colorado control center clock.

what an incredible two weeks.  maybe i need to write shorter blogs like every other day to keep all you kids updated!  maybe.  probably won't happen.  that's ok though!  you can stalk me on facebook.

but the real reason i wanted to write was because of psalm 90:12.  it says "teach us to number our days so can we can gain a heart of wisdom."  other translations say different things...they pretty much all start with teach us to number our days, but they end with things like "that we may present to You a heart of wisdom,"  "so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," etc.    one translation even says "teach us how short our lives really are, so that we may be wise."    this one verse screams SEVERAL things at me.

1)  teach us to number our days.  we have a limit!  we have a specific number of days we are going to live, and today is one of them.  how incredibly precious is the time that we have RIGHT now, today!  it's the only shot we will get at today.  it's the only shot you will get at the next minute.  it's almost gone.  i don't want to miss out.  and if you jump into a realization of here and now and get into what God is presently doing, you won't miss out.

2) time totally controls us sometimes.  we have classes, meetings, times to eat, a specific time to write that paper, to do that report, to be at a game, to be at a practice, to be at church, gotta be at work at 8, got to watch that show at 9, have to set aside time for being on the road to get there, etc etc etc and who decides what time it is?  some Verizon Wireless control center in colorado telling my phone what time it is.  i look down, it tells me it's 12:21, and oh snap there's always a lunch rush at 1230, do i try to make it before or after?  do you see what i'm saying?  

3) we get caught up in that, and it's a burden.  stress comes for a visit, and before we know it we're saying "i can't wait for this day to be over."  i've been there, i was there a week ago, i know how it feels.  but that is NOT how the full, abundant life that God has called us to live works!  and man has God slammed that point home. teach us to number our days, so that we can gain a heart of wisdom.  teach us to realize how precious every second of every day is so that we can gain a heart of wisdom.

4) a heart of wisdom COMES from the realization that every day is precious and it's never going to come again.  one shot, one chance.  this is wisdom.  with this kind of perspective, everything changes.  and your heart affects perspective.  sure, we've still got to make all these appointments and we have to live by the colorado control center clock, but it doesn't have to control us and our attitudes.  what about the people you get to smile at on the way to class, your office, in the mall?  how many people know that you care about them based on something you DID or SAID today?  your days are limited.  you only have TODAY to let God impact and influence the world around you, through you.  when you are living through tomorrow, it will be "today," and you'll still only have "today."

5)matthew 6:31-34: (this is Jesus talking.) "What i'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can be respond to God's giving.  People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.  Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.  Don't worry about missing out.  You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the times come."  (the message.)

next time you catch yourself saying "i can't wait for this day to be over," think about it!  i don't ever want to hear those words come out of my mouth again.

what in the world is going on in my head

what a week!!!!  

i can't begin to tell of all that's happened over the past week.  i can say that i went to charleston, played frisbee in the rain, skimboarded, got a cold, made an indiana jones video, and missed every single class today because i feel like a blindfolded sloth stuck in slow motion.

also, i finished the book "What Came From Within!"  by andy stanley.  it talks about four monsters that are always attacking your heart....anger, guilt, jealousy, and greed.  i didn't realize how much junk i had swimming around in my heart until this book...he holds nothing back with pin-pointed questions.  it was a painful book to read at times!  i thought i was doing so good in my Christiany life, then God goes and shows me that there is so much MORE out there, there's freedom for your mind / heart and it's a beautiful thing when you find it.  i thought i had it.  sure didn't.  i had to let go of some things.  a lot of things.  seriously, pick up this book.  it's 6 bucks in the haywood mall.  it's on amazon.  just grab it. 

katy found my twin.  you can see him act in a budlight commercial by clicking here.   lauren and jordan and kimbo are absolutely amazing...they took me to walmart tonight so i could get some V8 fusion (woot woot) and oatmeal (along with plastic spoons and bowls to eat it in).  my first ride in the mustang in a long time!   also....kicking and screaming is now in the 5 dollar bin.  this is huge.  i remember going out and spending like 20 bucks on it and bringing it home and me and lauren actually watched it in pickens.  now, 3 years later, we were in walmart and saw it in the 5 dollar bin.  if you don't own this movie....make a run for the 5 dollar bin RIGHT NOW.

lauren germann and blair britt now have car puppies.  blair got crouton's cousin for her bday.  lauren got wiggles. ryan is now playing starfighter.  that's gonna change his life.  ashley is currently reading the book i previously mentioned...i think jenny's got it next, but it's up for grabs after that.  also, the SKEETER JONES video on facebook is a must watch!  so that's like...two videos in one blog.  can you handle that?  i cannot wait to go home and see and hang out with my family.  but as for now....i have to go to bed.  it has not been a very productive week as far as school goes, but i've felt pretty awful.  that's bout all i've got for now, friends.  k bye.

blog time.

yep.  it's blog time.  

it was nice to actually be able to run today.  i haven't been able to do like any physical activity for two weeks due to that cold previously blogged about that i just never got over.  note to self....decongestants can help prevent ER trips.  i think i'm gonna die this weekend though at the tournament....i'm pretty out of shape!  

but i am pretty stoked about being able to go skimboarding at isle of palms.  i really want to drive down, because my car is like this freedom to me.  it means i can leave.  i means i can go.  if i don't want to do something, i don't have to do it.  i absolutely love having the ability to just...leave.  escape.  my car.  love it. 

not only did i lose the ability to run for two weeks...but i couldn't sing either.  not that i can sing good, but thank goodness that God doesn't care about what i sound like, just the condition of my heart and it's little passion to sing.  speaking of hearts...i'm reading this book by andy stanley about my heart.  it's gettin me pretty bad.  my heart is somewhat out of whack.  it's not broken, it's not cold, and it's not hard.  it's just....not where it needs to be.  i'm gonna go into the heart stuff in a later blog once i finish this book, because it's pretty revolutionary!  

dale is back.  gotta love that guy.  and sprinting to catch his touchdown passes is better than peanut butter m&ms.  also...ryan.  what an incredible friend.  and blair and lauren.  wow.  and lauren dubbleya.  what a goofball.  and the guys i live with.  ashleyking txt msgs. and just the people i know are my friends out there....i am so blessed by friendships!  so many crazy awesome friends.  also...blessed by naps.  and skeeters animal crackers.  and a bunch of nice things.  and FINALLY THE DETERMINATION TO GET UP EARLY IN THE MORNINGS!  man have i had some wonderful mornings lately.  lovin it.  

