Reading Between the Blessings

Listening to: Beautiful Things by Gungor

Reading: Joshua 13

"To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to them."
-Joshua 13:14

"But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance, the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, just as  he said to them."
-Joshua 13:33

Both of these verses break up chunks of texts that basically read like "so-and-so got all of this land over here for all of their clans and Moses gave so-and-so all of this land over here for each family member" and all of a sudden it says "and Levi got nothing because God was their blessing."

From what I know the tribe of Levi were the priests so I'm thinking at first, hey that's awesome, these guys are so special that they get to see God's face even if that means they don't get any earthly blessing.

But then I started really imagining it and was like wait a minute. These guys have are now homeless because they have no land as an inheritance and Moses excuse is "the offerings by fire to the Lord are their inheritance." I would be a little discouraged if I were in the tribe of Levi. Don't get me wrong, I would be honored and humbled that I was a priest and able to enter into the presence of God but now I'm expected to represent everyone in all of the sacrifices and ceremonies and I don't even get my own house?!

Would I really be okay with that? Would I be able to be not only content but grateful?! Would I sing praises for my blessings, the one where all I have is God. Can I live with just God.

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God..."
-John 1:12

Jesus give me a heart of the Levitical priests. I want to be so honored to be given the privilege of a relationship with you, of coming into your holy presence, that I don't care what earthly things I do or do not have. 



It seems like I was saying nearly the exact same prayer this time last year as I prepared for school because I wasn't sure if I would have anyone to live in Christian community with when I got up there. I know now that You are there. But I also know that my battle is not over.

At school I am surrounded by people with money, with things, and I want to know that you are enough for me. I know it in my head, but I want my heart to live like it.

Heavenly Father, most beloved Creator, I surrender all that I have, all that I am, and choose you, above any other inheritance I choose a life with and for you, a life of sacrifice and worship offerings to you. Whatever this looks like, take me and use me for your glory. Burn up this life that I have and may it burn as incense that is so sweet to you.

I Said a Boom Chicka Boom

Listening to: Dead Sea, Classy Girls, and Ho Hey by The Lumineers

Line Obsession: “‎That’s what it means to be an American. To be free to love who and what you want, and to keep a lot in your heart at once.” Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani

This was my family for 7 weeks this summer. And I miss them. So much. These are people I celebrated with, interceded for, and goofed off with under the blazing sun and in the relief of air conditioning. 

I am so blessed to have gotten to live in such a powerful community with these people. It was a true (earthly) image of what the body of Christ is supposed to be. So I miss them dearly, but I know that it was great while it lasted and God taught me so much through each of them. I learned who I want to be and how to let God use me and what it looks like to grow. I was reminded of how far I've come and how far I still have to go in my relationship with Jesus.

The worst part is that most of these precious friends I will never see again. Now I'm not going to limit what God can do, but half of them aren't even from the south, let alone involved with the Salvation Army so who knows, perchance I we will one day have a grand reunion (before Heaven). 

But even if not, I think it's the neatest thing that all of us will share these memories for (hopefully) forever. And that for this one summer we all got to spend it together and each of our hearts now share that piece of our lives. That's what the quote at the top means to me. 

Leaving camp has been an adjustment here and it also makes me nervous to head back to school. I'm excited to catch up with old friends but I know that I've changed and I hope that they have too and well that makes things a little different. We each have our stories to tell from this summer.

But a big part of what makes me nervous is that I've spent so much time in such a tight Christian community away from the real world and I'll be going to school where well, it's not. So it's just a completely different atmosphere all together. I know it's where I'm supposed to be, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

Lazy Sunday

Listening to: Nate and Jesse jam in the CPV chapel on a Sunday afternoon.

We have exactly one week of camp left before I leave and I can't believe it. I feel like I'm just now getting to know people well and it breaks my heart to think that I will never see most of them again. However, I praise God for all of the conversations and laughs and time spent together.

