Adding Value

I'm not sure if it is the required blogging I have been doing for my education classes that has put me in the mood to blog personally, but I have missed sharing what God is teaching me!  These past few weeks have been full of learning moments in my life, and I would love to share one that just keeps popping up in my spiritual life as well as leadership and educational development!

A few weeks ago, Dr. Tim Elmore (author of Habitudes- if you haven't read these, DO IT!) visited our campus to speak to campus leaders.  He has so many incredible points, but one of them really stuck out to me and I have found that it has continued to be practically applied in my interactions with people since.

Backing up to give you come context of where my heart was at this point... this semester my key word for my personal and spiritual growth is "People."  While I want to grow all areas of my life, this is what my focus is when it comes to making applications, reading resources, and studying the Word.  Much of what I have focused on so far is taming the untamable... my sassy tongue (haven't made a lot of progress there- but working on it!), as well as planning relationship-building time well into my schedule. 

Going back to Dr. Elmore's talk- as you can imagine, everything he talked about could easily be related back to growing in my relational skills with other people.  As leaders, we constantly focus on how we can lead and love well, and without putting others before ourselves we would be unable to be successful.  Dr. Elmore referenced one of his most popular Habitudes, "Thermostat vs. Thermometer" towards the end of his talk, and pointed out that people can be described as either of those devices.  As you know, a thermostat changes the temperature, while a thermometer just reflects it.  People can either reflect other people around them or be the positive change needed. I'm sure I don't have to point out here that most leaders would say that they aspire to be the positive change wherever they are in life.

Elmore pointed out that the key to living as a thermostat is:

1. Living by your values

2. Adding value to others

Obviously as a leader, it is important to have a firm grasp on what you stand for and not have to think twice about making decisions.  No matter what those values are, a person should have a firm set of standards established for how they live their life and why.  I could blog for days about the design that God has carefully set up for us long before we were born (Psalm 139, Matthew 28:19-20), but that isn't the theme of today's blog. Nevertheless, this is the first step to making the change happen around you.

The second point has been speaking to me in multiple ways since it was first introduced.  What does it mean to add value to another person? Elmore defined it as walking away from an interaction with another person (fellow leader, follower, ANYONE) and being able to answer yes to the question of "did I in some way encourage, teach, build up, learn from that person, and are both of us different and BETTER because of it?"  Wow, did this create a huge "Ah ha!" moment when he explained this point!! In my quest for learning about people, I have been searching for tangible ways to apply the love and value that God has been giving me, and this concept provided a starting place for that! Not only was this something I could easily measure, but this was also something that could be widely applied to all of my relationships. 

To help me better understand this princple, I literally recorded how I added value to each interaction I had with a person longer than 2-3 minutes. This allowed me to become more aware of each conversation and whether or not it was beneficial. Here are some ways I have found I can add value to conversations in the past few weeks:

1. Share and ask questions about each other's passions.

2. Share what I've learned recently in my walk with God and elsewhere, and ask what they have been learning as well.

3. Genuinely compliment or encourage them.

4. Remember past conversations and ask about them.

5. Just anything that has to do with talking about Jesus.

I've loved this application and have found that it's created more opportunities to talk about Jesus and at the same time feel like I have deeper relationships. I'm so thankful for the way that He continues to combine my passion for leadership with ways I can grow in my walk with Him!

Stay tuned for more ways God is teaching me how to be more like Him and love others better!

A Heart for the Nations

So much has happened since I last updated you all a few weeks ago!  I have traveled to Atlanta, GA for some fantastic shopping, quality time, and a huge laser show during our “D-Group Weekend,” learned about Biblical Disciple-Making from Soup Campbell and his wife Linda, mastered every type of combination offered at Shake’s Frozen Custard, met, prayed with, and attended the church pastored by David Platt (author of “Radical” and “Follow Me”), had a fantastic time on a redneck-themed group date (I felt right at home), and been continually challenged in every aspect of my walk with Christ!

For this update, I would just like to share a couple of the monumental learning moments that have really challenged me!

