Back in Iowa (Part I)

First of all, thank you to everyone who has been praying for me, and has supported me during these past few months! I greatly appreciate it and I know God has used you in some incredible ways!

I arrived in Iowa City on Tuesday night, safe and sound. Most of the program participants carpooled as campuses back to the Midwest, and there was a church near Nashville, Tennessee that let us stay in its facility overnight. The crew from the University of Iowa did a two-day caravan back home. It was so much fun to spend that time together. Also, one of the guys from Iowa had his birthday while we were on the road so we made a birthday trip to the nearest Waffle House that morning and we had a great time having breakfast together. It was so encouraging to talk with the other people in my car about their experiences and to observe how much God had grown them during the course of the summer.

The last week of the program was spent talking about working for God's Kingdom back at our Campuses. Scott Gaskill, the College Pastor for 24:7 and his family, came to visit us and helped us process and create a vision for what God can do on the University of Iowa Campus in the future and how we can advance the name of Christ there. It was wonderful to have them there. I got to spend sometime with his wife Emily and learn from her wisdom and share with her about what I learned this summer. That week stirred up a lot of excitement in me, and among my fellow Iowans about the coming school year.

During that last week I was amazed at how much the girls on my team had grown. It was clear that they had all really changed in big and small ways and that God had opened their eyes to who God is, who He made them to be, and His heart for the World. It was an honor to live with those girls all summer, and I cannot believe that I had the privilege of being their team leader.

Saturday was the last day of the program, and it was so bittersweet. We opened up the day by watching the sun rise on the beach as a team, and it was breath taking to see. I have done that several times, but that last time was really something special; the sky was incredible and being there with my girls was so wonderful. We spent the rest of the day, packing, cleaning and doing a few last fun things, and had one last team time together.

All four of my girls live fairly close by, and I am fairly certain that we will see each other again, but that night was the end of our time as a team. Many times people are in our lives only for a season. Though I will continue my relationships with those girls for as long as they are willing, they are moving on to their lives back home and I am confident that God will continue to grow them and use them for His glory.

Last Day

Today I am packing up all my things and cleaning up so that we can head out bright and early tomorrow morning. There is so much to say and so little time.

My team and I went and watched the sunrise at the beach this morning and it was phenomenal. God's glory in the heavens was so beautiful and I continue to be challenged and inspired by my girls and how they have grown as they have walked with the Lord this summer.

These next few weeks between the end of the program and beginning of the school year will be a big challenge, as we switch gears and are challenged to walk with God faithfully without the constant fellowship, accountability, and pace that we have been used to this summer.

Please pray for safe travels for everyone as we drive and fly back home and thanks for keeping up with me this summer!

What a week!

The theme this past week was others centered living,. On of the main things we talked about is our motivation to serve. Christ followers are called to serve God first. If we are first filled with the spirit of God, that enables us to truly love others and serve them. When we try to serve without that initial fulfilment from Him, it is superficial. Our motivation comes from either a feeling of worthlessness and we feel like we are forced to serve others, or we want others to see our good works and our service comes from a need for approval from others. My favorite definition of Humility is: it's not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. This is because when the Creator of the Universe tells you that you matter, that gives you the freedom to be a servant because you know that your identity is secure.

Also, at work this past week, one of my co-workers started really opening up some more. His name is Jon and he is from Albania. His English is very good, but his accent is heavy and I've had a hard time understanding him and the only things we've talked about have been related to the Bakery, but this week, we've gotten into some really good conversations. So please be praying for more conversations with him and that God would be moving in his heart.

So that was the week, and this weekend was one of the best. Ever. Friday night was Thrift Store Prom, and what a night it was. The idea behind it is, it's prom, but everyone gets their outfit from a thrift store. It was an absolute blast.

Saturday we headed down for a weekend in Orlando and hit the Wycliffe Bible Translators Headquarters, and Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. For the majority of the summer we spend time in our teams, which are made up of people from various campuses. My team of 4 girls has 3 different campuses represented. This weekend we spent most of the time with our home campuses. We drove down to Orlando and spent the afternoon at Wycliffe Bible Translators and talked about God's heart for the Nations, and the significance of the Word of God. It was incredible. I'll probably have to make a separate post about it. Seriously. So much awesome stuff!

The people who are here from Iowa are a really close knit group and we had a great time together. We drove down together, and shared dinner had some time to share what we've learned this summer and it's really exciting to see how much God has been working in everyone's lives. Then on Sunday we spent the day at the theme parks, had dinner at a Waffle house and drove back to Jacksonville. I have had an incredible summer at STP so far and I will be very sad to leave, but I am also so excited for this coming school year and spending time with the people from my campus was a huge encouragement.

