camp luther in wisconsin. just when i think i'm getting used to this camp stuff, i've seen all there is to see, or things are all starting to look the same, i'm proven wrong.

we had a wonderful tour guide type person, "scrappy." she was just doing her job and loving camp, but offered to take us around (some of us on snow shoes) to see all the different "woodsy" areas of camp, and the next day took us to a waterfall about an hour away. remember, there was between 6-12 inches of snow on the ground! so again, we were hiking in the snow!

God's beauty of creation and seeing the ministry of the camp reflected in the camp's villages was one thing, but the other great thing was the people i got to spend it with. tuesday's tour consisted of myself, don, celine, and tim from lutherhaven, our new friend heater (hugs) from wal camp, and tim and digger from lakeview. (fun fact is that i also got to stop and shoot clay targets during the tour-i was horrible!) wednesday's waterfall tour of bode falls was a similiar group-again with scrappy (real name, sue) from camp luther and don and celine from lutherhaven. from lakeview we had tim and john dobrinski. it was really interesting because i felt so much like "belonged" with both groups of people.

when taking pictures, i wanted one with both of my "families"...it seems as if both places have something to offer through the people there-some the same, some different. i was so comfortable and really felt like myself. i have no idea what this means for the future, but i know it means i had an incredible 4 days hanging out with groups of people that i love, meeting new people, singing old songs, reminiscing on old jokes (knock knock knockin' on heaven's door...hey, heey, hey heyy), enjoying God's creation, and feeling revived by the spirit of the people around me.

there was also a time for some pretty extreme prayer. never forget how important that is and to spend time with your Creator today.

"thousands of dead things covered in rock layer scattered in water...all over the earth" (that can't be correct)

and for those of you who were wondering, the title comes from the icrecream shop by the waterfal (which was closed?)

pictures: the woods of camp luther, shooting clay targets (i'd never shot at anything before!), devotional area at walcamp, courtyard area at camp luther, snow shoe-ing gang

lost

those of you who read this who served on summer staff '08 at lakeview will automatically think "lost, so lost"...and that's what i was...lost-i even sent a text to a friend saying something along the lines of "i think it should be illegal/impossible to get lost on the way to church"...my church experiences since i've been at lutherhaven have been interesting...
-one random visit to a baptist church down the road with the camp family (random because we planned to go to their church-but had a last minute change of plans)
-a sunday where i thought i was going to an lcms church, but got stared down by some women at the church which i thought was the lcms church-a closer look told me it was the church of the nazarene. woops. i then went next door to the lcms church-which used all wisconsin synod materials.
-aboite lutheran-i got lost. miserably. and i was late. miserably. but it was all part of one of the best weekends i've had in a long time and i was determined not to be distraught. i made it, caught the last few minutes of the sermon, sat through communion, and headed out at the end of the service, but went back for the monday night service. a pastor and a church which are very real...they aren't concerned with labels (like synod) or what other people think-in fact, free thought, real fears, and explanations of life seem to be encouraged. mmm. on the way out, a lady stopped me and very honestly said she was excited i was there. i was too. instead of shaking hands, the pastor hugs people on their way out. he took one look at me and opened his arms even wider. i was thrilled. instead of trying to learn my name and things about me, he simply said "i hope it was worth your time"....wow. i think that was neat. definitely shocked me. but i enjoyed it. it was all entirely interesting because it wasn't the familiarity of the service, the over-welcomeness, or the content of the sermon that hooked me. usually it is...but overall i just enjoyed it.
it was worth getting lost to find...and go back twice.

mash

remember that game we all used to play as little kids, MASH? it was so crazy...as little girls we either didn't want to admit who our true crush really was...or we were petrified when his name got crossed out. we thought we were doomed when we got stuck living in a 'shack,' and let's face it...life without a stretch limo would just be impossible.
i got to play mash last night with some friends on a chalk board table of all places-it was fun! it all followed an interesting day in the office--well, an interesting few minutes where the discussion of my future/current degree/what do i want to do with the rest of my life came up...it was overwhelming, but i'm getting used to it. i still have no clue what the rest of life entails, but my boss was quick to remind me that God is going to use me according to my gifts and talents, and right now that is here. it was nice to hear.
after the office, i bit through the cold and stood outside and watched the sunset. i've been trying to work on the 'listening' part of praying-and really expressing my concerns. not sure if i'm getting any better at it, but i'm trying. so the sunset helped with that-just to be reminded that God is bigger. mmm
the night followed with card games (there's a moose in your house!!! hay un alce en la casa! and SLAM!)--->which yielded lots of fun and laughing. we then played various games-'predicting' our futures and analyzing our lives.
i'm reminded of proverbs 16...a recent reading that has stuck with me and i think i should make myself read everyday. mash and all that stuff is great...but we don't have to worry about it. our Maker and Creator knows more about our future than we can even remember about our past. i still don't know where i'm going in life, but i'm glad i don't have to leave it up to a game of mash to decide.

stories

i've realized that as time passes by we compile a great amount of stories.
but what is a story if it goes untold?
one of the things i love about living and working at camp are the times i get invited to dinner with the other camp families. it's a time of story telling, and everyone enjoys it.
while out to lunch one day, i was asked the answer the simple question, "so, how is God working in your life?" it took hours. i didn't realize the gravity of the story i was telling or the story my life had become until i sat down and compiled it all together. hopefully this blog can be a place where i can continue to tell the story of how God continues to amaze me day by day.