Late Night Thinking Spree

It's past 2 in the morning, and I'm feeling wide awake. There's so much going on in my head!

Tonight, I received a folder full of creative notes/cards that my Project students from this summer

made for me! Apparently, Kylan organized it and got as many of our teammates as possible to send in cards and notes of gratitude for Heather and me for leading their Project. Matt Pfaff collected them and gave them to me tonight and every note was just SO encouraging and SOOOO humbling! The way God uses us without our knowing it is kind of unfathomably awesome... isn't it?? (check out my blog from Project here to read stories from Project/meet the team)

Then as I've been bumming on facebook, I've come across pictures of people who were in my life back in my high school/skating days. It's really weird to think about who I was back then, but it's also a fantastic reminder of the work God has done in my life to redeem and save me. It definitely hurts thinking about how I used to live my life, and it hurts even more thinking about the people I knew back then who are still living without the joy and hope I've come to know... but I praise God for His wondrous work of pursuing my heart til He had it, and for the transforming healing He's brought to it.

As I then continued bumming on facebook, I came to this completely separate realization:
I am SO excited about next summer! As far as I can tell, it seems that the Lord is leading me to join full-time staff with CCC, and that means that as long as I get accepted and God doesn't change my path, I'm spending next summer at Rollins College in Orlando, FL, getting trained! I hear it's a pretty phenom experience those 5 weeks. I mean, between getting the frosh dorm/dining hall experience with new staff from around the country, taking sweet seminary classes, and (hopefully) growing close to new people and even closer to the Lord, I'm sure it's gonna be GREAT. ON TOP OF THAT, it's a hop, skip and a jump away from DisneyWorld!
So this

will be happening a lot more! :)

I'd talk about how excited I am about the specific location I feel called to serve at next year as well (especially since I've been googling, google imaging, google maping, and even craigslisting the place this last hour or so), but I haven't even mentioned this stuff in any of my prayer letters yet so this seems an inappropriate way to announce it to my team of ministry partners :)
But that'll all come soon.

I should try to go to bed... But really, I've been soaking in the joy of the encouragement from reading the notes from my Project kids, reflecting on my past and praising God for His saving work as I consider my present, and getting excited about what He has for me next- how can you possibly expect me to be sleepy?? :)

(Having said this, I will probably fall asleep within minutes...seconds?... of when I lay may head down on my pillow. I have QUITE the gift of falling asleep)

Winter "Break"

So we ended our campus semester on Tuesday, December 8. But I've certainly not been "done". Between wrapping up with discipleship guys, taking care of support stuff, doing emcee training for winter conference, and helping prepare a few different aspects of the conference (especially this hip hop dance we're having), it's been pretty busy.

Speaking of Winter Conference, SO EXCITED!!!
I canNOT believe that we (staff) are showing up to San Diego in 9 days and the students show up the day after! Talk about time flying... I'm so beyond excited and honored and nervous and every other emotion about being the emcee too! AAAH! I really just pray that the Lord would use me on stage to bring spiritual focus and direction to the Conference, and that my guiding and transitioning and such would bring the focus onto Him- not to me, not to the speakers, but to HIM.

Also this hiphop dance is gonna be kind of awesome. It's about community, and how when one lives his life all out for Christ, it can be contagious to those around him, when he invites them to live the full-on Spirit-filled life. Thanks to my friend Kristy Pyke and my little bro Jonathan Langley for choreographing! :)

I hope you are all having a great Christmas season, and that, whether you're in a happy and easy season of life, or going through a storm/desert, you are experiencing the inexplicable joy and peace we have because the Creator of the universe willingly became a poor baby boy, born in a stable 2000 years ago (well, He did a ton more than that to bring us that joy and peace, but it all started with the birth).