On a side note, Happy (late) Birthday to my fantastic brother Hunter. July 15 was his 16th Birthday, and I wish him the very best! I have really missed him this summer; he is an incredible guy and I am so blessed to have him as a brother.

July 12

For a group date we went to St. Augustine to see the fort there and look around the downtown area. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the U.S. The fort is really neat to see and the dowtown is so cute! Alot of the buildings there are over 100 years old. We had a great time with the guys, and also found this incredible playground (where the picture was taken) with all kinds of towers and staircases.

There are only 3 more weeks which is sad in a way, but I'm also so excited for this coming school year. It's incredible to see how much my girls have grown and how God is moving in their lives. This summer has truly been blessed.

Happy Day-After 4th of July!

Yesterday most of us from the program went to the beach to watch the fireworks. We spent the late afternoon hanging out, goofing around in the ocean, eating, talking, playing frisbee, etc. It was such a fun day.

There's a long pier on the beach, and the fireworks are shot off from there. There were a lot of people there shooting off their own fireworks before hand. The little ones are okay and they give off a dull pop or very shrill whistle. Then we heard this deep, loud BOOM! It was the the real fireworks, and you can tell that they're done by the pros. The fireworks were fantastic. Though while I was watching, I started to think, as beautiful as these fire works are, it's nothing compared to how amazing it will be when we see Jesus in all His glory in Heaven.

There is about a month left in the program. I can't believe this is the halfway point. It feels like I've been here for my whole life, but at the same time, it seems like the time has gone by so fast.

Tonight I'm sharing a little bit of my testimony and my experiences with prayer. The main thing that I'll be talking about is this past semester, when me and two of my closet friends got up every morning to pray at 6:30 and the incredible fruit that we saw God produce during that time. A verse that I'm going to mention is Ezekiel 36:22-23 which says,

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the Nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD declares the Lord GOD, which through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

Some of the key things that I see in this passage are a) that God is a god of action, He does stuff, big stuff, like changing people's lives, b) we (all people) have turned away from God, who is all powerful, Loving, Just and Perfect, and c) God is going to do some big stuff so that people will be able to see how amazing God is.

Please pray for continued growth for my girls, me, as well as the students that are here from my campus, as well as the other 150-some students here. Also, please pray for my co-workers at the Bakery, I really want to continue to build my relationships with them and be able to point them to Christ during my time here in Florida. Also, 247 - the college ministry that I'm apart of at Iowa - is shifting hands a little bit, Nate Hobart who was previously the college pastor has moved with his family to the Madison area to start a church plant. This year, Scott Gaskill who has been on staff with 247 is stepping into that role of college pastor. Please pray for both of their families as they transition, and for the 247 ministry as the school year approaches.

Thank you all so much!

I work part time at the Hyatt Bakery. It's the best job ever.

These are the things I want to do before I leave:

• Go a whole day without having to ask how to do things or where to find the right type of bowl.
• Make bread all by myself in the gigantic mixer…without the flour flying everywhere because I don’t understand the speed settings.
• Eat a flourless chocolate cake. (It’s a little cake - about as big around as a cookie – and I’ve probably made about a thousand already, but I’ve never tasted one and they look so good!)
• Stop being afraid of the cooler (seriously, it’s sooooo cold in there).
• Break my dependence on coffee in the mornings.
• Eat a cookie. Before it’s been baked.

I LOVE my team!

This picture is from a group date at the Landing in downtown Jacksonville. Next to me is Hannah from Northwest Missouri State, then Cassie who also is from Northwest, and then Trista who goes to school at the University of Northern Iowa. These girls are seriously the best! They came to the program with a genuine heart for God and a desire to grow. Any one of them could probably be the leader for our team, so it is a huge honor that I get to have the job. We've all learned a lot from each other and it's so wonderful to see how God really put us together for a reason. Thanks God!

Things I've been Learning

• What does love mean? Well, God is love, so the most loving thing that I can do for someone is to help them grow closer to Him.
• Waking up early to be at work by 5:45 builds a whole lot of character...and dependence of coffee.
• People are imperfect. So why do I cry out to God and feel like he's 'forsaken' me? He never leaves me.
• The beach is full of endless possibilities.
• Living out Philippians 2:3 and doing nothing from rivalry or conceit is pretty much impossible, especially apart from the Holy Spirit. It seems like even the littlest things are somehow rooted in some kind of ambition.
• The Navigators sure love their illustrations.
• The wheel illustration is great, but it's not how we get to know God. You can have a perfectly balanced wheel, but still not be in sync with the Lord.
• Commercial Baking is incredible. You need 50 dozen muffins? No problem!
• Control is an illusion. We don't have control over anything. If you think you have control over something, just wait.
• Toasted Marshmallow coffee flavor takes early morning so much better.
• The Bible is better than Toasted Marshmallow coffee flavor. Way Better.

