Winter Retreat Update

Our second winter retreat with the middle schoolers was awesome! God answered our prayers because none of the 70+ students got hurt or injured, which I think is amazing! It was a great weekend! Many students either made commitments to put more effort into their daily walk with Christ or made first-time commitments. I've included some pictures below.

The Whole Group!

My Cabin of 6th Grade Girls
Can you tell they're having a good time?

Some of My 6th Graders Eating Icicles on the Last Day

Winter Retreat - Round 2

Well, Luke and I are off again for another weekend winter retreat at Spring Hill Camp! This time, however, we're taking middle schoolers...about 70 of them, in fact! So many signed up that we are now taking two charter buses! Even though there's no snow here at the moment, Evart, Michigan (where Spring Hill Camp is), got 5 inches of snow last night and are expecting another 2-4 inches to fall today. That's a sure sign that we are in for a fun weekend. Please pray for our safety to and from Michigan, that no one gets sick or hurt, and that lives will be changed. With the size of group we have, I think that will be a miracle if we do come back without something like that happening. Thank you for checking in and for praying for us! I will be sure to post pictures when we return.

Winter Retreat Pictures

Here are a couple pictures from the senior high winter retreat last weekend! The weekend turned out be pretty awesome--two students accepted Christ!! The only negative thing that happened was early on Sunday morning (the day we left for home), Luke and two other students got the stomach flu. Fortunately, they didn't got sick on the bus ride home and no one else got it after returning home!

The Whole Group!

Me and Most of My Freshmen Small Group Girls
(Kaitlyn Sheets, Nikki Aumsbaugh, Summer McEvoy, & Amy Spencer)

Winter Retreat

Tomorrow afternoon, Luke and I are hitting the road on a Charter bus with 41 high school students to head to SpringHill Camp in Evart, Michigan, for a winter retreat! We are so excited, as this was one of the highlights of our ministry last year! We have quite a few students going with us this year who are not very plugged into the church, so we are expecting God to do great things in them this weekend.  Please pray for our safety and that lives will be changed!  I'll be sure to post pictures when we get back.

And if you're thinking we'll be tired when we get back, you are absolutely right! We'll both be off from work and in a sleep-induced coma on Monday. ....But, we get to do this all again in February with over 50 middle schoolers! That's when we'll REALLY need your prayers! :) The high school trip is a breeze!

Happy New Year!

Well, I didn't quite complete my goal of posting a "Lesson Learned After College" every day until the end of 2011. To be completely honest, I ran out of lessons and got too busy doing other things! Even though I didn't post one every day, I know the important thing is that in addition to the education I received in college, I have learned a lot since then from simply living life.

Tomorrow is the last day of Luke and I's vacation time, and I must say, I am not looking forward to going back to work on Tuesday. I have thoroughly enjoyed relaxing and spending time with close friends and family. Luke and I were able to sleep in until 8am most days (two of those days, I stayed in my pajamas all day!), the house has stayed clean all week, I got to shop a lot, and I read two books this week! I highly recommend both of the books: Sticky Faith by Dr. Kara E. Powell & Dr. Chap Clark and The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko (thanks to Aunt Marcia!).  I was inspired by both of them.

As my Christmas decorations come down tomorrow and the new year begins, I'm going to make it my goal this year to take the time to be still and remember that God is faithful each and every day. "Great is Thy Faithfulness" is my all-time favorite hymn, and I think it's a great reminder as life moves forward that God is always faithful. He's always provided everything (and more) than I have needed.

Lessons Learned After College - #9

Lesson #9: My World is Small
I love to fly. Every time I'm in a plane, I'm reminded of how small my world really is. It's odd how much an aerial view changes my perspective. Before getting in a plane, all I know is the world as I see it around me. For all I know, Columbia City and the surrounding areas that have become familiar could be all that exists in the world--that is, until I'm up in the air, looking down at the world I thought consumed everything. That's when I get a tiny glimpse of the world that God sees. Our problems must seem so small to Him. I know He enjoys listening to my prayers, but He must laugh sometimes at the things I pray for because most of the time, my requests are so trivial! From His viewpoint of infinite time and space, I am nothing more than a spec in the sand.

It isn't until the plane makes it back home safely, that my world becomes big again. It's then that I realize, I am more than a spec in the sand. I can make a difference here---now.

Lessons Learned After College - #8

Lesson #8: We judge ourselves on our intentions, but others on their actions. Others also judge us by our actions, not our intentions.

This is a popular quote struck me recently. No matter how good my intentions are, others will never see and fully understand my intentions. They will always judge me by how I act. There is a big difference between thinking and doing, and I need to be more conscious of my actions. At the same time, there can't be a double standard. Even though it doesn't come easy, I need to realize that others do not necessarily act the way they intend to.

Short post today, but I think the quote speaks for itself. :)

Tomorrow's post: My World is Small