I have been so blessed by my past three years of involvement in StuMo because of the continuous focus on living out my relationship with Christ with an outward focus so that others can pass along the legacy of the faith, but this past week completely rocked my world on that perspective.  Soup Campbell, the man who discipled Kennon Vaughn (founder of Down Line Ministries of Memphis) and Lecrae (Christian rap artist), visited with our group last weekend.  The first talk he gave was during our leader training on Monday morning.  The theme seemed to revolve around the fact that the purpose of studying the Bible and learning is immediate obedience.  The process of making disciples involves: 1. seeing the masses through individual people (the countless people they will eventually have the potential to impact, 2. focus on building and equipping individual disciples, 3. those disciples going to the ends of the earth, 4. until the end of time.  

       He continually referred back to God’s Word and prayer being our “instrument panel” for accomplishing this purpose, and having an unwavering faith in God to use your life when you take bolder steps than you could do on your own.  I loved how he used an analogy of the fact that when you sit in a chair, you put all of your weight into it- putting yourself at risk of falling down if it does not follow through in it’s purpose.  In the same way, how are we putting all of our weight into God and trusting him to hold us up when we take all control out of our own reach?

My favorite (and most convicting) part of his talk was his focus on the world.  He specifically called our group out and asked why we didn’t have international students among us this summer.  It dawned on me that I say that I have a world focus, I pray for the world regularly, and even try to be intentional with international students in my classes at K-State... but why am I not putting a significant focus on getting to know and sharing the gospel with international students?  With over 2,000 international students at K-State, I have the potential to reach countries that I could never step foot in.  In fact, China and India are two of the most numerously represented countries on campus-- two countries that have the greatest need for the gospel.  If international students came to know Christ in Kansas, were established in the faith, and returned to their home country, they would have the capability to reach more “unreachable” people for the gospel!  Please join me in praying that I would do everything that I can to take advantage of this incredible opportunity on campus next fall, and that God would even put international students who are participating in work study programs here in Gulf Shores this summer in places where I can get to know them! I have never before been so burdened for the nations, and I’m so much more determined now more than ever to take immediate action!

“Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

Also, here are a few fun pictures of our week!

(Posing for a picture while Redneck truck shopping during our D-Group date!)

(a cake I made at work!)

This week as you join with me in prayer, would you please remember:

-that my heart, as well as the women in my group’s hearts would continue to grow for the nations and we would see the masses through individuals

-continued unity of our group (we have had incredible synergy so far and are really getting to know each other deeply and just really enjoy life together)

-that God would open the hearts of women in AXiD during the summer and that they would be spiritually interested in the fall!

-that the rest of the summer would be just as refreshing and encouraging as the first part!

-safe travels as I step away from Kaleo for AXiD National Convention in San Francisco for a few days next week. Also that I could be intentional with that time.

Please let me know how I can be praying for you!

Sara

Beginning of the Third Summer of My Life!

Hello from Alabama!  Today marks day #8 here at the beautiful Wolf Bay Landing, and if the rest of the summer is even close to as encouraging and fun as this week has been- it really will be the summer of my life!  Here are a few highlights of my time here so far:

1. Our stop in Memphis:  All of the D-Group leaders left Kansas last Thursday (5/23) and stayed the night at a church in Memphis.  While we were there, we had the privilege of asking Kennon Vaughn, director of DownLine Ministries, any question we wanted for an about an hour.  We made great use of the opportunity to ask some tough questions about ministry, life after college, and just following Christ, and were careful to take detailed notes from his wisdom!  

2. Our summer home: We are absolutely privileged beyond belief to get to stay here at Wolf Bay this summer!!  Each group shares a condo with another group- which are stocked with a full kitchen, living room, and two bed and bathrooms, as well as a beautiful porch and view of the bay.  Check out these pictures! (Last night my group and I tried out our fishing poles on the dock outside of our room. Turns out I got lucky and caught the first fish of the summer!)

3. Leader Training Week:  As soon as we made it to GS, we hit the ground running with preparation for our D-Groups to get here! Emily (my co-leader) and I enjoyed processing through what it would look like for us to lead our group together while growing deeper in our own relationships with Christ.  It was reassuring to realize that we can’t pretend to be perfect, but the best thing we can do this summer (or just anytime we disciple women) is to be transparent and vulnerable about our mistakes and grow together.  It was also a blast to get to know the other D-Group leaders, and I’m so humbled to serve along side them!  I’m really excited for weekly training to continue every Monday this summer! 

