Free to Be a Slave

So as I mentioned in my last post, two weekends ago was our CAYP Retreat for 2008, and the theme of the weekend was "Free to Be a Slave." (CAYP for those who don't know is College Age Young Professionals).  We rented a house out on the Cosumnes River to have the retreat which turned out to be both a blessing and a disaster all at the same time!!!  

The place we stayed

The Cosumnes  River

We were blessed because the house is out in the middle of nowhere with hills and trees all around, and of course the river ran right through the property so we had the river all to ourselves.   The disaster was that upon arrival the lady told me that there was a pipe broken under the house so we could use the water during the morning and evening but asked if we could turn it off during the day.  Sounds good in theory , but when you have 14 people who need to do things like go to the bathroom, wash their hands, do dishes and shower throughout the day it's not as easy as one might think to keep the water off.   I had people asking me every 5 minutes to turn the water on for something!!  The other big issues were the swamp cooler which needed to be manually filled with water at least once an hour because the pump was broken and the ants.  But seriously, other then that it was an awesome weekend, and those are the experiences that drive you nuts while your dealing with them, but you can't help but look back and laugh at later!!!

One of our Lessons

We had a retreat committee which consisted of Dustin, Brandon and I, and we worked really well together which was great.  Brandon planned out all the lessons on our theme which he picked out and did an amazing job at presenting thought provoking and scripture filled lesson on what it means to be a slave, what it means to be free, and what it means to be a free slave in Christ.  Dustin made our song packets and was the guy in charge of odd jobs/tasks in preparation for the retreat, and I did menu, schedule, coordination and general keeping everyone on track tasks!!!

Enjoying Lunch Around the Table

We had 14 people come which was an awesome turn out and it turned out to be 7 boys and 7 girls, and 7 people slept outside and 7 people slept inside!!!  The weekend turned out to be relaxing, enriching and a total blast.  We had lessons, river time, campfire/devo, resting and relaxing, and lots of time to get to know one another even better!  Campfires were some of my favorite parts; I don't know if a person can feel closer to God then sitting around a fire in the middle of nowhere watching stars fall our of a clear night sky (I saw 4 in one night) surrounded by loving brothers and sisters in Christ.

My Car Loaded heading out!

Exploring the River

Do you see the size of those paddles compared to the canoe!?!

Isaac found a sliver of Gold

Just about the best sign I've ever seen on a road!

There are so many great pictures to share and stories to tell but they can't all be shared here.  I'm so glad I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with our awesome college group!

Cardboard Testimony

I was forwarded this link by a friend and thought it was really touching.  What would be your Cardboard Testimony?  I'm not sure yet what mine would be.

National Day of Prayer

Today is National Day of Prayer; held the first Thursday in May. On April 17th, 1952 president Truman signed a bill proclaiming the National Day of Prayer into Law. For More about you can check our favorite and most reliable source wikipedia!

Here is a link to the Presidential Prayer Team which has the President's prayer requests for our Nation.

And Here is a link to the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

National Day of Prayer asks all Americans to join in prayer no matter what their faith or religion.  So I hope you all take a moment today to say a prayer about the things that are weighing on your heart.  I know I'll be praying for all of you.

Praying Down Gas Prices

Alright, I often complain to my mom about the prices of gas I'm dealing with, and of course have lively discussions with the people who live near me about the prices as well.  Today I paid $3.77 a gallon for gas; which is the cheapest around, at a place down the street it was $3.91 for 87.  But I'm not going to complain about that here.

As Christians we strongly believe in prayer, and use it as our avenue to communicate with God.  Everyone has the right to talk to God about whatever is on their heart and God listens; already knowing what we are going to ask and already knowing what's best for us.  

There is apparently a movement going around called "Pray at the Pump"  where people meet at gas stations and pray that gas prices will go down.  There is also a petition going around that says; B'y signing this petition,  you agree to pray for relief from the high gas prices at least three times a day until we, the people are delivered.  These prices are destroying the middle class of America and making donating to charitable causes difficult."

