Coƒƒee §wirls & Velvét Cake ƒor You*
[Sunday, June 25]
week 4. ~galore.
harris, nick, ethan, mclane and jack all bought bibles from the souvenir shop.
because they'd asked me. because they wanted to.
not a toy. not a tshirt. a bible.
they're 6. mclane is 5 and a half.
at this time last sunday i was depressed coz i was going to have junior camp for what was last week. i got in monday morning and found out that not only was i going to be located in a windowless room as junior campers are assigned, but also i had boys. for the first time ever.
let me just say it was one of my most favourite weeks ever.
my boys understand the difference between joy and happiness. they know who Paul is and what he went through. they know he wrote to philippians. they know that the philippians were from a place called philippi. where are they from? no harris not philippia, philippi. they know the formula for joy. they know John 15:11 faster than i can write it at full speed. they know what the Holy Spirit is and what His role in us is.
on wednesday, we were in bible time and i was using what God gave me, drawing out the story on the board. (it helps them remember.) i was saying something about how God in us, as the Holy Spirit gives us the super powers to banish the joy-stealers. (how many are they? 4! that's right! and what's number 1? circumstances! 2? people! you got it! even we can be joy stealers sometimes when we say things to make people upset... what's 3? things! gooood, and the last one? .... begins with a w. .... worldly! nooo, worldy is what all these things are... wuh... wuh... woorrrr..... wordly! noooo silly! (tickle) worrreeeee worrying! yeeeeeees!) i can't remember exactly coz it never feels like i'm talking in bible time. but i paused for a moment and then remembered something key that would defeat the purpose of camp if i failed to mention it. "but boys, the thing is you have to ask God for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart." i hadn't even said the 't' in heart when harris propped up in his chair with his hand raised and the brightest face i've ever seen and shouted "i just asked Him!" i stood there staring at him. he was ahead of me. and my heart soared and celebrated. the way he said it was genuine... joyyy filled me up. i didn't have time to celebrate with him because the others started piping in in the silent gap i'd made "i did too!" "i always ask him!" "i asked him a million billion times!"...
the next day, the thursday it always is, was the gospel itself. jesus dying on the cross to make a way to heaven for us because we are sinners. i wrote romans 6:23 on the board and we began to break it down and i began drawing.
they took it in and decided they wanted bibles when we went to the canteen on friday.
on friday i found out i was going to be pulled out for the hour of canteen to train for being sound and lights tech next week. i was eager to find out if they would get them or not. our paths crossed in the reception and they ran up to me waving their bibles in the air. i picked nick up, as he's my piggy back rider, and looked around as they all tried to show me what they got.
little mclane came up to me within the minute we had before going to the big assembly and asked me where john 15:11 was. he held up his bible to me and i decided assembly could wait a bit longer. i crouched by him and saw that he'd already opened, on his own, to john 15. the verse numbers were a little too small. i counted with him. 'if this is 8, 9, 10...." he read it aloud, quickly, because he knew it by heart.
"ok boys, get your ribbons, and line up at the door!" they insisted on taking their bibles.
mclane sat on my lap in big assembly, and nick sat next to me. everytime i looked at mclane, he was opening back to the verse. so i pulled out a pencil and told him to circle it. he did so, and in the margin i wrote the date for him and a little note. i didn't write my name, though i wanted to.
nick turned to john 15 but couldn't find 11. i told him "here's 8, here's 9..." he sat there in the oversized seat, his finger tracing the lines... he went right past 11, and i was about to speak when he said, "here!".... he had recognized the words.
i know why i was given junior camp. i know why boys. i know why i'm a counselor.
harris became God's and he and the others bought His letter to them.
i always wonder if i'll meet them again. much further in the future.
because they'd asked me. because they wanted to.
not a toy. not a tshirt. a bible.
they're 6. mclane is 5 and a half.
at this time last sunday i was depressed coz i was going to have junior camp for what was last week. i got in monday morning and found out that not only was i going to be located in a windowless room as junior campers are assigned, but also i had boys. for the first time ever.
let me just say it was one of my most favourite weeks ever.
