The Kingdom Era

                Well, friends, we’re at the end of another long and exciting week at the Institute. We began the week with Ministry Mondays, where we host of speaker who specializes in a specific area of ministry and comes to share their knowledge and experience with us. This week, Mike Haley came to speak to us about homosexuality. It was an incredibly eye-opening and interesting morning! Mike has an incredible testimony of having been a part of the homosexual community for over ten years and then being loved out of it and brought to where he is now. The Lord has done an incredible work in his life and he is now able to minister to those who are struggling with homosexuality and those who are working in ministry and may encounter that. In reality, though, as my boss at the YMCA reminded me of yesterday, we are all in ministry as believers, no matter what our occupation may be. After learning from Mike, I now have an understanding of a Biblical worldview of homosexuality and feel more equipped to deal with the issue as I encounter it.

               

                For the rest of the week, our topic of focus was the Kingdom Era, as taught by Charles Stolfus from Denton Bible Church. After coming off of two weeks of teaching on a general Bible overview, it was interesting to focus on just one era. We basically spent three days plowing our way through the Samuels and the Kings. It was so interesting to look at the progression of it all, but also overwhelming, especially when you realize that all of what you’re reading took place over 520 years of history, 120 years of the United Kingdom and then 400 years of the Divided Kingdom.

                Looking back on the week, there were a couple things that stood out to me. I really enjoyed studying the specific kings. It was interesting to see what the Bible said about each of them and how they were described. Typically, there was similar information that was given for each king. The Bible records how old they were when they assumed the throne, who they succeeded (or who was king in the other Kingdom if it was in the Divided era), how long they reigned, whether or not they had a heart for the Lord, and certain things that they accomplished during their reign, such as whether or not they maintained alternate places of worship or if they removed the idols form their kingdom.

               

                Manasseh was one king that I had never heard of before. He was the son of King Hezekiah, a good king who made some stupid mistakes towards the end of his life. Even though he was the son of a so-called “good” king who followed the Lord, Manasseh actually became one of the most evil kings the Kingdom of Judah ever had. He assumed the throne when he was twelve years old and reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. The Bible says that “He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.” (2 Kings 21:2)

               

                Among the evil things that he did, “he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed…” This means that he reinstated alternate places of worship in the kingdom that were not honoring to the Lord. He also built altars to Baal, made an Asherah pole, worshipped the powers of heaven, sacrificed his child in the fire, built altars in the house of the Lord, practiced witchcraft, used divination, and “consulted with mediums and psychics.” (2 Kings 21:6) Manasseh convinced the people to “do evil more that the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.”  (2 Kings 21:9) Because of the evil that was done in the land while Manasseh reigned, the Lord sent prophets to warn them of the judgment that was to come. The people did not listen, though, and the Lord brought Assyria against them.

               

                When Manasseh was in captivity in Babylon, though, he returned to the Lord and humbled himself before Him. “When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” (2 Chronicles 33:13) The Lord brought him back to Jerusalem and he rebuilt the outer wall, removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, threw the altars out of the city, and instead set up an altar of the Lord.

                Although Manasseh is described as a king who did evil in the sight of the Lord, it is so cool to see how Lord worked in his life to bring him back to Himself. Manasseh was the epitome of evil and the Lord brought judgment upon Him out of love, to discipline his and remind him of the Lord’s goodness. How often do we do the same thing? We forget how good the Lord is and the evil of the world look so enticing, so we begin to stray away. But, because He loves us, God disciplines us to bring us back. He is a good Father, who loves despite our tendency to run towards the world.

               

One of my favorite kings that we studied was Josiah. Josiah was the grandson of Manasseh. His father, Amon, was even more corrupt than his father, Manasseh, and Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed him. After his father died, Josiah became king at eight years old and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. Unlike his father, “he did right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” (2 Chronicles 34:2) When he was sixteen, he began to seek God and, when he was twenty, he began to get rid of the high places in Jerusalem and Judah, as well as the Asherim, idols, and the altars to Baal. He went throughout the entire land, purging it of these things.