4. My D-Group: Dana, Katelyn, and Carrie are so much fun to hang out with! Dana and Katelyn are both freshmen who lived in Goodnow Residence Hall this past year, and Carrie was a sophomore in Boyd Hall!  Their passion for growth pushes me so much every day.  Just the other day, Katelyn told me that she wanted to grow the most this summer in sharing her faith (her vision blows me away), and Dana talked about being worried that she wouldn’t have enough time in the day to do all that she wanted in going above and beyond what is planned with the project! Not to mention Carrie’s adorable compassion is infectious toward every person she meets! These women are world-changers, and I’m pumped to learn from them more this summer!

(We had a costume contest at our first social! Our theme was very fitting for Gulf Shores- tourists!)

5. My Job: This summer I’m working at Shake’s Frozen Custard (yes, it used to be called Shakies!).  Several really incredible things have already happened in just the first two days of work! Thursday night (our first day of work), Brooke (my other co-worker from the Kaleo project) and I helped make custard after our Kaleo “Thursday Night Talk,” because almost all of the project (about 150 people) stopped by!  Our co-workers were absolutely blow away by how friendly and fun our friends from Kaleo were, and begged us to let them join our group this summer to hang out!  We invited them to go to the beach with us, as well as come to some of our training sessions when they weren’t working.  One girl even pulled me aside and asked me to help share our faith with another co-worker, who she has been praying for!  We all exchanged numbers and have been texting back and forth since!  After seeing how interested our co-workers were that night, Brooke and I thought it would be cool to start an investigative Bible study among the group for the summer!  We’re looking forward to growing with and investing in these fun high school women we met.  It is also awesome that our boss follows Christ, and we have incredible spiritual conversations with him about how he and his wife have pursued Christ in their family and how he is using his job to influence the students he works with for Christ!  It’s incredible that all of this has happened in just the first two days of work!

                                                  

I’m so excited to see what the next week brings!  Would you please join me in prayer for:

-My D-Group (Co-Leader Emily, Dana, Katelyn, and Carrie) and I to not skip any opportunities to grow and set the bar high from the beginning.

-Deep relationships built in our group 

-Brooke and I’s influence at work and our Bible study

-Application follow through with our many talks, studies, and even casual conversations

-World Vision and heart to deepen in my life and our group

-That everything we learn will help us win people to Christ on campus

Thanks for your partnership with me in this adventure!  Please email me and let me know how I can be praying for you!

Sara

Update #3 from #kaleo12!

First of all, I can’t believe that two weeks has passed since my last blog!  Sorry it has taken me this long to send an update, so much has happened at the project!  Instead of trying to go day by day (because that would make a pretty long blog), this time I’ll give you a few highlights of the past few weeks!

1. D-Group weekend

The purpose of D-Group weekend is for every D-Group to go on an adventure somewhere away from Gulf Shores!  A few of the popular places for groups to go are Destin, Savannah, or Atlanta, but naturally our group decided to break the mold for our weekend.  The girls in the group each made a few suggestions, but I decided it would be more fun to plan the trip and surprise them with the details as the weekend progressed!  We set out driving west Friday evening, and they finally realized that we were headed to New Orleans when we crossed the Louisiana state line!  The first night, we checked into our hotel room and got some (very) much needed sleep.  That next morning, I had planned on taking them on a swamp tour that morning, but a tropical depression brought a ton a rain to the entire gulf, so we had to reroute our plans!  We discovered a cute little pizza restaurant and went searching for a big, historic church to get some extended time with God. 

After driving around in the rain for a while, we finally decided to try out a Catholic church close to the French Quarter that looked pretty promising.  As we walked in, we were greeted by a nice Hispanic man with a name tag on, and we couldn’t help but think that was a little strange given that mass was still 3 hours away.  When we sat down in a back pew, we realized that the entire church was filled with many nice Hispanic men, and the priest kindly approached us and informed us that they were having their Spanish men’s retreat!  He so graciously offered us the side chapel to get some un-interrupted time with God. We knew that this would just be the beginning of a hilarious weekend!

We found our way to Bourbon Street and spent some time just walking in silence down the street taking in the atmosphere.  We explored Royal Street, and then decided that we would challenge ourselves by having spiritual conversations with people on Bourbon Street like we would back on the beach in Gulf Shores.  After some interesting conversations, we headed back to the hotel and went out for some delicious creole food that night and after topping it off with ice cream, we returned to the hotel and finished a great day with an episode of “Swamp People” to go with our culture-filled day!

Sunday morning we went to a contemporary church called Celebrations and headed back east through a huge rainstorm!  On the way home, Jordan wrote a song so we would never forget our incredible weekend together!