Last week was the girl guards and rangers. It's basically the SA equivalent of the boy and girl scouts. The week was spent in classes earning badges about anything from swimming to hiking to team sports to native american lore. And the week ended with an Indian program where we all dressed up and performed and had a ball around the campfire. 

This precious girl had a really beautiful yet broken week. Tuesday night God began to work on her heart and tell her that it was time for her to get saved this week. Friday afternoon she received a letter from her mom saying that her father had committed suicide three days prior. Even though I had absolutely no way of relating to her God was present and gracious. My heart goes out to her especially but to all of my girls that I've had this summer.

I've made some awesome friends this summer and I know that these memories will last a while but that the lessons I have learned and the things I've seen God do will last forever. And the seeds that have been planted are far more than anything I could ever hope for. Camp Paradise Valley now holds a piece of my heart, the same way that India and Atlanta do and I will be forever grateful. I love how God continually takes me out of my comfort zone and guides me into growth with Him. 

This summer I learned and am thankful for:

• The power of the Armor of God
• what a healthy and effective Body of Christ looks like
• Never stomp on a wolf spider
• Sometimes all you have to do is laugh
• Sometimes all you can do is cry
• The only thing you have to have in common with someone is Salvation and passion for Jesus Christ
• Encouraging words come from the least likely of places
• Beauty is EVERYWHERE you just have to look with the right eyes (heart and body)
• God's presence is all over all the time
• No child is too young to "get it"
• Nature is one of the coolest and scariest things ever simultaneously
• Air conditioning is priceless
• Yearbooks are the best thing ever
• Camp is one of the coolest places for kids (myself included) to first encounter the living God.

Praise God for Camp Paradise Valley and my time here. I have no idea what next summer holds (and right now I do not feel lead to come back, although I would absolutely love to) and I am praying over my upcoming school year which makes me more than a little nervous to think about.

More CPV posts will come with time I'm sure. There's so much it's hard to sit and narrow down and write.

Eucharisteo at CPV

Thank you to Natalie for this new amazing music (I've been so isolated that recommendations are always nice) 

It's been a long time, but I've been at Camp Paradise Valley working as a counselor in the middle of nowhere KY. Literally, it's an hour and a half from wal-mart and 45 minutes from the Family Dollar. And this is home. I love it. I love the people that I work with and for, the kids that come through here (although most are extremely challenging), and the place itself and the way that God has shown up here.

The first week I was in a cabin with 9 year olds and all six of the girls in that cabin got saved. It was such a blessing and inspiring way to start off the summer. After that I moved cabins and have had 12 year olds since. There are different challenges to deal with: more hardness and scars. But it was such a God-move. I feel like I can relate so much better to and with the older girls.

I will make sure to post pictures.

What may be the coolest thing about the summer is that I've been reading the book One Thousand Gifts and the author made a list of a thousand things she was thankful for and she talks about how it changed her heart, slowed down time, and opened her eyes to the true meaning of grace and all of the blessings that truly are. So that's what I've started doing. And it definitely works:

1. Children's laughter
2. The breeze between my toes and through my hair
11. An unexpected encouraging word
15. Meaning without words or sound
16. Sand angels
22. How to Train Your Dragon swim trunks
31. Memories of Mama rocking me
33. An arriving bus
42. Intercession
44. Strong hugs (both given and received)
45. Fireworks and a basketball court full of kids
48. The playful banter between 12 year olds with southern twangs
53. Staff snacks
54. A piece of quiet before bed

And I'm certain my list will grow in the next week. My heart aches with the thought of leaving in a week. I don't feel ready for the real world. Everything is so easy here with a community of people all with the same goal in mind. Oh my gracious it's so easy to be living in the middle of this beautiful valley surrounded by godly friends and mentors and loving on kids who can't help their hurts. But I'm so so so thankful for all of the lessons that I've learned and all of the beauty that I've encountered. I really hope that I don't forget, but also that I choose to implement it instead of complaining about missing it.