During Josiah’s reign, he directed Hilkiah the high priest to repair the temple. While they were repairing the temple, Hilkiah found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. After reading it, Josiah realized that the people had violated God’s law a led the people back to the worship of God. Even though Josiah worked to bring the people back to the Lord, they were still taken into exile shortly after. As Jeremiah 3:10 tells us, the people did not truly return to the Lord “with all her heart, but rather in deception.”

Josiah is so inspiring to me because he had the courage and wisdom to return to the Lord once the light had been shed on the Truth. Even though his father and grandfather were evil, he did not let that define him or determine his future. Instead, he was determined to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, to pursue righteousness. He fought for that purity and cleanliness despite what others may have thought about him.

As we were studying the era of the kings, it was so cool to see the character of God in it. Even though Israel and Judah went through a time of great unrighteousness under the majority of their kings, God still loved them and called them His people. There was nothing that they could do to change that. They were His chosen ones, despite their ignorance, their rebellion, their complete disregard. He loved them enough to discipline them and judge them, in order to bring them back to Himself. He had a purpose through everything. Throughout time, what mattered to Him the most was that His people loved Him and sought to glorify Him. He is a jealous God who wants to keep His people for Himself. They are to worship no other gods before Him. They are to do exactly as He commands. Even though we as people are imperfect and prone to mistake, He loves us anyway, and there is nothing that we can do to remove us from His hand.

Marriage and Family Week

                  This week at the Institute, our focus was on relationships, marriage, and family. We had some incredible speakers come visit us who were very passionate about the subject. Not only did they talk about marriage, but they also gave us a broader view of relationships, our own personality, and how those are to fit together. We began the week by hearing from Lamar Trieschmann, who is a pastor in Arkansas. Part of his teaching included time to take a spiritual gifts profile and a personality assessment. I had taken a spiritual gifts test before. If I remember correctly, the results from that test showed that my strongest spiritual gifts were Pastoring/Shepherding and Showing Mercy. This week, the test did not include Pastoring/Shepherding, but my highest results were still in Showing Mercy. This basically means that I am sensitive towards suffering. I tend to be sympathetic or empathetic, and enjoy being there for others. I think that this described me very well!

                  After taking the spiritual gifts profile, we took a personality assessment. When answering the assessment, you were supposed to answer as if we were in a stressful situation. After taking this assessment, you recorded the results on two graphs. One showed the personality that you felt like others expected from you, and the other was the personality that was really you. On the former, my “golden retriever traits” came out. On the latter, I was equally golden retriever and beaver. Basically, I am a combination of a passive/people-oriented person and a passive/task-oriented person.

                  The rest of the week focused on marriage. Looking back on the week, there are five keys things that I learned about marriage that I didn’t necessarily realize before. On Thursday, we had some couples from the community come and talk to us about their relationships and what they have learned from them. It was neat to see the reality of marriage and not just the picture-perfect view that the media often portrays. The next day, Gary Smalley and Joe White came to share with us their wisdom about Biblical relationships and marriage.

1.    If you are single and you have a desire to marry, you need to cover it in prayer. It takes the mystery out of it because God is in control. This was not necessarily a new idea, but just a statement that made me realize the importance of it more fully. I had heard before that it is important to pray for your future husband, but I had never thought of it as a way to give God control in that area. I loved this idea, because I feel like it’s something that I can turn around and directly apply to my life right now. So often when I learn about marriage, it’s hard for me to take the information and feel like I can directly apply it, since marriage seems like such a far-off idea at this point in my life.

2.    If you’re constantly thinking about ways that you can safeguard your marriage, then it’s not going to be as hard in the long run. Provide accountability in your life, especially when interacting with members of the opposite sex. Keep no secrets: all passwords should be known and accessible by both the husband and wife. Bounce your eyes. Yes, there will still be attractive people, even when you’re married, but you can’t focus on that. Immediately move your attention away.

3.    Being an independent woman isn’t everything. If you are constantly doing things for yourself and not allowing your husband to take care of you and your needs, then he won’t feel like he is doing his job as a man. Let him showcase the gifts that God has given him.

