So yes, it is almost September! I can't believe it. Michael and I have been planning and praying for the new school year. I am very excited to see the students again. Summer was crazy busy but a lot of fun. It started with Summit and launched immediately into a month of fundraising with the other staff in Oregon. We gathered at an apartment complex four days a week to pray, work, and learn about support raising. Here is a picture. Note the awesome table that Birch built for us to use.
Very early on in this experience I felt something significant happen to me. I realized that by not putting in the work of fund development and getting fully funded, I was treating this work like less that it was. That isn't ok. Being on staff with IVCF is an honor and we get to be there to help college students make life-changing decisions to follow Jesus. That is worth getting funded for. So I decided to up my budget to more accurately reflect the truth of the work I am a part of.
I then went on vacation with my mom and sister to the east coast (New York, Connecticut, and Boston). I loved it. New York is my new favorite city. Here is a picture of me in front of 30 Rock.
Not much to say about that trip other than it was a blast and we ate some GOOD food.
Then I went to St. Louis to visit my awesome and wonderful girlfriend, Andrea. Here is a picture of that.
Notice how neither of us are wearing Cardinals gear. Oh well! Did I mention that she is awesome?
And now Mike and I are in full swing planning mode. We have a pre-school retreat to plan, Bible Studies, Leaders' meetings, Awakes and more. It is a bit overwhelming but we are getting it done. Check the sidebar for things we would love prayer for.
A Reflection:
Summer is often a hard time for students. It is hard for me too. During the school year we have a strong sense of purpose and community. In the summer, those things often disappear leaving us wondering what to do with our lives until September comes. For a lot of people, this means falling back into bad habits and making poor lifestyle choices. I have often seen students come back feeling guilty about the summer and not sure if they are worthy to lead in the coming year. I know how they feel.
I recently read the story in Genesis 12 where Abram goes into Egypt due to a famine. Afraid that Pharaoh will see his wife and want her for himself(which will mean Abram is most likely going to get iced), he pretends they are siblings and then sells his wife to Pharaoh for a nice price.
Gross. How did Sarai feel about this I wonder?
Abram made a terrible choice. It showed a lack of trust in God's ability to come through on his promise.
But the strange thing about this (and a bit disturbing as well) is that God doesn't punish Abram. He doesn't revoke the promise. In fact, Pharaoh is punished for stealing Abram's wife. That doesn't make a lot of sense but there it is.
Maybe what we are to learn from this story is that God is going to be faithful to his promises. We can't by our own failure ruin them. He is committed to Abram no matter what.
Regardless of what the students did or didn't do this summer, God still wants to use them to reach this campus. He still loves them and is still inviting them to join in the good work of waking this campus up.
Why? That is a great question. I think it has something to do with his ridiculous grace and mercy.
And we will never get to a point where we don't need to depend on his ridiculous grace and mercy.
So welcome back students. It is a new year!