found out from lauren tonight that she's helping my sister get ready for the pagaent...katy, i didn't even know you were in the pagaent.  mom, dad, i'm going to have to start requesting email updates on the 8's, just like the weather channel.  mall people watching was incredible friday....and listen to this.... i felt so crafty.  i was sitting outside barnes and nobles while everyone was inside, cause i just wanted to chill for a sec, and i had sierra mist in my backseat.  and i mean i was just in a complete state of chill and enjoyment, and i was thirsty. but the sierra mist was warm.  so i go in...ask for a cup of ice, come back out and enjoy cold sierra mist.  i felt like a genius.  when ryan came back to my car, i proudly told him of my heroics.  he was proud of me too.  that was like....one of those moments for me.  lately God has been filling me up with joy at random times, and i'm loving it.  because it overflows when it's from God, and it just spills out.   i try to go to big crowds when i'm like that so when the light is shining brightest it's shining like a city on a hill!  i usually stand on tables and juggle.  just kidding.  but you guys know what i mean.  jobi is trying to sleep now.  and me writing this blog is keeping me from keeping him up!  

mmhmm

i'm sitting in a slightly disorganized room eating a fruit cup in cheez-it pajamas.  i'm thinking that it's kinda yucky outside, thank goodness someone just called to tell me my lights were on in my car, i wanna watch a movie and go to sleep.  and my tooth still hurts from the filling.  and you know what?  it's time to start doin my time with Jesus in the MORNINGS.  that means i gotta go to bed sooner and get up a loooot earlier than i'm gonna want to get up!  

school is not being very friendly to me right now.  at the start of this semester, i wasn't putting forth much effort, and that was starting to get to me.  now, i AM putting forth some effort, and school is absolutely beating me up like a 3rd grade bully!   on another note, william lyon is addicted to halo.  i mean, i haven't seen this kind of addiction since the halo days of high school.  i'm really enjoying being a part of stone bridge church...there are some really cool people there and God's definitely up to something.  i found some fellow skimboarders on the ngu ultimate b-team!  and they are pretty good.  we were out skimboarding in some of the puddles tonight.  well....i was under the caf deck watching them because wet+coldness+an actual cold = pnemonia for chris brank. but it was fun watching robbie earle skimboard for the first time. ...  ... and fall.  

and now...i'm going to start reading a book.  life without facebook is fabulous.  i realized half the time i used my phone was to check my mail, and 75% of the reason i checked my mail was because i got facebook notifications.  so now i don't use my phone as much either, and this is the first time i've sat at this computer for this long in a week!  and it's only been like 15 minutes!  so now i'm getting off because nathan needs my chair for william, jobi, skeeter and nathan halo time.  i think i'll crawl in bed.  my tooth still hurts.  

it's about that time

wow.  it really is about that time to write a blog again.  the main reason i'm writing this blog is to say that i'm gonna get away from facebook for a while.  why?  because...

1.  it just consumes a lot of my time.  i don't think just limiting my time on it would work for me.  i mean, that works for some people, that's cool.  but i'm just gonna cut it out, and if i do come back, i'd like to do it for the sole purpose of encouragement.  not to try to get a date or impress people or gain popularity by having a million friends, but for the sole purpose of connecting with people to encourage them.  but in order to do that, i've gotta get away for a while.

2.  i don't want to have friends that are just my friends on facebook.  i mean the kind of people that i only talk to on facebook and not in real life.  i'd rather get calls than messages, i'd rather get calls than wall posts, i'd rather get calls than texts, and i'd rather actually talk to someone in real life than all of those combined.  in this crazy 21st century culture we live in we've somewhat lost REAL connections with REAL people.  like face to face.  and we've lost it to AIM, texts, facebook, myspace, etc.  i want something real.  and i think the people in this generation want it as well.  they just don't know it!

3.  i would consider myself faithful to facebook.  i check it pretty much everyday.  i get emails sent to me with notifications, and i can check them on my phone any second of the day.  that's faithful right there.  guess what i'm not faithful about?  God's word.  prayer.  hope.  faith.  i want the faith and the hope that Peter talks about in his first letter, i want to be filled with inexpressible joy!!!!!!  facebook can't offer that, but man sometimes i was trying to find my encouragement and happiness through that site.  

also, this weekend, i'm gonna turn off my cell phone!  i'm gonna let my parents know when i arrive and when i leave, but it's going off.  i want my entire attention on what God is doing here and now.

let me just say i have some absolutely AMAZING friends.  real ones.  that same letter peter wrote says "now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."  that's incredible.  and God has placed people in my life that love me like that.  i want that kind of love, and i believe everyone does, and i want to offer that kind of love.  and i want to offer it face to face!

not a long one.

so let me start by saying that there is this group of teenagers on the campground that don't actually know what my voice sounds like.  i've done so many voices, that when they ask me to do my real voice, and i do, they don't believe it's my real voice.  they think i'm making my real voice up.  that was really the sole purpose of writing this blog, i just wanted to tell you guys that.  other than that, only two more days left here!  i am officially all by myself for the next few days!  except for punky and larry and wiggles, who have all become my best friends this summer.  speaking of punky...i am currently uploading all of her pictures.  so go check them out on my facebook!  also coming soon...my skimboarding photo shoot today!!!  woohooo!

true love and pirates

this....is crouton.  my friendly car puppy.  he's been with me through thick and thin, and he's always there smiling at me and happy to see me, no matter when i get in my car or what i feel like when i get in my car.  good ol' crouton.  the love of crouton and ice breaker sours in the Ford Contour spread throughout the summershine staff this summer !!

anyways, today is pirate day, and it has absolutely been amazing.  wanna hear what's happened so far?  i got up, ate cinnamon toast crunch, got treasure hunt stuff ready, and at 9:55...there was no one there.  in the next 5 minutes, 30 something people showed up!  30-40 is a normal crowd, but there was something special about today, they were just cool kids.  then i finished the last fun finder activity schedule with what my life will revolve around for the next 8 days, and printed out around 400, took lunch, handed out water balloons, watched while the inspectors CLOSED THE WATER SLIDES because one of the ladders is too close to one of the slides.  hopefully this matter will be revolved in the new few days, cause i honestly like the slides.  the kids love them, and that's one of the easiest ways just to get to know the kids and the campers and to learn their names.  so after doing lots of random things that needed to be done, PIRATE GEAR BINGO at 2 o clock happened, and it was one of those random activities i make up sitting at my desk cause it sounds fun, and it was AWESOME.  i wrote off some awesome pirate stuff, and we had like 30 something people come out to that too.  and we've just got a great group of families here right now!   

