Grace Adventures

need I say more? ah, but yes, I think I must.

Where to start? Well, I suppose I will preface this by saying that I'm going to try to get on here more often and write down some thoughts about how Grace has changed, impacted, and shaped my life. With that said, there is also a chance that I might get too frustrated with trying to put things into words and back down on this whole blog thing. So, anyways, that's where I'm at.

Well, for starters, in the top 5 most influential and shaping experiences of my life, I would list my summer at Grace as #1. The environment there is safe, empowering, encouraging, genuine, and well-balanced. The people there are incredible. The God that is behind all of that...wow. That's the best part for me I think, is seeing how great He is as I live life, as I learn, experience, watch, and grow.

Here are a few things that I have learned (there will probably be more later):

-The importance of communication
Wow, so true. If anybody has ever been through leadership journey, they have probably also learned this. As weird and "LJ-ish" as all of the communication stuff may seem, I think I have gained a much different perspective from living in an environment where that is put into practice. Communication is soooooo important! When you think about it, your life is full of communication. In fact, I'm pretty sure that just about anything you do is communicating! Maybe it's with other people, whether verbally or non-verbally. Maybe it's with yourself (self-talk, etc.). Maybe it's communicating with God. Life is FULL of communication. So, what does that imply? We need to communicate well. What does that look like? It looks like a lot of things....however, I will spare you all the details of going through all the little parts of what I learned about communicating well. At least at this point in time. ;)

-The faithfulness of God
This is the part that I have the hardest time describing I think. Or maybe it's just that I want to convey something so much deeper than what I end up saying. In any case, wow has God been good. I have seen His faithfulness in countless, countless situations. I see Him working in the lives of fellow staff members. I see Him working in the lives of campers. I see Him working in my life. I see Him answering prayers. I see Him bringing people to places they had no idea they were going. I see Him pouring out blessing after blessing. His faithfulness was in the rising of the sun. His faithfulness was in the worship pouring out of the heart of a camper. His faithfulness was in the energy that came out of nowhere. His faithfulness was in the encouragement from a friend. His faithfulness was in the constant reminder of His faithfulness. God is. I've found that maybe, for the first time in my life, I'm truly, honestly, ok with just that. Granted, there are moments when I get distracted. But there are also moments when I am so in awe of all that entails that I couldn't imagine wanting more.