On This Day In My History

December 16th, 2006: Rachel's memorial service, a girl that changed my life.

December 16th, 2010: Focus Leadership graduation, a semester that changed my life.

December 16th, 2011: .................

Finals Week Is Not For The Weak | An Observation

As I stepped on campus today, there was a change in the air. My first clue that something was different was that there were no parking spots in my usual lot, everyone was in class today. As I walked to my class, there was a quiet, it was the middle of the day, yet you could hear a pin drop. Students walked in ones and twos, if they dared to talk their conversations never surpassed an utter. The students walking alone seemed to carry on a conversation with themselves, no doubt repeating to themselves again and again the facts they had been learning all semester, and had spent hours deep into the night before cramming into their already over full minds. No one made eye contact as we passed one another. Like sleepwalkers we passed almost unaware. We passed the need for sleep weeks ago, and now we just operate on pure momentum, costing to the end of this last, final week.

And yet, in the midst of the clouds of information we have shrouded ourselves in, there is something else in the air, something that is calling just beyond the fortress of finals. Whispering, beckoning “You're almost here. Almost here. So, close…” can you hear it? Beyond the brick wall of scantrons, a promise, of pillows, and sleep, of mornings with no alarm, with nary an assignment due, and no text books in sight. Today the sun shown, a taste of the promised freedom. Though it is the middle of winter, the day was warm, carrying with it the scent of spring, of change, of renewed life. The old is nearly done, and the new is yet a month away. Only a few more days, a few short exams, then we will arrive, we will find a refuge, and we will be done.

Break…it’s so, very, close…I think we’re gonna make it!

Traditioooooooons! Traditions!

Thanksgiving is a time of traditions. While I was at FLI, one question we were asked in our Marriage and Family class was “what are some of your family’s traditions?” and honestly, my family is one of few traditions, which I don’t mind at all, in fact the free and easy way we would handle celebrations and holidays, without getting bogged down with a lot of traditions, often left us free to create new memories and unique, once upon a time experiences. Not to say we were totally devoid of traditions, we have our handful of short-term traditions, the ones that hang around for a few years before they fizzle out due to forgetfulness. But as far as the rock solid, “Fiddler on the Roof” style traditions, not so much.

I don’t mind this tradition of non-traditions, but when the question was asked last year, it got me thinking, what are some of my own personal traditions? What are some things that I do, even just by myself, that might one day meld into the traditions of my future family?

Well, this month, I had begun one, and another was not meant to be a tradition, but this year I turned it into a tradition. And I’d like to try to keep them both…at least for a while.

Emily Padgett. Good things.

The first tradition, the one I started this year, was on November 11. As I’m sure you’re aware of, this year was a once in a lifetime date of 11-11-11, a wishing day! So at 11:00 pm, eight of us gathered around the clock tower at my school, and tied slips of paper with our wishes to helium balloons, then as 11:11 struck, we launched our balloons, sending away our wishes into the starry sky!

I loved this even so much, that I’ve decided to continue it, and now I look forward to next November 11^th, at 11:11 pm, when I will again launch my wishes to the sky! Would you care to join me?

The other tradition, you could say began last year, though I didn’t think I would make it into a tradition until I chose to continue it this year. Last Thanksgiving, after my friend Annalee and I had our Thanksgiving supper at Denny’s (because it’s always open according to Tim Allen in “The Santa Clause”), we returned to my apartment and watched “The Santa Clause” while eating a tube of cookie dough.

This Thanksgiving, I realized that my grandma (who I’m living with) owns that movie, so of course, I bought myself a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough, and settled myself in front of the television to watch Tim Allen as he masters the art of being Santa. Shall this tradition continue next year? I certainly hope so!

And so, as I grow up, and begin to find myself creating a new life for myself, not quite separate from my family, though not quite adjoined either, I will continue to create these little traditions, though I’m sure I can promise I will have my own handful of non-traditions as well.

:-)

P.S. while I was writing this post, I was talking with my sister, and she mentioned these as her favorite “traditions” my family keeps pertaining to Christmas, the next major, tradition-packed holiday.

Getting sick – Apparently we always get sick on Christmas? I don’t remember this one…

Christmas in the car – Last Christmas, the 25^th was on a Saturday. Because of the way the day fell and the way Dads work schedule was, the parents wanted us to drive up to Michigan the day after Christmas. However, we kids wanted to be at church to see all our friends by Sunday, so we talked Mom and Dad into celebrating “Christmas in the Car”. We could open presents, watch Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music…how great! Well, we ended up just celebrating on Christmas Eve, then just sleeping the whole way to Michigan. But it was the thought that counts, right?

Playing Ketchup

Due to my over full schedule, I’m going to give this long overdue update in just five minutes (for my owns memory sake, if you don’t understand it, I apologize :-) (p.s. today one of my profs said “make sure you’re up to date on your reading so you don’t have to play catch-up...hence, the title…yeah, my brain is fried)

Ready? Go!

Mid-August in Maryland woke up 6:00am covered in HIVES! So I didn’t get my early start on the road as I had to take a shower.

Hour later got on the road, took a nap after 2 hours, and then booked the rest of the 8 hours to get to Jessie’s house before rush hour hit. Drove like Detroit in the city (felt good to drive with real drivers again! Sorry MD) and got to Jessie’s and crashed (to sleep, not my car. Ruby performed admirably and faithfully…we didn’t get lost once!)

Next day picked up Emmy and we headed to GR. First half of the week in GR, head back to Detroit. Second half of the week Detroit, Frisbee, beach, church picnic. Emmy fly back to MD, I drive back to GR.

Orientation week at Cornerstone. Terra firma group: Cobalt! Make some new friends (all freshmen…I’m old) beach, baseball, tours, worship, etc.

Classes start! Drop Minorities (if you don’t want me to stereotype you, don’t stereotype me) pick up Wellness (yes, ok, I need to exercise, better when I’m forced to) psych, intro to social work, econ, old test lit. Drop econ (too much! Too much!)

Job! Cold Stone Creamery (ice cream, people, singing? Yes please!) Love it.