 

unfortuately.....right now....it's storming.  we're under a deadly lightning warning from now until 10 o clock tonight!  so we had to cancel the 4 o clock sandcastle building / skimboarding lesson activity.  which is a REAL bummer cause i know a lot of kids that were exciting about skimboarding, and i know a lot of chris branks that were pumped about skimboarding too.  but....hopefully it won't rain out the pirate parade tonight, because i'm pretty sure the whole campground knows about it, and i'm pretty sure every camper on the campground has a bag of 50 water balloons that they are going to specifically ambush me with.  how do i know?  they've told me, the little sneaksters.  anyways, corie and diana left at 445 this morning. i set my alarm to call them and i was like WIDE awake and i know it had to sound over the phone like i was on  one of those youth-group lock in caffiene highs that you get at like 3 in the morning!  

want to know the most awkward thing in the world?  there was this girl that came to s'mores last night, and when i handed her the toppings i could have SWORN she was wearing a true love waits ring, right?  but she jetted before i could ask, cause i love asking people about cross necklaces and true love waits rings and stuff like that.  (side note...every church group that's come in this summer..i've asked them if they really love Jesus or if they just rented the van.  no one's rented the van yet.)   so anyways i was handing out those bags of water balloons today and her and her friend said they'd like to be ambushers for the ship, and i saw the ring again and i asked if it was a true love waits ring.  and she said ".....uh, no.  it's just a ring"  and her and her friend kinda looked at me with that kinda "that was kinda a weird question" look, and then i realized, hey, that is a weird question, and i was out of there quicker than a couch potato in gold's gym.  no, ok, not that fast.  but HOW AWKWARD!  never ask that question to anyone.  because if they don't know what in the world you're talking about, that IS a really weird question.   cole had said the other night that he saw a true love waits ring, and that the girl was like drop-dead beautiful, and he said he wanted to go up to her and say "hey, it can stop waiting.  i'm here."  but of course...he didn't.  cause we're not like that.  ok enough on that subject.  i'm gonna upload some more pics to facebook.  yay rain.  

well, here's for catching up!

yep, not gonna do it!  not gonna try to catch you up on everything that has happened over the past like 2 and a half weeks, because the days are packed, and there have been WAYYYY too many things that have happened and to try and blog it would / could / possibly take up WAYYYY too much space in your HTML browser.  

so i'll start with today!  i got up this morning, ate Cinnamon toast crunch, and just chilled for a while.  i probably showered.  went to walk wiggles, my wonderful neighbors dog (punky and larry, who are phenomenal.)  then i went skimboarding for a little bit, and it was just bad.  i mean where the campground is on the island, there are actually PEOPLE so over time there gets to be a real bad slope down to the water.  so it's not so much fun skimboarding in front of the campground cause you just kinda go down right into the waves, even if you try to go sideways.  and if you're not real good at catching waves yet, well, the waves just kill you!  my foot suffered quite an injury today!  so i went back in, helped diana write off some candy bars for candy bar bingo, ordered tie-dye stuff, called the kayak guy because like 20 people signed up for the tour tomorrow night!  i just got some of diana's pictures onto my computer, i crashed on punky and larry's couch for a while with wiggles, and in 25 minutes we're doing flag football on the beach!  woohoo!  and then..... after flag football....

we are going to ocracoke for staff night out!  there's only 5 of us left now....so we can all fit in one car...and we're taking the hummer.  WOOHOOO!!  punky let me drive it up to outback with the staff a few nights ago, and we drove through the worst storm i have ever been in...in my life.  it was CRAZY.  we have videos.  anyways, came up with a new song today.  i really enjoy songs that are like 2-3 minutes long.  i think this fall i would like to release some kinda EP with some of these songs ideas.  cause some of this stuff is fairly cool, and usually by recording it opens my eyes to crazy ways to improve the stuff.  only 10 days left on the island!  and no, it hasn't gone by fast.  it feels like i've been living here for about 3 and a half months!  i'm super excited bout going back to school and giving up to God the things i need to give up and let Him lead and see how He uses and leads me.  

can't promise i'll blog again before i leave, just know that it's going absolutely amazing.  it's time to wrap up this mission and prep for the next!  

ahem

ok so here are just a few thoughts running through my head at this point in time.  enjoy!

-man.  the dark night comes out tomorrow.  is it worth an incredibly fun road trip 2.5 hours up to VA to see it in IMAX on one of my days off?  quite possibly...yes.

• -bottlecaps are one of my favorite candy.
  
• -fries are just not that healthy.
  
• -new skimboard rocks.
  
• -maybe i'll upload some facebook pictures someday!
• -pirate day activities ...pancake breakfast, pirate day power nap, pirate day write this blog, treasure hunt, pirate day make 500 copies of the fun finder, pirate base building on the beach, followed by staff skimboarding, followed by pirate day grab a super fast dinner, followed by fill up 400+ water balloons for the pirate parade, then pirate parade, then random other pirate things that need to be done till pirate day bible study at 10:30.
  
• -air conditioning is great.
  
• -i need to find my radio.
  
• -mike is weedeating outside my window and it keeps messing up on him...it's loud.
  
• -wiggles is my favorite dog on the outer banks.  
  
• -i almost have the entire "dooley" song memorized.  if you dont' know what i'm talking about.....
  
• -PLEASE WATCH THIS
  
• -that's becoming my all-time fav. song.  
  
