I wish I could explain everything that I feel about this STP experience as a team leader, but that would be impossible and you would be reading this blog for a really long time. That said, I'll try to give y'all an idea of what my life has been looking like this summer!
I am not a schedule follower. I used to be a big time list maker, but now I feel like I'd rather just do stuff rather than write it down before doing it. This summer has turned me into a major league schedule follower. Every week, I need to fit in work, Bible study prep (upwards of 7 hours a week!), 1 to 1's with the three ladies on my team, our team's Bible study, a 1 to 1 with my staff person, team leader Bible study, and many hours of training and meals with the other team leaders. I also have to sleep! This is the busiest I have ever consistently been in my life, but it has been amazing! I love how God calls us to be productive and do work for Him, and He has provided me with this wonderful opportunity to do so! I am exhausted, but it is a sort of exhaustion that is full and glad. My time with my team and the other folks here is just so rewarding and fulfilling, and it has been truly amazing to see the ways God has answered prayers, given me energy, and brought my team together. I am so thankful for the women on my team, and for the other team leaders and students here that are such a support and encouragement to me. My work situation has been really difficult, but God has placed wonderful, encouraging people in my path this summer to help me to see the ways I can rejoice even in my suffering and strife.
I never thought being a team leader would be so hard! But it's a good kind of hard! I've completely loved spending time with my team, really getting to know these women, and encouraging them in their walks with the Lord. Actually the hardest thing about the summer has been making myself get time alone to prepare Bible study and have some Kathryn time. I love all the people here so much that it's hard for me to say "no!" when folks want to go to Sonic for happy hour or forgo a game of Banana grams so that I can be alone to keep my sanity.
We have three weeks left, and I really covet your prayers as my team continues to live life together and grow in our relationships with God and each other. Some of the girls on my team have had a cool opportunity to potentially hang out with a girl they work with, so I'm praying that would turn into a ministry opportunity for them! It has been really neat to see them grow in a desire to share the Lord with the people around them. I LOVE IT! Pray for all of us!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I am so blessed!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A bit late...
Whoops, it's been a while since I've been able to update! Clearly, I've been very busy indeed, and the internet at the Hot Pig (which is what we call Hotel Pigeon Forge) is not necessarily up to par. I've a rough past couple days, so I thought I would list some things that have been encouraging or funny lately.
1. An old man called me "Granny" yesterday as I was leaving Dollywood in an attempt to cheer me up.
2. In my endeavors babysitting for the Hamiltons (some folks on staff with the Navs) I discovered the hard way that changing a baby boy's diaper is a skill and a warzone, and you have to be ready for anything that comes your way. Literally.
3. We had a square dance in a hot gym with little AC, and I was wearing way too many clothes, but I found that if I am sweating in any situation, the boys around me are sweating exponentially more.
4. I have learned that the treasure I have laid up for me with Christ is always going to be more encouraging than however discouraging a mean woman who may or may not work with me at Dollywood can be.
5. My team is so cool. We are women who are learning to love one another and care for and pray for one another. I have found that I can tell them when I am sad or discouraged and I don't have to have it all together because I am their leader. I had a rough day yesterday and I told them about it and they pointed me towards the Scripture. We have had hard conversations and good conversations and we have laughed so very much, and the Lord is just so at work on our relationships. He is answering prayers on top of prayers that I have for these women and our team, and it is sweet to experience.
6. Another old man at Dollywood told me that I have "beautiful eyes" and that I should always wear my blue dress to match them. Unfortunately, it is the 21st century, and I will not be wearing my blue dress outside of Dollywood often.
7. My parents are great and have sent me two cards with dogs on them, and various other things. People at the program probably think that I am unstable because I always cry when I receive these in the mail.
8. God has answered some prayers for me, like, INSTANTANEOUSLY. Seriously.
9. The people that I worked with last year really miss me this summer, and have told me multiple times how much they wish I was still working with them at Miss Lillian's (I am at another restaurant in Dollywood this year). It makes me really sad when they tell me this, and of course I usually cry, but it is really encouraging to know that I was able to impact them and I know it was Christ in me, and not anything that I did, necessarily. That gives me hope for my work situation this year.
10. I have discovered a new game, Banana Grams, and I am good at it. And that makes me happy. I love words.
And that is the end!
1. An old man called me "Granny" yesterday as I was leaving Dollywood in an attempt to cheer me up.
2. In my endeavors babysitting for the Hamiltons (some folks on staff with the Navs) I discovered the hard way that changing a baby boy's diaper is a skill and a warzone, and you have to be ready for anything that comes your way. Literally.