my boys understand the difference between joy and happiness. they know who Paul is and what he went through. they know he wrote to philippians. they know that the philippians were from a place called philippi. where are they from? no harris not philippia, philippi. they know the formula for joy. they know John 15:11 faster than i can write it at full speed. they know what the Holy Spirit is and what His role in us is.
on wednesday, we were in bible time and i was using what God gave me, drawing out the story on the board. (it helps them remember.) i was saying something about how God in us, as the Holy Spirit gives us the super powers to banish the joy-stealers. (how many are they? 4! that's right! and what's number 1? circumstances! 2? people! you got it! even we can be joy stealers sometimes when we say things to make people upset... what's 3? things! gooood, and the last one? .... begins with a w. .... worldly! nooo, worldy is what all these things are... wuh... wuh... woorrrr..... wordly! noooo silly! (tickle) worrreeeee worrying! yeeeeeees!) i can't remember exactly coz it never feels like i'm talking in bible time. but i paused for a moment and then remembered something key that would defeat the purpose of camp if i failed to mention it. "but boys, the thing is you have to ask God for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart." i hadn't even said the 't' in heart when harris propped up in his chair with his hand raised and the brightest face i've ever seen and shouted "i just asked Him!" i stood there staring at him. he was ahead of me. and my heart soared and celebrated. the way he said it was genuine... joyyy filled me up. i didn't have time to celebrate with him because the others started piping in in the silent gap i'd made "i did too!" "i always ask him!" "i asked him a million billion times!"...
the next day, the thursday it always is, was the gospel itself. jesus dying on the cross to make a way to heaven for us because we are sinners. i wrote romans 6:23 on the board and we began to break it down and i began drawing.
they took it in and decided they wanted bibles when we went to the canteen on friday.
on friday i found out i was going to be pulled out for the hour of canteen to train for being sound and lights tech next week. i was eager to find out if they would get them or not. our paths crossed in the reception and they ran up to me waving their bibles in the air. i picked nick up, as he's my piggy back rider, and looked around as they all tried to show me what they got.
little mclane came up to me within the minute we had before going to the big assembly and asked me where john 15:11 was. he held up his bible to me and i decided assembly could wait a bit longer. i crouched by him and saw that he'd already opened, on his own, to john 15. the verse numbers were a little too small. i counted with him. 'if this is 8, 9, 10...." he read it aloud, quickly, because he knew it by heart.
"ok boys, get your ribbons, and line up at the door!" they insisted on taking their bibles.
mclane sat on my lap in big assembly, and nick sat next to me. everytime i looked at mclane, he was opening back to the verse. so i pulled out a pencil and told him to circle it. he did so, and in the margin i wrote the date for him and a little note. i didn't write my name, though i wanted to.
nick turned to john 15 but couldn't find 11. i told him "here's 8, here's 9..." he sat there in the oversized seat, his finger tracing the lines... he went right past 11, and i was about to speak when he said, "here!".... he had recognized the words.
i know why i was given junior camp. i know why boys. i know why i'm a counselor.
harris became God's and he and the others bought His letter to them.
i always wonder if i'll meet them again. much further in the future.
~~~~~
tuesday night we had a photo scavenger hunt. each covenant group got together and we went around town snapping photos and getting people to let us do stuff. it was fun in that we got to see who'd do what, to what extent, and what we could make out of things...
thursday night my group went out for a mexican lunch. we had a lot of laughs, and we got to see sides of people we hadn't seen before, which encouraged me in many ways. i personally don't like to be a leader. even if i qualify. i still like to be led, and just be a really good assistant to the leader.
mum and mark had gone up to a city called rome in northern georgia. they were going to his orientation at berry, which is the college i fell in love with and wanted to go to when i was still in high school in turkey.. funny how life plays out. but they had left thurs morning and wouldn't return till fri night.
i woke 8. the others in the room were sleeping and i knew some had gone out to run, so i got out of the bottom bunk, grabbed my bible and creeped to the balcony. i sat there enjoying the peace. the sun rising up. the water. i realized how much i'd missed water fronts. i love being by them.
