Lost Canyon

I am getting ready to leave for our summer camp trip to Lost Canyon. For me that is meaning a crazy amount of things to do, but I am so so so excited to be there. You can expect to get some fun updates for me when I get back. But for now, will you join me in prayer? Click the link below to see the names and faces of girls that will be in my cabin this week.

Fossil Girls

Also if you are wondering what it is I am doing this week, you should check out this sweet video tour of Lost Canyon. It gives a great picture of Young Life summer camp.

VBS

 

 

This week has been super fun because I am teaching Vacation Bible School with my boyfriend, Justin Matthews the great, and one of my young life kids Lorena.

Recently I’ve been thinking about what we are able to invite people into. I know that at the end of my life I want to be able to say that I lived an epic story with my life. I want to live a life for Christ that impacts the Kingdom in big ways. I want the same for my Younglife kids. Sometimes it easy to spend all of my time in ministry taking kids out and talking to them about their lives. I love that. I love doing that. But I also want to invite kids into an epic story with their lives. I want to show them what live could be beyond going to Starbucks or walking through Charming Charlie, and I want to invite them into it. I think that is what we were made for. To have a purpose for the Kingdom.

I am still dreaming about what that could look like. Praying about what the Lord would have us do to serve the community, and the world through us. Its exciting, and I would love it if you joined me in praying about it.

This week has been a week where I have gotten to volunteer teaching vacation bible school, loving on the little ones, with one of my young life girls. Its been a blast. And I it is just the beginning.

Girls Night Campaigners

Last week I got a text from one of my younglife girls who just finished her freshman year in high school. It was something like, “Hey we are gonna have a young life girls night campaigners hang out night sunday at my house can you come?” and I responded “heck yes!” She then texted, “Can you run it?” Of course I can.

So without knowing really who all would be there I prepared something small to share with a group of girls. It ended up being a huge range of kids that showed up. We had girls who just graduated and are getting ready to go to college and one girl who is going to be a freshman next year. It was beautiful. We shared, prayed, worshipped, and laughed a whole lot. I didn’t get the event together. I didn’t do very much convincing to get anyone there. I just literally showed up.

I am continually thankful for what the Lord lets me be a part of.  15 girls and myself in a basement praising the Lord and being in it together. Praise the Lord.

Some Pictures from the Backpacking Trip

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11 Things I Learned While Backpacking

1. There is no such thing as too much sunscreen. I put on sunscreen. Promise I did. But there was snow the entire time. Snow combined with elevation makes a bad bad bad recipe for getting burned. I got one mad sunglasses tan line. And let’s just say I am on my second round of peeling.

2. Snow makes everything 5x harder than it would normally be. This was basically the most intense outdoor trip I have ever taken. It snowed somewhere between 6 and 8 inches one of the days, and we spent it together in our fly.

3. Snowshoeing is not for pansies. yep.

4. Sleeping with your damp clothes dries them. My socks were wet every day from hiking. I had several pairs rationed through the week, but it was important to keep holy socks holy. Putting them in my down sleeping bag at night allowed my body heat to warm them up.

5.Wearing deodorant when you don’t shower is bad. Bacteria builds if you wear deodorant over and over without showering. So we were not allowed to bring any. But I did… I brought wet ones… Don’t worry.

6. We can accomplish far more together than apart. 

7. BIF stands for Bathroom In Forest. I am now acquainted. Check out Deuteronomy 23.12. Its biblical.

8. Bug spray sometimes works. I was eaten alive by mosquitos. There were so many of them our last night it was ridiculous. I would have drenched my clothes in it if there was a way.

9. Wilderness is great medication for a busy life. It makes perfect sense really, Jesus went into the wilderness to quiet himself and be still. I found peace and joy in turning off my blackberry. Its easy to be a workaholic, its medication to release yourself from what you do sometimes.

10. There isn’t many feelings comparable to the feeling of Accomplishment. I for sure exceeding my own expectations of myself. For sure.  Victory!

11. When we seek Him (God) we find Him.