3. We had a square dance in a hot gym with little AC, and I was wearing way too many clothes, but I found that if I am sweating in any situation, the boys around me are sweating exponentially more.
4. I have learned that the treasure I have laid up for me with Christ is always going to be more encouraging than however discouraging a mean woman who may or may not work with me at Dollywood can be.
5. My team is so cool. We are women who are learning to love one another and care for and pray for one another. I have found that I can tell them when I am sad or discouraged and I don't have to have it all together because I am their leader. I had a rough day yesterday and I told them about it and they pointed me towards the Scripture. We have had hard conversations and good conversations and we have laughed so very much, and the Lord is just so at work on our relationships. He is answering prayers on top of prayers that I have for these women and our team, and it is sweet to experience.
6. Another old man at Dollywood told me that I have "beautiful eyes" and that I should always wear my blue dress to match them. Unfortunately, it is the 21st century, and I will not be wearing my blue dress outside of Dollywood often.
7. My parents are great and have sent me two cards with dogs on them, and various other things. People at the program probably think that I am unstable because I always cry when I receive these in the mail.
8. God has answered some prayers for me, like, INSTANTANEOUSLY. Seriously.
9. The people that I worked with last year really miss me this summer, and have told me multiple times how much they wish I was still working with them at Miss Lillian's (I am at another restaurant in Dollywood this year). It makes me really sad when they tell me this, and of course I usually cry, but it is really encouraging to know that I was able to impact them and I know it was Christ in me, and not anything that I did, necessarily. That gives me hope for my work situation this year.
10. I have discovered a new game, Banana Grams, and I am good at it. And that makes me happy. I love words.
And that is the end!
Friday, June 10, 2011
You hold my lot.
I've been here for ten days. Tomorrow is one week for our team members. It has been a VERY full week, full of unexpected circumstances, confusion, struggle, laughter, new friendships, tears, and joy. God has thrown some things my way that I never would have expected I would have to deal with, and He has provided a way of escape, as well. One thing I have really taken to heart this week is that even though I am faithless, He remains faithful. He has designated every drop that goes into my cup, whether I think it belongs there or not, and it overflows. I don't always understand why I have to make certain decisions or get put in hard situations, but I know that trusting in Him to deliver me is the only way I can grow and be full. I have seen God answer prayers in ridiculous ways this week, and it makes me excited to see what the summer is going to look like. I love it.
My team is AWESOME. Jazz, Allie, Debbie and I get along really well, and even though we're all pretty different, we have Christ in common and that is something wonderful. We decided that for our team name, we are Anchored. We were making button rings out of some buttons I brought from my mom's accumulation over the years, and somebody noticed that several of the buttons had anchors on them. We all made a ring with an anchor button and remembered the verses in Hebrews 6 that talk about the hope of Christ being a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf. We have had some really valuable time together and it is so encouraging to see us growing closer, more vulnerable, and more comfortable with each other as we have fun, pray, study the Bible, and just live life together.
I am so thankful for the blessings that God has placed before me, and I am in awe of the enormity of His love for all of His children. One thing that I have been praying about lately is just that, Lord, I am so overwhelmed with things to do and people to see and work and all of this stuff, but mostly I am overwhelmed at Your abundant love for me.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance...
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:5-6, 11
My team is AWESOME. Jazz, Allie, Debbie and I get along really well, and even though we're all pretty different, we have Christ in common and that is something wonderful. We decided that for our team name, we are Anchored. We were making button rings out of some buttons I brought from my mom's accumulation over the years, and somebody noticed that several of the buttons had anchors on them. We all made a ring with an anchor button and remembered the verses in Hebrews 6 that talk about the hope of Christ being a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf. We have had some really valuable time together and it is so encouraging to see us growing closer, more vulnerable, and more comfortable with each other as we have fun, pray, study the Bible, and just live life together.
I am so thankful for the blessings that God has placed before me, and I am in awe of the enormity of His love for all of His children. One thing that I have been praying about lately is just that, Lord, I am so overwhelmed with things to do and people to see and work and all of this stuff, but mostly I am overwhelmed at Your abundant love for me.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance...
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:5-6, 11
Friday, June 3, 2011
I'm here!
WOW. I mean, WOW. I have been in Pigeon Forge for 4 1/2 days now and it has been going non-stop nearly the WHOLE time. It's been amazing to meet the other team leaders and form a tight community with them these days before the team members get here. I have only spent the last 4 days with these people, but I feel like I have known them for weeks already. It is amazing how tightly bonds can form when your relationships are founded on the Word and a relationship and love for Jesus. I already know that the women who I have been living with for mere days are going to be serious supports and rocks for me this summer, and hopefully I will be the same for them, as we all strive to be honorable vessels, encouragers, and challengers of our teams. We are all absolutely dying for the team members to get here, but I am also really cherishing this time to spend with them and get to know them. It is so encouraging for me to know that, whenever I get overwhelmed, there is a girl on my right and on my left that knows and is experiencing all of the same fears and anxieties that I am. The time spent here has been so amazing, so overwhelming, so stretching, and so exciting, and the summer has hardly even started!