Commuting. Its tough – 7am waking up in the morning, gotta be fresh gotta go upstairs, gotta be cool gotta have my cereal (in my cool to go cup) and my spinach smoothie (cuz it’s healthy) gotta get out to my car yeah, gotta get to class…I see my friends! Sitting in the front row, sleeping in the back row, gotta make my mind up, which test should I pass?

Don’t get home till after 11 most nights. Sleep is a myth.

Church is wonderful. So blessed to see my friends and camp family every week. Spend time with a few of my girls, and more to see (someday)

Courageous! Friends came up from the D to see it with me, then Jessie and I went downtown (found $3 parking!!!) checked out Art Prize and did the Improv Everywhere MP3 Experiment! Dream. Come. True.

Weather is lovely today and I am determined to get ahead in at least one class so I can better prioritize.

My head hurts most of the time, and I feel as if life is the big dog on the end of the leash. (Once when I was about 6, I was walking my uncle’s dog, Jake. He was a good dog, but something excited him and he took off running, literally dragging me behind…I was wearing my favorite dress.) That’s how I feel my life is right now: life is the dog, excitedly running ahead, chasing something in the distance, and I’m the little girl being dragged behind. Ideally, I would be the one in charge; I am holding the leash after all, right? But truly, I have no choice but to be dragged wherever the dog-life takes me, and breathlessly hope I can maintain my hold.

This dog of life is picking up speed! I hope the thing he’s chasing is God! (thought I guess I do have control over that decision)

That was 20 minutes…did ya catch (ketch) any of that?

Where’s Yours?

Several days ago, one of my Focus classmates, Andrew, posted a picture on our Facebook page of his book bag. Amongst the thick, college volumes, was the blue, metal water bottle each of us was given upon our arrival at FLI. These water bottles were icons of our semester there; several always sat scattered across the classroom tables, or poked out of back packs, rolled around cars, and rested on kitchen counters. We were told throughout the semester of the dangers of dehydration, and were reminded on a daily basis that being in higher elevation led to quicker dehydration. We would joke among ourselves that a bottle of water would cure any aliment, chanting the phrase our professors said to us day after day: “drink more water.” Tired? Drink more water. Hungry? Drink more water. Confused? Drink more water. And on it went.

The caption that accompanied Andrews photo read, “Where’s yours?” Since that picture, several of us have snapped photos of our own water bottles, in prominent places in our rooms, work place, or daily lives, adding our own caption of “Where’s yours?” It’s been fun to see where people have chosen to place this reminder and how it coincides so well with each personality.

But looking at these pictures has got me thinking. How many other “Where’s yours?” type things should we keep in a prominent place, but instead we hide away, whether on accident or by choice. Things that deserve a place of high recognition and respect. Things that we should have out to remind us of the important things in life.

What about our faith? If someone were to come up to me and show me their faith, then ask me “where’s yours?” what would I tell them? What would my proverbial photo of my faith reveal? Would it be boldly displayed in a place of honor in my life, where it could be seen and witnessed by others? Or would it be hidden away in a dark box shoved deep under my bed, where it would be safe, but unseen?

I am proud of the condition of my FLI water bottle. If you were to see it, you would notice that it is covered in scratches, blue paint has been scraped off to reveal silver metal. Dents are scattered across the surface caused by the many times I’d dropped it. True, my bottle is not in prime condition, but that’s why I love it. I do not begrudge a single imperfection of that bottle, because each and every scratch and dent tells of the times I dropped it while I was hiking up a mountain, or exploring Pikes Peak, or climbing at Garden of the Gods. Those times when thirst consumed me, and I relied on the water inside the bottle to sustain me.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t life or death experiences, but even so, I love the fact that my bottle has been covered with battle wounds, it tells the story of my time in Colorado.

But what about my faith? If someone could see my faith, would they see a faith covered in nicks and scratches? Bearing the results of intense battle and use? Or would they see a faith in pristine condition, glossy and smooth, shining perfection…and little used?

In Matthew, Jesus says,

“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

When I was given my water bottle on that first day, I thought to myself, “Cool! I was needing one of these.” At this point I could have placed my brand new, shiny, blue bottle back in its box and tucked it under my bed. But that would be useless, and the bottle would be no good to me. Instead I used the bottle every day, dutifully following the orders to “drink more water.” I carried it with me literally everywhere I went, and even though it went through some difficult situations, it has been of good use to me.

I hope it is the same when it comes to my faith. I don’t want to “hide it under a bushel” no. I want to let it shine. Even if that means that it’s going to hurt, and even if that means that I’ll receive some battle wounds. I hope that in life, I will boldly display my faith for all to see, and that they would praise my Father in Heaven.

If asked “Where’s yours?” when it comes to my faith, I want to answer, “here it is” with confidence. This light of mine may be little, and it may be scratched and dented, but I’m gonna let it shine! And Soli Deo Gloria! (to God alone be the glory)

My water bottle, carabinered to my Cornerstone backpack, on the back of my car/home

This Year is Different

Today I realized something.

For the four semesters I was at community college, I would tape a picture to the cover of my notebook. Each semester a new notebook, but the same picture, laminated and covered in packing tape, tattered around the edges and slightly faded. It was a picture that had hung on my bedroom walls all through high school. It was my motivation. This picture was of several students smiling chilly smiles, dressed head to toe in winter gear. Bold words ran across the picture “Faith can move mountains…come practice with us in the Rockies.” It was an advertisement for Focus on the Family Institute (now Focus Leadership Institute) that I had clipped out of a magazine. It was to remind me.

Everyday, I would think to myself “why am I even here? I hate the teachers, I hate the homework, I’m sick of the foul language spinning around me. Why cant I just quit?” then I would look at my notebook, place my hand on those smiling faces, and remember. In order to achieve my dream and attend the Institute, I had to finish those first two years of college. It was hard, some day’s it really hurt. But I made it.

This year I don’t need a picture of strangers to tape to my notebook, because I have countless pictures and memories of friends, brothers and sisters, to remind me.

This year I don’t need to picture to help me make it though the school year, but I do need the memory to help me continue straight forward, to not only get through the day, but to strive to apply the things I learned about God, myself and others in this new school.

This year I have been equipped.

This year, I begin again.

What pictures will I fill my notebook cover with next?

...and these are just a few...

