Aaaaand.....I'm back

Not that there's actually anyone around reading this anymore (except maybe my dear friend Rachel...Hi Rachel!) But I am officially back after a 5 months blogging hiatus...Also known as "camp was in session and life was crazy busy but incredibly amazing at the same time."

I would love to share lots of insightful thoughts about this summer and everything going on....but quite frankly my brain is a little fried. So instead, a list of things that I am so incredibly thankful for.

• My family. They were a great sounding board all summer. They listened to my thoughts, celebrated the successes with me, and continued to steer me in a good direction.
• The people I work with. They truly are a great team of people who do everything to make sure that kids have the opportunity to hear about and experience Jesus every day at camp.
• The way God provides. So many times this summer, God provided in ways I couldn't have imagined or expected. As my boss said recently "I need to pray bigger prayers!" I serve a BIG God who loves to answer prayers in a big way.
• My Life Group. It's a great "home base" group of people who are walking through life together. Even when I couldn't be there throughout the summer, we emailed, talked, and met when we could. We share the ups and downs and I am so thankful for the community that God has so clearly provided.
• My Church. I am challenged, encouraged, and strengthened by worshipping every week with the body of Christ.

It's been a good few months. Many ups and downs along the way. But in the end, I know that my God is a God who provides.

So I close with a song that has been perpetually on my iPod all summer and into the start of the fall.

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in the hunger in me

My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved

Of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise

I will bring praise

No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice

I will declare

God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle

And triumph is still on it's way

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ

So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest

When favor and providence flow

I know I'm filled to be emptied again

The seed I've recieved I will sow

Great Leaders

Each of my summers at camp, I have been blessed with incredible staff leadership...people from within the ranks of the summer staff who step up to lead and supervise during the summer program. They've been AWESOME!

This year is no different. I've got motivated, hard-working, self-starters who are working hard already to make sure things go well for training and the entire summer. Working alongside them this week has made me sit back and think about what qualities I have valued in the leaders I've worked alongside over the past 2 1/2 years.

• I value people who try to lighten someone else's load. Their attitude is, "It's got to get done, so let's get it done. We can either keep pushing and do this now, or someone else will just have to do it later. Let's serve the staff by taking care of this before they even know about it." How great is that!
• I value people who think outside the box. I get stuck in my plans and my way of doing things. They point out other options that I hadn't considered. Together, we come up with a great solution rather than settling for a good solution.
• I value people who challenge the process while still respecting authority. They question and offer alternatives. But bottom line....they know where the authority to make the final call lies, and they submit to and follow that.
• Every single one of them is unique! They all bring something different to the table. IT's in that balance that I think great things happen.

My leaders are here. My staff arrive Saturday. We've been planning, preparing, and praying all year for what begins in less than 48 hours. I can't wait to see the staff come together, the directors arrive, and the campers meet Jesus.

Camp is here! It's going to be awesome.

Acts

Tonight, I had the opportunity to speak at a college service in West Lafayette.  I am too tired right now to really say anything of substance about what I talked about....but in a nutshell, it was about the community of believers in Acts.  (More on this later....maybe tomorrow)

If you haven't read the book of Acts...READ IT.  It's amazing.  The church has such an incredible beginning!

I was blessed by the opportunity to be there speaking to the group.  Although I was nervous and felt unprepared, I enjoyed being to able to share from scripture.  There's something that fires me up about challenging people (students specifically), and I find that I walk away challenged myself.  Even beyond that, I want so desperately for people to "get it"...  To truly understand what their faith is all about, and if God gives me a chance to play a tiny role in that...I'll take it!

Reflections on Two Years

I’ve been full-time at camp for just over two years now. Hard to believe...and boy does time go by fast. So in honor...A quick bullet list of the funny, the serious, and the future.

Funny Stuff...

• Never underestimate the need for knowing random yet practical skills...shutting off water lines, repairing plumbing, using power tools, water softeners 101, how to start a lawn mower....these skills will get you farther in life than you think! 
  
• In college, 3 weeks of vacation at Christmas is not nearly enough...In the adult world, you don’t know what to do with yourself when you’re given that kind of time off!
  
• Laugh at the ridiculous things in life (even yourself if the occasion calls for it.) Life is way more fun when you laugh....a lot.
  
• A dog is really like an infant....or a toddler. If you get a dog, be ready. It’s intense.
  