• -all my clothes are clean
  
• -yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
  
• -(i was trying to scratch some dirt off of the y button)
  
• -i just found the bullet button so i guess i don't have to put the - before the sentences now.
• i am definitely ready to see my family in about a week!  YAY for vacations!
• forrest has push-mowed for like 10 hours in the past two days.  
• diana is like a machine, except a really nice one.
• tiffany has an awesome new haircut and contacts!
• chris fell asleep at the lost colony, and it made me incredibly happy to know that guy was relaxed. 
• corie is developing perseverance like nobody's business.
• cole's parents and sister and her husband are coming today!  woohoo!
• jasmine is a hardcore funzone worker, and she reminds me of goofy.  idk why.  
• mandi got hit in the head with a golfball.  and she's one of the coolest girls on the planet. on a scale of 1-10, she'd be spectacular.
• me and courtney got to eat supper together last night, and i tried one of the waves breakfast wraps, and i didn't know it had avacado, i don't even know what that is but it's gross, and she laughed at the face i made.  she's learning even more that she realizes.  she'll probably realize that later.
• kelli is like a breath of fresh air. 
• i miss jacob, and anne-marie, and ashley, and ryan AKA thelma, and i miss lauren bryant even though she never actually made it out here.
• if i forgot somebody i'm gonna kick myself in the shin.
• i am super excited about being a part of Stone Bridge Church!
• getting plugged in there with the music and youth and video and whatever is just...yeah...exciting!
• my musical wishlist for the fall is growing.  i think it now includes a banjo.
• God's turning my worries into ways I learn to trust, and it's cool.
• ok i'm done!

hmmm

i don't think i've ever written a short blog before.  :-P

amazingly historical.

ooooops! i guess i uh...forgot a had a blog. nah just kidding, i didn't forget, we just got in a fight and weren't talking for a while. we're on better terms now. i just was filling up my time with other things, and a few of them i'd love to share with you, you wonderful blog readers you!

first of all, kelli williams revealed to me one of life's greatest secrets. it's called skim boarding. it started small...in the puddles created by the massive amount of rain we've received lately! side note: lots of rain: good thing. lots of rain brings mosquitoes. mosquitoes: bad thing. them dad gum skeeters. but we've upgraded to the ocean, where the waves are MASSIVE thanks to hurricane bertha out there. i mean surfers are coming from EVERYWHERE, they're like gophers or something just popping up out of the ground! but we're not out in the waves, we're out in the skimmable part. and it is historic. i mean amazing. amazingly historic. forrest and chris have also discovered the historicalness of skim boarding. it has changed our lives.

so there's a pic of our crazy staff up there! not pictured: kelli......also, ray and surfer steve are in this picture and they are not summershiners but they are pretty cool and we love them just the same. God has given me energy and compassion as of late, and those i think are two of my favorite gifts. i'm also learning a lot about this whole faith thing, and learning how to have faith in believing what we hope for. does that makes any sense at all? well, just wanted to give you a quick update! my mom and sister and grandma come WEDNESDAY!!! and heather joy might come SUNDAY! and diana's parents, courtney's parents, and jasmine's parents are all visiting this weekend! the days are just packed!

ok before i end this blog, i've also started actually cooking. no more microwaveable meals! that, my friends, is definitely amazingly historical.

1 second = 1 minute

let me just say that, even though it's tuesday, wednesday night bonfires are the most fun ever.  i mean we do s'mores and have a fire and roast marshmellows and throw football and frisbee and do ladder ball and i'm gonna pull out the giant lawn jenga and we get to know people and.... yeah!  the picture, from right to left, is ashely, jacob, forrest (aka farst) and diana.  

i had a daydream about the funtrain today whilst out on the beach with cole.  (the fun train is a lawn mower with a fiberglass casing which makes it look like a train and it pulls carts that people sit in!) some people were playing horseshoes next to us and i heard a "DING" which sounded horrifically close to the "DING" of the funtrain, and i thought it was coming for me.  i jerked up and sand went everywhere.  ....that's kinda the end of that story.  now that i think about it, that's a pretty dumb story to blog about, i'm sorry for those last 37 seconds of your life that i just wasted!

ok so.... i was getting ready to eat this frozen cookie dough sundae, and it looked kinda iffy, and it ended up tasting kinda iffy too, but the box said that you could leave it out for 5 minutes in room temperature to thaw, or microwave it for 5 seconds to thaw.  i didn't believe it one bit.  so i put it in for 5 seconds, and i'll be dad-gummed if it didn't thaw!  in other words...1 second in microwave = 1 minute of room temperature.  so obviously, if water boils in around 2 minutes in a microwave, you leave water out for 2 hours and it also boils.  this, also obviously, is the case with my shower now.  something went horribly wrong.  there is now no "cold" setting, i turn it on, and no matter where i turn it, it's absolutely scaldingly piping hot!  the first day i waited for 10 minutes for the hot water to run out, and it never did, so i stuck my head under for a millisecond, then screamed, then threw some shampoo on, stuck my head under, screamed, stuck my head under again, screamed and yelled, and shut the water off.  unfortunately shutting the water off required my hand to go under the hot water so i also screamed then.  so the past few days my voice has been shot after the first 15 minutes of my day!

i bought bananas last week.  i forgot about the bananas i bought last week.  i remembered the bananas today.  the bananas are still good!   we got 14 comp. tickets to the outer banks music showcase tonight!  YIPEEE!!!  i'm super excited!  i also think i'm going to go out on the beach tonight with the 4D maglite, which i found batteries for at the dollar store, and i'm gonna do some crab hunting, or at least have fun chasing them around.  you are all invited.  after maybe possibly applebees for the half-off appetizers.  that's all for now!  if you can fix my shower i'll help with gas. 

continuation of continuing

so....i think i'm bipolar.  maybe not on a need-medical-attention-immediately level of bipolarness, but a definite bipolarity of some sort.  the day will start out with me getting up...which is never good, because i can't ever get as much sleep as i need and i can't ever seem to pull myself out of bed at the right time, so the beginnings of days are never quite good for me.  some people have good days and bad days....i have good minutes and bad minutes.  it's like a wooden roller coaster, i mean it's all shaky and bumpy and crazy and you're always halfway scared that this thing is completely gonna break down and you're gonna go smashing toward the ground taking 40 million 2X4s with you.  it goes from super excited in the first minute, deep loneliness even though i'm surrounded by people in the second minute, frustrated in the third minute, energetic in the fourth minute, and back to exhausted in the fifth.  sometimes the second and third minutes last a little longer than the rest, and occasionally the first and the fourth will combine to make one super awesome minute!

an example of a super awesome minute....skit show last night.  we probably had 120 people around the stage watching us do our craziness.  Go Ministries came and did a few skits during the show and it was great!  here's a picture from me and ryan's old lady / funny hands skit!   i'm also going to upload audio from another chris/ryan skit called the drive thru to my facebook page, but i probably won't get to that till tomorrowish.  YAY for days off!  i've gotta go see Get Smart.  but i'm running out of money.  Even though i've been working for like 2 months, i've lost money being down here!  gas, food, trips, food, gas, gradually paying off things, gas, food.  crazy.  

