Happy Birthday America!

This is the first 4th of July that I have ever had in Minneapolis. For the last 8 years I have celebrated the 4th in some random town with summer staff and YouthWorks participants.  It was weird to think that when I got done with work at 4:00 (yes, we had to work today, but we get lots of other days off during the year to make up for it and we got to have a huge picnic which was fun) I had the entire evening free. I didn't have to worry about finishing up Club and figuring out how to get participants to and from the fireworks as well as getting them to bed at a decent hour. Instead I took a short nap and then headed over to some friends house for a BBQ. It was the perfect evening. We sat and chilled in the backyard. The sun was shining, it was warm (but not too warm), the food was delicious and we lounged around for about 3 hours eating and watching the kids play in the pool. It was exactly what I needed. Then me and 2 friends walked to a nearby park to watch the fireworks. I can home feeling really relaxed and thankful for such a great evening. 

Father thank you for great friends and relaxing evenings. Thank you for the perfect weather and the chance to be outside celebrating this nation with all the different people that live in my neighborhood. Thank you for providing in ways that I didn't even know I needed. 

(P.S. I know I haven't written anything about my month of June-starting 2 YouthWorks sites and doing a triathlon. Keep checking back, those things are next on my list to post about! )

It Has Begun

It has begun, another YouthWorks summer. Summer number 8. I'm not out in the field this year which is a change. Of the last 8 summers, 6 of them have been spent in random areas of the country serving staff and communities from as many different walks of life as stars in the sky. I was curious to see how I would feel this summer about my limited role out on the front lines but I am surprisingly contented.  I know that this is where I need to be for now. I get have little tastes and reminders of life as a YouthWorks summer staff, which is really nice and I think what will tide me over. I was in El Paso last week helping to train our Mexico and Puerto Rico staff and tomorrow I am heading to Sisseton, SD to help our Lake Traverse team get started. After that I head to Sault Ste Marie, MI to help the team up there and then after my triathlon and a couple days off I am back in the office in July. Summer is going to fly by. 

What has also begun is my next journey with the Lord. Everyday I get more and more excited about this upcoming year and the promises it holds. I know the Lord is going to be revealing some amazing things to me in this next season and piece by piece over the last month He has begun the revealing process. This week I signed up for my first graphic design course, which is one piece of this next journey. I am excited to be diving into this dream that I have had for a few years and am anxious to see what the Lord is going to do with it. I look forward to more and more of it being revealed as days and weeks go by, and I just keep praying that God would give me the patience I need to accept these things in His timing. The possibilities are endless and I serve a God who can and will do "immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine." Of that I am certain, and of that is where my hope lies! I can't wait to share this journey with you as it is revealed to me step by step. 

Pictures from my time in El Paso last week:

This is what greeted staff who arrived last week. We had a western theme.

This is the entire Mexico/Puerto Rico Region-they are a blast. 

Adam and Alex all dressed up with nowhere to go. 

An Amazing Evening

I got to participate in my first bonfire of the season last night. A friend from work invited us all up to his parent's house. They live north of the Twin Cities about 45 minutes and live on a lake. About 20 of us from YouthWorks went up for the evening and had a blast playing volleyball, grilling out, talking, and having a bonfire. 

There are few things that are more relaxing to me than hanging out at a lake with buddies. The evening really reminded me how fortunate I am to work with the people that I do. There were many moments throughout the course of the evening where I forgot that I was with co-workers. It left me a little speechless and feeling so blessed by the fellowship and love that surrounded me. I got home that night (or should I say morning because it was 1 am) and fell into bed with a smile on my face. 

Thank you Lord for showing me your love through the people I spend most of my days with. 

Indescribable, Lord you are

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name.

You are amazing, God.

All powerful, untamable,

Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

That you are amazing, God.

Incomparable, Unchangeable,

You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same.

You are amazing, God.

How I love this song. The words of it are so powerful. Thinking about God as indescribable, uncontainable, all powerful, untamable, Incomparable, and unchangeable make Him so huge. So powerful, so mighty. They leave me feeling as if the Lord fills the room with His might and His power. It leaves me feeling humbled that He would care for me, one small person on an earth of billions. It makes me humbled to think that I matter to him. That He loves me and cherishes me more than I will ever know. I sing this song and am often left breathless and overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. Goodness that knows no bounds or human limits. Goodness and moves beyond anything that I can fathom. Goodness that is never changing and perfect as it is. I am left feeling as if I don't have the adequate words to express my thanksgiving to a God that "sees the depths of my heart and yet loves me the same."

Father thank you for being a God who is so huge. Thank you for loving and cherishing me the way you do when I am simply me, broken, hurting, imperfect me. Thank you that you have placed within me a little piece of you. A piece of you that is lovely. A piece of you that is worthy. A piece of you that is wonderful. Help me to spread those pieces around to all I meet that others may see you as indescribable, uncontainable, all powerful, untamable, incomparable, and unchangeable. 

Next Steps...

I went to visit MCTC (Minneapolis Community and Technical College) tonight.  Just walking in the door, actually pulling into the parking ramp got me really excited at the prospect of going back to school to study graphic design. I talked to one of the teachers in the Graphic Design department, chatted with an admissions rep and took a campus tour.  The campus, in downtown Minneapolis, is really pretty and fairly new. The college has a great reputation for graphic design, and was even recommended to me by an admissions counselor from a design school. I am thinking about working towards an AA Degree.  

All in all it was a great visit, so great in fact, that I came home and applied online. I am hoping to take a class or 2 starting in the fall. 

This has been a dream of mine for a long time so it is exciting to be taking some actual steps towards it. Thanks to my friends who have pushed me and who haven't let me just continue to talk about this. 

Please continue to be in prayer for me as I begin this process.