after pancakes, we got on the boat again and did a little more wakeboarding till we found out the guys had arrived. we met up with them, and they immediately went out for some tubing. two girls took out the jet ski, and the last girl and i grabbed a lilo, and jumped in for some floating conversation.
soon later i got a jet ski ride with caitlin and we had a blast. she drove and i enjoyed. we caught a lot of air, and at one point, after making our own whirlpool, (round n round n round) the jet ski jerked and we tilted to the left, surely believing we'd fall in. hehehehe... it was hilarious: we fell in to the left. we came up easy (i love lifevests) and cracked up for a while at what'd just happened. after lunch, we went tubing. i had been worn out and wouldn't have minded not doing anything of the sort (i remembered how much i got out of it last year) but i ended up doing couple of rounds. it was fun, and both times i came off were easy slides off. certainly not like the air-soaring head-over-heels wave-crashing that some of the guys got. for the most part, if i was on the boat, i was taking photos. (with other people's cameras) (gr).
laying in the sun, snacks, chitchat, floating... the sun came down and we packed and head back south.
i met up with the family and ella's house. she was asleep but i saw my cousins who were in from florida. by the time we left, the thunderstorm that should have been there all saturday finally came in. and i mean thunderstorm. blinding lightning and downpours of rain (which is only now starting to wear out) continued as i hit the hay, aching and sunburnt, and fell asleep.
thursday night my group went out for a mexican lunch. we had a lot of laughs, and we got to see sides of people we hadn't seen before, which encouraged me in many ways. i personally don't like to be a leader. even if i qualify. i still like to be led, and just be a really good assistant to the leader.
mum and mark had gone up to a city called rome in northern georgia. they were going to his orientation at berry, which is the college i fell in love with and wanted to go to when i was still in high school in turkey.. funny how life plays out. but they had left thurs morning and wouldn't return till fri night.
~~~~~
friday after work, i joined the rest of the covenant girl leaders to head up to lake burton to sleep over and enjoy some water fun. it was a long trip up in two cars. we'd hit rush hour, so we got there at around 7ish. we'd stopped for zaxby's on the way. so we ate, got into swimsuits, and head out on the boat. couple of the girls tried to wakeboard and they all eventually succeeded. we head back when it got dark, had dinner, and sat on the couch talking till we resigned to much loved sleep.i woke 8. the others in the room were sleeping and i knew some had gone out to run, so i got out of the bottom bunk, grabbed my bible and creeped to the balcony. i sat there enjoying the peace. the sun rising up. the water. i realized how much i'd missed water fronts. i love being by them.
after pancakes, we got on the boat again and did a little more wakeboarding till we found out the guys had arrived. we met up with them, and they immediately went out for some tubing. two girls took out the jet ski, and the last girl and i grabbed a lilo, and jumped in for some floating conversation.
soon later i got a jet ski ride with caitlin and we had a blast. she drove and i enjoyed. we caught a lot of air, and at one point, after making our own whirlpool, (round n round n round) the jet ski jerked and we tilted to the left, surely believing we'd fall in. hehehehe... it was hilarious: we fell in to the left. we came up easy (i love lifevests) and cracked up for a while at what'd just happened. after lunch, we went tubing. i had been worn out and wouldn't have minded not doing anything of the sort (i remembered how much i got out of it last year) but i ended up doing couple of rounds. it was fun, and both times i came off were easy slides off. certainly not like the air-soaring head-over-heels wave-crashing that some of the guys got. for the most part, if i was on the boat, i was taking photos. (with other people's cameras) (gr).
laying in the sun, snacks, chitchat, floating... the sun came down and we packed and head back south.
i met up with the family and ella's house. she was asleep but i saw my cousins who were in from florida. by the time we left, the thunderstorm that should have been there all saturday finally came in. and i mean thunderstorm. blinding lightning and downpours of rain (which is only now starting to wear out) continued as i hit the hay, aching and sunburnt, and fell asleep.
:: {kwoo§hie}* was awake at [4:27 PM]
--::1 lava lamps::--
I just love it that He's right.
He has shown you His work in each of those boys...so that His joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Savor it.
He has shown you His work in each of those boys...so that His joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Savor it.