The petition

I completely understand that the prices of gas are out of control, and I completely support prayer.  But I do find it a little much that there is a movement out there that want's people to commit to praying 3 times a day specifically for the price of gas to go down.  I think the price of gas isn't the real issue that we should be praying for, it's the things reasons behind the gas prices that we need to be praying for.  But we also have to had faith that God is at work in our lives and we are going through this current situation for a reason.  I know, I know, easier said when I'm not standing at the pump! 

But come to think of it, maybe praying at the pump will bring someone else to God.  Wanted to see what others think??

A few randomly fun things

So yesterday I was driving along in the car trying to get an eyelash out of my eye and pondering how it is that such a little thing could hurt so much when it gets in the eye.  Then I thought to myself; I wonder if God knew when He created eyelashes to protect people's eyes they would be the very thing that hurt the most in their eyes.  And then I thought to myself; I'm such a dork, of course He knew, God knows everything.  So after that I spent most of the drive marveling at the fact that God would be so detailed in His work that He would even make something so small yet so important as eyelashes. 

On another note: Every now and again I stumble across great shows when I'm at work and the kids are asleep; they are usually asleep during the parts of the day when nothing good is on TV; but every once in a while I come across a nugget of goodness.  I've blogged before about one of these shows, 2007 World Series of Pop Culture.  Well last year I stumbled upon a show called Sand Blasters on the Travel Channel;  it's basically a show where 8 teams of two work for two days to build amazing sand sculptures, and along the way at different points 5 get blow up and the teams have to start over again.  It's a crazy amazing show, and yesterday I came across this years competition!  How lucky am I!?!  So now I aspire to go to San Diego one year and watch it live!

Movie Wisdom

First things first, I was watching the news the other day and I don't remember the context but they were interviewing someone who used this word; irritatement! Yeah I looked it up, it doesn't exist!!! Though I did discover a word I've never heard of before; irritainment - any form of entertainment that is also quite irritating but which one is unable to stop watching, such as a spectacular trial or reality television show. I think it's a word I might try out here and there!!!

So to the real point of this topic. I went to see Evan Almighty the other day and I took away with me two very important life lessons. The first is biased off of this quote; "You want to know how to change the world; one act of random kindness at a time." Now I don't think just me personally doing one act of random kindness at a time's going to change the world, but if everyone applied that, than it truly would change the world. And it struck me more because it's so simple and true than anything else. I think it was just more of a reminder that I have to do my part to make the world a better place, and it doesn't have to be anything grand, just a little something here and there can go a long way in someone else's life. And yes I did write that quote down in the middle of the movie!

The second thing I took away from the movie was more personal, and I had to look this quote up, it was too long to remember or try to write in the dark! "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?" I realized that it might be true that God gives us opportunities to make ourselves better, because we have to put in the effort if we truly want to change. I thought it was worded very well, and it made me realize I need to ask God for opportunities to grow myself, instead of just asking him to change me over night. The opportunity is truly how you gain the quality.

A very good movie, one I would say is a must see, funny, but inspiring at the same time! Two thumbs up!

Friday Morning Part 6

Friday Morning Quite Time:
It's the last morning and I'm pretty much out of energy. We have street clean up again today, I hope I have the strength and energy to work hard today. I know I was disappointed in my efforts yesterday. We did street cleaning yesterday just till noon and than we had the rest of the day to do whatever. The 4 of us went on an airboat ride and than ate at Two Sisters.

The airboat adventure was so fun, we saw probably about 8 gators, and I got to hold a baby gator!! At one point a huge carp jumped in the boat and almost hit David, it was pretty wild. Apparently marshmallows are gator crack! After that we went to a place called Two Sisters where we had real down home cooking. I had smothered chicken, red beans and rice and cornbread, man it was good!