4.    Marriage is not for your own good, purpose, pleasure, etc. The purpose is the sanctification of both of you as you seek to become more like Christ.

5.    When a wife is being too dominant in a relationship, they are weakening their husband and his role. Instead, they should work to pull strengths out in their husband and encourage his as he leads the home.

Of the things that I learned this week, I want to apply them all to my future marriage. After seeing the way that the Lord has worked through Godly relationships that I admire, I want to model my relationship after theirs’. I also learned five things that I want to do personally as I walk through my singleness and prepare for my future, if that is what the Lord wills.

1.     In my single state right now, I want to resist the temptation to obsess over marriage. I need to focus on what I’m doing at this point in my life right now, and not what is to come. Marriage is not a better state; it’s just a different state.

2.     In my future marriage, I want there to be an open sense of communication. I want my husband to feel comfortable sharing with me anything that he needs to, good and bad, and I want to feel comfortable doing the same. I don’t want to sugar coat situations, but face them head-on together.

3.     As I prepare for marriage, if that’s what the Lord wills, I want to learn what it means to be a strong woman who is not independent in an unhealthy way. I know that I can be too independent sometimes. I want to work on this not only for my relationship with my future husband, but also in my relationship with the Lord right now.

4.     When approaching marriage, I want my husband and I to realize together that it’s not going to be a fairy tale and it’s not going to be perfect. Rather, it is a process of sanctification. The Lord will refine us through the relationship, through good and bad.

5.     Ultimately, I want my husband and I to realize the reality and magnitude of marriage as a covenant. It is a binding agreement and divorce is not an option. We are making the covenant before God, each other, and our future children to stand firm, not matter the trials that come.

A New Chapter of My Life: KI

Hello friends and family!

It’s that time again; the blog is up and running! It’s a new season of life for me and I’m excited to keep everyone up to date this way. Thank you all for the encouragement and support that you have already given me as I prepared to come this summer and as I have been living life here over the past three weeks. It has been quite an experience so far: meeting a lot of new people (there are 71 in our class!), acclimating to a new town, getting used to a new schedule, and learning incredible Biblical truths from some amazing teachers. It’s crazy to think that it’s only been three weeks so far and that we have over seven months left to experience!

Our first teacher this week, David Lawson, taught us about inductively Bible study and specifically the Precept Upon Precept Bible studies. This guy is legit. First of all, his boss is Kay Arthur. Secondly, this guy knows Truth. His story is one of redemption, as it is for all of us, and it’s so cool to see how the Lord has used it for His good and glory. Now Mr. Lawson is traveling all over the world, sharing the Word of God and teaching others how to study it in a way that is intentional, purposeful, and meaningful.

Kanakuk incorporates Inductive Bible Study into a lot of what they teach at kamp, so it was already a technique that I was familiar with, however, it was still extremely helpful to have Mr. Lawson go through it piece by piece and really guide our steps. I also learned more details and specifics of Inductive Bible Study, so it began to make more sense as to why certain methods were used. I feel much more comfortable and capable now tackling this on my own.

One of the new concepts that I learned this week was the three major areas of Inductive Bible Study: observation, interpretation, and application. These are the three steps to use when approaching a new text. First, you should begin by observing and examining the text. As Mr. Lawson likes to say, this is a “bird’s eye view” of what you’re reading. As a detail-oriented person, I had to stop myself from wanting to go too deep, too quickly. It’s funny to say, but you really just get to sit back, relax, and enjoy reading Scripture! You should read it through several times. The first time you should read to get an overall view of the text. Look for the five W’s and H: Who (wrote the letter, to whom, other people who were mention), What (is going on, what is the letter mainly about), When, Where (was the author, were the recipients), Why (did the author write the letter), and How. Next, you begin to focus in more on the text by identifying specific people, places, events, and key words that occur in the passage and marking them with distinct symbols. After marking each of these key things, the next step is to make a list of what the text has to say about the key words.