surfer steve is out teaching a few of the summershiners how to surf as i type this, and JASMINE, our newest summershiner is watching the pools!  She is super super super cool.  Guys night out was last night and we went to hot tuna for burgers and fries and saw some drunken islanders doing karaoke.  quite the thrill!  we seriously are having an amazing turnout with all the activities and stuff.  i mean the whole campground is filling up, and the whole campground is turning out for stuff.  if there are other summershiners reading this, don't get discouraged!  we had our weeks with zeros.  and even if the massive numbers come, what ultimately matters is the families you are getting close to and what kind of impact Jesus is making on families at the campground through you.  

continuing!

well, i think everyone's had time to read my last post.  time for more blogging!  we are having so many people at activities! sometimes it slightly scares me that 60 people are that into parachute games, whether actually playing or just watching!  also scary:  pirate parades.  i absolutely know that i'm gonna be pulling that pirate ship and some little kid is gonna ride his bike and get piratically smushed by it.  

i was in food lion today, getting food to put in my fridge that i finally have, and the lady checking me out at the register said "you need to get a wife!"  when she saw all my microwavable stuff.   i said...."well....maybe just a working stove for now."  good one, huh?  ALSO OF NOTE:  the post office here is ridiculous, i will be using KOA's box still instead of getting my own.  i mailed my first letter today...ever.  EVER.  for real.  i had to call my mom just to make sure i only needed one stamp.  what a loser.   how crazy is that?  so if anyone, family, friends, is sending me mail...just let me know and i'll bug the fire out of the managers to go check the mail, ok?  k! 

visitors!  this weekend surfer steve, a work camper who the summershiners were able to point to Jesus my first year, is coming to visit for the weekend!  the Virginia Beach summershine staff is also coming down to see us and vacation on either sunday or monday!  or both!  and chris thore is coming on a date that i shall not yet mention just in case any obx staffers are reading this!  woohoooo for visitors!  tuesday night we're going to the outer banks musical showcase thing again for staff night out, last year it was a blast, let's hope the same for this year!  we have a group of about thirty 18-29 year olds staying here this weekend, and they're involved in Go Ministries, and they've gotta band and drama team and they pretty much rock.  also....Jacob's youth pastor named Mister Tom came to visit monday-thursday!  he was a pretty incredible guy.  he gave me the coolest necklace with a cross on it.  and i have been wearing it, and i am super pumped about it.

and i'm super pumped about it because now i'm not just in yellow with koa clothing all over, i am clearly labeled as a Jesus-follower.  and i hope and pray God works through me wearing it, and that will further point people to Him!  

crazy wednesdays!

so, my wednesday actually started out in myrtle beach!  yeah...i took some days off and went and stayed with the myrtle beach summershine staff!  so i got up about 645am....30 minutes later than expected...but still got out the door by 715!  

the real reason for writing this blog is so rumors don't spread with the wrong info about today's events!  me and jenny have ended our dating relationship as of a telephone conversation today on the way back to the outer banks.  it's been coming, i didn't see it as soon as i should have!  important lesson for guys:  love can be smothering.  even when you think you're doing all the right things, sometimes too many right things can be a wrong thing if the other person in the relationship starts feeling overwhelmed.  and that's what happened with jenny and I....i was so caught up loving her that i tried to ignore the warning signs that our love was becoming uneven.  i don't think either of us ever wanted that to happen, but it did!  so breaking up was a mutual thing.  her desires were leaning toward other things, and it was hard for me to accept that, because my love for her got in the way of me REALLY seeing what she needed.  and what she needs right now....is not me.  jenny is a woman after God's own heart.  and she is actively pursuing Him and what He wants out of her.  and that is awesome.  this is just a step we took along the way.

so as you can guess, there was a time for mourning.  and i can already see several reasons that God had in mind when he opened up the door to go to myrtle beach, and one is the car ride back.  i had time to mourn and let what happened really sink in.  then when i got back to my house, about 20 minutes before candy bar bingo was to start, i had a mini-breakdown for about 10 minutes.  i think it's good to cry.  i think some of the best prayers come when you're crying.  for me, emotions can go no farther, sadness reaches it's peak with tears.  but you know what?  at 3 o clock, candy bar bingo happened.  it was there and there was nothing i could do to stop it from coming.  i went, and there were 20 something kids, probably a record at hatteras for candy bar bingo, maybe, and then scheduling and activity planning, fun train, then the s'more bonfire, and meeting with ryan and courtney, and chapel practice, and now here i am.  

in the incredibly wise words of my neighbor, larry mckinney, "well....life goes on."  i can't throw a pity party at my house tomorrow night at 7, because there's the pirate parade.  i am going to miss her, obviously.  i mean this is one of the most massive things that has ever happened to me, i've never grown so close to anyone, ever! 

 but you know where my hope needs to be?  (wow...i've never gone this deep in a blog before.)   my hope doesn't need to be that she'll ever love me again.  my hope needs to be, and has slowly become over the day, that God knows what He's doing, and He's in control, and that He is the pivotal cornerstone of my life.  now that, my friends, is real peace.  that's real joy.  that the creator of the universe is OUR friend.  he's rooting for jenny as she wants to grow closer to him, and he's carrying her through this.  and he's carrying me, and we're right in his hands.  i want that.  i want the kind of hope that sends me out with the gospel bursting from my mouth, and through my actions.  chapel practice was so refreshing...i hadn't played guitar or sang for 3 days, and singing and playing "for my God is with me" is one of the most incredible things, i can't describe it.  

so, morals of the blog: 

• love can smother.  
  
• take nothing for granted. 
  
• closely pay attention to every, and i mean EVERY, hint, whether it's in actions or words, because all hints mean something....and  
  
• don't let your love blind you to what's really happening.  
  
• be careful of what you're hopeful for.  
  
• there is a time for mourning.  (at least that's what that wise writer in the Bible says, and i believe it!).  
  
• so there is a time for mourning, but life and time doesn't stop at a red light for mourning.  it's a constant green light.  
  
• and now i have to get some sleep, because pancake breakfast happens at 7:30 am, and by the time you read this, i might already be parading piracy at 7 pm!  if you've read all this, please take an extra few seconds to pray for jenny in myrtle beach, and me at hatteras, and for all the summershiners out there this summer.  please!
  

