Praise God!

Things have been going really well lately. 

Josh and I will be closing on our house next week and we finally have most of our stuff put away. 

I am just so excited for life right now. I start school on Monday and it is just a really exciting time! Josh loves his new position and we are looking forward to getting to know our new congregation even better than we already have. 

God has blessed us greatly! We are overjoyed in the abundance he has given us. My heart has just been exploding with joy for The Lord lately! 

It's so amazing to have a God who can bring such joy. As tough as life can get, he is still there providing for what is best for us. If that doesn't bring a person joy, I don't know what will! 

I just wanted to shout out to my amazing God for all he has done! In the good and in the bad.. 

;)

Discipline

Do you ever get to the point where you know you should do something, because it makes you a better person, but you just really don't want to? 

I like writing, sometimes. When it's on my own terms and I have something exciting to write about. I don't always carry around a journal or think deeply about every incident that happens in my life. I don't always write down every ingenious idea that I have (because they are obviously overflowing). Instead I get busy or lazy or just don't find the point in taking time to sit down and write/reflect. 

It's really hard sometimes, but at the same time I think it is beneficial for me. I'm not really sure why yet, but I think writing down things makes me stop and actually think about something other than what I have to do today or where I am headed tomorrow. It makes me actually curious about the thoughts in my head behind all the day to day business that "needs" to get done. 

I am writing about this today because I haven't really felt like blogging for the last few days. Sometimes it feels forced or maybe even like I am searching for something to write about and that doesn't seem right. Shouldn't awesome topics just stream into my brain for these blogs? I don't want to actually do work.... 

However, it seems to come down to discipline. As much as blogging can be fun on certain days, it won't always be fun and thoughts won't just be sent to me from the heavens. I realize that writing every once and awhile is a good way or me to stop and actually listen to my thoughts. It can help me see and remember who I really am and keep my roots in place. Without a break from all the craziness of the world, who can continue to remember who they truley are? 

So here's to writing and being able to think clearly for at least a moment in time. 

Huzzah! 

Work it!

I've finally been able to get back into a good workout routine. 

Praise The Lord! 

Camp life was great, but it was almost impossible for me to have a set workout plan and I love to get my sweat on. It also didn't help that I have been in a slump for the past year or so getting used to my limits of exercise with MS. It will continuously change, but every doctor has told me that keeping my strength up will be even more vitally important the older I get. 

I really do love exercise too. I mean, ya it keeps you lookin' good, but that's not even really why I do it anymore. It just makes me feel good. It puts me in a better mood and I can feel a huge difference in my life when I exercise regularly. 

With that said, I should probably look up from my screen as I walk and pay attention to the sidewalks...

Short and sweet! 

Christina 

Worrier

I am such a worrier. 

I worry about so many different things, both big and small. I worry about myself and I worry about others. 

I can easily stress myself out by worrying about whether or not by husband is going to make it to and from work every day. I worry about money and how things will all work out with us buying a house and all. I stress and contemplate where I'm going in life as far as a career goes. Sometimes I think I can be quite paranoid. 

I don't want to end up being one of those people that is so up tight about things that they take it out on others. I fear if I don't get my worries under control, my life will soon become so small. Small because I won't want to do anything in fear of something bad happening. 

How do you deal with your worry's? 

I can usually calm myself down in those times of extreme anxieties through prayer, but I still have not found a good fix on my worry problems. I know God tells us not to worry about things, that he is in control, but I haven't gotten to the point where that is the first thing I think about when I'm enduring a panic attack of some sort. It usually takes me a whole day to finally calm down and realize our God has it covered. 

Deep down I really do know that God is in control. I really do know that everything will be alright. I just easily forget these things. 

Like every day. Ugh! 

P.S.- I am feeling much better since the last post. The doctors think it was just a stomach virus! Praise God! 

Sick day(s)

I haven't been feeling the best since last Friday.

