One more for July

It is my last week of my internship. Usually people would say "how is it already my last week of my internship?" But for some reason it kinda feels right. I think it seems normal that this is when things start winding down before they start winding up again.

I finished my online fine arts class- I would highly recommend taking the class in that fashion. I am now planning and having my "hey lets grab a meal/coffee before we go."

I miss these people SOOO much!

Last weekend I made an Indiana grand tour. I surprised my friends Katie and Grant. I told my friend Nick I was coming so he made sure that everyone would be there. It was wonderful. Spent sweet quiet time alone by my favorite pond. Did homework at McConn. Chatted by the fountain. Stargazed. We ate at my favorite restaurants. Watched the  London 2012 opening ceremonies. It helped me to remember more clearly what I was going back to and to return home (STC) with a fresh memory of the things that I love here so I can soak those things up while I am here.

The other part of the Indiana grand tour was going to my cousins Indiana wedding reception. It was fun to have all the cousins together.

This weekend I am teaching on Habakkuk in middle school sunday school and TREK. It is totally a growing process as I put together what I want to say. I am learning a ton.

I feel reaffirmed that I picked the right internship for me for this summer. Not that there was a lot of question in my mind but it is just even more firm. It is awesome the way that God works those kind of things together.

I dont think I ever wrote about how I sold/donated my plasma with my friend Jordan. It is a whole story in itself. Remind me and i'll write a whole post on it.

What does it look like?

What does it look like to finish strong in this season of my life? That question has been on my mind and heart a lot in this past week. The summer of 2012 is quickly coming to an end. I can deny it all I want but in all reality it is going to hit me if I like it or not. I spent so much time this year praying and processing what my summer might look like and now it is coming to a close.

What does it look like to finish strong in my internship? With the communications part and the student ministries part?
What does it look like to finish strong in my relationships that are home based?
What does it look like to finish this season with my relationships that are IWU based?
What does it look like to finish strong with my family this summer?
What does it look like to finish strong with God this season? In my heart?

As I look to the next season...new ministry.. back to what I "know"...What does it look like to start on that journey? How can I best ready my mind and my heart now to best serve in a few weeks when I am back at IWU?

Like I end a lot of my blog posts....a reminder to others and to myself that we serve a God that is oh so faithful. He knows every step before I can even think about taking the next one. I am in awe.

SL2012 (Lead Week)

This past week has been a crazy one. I was the "assistant event director" (which is a title I got to make me feel better about all the work I was putting in).  You can read about what Lead is and how I experienced it last year read here. This year was different in a lot of ways. I was involved in a lot more prep work this year because of my internship. This year there were two host churches. So the evening sessions were at a different church and a bunch of the students slept there. It worked out better than I thought but I still was not a huge fan of not all being together all the time. I was so blessed again in the relationships that were deepened by this week. I had the female hosts stay at my house a few nights of the week and I seriously love those girls and could not have picked ones that were better for the job!

The week was filled with a lot of highs and lows. Some crazy awesome laugh attacks: "could you just play and not sing", "the rooster will crow 3 times", puppies in a basket, Would you be into this? (as I hold up temporary tattoos), "bruce..maybe that was you". These things probably mean nothing to most of you but it is just a reminder for my own sake.

I was so thankful for the opportunity to return to Riverwoods and serve that ministry again. I am a big fan of partnerships. We had a decent break from the heat last week as well which was such a blessing.

It was interesting living out a week called a "Servant Leadership Experience" after my class Servant Leadership this past semester. It was a clear opportunity to put some of the things I learned into play.

Here are some pictures of the week:

Jordan lovin on some refugee kids. 

Some Grand 305 men 

A great reminder

Kelsey turned old. (18) I am soooo blessed by her friendship and really could not picture this summer without her. 

Celebrated 7/11 with Free Slurpee's and a free Cougars game

Where Jordan got 1 foul ball and another one from Jorge. - Hip Hip Jorge

So thankful that Tom shares his awesome friends with me. Loved getting to know and serve with Sam.

*Side note: The Saturday night before Lead week started on Sunday I had a wonderful visit from Emily. I am so blessed by her friendship and her love. I love spending whatever time with her that I can. It is so crazy to go from living together everyday to only seeing each other sometimes. It was fun to share this side of my life with her. I am so thankful for that time. We also skyped Mary, and Silver. Sooooo awesome! :) Thats how memories are made. and "It's always a good time...we don't even have to try"

I can brag on my own blog

In the past few days I have had some pretty sweet Jesus time. In our college group we were talking about things that stir our affections for Jesus. What are those things? How we should keep track of those things and how we should do those things. One of those things for me is refelcting and re-reading old journal entries/prayers. I was literally in tears at one point because it was so crazy clear how God had worked a situation perfectly together and I had not even realized it until re-reading those thoughts and prayers. So I encourage anyone who reads this to take time to make a list of the things that stir their affections for Jesus and DO those things! I mean why not?

This Sunday my awesome friend Kelsey from IWU came to visit! She lives about 30 minutes away and came to praise Jesus with me on Sunday morning. She even tagged along and went to hang out with the high schoolers at TREK after! Such a champ! It was seriously so great being able to see her! It filled a little bit of that "IWU homesick" feeling. 

Our high school ministry sends out 3 mission trips each summer. They are all back now and this Sunday we talked about processing those experiences. I am all about processing (I think most people who blog are).Anyways I loved it and love hearing what students learned and what God is teaching them through those experiences. Little do they know big of a part those trips will play in their life story! It is just awesome! The picture below is a list of things that students said they wanted to do or how they wanted to live now after their trip.

This past weekend was also the wedding of now Christina and Travis Meeks! Mom was in Florida at my cousins wedding so it was just me, dad, Grant, Alex and Ayla. We had a great time sitting with Todd and Andi and getting all caught up with them!

It was crazy hot so I wanted to wear my hair up. I did a little pinteresting and was inspired by a few hairstyles and so I went to work. I was thrilled with the result. I am not going to hide it. I don't really think I could do it again. But It was awesome for that day. I liked my hair more that day than I did for almost any high school dance when I had my hair done. I decided that I can brag on my own blog a little bit. It is definitely something that I want to remember...so here it is!

Here is the sweet couple!