Future Falling

I’m on the brink of jumping. The cliffs edge is beginning to crumble under my feet. I look down and the great expanse below. Going deeper and deeper and deeper. The wind blows in my face, taunting me with the secrets it carries from the unknown below. Secrets of my future. I gulp and heave a deep breath. I look back for a moment and wonder; what would happen if I just, don’t, step? I would be safe. But I would not be happy. I look back down. Down, down, forever down. Will I be happy there? I look up. The sky is blue, deep, bright blue. The sunshine warms my face and whispers hope. A hope that will not disappoint. A hope that is already won. I close my eyes, breath in the sun-warmed air, and slowly lean forward. I feel the pebbles crumble beneath my bare toes. I stretch my arms out on either side, hands open, fingers spread wide, stroking the soft air as I bend forward. Slow motion. And suddenly, my feet find air. I am falling.

This is how I feel about my life right now. I don’t know what to expect. I thought I was getting used to that, but then again, God obviously isn’t done with me yet, and He always brings the unexpected. But the unexpected is not necessarily a comfortable place to be, in fact I hope it never is. Because if it were comfortable, then I wouldn't be unexpected.

It’s been almost a year since I headed out to Colorado to go to Focus Leadership Institute.

Almost.

One.

Year.

That fact didn’t break my heart till just now, as I was sitting here thinking about the future that will unfold for me tomorrow as I start classes at Cornerstone University. After writing that bit about the cliff, just free writing, I read a new post on my friend, and FLI classmate, Meg's blog. She talked about her first day of classes, and how her she was missing FLI. As I read, the thought hit me: this aint no Colorado, and the people I meet tomorrow aint no FLI classmates. But I’m here. And this is where I belong, God has made that clear. And being here, was so unexpected.

One year ago, I thought I would be studying radio.

One year ago, I thought I was someone else.

One year ago, I was on another cliffs edge, running, like they do in cartoons, right off the edge without even realizing it until I was about ten feet into the air, then suddenly standing still, looking down, finally aware I was off the edge. And not till then did I start falling.

And look where I landed!

I cant begin to know what will happen in my life these next months. I can barely grasp my hopes of what my life will be. But I have faith that God does, and He is the author and finisher of that faith. So I will continue on this leap of faith, and I will trust fall right into the arms of the One who always catches me.

Deep breath.

And here I go…

Be Still

Five Minute Friday Writing Prompt: Still.

Be still, and know that I AM GOD.

What does it mean to be still?

Every year at Varsity Camp, the campers are challenged with this question. We are encouraged to find a time to be still and quiet before the Lord, without distraction of friends, food, or other activities, and just listen. At some time during the week we break after chapel, and without speaking, we all scatter around camp, for a time of silence and solitude. Usually we are given 45 minutes or so to dedicate to being still.

I live for these short moments.

After being released from the chapel I make a bee-line for my cabin, grab my towel, and with my Bible and journal in hand, I all but run down the Bear Trail out to the Back 40, across the Angle Ball field, and through the break in the trees onto the trail for the Disc Golf course. I pass the first tee off point, pass the basket for hole one, down the hill, through the narrow, sandy path, until finally I find my resting place. My refuge within my refuge. The second tee off point.

The disc golf course is built right into the woods, the paths naturally bend and curve to the flow of the forest, over hills, through weed covered fields, marsh, grass and sand. It’s like secret world, when I’m back there, I can forget the hard things, I can breath, I can be still.

I check my watch to see how many precious, silent moments are left, then I lay out my towel on the sandy floor. This tee off point is in the perfect location, in front of me starts the short board walk over the marshy field, with hole two on a hill in the distance. Behind me and on my right and left are trees, shading me from the hot sun, yet filtering through it’s golden light.

I lay my head down on my Jacobs rock. In the front, right corner of the wood framed square of sand, is a medium sized rock, with a gentle curve just right to cradle my head. It reminds me of the rock Jacob laid down on in the Old Testament.

I lie there and feel the sunshine warm me. I ease my breathing and relax my body. Peace fills me.

Bugs try to bother me, ants crawling on my arms, flies buzzing around and around my head, but I ignore their annoyances, and thank God for their existence. I thank Him for everything I see, gentle whispers of thanks.

When I’m out there, I am reminded that He is God. That’s something I forget in the noise. The noise of sound, the noise of responsibilities, the noise of my possessions. I forget.

Sometimes we just need to find a place to leave behind the noise, and just meet God with empty hands and open hearts. A place where we can silence our thoughts and hear His still, small voice.

Be still, and know that I Am God.

(This post was inspired by a woman who challenges writers to “Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.” She gives a word every Friday. I realize that this is Saturday, and it did take me longer then five minutes to write this, but, oh well.
Also, to you camp people who may read this, next silence and solitude when I'm actually at Camp, please don’t steal my spot!)

Tomato Hearts and Train Rides (Lowville, NY: Sunday & Monday)

Sunday, my final day.

We woke bright and early and went to church, I love experiencing other people’s churches, it gives so much insight to who they are by seeing how their church family has influenced their life. as this was the end of my week, I already knew that Meg has been deeply impacted by her church family, and she in turn impacts them. After the service was over Meg had so many people to talk to, it made me glad to see her running around greeting the old and young alike. :-)

After we got home, we decided to pop in a movie. We’d wanted to watch Sense and Sensibility together, so we decided on that. However, I passed out asleep before we even met Colonel Brandon, and Meg fell asleep soon after, and we both slept right through until the wedding bells rang at the end!

By that time it was getting closer to dinnertime. We had been hoping to get together with a bunch of people for some Ultimate Frisbee followed by a bon fire, but since not many people could make it, we were reduced to me, Meg and Dan, with Auggie and their other friend Tyler.

Auggie and Meg got busy bustling around the kitchen making pizzas, with me and the boys looking on (I offered to help, but they had everything down to such a system, having done this together multiple times, that my assistance was unneeded). So I was deemed official documenter of the cooking.