UNEXPECTED FRIENDS!!!!!!

i found some new friends today!  first i've gotta tell you how i met them.....this morning we did wacky olympics on the beach, and that was a blizast!  (ghetto for blast)!  it was pretty super hot at 10 in the morning on the beach though so we found that many of our relays either started, ended, or took place while partly submerged in water!  after this we stopped by P&L for some F&D (punky and larry's for food and drink) and hung out with Wiggles, the coolest 15 year old blind and deaf dachshund (hotdog-dog)!!!!  he's the bomb.  he's awesome.  so after that, i went and started doing the new fun finder and the new summashine schedule and planning everything out, and let me tell you, this father's day stuff is gonna be ROCKING!!!  we're going to play Wii on the big screen (yeah....i have to give credit to the myrtle beach staff cause this was their idea...a father vs. son Wii tournament)  but we're STEALING THEIR IDEA!!!  MMWWAAAHHAHAHA!

anyways, i was planning and sitting there at the desk, and i had a ice coffee smoothie thing, and that's when my two unexpected friends came in.  Joy and Excitement!!!!  let me tell you, they are a crazy combination.  they just came right in, completely uninvited, and they have taken over my attitude, my day, and i hope they stay for the rest of the summer.  it's one of those completely unexpected gifts from God, that you REALLY REALLY need, but never think to ask for.  Thanks, God, for knowing exactly what we need even when we don't.  Now, a few blogs ago, i said i might put a picture of my farmers tan up for the world to see.  Here ya go.....please, ladies, i'm taken, ok?  If you'd like to fight for me, call Jenny and you can schedule a time.  Just don't expect to win!

from juggling sticks to juggling schedules.

dude.  i got some juggling sticks.  google it, i dare you.  you've probably seen them before, and they are suuuper cool.  we met this guy named chip who works at the kitty hawk kites mega store in nags head, and he taught me ryan forrest and tiffany all how to use them and learned us all some tricks.  da-gum, the last half of that sentence went totally redneck.  anywho this chip guy was also good at the sticks and juggling balls and pins and anything juggleable.  it was pretty sweet! and he works mon-fri so i'm sure we'll hang out again.  (we hung out in the store for like 1.5 hours)..... i also have a nintendo wii set up in my camper!!!  WAAHOOO!!!  

ok so the past few weeks have been like christmas, with new recreation stuff from corporate coming in like every day.  we got a parachute, a really nice pool volleyball thing, a Wii, huge inflatable STUFF, ladder ball sets, giant lawn jenga sets (i don't even know, they just send stuff and i guess we'll figure out a way to throw it in as an activity!)  and a few weeks ago we got the giant slip and slide inflatable thing.  needless to say we have like 50+ activities we could do in a week, but we have to narrow it down to 25ish.  father's day weekend is gonna be sweeeet...we're doing a father vs. kid wii competition on the big screen, courtney is in charge of craft and they're making like father's day tie's, but they're cards too, and it's crazy.  and i'm pretty sure we're gonna do some other random father's day things, like father vs. kid horseshoes or basketball or flag football or competitive sleeping, you know, see who can sleep the longest.  i think i'll be able to dominate competitive sleeping after this weekend!  

i'm gonna tell my saturday story, you ready?  i got up, and it was time for pancake breakfast.  we got there, and it was me ashley and anne-marie, and neither of them had done pancake breakfast before.  new adventures!  so we open at 8, and ray, the night security guard who is amazing, is hanging out with us.  as soon as we open the window we have like 5 or 6 families order pancake plates, so it was pretty rushed to begin.  then about 8:05 tells us "hey those girlscouts are getting ready to come up!  the whole troop!"  and we TOTALLY thought he was kidding, we didn't even know there were girl scouts on the campground.  next thing i know, we got ambushed.  attacked.  helpless.  they all ordered at once.  chaos.  madness.  by the time we got all the orders out at 845, we had a breather, and then pancake breakfast continued until 10:30 after clean up.  then i got the kayak info and flyer and sign up all organized and together, and then i was like "hey i've got from 11-12 before i have to be back to set up the slip-and-slide" cause i knew saturday is a day of seldom breaks.  so i got to my camper, and about 10 minutes into the stillness mo calls on the radio needing someone to cover slides.  here's some more background info....i desperately needed this hour.  i didn't know for sure what i was even SPEAKING on in chapel the next morning.  i knew that i wasn't going to have any more breaks until like 9:00 pm, and i was already worn out, wiped out, etc.  i went into a state of panic. 

 God then directed my eyes directly toward a flipped page in my Bible which said Luke 8, so i went there and immediately found Luke 8:22-25.  the disciples were on a boat, Jesus was sleeping, a massive storm came up, and they went into a state of panic!  they yelled, "Jesus, we're going to drown!"  he gets up, calms the wind and the waves, and simply asks them "where is your faith?"  it was like those 4 words were directed straight at me.  where is your faith?  the message version says "why can't you trust me?"   i knew God was in control of the time and the situations, but i didn't fully trust that He would give me enough time to get everything i needed to get done, done.  but man, oh man, does He provide.  so at 11:10 i simply prayed, "God, i'm going to drown.  help me trust you."  i smiled, walked out the door a few minutes later after a bite of lunch.   after getting the slip and slide set up, i was ready to stand there and staff it for about 2 hours.  mo simply comes over and says "hey, you don't have to stay here if you need to go do something else.  jacob and anne-marie can handle it."  it was like God just kinda said "you're not going to drown.  see how i provide?"  

so i took of on my bike and went back to my camper and knew exactly what God had laid on my heart to speak.  it's a beautifully thing when you can push all else aside and listen for God talking to you.  The more i push stuff aside the more i realize i like listening to God more than all the other stuff that gets in the way.  i wish i would push stuff aside more often.  the rest of the day was quite hectic and crazy, but it makes a world of difference when you know you've got the Creator, Sustainer, Rescuer, and Manager of the Universe holding you in His hands, and if you let Him work the schedule of your day.  after all, i get more done when i trust Him to guide my priorities for every minute.  i mean there's so much to do!!!!  but God knows exactly what NEEDS to be done and He provides plenty of time to get it done.  how amazing.  i'm going to sleep now.  

