Sweet Summertime

Just some pictures...

Meet Miss Raleigh Drew Knick! 

She's the newest member of Southside Baptist... and another baby we get to hang out with... and then give back! :)  

If you are into RANDOMNESS and like games... YOU MUST PURCHASE THIS GAME AND PLAY IT WITH ALL THE WEIRDOS YOU KNOW!!! It's the best

We just got back from youth summer camp... We went to Hydrate Camp in Panama City Beach... it was fantastic!

We were a little worried before we went because all the kiddos kept backing out, we didn't know much about the camp, and it just seemed like things were falling apart.  BUT... of course... it was a GREAT weekend filled with lots of Jesus, lots of laughs, and very little sleep.

Here's a picture overload from camp:

We definitely have the prettiest youth group I've ever seen...

Some of the youths played in a 3 on 3 basketball tourney. Here's Team 1  

The Red Velvets

And Team 2.  Kiddo on the right didn't come with us... he just hung out with us because he liked our girls... but... none were interested. And he was 6'6 and 16 years old... so they recruited him for the bball game. 

The Pooper Scoopers

Pretty cheerleaders for the teams.

Look at those skills!!! 

...both teams lost.

We got hit in the face with water balloons. This was fun!  

We worshipped Jesus... A LOT 

One of our guys, Cole, WON THE BELLY FLOP COMPETITION!!!!!  

WE WERE PUMPED!!!! 

Cole is a stud... and had lots of little girlie groupies.  He wasn't interested either...

CELEBRATION OF THE VICTORY! 

We also participated in the Volleyball tourney!!! We all wore tank tops... even the boys... even Jacob. BAHAHA! 

WE WON THE VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY TOO!!!! CHAMPS! 

Yea... we dominated! 

There was a Building 429 concert on the last night! LOVED IT! 

This song basically sums up the weekend:

And here's the entire group... the best group of kiddos ever. We love them dearly and LOVED what God did in their lives this weekend... and our lives. 

Student Life Camp #2 - YOUTH GROUP!

Now for the youth group (our heart) at camp. 

Here we all are before the adventure began:

Can you find me? Ha! I blend in real nicely! 

We took 25 yutes and 5 "adults"

So we left on Sunday afternoon. We planned to stop in Mississippi for the night so we could sleep in and  drive to camp and check in on time. Otherwise, we would have had to leave at 3:00 in the MORNING if we left on Monday.

Jacob had planned ahead like a good youth pastor does and made reservations at a Super 8 in Jackson, MS. FABULOUS! We finally arrived to Jackson at about 9:00PM. As we turned off the interstate the scenery changed. We were seeing lots of grass, nice buildings, and lit streets. Now we saw bars on every window, LOTS of cops, and ABC stores on every corner. We spotted our hotel - o dear... We turned in. Prostitutes were standing on the corner and people were hanging out on the rails of the hotel drinking beers. We drove up in church vans and everyone stopped and starred. It was like we were in a zoo cage. I could just hear people thinking WHY WOULD YOU BRING KIDS TO THIS PART OF TOWN? Haha! Jacob gave of strict instructions, keys to the rooms, and we unloaded. We scattered to the various rooms, but as each group opened their room door a green fury of cigarette smoke piled out!!! GROSS!! Some of our girls were allergic to the smoke and couldn't ever go into the room - sounded like dogs barking with all the coughing! Girls were FREAKING out. (Guys were fine... they don't care). The rooms were disgusting and... not safe! Jacob was getting a little antsy and frustrated with all the complaining. In a victorious moment, he made a decision - WE WERE LEAVING!!! We were there for all of 30 minutes. The other leaders even offered to pay for other hotel rooms if we would just GET OUT!! I wish I had a picture to show you how incredibly sketchy this place was but this was the one time in my life that I DIDN'T TAKE A PHOTO!! I know right. Just imagine the place that you always lock your doors, close your eyes, and pray as you pass - that's where we were! ha! It's funny now! We finally arrived at a safe, more expensive, COMFY Hampton Inn on the other side of town! Ahh... REST! 

Now... for the important stuff that actually happened at CAMP:

We did rec!