Though I did amuse myself by chopping up the tops of the tomatoes into tiny pieces, then molding them into an “M” (for Meg) then bringing the bottom together to form a heart. Though then I made the mistake of teasing her by calling her by a nick-name I know bugs her, (which I wont mention here ;-) so I had to sit on her to make her take a picture of my “gift”. :-)

Then I did the same with the tomatoes to form an “A” for Auggie, and turned it into a heart. Then the guys got jealous, so I did the same for a “D” and a “T”.

By this time the pizza’s were ready, so we grabbed our slices (which were wonderfully delicious!) and sat down for another movie. This time the feature was Father of the Bride 2 (the one when both the daughter and mother are pregnant at the same time). It was great fun, us girls talking about being pregnant someday, and the guys talking about how they were so glad they wouldn't be pregnant one day.

After the movie we returned to the kitchen, where Auggie made us root beer floats. Then we hung out until Auggie and Tyler called it a night, after which I was forced to pack and prepair for my departure.

Monday morning came too soon. My phone began to chime too loudly at 5:30. I punched it off and groaned, then rolled over and looked out the window. The guest room faces the east, and I was greeted with a bright, cherry and golden sunrise, as the clouds danced to welcome in the new day. That made it easier to get out of bed.

All too soon, Meg and I were loading my stuff into the truck and hitting the road for the hour or so ride to the train station.

As we got near to the station, we got a little lost, so Meg pulled over into a gas station for directions. Turns out there was a cab driver there who was going to the train station to pick someone up, so he offered to let us follow him! Well ok then. :-)

Shortly, we pulled into the station, and it was time to say goodbye to my dear friend. I gave her a hug and promised to text her to let her know I got to the next station alright, then I hefted my two back packs and my lap top bag and headed into the station.

I’d never ridden a train before, and the first stop was easier then I thought it would be, just bet my ticket, and sit outside and wait for the train to come. It was the Penn station in New York City, where I switched trains and had a two hour layover that I found difficulty.

When we were finalizing our plans of me riding the train a few months ago, Meg had said “I’m kind of jealous, I’ve never ridden a train, but it seems like it’d be romantic.” However, when I texted her to let her know I’d made it, I said “note to self, Penn station is anything but romantic! But I found a Tim Hortins here, so I’m happy.” The place was chaos in a bottle! People everywhere, all with multiple pieces of luggage, going everywhere and nowhere. There was nowhere to sit except the floor, and nothing you could do about your luggage but haul it around wherever you went (which made the line in the bathroom interesting). I had two backpacks with me, one very large one with all my clothes (because I was unable to find a duffle when I was packing), and another smaller one, in which I had managed to fit a gallon container of maple syrup given to me by Meg's mom (which I had to get home, it’s my moms favorite! But goodness was it heavy!) Plus my laptop bag which had my less then small laptop, and rather clunky camera! Another note to self, I will never again travel by train or plane without first investing in a suitcase on wheels.

But as I was wondering around, trying to find some floor where I could wait while keeping an eye out on the departures board to be notified what track my train would load from (because they didn’t tell you until about five minutes before departure!) I walked past a Tim Hortins! Ok, Timmy’s is my favorite coffee place, their iced capps are my number one stress food, and they don’t have them in Maryland. I stood looking at the shop for a second, thinking if it was worth it, since I knew it’d be more expensive here. But then I decided it was worth it. So I plunked my money down and found peace in a cup (though I have to admit, it was the worst iced cap I’ve ever had, just not the same quality. But it still did its job.) Then I sat myself down in view of the boards, and waited, taking in the view and watching the people.

Finally, the track was announced and I joined the throng of passengers as we shuffled down the stairs and to the platform.

On the train I found a window seat, and got settled in. I opened my laptop and popped in my favorite Disney movie, Tangled, and watched New York slip away.

Two hours later the Aberdeen stop was announced, and I shuffled off the train into good old Maryland humidity.

My grand trip was over, I had such a wonderful and relaxing time with Meg and her friends and family. I loved not only seeing Meg's life from her eyes, but living it as well! There’s so much I learned about her that I never could have known without seeing her home. And it was wonderful to be able to put faces to the names she’s talked about. And to be called “Shley” not only by friends, but by strangers and adults!

Thank you Meg, for so many smiles and memories, I will cherish them always.

Ok, your turn! When are you coming to stay a week with me after I get back to Michigan? :-)

Ferris Wheels and Photo Shoots (Lowville, NY: Saturday)

Both Meg and I enjoy photography. One of our fondest memories at FLI was a photo adventure six of us students took to Bishops Castle. So, it was in the plans that some time that week, we have a photo shoot session around Meg's property. So, we got up early Saturday morning (early to avoid the heat and humidity as much as we could) and made ourselves pretty, armed ourselves with our cameras and headed out. A few hours and a couple hundred pictures later, we headed back in to load our spoils.

After that we headed back for the last day at the fair. We watched Dan show a few times, then we headed to the pavilion to see if Meg's friend Auggie was working at her family’s booth. The corner of the pavilion was completely taken over by Auggie’s family. They had a wonderful set up, a couple of fans and a couch, I think they had more people just hanging out and keeping cool then actual business! It was fun.

After we’d spent quite awhile collapsed on the couch in front of the fan, we finally pulled ourselves up to venture out again. The first day Meg had pointed out that they had maple flavored cotton candy, and I’d been wanting some all week. So we went out and I got my sugar, then Auggie and I shared it. it was good! (of course, sugar and me? yes!)

Over the course of the day, Auggie and I discovered that Meg had never ridden a Ferris wheel, so we convinced (slash, forced) her to go with us. Just as the sun was setting we bought our tickets and climbed on board, Lowville from the sky is beautiful!

We had a blast riding around and around, snapping pictures and laughing. All too soon the ride began to slow as we reached the bottom, with sad faces we turned to watch the opporator come within view. But just as we reached the bottom he asked us “would you like a double ride?” as if he had to ask!

After we hopped off the Ferris wheel, thanking the operator, we headed out to explore the fair grounds one last time, with some impromptu photo shooting.

Soon we wondered around a corner and what did I see but a stage with plastic robotic vegetables singing to a row of empty benches! I excitedly ran up and sat myself down on the bench, swaying back and forth to the music. Auggie joined me and we both pulled out our cell phones and waved our lighted screens in the air. All too soon the music stopped and the curtain was drawn. Distraught I looked to Meg, “aw! It’s over already!?” but she assured me not to worry, it would be back in 90 seconds!

