trapped

(Iceland via The Commons)

I'm currently trapped in The Black Hole while a thunderstorm rages outside.  Buckets of rain and my car parked far from me.  I'll happily stay in the land of free internet and 1,000's of books, thank you.

I finished up my free 70 pages of The 5th Wave yesterday on my Kindle.  Now, it's all I can think about.  Fascinating story and I'm left hanging and the local library doesn't even have any copies of it yet.  Oh the torture.  I may actually have to purchase the rest of it because I just have to know what happens.  Purchasing books is on my "frivolous" list.  I always feel guilty doing it when I can find just about anything for free at the library.

Anyway, I'm finishing up my 29 hours off for the week.  Granted much of that I would love to spend sleeping, but that's just silly.  Tonight, a whole new pack of children arrive, excited beyond words and full to brim with energy. We begin again.  Loving, playing, swimming.  Making sure they have the best week of their summer that we can manage.  And always showing them Jesus because without that, well, it's all just pointless.

Rain finally stopped.

Signing off...


ps...I REALLY want to go to Iceland.  And Sigur Ros' new album is not helping the situation.

random thoughts

There's something about writing that is so calming to my soul.  Kinda like sitting by the ocean side with the sand covering my feet and the wind whipping my hair.  Like taking a deep breath that I didn't know I was holding.  Writing just makes the crazies go away.

Sometimes, when I sit down to type out a blog post, I have no earthly idea what to write about.  Like right now...do you want to hear about the 2nd thunderstorm of the day that is rumbling around out side at this very minute?  The one that sent the campers and staff running (no, really.  RUNNING) into the gym because the wall of water (rain) was thundering down the river towards them.

Or perhaps, you'd like to hear about how we only have a trickle of water pressure right now.  For the entire camp.  It's super fun when you are trying to take a shower at the end of the day to wash off the sunscreen/bug spray/saltwater/pool water/sweat/grass/sand/dirt off that has collected upon your person through out the day.  And washing clothes?  Now that's funny.  It takes about an hour to fill up the washer.  I feel so bad for our facilities guy.  He has to keep this 70 year old place running and alive for 200 people every day.

Or how about how I love eating meals with clumps of friends.  We chat and laugh.  Oh how we laugh at the silliest things.  We talk about random things and silly things and unusual things.  And it's just fun sometimes to know that there will be a table of friends to join at meals on the little staff porch each day.

Maybe you'd like to hear about how the jelly fish were so bad yesterday that I was continuously scooping them out of the water for almost 2 hours straight.  Bad.  I've never, in all my years at camp, seen them like that.  And it was totally out of the blue too.  The day before, there had just been a few here or there.  And then the next day...plague of jellyfish.  It created quite the drama filled day.  Because, you see, campers have somehow gotten it into their head that a jelly fish sting is pretty much like a shark attack.  Why?  I have no idea.  It honestly doesn't hurt that bad.  They seem to think that these floating piles of goo can sever one of their tiny limbs.  Or at least send them to death's door.  I try to explain to them that jellyfish don't have eyes, nor do they hunt humans like polar bears.  That logic doesn't seem to work, however.  Instead I deal with blind panic and screams of terror when their life jacket straps brush against their legs in the water.  All part of the joy of working with children.

Finally, how about I tell you the story of how Friday's mean Friday Night Snack Shop and I'll be in the middle of the chaos once again until 11pm.  It's always a late night and it's always one of my favorite nights of the week.  There will inevitably be jokes about how hot cheese that comes in a can isn't really cheese.  And probably a few comments like "how in the world can you eat that much candy?" or "can you really drink 5 sodas tonight before you go back to your cabin?" or "how old ARE you?"  That last one is for me because I may state a few times that it's way too late for a person of my age to be awake with those young kids.  I will probably eat something that isn't at all nutritious but is 100% delicious. I won't feel bad about it either.

Okay, brain feels less crazy.  Done.

Watching, reading, listening

Let's talk entertainment for a bit, shall we?

