Further Up and Further In

I don't have any profound thoughts or particularly poignant self realizations this time so I thought that I'd share some of the interesting anecdotes and snapshots that have happened to me since living and adventuring in Sevilla, Spain. Scavenger hunt photo in our neighborhood, Triana My roommate (she's a junior at Asbury University) and I attempted to explain to our host family what the word "sassy" meant. Elocution in Spanish is fun and challenging! We also tried to explain the significance of Groundhog's Day, definitely a strange American holiday that I don't understand. My host brother (he's 24 years old) and I bonded over a mutual love of Lord of the Rings or El Señor de los Anillos. That was a good night.  Weird foods I have eaten so far include: bull's tail (it's like ox tail Chinese style but not), blood sausage, whole clams/mussels still in the shells, and octopus (yes, I could see the suction cups on the tentacles). Fun coll...

(author's note: this conversation is slightly paraphrased due to an imperfect memory. For context, it was held the day I left for Spain) This is straight-up how I function. No lie. Me: "Do you think anyone is ever ready for something that they're about to do?" Friend: *laughter* (kind, not mean) Me: "Why are you laughing at me?" Him: "That's a very vulnerable question. Indirect but vulnerable. Do you not feel ready?" Me: "No, I don't. But I don't know that I ever have been on any of my adventures." Him: "Our definition of ready usually means being without fear. But if readiness can include fear and anxiety, sometimes a lot of fear and anxiety, then you can be ready. Being ready can be being committed and doing what you know is right and what God has called you to. Being ready is also being prepared for what is to come, not just physically but also emotionally. It depends on how you define 'ready'."...

Communion Christmas morning Bread in the manger and cup on the cross Redemption is a word that we, as Christians, usually associate with Easter not Christmas. But the truth is that Christ came as a baby to redeem us. His birth began the redemption process and it was culminated in His death at Easter. One does not usually think of Christmas as a holiday in need of redemption. But for many of our staff and residents, it does because news flash:  not everyone has good Christmas memories. You're probably like "Well, duh. This world is broken and full of sin. Christmas isn't brimming over with magic and snow globes for everyone." Perhaps not all of your Christmas memories are positive ones. I registered this fact for the first time when I was 13 or 14. I didn't realize that people had Christmases they didn't want to remember. That last Christmas was a sad and lonely time for them as they sat in their homes with only a pizza box for company. That last Chri...

"You were meant to be here and what you do this summer will be enough." My unit leader gave this encouragement to my unit as we began our summer of camp counseling. I had a gut reaction of "that's not true" to the second half of the statement. I knew the first part was true. I had felt a peace about applying to SLS and believed that He had brought me to HoneyRock for this particular summer. His reasons being His own but I had no doubt as to where I was supposed to be. But I realized, sitting on a bench at Black Bear campsite, that I never believed that what I did was enough. I thought in my gap years and since being in college that I had loosened up on my perfectionistic tendencies. I knew I still possessed them but I thought they weren't as strong as they used to be. I gauged this by the fact that I didn't go crazy if every project or task that I completed wasn't done "just right". I knew that I wasn't going to do things perfect...

The ever-present digital clock in the lobby winks at a boy and a girl as the minutes flip by. Standing there discussing conflict styles, family backgrounds, stories from the past, social justice and who knows what more. Just two students on a Christian liberal arts college campus talking about life and sharing story on a Thursday night. Few of the passing students give them a second glance as they stand in front of the lobby doors. Eventually, the girl asks, "Why? Why should I care? What difference does it make?" Frustration and questions bubble from her lips. She doesn't think that it isn't important to try to make wrongs right but wonders at her apathy towards working for justice in the world. She doesn't feel strongly about it and is often ashamed that she does not care much about this or that prevalent social issue in today's global society. "I am just one person and this issue will not likely be solved in my lifetime nor perhaps in many to come. What...

I've just embarked on my junior year so even though I have a year and a half of college to go I think I can still safely stand by my post title. The class I'm referring to is entitled, "The Neurobiology of Stress".  You may be laughing already and that's totally okay. It is an upper level biology class that I am taking to satisfy part of my science gen-ed requirement. The subject material is fascinating though I admit to being a little lost in the details of how the systems work since it's been 5 to 6 years since I took biology in high school. But the irony of my current state of life and the subject material of this class is too much for me. In most situations, you can choose to laugh or cry and I usually prefer to laugh as seen through all of the pictures I have chosen for this post. Nobody told me how stressful junior year would be. And maybe it isn't actually, it's just mine in particular. But I've been at a fairly high stress level since...

Finally, the classic after-you've-been-a-camp-counselor blog post. This list was compiled by myself and my wonderful SLS friends from this summer. I tried to whittle it down to the best and most hilarious. May you chuckle over it and resonate with it, especially if you have ever been a camp counselor. Paint fight you are clean for about 2.5 seconds after getting out of the shower your feet are never clean. Never. having a paint war sounds like the best idea in the world you count jumping in the lake as a close second to actually taking a shower getting up at 6:45am is "sleeping in" you are constantly counting your campers but can never come up with the number you are supposed to have (this was me all summer, not kidding) you have camp songs stuck in your head ALL the time you realize that you outpace your campers in about 5 steps you wear the same 5 outfits for 2 weeks straight you repeat yourself over and over again because there is always one kid who isn...