After observing the text, the next step is interpretation. This is where “context rules”. Context is crucial to understanding the entirety of the text and leads to proper interpretation. This step is also where you can use a concordance for cross-references and word studies. I would have to say that, out of the three, this is my favorite step! Word studies and cross references fascinate me. I think they’re so fun! The final step in studying the Bible inductively is application. This simply means taking the Truth that is communicated in the text and applying it to your life! Essentially, it means translating what you believe to your behavior, and, on the other hand, making sure that your behavior lines up with what you believe. Honestly, this is probably the hardest of the three for me and something that I have to consciously work on. It is much more natural for me to look at the Bible as an academic pursuit; I have to remind myself that the Word is living and active and applies to my life here and now.

One of my favorite techniques that I learned to use this week was the marking of key words and the creation of lists. Marking key words seems like such a simple task at first, but when you are down drawing purple triangles and yellow boxes around everything and you actually look up to see the culmination of it all, it is actually really eye-opening! It makes it so much easier to go back through the text and really notice each time that the word is referenced. Then, it is simple to make a list about each thing that you learned about each key word. I was amazed at the list that came from one key word! For example, in a passage of six verses, I learned three things about God: that His word should not be dishonored, His doctrine is adorned when bond-slaves are subject to their own masters (showing good faith), and His grace brings salvation to all men. (Titus 2:5-11)

In a nutshell, those are some of the fun things that I’ve been learning this week. I am excited to continue to update my blog with things that I learn, friends that I meet, and adventures that occur. Thanks for being such faithful friends, supporters, and encouragers. As always, I don’t know what I would do without you.

Some highlights as of late...

As kamp is nearing the end, I'm reminded of some of the wonderful things that have happened as of late. I was hoping to include a ton of pictures with this, but my computer keeps giving me trouble. Here are a couple, and I'll just have to explain the rest.

Emily, Kyle, and I (my fellow KPDs) went with Spook (our Women's Director who is absolutely hilarious and fun) to try out the new BMX track at K-2. We had a BLAST riding over the hills and attempting to get some air on the jumps. I loved getting to spend that time with them and Spook as well. It's moment like that at kamp, where I just get to release and be myself, that I'm reminded how much I love it. On that note, after our last picnic for a new term of kampers, we had a kitchen staff/support staff (I'm included here)/leadership softball game. It was SO MUCH FUN. Softball is one of my favorite things to do anyway and getting to play with people that I enjoy being with, it was an absolte blast. I don't think anyone knew I could play, so that made it fun, too.

Kyle, Emily, Ali, Ashley, and I (again the KPDs and Ropes girls) always feel so blessed by our women's leadership team, so we wanted to think of way to bless them. This was definitely hard since there's not many options that they haven't already done for someone else and we couldn't let them find out what we were doing. With some help from the dock daddies and a couple of other friends, we were able to plan a great afternoon for them. We placed invitations in their boxes, with an RSVP requested to the box of a guy who was on a 24 that day. We eventually lead them to the dock, where we surprised them with a bubble wand (cheesy I know!) and a boat ride out to a secret location. It was fun to drive women who have been at kamp for a long time and for them to have no idea where they were going! We ended up taking them to a restuarant on the lake about 15 minutes away, where we treated them to appetizers, drinks, and dessert. We then gave them notes of appreciation and encouragement. I think they enjoyed it!

Below is a picture of some of my best friends at kamp. We were at a party for all of the "lifers" at kamp, the people who serve all summer. It was a blast to be able to spend time with them and celebrate the summer!

Each day, two counselors, one boy and one girl, are assigned as "Officers of the Day". They create a theme for the day and run the meals and morning and evening flag. One day this week was "Disney World". Kyle and I were a part of the skit: me, as Sleeping Beauty and Kyle as Pocahontas (sp?). We were in the skit that morning (I just slept the whole time), and then we had to wear our costumes the rest of the day, signing autographs and taking pictures with the kampers. It was quite amusing to climb up on the lifeguard stand in a HUGE pink dress. It was hot, but worth it! So much fun!