I have had severe abdominal cramping and other issues that have caused me to go to the doctor today. I did the normal check up and also got some blood work done. Although I haven't gotten the results back yet, I am almost certain nothing will come from it.

For those of you that really know me, you know that I have a complicated medical history. I went through years of struggling to find out what was wrong with me after an episode of frightening happenings. After so long I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and that was that. Along the way I have had other issues arise such as gastrointestinal issues, leg pains, multiple sinus infections and so on and so forth.

Let's just say I know a thing or two about what the inside of a doctor's office looks like.

I can't say that I am quite used to the feeling of being sick many days of my life, but I am learning to cope with that fact. I am learning to see that it isn't the end of the world and I can still be impacted/ impact others by/through/with my experiences. I use to hate hearing people say, "Well just look at the bright side...." It really bugged me!

I heard it put differently recently and it has really helped me through my recent/ongoing sickness. Someone said that rather looking at it thinking "God, why does this have to be happening to me?" It should be, "God how can I serve you through this time? How can I listen to you better in my troubles?"

For some reason this has really stuck with me. Normally I would be going crazy right now after two days in bed, but it really comes down to your mindset. Everyone is going to struggle in this world, whether it be illness, death of loved ones, or anything else that causes us pain and grief. When we can say in these situations, "God how can I serve you through all of this?," rather then questioning life itself, I feel like our whole outlook can be more productive.

At least for me anyway. If we are truly His, we should want to continue to ask what can we be doing for Him, not what can we be doing so we can live a more pleasant life. As tough as that may sound, we have to remember whose life we are really living and what we are really doing here.

New chapter

Last week of camp already.

It has been a crazy summer here at Camp Luther. As we start our last week I am reminded about how blessed we (staff) are to be able to work here. We get to share the love of Jesus to so many
kids in the beautiful nature God has provided for us. I feel there is no better way to help kids grow in their faith than by providing a safe environment to have fun.

I grew up coming to camp. In fact, I grew up coming to the same camp I work at now. I loved camp so much that I would pack months before I was going. My mom would always laugh at me because I would put a whole bunch of clothes in a bag but then would need them a few days later. I would want to put my toothbrush and toothpaste in the bag and would soon realize I needed it before I went to bed.

I loved everything about camp. I loved the people, the games, and the campfire worships. I loved being able to come and be myself and meet others who did the same. I could not get enough of this place!

Who knew that many years later I would end up working here full time and have the opportunity to share that same excitement with everyone that came. I have loved my time at camp and all the things it has done for me. Without camp I would have never realized God has given me talents to work with special needs individuals. Without camp I would have never met my husband. Without camp I would have never been able to meet some of my best friends today. Camp has done so much for me and I was so happy that I could give something back to it.

As I think about the fact that Josh and I will be leaving camp for good in a week, I realize it is a very bittersweet thought. We have both loved being here, but we are so excited for what the future holds for us! Josh has started his new job and absolutely loves it! I am excited to go back to school and see where that takes me. So even though we have many memories and friends here, you can see we both have a lot to look forward too.

Abraham

" I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Genesis 22:17-18

Woa. 

Anyone else have the thought that Abraham might have had a big head after this? I mean come on, if it were me and this had just been said from God himself, I would be walking around like I just won a huge award or something. I would have been giving high fives, telling everyone the good news, maybe even throwing a celebration party. 

It made me wonder about how God gives each and everyone of us different responsibilities and how easy it can be to abuse that. Or how once we get "power" over something or someone we can let it go to our heads so easily. 

I truly believe that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. He knew something about Abraham that we may never know that gave him the ability to handle all that responsibility. God knows what you and I can handle so even though we may not feel adequate in our abilities, he will continue to give us responsibilities that we can complete. 

Now we have to learn how to not let these things go to our head and take over our lives. We have to learn balance and seek God's help when we don't feel like we can handle the situation. 

I think we can all do that. Don't you?