Glimpse into my first 2 weeks...

If these pictures don't do it justice, I'll go ahead and tell you...I'm loving this place. The people are great, and more importantly, I'm learning a ton. My computer is JACKED up right now, so I apologize for the delay in posts (if anyone even reads this)! Just a bit of a glimpse into my first two weeks in Shady B...more depth to follow soon!

Some of my new friends at Skate World!!

Laine and I at the Homecoming Dance...yes, that's a sequince(sp?) shirt!

Spotted at the Branson Landing...couldn't resist this picture!

$5 Tacky Formal...I got to spin...check that off my bucket list!

All the girls before our dance party....theme $5 Tacky Formal...It's a constant date party at this place, and I love it!

Branson High School Homecoming Football game...Whiteout Willard!

Alot of dancing thus far...right up my alley...Salsa dancing lessons!

Who will you serve?

On Thursday, I spent three hours sorting through the junk in my life and getting right before the Lord. I don’t even know exactly what getting right before the Lord means, but I simply rolled with it and asked myself a ton of tough questions backed with Scripture and deeply examined my life. The truth of the matter is that the Institute staff can ask me to focus, to learn and to check my heart as I am beginning this journey, but it means nothing unless I choose to focus, choose to learn and choose to examine my heart before the Lord. So, I chose to take our assignment seriously and really let it change my heart rather than simply going through the motions, and my prayer is that I will choose to learn, seek and change daily from here on out. The way we live our lives is a choice: a daily one. Who will we serve? “…Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15. I pray that I will choose to serve the Lord daily, and I hope that you will as well.

We were given a packet that went through a series of topics and within each topic was a group of questions. It would have been easy to half-heartedly answer the questions, but I truly tried to answer honestly. I’d like to pose a few of the questions to you. Taking them seriously or not is up to you, but do with these what you will:

-How does grace affect the way you live? Ephesians 2:8-9 (What is the actual definition of grace?) I love how verse 10 goes on to talk about the good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. We are not saved by works at all, but works accompany our salvation because of our heart change. If I’m honest, often times, grace doesn’t affect my life. I take it for granted all the time when in reality it is the greatest gift of all.

-What are your top 10 priorities? WOW…convicting. Where do you spend your time because I know I waste a ton of mine? Go back through and write what you want your priorities to look like and actively pursue changing them. Matthew 6:33.

-Are you struggling with anything that no one can see but you?

-Are you treating your body as God’s temple? Do you eat right? Get enough sleep and exercise? Are you being self-disciplined? Do you need to be dressed up to feel good about yourself? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

-Do you love the present world more than you love the eternal things that belong to God? Colossians 3:2, 2 Corinthians 4:18

-Do you find yourself so busy that you don’t have adequate time to meet with the Lord daily? How do you need to adjust your priorities in order to accommodate God? I need to wake up earlier, but in order to do that I need to start by going to bed earlier.

-Are you careful with the things you say with your mouth? Are you sarcastic? Ephesians 4:29 I think I possess the spiritual gift of sarcasm, so this is definitely one I need to keep an eye on!

-How do you respond to correction or criticism? Romans 13:1-5

-Have you committed each member of your family in prayer to the Lord daily?

-Is there anything that you need to confess before the Lord? Proverbs 28:13

I was challenged. I hope that you are as well. But remember: it’s a choice as to whom we will serve each day.

On a lighter note, I’ve LOVED my first week here. We’ve played softball and flag football, had a costume skating party, learned to Salsa dance and then had a huge dance party, seen the Chinese Acrobats and gone on a scavenger hunt through Branson. We’re in the process of hearing one another’s stories about how we came to know the Lord and how in the world we ended up in Shady B. We are building community and unity daily. I’ve met some solid people and look forward to becoming friends rather than acquaintances. Most importantly and the most exciting, the Lord is already teaching and challenging me, and I’ve only been here for a week. Tomorrow begins the search of finding a new church home. Here’s to week one of the Institute!

Next Life Stage...Living Riskily!

Last weekend I attended my beloved Cowboys football game against the Georgia Bulldogs. While the football game was fantastic (this weekend with Houston was a little bit of a different story), I found myself observing the crowd during all the media timeouts. What a great place to people watch I might add. When did OSU become a dress wearing football school?! Everywhere I turned, there were girls in some variation of black, white and orange dresses. I felt like I was in the South…maybe at Auburn, Weagle, Weagle…where for whatever reason, girls wear dresses regularly to football games. I actually enjoyed the fact that dresses have become commonplace at OSU football games, but ladies, do me a favor…don’t wear the same dress as your best friend. Let’s strive for some individuality in our wardrobe…rock the dress, but find one that every other girl on campus doesn’t have. Looking forward to rocking a dress to the next game I attend as an alumna!

Now, you may ask, why does the wardrobe of OSU female students have anything to do with your blog? Well, when I got home, I started packing for the Institute and realized how much stuff I have. The amount of “stuff” that I have is RIDICULOUS. I began to process how much emphasis I place on material things. I spent as much time observing stupid dresses as I did watching a Big 12 team, my alma mater, defeat a great SEC team. Who does that? Yes, I want to dress cute. Yes, I want to have nice things. But, does looking cute and having “things” really matter in the scheme of life? The dresses at OSU allowed me to see how much importance I place on “things.” I still over packed for the Institute, let’s be honest. I still place WAY too much value on clothes and shoes, but I’m learning little by little.