It is one of my favorite topics, you know.

How about we check in on that Summer Movie List?

I have already checked 3 off of my list so far.

Iron Man 3:  I loved it. Already wrote that, but it merits another mention.  If the second one was a little disappointing to you, then #3 will be redeeming.  Funny, good story, great ending.

Star Trek:  I must admit that I liked this almost more than Iron Man 3.  The story was so good.  And I can't help myself, I love that Cumberbatch.  And he is all kinds of fantastic in this one.  It was a perfect sequel to JJ's first go-around.  Highly recommended.

The Great Gatsby:  Loved it.  So Baz. Big.  Showy.  Loud and beautiful.  The story was sad (no shocker for those of you who have read it).  My roommate didn't enjoy the story because she said it was  depressing, but I'm a sucker for good depressing, sad story.

Still need to see: Much Ado, Bling Ring and maybe Man of Steel but everyone has been saying how horrible it is.  Maybe I'll skip that one.


Other forms of entertainment:

TV:  I've become obsessed with The Newsroom. The Bro has been telling me to try it for a few months now, but we don't have HBO.  Then randomly our satellite provider had one of those free HBO weekends with a Newsroom marathon.  Score.  I'm a big fan of Aaron Sorkin and especially The West Wing.  If you are too, then this show is something you would love as well.  It's fantastic.  And I have no idea why so many critics have been so down on it.  The cast is adorable and I loved them instantly.  When the writing is good (as Sorkin's tends to be), I've realized that you don't have to grow to love a show.  You love it 20 minutes into the first episode.  The Newsroom is one of those gems.  

Books:  I read finished Everyday about a week ago.  It...was....horrible.  It was an interesting idea and I finished it only because I wanted to know what would happen and if it would redeem itself.  It did not.  It was all around bad.
Currently reading: Searching For God Knows What and The 5th Wave.

Music:  I'm loving and playing on repeat Oh How I Need You by All Sons and Daughters.  And then there is the Sigur Ros album.  I just got it on vinyl yesterday and can't wait to spin that thing all summer long.  Delightful.

What are you watching, reading and listening to lately?  I have no earthly idea what the rest of America is into this summer.  All my "news" comes from my Entertainment Weekly delivered to my mailbox every Thursday.

Camp Life

Guys...this is where I work.
I know.
It's ridiculous how beautiful it is.
And honestly, I hardly ever take it for granted.
I still take photos of amazing sunsets like this at least once a week.
I still sit on the sandy shore and soak it all in.

This is summer number 15 here.
Sometimes I can't even believe it.
Other times I wonder if I've ever done any thing else in life.
College?
Was that real?
Did I really have a life that involved summer vacations?

Sometimes God completely blindsides you and knocks your plans totally out of whack.
Sometimes He has something prepared for you that you couldn't even begin to imagine.
That was what camp was for me.
Completely out of the blue, it was dropped in my lap.

And now, as I'm deep into this summer, I'm again in awe of how ministry works.
It is hard.
Probably the hardest thing I've ever done.
Grueling, humbling, exhausting.
It is also beyond words amazing.
One of the best things I've ever done.
Laughter, friendship, joy.

For those of you who have lived in the camp world, I know you get it.
We could talk about eating junk food and Popsicles when it's 5,000 degrees outside.
We could talk about being so tired that every little thing is funny/hysterical/the best.
We could talk about how kids are the craziest, funniest, most challenging little people.
We could talk about the difference between camp friends and non-camp friends.
And you would get it.

There is something so unique and amazing about camp ministry...
Something that I love and will love until my dying day.
Even in the exhausting thick of it, I always want more.

back again

A new MacBook Air has recently come into my possession (the battery life is crazy good).

Posting shall once again be a thing that I actually do.

May take a while to get back into the swing of things, but I'm so happy to be back.

Hopefully on a more regular basis.

ps…I haven't used a Mac since 1999.  I think I need to go to the dummy class at the Apple store.