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i just wanted you to know that i'm almost too busy to write a blog about how i can't write a blog because i'm actually too busy.  i mean i literally do not have any extra minutes at any time during the day.  i mean i have no clue how i actually just found an extra 2.5 minutes so i could tell you that i am a little too busy to write a blog saying "i can't write a blog right now because i'm too busy."  

i would say that i can wait till my next day off to write a blog....but last week i was doing so many other crazy incredible things, i didn't even have time to write a blog on those days off!  i mean, this is probably going to be the best summer i've ever had.  i wish i could tell you about it, but right now i'm pretty caught up living it every second, so hopefully soon i'll be able to write about something other than how busy i am and how i can't write a blog because i'm too busy, even one about how busy i am!!!!!!!!! 

 i dare you to keep checking back at random...soon....very soon.......sometime soon you might find a picture of my farmer's tan.  .......that might be worth checking back!!!

a few hours off!

i officially decided that i am going to take about 2 hours off.  right now.  this is it.  it's in between the horseshoe tournament and the flag football / bonfire that we're having tonight.  the past few days have been quite trying!   we'll have 1 or 2 come to an activity, then 3 hours later we'll have 30-60 show up, then a few hours later, nobody.  so it's like...prep...setup....nobody.  prep...setup...overload.  i am SOOOO EXCITED about a full two days off!!!!  

tuesday night for staff night out we're going on a sunset kayak tour!  really looking forward to that!  jake and mandi told me they were going to atlantic coast cafe for breakfast in the morning...so i'm DEFINITELY going with them because it's fantabulous.  and in between?  no clue.  i've been here like a month.  i might head into manteo and hit up the aquarium or go to the downtown sound-side / waterfront park which i've heard is SUPER cool.  also of note, i'm getting ready to eat some pineapples.  right now.

ok, so far, this blog has probably been pretty boring.  it's getting ready to get exciting.  you ready?  so one of the summershiners was in food lion yesterday, and she said this lady kept on staring at her.  and she said it was really really awkward, and she kept looking away but every time she glanced back she would keep staring!  they were in line together, and the staring lady was in front, and finally she said "can i help you with anything?"  and the lady was like, "oh i'm sorry if i'm staring, it's just that you look just like my daughter.  she died last year."  ....WOW.   so then she said "aww i'm really sorry to hear that!"  and the lady kept staring, and she said that the lady finally got to the register and started checking out, and the lady turned around and said, "could you do me a favor?  as i leave could you just say 'goodbye mommy?'  i never got to say goodbye to her."  ...double WOW.  so she said "um....not too sure about that" and the lady said, "please! it's just for closure, and it'd really help!"  so she said she kinda mumbled goodbye mommy under her breath, and the lady just walked out!  HOW FREAKY!  so then, she was going to check out, and she only had like 3 things, and the cash register person said the cost was like 75 bucks!  she was like, "no way, i only have those 3 little things!"  and the cash register person said, "aren't you paying for your mom?"  ..........yeah.  so she says be right back and she runs after this lady who is walking briskly to her car, and she almost catches up to her when she trips over a curb, then grabs the lady's leg and starts pulling her leg, just....like....i'm...pulling.....your......leg.    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA got ya!

the broken key

so hey...i'm on a quick lunch break.  and i thought i'd tell ya about my day off wednesday.  because it's slightly crazy.  me, ashley, corie, and diana had our day off together, so we were like "hey let's go to ocracoke!"  so that morning we ate breakfast at the atlantic coast cafe which is AMAZING and non-expensive and the BOMB place to eat.  it was pretty cold and rainy.  so we drive down to the ferry, and get on the ferry to ocracoke!  woohoo!!

anyways, ashley wants to get her camera out of the car, so i give her the keys and she goes down, and she is SUPER strong and she just breaks the key off the door!  it was incredible!  i've never seen such a massive exhibition of strength and power.  so she came up and showed us the key, and i could not help but just cracking up.  here we are, on a ferry, my car is smack dab in the middle of the ferry going to ocracoke island, where there is no locksmith.  we couldn't get inside the car, and even if we could, we didn't have a key to start it!   my spare key broke about a month ago in SC.  so here we are parked in the middle of the ferry.

after the ferry people moved all the cars from around me, we just stay on the ferry and head back to the hatteras side.  we have pictures documenting this by the way, they should be on facebook soon!  after spending about an hour on the phone, we had a wrecker meet us on the hatteras side to get my car off the boat.  then he pulled it into a parking lot....75 bucks.  we had a locksmith come and just open the door for 20 bucks, so we could get cameras and wallets out.  it's still cold and raining!  ryan came to our rescue, and put down his weedeater and came to pick us up at the ferry.  what a guy.  then, ashley spends about an hour on the phone talking to AAA (she's cool like that) and they tell us they are gonna send a wrecker down there to take my car back to the campground.  so we start heading back, the wrecker called and said we didn't need to be there when we pick it up.  we ate at bubba's b-b-q.  never eat there, ok?  just don't.  they served "new mexican food" and "b-b-q" and it was just weird.  just never eat there.  

a few hours later, my car arrives back at the campground.  this guy used dawn soap detergent to slide my car off of the ramp.  quite humorous.  it was cold and rainy.  that was completely free of charge thanks to AAA!!!!  then, AAA sends a locksmith down to make a totally new key for my car, and so he comes, takes the lock out of my trunk, decodes it, gives me a brand new key plus 2 spares, and AAA covered $170 of the $260 dollar charge.  then we had chapel practice, and then i went to bed.  

at the end of the day i had 1) grown a lot closer to some of the staff, they are absolutely...incredible.  2) i had 2 spare keys for my car, 3) i know never to eat at bubbas, 4) i have about 200 dollars less than i had before my day off, 5) the next day i learned i had direct deposit and God totally took care of finances, 6) i kinda craved a hug from jenny and some ice cream, and 7) it was God that orchestrated my day off.  from beginning to end.  how cool!

we now have 13 summershiners here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hallelujah for days off!  this weekend was absolutely non-stop!  and when i mean nonstop, i don't mean like just kinda nonstop.  i mean literally, i would get out of bed at however early in the morning, and i would go, and go, and go, and i think my longest break for food (lunch or supper) was 20 minutes on saturday night in which i had to call some people and couldn't even eat, and then i would get in at however late at night at go straight to bed, because i had to sleep or else i couldn't get up and start it all over again!  this was my first experience of having an entire weekend in which every actual minute i had to be somewhere, and some minutes, two or three places at once.  i know numbers don't mean anything when it comes to church, but this is activities at a campground we're talking about, so i'll throw some numbers out at ya!

friday night - campfire with s'mores - 225+

saturday - pancake breakfast - served over 300 something pancakes

- free ice cream - went through 200 cones in around 25 minutes

-tie-dye - around 100 people, which is nothing compared to cherokee's 400!  good grief!

