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? 

Hello!

So I started a blog about a year ago with the thought that I would try to post once a week. 

I failed. 

So here I am again trying out this whole blogging thing. This time I am going to try to post twice a week, but I'm not making any promises. 

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Christina. I have lived in Nebraska my whole life and will be moving to a town called Seward, NE in the fall. I will be attending Concordia University to finish up a degree in Exercise Science. After that, who knows! 

I have a wonderful husband named Josh and we have three dogs. 

We just bought a house in Seward and are so excited to have people come over and hangout. We are really excited to live in a town again, rather then out in the boonies where we are currently living. Josh has been working at a camp in Nebraska, Camp Luther, for the past ten years, while I have been there for three. Although it has been immensely good to us, we are ready to move on to the next journey in our lives. 

So there is a little about me. Like I said I am going to try to post here twice very week, so please hold me to it! 

Christina