faithfulness

I write today after a crazy past 2 weeks.  I took an extended weekend trip to Denver Colorado last weekend.  A dear friend of mine, Molly Gwinner (now Christian), got married last weekend in Loveland, CO and I planned a surprise trip to Colorado for her wedding.  It was a whirlwind of a long weekend.  I left on Wednesday August 10th, travelled for 11 hours via boat, ferry, city bus, skytrain, greyhound to get to my house in Seattle (that was a longer portion of the trip than was expected).  I then flew out to CO on Thursday, Molly got hitched on Friday and then I flew right back to Seattle on Saturday night.  Travel worked out perfectly heading back up north because my lovely family came up to camp this past week, so they picked me up on their way to camp on Sunday morning.  Even though I was exhausted from all of my travels, I am so glad that I was able to be at that wedding, what a blessing it was to be a part of that celebration.  May the LORD do great things through Luke and Molly Christian! 

My summer here at Barnabas is winding down.  We just finished week 8 and are headed on to our last camp of the summer, week 9, starting tomorrow.  I think about this summer and wonder where did it go?  The past 2 and 1/2 months have just flown by for me.  I can hardly believe it is nearly over.  Something that I have been reflecting on recently is God's faithfulness.  

We get our water here at Barnabas from a well system.  Water has always been tight for Barnabas, especially with full camps coming through.  Usually by the beginning to middle of August every summer water is a big concern as everything begins to dry out and it rains less frequently.  Last summer after 2 weeks of camp, at the beginning of July, we were essentially out of water.  Through the LORD's grace roughly $30,000 was raised in less than a week and a new well was drilled the following weekend.  We were blown away by the generosity of the friends of Barnabas for supplying the funds to drill this new well.  The well was drilled and we were supplied with just the right amount of water that we needed.  Not an overflow or excess, but just what we needed.  The LORD was faithful and provided exactly what we needed.   

Two weeks ago I was asking our property manager how the wells were doing and he proudly reported to me that all 3 wells were full.  This news was incredible to me especially given what we went through last year.  Being here a second year in a row I felt that the LORD was allowing me to see His faithfulness and provision for Barnabas.  He gives us just exactly what we need.  David writes in one of his Psalms, "The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." (145:13b).  I truly believe that those words are true for each one of us.  So today may you be reminded of God's faithfulness and His love for you.   

servanthood

This summer I have been blessed with the opportunity to work as an assistant cook at Barnabas Family Ministries in the Howe Sound in beautiful British Columbia. 

We are now well into week 3 here.  Last week was a small camp, only 47 guests, but 47 wonderful guests!  Enjoyed spending some time with a few great teens from my group last year.  This week we have an even smaller camp – 36 guests!  Next week, when we have another full camp (81 guests. 121 total with staff + volunteers) it will be a bit of a shock to the system.  But, we will be ready, willing and excited! :)  

Each morning our staff devotions are done by the speaker who has come to share with the adults for the week.  Last week our speaker was Mark Buchanan.  He is a pastor and author here in B.C.  He spent the week with us staff focusing on servanthood and highlighting John 13, the passage that tells about Jesus washing his disciples' feet.  The first day he did devotions, Monday, he told us a quote, "You will know when you are a servant by how you react when you are treated like one."  This is definitely a big idea to chew on.  I tried to think about how this may look in my own life.  I'm challenged.  

On Friday, the last day of our camp, Mark left us with ideas of total transformation.  He relayed to us Jesus' first and greatest miracle which is found in John 2:1-11, where Jesus turns the water into wine.  Mark discussed how many things over time deteriorate without an outside intervention, such as still water becoming a stagnant swamp.  Wine could be seen in contrast to water – as it ages, it gets better.  With these things in mind we see that Jesus turning the water into wine was an INCREDIBLE miracle, He intervened and completely transformed the water into something that would get better over time.  The servants witnessed this transformation and took the wine to the master of the banquet.  The master of the banquet was very impressed with the wine saying that, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now" (John 2:10).  The master of the banquet was oblivious as to where the wine came from, but it was the servants who saw how it came to be.  The servants, because of their position, knew the power and transformation of Jesus.  I do not do Mark's teaching justice, but I hope that you may learn from what he taught me.  I pray that we all, with servant's hearts, might be able to witness the transforming power of Jesus Christ within our own lives.  May there be a holy and total transformation by walking with Him each day.

It was a great week of learning from Mark each morning.  This was Mark and his family's first time speaking at Barnabas and he actually wrote a blog entry about his week at Barnabas the other day.  I highly encourage you to read his post as he is a phenomenal writer and it will give you a different perspective, than my own, on Barnabas. 

http://markbuchanan.net/blog/             

 

Just finishing up some yummy Pumpkin-Cranberry

Scones with Orange Glaze.

A great group of teens I got to reconnect with this year. 

The stunning view looking NE from Bridgeman's Bluff. 

On a musical side note…just discovered this great artist from PORTLAND.  (Of course I have to go to a different country to discover an artist from my hometown!).  http://joshgarrels.com/  Cheers! 

jumping in

Here goes my attempt at blogging.  I've thought about trying to blog in the past, but haven't put forth the effort.  My blog has been simply created to capture and reflect upon lessons learned on the journey of life.  I have a simple pursuit: to know Jesus.  I want to, daily, stand on holy ground.  And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Exodus 3:5  I want to seek the LORD daily, learning to walk in His likeness.  I wish to find myself by discovering Jesus.  I hope that my thoughts and reflections might be an encouragement to others who are adventuring and journeying through this thing we call life on earth. 

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-8)