Welcome to Relationships week at Jax STP!

I am so blessed. It's really just unreal how blessed I am. First of all, the God of the Universe decided that he wanted to have a relationship with me, which is pretty awesome. And then He decided to give me the resources to be able to read his scripture, and on top of it all, He gave me the opportunity to be at Jax this summer. Wowzies.

My team is just the best. I love those girls soooooo much! They all came to the program with open and teachable hearts and it has been so wonderful to watch them grow in the Lord and in relationship to each other. We’ve all been able to be very honest with each other and it's been great to be able to share wisdom and learn from each other.

So, this week is relationships week at Jax, so we're looking at everything from our relationship with God, to guy-girl relationships and all that fun stuff ;)

Dating scene at STP: short summery, there is none. We’re really encouraged to put that part of our lives aside for the summer because it can be such a distraction sometimes and it really allows for us to learn how to treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. If people are in dating relationships they don’t have to break up, but program members aren’t allowed to begin any type of relationship for the duration of the program. But in order to help us understand how to treat each other with care and consideration (and because it's so much fun) we have a lovely little thing called group dates. Every other weekend, the guys teams ask the girls teams out on a group date. The guys have the challenge of coming up with a creative date and a creative way to ask us out. For our first group date we had dinner together and then went and flew kites on the beach. I can't even explain how much fun it was. The guys that we went with were so great. They really treated us with so much respect and we had such a great time with them.

Today I have a Team Leader meeting. These meetings are one of the best parts of the program. It's so awesome to hear wisdom from the staff members and to work with other leaders and learn from them as well. We also have large group worship and teaching tonight which I'm also super excited for. Basically it's a great day to be a navigator!

Long time, no post. Sorry!

Hello everyone!

So sorry that there haven’t been any updates. The internet at our dorms is a little patchy and I’ve been super busy so the times when I’m free and I can get online have been limited.
I’ll try to at least make an update once a week from here on out.

I arrived in Florida at the beginning of the month and had meetings and orientation with the other team leaders and we had a fabulous time! The team members arrived a few days later and I got to meet my girls.

Every team is a group of 4 or 5 students and every leader chooses a name and central verse. It was so much fun doing that with the other leaders. There were so many awesome names. There’s the Kingdom Strikes Back (in the spirit of Star Wars), Earth Wind and Fire, Transformers, Fight Club, Body Builders, Signed Sealed Delivered, just to name a few. And for all you twilight fans, there’s even a Team Jacob because in Genesis 28 God tells Jacob that his offspring will exceedingly numerous and be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Plus it’s just hilarious.

My team is Team Jubilee. It comes from Leviticus 25 where God tells the people of Israel that every 50 years to have a year of Jubilee where they set all there slaves free, cancel all debts, and let the land rest. It’s basically a celebration of God’s salvation. So, our theme verse is Isaiah 61:10 which says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

My team consists of 3 other girls and I love them! They are so much fun and I’m learning so much from them all. During just the first week we’ve all really bonded and I’m excited to see what the summer holds for us all as we live and learn together.


During the mornings I’m working in the Hyatt Bakery as sort of an assistant and I absolutely love it. I wake up super early, drive to downtown with my new friend Allea (pronounced like Ally), help chop fruit, knead dough, bag cookies, make whip cream and all sorts of fun bakery things. In the afternoons I have team leader meetings and prep time, and then in the evenings we have program events like workshops, speakers and Bible studies.



We've had some sweet social activies like a sand castle/sand art competition. the theme was “something unseen” We won with our anchor and a heart as a representation of Hebrews 4:19 - “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

I'm running out of time for more, but check back soon! I'll give you the inside scoop on dating at the program, beach evangelism, things I've been learning, and the group of students from the University of Iowa who are involved in the program.

This year I have had the amazing privilege of leading a small group Bible study with a group of freshmen girls. Tonight was our last time meeting together as a group and it was so bittersweet. All those girls are wonderful. They are engineering and nursing students (which basically means they are hard workers and incredibly smart), they're beautiful and such a joy to be around and just love the Lord in incredible and inspiring ways. Spending time with them this year has been an awesome experience and has really helped me grow in my walk with the Lord. I'm still going to see them on campus next year and in 24-7 (the college ministry that I'm involved in) but I'm going to miss them so much!

Once again, thank you to everyone who has been supporting me in prayer and finances as I'm getting ready for this summer!