    2. Chopping off our hair

   This one only applies to Libby and I, although the entire group was present for the show. The past few weeks, Libby and I have been scheming about what it would be like to cut off several inches of our hair, and up until D-Group weekend we had never taken action on making it happen. On the way to pick Melat up from the airport, we had a sudden burst of courage when we saw a "Sports Cuts" by the Starbucks we were headed to. We knew that if we didn't do this spontaneously, we would never get it done, so that afternoon Libby lost about 10 inches and I lost 6 of our beautiful long locks! The best part was, Sports Clips usually only does men's hair, so they couldn't even style it for us. We were happy about the deal we got and were glad we brought along some hairspray and product in the car!

     3.    Kennon Vaughn (guest speaker)

Last week, we welcomed Pastor Kennon Vaughn from Memphis to our project to teach us more about Jesus’ heart for spiritual multiplication and how we can implement this in our lives. It was cool to think about all of the Biblical examples of men and women pouring into another individual’s life until they were ready to “disciple” someone else. Even applying this principle to my own life, I would have definitely not developed many of the deep convictions for sharing my faith regularly and making continual growth a priority if not for Bethany’s guidance in my life over the past few years! Kennon urged us not to make having our own disciples our god, but to intensely follow Christ like the hardworking farmer, devoted soldier, and competitive athlete in 2 Timothy 2 and we will get to see other’s lives impacted through our deep personal relationship with Christ.  Jordan, Libby, Cherie, Melat, and I definitely talked about Kennon’s remarks for days after the week was over.  

    4.    Energy Drinks

On our second training over inductive Bible study, I knew we could all use a little extra motivation to focus on some intense (but awesome) content, so I surprised the girls with their favorite energy drinks (notice Libby’s Sprite- she doesn’t drink pop)!  It was definitely easier for us to get more excited about what we were learning that night!

    5.    World Prayer

One of the biggest highlights of our weekly activities in our group is Tuesday night world prayer!  Each week after Bible study, we go to a different room in the StayBridge and pray for a specific group or religion in the world.  The past three weeks, we have been to China, Hindu, and International Students world prayer rooms.  Our favorite part is getting to learn more specific things we can pray for, and also knowing that the hour we spend trusting big things to God will be worth it as he answers our prayers!  It’s really cool to hear stories from older people at the project about how many of the people they spent their first summer or two praying with became the answers to many of their prayers as God had sent them to these places! We continually ask God to let our lives be used to impact these groups while we’re still in college and beyond!

   6.     Fire Alarm

Leave it to our group to be the first of Kaleo to set off our fire alarm!  Thanks to the dishwasher melting a plastic-handled spoon, it took us, StayBridge staff, and Heath 30 minutes to figure out how to turn it off!

   7.     Seeing the Hull’s

So this one is more of a personal highlight... but I was so excited to get to see my Aunt Susan, Uncle Wayne, and cousins Trevor, Haleigh, and Callie!  They graciously took me out for dinner, ice cream, and a fun evening at the park while they were here!  They also got to experience a TNT night with our group, which was a blast! Thanks for all of your love and support!

   8.     Relationships Conference

Who knew this would be a highlight for me? Actually, even though none of us girls are focused on relationships with guys at this season of our life, the relationships conference was a huge blessing in each of our lives.  We welcomed David and Lisa Burns, who are on staff with Campus Outreach in Indiana to speak on fellowship and also a godly perspective on singleness, dating, and marriage.  David actually led our StuMo campus director Joel to Christ while in college and has discipled him over the years, so it was really cool to welcome a very monumental individual in our ministry into the project! Some of the biggest highlights from the weekend were looking at developing deep, lasting friendships with other girls that would last for a lifetime, learning how to view our singleness as a gift rather than a waiting period, and that the purpose of dating and marriage is to make us even more like Christ! After staying focused all weekend, we finished off Saturday night in true Kansas style with a Hoedown Throwdown (dance!)

These are just a few of the many adventures of room 208 during the past few weeks! Here are a few things we would love your partnership in prayer with:

-That our group would develop deep friendships that will push us closer to Christ much longer than this summer.

-That we would each put in the discipline necessary to develop a deep walk with Christ so we can pour into others.

-That we would continually have application on our hearts so we can best prepare for maximum impact when we return to campus in the fall in the places that each of us will live.

