15 things I learned this summer

1. Be vulnerable.  Allow yourself to be open with people.  Allow people to love you through your faults.  
2. Botox all you want, your still gonna die.
3. Solja Boi is still a bad song, even when you take the lyrics off
4. Young children and I don't get along well.  
5. Macdonald's ribbon cuttings have the potential to be awesome
6. I love hot tea
7. God is our ultimate romancer
8. I love climbing.  Belaying is fun too
9. Mudpits have the potential to smell really really bad
10. I don't think I'm allergic to poison ivy
11. I love being outside
12. the bachelorette is really dumb.  I can't stop watching it.  
13. I want to live for testimonies, not titles
14. twitter brings people together,
15. God is completely in control of our lives.  He is an all powerful teacher and lover and grace giver.  He is an awesome God.

Notes from Staff Discipleship. Matt Oarth Changes lives every day. Sunday was no exception.

We have been hanging out in 1 Samuel for discipleship time this summer.  Sunday's was amazing, and completely relevant to future plans I have.  THough I would share the notes I took.  

This is the passage we looked at.  Pulled from Biblegateway.com: 

1 Samuel 12

This is basically Samuel's farewell speech.  He has been faithful in his leadership to Israel for many years, and is now stepping down into the place of advisor to the king the people have selfishly asked for, and he has anointed. (God gave the people what they asked for...more on that later)

SOOO

1.  ³ Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."

Samuel asks in leadership, and in humility, if he has wronged the people.  He is determined to make it right if he has.  So many times today, as leaders in many things, we feel "above the law" and NO ONE is allowed to call us out.  Samuel's humility in this place is such an example that the opposite should be true.  As leaders we should be blameless, but since that isn't possible, we should right the wrongs we commit against people, and not be too proud to admit that they have been committed.  The people in this place, however, can find NOTHING wrong from Samuel's leadership.  He has faithfully served his people-SERVANT LEADERSHIP.  He has never dug into the offering plate to take a little larger salary for himself, or pulled the choice meets off the burt offering.  He has humbly served his people with integrity.  He has removed the plank from his own eye and therefor can call out the people he is serving.  Notice he removed his plank FIRST!  

vs. 20"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.

2.  The people of Israel to this point had been ruled solely by God.  He was their king.  They begged Him, however, to send a warrior king to serve them and help them win in battle.  This was a sin against God.  They rejected Him as their king, and asked for one of their own to replace Him.  God did provide, however, and gave them a king, who Samuel has anointed just before this passage.  Samuel calls down a thunderstorm in the middle of the dry season to prove to the nation that they have sinned against God by begging for a king.  But God has grace on them and loves them through their sin.  He is merciful through our pain.  When we beg for a something "if I have this I'll love you more" God gives it to us, knowing that its not what we have that makes us love Him more, but the attitude of our hearts.  Even when we worship Idols, EMPTY IDOLS God is still there waiting for us to return and repent of our sins and love Him again.  

Matt did a much better job of explaining this, but I was really touched by the servant leader part.  I feel like God has called me to ministry in low income communities to low income families.  Not only has he given me a heart for theatre and middle school students but also for community and the families of the students I teach.  I pray that one day I have the opportunity to be in a leadership position in a youth-theatre-afterschool community-outreach-love-everyone center.  And that God gives me the heart of a servant leader like samuel was.  

Beginning to Finish Well

It has been one amazing day! My face is getting better, which is such a blessing, and God has helped me remember names better than ever before! I am SO pumped about this week.  I also got to have a great GREAT conversation with a girl on staff tonight.  Thanks for the prayers! God is doing great things here already!!

Here are some pics I took at the end of last week and today! 

(captions are below)

these are the girls that were on my hall for week three that I really bonded with! It was cool to see how God placed them in my lives! I also really bonded with their chaperones, but there were not available for photographing ;-) I also got a text from the second and third from the right today, which were the two I got the closest two, which gave me hope that I can continue to poor into their lives.  

staff red shorts and matching! registration is fun! 

this is the experience for kids walking into worship! SOOOO fun! 

Wave action!

Fun Staffer friends and a random gag gift! 

Week three

Finding time to blog here is hard by the way

Week three was amazing! We had 750 campers, a huge increase from week two, which only had 350! It was exhausting and long, but amazing! I can't believe that today marked the beginning of the last week here! 

I worked our OAG course two of the three days again this week, which was SO fun! We had one camper get below 3 min(a new camper record) and another break her ankle within the first 10 feet of the course.  What a week. some Chaperones had terrible attitudes at the game, but most of the campers were great, and made up for the adults.  