Muchas gracias

Thank you so much to everyone who has agreed to support me in prayer and finances this summer! I appreciate it so much and I am excited for you to be my partners in advancing God's Kingdom this summer!

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Finals are in two and a half weeks which is exciting and dreadful at the same time. After that I have about a week and a half of down time and then I'm leaving for Florida!


I've been praying a lot for my team recently. I have no idea who they are, but I'm so excited about the fact that God totally has a plan for them all individually and for us as a team this summer. This passage has been my prayer for me and my team.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. --Colossians 1:9-14

What's happening this summer?

In a previous post I mentioned that I was participating in a Summer Program through The Navigators and promised more information in the future. So here it is!

The theme verse for the program this summer is II Corinthians 2:18 which says, "as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."


The program lasts 8 weeks, plus a couple of orientation days. During the week (Monday through Friday) everyone in the program works during the day. Team leaders (that's me) work until noon and have prep time and training from noon until about 5 when everyone else gets done working. Then after dinner there is large group teaching and worship, small group Bible Study, a workshop or a social activity.

Each week we look at a different aspect of the life of a Christ Follower. Some of the different themes are intimacy with Christ, God's heart for the Nations, scripture, prayer, relationships,, and service.

The weekends are a mix of fellowship and outreach. On Friday nights there is always some organized social activity for the whole program. We spend most of Saturdays studying and practicing evangelism. In the mornings we have teaching from one of the staff members and in the afternoon we go to the beach in Jacksonville ad spend some time engaging in spiritual conversation with the people there. Also, during the summer, everyone has a home church that they attend and serve on Sundays.

I am so excited just talking about it all!

So I was thinking....

If I live to be old (I mean really old; old enough to not be able to do anything), I think I'll just sit on the couch and do nothing but listen to Starfield and Tenth Avenue North. The music is just that good.

My favorite song by Tenth Avenue North is called "Times." It's a song about who we are and God's promises to us.

Here are part of the lyrics:

I hear you say "my love is over,its underneath, its inside, its in between
the times you doubt me, when you can't feel
the times that you've questioned 'is this for real?'
the times you've broken, the times that you mend
the times you hate me and the times that you bend
well my love is over, its underneath
its inside, its in between,

these times you're healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
the times you're hurtingthe times that you heal
the times you go hungry and are tempted to steal
in times of confusion and chaos and pain

I'm there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame
I'm there through your heartache
I'm there in the storm
my love I will keep you by my power alone
I dont care where you've fallen, where you have been
I'll never forsake you
my love never ends, it never ends.
***************


Other thoughts of the day:

Medieval scribes were studs. Seriously. I'm taking a calligraphy class this semester and I have a whole new appreciation for the printing press. Depending on the type of writing, it can take hours to complete a page of a manuscript.

Today I was working on Gothic Textura, more commonly known as "Blackletter." It takes painstakingly long to write because all the letters are straight up and down and each letter requires the writer to lift the pen in between the multiple strokes that it takes to make a single character. So even while I'm armed with my hot tea and itunes everytime I finish a line of text I feel like I need a nap. But those poor scribes. Not only did they not have an electric tea pot to make caffeinated beverages with, I'm pretty sure there was no peppy music to keep them going; and they just sat in a cold and cramped, 12th century equivalent of cubicles copying books all day long for years.

So if you're reading this blog, it's probably safe to say you are not a scribe and if you ever need things to be thankful for, consider that first of all, you aren't a scribe because it was a tough job. Also, all those old scribblers did a ton of manual labor to produce books and preserve manuscripts that we now have, and finally that Gutenberg was a crafty guy and saved a lot of people a lot of work.

spring break is here and it is good!

This is the first legitimate spring break I have had since junior high. During high school I had track practice or meets every day of break and last year I was in Texas doing two-a-days with the Rowing Team. So this year I am spending my break taking it easy! I've been playing with my brother's new puppy (he's a golden labrador retriever named Vladimir), watching movies with my family and doing some stuff with friends.

Also. I have a fantastic announcement to make to the world: I am going to The Navigators Jacksonville Summer Training Program (aka Jax STP). So I'm going to be a Team Leader which will be super intense, super fun, and super challenging. Please stay tuned for more updates and information!

It's March...

How did it get to be March so soon!?! I mean I'm as excited for spring as the next person but wow, time just goes by too fast.

This week's agenda
Finish reading Watt by Samuel Beckett
Clean room
Do analysis of Carolingian script before the weekend (as opposed to the day it's due)
Research and rough draft for Civil War Lit paper
Write letter for summer trip
Finish stuff for housing next year