If only I lived like this...

"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made- I'm a disciple of his. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in his presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till i drop, preach till all know, and work till he stops me. And, when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me... my banner will be clear!"

-A note found verbatim in the office of a young Zimbabwe preacher after he was martyred for his faith in Christ Jesus

Conner's Visit

Conner came in last Thursday and stayed until Tuesday morning. We had a great time! He got to meet most of my friends, we did lots of fun activities, and ate a massive amount of junk food.

On Friday we went tubing down the Little River in Townsend, TN, just outside of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The water was absolutely FREEZING!!! I spent most of the time trying not to touch the water. There were a few areas of pretty good rapids, which was a lot of fun. We both really enjoyed it and it was nice and relaxing for the most part.

After that, we went camping with 5 of my friends in Elkmont Campground. That was also great fun. Conner and two others braved the approximately 50 degree water temperatures and swam in the river that runs along the campground. It took him over an hour to warm up after! We got to see a bear, which was my first since moving to Tennessee and took an easy hike up to a waterfall on Saturday morning...overall a very successful camping venture.

Sunday night we played disc golf, made cupcakes, worked out, watched a movie, and took quizzes on his iTouch. The quizzes were hilarious. The questions were things like: "Would you rather listen to music by eating CDs or see bands in concert by licking those in the concert around you?"

The movie was absolutely horrible. We rented "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage. It was creepy and pointless and it was a very good thing we lightened the mood with the quizzes before going to bed.

Making cupcakes was quite entertaining for all involved. It began with expired eggs, which, according to the Internet, are still good as long as they don't float in water. Problem solved. Cupcakes could be made. The egg dilemma also brought on a bet between Anne and Conner that it's impossible to break an egg with your bare hand by squeezing it. That's true, by the way. You should try it. Conner lost the bet.

Before going to play disc golf. The level of excitement is a little disproportionate in this photo.

Finally, this is Conner being the drill sergeant for Anne and I. You should see our muscles after this intense workout.

I wish I had more pictures, but I just forget to take them. Plus, some of them got deleted off the camera somehow.

Washington D.C. for the 4th

I got a chance to go up to Washington D.C. on the 4th with 3 friends. We went and stayed with another friend of ours for 3 nights and had a great time! We drove up after work Thursday, explored the city Friday, watched fireworks from the Capitol lawn on Saturday, and drove back on Sunday. It was a quick trip, but very worth it. It made me miss living up there! Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Mallory and I at the Lincoln Memorial.

Matt, me, Mallory, Joel, Clay, and Daniel with the Washington Monument in the background.

Daniel, me, Clay, Matt, and Joel at the Capitol Building. This was Friday and we got to watch some of the performers rehearse for the concert the next day. It was awesome because we were so close and hardly anyone else was there!

Different view of the Capitol.

The Washington Monument or "The Pencil" as we used to call it.

Waiting for the Metro on the 4th. Quite an experience.

Matt's sisters, Mallory, and me waiting for the Metro.

Waiting for the fireworks. I think we had 4 hours left right here.

Conner's in town right now. We went camping last night and had a fabulous time! I'll try to get some pics posted soon.

Preparing

This is called: "How to Shop When Your Younger Brother is Coming to Visit."



(Sorry Mom!)

Burnout

Exhausted would be the word to describe how I feel after this week. We had "specialty camps" all week. The kids (and us) got to choose a camp they wanted to participate in every day this week.

My camp was bike camp. This week was the hottest week of the year. We biked 2-3 hours each afternoon and every kid in camp was a middle school boy. Thankfully, I've been getting tons of exercise each day this week, so it wasn't too terrible keeping up with all the boys. We had a great group of kids, though. Really respectful and well-behaved. I loved spending the week with them. And I discovered that I really love biking! I can't put pictures of kids online, but here's the group from the back. I was bringing up the rear.


On Wednesday, Carli and I threw a surprise birthday party for Anne. She was totally surprised and we had an awesome time. Best surprised face ever:

Friday we had some CollegeLife girls over for dinner and female bonding. Activities for the night? Eating dinner, eating junk food, and learning the hoedown throwdown (which is the Hannah Montana dance).

My computer completely crashed yesterday, which was very sad. Luckily, I have an awesome Dad who already got me a new one and will send it with Conner when he comes in a few weeks. I can use Anne's until then. The process of fixing the computer taught me a lot. Like the "blue screen of death" is never a good thing. And apparently computers need regular maintenance. Who knew?


Last night I went to the park with some friends and then watched a movie. Here are a few of my awesome friends:

Hiking!

Yesterday I got to go on Hike #2 for this summer. The original plan was Ramsay Cascades in the Smokies, but plans had to change after we were stuck for over an hour in traffic due to a bad wreck. Plus, there were a few wrong turns on the way up that made it too late to begin what would have been an eight mile treck.

Instead we decided on the Chimney Tops Trail. It is only 2 miles each way, but is a pretty vertical ascent. Very challenging. I was exhausted when we got to the top, only to find out that we had to rock climb the last part. Terrifying, yes. But well worth the view from the top. We enjoyed lunch and a long break while taking in the gorgeous view of the very green Smoky Mountains. The trip down took about as long because it was too steep to go fast. The weather was perfect though, so it was nice to spend time in the trees enjoying the nature. Here are some pictures from the day:

Clay, Anne, me, Garrett, Joel, Andy, Bobby, and Adam at the top of the mountain.

Anne and me taking a break after making it to the top.

Joel, Anne, me, Clay, Bobby, Adam, and Garret on a bridge over one of the many waterfalls on the way down.

The view from the top.

From the other side.

Keepin' it Real

It has been brought to my attention several times in the last month that I never get upset and I never "lose my cool." The truth would actually be that I just don't show when I'm upset. The people that know me well can testify to this.

So...lest anyone think that I have it all together, let me tell you some of the other stories about how my first week with kids went.

Monday was rough. Really rough. I left work Monday extremely discouraged and wondering how in the world I would ever survive an entire summer working with middle-schoolers each day. Before Monday, I honestly thought I was prepared. I have worked with middle school kids extensively and typically build rapport with them quickly. However, what I failed to think about was the fact that I have never had to be in an authoritative role. I am always in the role of friend, with the purpose of building relationships, and therefore don't have to give a whole lot of direction. Very different than being in more of a teacher role.

Part of my job this summer is teaching academics. I was assigned reading and so I spend three 45 minute rotations twice a week working on vocabulary and reading. I had chosen Prince Caspian as the book and was very prepared for my lesson. However, the kids got there and reported that they had already read the book in school and had no interest in reading it again. Then two kids absolutely refused to read. And when I say refused to read, I mean they told me "no." Of course, I was stressed out, didn't know how to handle the complete disregard for authority, and became quite flustered. They never did read and I left wondering how I was going to survive the summer.

Things got better on Tuesday. We went on a field trip and everyone had a great time. No incidents and all of the kids obeyed very well.

Thursday was the next day for academics. During the week, I reassessed how I wanted to approach reading, keeping in mind that it is summer and learning is not their favorite thing. I even decided to switch books. We are now reading "Forty to Life," a book they started last summer and loved. Great decision. More kids read and best of all, they were engaged in the book. Listening intently even as I read to them and remembering all the details of the story. I was so encouraged! While I am somewhat disappointed that not all the kids will read, I recognize that some kids are not going to be comfortable with that and I still think there's value in me reading to them (most of the kids still read Thursday).

So, I am still a little unsure about how everything will work out, but I am very encouraged and looking forward to the challenge the middle-schoolers bring to life!