I also found out yesterday that I have an infected lymph node in my face(my star node for those who keep up with anatomy) which hurts SO much.  I have antibiotics, but if they don't work, which they aren't yet, I become a "surgical case" which I don't want to happen.  Please pray the antibiotics work!

I bonded with a church this week more than I have with any all summer.  Especially one specific girl. She is 15 and still, I think, in middle school mode.  She has no idea what respect looks like, and doesn't yet understand what is important in life.  My heart broke for her this week because I want her to know God intimately and she has no desire to.  I'm not sure she is a believer, and if she is, she has a very immature walk with Him.  Pray for her as you have time this week, and that camp somehow broke her a little, and that she would be ready to truly live God's word. 

Also pray that I will bond with the people on staff.  I don't feel like I have had many deep conversations with people and I want to build deep relationships with these people.  I know its a little late, but I desire these relationships so much, and they aren't really there yet.   

One more week.  pray its a blessed and powerful one, and that God's spirit fills the students who will be here!

what i get to see

Pics from Week 2

these are in reverse order, mostly out of laziness and lack of understand of how to change the order

"Decker's Got Talent" week 2 edition-AWESOME!! rap

pre-gaming fellowship

This is a picture of my life at camp:outside with my Bookbag, nalgene, and crossroads name tag

Early Registration night-getting that nine square on

Enjoying some swing dancing on the weekend-this is not swing dancing, this is just fun

Some Pics from Week 1

these are also backwards....fail

Annual staff "Tap Out Week One" Outback Dinner

Hanging out with campers pre "Decker's got talent" week one

Getting drunk on Community for Brad's 21 (the boy in the middle is Brad)

700+ campers worshiping our God-amazing!

Climbing tower-kicked my rear end

Of Week 2

This week has been a little intense so far, but God is brining us through.  First, there was the Gaffney Serial Killer, for whom signs were posted all over campus, so I'm sure some campers were a little freaked out.  Its funny though, because there is a group here this week from Gaffney, staying on my hall.

(i don't know if you knew this, but Gaffney is about a ten min drive from GWU)

I had the opportunity to talk with the Youth Minister and the head female chaperone from that group when they checked in, and they were so revealed to be away from Gaffney.  It was a bit of a change in perspective for me.  Some of their youth were also friends with the 15 year old girl who was killed, so I know they are still dealing with that, although the threat is gone now.  

We also have some sickness going around our staff, colds and upper respiratory infections and allergies and poison ivy.  none of which are super serious, they are just causeing people to not be available to work,  Pray for healing, as we are missing about 6 staff members.

I was thinking though last night, that perhaps God is using these illnesses to teach us that camp is not run by us, and that His strength is what we need to rely on.  We cannot do it by ourselves! 

Overall though, Camp has been amazing! It is a huge blessing on my life in these past 2 weeks, and I know it will continue to be.  Pray for healing, and staff unity, and that no one feels lonely, that we can see each other's needs and fill them.  Pray that as a staff, God will use us to break down cultural barriers that surround these students, and that God would use our lips to fill them with His truth.  

Charie King and the Love of Our God

Last night, we split the girls and guys during our teaching time at night to do the "love" talk.  For those of you that grew up in youth group, you can assume what this means.  Basically I was expecting "don't have sex until your married" "marry/date a Christian" ect, which I am in no way saying are bad, and very important to hear, but not something that most of the girls hear have never heard before.  

I was wrong.

Charie, who is married to Clayton King, the official camp speaker and president of CrossRoads worldwide, spoke from her heart about the beauty and love our Lord has given us.  She shared a beautiful painting that I wish I had a shot of to share and explained that our talents and passions are what make us beautiful and what God has placed in us.  God loves us for who He has made us to be, and we should never settle for a man who loves us for any other reason.  She shared this passage from Ezekiel that really really spoke to me, and so therefor I will share it with you! 

(I got this from Biblegateway.com, a great reference with tons of different translations and a key word or phrase search)

This is the Father's love for us, and how much he cares for us

Ezekiel 16:4-15

On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. ⁵ No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

 ⁶ " 'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!" ^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} ⁷ I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. ^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]} Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare.

 ⁸ " 'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.

 ⁹ " 'I bathed ^{c]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[c]} you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you.¹⁰ I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, ¹² and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. ¹⁴ And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Its a little graphic, but is clear on one thing.  God has made us beautiful, and he is our Romancer.  v. 8-14 is also how a husband loves his wife.  Marriage becomes a reflection of God's love in this passage.  What a beautiful woman God is making us all! What a mighty loving and beautiful God we serve!