Onward to Talladega and Shocco Springs!

Training here in Birmingham has been crazy. I get up early, work all day, and then come home late. It's almost like being back on the ship.

Except for the tiny detail that everyone is service focused and ready to use their gifts for God.

Being in this environment has been like a breath of fresh air.

I grew up in the church, and will be the first to admit that as I got older, found myself becoming less involved. I was always too busy, or had to work, or was tired. I had a lot of excuses for not being involved in church during college and post-college life. I lost that sense of community and love that is so abundant here at Student Life it's almost suffocating.

Everyone wants to show you love, by helping, holding doors, lending a hand, paying for meals, paying for gas, praying for you, spending time with you, laughing, joking, and in general just loving on you.

For someone who has lived alone for two years, happily building up her old-woman status (dinner at 5:30, pjs by 6:00, in bed by 7:00, asleep by 8:00), it's been a bit of a culture shock to be immersed in a group of people that want to spend a lot of time with me and have fellowship all day, every day. So much so, that a solo-trip to Walmart three days ago was the first alone time I'd had since I got to Birmingham. I was on edge and starting to get irrationally angry. So I went to Walmart, alone, and spent almost an hour just wandering the isles and taking some time.

Part of what makes this experience so great is the sense of family and community which is built among teams. At the same time, you get so caught up in being together all the time, that you forget to take a couple minutes of time for yourself. So there I was wandering the aisles of Walmart, not really shopping, just looking, and take time for me. I spent a hour doing this, and it was glorious.

In addition to community among teams and fellow actors, every morning we've started with a staff bible study. Every morning, God has spoken to me in small tiny ways, through our devotions.

Here are just a few things which have really caught my attention:
1. When God calls you to do something, He has a plan, even if you cannot see it. Have faith.
2. God will not send you out alone into this world. He does not forget you.
3. Our gifts and talents come from God. To use them fully, they should also glorify God.
4. God is most glorified in me, when I am satisfied in Him. 
5. We are called by God's grace, because it pleases Him and so we can share His grace with others.

There are many, many more.

While here in Birmingham, I've also had the opportunity to attend different churches. I went to Christ City Church and Iron City Church. Check out their websites, and if you're in the area - do yourself a favor and attend a service. Absolutely amazing places and wonderful atmospheres. These churches are small, but their focus is outward into their communities and their hearts are centered on service. If ever I find myself permanently in Birmingham, I would join one of these churches in a heartbeat.

In closing, I want to touch on something Pastor Jason Cook said at the Sunday evening service at Iron City. His sermon was on Being Content in Christ and what that actually meant. He made a couple statements that rocked me to my core.
1. Contentment's venue is community and it is fueled by eternal perspective.
2. Your singleness is a gift from God; so that you may be focused on His kingdom and His plan and doing the work He has called you for, rather than some boy (or girl) who will only hold you back.

Talk about an inspiring send off.

All Summer Staff members arrive tomorrow and we leave for our training camp at Shocco Springs. Then on Sunday, Orange Team (#OT15) heads out for Covenant College and a summer of spreading the gospel to youths.

I cannot wait to get this show on the road. I'm excited. I'm ready.

Let's do this thing!

Ps - Check social media for various #'s during the summer to keep up. Each camp will have a #, but specific #'s to look out for are #table15 and #OT15. I'll keep you updated with other #'s as the summer goes on!

And So It Begins

My adventure officially started yesterday. I pulled into the Student Life offices at 1:30pm in Birmingham, AL, with my stomach in knots and took a moment to get myself together.

The moment I'd been waiting for since March was finally here and I was so nervous my hands were shaking. What am I doing here? I'm too old for this. I can't do this. What if they don't like me? What if I'm not cool enough to hang with the younger crowd?

I felt like the awkward sixth-grade version of myself - jorts, a bad haricut, and walking into a new school.

But then I remembered that God is in control, and I'd been called to obey.

Obey - it's a loaded word. People don't like to obey, because it means giving up control to another. Luckily for me, the Sunday I left Kentucky the sermon at church that morning was all about Obedience. A little "Good Luck this summer, and remember this..." from God, directly to me.

We looked at the example of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. A son which Abraham had longed for his entire life and finally got when he was a scrappy 100 years-old. In a true example of faith and obedience, Abraham takes his beloved son to a mountain top, binds him to a rock, and grabs the knife - without question. That's the key. I'm sure Abraham was dreading what he'd be asked to do, but he did it anyway, because he had faith that God would make everything right. Somehow, God will make everything right. Which he did. Right before the moment of truth, with knife raised and intent to kill set in his heart, Abraham was stopped by an angel of the Lord. He said that God knew what was in Abraham's heart, and then provided a ram for the sacrifice. And everyone, except the ram, lived.

From here we look at a few key factors of obedience.
The timing - immediately.
 - God said go sacrifice your son, Abraham went, no questions asked.
The attitude - optimistic.
 - Abraham is about to kill his beloved son, and still has faith God will make everything okay.
The heart - wholeheartedly.
 - In Romans 12, we are called to make ourselves a living sacrifice - proving our obedience to God in the details of our life. Actions speak louder than words, ya know?

As I was sitting in my car, wiping my sweaty hands off on my jeans, I took a moment to pray and ask for strength and guidance - cause at this point my inner sixth-grade self needed it desperately. After that I took a breath, and got out of the car.

I got out of the car. It's not as dramatic and killing a first-born beloved child, but I got out of the car. I could've pulled out of my parking spot, and took off to wherever, and let my doubts convince me I wasn't cut out for this. But instead, I had faith that God was in control and everything was going to be okay. I obeyed, and got out of the car.

Upon entering the conference room, I was greeted with welcoming smiles and such acceptance that I was a little overwhelmed. But everything was okay. I wasn't the oldest person there, people got my many pop-culture references, and at least three people wished me a happy Star Wars day - May the Fourth be with you. (Get it? See what it did there? Nerd life, is the best life.)

I made it to my host home safely, which I'm sharing with two other girls - who are absolutely amazing - and already we are bonding and learning about each other.

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this summer. It's going to be an amazing journey, and I'll be sharing pieces of it here, with you. It will be hard and frustrating at times, but I'm making a commitment to let God be in control.

Updates to come, we've got a big week planned!

Until next time - look at your life, think about your choices. Maybe you need to get out of the car, too.

God bless!