(Specifically, Jordan, Libby, and I will live in Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, Cherie will live in West Hall, and Melat will live off campus!)

-That God would continue to develop our hearts for the world!

Thanks for your continual support and prayers! Until next time!

Week #2 Adventures

Week #2 adventures at #kaleo12 were characterized by fire, childhood, and nail polish! (Further explanations below) We focused on what it looks like to know God on a deeper level and surrender to His sufficiency. Check it out:

Day #7

Inductive Bible Study method changes lives. (Seriously, it definitely changed mine!) Monday night we learned the basics of the first step: Observation. Reactions to this new challenge in our group varied from “Holy cow, where has this been all my life?!?!” to “Why would you torture us like this, Sara?”, but the good new is that our group has adjusted very well and they are doing a phenomenal job tearing apart 1 Thessalonians 1 and learning so many new things!  So thankful for such a teachable, positive group to be encouraged by!

Day #8

Tuesday nights at the project are called “D-Group Nights,” which consist of cooking dinner together and later discussing our weekly 1 Thessalonians study and a chapter in the book “Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be.”  This week we enjoyed creating a Facebook profile page for Paul and the Thessalonians with the information we found in our 1 Thessalonians Book Overview, as well as writing down our insufficiencies and burning them right here in our room! The good news is: we didn’t even set off the fire alarm!

Day #9 

We have a little bit of free time on Wednesdays nights, and occasionally a guy’s group will invite a girl’s group over for dinner or dessert to chill for the night! This week we got to spend time with not one, but two guy’s groups! After work, we went over to Collin, Bobby, Caleb, Taylor, and Corey’s room, where they handed us delicious cupcakes to finish our dinner off with. These cupcakes actually had pieces of paper hidden in them that said, “Will you go on a group date with us?”, but I apparently didn’t get the memo and almost ate the paper in mine! Whoops! Later on, our group hung out with Andrew, Chris, Glen, and Tim and shared yogurt parfaits while we chatted about life, Harry Potter, and Kaleo. It is so much fun to hear what unique things other people at the project are learning too!

Day #10

Thursday night we attended TNT (Thursday Night Talk), which is a lot like StuMo weekly meetings back on campus.This week we talked about “Knowing God Deeper,” which outlined the difference between having knowledge of God and actually knowing him on a continual deeper level.  One of my favorite quotes of the night was: “You are as close to God as you want to be,” because it really describes the fact that the more you pursue God and strive to grow closer to him through studying the Bible, praying, and learning from others, the more you will grow! After a great talk, we hit up TCBY for some ice cream and came back to our room and took some crazy pictures together!

Day #11

After the last day of work for the week, we returned to the Staybridge and prepared to go on a group date with only the instruction of “be prepared to return to your childhood.” The guys took us out to a beautiful park next to the beach with a pier and a playground, where we made our own pizzas on the grill, drank juice boxes, colored, and played lava tag on the playground, all the while chatting about our lives! It was so cool to hear about what other people are learning at Kaleo and how they plan on applying it next semester back on campus!

Day #12

Saturday we started the morning off with spiritual leadership training, followed by an afternoon at the beach talking to the tons of people we met there about Jesus!  We had a relaxing evening complete with a Chick-fil-a run with Alyson, Hilary, Danielle, Stephanie, and Katelyn’s group, followed by a Disney movie and polish night back in the 208. 

I can’t speak entirely for the other girls in my group, but I know that God has already shown me even more how fulfilling life is when we rely more and more on his sufficiency and desire to be faithful with what he has entrusted with us!  I can’t wait to continue sharing what incredible things he is doing on our lives here in Gulf Shores!

Here are a few prayer requests for the week:

-That we would rely on God’s sufficiency in every circumstance.

-That God will comfort Melat after the loss of a great friend and use this for His glory.

-Focus on what we are learning and perseverance to continue going “all in.”

-That we would grow our hearts for unreached places in the world as we pray for them.

Thanks for your partnership in our life-changing summer!

Hello from beautiful Gulf Shores!  Welcome to my very first blogging adventure of the #summerofourlives! I’m super excited to keep you posted on what big things God is doing in and through our lives throughout the summer.  First of all, before I go into detail about what the first few days have been like around here, here are a few things ya’ll (I’m trying to further develop my southern accent) should know about Kaleo:

-Brief Description: Kaleo is a 9-week leadership discipleship summer program through the campus ministry organization Student Mobilization.  Basically what that means is we move to Gulf Shores, Alabama and spend a summer in the sun learning how to deepen our walk with God through Bible study, prayer, time with the people around us, and sharing it with others!  Talk about an ideal summer!