To say that it's been hot at kamp lately is an understatement....the other day it was 112. We've been going on with our normal days, but definitely taking precautions. One of my counselors did get dehydrated the other day and her co got sick as well, so I got to step in as a counselor for a day. It was so much fun! It was good to be reminded of the joys and struggles a counselor faces. It was also interesting being a counselor with a KPD brain. It was kind of weird balancing it, but overall I'm so thankful to have gotten to spend more time with those kampers.

Prayers right now are strength and energy to finish the summer strong and RAIN to reduce the heat. Even the lake isn't refreshing anymore. But here we go...LTAS!! (Last Time All Summer)

The joy of the summer!

This weekend has been glorious!! G.L.O.R.I.O.U.S. I left kamp on Friday morning and drove down to good ol' Waco for a wedding. It was a good excuse to get out of Missouri for a bit and I've actually been MISSING Waco lately. It's weird to say that, but I have. The wedding was incredible...it was two of my good friends from church in college. They've been dating for I guess 3 or so years now and finally tied the knot! It was so beautiful and so fun. The best part was that SO MANY people were there! I loved it! I saw people that I did't expect to see. It was like a mini Baylor/church reunion. I also got to spend some time with my favorite Waco family, the Smarts, and my old roommate, Kelsey. I can already tell that I'm going to miss this place next year. The reality of going to the Kanakuk Institute next year and living in Branson, MO, is starting to sink in....we'll see.

As for kamp, things are going well. The picture above is obviously from 4th of July, one of my favorite days of the summer!! And these are some of my favorite people at kamp and the ladies that I'm priviledged to work with day in and day out. The 4th was a day of celebration--everyone wears red, white, and blue, we have a HUGE picnic (this year complete with a bratwurst bar), and an hour-long fireworks show with K2 and K7. So fun! Another highlight of the past term was that my little brother, Austin, was a kamper at K2! I got to go and visit him several times throughout the term. It has been so fun to watch him grow up and it makes me so happy to see him thriving, especially now that he's at the bigger high school kamp. He absolutely loved it!

I left to head to Waco at the end of a kamper term and also the end of a staff term. So, when I return to kamp tomorrow, a LOT is going to be new. New counselors, new kids. The past staff that we had was incredibly and are going to be greatly missed, but I'm looking forward to the new energy and perspective that this staff is going to bring. A lot of them have never been on staff before, so it will be exciting to see them learn and lead.

I'm doing OK energy-wise so far. I know that my body has to be exhausted, but my mind is still mentally prepared to be there for another month. I'm praying for energy and focus, against laziness, etc. There are some things that I'm looking forward to changing in the way that I approach my job and some new things that I want to implement. I want to finish well! Thanks for your support and insight, friends. Love to you all!

And CONGRATULATIONS MR. AND MRS. FOSTER!

Life at Kamp...we're halfway done!

Hello blogging world!

I realize that it's been awhile since I've written last. Today for my day off, I'm in Fayetteville visiting some good friends and it has been absolutely wonderful! It is so relaxing. The day off today was very needed, although kamp is going well. We are almost halfway through 3rd term and after this, there are only two terms left! I have realized that time is flying by and I can only hope to savor the rest of these moments. A highlight of this term is that Austin, my little brother, is a kamper at K2 right now, which is right next door to K-West. I've gotten to see him once so far. It's fun to see him at the high school kamp right now. He's so grown up and he's absolutely loving it! Another highlight is that one of my K-Life small group girls from Waco is at K-West right now! I had no idea that she was coming until opening day and it has been so much fun to see her there! I have always wanted my girls to come to kamp, so you can imagine my excitement when one actually did. I'm excited to see what she thinks about it when it's all said and done.

After this term, we will have a staff changeover where some staff will be leaving and some will be going home. It is definitely going to be sad to see some people leave, but it will be refreshing and fun to have new faces around as well. At least on the girls' side of kamp, a lot of the staff coming in will be new. It will be fun to get to see them learn in this new environment and love on and encourage the kampers who will be coming in.

Right now I am praying for energy and drive to finish strong through the rest of the summer. There are so many exciting things happening every day, but it can be hard to keep the energy up when so much is repetition. I'm striving to make the most of every moment, enjoy conversations, work hard at my job, but also make time for myself to find rest and relaxation. I want to walk away from this summer having enjoyed my job, but also knowing that I did it well.