Tonight we spent time doing evangelism in Gatlinburg, and it was amazing to see how God answers prayers. Any time that I have shared "the bridge" (an illustration involving Romans 6:23 that helps explain our faith pretty entirely) I have always shared with someone who is already a believer. That has been encouraging, because I usually get really good feedback and I have seen the folks receive inspiration and encouragement from me, but it hasn't been challenging. Every time I go out, I pray beforehand that I would approach someone who doesn't know Jesus, so that I might be able to share the most amazing news with them that they may not already know. Tonight, that prayer was answered. I spoke with a woman named Vicki who had a lot of spunk and not a lot of Jesus in her life. We had a good, firey conversation in which we got a long pretty well but she definitely gave me a hard time. Ater I convinced her that I wasn't taking her anywhere or charging her money, and that I would only take ten minutes of her time, I began to explain Christ's sacrifice for us. She hated answering my questions and was clearly uncomfortable, but I tried to act casual and easy going and I think she started to feel a little more at ease. When I finished, I asked her if she was on the side with God, or if she was walking by herself. She definitely knew that the side she wanted to be on was with God, but she wouldn't say that was where she was. She was not a believer in Christ, but she "believed." I explained to her about my relationship with God and how I knew that He loved me enough to give me free will, but also to give me a way out of the hole I've dug with my sin. It was a SWEET conversation and I was so encouraged to know that I could feel the peace of God, the confidence I have in Him, while being challenged in a very real way. God is good!
Our team members get here tomorrow, and I feel very overwhelmed but incredibly excited, as well. I am so not ready, but I guess I will have to be!! Please pray for Jasmine, Deborah, and Allie (the girls on my team!). It's about to go down!
Also pray for me. That would be great.
If you want my address here, it is:
Hotel Pigeon Forge
c/o Navigator STP
Kathryn Chandler
2179 Parkway
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
Tonight we spent time doing evangelism in Gatlinburg, and it was amazing to see how God answers prayers. Any time that I have shared "the bridge" (an illustration involving Romans 6:23 that helps explain our faith pretty entirely) I have always shared with someone who is already a believer. That has been encouraging, because I usually get really good feedback and I have seen the folks receive inspiration and encouragement from me, but it hasn't been challenging. Every time I go out, I pray beforehand that I would approach someone who doesn't know Jesus, so that I might be able to share the most amazing news with them that they may not already know. Tonight, that prayer was answered. I spoke with a woman named Vicki who had a lot of spunk and not a lot of Jesus in her life. We had a good, firey conversation in which we got a long pretty well but she definitely gave me a hard time. Ater I convinced her that I wasn't taking her anywhere or charging her money, and that I would only take ten minutes of her time, I began to explain Christ's sacrifice for us. She hated answering my questions and was clearly uncomfortable, but I tried to act casual and easy going and I think she started to feel a little more at ease. When I finished, I asked her if she was on the side with God, or if she was walking by herself. She definitely knew that the side she wanted to be on was with God, but she wouldn't say that was where she was. She was not a believer in Christ, but she "believed." I explained to her about my relationship with God and how I knew that He loved me enough to give me free will, but also to give me a way out of the hole I've dug with my sin. It was a SWEET conversation and I was so encouraged to know that I could feel the peace of God, the confidence I have in Him, while being challenged in a very real way. God is good!
Our team members get here tomorrow, and I feel very overwhelmed but incredibly excited, as well. I am so not ready, but I guess I will have to be!! Please pray for Jasmine, Deborah, and Allie (the girls on my team!). It's about to go down!
Also pray for me. That would be great.
If you want my address here, it is:
Hotel Pigeon Forge
c/o Navigator STP
Kathryn Chandler
2179 Parkway
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
Friday, May 27, 2011
packing.
Let me tell you, packing for ten weeks is kind of a big deal. For some reason I've been procrastinating, and I'm starting to get overwhelmed. I had to take off my cardigan. Yeah, it's that serious. I've been going for about three hours now, and I have a deadline in an hour, so I gotta move! But of course, here I am, procrastinating even more by telling y'all how overwhelmed I am. It's a vicious cycle.
