Highlights, thus far...

This week has been insane. No joke. I've been exhausted every single afternoon, but I've had so much fun, and I've looked forward to the start of each new day. I thought it would be beneficial to us all if I just made note of some of the highlights of the week, thus far.

1. The Captains. As I'm leading this group of children around the island of Patmos (which was formerly, as in last week, also know as Grace Community Church), I'm privileged to have quite the eclectic group of guys and gals. I have the bossy older sister and the quite, obedient one. There's the smart kid with the hidden talent of beat-boxing, and the kid who tells random stories at inappropriate times. This year, in addition to all those, there's Captian Cries A Lot. He has such a tender heart...maybe too tender, because he can cry at the drop of a hat. I was sharing this with my younger brother, and he said, "Tell him Captian Whoop Some Butt will come straighten him out!" Gotta love Giffeh--that's all there is to that. It made for a nice laugh and a much more laid back morning with my new friends.

2. Emmett Stallings. There's a man in my church who, back in February, was diagnosed with colon cancer. He has has quite the bout with treatments, procedures, equipment, and such. His wife has a blog, and she has been given so much grace to be completely transparent and vulnerable during this time. It has not been an easy road for that family at all, but it's been a blessing to watch them keep the faith the whole way. Today, as we were singing during closing ceremony, I look up and see Emmett doing his percussion thing on stage. He was back in his element!! Granted, he was seated in a chair to keep from getting too worn out, but it was such a blessing to see him doing that which God has giften him to do. I couldn't stop smiling. Our God is the Healer!!!

3. Smiling Faces. If you haven't gathered, this has been a tiring week. Nearly 400 kids makes for a crazy time no matter what you are trying to accomplish--especially if you're trying to let them have fun and teach them God's truths at the same time. It's easy to get frustrated when 12 kids are saying your name at the same time. It's human nature to get tired and cranky after being in the sun for hours at a time. It's a pure joy, however, to see smiling faces of those who are working with these kids. When I see Megan Kersey smiling at the end of the day, I know she's just as tired as I am, but she has the joy of Jesus. When I see Caleb Krebs jumping up and down with the kids during worship, I know he's worn out like the rest of us, but he's sacrificing. When I see college-aged, basketball star Daniel Kelley carrying around a young girl's pink backpack purse so that she can enjoy her activities, I see the love of Christ. It's good to see kids having fun, but it's almost even better to watch people...peers...friends...serve and smile while doing it.

4. Zucchini Muffins. I got home late last night, and I had three homemade chocolate chip zucchini bread muffins waiting for me at my door. One of the house mothers made a batch of muffins, and she found it in her heart to think of the girl in apartment 6. They were D...wait for it...Licious. :)

5. The lightbulb on Day 4. As I'm going over the lesson today and tying it in with the skit, games, and songs from worship, I sensed excitement in the kids. I even noticed the lightbulb come on in a couple of them. It was all starting to make sense. It was no longer a bunch of random, hodge podge of fun. It was all being woven together. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. It's exciting!

6. "Places in the Heart". The other day, I saw about 40 minutes of this movie. I had never seen it before, but what I saw that day, I really enjoyed it. Sometime soon, I will rent it and watch it in its entirety. Dureing the 40 minutes I was able to watch it, I saw several intense scenes of many different raw, human emotions very adequately portrayed on screen. There are so many things that go on in our hearts, and I feel like we often keep them bottled up. It was neat to see how this movie portrayed them so well. I look forward to seeing the rest of it.

7. Laughing with the girls. Wednesday night Bible study is always a good time for me. There's usually only 4 of us there, but we have so much fun. It seems like the schedule of events chages from week to week, but there's always a common thread of honesty, fellowship, and lots and lots of laughter. This week, I especially needed all three of those things. It was a blast!

8. Rocky Banks' playwrighting ability. If you don't know him, look his up. He's incredible. Another talented member of Grace, he wrote the skit for VBS. It is awesome. Each night, I've come home and read the next day's scene. Each night, I end up in tears. Absoultely incredible. The passion sensed in his writing the Gospel in a narrative form like he's done has been somehting that my heart has desperately needed these past few days. I have benefited greatly from it.

As you can see, it's been a whirlwind of a week, but it's been so much fun. What's even better is there's more to come. Golly, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I can't get enough. I can't wait to see what God will do next!