I just tried to add some pictures, but wasn't able to figure it out. I have been able to use my new camera that I got for Christmas to take some great pictures of the 4th of July and the western party. The 4th was an amazing day! Everyone dressed to red, white, and blue, we had an incredible picnic dinner, complete with a bratwurst bar and fruit salad. Then we went to K2 and had an hour long fireworks show! It was incredible!

There's a first time for everything.

With first term well on the way, I've had lots of little learning experiences. Coming back from my trip to Dallas, I felt like I was constantly playing catch up. My section of cabins that I'm responsible for as a KPS is cabins 1-4, so my goal is always to know those counselors and be a support for them as well as know the kids as be there for them as well. Cabin 1 is our only cabin on the girl's side that houses 1-week kampers. So, cabins 2-4 are usually our youngest 12-year-olds at kamp. They are usually fresh from K-Kountry or K-1 and are wide-eyed and excited about being in a new place. They are so much fun! Although I always think I can be doing better at my job, it has been fun to get to know those kids. There are also so many girls here this term that I recognize and know from last year. After I got back from Dallas, it was cool to look around and realize that I already knew a chunk of girls that were there. It has been cool to see how they've grown and matured and continue to build on relationships that started in the past.

It has definitely not been a typical term. Coming back into kamp after changeover just set the tone. The next night, the other two girl KPDs and I drove into Berryville, AR to go to Wal-Mart. We were on a mission to buy supplies for the upcoming "girl day" at kamp and a few other things. The outing took much longer than expected, and we ended up missing all of that night's activities. Beginning my job as 7-day coordinator has brought with it a lot of new experiences as well! Since we are fitting one-week kampers into a two-week world, there are some tweeks that have to be made. For example, the kids who come on the front end of the two-week term miss out on our kamp-wide Cross Talks and Purity night. Because of that, Tyler and I (my co on the guy's side), had to develop our own Cross Talks and Purity for that group of kids. For Purity, one of my wonderful kamp friends was willing to step in, but for Cross Talk, Tyler and I had to plan it all on our own. It was a cool challenge, and something that I had never really done before. I was so pleased with the result, though! We ended up developing a great talk that met everything that I had been hoping it would. Going into it, my goal was to present the Gospel in powerful way that was also understandable for our audience. I never taught in this context to that many people, so I was a little nervous, but the Holy Spirit totally took over and worked in incredible ways. I felt great about it overall and walked away from it pumped up and excited for the next one. It was such a THRILL to teach the Gospel and to pray that hearts would be changed through that. let's just say I'm excited for the next one!

The biggest learning experience of the past couple of weeks was definitely 7-day changeover day. This is when the first group of one-week kampers left and the next come in. Although Tyler and I planned a lot of the schedule together, I found myself basically in charge of making sure that everything ran smoothly. It was funny because I don't think that most people realized that this was my job now until I stepped up to the mic on the morning on the ceremony to help pass out awards. It was much more stressful and crazy than I though it would be, even just making sure that 50ish people were where they needed to be when. The morning ceremony and send off went well, but coordinating things for the afternoon got a little crazy. It was strange being the point person to make decisions about scheduling when activities had to be arranged and making sure that everyone was communicated with that needed to be. Looking back, I loved the day, but was exhausted by the end of it! It was great to take the time after dinner off to recoup before starting another day. A fun thing about the day though was that Erin Groth surprised us at kamp for the day! She is someone who used to be kind of a big deal at kamp (and is somewhat legendary now haha...), but also just a good friend who is near and dear to my heart. It was such a blessing to have her around and get to catch up!

Also this term, we tried something new....split day! This is where the girls and guys split and we had Man Day and Girl Day...it was so fun! As girls we had breakfast in bed, a cake decorating contest, a huge pool party, extra long FOB (rest time in the cabin), and talent show where each cabin did a silly act, nail painting, hair braiding, and fondue! It was such a fun day!

That's the updates from kamp so far. Thanks for the prayers and I'll keep the news coming!