So we waited, and waited, and finally the curtain went up and the vegetables started singing about the garden ABC’s once again! I grabbed Meg and Auggie and we danced to the music (much to the amusement of a group of teens gathered near by. When the curtain fell again, we gigglingly grabbed our stuff and headed out.

But the night was not over! We found out that Auggie’s family was getting together to get to know her brothers new girl friend, and if Meg and I wanted, we could tag along. So we did. We talked about baby names and heard the couple’s story from the girlfriend’s point of view, and just had a lot of fun.

Finally, after a long day of laughs and good memories, we headed home.

Making Faces At Famous People (Lowville, NY: Thursday & Friday)

Thursday we woke to the smell of bacon (REAL bacon as Meg informed me, fresh from their very own pigs!) we moseyed on downstairs where we joined Meg's mom and cousin for breakfast on the large wrap around porch. Be jealous! Not only did we have fresh, home grown bacon, but we also had Johnny Cake drizzled with fresh maple syrup tapped from the trees on their property! Mm, mm!

Then we went back to the fair and watched Meg's brother show his draft horses, after which we headed out to clean the church.

So several months ago, when we started making plans for this trip, I kept going back and forth on the decision to come, due to the expense of coming back. With some researching Meg found what it would cost to come back by train, a price that was just over what I would want to spend. So things were looking grim, when Meg suggested we raise a bit of money while I'm here! She has a job cleaning her church every week, so she said that if I were to help her with that, we could use the money made there to help pay my ticket! So, we found refuge in the nice, cool church and we wiped down, swept up straightened and vacuumed. Though we didn’t think it made much sense to actually work to get the money, since why would I want to leave anyways?? :-)

After we got the church cleaned in record time, we came back and took a trip on the four-wheeler out to the sugar bush, the part of the woods where they tap for sap and make delicious maple syrup!

Then, to end the hottest of days, we went to the home of Meg’s pastor and I met three of their five girls, and their days old little baby boy. After cooing over the newborn (and he was worth much cooing!) Meg, her mom and I took the three little girls for a walk into town to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. The girls chatted all the time and promptly stole my heart (I think they would fit in my suit case…). We ate our ice cream then headed back. The walk back had the girls getting slower and more tired, but Meg and I “flew” the youngest across all the streets, and Meg’s mom skipped with the older two to keep everyone having fun.

When we got back to their house, we hung out, talking to their mommy with some more admiring of the little man, the oldest of the three brought me upstairs to show me her room, and the youngest sat with me while we watched some kids show, counting and learning colors.

I had such a wonderful time; I think I could fit them all in my suitcase, couldn’t I?

Friday had us making the final profit for my train ticket home. We rinsed out several garbage bags full of pop cans and bottles, and then we loaded up about ten bags and heaved them into Wal-Mart. We set up camp in front of the return machines, getting into a sticky system: grab bottle, place in hole, wait, repeat. We made enough off of the returns to finish up the bill of my ticket! (was that a good thing?)

Next, what do we do but head back to the fair! Meg works at the library in Lowville, so she knows people who know people who know people, and those people just happened to have backstage passes to meet Josh Thompson that night before his concert at the fair. (though, of course, neither of us knew who Josh Thompson was, or if we should be excited to meet him or not. But hey, free backstage pass to meet someone whose supposedly famous? Ok!)

So we joined the library employees, and Meg talked her brother Dan into joining us, and we went to wait next to Josh Thompson’s bus. While we were waiting, we were asked to just let their official photographer take pictures, rather then wait for everyone to take pictures with their personal cameras. They would post the pictures online where we could download them later. Since we had no special reason to be impressed by meeting this guy, I talked Meg and Dan into agreeing to make a face in the picture. “He wont even know!” I told them, “Yeah,” Meg retorted, “but his photographer will!” Be that as it may, when it was our turn to go stand next to this slightly famous country singer, we said “hello” and turned toward the camera, and all made a face. The photographer, who had been looking pretty bored up to this point, started laughing “that is awesome!” he said. Josh Thompson looked surprised and confused, “what?” he kept asking, “What happened??” his photographer assured him he’d show him later, and we all walked off, high fiveing each other that we would be remembered.

The rest of the concert we spent on the bleachers next to the stage (facing the grandstand) we had way more fun people watching the audience then we did watching the show, we also enjoyed poking fun at the rock-star-wanna-be bass guitar player (dude, skinny jeans and cow boy boots? Really?)

After the concert was over, Meg and I made a quick trip to see the polka band, and remember with fondness the short polka lesson one of our Focus classmates gave us.

Coffee and Rag Curls (Lowville, NY: Wednesday)

Yesterday had us waking up early (6:30am) to head out for coffee and waffles. Every week, Meg meets with a handful of women on Wednesday mornings, and they just fellowship and encourage each other for a few hours. What a lovely way to bring in the morning! And what a blessing to have such a great group of women in your life to mentor and encourage you!

From there we went immediately back to the fair grounds. There we hung out in the stands, watching Meg's brother Dan as he showed his horses, and we walked around a bit more, getting some cream cheese and cracker samples from the Kraft tent for a snack (apparently Kraft has a big factory in the area).

Around lunch time we headed home and made up some food, then we discussed what to do next. We both agreed that the best thing we needed was a nap, so we brought our books outside, and Meg settled into the chaise of the porch, while I crawled into the hammock in the front, and we each read for a few minutes before dozing off. We’d planned on an hour and a half nap, three and a half hours later as woke up. It was lovely.

By then it was dinnertime, so we helped Meg’s mom prepare dinner, then gathered around the table. During the meal, Meg and her dad started sharing stories of their many miraculous adventures during their multiple missions trips to the Ukraine. We sat there for a couple hours listening as Meg and her dad remembered story after story, with an occasional comment from her mom. It was wonderful to hear the incredible ways God used them and the people they were with to spread His story! I could have listened all night, but around ten we finally cleaned up the table.

A few weeks ago, when we were talking about me coming to visit, Meg asked me if she could try putting my hair in rag curls, so last night we did that, and while we were at it we watched Tangled, (which we had seen together in theaters on opening day while we were in Colorado). Despite my long nap, I was dozing during the movie, and shortly after the ending credits I collapsed into bed and slept beautifully!