-We live at Staybridge Suites, an extended stay hotel only a few miles from the beach. It’s legit.  

-We’re also put with 3-4 other girls in “D-Groups” (which stand for discipleship groups), and I’m lucky enough kick it this summer with Jordan Priddle, Libby Steinboch, Cherie Nelson, and Melat Dereje!

-We land a full time job while we’re here at a variety of the gracious businesses around Gulf Shores.  Our D-Group is working at places varying from Chick-fl-a to Publix (a grocery store) to Alvin’s Island (a souvenir shop),  and Ann Taylor Loft!

-When we’re not working, we spend time learning how to study the Bible, develop a steady prayer life, share our faith with others, and learn from older people in the faith!  We also make time for lots of fun with socials, group dates, and the random shenanigans we get into every day together! More to come on our specific schedule in a later blog!

So now that you know a little more about Kaleo, let me tell you about my first few weeks in Gulf Shores!  I joined a carpool of 5 other d-group leaders in Springfield, MO to being our 2-day trek to Alabama. We stopped for the night in Memphis and stayed with the Cummins, an awesome couple who financially support some KU StuMo staff members. As soon as we pulled up to the StayBridge the next day, the team leaders were standing by the side of the road cheering and holding signs to welcome us to Kaleo 2012, and from that moment, I knew that we were in for the summer of our lives! D-Group leaders, team leaders, and staff spent the next few days learning how we could make the most of our summer by setting ourselves and our friends who would be in our d-groups up for maximum success.  

One of my personal highlights from preparation week was getting to spend time learning from the older, much wiser people around me.  It was so cool to get lots of quality time with the other girls on my team and spend hours hearing how they created beneficial traditions, consciously set a Christ-like example, and relied on God’s sufficiency to lead them through the summer. What an encouragement the women around me have been, and will continue to be!

After a few days of training, the most exciting day yet was here: the day that the participants arrived!  I think there was more anticipation among the D-Group leaders and staff than sorority bid day back on campus! I was so excited to see Melat, Jordan, Libby, and Cherie, I couldn’t help but run after the car that carried several members of my group as they parked! 

After everyone was settled, we began discussing what our summer will look like together.  One of the traditions we decided to set from the very beginning was to take a daily picture to document the #summerofourlives!  In this blog, I will use those pictures to walk you through our summer adventures! Here goes...

Day #1

Our very first picture as a D-Group! Note the mountain of bags around us...

Day #2

Wednesday night we were challenged by an incredible talk at TNT (Thursday night talks...they’re usually on Thursdays) about making the most of our summer by “throwing off everything that hinders...” (Hebrews 12) so we can freely run the race and pursue God with everything we have. We also got to see Xavess, one of Cherie and I's friends from McDonald's last summer!

Day #3

After our first day of work, we all had to unwind at “The Hangout” (a restaurant by the beach) and the beach! No one made it home without being tackled in the sand at least once... (Jordan made sure of this)

Day #4

I know what you’re thinking...We actually had a reason for dressing up like we were stuck in the 80’s on Friday!  Our first social “Kaleo Kraze” was a costume contest where we had secret themes that matched another group-- ours was 80’s and we were matched with a radical guy’s D-Group.

Day #5

Saturday’s in Gulf Shores are some of my favorite times throughout the summer! We spent the morning/early afternoon in spiritual leadership training all about how we can share our faith with others.  After lunch, we paired up and went out on the beaches to talk to people and share with them!  This time was definitely terrifying my first time doing it last summer, but God has significantly blessed my life through seeing how much people actually love talking about spiritual things and seeing lives change right there on the beach! 

After a quick nap...

We invited Jessilyn’s D-Group (Jessilyn, Bailey, Elizabeth, and Cassandra) over for Br-inner (breakfast for dinner) Saturday evening.  The evening consisted of much chatting, giggling, a punked picture, and even a concert by Cherie and Jordan. It’s a good thing Jessilyn’s group are such good sports about our goofing around!

Day #6

Another cool aspect of Kaleo is the opportunity to get plugged in to one of the fabulous local churches in the Gulf Shores/ Foley area.  We have the privilege of attending Liberty Church in Foley.  We absolutely loved the super contemporary worship and upbeat congregation who greeted us with hugs at the door!  After church, we took advantage of the beach only a few miles away for the afternoon and soaked up the sun.