-skit show - around 70!  it was the best skit show i've ever been a part of.  these kids are seriously talented, and hilarious.  they are just...funny.  and all the crowd loved them!

sunday - chapel!  we had around 60 or 70 out for chapel too!  

-giant slip - and -slide!  -over 150 people!

-water balloon volleyball!  we had like 30 or 40 people show up to watch or play, and it was actually pretty fun.  i'd only seen it in pictures before, so wasn't real sure about how it was going to work out.

-movie night - TOY STORY!  i stopped counting at 100 people hanging out watching the movie.  i mean how can you NOT show up to watch a free movie on a 70 something foot tall movie screen?!

monday - just as busy, but not as many people at activites because most everyone checked out.  the campground is now pretty much a ghost town.  but we still have people going to activities, and courtney, the assistant AD, is doing great!  she had several people show up for the planned activities today, even though it was a ghost town!  

we will have 13 summershiners here by thursday!  wow.  and what a bunch of crazy kids they are.  i wish i could work with this group for the rest of my life.  we could do construction, or maybe start a mall, or work at belks, or start a summershine fishing business, or make play-doh!  

so...today!  day off.  i was awakened by a phone call from my manager about some paper work that he needed, so i got up and gave him that, then cleaned my house, put the broken A/C unit back together, then me/tiffany/diana/ryan went to see indiana jones, and then we came back and diana made me and tiffany TOASTED PB&J and it was DELICIOUS!   then we all went to lisa's pizzaria with some of the work campers, and then we came back and watched the sunset, and then played catch phrase, and just hung out!  mandi introduced me and ryan to coloring again, and we all sat there and colored.  diana will probably upload some pictures to facebook soon of me and ryan doing backflips with the sunset...they turned out pretttty sweeeet!  and then i talked to jenny for a while, which was lovely!  i really do like that girl.   i think God's got something up His sleeve for us this summer.  as she says..."He's got a pretty big sleeve!"  

AAAH ! TIME!

man!!!  what a week!  so many things to blog about...yet so little time.  Bible study in 20 minutes. what to say, what to say!  i got an a/c unit!  it's not installed yet.  but after this weekend it might get put in somewhere!

the "lead me to the cross" is going really well!  i had ryan tell me tonight that after it's done, this is a song he would listen to.  not because i was his friend, but because "it's really that cool."  that was a pretty amazing moment in my musical career...if there is one that i have.  but yeah, there are now some drum parts in the 2nd chorus.  and i'm doing everything with garageband and the built-in mic on the laptop.  and by the end of the summer, i'm really aiming for perfection.  no parts left where i say "well i probably could have done it better, but i'm tired of trying."  i mean, this is that can be done with garageband and a built in microphone.  i might upload a sneak peek to facebook sometime.  but it's pretty exciting!

the campground however, is super exciting.  starting tomorrow...it's activites everyday for the rest of the summer.  we have around 12 events happening this weekend alone, starting tomorrow night, and we'll have around 25 on a weekly basis.  FUN stuff too...movie nights and tournaments of all sorts and tie-dye and water balloon volleyball and pirate days and super soaker weekends and christmas in july and water balloon EVERYTHING and man, it's started, and it's happening, and it's super cool.  we have 8 summershiners here now....with 2 more coming this weekend...and 3 next week!  WAAAHOOO!  

 i also got national treasure 2 today...i splurged a little and bought a dvd.  also...i bought yellow cheapy crocs.  pretty fanatical about all this yellow stuff!  there is a fly on top of my foot.  and i've tried kicking it off 50 thousand times.  but it keeps coming back.  and i'm too lazy to get up and get a fly swatter, because i'm typing this blog.  and i'm tired of kicking.  i think i'll just let it crawl around.  this is too weird.  ok i just kicked.  and it's back.  ARRGGGGG!!!!    by the way, do you know a pirate's favorite place to eat?  ARRRRRBY'S!   tell you what!

the staff here is full of energy and ideas and surprises!  but i do miss my family.  i get to talk to jenny pretty much everyday for about 5 or 10 minutes, but i don't get that much time to talk with my family a lot.  but GUESS WHAT?!?!?  THEY HAVE A BLOG NOW!!!!!  so now that you're done reading this...go check it out!

brankfamily.blogspot.com

LUUUNNCCHH TIMEEE!!!!

howdyyy folks!    things are going GREAT here!  of course...there are like...20 campers right now.  but let me tell you, business here runs amazing without many campers.  ok so things really are going great, we've got a lot more people rolling in this weekend, with a super cool line up of activities including more bonfires and s'mores, mini-golf tournament, the NEW super huge inflatable slip-and-slide which we'll have up and running for a bit, we're showing the Jungle Book (old school) on the massive screen, and chapel sunday morning.  and tomorrow...3 more summershiners come in!  WOOHOOO!!!  this is the LAST day that the guy summershiners will outnumber the girl summershiners.  for the rest of the summer.  (gasp.)

don't you just love the jobs where you get a ton of stuff done, your days are packed, and you feel like you're actually accomplishing something?  yeah, i love this.  tonight's Bible study is on Ephesians 4, and how we imitate what God does, and how mostly what God does is love us.  

also...no more two hand tag football!  we got FLAGS!!!!  booyah!  and towels to play water balloon volleyball, and a new volleyball net!!!!  yellow!!!  the last volleyball net lasted through 4 or 5 hurricanes and 3 years worth of major storms and nor'easters!  i've really got high hopes for this one, i mean, i've never even put up a volleyball net before, so we'll see how the knots hold, but this one looks good.  i've glanced over at it several times today and thought "man, if i was bored, seeing that good looking net would could turn me into a volleyball player.  like my sister."  these mosquitos are really getting me.  only ONE MORE WEEK until it's activities everyday for the rest of the summer, and it's gonna be ridiculously cool.  i mean, you should come.  seriously.  right now.  just come.  or, you could seriously, right now, pray for us.  because as cool as this summer's gonna be, one can only handle so much coolness before a partial burnout, so we need prayers for constant strength, energy, and encouragement straight from the Source and the Creator of strength, energy, and encouragement.  you guys are the bomb, thanks for reading!