Hi-Lo-Ha #2

Hi

Saturday night I went with Jimmy, Bethany and Lee to Weatherford, OK (about an hour away from OKC) to visit to Corn Maze! It was Bethany's 23rd birthday!

We were the only group there and we had a blast. We played in the corn for a good hour and a half before finding our way out!

My second "hi" of the week happened last night. We started our Senior High small groups. I've led a middle school girls group the last two years, but this was my first small group time with our high school girls. We had a blast together! After eating dinner at our host home, we sat out on the trampoline and got to know each other a little bit better. We talked about the hi-lo-ha's of our week and shared prayer requests. I'm really looking forward to next week when we make our "talking stick"!

Lo

Friday afternoon I called a good friend from high school, college, and now! We were supposed to get together that night. She told me she wouldn't be able to get together and then shared with me how she had just found out she had a miscarriage in her 11th week. My heart immediately began to hurt for her and her husband. I began to cry for them. There were no words except for, "I am so sorry and I love you." I understand a lot of why God does what he does, but not that. Maybe I'll understand someday...but not today. God, May my friends' tears express what words cannot. Be with them, comfort them, give them peace and understanding that can only come from you.

Ha

Yesterday my Sunday School class had lunch together and then played the game, Battle of the Sexes. I do not recommend it, the guys questions are SO much easier than the girls. Although the guys won twice we had a lot of fun laughing at each other. The girls got a question that read something like this, "Tonto is to The Lone Ranger as Obi-Wan Kenobi is to _____________." First of all, I don't know anything about The Lone Ranger much less Star Wars (it took about 5 minutes on Wikipedia for me to figure out how to even spell Obi-Wan Kenobi). My response to this question was, "well I bet Tonto is The Long Rangers' horse..." then I pretended to ride a horse. So I had the whole girls team trying to figure out which Star Wars character "rode" Obi-Wan Kenobi. The guys were dying laughing and I honestly had no idea why. I am an idiot. It was pretty funny afterwards when the boys told us that Tonto was actually The Lone Rangers' assistant.

Hi-Lo-Ha of my Week

I don't remember when I started asking people their Ha of the day. I think it started at camp with my very first caribou cabin. It's the perfect thing to start anybody talking about their life. You just ask, "What's your Hi-Lo-Ha of the Day?" In case you haven't figured it out yet: Hi-best part of your day, L0-worst part of your day, Ha-funniest thing that happened to you today. Now the best part of Hi-Lo-Ha is that the word 'day' is interchangeable with 'week', 'month', or whatever you choose.

My goal is to start sharing my Hi-Lo-Ha of the week every Monday. My week will include the previous Monday to Sunday (yesterday).

Hi
Monday night I went to dinner with a friend from college, Sarah, who just moved back this summer. It was so great to catch up, hang out and eat some good Mexican food. I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with her!

Friday night I went to the Oklahoma State Fair. It was probably the best time I have ever had at the fair. I went with my friends Brittany and Bethany and we were there from 5:30 to 11:30! We went and sat in all the new cars and trucks and then ate yummy fair food, then saw Hanson perform (yes, I did see Hanson and they were actually really good!)

After the concert, we walked through a bunch on new model homes and then watched some karaoke. The thing about karaoke is that there always seems to be a lot of intoxicated people around. There was a older man sitting in front of us who was completely drunk. He kept leaning back in his chair and then falling forward out of the chair. After his third fall forward, we decided to peace-out before he fell backwards onto us. We ended our night with a batch of fried-Oreos and some footsie-wootsie foot massages.


Church was fabulous yesterday. My Sunday school class is going through an 8-week study of the New Testament. It's only in week 2 and I feel so much smarter already. Yesterday, my table discussed Matthew 1-4 and the identity of Jesus and the response of the people. Good, good stuff! Then I went to church and it was great! We have been going through the book of Philippians, which is my favorite! Pastor David talked about partnership and that Paul never traveled alone because there is power in community. In my notes, I also wrote about the fact that God initiates and we respond. He always goes before us and He will always finish what he starts.

Lo
I was sick earlier in the week with allergies and a sinus infection. I went to the doctor on Monday and got some antibiotics and shot in my hinny. My pills are ginormous and yucky tasting, but only 5 more days of them. I'm definitely feeling better than I was but still not 100%.

