The weekend!

Friday after camp we set out for New Hampshire for our getaway weekend! I can't even describe how perfect the timing of this trip was for all of us. It was so good to just go to a new place together and take the weekend to relax and reflect.

The area we were in was nothing short of amazing. The cabin we were staying at was beautiful. It wasn't just the cabin though it was the fact that the cabin was surrounded by trees and this amazing lake! The way the sun reflected off the lake . On Saturday morning we took out some kayaks. I did some quiet time floating around the lake. It was so calming. I couldn't help but be rememinded of when Jesus calmed the storm. Last week was so hard. One of the "stormiest" weeks I have had here. I just sat in the kayak in the calm waters and was so convinced that Jesus was calming my "storm"

Eventually we all got back to the house and hung out for a while. We ate breakfast and just hung out. Then we officially started our day. We did a bible study which then led us into our reflection. Our mission was to spend about 4 and a half hours alone. Just us and God. I took out the kayak again. I spent about 3 and a half hours on the lake just reflecting on how God has worked in my life and how God is still working. I took a big portion of that time just to pray. I can't even begin to explain what yesterday meant to me. I realize that it is so important to have these times where it is just me and God. It is so refreshing to forget everything and open up to God. I encourage you all to try this. Take an afternoon. Devote it to Jesus. You will love it.

I will admit it was hard at first to focus. First of all how many people have the chance to set apart 5 hours in one day? It was so hard not to focus on camp or on just other random things that didn't matter at the moment. I had a lot of trouble at the start but it did get easier. It was just me in God in that boat. He had my full attention and I had his.

We went to some random fair last night too. Nothing special. We thought hot air balloons were going to be lifted but it was too windy...so we left. After we got home we did our weekly debrief. So needed. Let me just tell you how great it was to share some of the things that I have been struggling with. It was also great to hear from everybody else how God was working in their lives and what this weekend meant to them. We had an extended time of prayer where we just prayed for each other. It was great. To be this engaged in community is more amazing everyday.

Today we all woke up and went to blueberry island(an island in the middle of the lake that we named blueberry island because it grew blueberries) We hung out there and jumped off rocks into the lake. It was so much fun. So out of my element and I loved it! We went back to the cabin and played some games and did random things before the second part of our reflection time.

Jim gave us all a peice of paper on it. We wrote our names on it and set it on the table. Everyone grabbed someone elses paper and wrote on one side words encouragement and on the other side some challenges. We all traded papers until everyone was done. After that we took some time to read them and they were so encouraging. Jims encouragement and challenge was great to read. He challenged me not to be afraid of continuing to take risks or continuing th strive for growth. He encouraged me to trust God in the midst of the scary places and trust that God will bring me through and grow me in this process.

Something else that was very encouraging was how many times people commented on my empathy. Since the SOMA confrence at church I have pondered how much I see my stregnths and how much other people see it. I guess it really is my number 1 haha!

The drive home was long. It was only like 2 and a half to 3 hours but 5 people in a small car...not very comfortable. It did make me miss the amazing road trip. It also made me very excited to know that in a month I will be back on the road! Yayyy!!

I am about to go to bed. One of the things God has called me to this weekend is to spend more time with him. So I am going to bed early so I can get up early and have some extended me and Jesus time!

I hope you guys are enjoying your summer as much as I am enjoying mine.

Thanks again for all of your encouragement and all of your prayers!