Be More

Be more than good. Be more than caring. Be more than compassionate. Be more than satisfactory.

Do not be complacent knowing that you are doing what is required of you. Go above and beyond. Sacrifice a bit of sleep, a bit of personal time, a conversation with a peer. Sacrifice those things in order to be more for these kids. Do more than what you have to do. Give every bit of you to show these kids Christ's love.

This has really been convicting me this past week as I have been tired and not feeling 100%. It is so easy to only put in the amount of effort you have to. To sit on your bed while the girls are getting ready. To cut conversations short in order to get to bed earlier. To tell your kids to hang on while you talk to a friend. It's so easy. But we have to overcome those temptations to be more for these kids. They deserve every bit of us, and it is our role to be that for them. Don't just do your job to say you've done it. Do more than that in order to give these precious children the experience they deserve.

Weddings Give Me Hope!!

My beautiful friend (more like a sister)'s wedding was today! Laura looked absolutely gorgeous, and you could tell that she and Wayne were absolutely in love with each other. The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was fun, and it was an overall wonderful day!

Seeing two people so in love makes me so hopeful for that one day! It doesn't have to be soon, but one day I hope to find that Mr. Right and be able to share my life with him!

7 Months?

Everybody has somebody in their lives that became part of their family growing up. Somebody who was a role model, who was always there when you needed them, who taught you life lessons and watched you become who you now are. Somebody who saw you through the good times, and the bad. Somebody who knew you so well that they could tell when something was wrong just by your mannerisms. Somebody who only wanted the best for you, and loved you no matter what.

For me, that person was my swim coach - Dennis. I have known him for nearly 12 years now. At first, he was only my swim coach, but it didn't take long for him to take on a much greater role in my life. For several years I think he knew more about my life than my own parents did, only because I often spent more time at the pool than I did at home. He knew the ups and downs of every day, and he knew me inside and out. It was impossible to lie to him if something was wrong, because he had some way of just knowing if I was okay. He wasn't just a swim coach, he became a life coach. Teaching me lessons in the water and out, Daddy Dennis became a crucial role in molding me into the woman I am today.

For years, I never went more than 2 weeks in a row without seeing him. Even when I quit club swimming, I quickly started coaching there and his support of me only increased even though I wasn't his swimmer anymore. Saying goodbye to him was possibly the hardest goodbye of all, not including my own family, when I moved to college. Every weekend I would come home I would rush to the pool to see him. I still saw him about every month during the fall semester, and although it wasn't the same, I still treasured that time that I just got to sit and talk to him about life and college.

This semester, Coach Dennis had a heart attack and had to take a break from coaching. I also got super busy with school, and so for those reasons combined, I haven't been able to see him since December. That is 7 months. I have NEVER gone this long in the past 12 years without seeing him. He was such a vital part of my day-to-day life growing up, and it makes me so sad that I have let myself go this long without having him pick on me and joke around with me. This long without one of his hugs that promises things will be okay.

I miss him SO much. Luckily, that should all change tomorrow. Once we get home from Destin I'm planning on jumping in my car and going to the pool to see him. It is the only day that I will be home that there will be swim practice between now and when I move back to school in August. So I REALLY want to make it work. Hopefully everything will turn out and I will be able to go back and see him, to see the man who helped make me who I am, and to get one of those hugs that was so encouraging while promising everything would be okay. 7 months is WAY too long, and hopefully that will change tomorrow night!

God Had a Plan!

All I wanted in my roommate for this next year was that she was a Christian. Ideally, I would've loved to live with another camp counselor who could share in those experiences with me, but more of all, I just wanted somebody to walk alongside me in my faith.

I was SO excited to live with Libby, until she decided to move off campus. Then I was stoked to live with Erin, until she decided to go to a different school. At that point I decided that I wasn't meant to be controlling this situation, and that God had different plans for my living situation.

I should've trusted Him from the beginning with this scenario.

I found out yesterday that I would be living with a girl named Rachel. After some major facebook/twitter/pinterest creeping, I found out that she was from San Antonio, played soccer, and (drumroll please) .... worked at a Christian summer camp!

To say I am stoked is an understatement. I talked to her for a while today, and my stalkings were confirmed! She seems like a great girl, and I'm excited to share this next year with her!

So blessed to see how God answers prayers when we give up the reigns and let Him take control! Why do we worry and why do we freak out? God knows what we need!

Growing Up Realizations

I have this morning off, and was loving just relaxing. I was able to catch up with the family, listen to some music, read a bit, and take a bit of time to look after myself as opposed to the 12 girls I'm typically caring for this week.

I had a major realization though this morning when I was talking with my mom. In 3 weeks they will be going to Iowa, and I will not be. This will be the first time that the three of them will be going, and that I won't be partaking in the adventure. It will be my first summer in 19 years not to see my extended family.

I wish I could make both of my worlds work. I know that I'm meant to be at camp this summer, and I know that if I wasn't supposed to be spending the summer in Livingston that God wouldn't have allowed me to come back. I take so much peace in that simple fact, but the idea of missing an Iowa trip isn't a fond one. I wish that I could do both - that I could be at camp and loving on these kids and showing them Christ's love, but that I could also be able to spend time with my family too. I guess that is just part of growing up.

Here we Go!! :)

Summer camp has OFFICIALLY begun! Campers are here, and summer is underway! Very few things beat spending all day with kids and getting to share and show them the love our Our Beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ.

These kids are wonderful and so precious! I have nine 8 year olds, and they are a HOOT! I don't think I have laughed so hard or acted so silly in a long time. That is one of the beautiful things about camp, you can act completely silly and ridiculous and it is perfectly okay! My girls and I made up a game where they call out a couple animals and I have to act them out. For example, a monkey-dolphin-horse. I am sure I look like a complete fool, but the girls love it and enjoy it, so we will keep playing all week until they run out of ridiculous animal combinations. The Lord sure has blessed me with this group of girls! I know that there will be rough times to come, and some weeks that are harder than others, but God is SO good and is working everything to His glory!

Please keep me and my girls in your prayers this week! Time for a quick nap to finish off my off time this morning, then I'll be meeting up with my girls for lunch, rest time, activities, flex time, and CRUD WARS tonight!

Falling off the Face of the Planet Temporarily!!

Just figured I should write up a quick post explaining why my blogging will be slim to none over the next 10 weeks - I'LL BE AT CAMP!!

I've been at Cho-Yeh for the past two weeks for Staff Training and can tell that this summer is going to be phenomenal! I'm home for today but will be heading back to Livingston early tomorrow morning for CAMPERS!! It is the time that we have all been waiting for, the day when our precious kiddos get here!

I'll be in a cabin of girls getting ready to go into 3rd grade and I'm SO excited. Literally. Like a little girl before Christmas morning. I'm enjoying getting to spend this afternoon with my family, and know that the craziness called Cho-Yeh summer camp begins in the morning. I cannot wait!!

So, my blogging may not be up to date. So sorry! Please keep me, the rest of the counselors, leadership, full-time, and most importantly - my beautiful campers - in your prayers for the next 2.5 months! Thanks so much!!!