Me holding a baby gator, well he's probably about 2 or 3 years old!

This was MJ
Today is yet another adventure and the opportunity to serve the Lord and the people here.

"Motivation doesn't last, but neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily" - Zig Zigler

Friday Evening Journal:
"It's amazing what a group can accomplish when no one gets the credit"

I saw Jesus this week in all the people who have come here not knowing who they could help or where they could fit in. And now it's the end of the week and everyone's walking away feeling like they have found their place in this "family" and they feel that their efforts were well worth the trip.

The 4 of us at the end of a long week's work!! Me, Jim, Beverly, and David

Thursday Morning Part 5

Thursday Morning Quite Time:
It was very hard to get up this morning and I can tell I lost my morning peppyness today! I'm so glad for half day, I wish it was noon already, though this afternoon while we're out we won't be working hard so perhaps that will help me gather energy for tomorrow. I can't believe its' already Thursday, a week seems to fly when it's not a "normal" routine week!

Col 2: 6-10


Street Cleaning Crew!

Wednesday Evening Part 4

Wednesday Evening Journal:
Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without thinking. - Rom 12:1-2 (from The Message Version)
If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, than it's wrong. - Rom 14 (from The Message Version)

Today was yet another adventure. We were assigned to stay on campus today to do "house keeping." The other lady traveling with us got sick after breakfast and ended up resting in our room all day. Jim had to leave early to go with the other group leaders to a cafe meeting, so that left David and I doing most of the cleaning.

Jim and David


We worked well together, as David said "it's nice to work with someone who works hard," we both pulled equal weight. We decided to work through lunch and get off early, so we finished up at about 1 and headed out to McDonald's for lunch. We had kitchen duty at 3 and made dinner, goulash, something neither Jim, David, or I wanted to eat!! After the devo the three of us headed out to Kmart (the second trip of the week!) for shoes for Jim. We ended up having Sonic for dinner, the whole evening was quite an adventure! So much fun! Now we're back for another hot and sticky night! Tomorrow we are assigned street cleaning, I'm not looking forward to that job, but we have a short day tomorrow so it won't be too bad. We're going on an airboat tomorrow afternoon, I'm hoping to get to hold a baby gator!

Tuesday Evening/Wednesday Morning Part 3

Tuesday Morning Quite Time:
It's the morning of day two and everyone's already moving slower than yesterday. I woke up 5 minutes later today and when I went in the bathroom no one was in there, what a difference a day makes! They said it's going to get up to about 105 today :/. I'm moving a little slower, but it could be because I can already feel that it's hotter out, and I'm still adjusting to the time difference. We are going back to the same house today, and I'm excited about that because I want to finish what I started!!


Phil 3-4

"The secret of success in this life is to realize that the crisis on our planet is much larger than just deciding what to do with your own life. The only work that will ultimately bring good to any of us is the work of contributing to the healing of the world." - Marianne Williams


Wednesday Morning Quite Time:
Yesterday we went back to the same house and continued painting, had to finnish all the cutting in (painting above the base boards and below the crown molding). It was hard and tedious work, but I made it through, though we still didn't finish. For lunch 5 ladies who run a mobile Loaves and Fishes came and provided lunch, it was so neat and fun, typical brown bag stuff! (It was a sandwich, chips, cookies, a piece of fruit, a hard boiled egg, and a bottle of water)
Last night after dinner we (our group) went down to New Orleans in the French Quarter and had Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, they were tasty and it was a fun powdered experience!



Jim, David, Me and Beverly at Cafe Du Monde
Then we walked the streets, saw the Mississippi up close, went to a few shops, down Bourbon St and then came back.

A view of the Street

The Mississippi

Bourbon St, not really a place you wanna be!
Each group did the prayer walk, which is 7 station that we went to, read some scriptures, talked and than prayed; it was an awesome thing to do, got me thinking about different aspects of my daily walk and how I serve the Lord. How do I show my love for God?