• And oh yea...dog proof your house, otherwise you’ll be buying new furniture within 6 months.
  

For Serious...

• It will take your body a few months to get used to a new schedule (getting up early and going to bed early). And once you adjust, you’ll wonder how you EVER were able to stay up until 4 and get up at 8 and still function. It’s normal...and you may even come to love early mornings!
  
• It will take time to adjust to not being able to just walk down the hall to your friends room to hang out and talk. Enjoy it while you have it. 
  
• Find a place to connect....TODAY! Don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Don’t let work, or the temptation to skip town to visit friends all the time stand in your way. To make some place home, you have to be fully present there...Not somewhere else. Find a church, make new friends, meet random people, invite them over for dinner. 
  
• Don’t be afraid of silence. Enjoy it and appreciate it for the opportunity it is.
  
• No matter where you go or what you do, push yourself to learn something new on a regular basis. It will keep your job (and life in general) way more interesting.
  

The Future...

• I want to keep learning. Today I got to learn some web stuff I never thought I would know or need to know...but it was actually kind of fun to learn! I am choosing to look at everything that comes up as a new opportunity and a chance to grow.
  
• Wherever I am, and however long I’m there, I want where I am to be home. Be invested, have meaningful relationships, and feel good about being there (whether in small town Indiana or wherever life takes me.)
  
• I’m going to focus on where God has me right now and the tasks he’s put before me...not what other people are doing, not something “better” that might be out there. Live every moment fully, and give everything I have to what God has called me to today. God will take care of tomorrow.
  

Two years down...who knows how many to go!

Things I never thought I would need to know

One of the things I love about working at camp is all the different things I get to do. Seriously, it seems limitless at times the things I can learn and do if I just set my mind to it. And all of it ultimately goes toward the end goal of building a better program to reach more students.

Every once in awhile, I like to think about all the tools I have worked with and things I never thought I would need to know how to do, but am either learning or have learned, thanks to camp. It tends to be fairly entertaining. So here goes.

• Power tools. That's right...power tools. My first day as a summer staffer 5 years ago I spent 8 hours pressure washing a net... no joke. And then I learned how to use table saws, drills, blowers, soldering irons....the list goes on. I know this sounds fairly unimpressive, but to me...I think it's awesome that I have learned how to do some of these things.
• Cooking for several hundred people. Not that I do this on a regular basis, but in a pinch, it's my responsibility to know how to get it done (with help of course).
• Just about anything to do with toilets and drains....Not that I can always fix the problem, but I have discovered that it's good to have a basic knowledge of what might be wrong, and some common things to check for before calling in the big guns (aka the amazing facilities supervisor)
• All things paintball. That's right. In preparing to build new programs, I am learning about anything and everything relating to operating a successful paintball program. Crazy
  
• Climbing. Where to get equipment, how to run stuff, how to maintain a course. Yep. Love it.
• Basic AV (sound systems projectors). I by no means claim to be an expert, but I can set up and troubleshoot the basics.

The list goes on. It's just fun to me....to see all the things that I never thought I would need to know, but have had the chance to learn. And trust me when I say, I am by no means an expert in any of these areas (definitely not!) But I sure have had fun learning.

And it's just really funny to look at the progression of my life in general (classical dancer to ropes course operator at a summer camp, to setting up a paintball course...) It just makes me laugh sometimes. The people I used to dance with would probably never believe it.

But it's so fun. And I love seeing how God moves us to different places...where we never thought we'd be.

It makes me wonder what's coming tomorrow.... :)

Mini Update

So last week, I decided to try to convince a friend and co-worker to train for the Mini with me. I badgered her a bit on Wednesday....and on Thursday she called me and said, "Danni, I am totally in!!!" Yahoo!

I had no idea what would snowball from just that.

So on Friday, I was doing a couple of things with some co-workers and idly mentioned that she had agreed to train to run the mini. And he looks at me and says "Wait! The Indy Mini?!?! My wife and I are running that too!" And I proceeded to tell him how I thought we needed to have an Impact cheering section. Well, he went a step further...sent out an email to the entire staff telling them who all was running and encouraging everyone to consider training to run or walk it. How great is that?!?!

The even better part??? As a result, another girl from the office has decided to train for it, and at least one other person is considering it.

This is so fantastic! What great motivation and camaraderie!