(Meg and Me...like my dress? :-)

Girl From the Suburbs Goes To The County Fair (Lowville, Ny: Tuesday)

I would call myself a country girl at heart, though I didn’t grow up in the country (I just wish I did) but I’m not a city girl either (by no means!) I fall somewhere in between, the neither here nor there, the suburbs.

This past weekend one of my FLI classmates got married, the wedding was about two hours away from my house, so afterwards a bunch of the fellow FLI-ers came back to spend the weekend. We did everything we loved, shared deep philosophical discussions, light hearted joking, watched movies, and just enjoyed each others company.

All too soon it was time for everyone to leave. We said our “see ya later”’s and ended our time with prayer and a song of Holy, Holy, Holy.

But my time with some of these friends wasn’t over yet! I joined Meg and Katie in Katie's car and we made to drive to New York State. We spent the night at Katie's lovely apartment, met some of her friends and hung out. The next morning Meg and I loaded up the van, said goodbye to Katie, and set out for the final part of our journey.

No sooner had we hit the road, than we passed a small park. “Do you want to stop and swing?” Meg asked me. As if she needed to ask!

After our short adventure we once again were on the road, with one last stop at the mall so I could buy some new Teva sandals…and of course I ride on the carousel!

Then we finally arrived in Lowville New York! I watched out the window as we passed through the rolling hills covered in beautiful farmland. Hundreds of windmills dotted the landscape, waving hello.

We didn’t go straight to Meg’s house, rather we detoured to the library where she works (an adorable establishment!) then on to the county fair! Meg had told me so much about the fair, I was excited to be able to be there to see it!

We got there and went directly to the horse track, where we met up with Meg’s mom and brother, and then were spotted by a group of Meg's friends, and thus the whirlwind of introductions Meg was warning me about began!

We watched harness racing for a bit (something I’d never seen before) then decided to make a quick trip to the house to unload before the parade that night.

Note to self, I love this house! It’s a classic farmhouse, in the shade of many large trees, inside is just the right size (not too big, not too small) with many windows to let in the sunshine. Meg took me on a tour, showing me how the personalities and interests of her and her brothers are displayed so well in the way they decorate their rooms.

After a bit we headed back to the fair. We walked around a little, and hung out on the blanket spread in “their spot” and waited for the parade to start, marking the first day of the Lewis County Fair. Meg had bragged that the parade was “the best in the world”, and I was not disappointed. True, it was not Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, but I found so much more excitement and joy in the small, yet very long precession of tractors and pick up trucks, wagons and home made floats. As the different displays passed by, Meg and her friends and family gathered around would share stories of past parades, and they waved to and pointed out friends as they passed by.

After the long precession ended, we relocated to the football field in the middle of the tack where I was again introduced to many faces (sorry people if I don’t remember your name!) then we settled in for the show. It was a great fireworks show, the field was full of “oo!”s and “ahh!”s at all the proper times.

After the show, we headed back home, tired and ready for sleep. But I was excited to see what else this trip to the country would bring me, and I was refreshed by the small town community I was able to experience through the life of my friend.

Girl Camp 2011: The Story

Psalm 145:7

“everyone will share the story of Your wonderful goodness, they will sing with joy about Your righteousness.”

Last week was my week at home. After months that seemed like years I was finally at Camp! I was all geared up and ready to begin my seventh year counseling Girls Camp. This year the theme was “The Story”, each day we added another chapter to the story God had written in His word, and learned how to apply it to the stories He is writing for us.

Ok, ready for this? This is another one of those annoying posts when I’m all over the place and put in way more detail than I’m sure you care to sift through. But, if you know me at all, you know what to do (if not, please reacquaint yourself with the disclaimer in the “this is me” column to the right :-)

Cabin: Moose Lodge

This year I was co-counseling in Moose Lodge, which was one of the older cabins. I’m always a little apprehensive to be in this cabin, since the girls are older a lot of times I find it harder to reach out to them because they are with their friends all week, or they “know everything” already, or simply, they can act much more mature than me (sad, but true). But I was so blessed with this gaggle of girls! They were each so sweet and fun, and we had many a laugh.

My co-counselor was Sarah, coincidentally, when I was nine years old, and attending camp for the very first time, Sarah was my counselor! I was very bad that year, as were my friends, and we nearly drove Sarah insane (something I didn’t know till years later, I always remembered Sarah as one of my favorite counselors, and she has always been one of the counselors I try to imitate in my own counseling career!) so, it was very exciting to be counseling with her this year, and we had many stories to share with our girls of that terrible first year of camp :-)

Activity: Jump Ropes

Of course, what else? I think this was my fourth year working with the jump ropes, but this was my first year teaching it alone! I had helpers of course; basically I just needed someone with arms to swing the ropes. We had a great couple of classes (morning and afternoon). Our day would begin with stretches, which I quickly designated the responsibility over to Brittany, who helped me in the afternoon class. She was able to bring the energy required and make the stretches unique and fun. Then we would do our “endurances”, the girls would skip for two minutes to see how many jumps they could get, then we would do our “no skips” when the girls would see how many jumps they could get without tripping on their ropes. We kept track of each day to see how they improved.

Next we would move on and do a little bit with the single ropes, but the girls (and I) were anxious to get to the fun stuff: long rope, double dutch, egg beater, etc.