Start of the Week Part 2

Every morning after breakfast and our morning devo we were given about 40 minutes of quite time where we were encouraged to pray, read, and reflect with God. I think this was one of the most important things I got out of the week, because I know I don't spend enough time thinking about God, or talking to him in prayer. I really enjoyed this time and came to look forward to it. I hope that now that I'm home I'll continue to do this in the morning; before the day gets away from me. Most mornings during our quite time I would pray, do some reading out of the bible, and do some journaling. I also took the opportunity to write down a quick prayer, I figured it would help me when I look back at the experience to see what I was praying about.

Monday Morning Quite Time:
This morning consisted of getting up at 6am, and taking a pleasantly warm shower (the bathrooms were located inside the building by our rooms, but the showers were outside in two trailers, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I went for the first time.) though a bit of joy is taking out of showering when you have to do it with shoes on! Breakfast wast at 6:30, I got some good visiting in, the devo and personal time is 7:30-8:30. Then we'll be off to our site; today we are working on a new construction site, I'm very excited and ready to go. Right now I'm feeling pretty good and awake!

1 Cor 12:21-14:1; Phil 4:12-13, 2:3-4, 2:14-16; Phil 1 and 2

Monday Night Journal:
"The only solution is making the conclusion that it's just another lesson in life." - Big and Rich

As I spend time here, the topic of conversation turns, every now and again, to the what if's. Things that might have prevented what happened to have happened. But the reality is, it did happen. There's no point in wasting time pointing fingers, and no point pondering on the if's. It's time to just make it better.

Today I worked on a new house, sanded and painted pretty much all day. Me and the roller are pretty much bests now!!! I enjoyed doing it, though I don't think I've ever been so sweaty before in my life! (The AC in the house was broken and by the end of the day it was much hotter in the house than outside, and it was already way too hot outside!!!)

The house before we painted it!

New Orleans Part 1

*Click on the title of the blog to go to the Crossroads website*

I'm going to attempt to share my experiences and journal with you guys so you can know what I did and how I felt while I was working in New Orleans. I'm so glad I took the opportunity to go, I know it changed my life and I feel very satisfied with the work that I accomplished while I was there, even if it was a drop in the bucket. They say it will be about 20 years before they have New Orleans Back to normal. I'm going to break this up into a few blogs, because I know they will become very long, I've got a week's worth of experiences to try to share with you!!!

First off We flew out of Sac at 8:30 Sunday Morning, so I had to be up by 5 and to meet the my group at the building at 6:15, I pulled in right on time!! We got into New Orleans (NO) at about 4 in the afternoon. David who was on another flight picked us up because he's already gotten the car. We drove over to the place we were staying, checked in real quick and went over to Ihop for dinner, it was either that or McDonald's, they were the only two places open, despite the fact that there were tuns of restaurants and shops around, nothing has been opened back up. We had our evening Devo and checkin at 8, and we kind of got a rundown of the week. The walls everywhere aren't finished, so people have taken to writing fun things on them, and in our room the schedule was written up on the wall for us!!!


Sunday Night Journal:
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." - Mother Teresa

I'm so excited to be here, just a few hours in and I feel like the experience is already affecting me. From bonding with the people I came with, to realizing where I am, and the things in the week to come; it's all so new and exciting. I know it's going to be a long, hot, sticky, hard week, but I also know it will be something to remember forever, and something to change my way of life, leading me in the direction I want to go. I already encountered my first roach on the way out of the bathroom tonight, he was about an inch, inch and a half long!!!
It's 10:30 and we have to be in our rooms, lights out at 11, but despite the fact that I got up at 5, I'm not tired, perhaps because it's only 8:30 at home! The place we are staying will be an experience to say the least, I'm on a cot at the moment. There's probably tuns I could write about, but I'm still getting situated, though I know I'll have plenty to report on tomorrow.