She got hit in the face :)

They were excited! 

New friends! 

Best friends! 

Cuties! 

:)

Water games! 

Some people didn't especially like the water games - notice the semi-dry hair!! :)

Worship!

Our Speaker of the Word = TONY MERIDA!! 

I love him! He is great! 

He wrote the book Orphanology and I knew I just had to tell him that I love him... so I did. The first day of camp I YELLED across campus at him and his son from Ukraine to tell him that I loved him and his book! He gave me the thumbs up! :)

Later... I really did meet him. Haleigh and I went to the Q&A session with him and the worship leader. I talked with him them after. Right before my turn to say hi I turned to Haleigh and said "watch, I'm going to tell him about how my husband and I plan to adopt. He's going to look at me and say YOU'RE MARRIED?" and that is EXACTLY what happened! Ha! He thought I was 16! O glorious! But I talked to him about adoption and the book and the heart of God for orphans. I loved it! :)

Our Singer of the Word = KRISTIAN STANFILL (and Haleigh)

He was FABULOUS! He loves Jesus and it shows! 

He led us in true worship and it was good.

Haleigh got to meet him!! It was a great day! We had to stand in line with all the 12 year old girls who were in love with Kristian too! :) We were fine with that. He's like the older, more mature Justin Beiber of Christian music. I know, it's a stretch. 

He remembered me as the interpreter from Passion! Exciting for me. That opened the door for me to talk about the Deaf community and Passion 2012!! It was such a God thing! LOVED IT! 

CHURCH GROUP TIME! 

This is where Jesus met us INTIMATELY and POWERFULLY! 

Again, I can't explain the GOODness and FAITHfulness of God! AHH!! It just makes me want to fly!

This was a time to stop, to share, to rejoice, to cry, and to discover Christ! 

Leaders were made here. Truth was shared. Struggles were given to the Lord. Forgiveness was found. Freedom. Openness. PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED! 

I know I will share more later, but one of the most powerful thing happened the second night.

There is a boy in the group who Jacob and I have loved from the beginning. We have been praying for him to know Christ for about a year now. He is just a fantastic boy - funny, clever, nice, etc.

That night... HE FOUND JESUS! O the joy!!

He is CHANGED! He is a NEW PERSON!!!! 

He shared this during church time and I can't explain to you the praise and awe we all felt! 

I feel apart!! I cried like a crazy woman! I tried not to sob out... I couldn't stop it! 

I cried every time I thought about it and am still teary now! My God is incredible. He is faithful. He wanted this guy for so long. He belongs to Christ now and it is so good!

There is so much more, but my fingers are tired and I know you are ready for this to be over. So it is.

I love our group and God wants to use them in MIGHTY ways. Here are a few more pictures to make you laugh:

Jacob and Mitchel - the twins! ha! 

Funny boys! 

beautiful girls! 

The leaders!!! I LOVE THESE PEOPLE! 

The group - coming home different people! 

Student Life Camp #1 - My family Group!!

FAMILY GROUP #82!!!! 

So, going to camp, family groups wasn't the thing I was most excited about. I don't know what that was, but it wasn't family group.  

For those of you who don't know what family groups are... let me explain.

Family groups are smaller groups comprised of kids from different churches at the camp. The leaders came as leaders from the various churches. They are "randomly" put together. The family groups get to dive DEEPER into material related to the week's theme.  And THAT is a family group.

I knew I was going to be with a high school group.

I thought I was going to have a partner.

I thought it wasn't going to be a big deal.

I thought it would be mostly girls.

I knew God had something in store - I WAS RIGHT! 

Here's my family group:

I cannot explain the blessing they were to me!!! AMAZING people! 

I saw how God can use an 18 year old girl to speak truth through her testimony to change the hearts of 18 year old boys.

I heard how desperation and broken-ness can turn into construction and goodness.

I saw how a questioning man can find answers in Christ and become FLAMEABLE.

I saw how God can use ANY situation for His glory.

I saw the power of encouragement.

I am an eye-witness to the power of prayer.

I saw people who yearned to be accepted by others, find their identity in Christ.