We had a rule on the jump rope court: the word “cant” was not allowed. The first day I wrote the word “cant” on the concreat and told them that if they said that word, I would banish them off the court, because I would hear none of it, and if they did use that word, they had to add two o’s to the end, I would write two o’s to the end of the word “cant” making it become “can too”. During the week, whenever a girl let “I cant do it” slip out, I would say “what was that you said?” and her eyes would get big and she’d say “I can too! Can too! Can too!” and they were extra watchful for when I would utter the forbidden word: “I can’t jump more then one jump in double dutch myself…” “You said cant! You said cant!” “Ok, I mean, it’s very hard for me, since I don’t have much practice.” :-)

We also had a tradition of saying hi to any staff member that passed. Since the court where we jumped was situated just between the kitchen, the staff dorms and the road, we could keep ourselves quite busy saying hello. Whenever we say a staff member passing by, we’d say “ok, lets say hi to Cora. One, two, three, HI CORA!” I did that because I wanted the girls to be familiar with who the staff is, and I think it worked :-)

Chapel:

Oooh chapel. Jon and Andrea are the couple who both lead the worship as well as do the teaching, and they are pretty much wonderful. Each service we began with counting down the minutes to start, followed by a morning stretch, and then the youtube dance “Double Dream Hands” (which was followed by the sequel “Double Dream Feet” later on in the week. Then we’d have an appearance of Andy Lovehandles (which was Jon dressed up) and a short game show segment where the girls answered ridiculous questions about celebrities. Then we’d get into our songs, which included everything from the beloved Boogaloo, to worship hymns, followed by a recitation of the Shma, then the teaching. As I said, the theme was “The Story”, and Jon and Andrea took us through an exciting and insightful journey starting from creation and ending with Jesus. So many times I found myself frantically scribbling notes, not so I could strike up conversation with the girls during devos, but because I was so impacted by the teaching!

Theme Dinners:

And of course, what's Girls Camp without your themed dinners?? This year we had our fill.

Pick Yer Color night was a monochromatic theme, everyone was to try to dress (as much as she could) in a single color. I was blue (because I was easy) and we even got our girls to line up in rainbow order for dinner (with me and Sarah in our proper places as well!)

There was also Stadium Night. The girls were to dress in sports jerseys or team spirit garb. Not being much of a sports fan, I wore my team shirt from Varsity camp (Go Hulk!) but I was sporting a rockin’ sweat band I’d found in the Pine Post! The staff was amazing this night! Walking around with cardboard vendor boxes slung around their necks calling “hot dogs, geeet your hot dogs!”

Crazy Hair Night!! My favorite! When I was born, God know that I would one day be a counselor, and He gave me the wonderful gift of built in, natural crazy hair! Shortly before dinner, I did something I only do about once a year, and that’s to brush my hair. And it got BIG! Some days I have a hard time dealing with my hair, but on crazy hair night, I’m in love with it! All the girls got into the night as well, you’ve never seen so many crooked pony tails, multicolored heads, or gelled up spikes!

Characters Welcome Dinner. Since the theme was “The Story”, the final dinner was character themed. The girls were to dress up as their favorite book, movie or video game character. I was SO excited, a few weeks before camp I found a bolt of fabric at JoAnnes, one of those ready made skirts where you just add the seam. And it was Fancy Nancy! My number one all time favorite children's book character and my hero! So I was all set to dress like her, with the skirt, some sequencey sparkly bows, a feather boa, and a shirt I had ironed on a bunch of jewels. Then, the night before we left I remembered, I was flying home early to attend a friends wedding, and would be in the air during the dinner!!! I was devastated! But I decided, whatever, I could still be Fancy Nancy, so on Friday morning I went to breakfast, feather boa and sparkly bows and all! And I wore my skirt all day, even during jump ropes! I was sad to miss the dinner though; I was excited to see all the characters. But my sister assured me that she’d gotten many pictures, so I can’t wait to see them!

This And That’s:

Ok, here’s the fun part, all the random little stories that may or may not make sense. Just the snippets of the week that make me smile :-)

The first day was the swim test. Last year I had swum out to the raft and hung out there to encourage the girls as the treaded water. This year I decided to do the same (despite the cold, coldness) I swam out with the first group, feigning indifference to the cold. I let the girls swim ahead of me a little bit, so that they wouldn't see me walk till the water reached my nose, then doggy paddle or swim on my back the rest of the way to the raft. Upon reaching the raft I climbed up and joined Matt and Tyler, the lifeguard and AO on duty, and chatted with the girls during the five minutes of treading. I hung out there as the first group swam away and watched and helped direct the second group swim in and around the raft. If any girls didn’t make it to the raft and had to be towed in by a lifeguard, I chatted with them while we waited for them to be picked up by the p-boat and brought back to shore. With every other group I’d swim back to the yellow area, then swim back out to the raft again with the next group. I think I ended up swimming out with about seven groups or so, which means I swam the distance between the raft and the yellow area about fourteen times. Meaning I had probably swam the equality of the length of the lake! (though of course, I would die if I actually tried, since I wouldn't have ten minute breaks in between!) and I think I more then earned my blue swim band (well, since I doggy paddled/back swam and didn’t tread, maybe not :-) but it was a good exercise, and I love doing that, since I know many of the girls already, I was able to give a name to the lifeguards when they were asking the girls if they were doing ok or needed help, and I was also able to get to know the girls I didn’t already know, especially when they would wait on the raft if they didn’t make it.

The second to last group to go held a few of my girls who’d made me promise to swim out with them for moral support. They weren’t too sure about the cold water, but I told them that we were arctic explorers, swimming out to explore this chunk of ice and observe the penguins! The deal was, the girls would swim out to the “ice” (the raft) and I would explore the ice for five minutes while they observed (aka, treaded water) then we would swim back. So we got out there, and I climbed up and told Matt and Tyler that we were arctic explorers here to observe the penguins, to which Matt informed me that “there are no penguins in the arctic, but there are polar bears.” “Ok”, I said, “then can you be polar bears?” “Sure,” he said. Then thought for a minute… “Wait - we’re the polar bears!?!” needless to say, the polar bears weren’t very active that day.

On the day of the swim test, I promised two of my girls that if they got blue bands, then I would attempt to take them out sailing. They did it! (though I had to heavily encourage one to keep on treading :-) so on Monday we bathing suited up, joined by another of my girls and Brittany, and we headed down to the beach, stood in line waiting for the lifeguards to start letting us peg in, got all our equipment (life jackets, rudders, center boards, kayak paddle for Amy) and headed into the water where we stood for about a half hour while I tried to figure out / remember how to set up first one sail boat then the other. FINALLY I had both boats set up, and was just untying them from the buoy’s ready to set sail, when Sarah came running up. “Are you coming or going!?” she asked, “we’re just not going” I told her. “well come back in, we have zip line today, I just found out and we only have ten minutes to get out there!” so, what took a half hour to set up, I pulled back down in five. We rushed out to the zip line with as many girls as we could find (we missed one :-( with plans of returning to the sails the next day. Of course the following day ended out sweltering hot phase and in swept the cold! We never did get back out, sadly.