Ha
Last night, after a lengthy conversation with Erin about life, love and other mysteries I got off my cell phone and started cleaning my house. I got all of my trash ready to go the to garbage can outside. I had a ton of trash! One bag was full of just the general kitchen trash, another had plastic and paper, and the nastiest bag had old food (curdled milk, spaghetti, old fish, etc.). After I took my trash out to the curb, I went in and got ready for bed. I crawled into my bed when I realized that I didn't have my cell phone which also doubles as my alarm. So I got out of my bed and walked around my house a few times before the thought hit me, "surely I did not throw my phone in the trash". I don't have a home phone so I decided to sign onto Facebook and IM someone who was online to call my cell phone so I could find it. I signed on and Facebook IM was down. So then I signed on to Skype. Jimmy was on! So I call him and explained my situation. He called my phone a couple times as I walked around my house and listened for it. No luck, so at 11:30 at night I take my laptop and my web cam out to the curb and sure enough, John Mayer is singing "I'm just waitin', waitin' for the world to change..." is coming from my trashcan. So I put my laptop and web cam on my car and tell Jimmy that if I get attacked I'll shine my web cam on my attacker so that they can catch him or her. Jimmy reminds me that it's dark outside and he can't even see me. So I open my trashcan and as I gag, I begin to dig through nastiness and finally find my phone. Thankfully, it wasn't covered in much gunk!

One problem with the Hi-Lo-Ha is that sometimes you get thinking about the stuff that has happened to you that week and you can't choose just one. So because I live in a world of indecisiveness, you get more than one Hi this week!

Why I love youth ministry

I love youth ministry because you honestly never know what's going to happen. You don't really know how many students are going to show up, you don't know if the new game will go over well, you don't know if the powerpoint you spent a good hour on is going to work, you don't know how many youth workers will actually show up, you don't know how God is going to use you....the list can go on forever.

I led the middle school service at my church last Wednesday night. I was a little anxious and a little scattered because I was asked just a few hours before we were to begin. I had led the service a couple weeks before and our students had just been crazy, so I was also worried about not getting their attention.

After a crazy, rowdy game, we headed back inside for our prayer time . On the screen, we had past prayer requests that students took turns reading outloud. I was amazed at how focused and respectful our group was. I got up to share about the different ways God has answered the prayers I've prayed, then we started a NOOMA video called OPEN. In this particular video, Rob Bell talks about why we pray and how we pray and how God answers our prayers. It is definitely one of my favorites. The video started and then froze and never unfroze, so I asked our tech people to just pull up the powerpoint of verse, questions, and thoughts that I had made for the students to answer silently at the end of the video. The powerpoint wouldn't pull up either.


(This is when God really started to do his thing!) I asked our students to close their eyes and reflect on the 20 or so questions, verses and statements that I would read a loud. The questions ranged from: Do you pray? to Are you angry with God? to What do you need to be honest with God about? At the end, I gave them 4 oppourtunities to respond. They could sit or kneel in their chair, pray with friends, pray with youth workers, or write their prayers and requests on paper. I was overwhelmed with God's presence as students huddled in groups, holding hands and tear streaming down faces. Students were praying all over the room.

At the end of the night, I gathered over 60 written requests and as I read through them, my heart became so burdened. I KNOW that our kids are going through tough stuff, but to see their middle school handwritting and to read the words that come from their heart makes it more real. I want to hug them and never let go. I want to be their safety net and I want to keep them from the hurts of this world...but I also realize that I can't. We live in a fallen world that is painful, heart-breaking and so very sad. My love is not enough. It doesn't matter how much I love. Trust in God is the key, I need to be more trusting that God is in control. He has given me this incredible oppourtunity to work with His children and as hard as it is at times...I am so thankful.

Faith

I am not one of those people who goes to Starbucks all the time. Although I like the smell of coffee, I don't like coffee. I do like their iced tea lemonades, vanilla bean whatchamacalits, and hot chocolates, so when someone asks if I want something I sometimes take them up on their offer and order one of the items listed above.


This morning, Stefanie came into the office with her daily tall Americano with 6 Splendas and my hot chocolate. As I drank goodness, I read the cup because often that is my favorite part of the Starbucks experience.

Here is what was printed on my cup today:

The Way I See It #58

I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit.

--James Brown, emmy-winning sportscaster and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday



When I was a kid, I had this poster of a kitten holding onto a tree branch for dear life and the poster said, Faith isn't faith until it's all your holding onto. I loved that poster! It's still a good reminder for me today. We can believe in faith but we don't always understand it until we are faced with something that makes us believe! Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." I love that!

Faith has always been the mark of Christians. Without faith, where do we place our hope? I sometimes wonder how non-believers do it. I wonder how they continue without hope in Christ or in faith in God. In good times and bad, I know I can turn to God. I can't imagine not knowing Him.

God, Thank you for the reminder of how powerful and loving you are. May my faith be evident to all. Use me to build up your kingdom and to show others your love, peace, joy, and grace.

Friend of the Day - Andy Morgan

There are countless reasons why I am thankful for Camp Brookwoods and Deer Run. I was defintely blessed to work there for 6 summers and 1 great spring. Camp is my home away from home. It really is my favorite place in the world.