I saw the value in humility.

I saw and heard and fears, temptations, sins, addictions, pasts, and futures and I KNOW MY GOD IS BIGGER THAN ALL OF THEM!!! 

I saw a house built with words!!! The coolest thing ever! I have to share:

So, each night we had a prayer gathering in our family groups before we went to the main worship session.  I like words, so I made each student tell me a word that I can pray over them during the service.  I think it's powerful when someone can convey what they want/need/expect in a single word.  

The first night was awkward and funny and I was okay with that.

The second night was less awkward.

The third night... they built a house!!!! 

 The first person started. For the past 2 nights his word was "broken-ness." He said that the more he though about it, he realized he was already broken - and he was. He had experienced rock bottom. His work for the night was CONSTRUCTION.

The next guy thinks VERY visual! He is constantly explaining the pictures in his head to explain what he was thinking/feeling. The word CONSTRUCTION made him think of building a house... (okay... where is he going with this?).  He said he wanted me to pray for a BUILDING PERMIT. (okay... I don't get it). He explained that his foundation was pretty decent. He knows who Christ is and knows about the Bible, but hasn't really started building his "faith house." It's like he was at the last step of the foundation before putting the walls down.  He just needed his BUILDING PERMIT to really devote himself to building Christ up in his life.

Jokingly, one of the guys said "I want to be the PLUMBING SYSTEM."  Although I knew he was joking I thought it was perfect. This guy had been talking about all the stuff he had let into his life. How he had gotten distracted with the world and everything it has to "offer." So I told him I was going to be praying PLUMBING SYSTEM over him because he needed to get the crap out of his life so that he could really live whole heartedly for Christ! It was wonderful!

Someone needed to find the LOCATION of their house. College was in question and they needed guidance on where they belonged.

Someone needed NEW CARPET. She needs some stuff replaced in her life with Christ.

Someone needed a HOUSE WARMING PARTY. He had his house. He is living for Christ, but he needs people to fellowship with, to hold him accountable, to encourage him, and to walk through life with. 

Someone needed a ROOF. The walls were good. He is striving to follow the Lord, but he needs a ROOF to keep the world out. The negative thoughts, insecurities, and culture needed a filter and a ROOF would do the job! 

Someone needed COLUMNS. He would be going to college soon and needed a COLUMN to assure Him that God was steady and that his faith was founded.

Someone needed an OPEN DOOR. He wanted to serve. He wanted to find his purpose and calling in life. He needed a DOOR OPENED by God.

I thought this was SPECTACULAR!!! I LOVE IT! They came up with this all together. I love that our God is not a boring, old man without humor. He rejoices in laughter and delights when we ENJOY talking to him - aka PRAYER! 

FAMILY GROUP #82 will forever be special to me. I will be praying for them. I will be begging that God makes them miserable until they spend time with Him each day!!! :) 

I love you all! You are wonderful and I'm so grateful to have "led" you. 

Old School Student Life!!!

I'm going Back to camp this weekend!! 

I'm really pumped! I wanted to share some old school pics from student life when Jacob and I were in youth!!! 

Aren't we cute?? 

I know, it looks like I took this picture yesterday even though I was probably 15!!! Hah! No wonder people always think I'm a high schooler! 

Please note that me and Jacob were ONLY "best friends" here. Haha! Could have fooled me! 

love this! :)

I love camp for many reasons and I hope the youth really allow themselves to EXPERIENCE camp and just the presence of God that IS THERE! 

I love camp because:

bond with your youth group

meet so many new people

 come face to face with the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE!

You get to wear bandanas!!

You get to chant cheers and go crazy all the time! 

Kristian Stanfill - hehe!

YOUTH WORSHIPPING JESUS WITH ABANDON

It's okay to be a morning person

camp food - yum!

water games

ropes courses

wonderful counselors who are so pumped and remind me of Pine Cove! 

intentional time with people

face paint

no sleep

lots of pictures! 

one piece bathing suites! ha! 

...

I love camp. That's obvious. I pray God is THERE and we get out of the way and let Him MOVE and CHANGE and ENGAGE!