On one of the days when it was still VERY hot, we were trying to encourage the girls to drink more water and stay hydrated. The girls at my table were chugging the pitcher of water, and somehow we began trying to drink more and more. At one point, Cora passed by and told us that at JV the week before; she had refilled a boy’s cabins water pitcher five times. The competition was on…and we were going for SIX! We drove Shelby (our server that day) crazy! She started bringing us out two pitchers at a time, and we were chugging as much as we could. At the end of the meal we finally sipped the last of our sixth pitcher. That equals a full pitcher per person at the table. We congratulated each other, thanked Shelby…then headed for the bathroom.

Wednesday was supposed to be our day out. We were supposed to go to Au Train Beach, but due to the appearance of bad weather, it was decided that we would stay on home base and carry on as usual. But we still wanted to do something fun for dinner, so the staff quickly pulled out the cardboard cut outs of jungle animals used for the African safari at Family Camp last summer, and quickly transformed the Bear Trail into a jungle. Shortly before dinner was to start, I found Sarah sitting on a picnic table chatting with some of our girls. I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow we both started talking about the safari that was to come, only we were talking about the Malibu safari, and how we had to put on our hiking stilettos, and how we didn’t want to chip a nail. All with bratty, valley girl accents. This continued the rest of the night, we talked about how we were hoping to catch a pink alligator so we could have a pink alligator bag, and how we needed our sparkling mineral water, and (best of all!) the new diet we were trying: we weren’t vegetarians, we just couldn’t eat anything with a face, so we only ate fish (which of course don’t have faces) and Amish Faceless chicken. I think we got on the nerves of the staff juuust a little bit, but the girls seemed to love it :-) we finally put a stop to it when we pretended to leave and then acted like we had no clue what the girls were talking about :-)

Waking up campers is my morning coffee, it makes me energized and happy in the morning. Waking up the girls has always been one of my favorite things to do as a counselor (much of which I’d learned from Sarah my first year). since I am not a morning person, I find a sense of sweet revenge on my former counselors (ahem, Sarah) by waking up my own girls in the most obnoxious ways possible. However, due to the fact that my girls were older, they always requested that we wake them up at seven when we headed out to our counselor meeting, meaning that by the time we got back at eight (the normal time to wake up the campers) everyone was wide awake, showered, and ready for food. Tears! However, one day Sarah and I were late for the meeting (thanks to a rogue alarm clock situation) so we didn’t have a chance to wake the girls up before the meeting, which meant (mwahaha) they were all mine! (Sarah saved them for me, knowing I would enjoy the experience).

After the meeting I raced back to the cabin, and tip-toed into the counselors room, hooked my ipod up to my speakers, did a quick song search, turned up the volume and headed to the bunks of blissfully snoozing campers. I began blasting “Hello Sunshine” by BarlowGirl, singing along and too-happily announcing that it was morning! I went from bunk to bunk, rousing the girls and being just obnoxious. Most started to stir by the time I’d turned on the second morning song, “Sunshine Girl” (Britt Nicole) and I got many an evil glair as I shouted at the top of my lungs the line, “I CAN BE THE QUIET ONE!!” then whispered “or the life of the party.” But then, that wasn’t working for a few in the back room, so I decided desperate times called for desperate measures. So I left the room so I could scroll through my songs till I found the one I was looking for. Ah, there it was, I knew I’d struck gold. I clicked play, let the first notes ring through the cabin: “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. Oh-oh-oh-whoa-whoa” then: “I know ya love me, I know ya care, just shout whenever, and I’ll be there. you want my love, you want my heart, and we will never, ever, ever be apart…” and before the Bieb’s could croon the words “baby, baby, baby oooooh!” the snoozing girls were out of their beds and across the cabin, begging me on their knees to turn it off! I had found my weapon.

The next morning, before doing anything else, I snuck up to Alex’s bunk (for she had been the loudest about her dislike for my morning tactics) I held my speakers to her unsuspecting ear, and clicked play. Justin Bieber is a wonderful alarm clock.

The girls later came to me with verses about joy and laughter saying they had found them for me, since I was so joyful to wake them up in the morning. (wasn’t quite sure how to take that).

The last day, I decided to get up at six to see the sunrise (my camp tradition). After my alarm went off I was laying in bed for just a minute before pulling myself out, when I heard an alarm go off somewhere else in the cabin. I thought it was odd, but it was soon turned off, so I didn’t give it a second thought, and I tip-toed out of the cabin.

Later that morning however, I was swarmed by the whole cabin, they were asking why I had to go and get up so early on my last morning! Turns out they’d had it all planed out to wake up at six, plug my speakers into Alyssa’s ipod, and wake me up to Taylor Swift in my ear! I’m almost sorry I missed it…almost.

Later that day, two of my girls got packages. The camp tradition is to sing for your package (a rule that’s become optional at Girls Camp). These girls were adamant they were not going to sing, but I convinced them, promising to sing with them. We got up in front of the dinning hall, and Alyssa invited everyone to sing along “since I’m sure you know the words.” And I announced that this was a song dedicated to “Moose Mornings.” And we launched into the chorus of “Baby”. Surprisingly we weren’t booed off, though I think the fact that the staff guys started singing along as the rattled the silverware baskets may have helped.

It was a wonderful week full of blessings, memories and adventures. I loved my girls, whether they were in my cabin or not, and God worked in my own life through them and others at the camp in so many ways that I cant even explain or hope to make sense of. So many of our devos I felt as if the girls were teaching me way more than I could hope to teach them, and they reminded me that the faith of a child is a beautiful thing, and how much I long to have that simple, innocent and lovely faith. The fire they had in their hearts to tell their friends and family the story of God was so inspiring and encouraging, they didn’t let fear get in the way, but were just hungry to know more. And as much as I can love on those girls every day, they turn around and love on me with such an unselfish, unjudged love. They teach me more then I’ll ever even know, and I’m thankful for every moment God gives me with them.