Last Sunday, I think I got to hear one of the best, at least one of my favorite, messages that I’ve heard at church in a while. More than anything, I think that the message met me where I was at and challenged the crap out of me. If you can spare 30 minutes of your time, watch this. I don’t care if you are the most spiritual person I know or the person that could care less-THIS WILL BE WORTH YOUR TIME.

http://www.lifechurch.tv/message-archive/watch/stop-acting-like-a-christian/2

I want to live a “risky life,” and “stuff” doesn’t determine this in my life. I want to be involved in our broken humanity. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines in my Christian bubble with my Christian friends and my biblical knowledge being busy doing religion and watch our broken world. I want to meet the needs of our broken humanity because my heart longs to serve others because Christ serves me. I think that often times we are scared to get involved with our lost and broken world. I know I am. When we sit on the sidelines, we are missing it. Life is risky, and I have decided to discover how I can live it that way. I’m praying that this time in Shady B is only the beginnings to living risky. Let’s be honest though, this is still pretty comfortable. I don’t know what this looks like, but I have been challenged. Hold me accountable on this. My prayer is that I wouldn’t just gain knowledge of the Word, but that I would live the Word, and I think that a good start to that is by engaging in our lost and broken world.

On a lighter note, I have officially moved into the Kanakuk Institute in Shady B. I am settled into my cabana (I got the crib of a bed…literally it is an adult crib); I have my roommate (she’s 24, grew up a missionary’s kid in South Korea, and just finished her second year of teaching in Turkey…talk about different personalities and backgrounds being paired up). We are very different, but I think it’s going to be a good thing and that I’m going to learn a ton from her. I went to my first morning of class today. Good stuff, but I have a feeling that sitting for four hours is going to be a daily challenge. I’m definitely sick of having the same conversations over and over…you know, the recruitment small talk (what’s your major, where are you from, what’d you do in high school?) and the first days of staff training week (what school do you go to, what year are you, and oh, do you know so and so?). Nevertheless, I can already tell that there are some really neat people here, and I can’t wait to truly get to know them. I have officially begun my next life stage. Here’s to finding ways to living it riskily.

Enter at your own risk...

After a LONG internal debate over whether or not to start a blog based on the fact that it is a rather large commitment (I am planning on doing this regularly enough to make it worth while), I have decided to take the plunge and see what happens. After graduating from Oklahoma State University with a Public Relations degree, I decided that I hadn’t quite had enough school. I am beginning a highly unique journey in my post-grad life, and I couldn’t be more excited.

On Sept. 12, I am moving to Branson, Missouri (a.k.a. Shady B: from now on, this will be its reference) to begin the Kanakuk Institute. Every time that I tell a family friend or complete stranger that I will be moving to Shady B, I get this look and must instantly clear up their wandering minds ensuring them that I will NOT be performing in one of the local shows. After performing Cher for my Freshman Follies tryout, you would think that word had gotten out that I was NOT gifted musically! Another great reaction is when I simply say the Institute is my next stop in life, and people mistake it for some sort of mental or behavioral institution. People, I may be a bit strange, but I promise I’m not crazy! Nevertheless, I still get crazy looks when I tell people what my actual purpose for moving there is. After working at Kanakuk Kamps for the past four summers, I decided that I couldn’t pass up the incredible opportunity that the Institute had to offer. I truthfully don’t know exactly what I’m getting myself into, and oddly, I’m alright with that. All I know is that I am about to embark on a life-changing year in my life because I’m going to be devoting eight months to studying the Bible. There will likely never be another time in my life where I focus on the Word like this. I have no idea what I am going to do after the Institute. I have, however, decided that no matter what is next, having a solid foundation in the Word and my relationship with the Lord will benefit me far more than beginning my career immediately upon graduation. My prayer has been that I would simply be a sponge to the Word and nothing else as I begin this journey. To top off the already long list of perks, I am also going to be pursuing my Master’s degree in Leadership and Ethics through John Brown University at the same time.

Like I said, I am definitely taking a bit of a different path than most college graduates, but I’m looking forward to it. Multiple people have asked that I keep them updated on what I am learning/my life in general during my time in Shady B. I hope that I have the opportunity to share more than just my life but also stay updated on each of yours as this year goes on. I just don’t think there is anyway for me to keep everyone that has asked in the loop with what I’m learning, and I would rather spend the time we do get to share talking about YOU. So I have decided to resort to my PR roots and use a bit of social media to keep anyone that cares informed.

With that being said, I have decided that this is going to serve as a soundboard for me to process what I’m learning and what’s going on in my world. So, I am warning you now…this may not be the funniest, most interesting or life-changing reading material for you. Then again, let’s be real…I don’t know what’s going to come out of my mouth half of the time, so it has the potential to be hilarious, thought-provoking and simply an insight into my world. Enter at your own risk…