Friends from camp are not really friends, they are much more like family. Even though I don't get to talk to everyone as much as I would like, we always pick back up from where we left off and I LOVE THAT!

Last night was no different. My phone started ringing and I looked at the screen and when I saw that it was Andy Morgan a smile instantly hit my face. I just love Andy! He is genuine and honest and he always laughs at my stories!

We were catching up on life. Then somehow we started talking about "boys" and church. Andy said, "The problem is, most guys today aren't stepping up when it comes to being a leader in the spiritual sense." It was just good to hear a man actually say that. Now, I know that is not the case for all guys because I have met some incredible men grounded in their faith. I just see a lot of guys not doing much at all! They seem to be content where they are and not growing in God. I know so many awesome women of such strong faith, so my question is where are the men that are really on fire for the God?

Paper and post-its and pens....OH MY!

Do you have those things that just make you happy? I definitely do! This morning I came into work and on my desk were new packages of bright paper, bright post-its, and dry erase markers! I love opening new packages and later today I will get giddy as I write on my first new post-it note.

I am also anticipating an arrival of books from Amazon today! Anticipation is killing me. It's not like I don't know what's coming in the box because I ordered the 3 books about youth culture myself. I just can't wait to hold them in my hands instead of see the cover on the website.

Why is new stuff that way? Why does going to Target and filling up my cart with "stuff" make me happy? I know that "stuff" doesn't satisfy. There is always that new iPod, cell phone, tv, book, etc. There are times in my life when I wish I could be a minimalist and live on barely anything. I know some people do that and do it extremely well. I guess I'm just not that dedicated to it. Stuff is temporary, I know that, but a lot of it also makes life on earth a little easier or just more fun. For now, I'll just stay in the middle where I have some cool stuff but not the coolest stuff.

As I have been typing I was reminded of what Matthew wrote: "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

God, May I be intentional about storing up my treasures in heaven and not here on earth...even if it is fun to get new "stuff".

100 things about me

Everything you need to know about me in 100 facts! (Thanks to Mariko! A couple of hers were so good, that I copied!)

1. I have an addiction to bottled water.

2. I love Yankee candles.

3. My favorite color is red.

4. I love tennis shoes, especially when they have some pink in them.

5. I've been in love twice.

6. I had an "accident" on the day of my first piano lesson because I was so excited/nervous.

7. Chinese food is my favorite craving.

8. I love flying in airplanes.

9. Homemade salsa and guacamole are to die for.

10. My least favorite Christmas songs are Mary, Did you know? and The Little Drummer Boy..

11. I wish I was a Gilmore girl.

12. Middle school and high school students rock my world.

13. Living alone is great...most of the time.

14. I like playing games on pogo.com

15. Christian novels are my weakness.

16. I wish Dave Barnes was my best friend.

17. In 6th grade after singing a solo in the school musical, my mom broke the news that singing was not my best talent and I needed to find a new one.

18. I have dislocated a knee over 10 times.

19. Massages and pedicures are my special treat to myself.

20. Camp Brookwoods and Deer Run is my favorite place on earth.

21. I collect crosses.

22. I talk to my dog in falsetto.

23. Roller coasters are so much fun.

24. I get excited about my future.

25. At times, I think I have more compassion on animals than humans.

26. I always thought I'd be a nurse when I grew up.

27. My favorite pens are Papermate Flairs.

28. I want to travel to all 50 states.

29. Love in any language, straight from the heart, pulls us all together never apart.

30. Peanut butter and chocolate combined is irresistible.

31. I hate the feel of newspaper.

32. I wish I could break dance.

33. I hated math in high school.

34. I am a rule follower, when I want to be.

35. Pandora has saved my sanity at work.

36. I have peed outside in a lot of random places with Erin.

37. I want to meet Michael W. Smith like nobody's business.

38. I am a laugh/crier, I laugh and cry at the same time.

39. My secret ambition is to be an undercover "prostitute/drug buyer" cop. Just so I can bust people.

40. OU football is the best!

41. I fall hard for guys who play the guitar.

42. I had a red Camaro convertible, I still miss it.

43. Adopting a child is something I can't wait to do.

44. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I get to see both sides of my family in one day!

45. I am allergic to salt water and I have to take Benadryl when I go to the beach.

46. I almost died in a car accident on my home from a college class retreat.

47. I really enjoy writing papers.

48. One reason I haven't been to Africa yet is because I really don't know if I would ever come home.

49. My favorite book of the Bible is Philippians.

50. I hope I'm never to tied down to have a road trip with girlfriends.

51. Mission trips are the best thing EVER.

52. Snakes better watch themselves because if they come after me, they will be killed.

53. The sweetest thing a guy ever did for me was send me on a scavenger hunt around town that eventually ended up at my favorite restaurant where he was waiting.

