Redeemed

Hello, I hope this finds you well.  It has been a fairly busy summer for me since I began work at Camp Oak Hills this June.  I have really enjoyed working as a kitchen assistant at the camp.  We have had a few weeks of campers now.  There is a lot of work to be done and it can be a challenge to finish our tasks. We have gotten a few volunteers that come in to help serve.  They help in many areas at the camp including our kitchen.  This helps relieve some of the crunch-time stress before meals.  I can end up being someone that worries a lot.  I will be worried about having enough noodles or just trying to keep up with things.  It is these small things that end up stressing me out.  I have to be reminded to take a break. I ended up injuring my knee one day on accident.  I went in for it but I kept hoping it would get better with time.  I did need to go in again and the MRI showed I had a tear in my knee cartilage.  If...

Just Wishing... I wish that I could pour healing words into you, reaching to the bottom of your soul. Like a cup of warm cocoa on a cold winter's day, the warmth goes in your belly and straight down to your toes. I wish I could cover you in love like a grandmother's quilt keeping you safe and warm at night— like a caring embrace, that takes away the shivers. I want to take away the aching pain that naws at your weary soul. I want to wipe away the tears that you hide and soothe those wounds that cut so deep inside. I have a mothering heart, it hurts to see the pain I cannot mend. I don't want to look away, I don't want to act like all is well and play pretend. I see your hurt, I see your heart, and I want you to know that you are loved. If it's all I have to give, it's this knowledge from above, that God sees it all and God feels it too. This is the way that I can feel for you. I pray that y...

          This poem is kind of an accumulation of things I am grieving for and how I feel.  I like to think that it's okay to express emotions like the psalms.  I am also stressing about a paper, so this was a short break.  I have been struggling with pain from the past.  Sometimes I don't understand why people hurt others so much, but most of the time I don't think that they mean to do so.  We all learn to cope in different ways.  Some ways are VERY unhealthy. . . I have learned through good and bad experiences.  Thank you to God who carries me through.   Heartsick . . . When you love someone so much, that it drips out of your soul, When you love someone so much, and when they leave it makes a hole, When you love someone so much, that you are torn like fluttering ribbons, what is one to do? When you love until it hurts, because you hurt for their hurts, When you love until you are sore,...

Hello, Life has been busy lately, as it never does seem to slow down.  There are times when I need to step back and deflate a little bit.  Time to think and process.  This is one of those times. This year is going by so fast.  It is my senior year of college at Oak Hills.  It's the cliche of,"the time of your life," but it feels normal.  It has been difficult but very good at the same time.  This truly is a unique season in life to be surrounded by so many peers living in one space, sharing our experience in community.  Each person has their own unique story, but we all share common struggles and joys.   As this season of my life is coming to a close I have been more proactive in being involved with others here.  At times I get so focused on getting things done, homework, etc. that I forget to invest in relationships and even in myself.  I can see how people involved in ministry can become so burnt out.  It's not po...

Greetings, It's been a while.  I do journal a lot, but I haven't blogged lately.  I'm learning that I need to pour out and share about my life.  I may be one small person with a seemingly insignificant life, but I am still able to make a difference.  "Small acts with great love."...Mother Theresa. It's becoming winter in Minnesota, freshly fallen snow outside here which is our trademark.  I'm on the Oak Hills campus where I was cuddled up to the propane fireplace which at least looks real.  I'll take what I can get.  It's pretty nice to go to a school where you can cuddle up by a fireplace in a blanket in a public building.  This place has become my home. I think wherever you go, it becomes part of you and you become part of it.  You never stay the same.  I will always have a little bit of Texas in me with the heat, red dirt, Indian paintbrushes and other beautiful flowers, and all the beautiful friendships I made there.  I t...

Wow.  So today is a good day.  It's Mother's Day!            I'm really realizing how much I need family and I need to have a base and people to be connected with.  A lot of times I'm just trying to help others and do things for that, but I hardly ever let them like pour into me and be like a family or really talk about things.  I think a hard thing about the Honor Academy is learning so much but not really having a place to pour it out.  For example just having people to tell what you are learning and how your day was.  Of course telling those things to God, but even time with God is like being poured into and not you pouring out.  I don't know if this makes sense, but anyway.  I have to learn to "build community" in like being connected with people for real and having a base to jump off of before I think I can go make a big impact on the world.       ...

Life has been a journey lately.  I'm moving towards healing and learning to trust God more.  Pray for me that I will turn to God in the hard times.  I'm written a few songs and poems lately to express myself which has also been healing.   Be Filled Inside You have to be filled from the inside out. External things will never satisfy your soul. Daughter, take a break. Step beyond your own perceptions. Lord turn us from darkness to light. Fill us Holy Spirit with your presence. Bring us new life! We need fresh anointing in our souls! Put your hope in the eternal God. Don't trust in earthly love. Only the God of love can fill you. He will heal your wounded soul, making you whole-- when you turn to him.   Hands of Healing Your hands to hold  reach out and touch me, brushing hair from my eyes, warmth on my cheek. There are hands full of color and clay to paint and create. Mothering hands gently caress ...