Organization is not one of my spiritual gifts, I'm here to tell you.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
a hammock, isaiah 55, and sufjan
"6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
philippians two: three
Well, I am leaving for the summer the day after tomorrow. HOLY TOLEDO! I am not ready! I have so much stuff to do before I leave on Friday (I'm going to Chattanooga for the weekend and then straight to Knoxville and on to Pigeon Forge on Monday!) I have so much unpacking, packing, organizing, list making, creating, and planning to do, I don't know how I will ever get it done! It amazing to think that this time has come, and I couldn't be happier or more hopeful/excited about what is in store for this summer.
I've been imagining what this summer would look like for so many months, and it seems like God has different plans than what I have been banking on. THAT excites me. Any time I try to plan out what a certain adventure or experience is going to be like, God throws me a fast one and makes it completely different- sometimes easier, sometimes harder, but always incomparably BETTER than I ever could have thought up on my own, and I know that He will do the same for the next two months.
It's comforting for me to know that whatever hardships I face this summer will be part of God's plan. Whatever hilariously fun times will be a part of God's plan. Whatever struggles, tears, laughter, relationships, pain, and joy I experience will all be part of His plan, and I have the choice to lean on Him through all of it, or depend on myself. Right now it's easy for me to say, of course I will choose to lean on Him. If you love me, please pray for me that this summer I will choose to lean on Him, follow Him, take joy in His plans, and love in the way that Christ shows me to love. A big verse I've been thinking about is Philippians 2:3...
"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."
I am just here to tell you, that is like, THE hardest thing to do! Jean Piaget, one of the major child cognitive development theorists and someone I have spent a lot of time studying in school, says that in the preoperational stage, when children are between the ages of 2-7, they are completely ego-centric. This doesn't mean that they have a huge ego (and don't even get me started on Freud). It means that they can't take others' perspectives. Everything a child experiences during these ages is seen as it relates to him. If something is hard for him, he expects it is hard for everyone else. If it makes him mad, it most assuredly must make everyone else mad, too. Sometimes I am convinced that I am stuck in the preoperational stage. How often do I even try to understand what is going on in other people's lives, minds, or hearts? Not very. It's a joke between my friends that I always say, "I can't relate. I can't relate to them, so I don't understand them."
What a poor outlook on life.
I've prayed a lot for my team this summer, but my prayer for myself is that I will learn how to count others more significant than myself. I want to get out of the preoperational stage and move on! I want to be someone who can listen, understand, encourage, challenge, exhort, and help others to train in righteousness! The Word of the Lord is profitable for all of these things (or so I'm told in 2 Timothy) and I am definitely equipped with that! Prayer is key.
I've been imagining what this summer would look like for so many months, and it seems like God has different plans than what I have been banking on. THAT excites me. Any time I try to plan out what a certain adventure or experience is going to be like, God throws me a fast one and makes it completely different- sometimes easier, sometimes harder, but always incomparably BETTER than I ever could have thought up on my own, and I know that He will do the same for the next two months.
It's comforting for me to know that whatever hardships I face this summer will be part of God's plan. Whatever hilariously fun times will be a part of God's plan. Whatever struggles, tears, laughter, relationships, pain, and joy I experience will all be part of His plan, and I have the choice to lean on Him through all of it, or depend on myself. Right now it's easy for me to say, of course I will choose to lean on Him. If you love me, please pray for me that this summer I will choose to lean on Him, follow Him, take joy in His plans, and love in the way that Christ shows me to love. A big verse I've been thinking about is Philippians 2:3...
"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."
I am just here to tell you, that is like, THE hardest thing to do! Jean Piaget, one of the major child cognitive development theorists and someone I have spent a lot of time studying in school, says that in the preoperational stage, when children are between the ages of 2-7, they are completely ego-centric. This doesn't mean that they have a huge ego (and don't even get me started on Freud). It means that they can't take others' perspectives. Everything a child experiences during these ages is seen as it relates to him. If something is hard for him, he expects it is hard for everyone else. If it makes him mad, it most assuredly must make everyone else mad, too. Sometimes I am convinced that I am stuck in the preoperational stage. How often do I even try to understand what is going on in other people's lives, minds, or hearts? Not very. It's a joke between my friends that I always say, "I can't relate. I can't relate to them, so I don't understand them."
What a poor outlook on life.
I've prayed a lot for my team this summer, but my prayer for myself is that I will learn how to count others more significant than myself. I want to get out of the preoperational stage and move on! I want to be someone who can listen, understand, encourage, challenge, exhort, and help others to train in righteousness! The Word of the Lord is profitable for all of these things (or so I'm told in 2 Timothy) and I am definitely equipped with that! Prayer is key.
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