54. Someday I want to get all dressed up and go to a ball.

55. Drunk drivers really tick me off.

56. Gerber daisies make me smile.

57. I secretly watch Maury.

58. I know self-defense and I use it whether I need to or not.

59. I've been a bridesmaid 7 times.

60. I love cookouts with my family and friends.

61. Nashville is my favorite city.

62. Injustice hurts my heart.

63. I want a pink electric scooter.

64. Sunday mornings are best at church!

65. The smell of rain makes me relaxed.

66. Doing dishes is my least favorite chore.

67. Hot Cheetos are awesome.

68. I love watch infomercials, but I've never actually ordered anything.

69. My favorite season is fall.

70. Jesus is the answer for the world today, above him there's no other, Jesus is the way.

71. I auditioned for Deal or No Deal and never got called back.

72. Smoothies are my favorite source of fruit servings.

73. Fireworks make me smile.

74. I like to say "Holler" for no apparent reason.

75. I don't enjoy cooking for myself.

76. I drop my cell phone and it falls apart at least 3 times a day.

77. Facebook stalking is what I do.

78. Side hugging is where it's at.

79. I really do enjoy awkward moments.

80. Stuffchristianslike is my all time favorite blog.

81. I remember being in middle school and feeling the OKC bombing in my classroom.

82. The Geico caveman really creeps me out.

83. I only like scrambled eggs when my dad makes them.

84. Drive-In movies are so cool.

85. My mom doesn't like to tell me bad news, so she usually just emails me about bad news.

86. I always wanted an older brother and a younger sister. I just got stuck with a younger brother.

87. I know that romantic comedies are not reality, but I own at least 30.

88. My favorite number is 8 because it's even and divisible by even numbers too.

89. I think jewelry looks dumb on me, so I rarely wear it.

90. Game nights are the best nights because they bring people together.

91. I love restaurants where you throw peanut shells on the floor because it makes me feel like a rebel.

92. I am a people please and I don't like confrontation.

93. The smell of dog treat entice me. I've never tried one, but have been tempted.

94. Dove chocolate is good stuff because of the chocolate and because of the wrappers.

95. My dream is to have a vacation home on a big lake.

96. I was taken to juvenile hall with 2 friends when I was 15 for being out past curfew. I had to clean out bird cages at a nursing home for community service and then realized I was allergic to birds.

97. I miss dorm life, those are some of my best memories!

98. I have to take a shower and wash my hair every morning or I feel gross all day long.

99. Spending time with God gives me peace.

100. I believe Wi-Fi is one of the greatest inventions of all time.

Moments with Michael

For those of you who really know me, you know that I have a little love...ok a huge love for Michael W. Smith. The first time I saw him I was in 6th grade and he was performing at a church in Moore, OK. That is when I really fell for him. :)

Since then, I've seen him all but once when he was in town. I regret that one time...I was in high school and my boyfriend at the time wanted me to come to his football game, so I did. We broke up the next week, I missed out on Michael for that...UGH!

Anyway, Michael and Steven Curtis Chapman are coming to Tulsa in October and I am estatic. Everyone just laughs at me when I tell them that I bought 2 tickets. I don't care! I am going and someone will come with me...even if it is just to make fun of me. Whatever...I'll see Michael and it will be A to the wesome.

Just yesterday I found out that Michael might be coming to MY church for our 100th year anniversary in October 2009! You know I would just die! How great would that be! It may be my big chance to meet Michael. I know I'm a little crazy, but friends are friends forever if the Lord's the lord of them right?

Getting Smarter Soon!

I've been thinking about going back to school to get my Masters since before I finished my Bachelors. I needed some time to really figure out what exactly I wanted to be doing and ultimately what God wanted me to do.

Since I started directing Life Hurts God Heals (the 8-step program for students), God has just continued to confirm in me the desire to do counseling. I've looked at several programs at different univerisities and seminaries over the past few months. I am actually meeting with an advisor at Oklahoma City University on Thursday. OCU is a private university that is affliated with the United Methodist church, but is not necessarily a "christian" university. I'm not really sure how that all works, but I feel really good about the school. I have a lot of questions and I'm not really sure how long it will take or what I need to do to get accpeted, but I'm starting the process.

What I ultimately want to do is child and adolescent counseling in a "play" setting. What I've found working with students at my church is that students hate just sitting one-on-one and talking about their "ish". But when you get them playing foosball, ping-pong, cooking, etc, THEY TALK! It really is incredible. I am shocked everytime. I know students that open up more at LHGH after 2 visits than after months or even years of counseling.

I'm looking forward to this next adventure in my life. I know that it is definitely God led and that makes it that much more exciting!