A Nana's Wisdom

For the past few weeks I have been battling Mono. It's safe to say that I've definitely had more fun than this. But while being sick has come at an inconvenient time (according to MY plan) it has definitely been a blessing. I didn't even realize this until just this morning when I checked my email and saw that I had received a message from my grammy. She wrote just a short amount, but it spoke to me so much. What struck me the most was simply:

"Wonder what God is saying about this mono business?
Our plans and His plans"

For those of you who don't know, I do not like being sick (who does?!). I become especially whiny when I have a sore throat (just ask mama about it, she will testify). Earlier this week I would have described my throat's pain as a raging forest fire (and I am not being dramatic!). Yes, this was again an inconvenience, but I was not allowing myself to see the positives of this illness due to the negative attitude I insisted on maintaining.

When I read my grammy's email my eyes were opened to the blessings I have received over the last few weeks. I have spent so much time with my family. With all of our busy schedules it sometimes seems impossible for everyone to be in the house at one time. With camp approaching and then BVS soon after I have felt a need to spend as much time "doing things" as possible. I need to spend time with friends. I need to be out late. I need to go places. Basically, I needed to be anywhere but sitting at home. While I absolutely love doing these things, I was overlooking something HUGE that I needed to be doing. I needed to be spending time with my family.

Sisters are fun!!

They made me! Is that weird?

Why do I always insist on putting my family second? Yes, I'd do anything for them; nobody messes with my sisters but me, and no one sasses my parents but me, but I always assume that "Hey, they're family, so they'll always be here. If I don't have anything else to do THEN I'll hang out with them." Just typing that out makes me want to kick myself! I mean, have you met my family?! They are awesome! Yeah, mom asks a million questions when we're watching movies and dad eating peanuts drives us all crazy, but they are mine and I love them! I have hung out with my sisters and my parents so much more than usual over the last couple of weeks and it does make me sad to think that I won't be able to see them as much come Friday. Don't get my wrong, I am ecstatic for camp to begin! I get to play make friends and hang out with kids and get paid for it! I guess bittersweet would be a good way to describe how I'm feeling. I am very thankful for finally having my eyes opened. God knows that I am stubborn (not one of my finest qualities) so He knows just how to get my attention! I never would have thought that I'd be grateful for Mono, but through Christ my eyes have been opened and I am now able to once again see just how awesome God's plan is compared to my own!

In the coming months and even years, I will be especially challenged to keep in mind the words sent to me from my loving grandmother:

"I wonder what God is saying about [insert situation here]?
Our plans and His plans"

These are my fabulous Nanas!

Dear Lord, Make Me Fruity

Where has the time gone?! It is so hard for me to believe that I am done my first year of college and now have exactly 2 weeks until I leave for camp. Never before have I had my entire summer full. Is this what's it's like to feel popular?! But in all seriousness, I am very excited! I guess I'm just making this post in the hopes that I can ask for prayer.

I enjoy sleep more than the average human, and the more I speak with some of my fellow employees for the summer, the more I am coming to realize that I will be running on very little sleep. This would not be an issue for a few days, but I am a little worried that after a few weeks I will become run down at times and lack the energy to keep up with the campers.



Please pray that God will provide for me the energy to be a positive, enthusiatic counselor who will be able to keep up with the campers, whether it's the first week of camp or the last. Also pray that I would possess and hold dear all of the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) seeing as they would be more than helpful during camp!



I also enjoy being home. I love my friends, my families (biological, extended, church, animal), and the familiarity, and I have never been away from home for more than a month at a time. While I am very excited to serve and begin this new chapter, I am also a little nervous.



Pray that the Lord gives me peace during the up and coming transition. Pray that He would guide me as I choose the location in which I would like to serve and pray that He would give me a servant's spirit, one that is not concerned with myself, but with those around me;



In regards to both camp and BVS please pray that I would be a light for the world and that my spirit would be humble. Please also pray that I give God all of the glory; these are His hands after all and I would be foolish to think otherwise.

I'd like to thank those who are already praying for me. God truly does answer prayer (maybe not always how we would like or expect) and He has truly granted me an incredible peace throughout this whole process as well as guidance. I am so blessed to have such Godly friends and family!

Kids Rule, Excuses Drool

I think the reason I love being around children so much is because I want to be like one still. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to make my own decisions (with the help and guidance from my wonderful parents, of course) and driving (I really love driving), but there is just something about kids that astounds me. They don't beat around the bush; they say exactly what they are thinking, and there is something extremely refreshing about that. Yes, on occasion they'll announce to the whole room that mom-mom smells funny or that dad's cooking just isn't cutting it, but they don't say these things with the intent to be vindictive or hurtful, they are simply telling it how it is. Children are so innocent. I remember when I was little (many, many moons ago) I believed that I could accomplish anything, aside from choosing my own haircut (thanks a lot, mom). I could be anything I wanted to be. I could travel anywhere in the world. I could marry anyone (and by anyone I mean Orlando Bloom). Any and everything was achieveable. It is this mindset that I see in children that makes me love being around them. They don't see the limits we (I'm an adult, right?) as adults find ourselves facing.

I've been thinking about these limits so much lately. Limits in regards to money, time, opportunity, ect. and the more I think about these limits the more I think that maybe they're just excuses. Excuses to not takes risks, or go against the status quo. Excuses to not follow the path that God has set out for us, especially if that path may be frightening or unexpected.

"'Excuses are not cool!"

It took me about a month to tell my parents that I'm not coming back to school in the fall. I kept running different scenarios through my mind. There were ones where good ole mom and pop were sobbing due to disappointment and shame because their favorite daughter wasn't returning to school to receive the higher education she had sworn to do. There were others where I was 35 and living at home, no degree, no money, no future. I think you get the point...the scenarios I thought up were completely ridiculous. When I finally told my parents I was met with an incredible amount of support. They didn't question my decision once, instead they sought ways in which they could help me along this journey. I also received an insane amount of support from my extended and church families as well. Cards, calls, and short discussions further encouraged me and made me believe that maybe I wasn't so crazy for following this new path. Not once was I discouraged from my decision. Not when I told my friends at school or at home, not when I told my parents, and not when I told my church family. I truly believe that that was God. I was incredibly frightened about this decision (leaving for a year through BVS instead of returning to school) and I believe that God only placed those with positive feedback in my path because He knew how much I needed that support.

So, I'm trying to be more childlike. I'm trying to throw away all of the excuses and limits and believe that with God I really can accomplish anything. And as simple of a statement that that may seem, it can be extremely hard to believe that you can accomplish ANYTHING with God's help. Anything. That's a lot of things. Yes, some of my childhood goals and aspirations may not be exactly what God has intended for my life (fingers crossed that the Orlando Bloom fantasy isn't one of them) but I can't even begin to imagine what amazing, unexpected things He has planned for me!