Q&A

I just re-read all of my posts on this blog (didn't take long; there are only 4!), and decided that I should post about the answers God has already provided since I last blogged. Here goes:

JOB
Yes, I got job offers and the Lord guided me in my decision which I now thank Him for continuously! I had two Skype interviews, followed by two job offers. Both jobs had things that I liked about it, and both had some disadvantages. It was a really tough call. I asked TONS of people for advice. Being at a camp with lots of people from my field and with more experience than me was an amazing resource for information and advice. Unfortunatley, it got to the point that I had too many opinions, too many stories, and too much going on that I could not discern what God was telling me. Finally, I took a break from all the noise, prayed like crazy, researched, pondered, and prayed some more. I called in my responses to the two school systems. I ended up accepting a job at a private school in my hometown (meaning I get to live at home still!).

I have met tons of students and pray that I have been a good influence on them. I know they are learning a lot. Our first Christmas concert is coming up, which is making me nervous as well as my beginner students. It's their first instrumental concert EVER after all!

FRIENDS
Along with meeting all the students, I have been meeting plenty of new people at church. This has been great! I love getting to know new people! This new network of friends has been such a blessing... and it's been great to have friends in the area after so many college friends travelled away from here.

As for my "old" friends, some of us are keeping in touch. It's a very small number (besides the "facebook friends") but that's ok, because we are creating tighter-knit friendships that way. It's also easy to sacrifice time for a few friends than a whole heapload. That just eats up all your time. I used to prefer having tons of friends, but I've realized that it's just not practical, and I didn't know any of them very well.

Well, I still have plenty of unanswered questions for God to make clear, but I look forward to the journey He has before me!

Seeing Reality

So... in this part of my life, I am a camp counselor. With that comes a lot of responsibility, including devotions before bed each night. Last week devos centered around our tribe name and verse(s): Seraphim (meaning fiery ones) from Isaiah 6:3 (and Numbers 21:9). It was a great study. The girls did not open up much even to answer simple questions like "What did the seraphim do in this passage?" At the end of the week, some of the girls referenced things from devos in a different context- and referenced it excitedly. This was proof enough for me that it really touched and impacted them! I was so excited!

This week I have no new campers, which means the girls already know each other. I hoped this would help them open up more... The topic which I decided on for this week was another reason to be excited. I told a couple of the campers how excited I was. Then devos came. I gave the girls some time to reflect and write down how they view themselves- not how they think others see them, or what they want to be, or what they know they should think. After that, we briefly talked about how the negative views of ourselves stem from lies, and that we need to dwell on truths about God to counteract these deep-seated lies.

After I closed us in prayer and the girls started to prepare for bed, I recognized that at least one girl (called GirlA for now) was very pensive and seemed upset. I feared that I had done something horribly wrong in picking the topic. I do not want the girls to "beat themselves up" because of devos. Instead I hope they trust the Lord to help them break free of their wrong perceptions. I did consider that it could have been conviction from the Lord- and I pray that it was! Earlier today I spoke with another camper (called GirlB) about how I was concerned that the girls may be upset with me about the devo topic. She admitted to me that she was mad at me last night after devos. She was first mad at herself for having those thoughts, and mad at me for making her think about, and especially writing it down. GirlB asked me if she could burn or throw away the paper. I explained the entire week's devotion plan to try to encourage her about the direction of the study. It helped. Finally, we decided to seal her paper in an envelope for her to revisit later in her life for her to reflect on how she has grown and what the Lord has done in her life.

In devos tonight, we basically talked about Truth... jumped around the Bible looking at various passages and verses about truth, lies, and temptation. The girls were interacting, reading from the Word, answering questions, and discussing with each other! (All but GirlA... which still concerns me, because she wouldn't talk to me after devos tonight) GirlB assured me that she was not mad at me tonight, that it was much better than last night! I do believe that my girls (except maybe GirlA) gained and grew from devos tonight! If you could pray for GirlA, that she is not being attacked by Satan right now, but being convicted by God, that would be greatly appreciated! Please pray for GirlB and the others, that they will apply the truths to their lives and take them to heart so they can use them when the time comes!