Keep Calm AND Camp On

Hello Friends,
Tomorrow I embark on yet another adventure.  One that is familiar to me, but still I sit with a mix of anticipation, anxiety, sadness, excitement, etc.  I love home like nobody's business - I especially have appreciated home in the past week or so, because of the finality of this season that I am in.  I am a graduate of Northwestern College (soon to be The University of Northwestern - St. Paul).  I have a degree in Elementary Education, a minor in bible and an emphasis in special education.  Of course going off to college meant leaving the season of being a kid to a certain extent, but for most of us there was still some "kid like moments" we have been able to experience.  Care packages, long breaks home, parents paying for gas, groceries once in a while and other things we just forgot we needed.
In April I began to think about this season of college being done.  To be a bit more honest I began to feel all that there is to feel about graduating.  Mostly, I realized that graduating college means that I am OFFICIALLY an adult. Being at home for a while - I wanted to soak it all up.  But there is much of me that wanted to hold on to the actual place of home, because home symbolizes being a kid.  The truth is that I am no longer a kid.  A wise woman once said, "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22," and I couldn't agree with her more.  22 definitely means adulthood.  Graduating and being home brought this feeling of finality.
And now, I have left home again.  This time with the feeling of unknown for what happens after camp, and a longing to have more of home.  Nevertheless I have a peace about going back to a place that brings me so much peace.  While I'm at camp I will need to look for jobs, apply for jobs, maybe interview at schools if possible.  And all of that has produced some anxiety.
The more I look at that poster "Keep Calm and Camp On." the more I believe that's so true. I am going to keep calm: trust God with my future, trust him that he is my stability, my home, my father and camp on: serve others, take in the beautiful landscape of camp, invest in relationship and simply BE in the present where He has so generously placed me.

Like last summer I would love to write a little about each church we go to.  These opportunities we get to experience are filled with such rich blessings and I don't think it would be fair to keep them to myself.  If you're interested in keeping track of my journey I will try my best to be faithful in writing a post about each church we attend.

Please be praying for the churches, host families, campers, and counselors.  That we would have good communication between churches.  That we would be so grateful to the host families and show them Jesus and experience who Jesus is to them.  That the campers would come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and that he counselors would be strengthened to serve the campers in every situation: only through the strength of Jesus Christ.

He IS our example of servent leadership.

Keep Calm and Camp On,
Jamie

Graduation

On March 13th I wrote the following:

"I think that when college graduation comes around, grad. candidates feel pressure to keep moving in a pressure-filled way.  I know that I do.  There's this unspoken rule that one needs to accomplish something just as great, if not greater, than the four years of studying at a college.  So doing something that would seem to fit into the "college years" category doesn't satisfy.  So many of my good friends have told me that life after graduation is very hard.  I wonder if that pressure to fulfill all the dreams one had in college once they graduate has made that season of life hard.  I'm unsure, and really it could be a number of things that make it hard.

Life after graduation doesn't need to look a certain way.  It just gets to be what it is, and dreams get to be dreams.  They get to be pursued without pressure.  Passions get to be ignited in unexpected and expected ways.  Desires get to be fulfilled, yet not.  In the midst of it ALL, God is still God and is always good."

 

Life after graduation doesn't need to look a certain way.  I need to hear those words again.  If you are at this same season in life, or a season of unknown maybe these words are helpful to you too.  I graduated College...woah.  I'm working at Trout again this summer and after that...I don't know.  One thing I do know is that God knows.  It's been my simple prayer over these past couple months: God Knows.  

God is good & He loves me

Over the past 4 years I have experienced so much.  There have been joyful times and times of great despair. In the aftermath of it all I find myself more thankful for the painful seasons of life as a college student, because I have walked through the fire and come out refined.  (hopefully not burnt and smelly...)  Not for a moment did He forsake me (Meridith Andrews, I kinda stole your song lyrics).  There was always a purpose and it was always for my good.  Even if it was painful.  My 4 years at Northwestern College (soon to be The University of Northwestern - St. Paul) have been beautiful.  Beautiful describes the season of life rightly.  I went through periods of depression and anxiety.  I experienced deep healing of my soul.  I was in a wonderful, hard and serious relationship that taught me so much about life and love.  I had the opportunity to be an RA my sophomore year.  I was able to serve the girls in my hall to the best of my ability as a sophomore juggling a relationship and education classes could.  I taught 3rd graders, 5th graders, kindergarteners and most of all my lovely 4th grade students who got 14 weeks with me (lucky them ;)).   I lived on my own, paid rent and worked at a restaurant in order to pay the bills.  One of my most favorite times during this 4 year experience was being a day camps coordinator at Trout Lake Camps.  It was exactly what I needed.  Not because all my wants were met.  No, because this is when I truly began to learn how to put my desires to the side and love others.  I am so grateful to God for blessing me with that experience.  The friendships I made that summer were such a blessing.  Some of my closests friends in my life as of now are from camp.  As I reflect I think about the summer before I came to Northwestern.  All my fears, concerns and questions.  Now, according to my app (t-zero), I have 4 days and 13 hours until I graduate.  I was so afraid, and I had no idea that God had showers of blessings to poor upon me.  Now more than ever I see His goodness and grace.  I see how these last 4 years have changed who I am positively.  I believe I see the Lord differently and the way I view the world has changed.  Fear doesn't mark me, but as I walk through each day I fight for love to be the tape that plays in my brain.  My passion for teaching has come alive and there is nothing that I'd rather do.  Nothing.  My heart feels open to loving students and pouring myself out to them.  I hope that as I walk that stage and get my diploma, and walk out the doors of Maranatha Hall that I may walk away knowing two things: God is good and He always loves me.  Those two lessons are what I carry with me from my 4 years at Northwestern.  From that I am more open to saying "thy will be done."

God is good & He loves me.