It is hard to believe that we have already been here for an entire week, yet it seems like our D-Group has known each other for much longer than a week!  If this week is a preview for the rest of the summer, we are definitely in store for some life-changing experiences and an incredible bond as a D-Group.  

Each week, I will include a few prayer requests for our group, the project, myself, and K-State.  We would love to include you in our journey through the incredible support of prayer!  Here are a few things to be praying for...

-That we would have a clear view of the gospel’s impact on our lives every day and be motivated by that knowledge.

-A positive attitude, perseverance, and the opportunity to share our faith with those around us at our jobs.

-Continued unity as a group and vulnerability with each other.

-That what we learn will become ingrained in our walks with Christ for the rest of our lives, not just routine for this summer.

-Pray that God will let what we learn impact our friends back on campus in the fall. 

Until next week!

The Best Identity

When my friends aren’t calling me “Schiffdeck” or “Young Pup,” my nickname is “Babygirl.” I’ll admit it: I have a thing for rap music. This might come as a surprise to most, considering I look nothing like your typical hardcore rapper. Keep in mind: looks are deceiving. In fact, my skills rival Lil’ Wayne, depending on how much I practice. I recently discovered the absolute best thing since sliced bread in the world of rap music: Lecrae. No longer do I have to worry about selecting the “clean” version of a specific song, thanks Lecrae’s status as a Christian rapper. His songs are filled with uplifting messages about missions, the gospel, and my personal favorite, our identity. In the song “Identity,” the chorus goes a little something like this:
I’m not the shoes I wear.
I’m not the clothes I buy.
I’m not the house I live in.
I’m not the car I drive.
I’m not the job I work.
You can’t define my worth,
by nothing on God’s green earth.
My identity is found in Christ, found in Christ.
(here’s the entire song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7W4I0tQZps)

Our identity is a constant worry for most people. We want to participate in the “right” things, hang out with the “right” people, and create the “right” legacy so we will never be forgotten. Our identities are quickly made into what we spend our time doing. As an example, some of my identities might be an “AZD member,” “agricultural education major,” or “Alyson’s dorky friend.” As awesome as those things are, we can never be fully satisfied with an identity because that doesn’t encompass all of our lives.

In fact, who hasn’t felt some frustration from their identity? My teammate Johanna and I were so incredibly excited to serve as state FFA officers and loved that part of our identity, however, we were just talking the other day about how frustrating it is when others don’t see past that one part of our life into the other things that make us unique. Everyone can relate to the frustration of “identity confusion,” whether it is confusion about someone else’s identity, or even your own.

The fact of the matter is, there is only one identity that we can have that is perfect, all-encompassing, and eternal. But the catch is: this identity is not found in a career, organization, or even group of friends. Going back to my boy Lecrae’s widom: this identity is found in Christ.

Right now you’re asking, “How on earth can we identify ourselves with Christ? We’re imperfect humans!” You’re exactly right. On our own, our identities are far from perfect, even if we strive for “good” qualities. An identity that is is Christ is found through complete submission of our lives to Him. An individual whose identity is in Christ has a personal relationship with Him and through that relationship adapts His character!

Check it out-- In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul describes this identity as “a new creation. The old is completely gone, and the new has come.”

The book of Ephesians is full of descriptions of our “new identity.” Eph. 4:22-23 says that “you were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self... and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” So according to this verse, we can be like GOD! That’s as classy of an identity as we can possibly get!

There are countless other places in the Bible that point out all of the qualities of our “new identity.” Here are just a few:

I am God’s Child... (John 1:12- “... to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God.”)

I am powerful, loving, and disciplined... (2 Timothy 1:7- “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”)

I am secure... (Ephesians 2:20- “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”)

I have peace... (Ephesians 2:14- “For he himself is our peace...”)

More qualities of our identity can be found here: (http://www.persevering.org/perceiv.html)

“I’m not the clothes I wear, I’m not the car I drive...” Whatever it is we are currently known for, we can all find our identities in Christ if we surrender our lives to him. The rewards of this identity include the short-term benefits of peace, a purpose in life, and a great character, but the eternal reward is that everlasting relationship with our Savior, which is infinitely priceless. If you haven’t already found your identity in Christ, I encourage you to pursue the most rewarding identity imaginable!