That is what I love. People "doing life together" in all aspects. Spending time together, eating meals together, sharing similar interests... And RUNNING together!

And now I have someone to run with besides whoever happens to be playing on my iPod. :)

Seriously?? Now I'm nervous...

For the second time in 3 days, I slammed my finger in a door.

It happened with the same stinkin door at the office, trying to shut it the same way (which is how I always shut it....like a normal person would shut ANY DOOR), just a different finger the second time (but oh yea...on the same hand.)

Seriously??? Now I have matching black and blue fingers.

Now I'm a little worried. I have to go shoot a video standing on the roof of a cabin. If I can manage to slam my fingers in a door twice in the same week...I wonder what's going to happen when I climb a ladder and stand on a roof.

Someone should probably pray I don't die.

The things I noticed....

I was at my Grandparent's house today with my mom getting ready to help them with a few things over the next couple of days. Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa were talking, and I was getting irritated with the persistent chirp of the smoke detector in need of a new battery. I asked Grandpa where the 9V batteries are, grabbed a ladder and proceded to change the batteries, at which point I realized there was another smoke detector obnoxiously begging for a new battery. Well, we were out of 9V's, so that one's waiting until tomorrow.

But, at that I point, I began walking around the house trying to find other things that I would be able to help take care of (my grandparents are amazing and still climb extension ladders to get on their roof even though they are 80 years old....I think it's time to put a stop to this personally.)

It's at this point that I realized that camp has made me a strange person. I walked around checking all the things we normally check at the beginning of the season, and it kind of made me laugh at myself.

• Smoke detectors need checked regularly.
• Put a smoke detector in every room of the house!
• Change burnt out light bulbs.
• Better yet, replace light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs so they last longer!
• Line the bottom of all trash cans with extra liners...so quick and easy to take the trash out!
• If it's broke, fix it! Enough said.
  

The list could go on (and trust me, it does). But I guess more than anything, my little OCD moment at my grandparent's today made me realize that camp has taught me how to prepare well, and plan for success (in this case, I think success would be making ordinary tasks simpler for Grandma and Grandpa....they don't need to be on ladders several times a month changing light bulbs...let's just give them energy efficient bulbs!)

So strange or not, I think it's a good thing!

Illuminate

Yesterday was one of those days that remind me why I do what I do. After a very full weekend of 3 way too long days in a row, I stopped to think about all that had been accomplished and how incredible it is that I get to be a part of it.

This weekend was Illuminate at Epworth Forest Conference Center, one of the Impact 2818 sites. The last count I heard yesterday for the Sunday afternoon concert was 1,050 people in attendance… AWESOME!

I was in a different position than where I usually am for events like this. I got to sit in the sound booth during the concert and help with some of the video elements for the concert (just making sure screens were up and down when they were supposed to be, play videos when they were supposed to be played, etc.) That’s not normally something I do, I’m usually outside the events, running around doing other things. But being in the auditorium let me see something that I don’t always get to see.

As the doors opened before the concert, we knew we were around 750. As people continued to pour in, I remember getting chills as a few of us realized that we were over 900 and were getting close to reaching a thousand people.

We reached a point in the concert when one of the bands began a worship set, and I just sat in the back watching hundreds of people worship together. I sang (with what little voice I had left) from the back and was almost brought to tears just seeing how many people were there to hear about the plan that God has for their life.

I was sick all week leading up to this event, and for the entire weekend of. But last night, as I thought about the weekend, here are the things that make it worth it:

• The pastor that stopped me by name, who remembered me from an hour long intro to camping that I did for new pastors a week ago…so excited to have something like this to bring a group of students to.
• The mom and daughter who came up to me to give me a hug. They were both excited to be back after having had a great experience last year at camp.
• The youth pastor who brought his students to Camp Adventure for a retreat in the spring, heard about Illuminate, and brought the same group back for a great concert.
• Talking with a new youth pastor struggling to get volunteers and help in her local church. Sharing ideas, frustrations, and encouragement.
• Seeing a great crew of staff and volunteers who returned for the weekend to bring their energy, talents, and enthusiasm to serve.

It excites me for the things that are ahead of us in this ministry. When I'm tired, or frustrated...these are the things that I pull from the back of my mind, and I keep pushing forward. Because it is AWESOME to see lives CHANGED.