About Me

01.06.12


Just a quick note in regard to running:  yes, I have continued to run 3 days a week.  Sometimes Matt is available to run with me.  That happened often while he was on Christmas vacation to my delight.  One day it was snowing (and blowing) when we ran.  I am still hopeful to run in a lightly falling snow before the winter is over.  For now I am appreciating the "warmer" temperatures of mid 30's - 50's.  


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01.04.12


I'm the kid in those old "need more art in your life" commercials.  Somewhere along my path I have disconnected from art.  One of the things my Counselor is stirring in me is creativity and a hunger for artistic expression and appreciation.

A few days ago I was reading the introductory chapters of one of my newer books Drawing to God, and felt my brain literally puzzling over the following words:  "Utilize abstraction.  For example, don't draw the tree; draw how the tree makes you feel.  Describe your inner experience using nonobjective shapes, lines and colors.  After all, art is not duplicating what you see; it is about self-expression."  My soul wanted more information and some interpretation (what are "nonobjective shapes"?), but my spirit grabbed hold of the spiritually discerned words and held my attention.  Freedom and light flooded my being; then my soul relaxed. 

Later I was pondering this topic again, and I had an "art project idea," (which I have not started), that led to the following.  

Perched, swaying.

Sky surrounding.

Clouds swooshing.

Powerful roots

plunging to

Living water.

Firm footing

anchoring fast.

Yielding truly.

Fruit, healing

leaves bearing good

forever.

Feast set out,

nourishing food.

Enemies

present, watching.

Glorifying,

glorifying,

glorifying.

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Uploading photos, cont.

This is the skyline viewed from our front windows.

Uploading photos

I'm trying to improve my blogging skills.  I should probably work on improving my photography skills as well.  Here's a recent picture taken from a kitchen window at our house.

You probably recognize this as a walking stick.  I had never seen on up close until I was out of high school, and they never cease to amaze me.  I plan to upload one of a praying mantis that I found while out running.  Stay tuned...

Get a Job

My desperation had grown to the point of anxiety and agitation. Once school was out for the summer, I needed a different place to live and a job to support myself.

Uncharacteristically, I decided to head to the Career Planning and Placement offices in hopes of finding some palatable options. The two summers since my high school graduation had been nightmarish and were better forgotten except for the lessons learned: you can’t go home again and boredom, unchallenging work and large amounts of free time were almost lethal for me. I needed a live-in type job in a removed location.

Nanny or camp counselor seemed like my best options after perusing the summer employment information. I didn’t view myself as a responsible, independent type. After reading several of the nanny job descriptions, I understood that camp counselor was my only option. I chose about five camps to apply to and set about filling out the paperwork as required by each camp. In the end I heard back from only two camps about interviewing for a job. One camp, a private camp in the eastern United States, interviewed me by phone and offered me a position some days later. The other camp was an in state YMCA camp and set up an on-campus interview, which was a first for me. I’d had other jobs and had talked with other employers, but never in a formal interview. Desperation drove me onward to the unknown.

I dressed in my most professional clothing and was sure to be a bit early for my appointed interview time slot. The interviewee was dressed casually and succeeded in putting me at easy almost immediately. Considering the gargantuan butterflies stomping around in my stomach previously, that was a miracle! Before I recognized it I was chatting willingly and straightforwardly about the facts on my application, about my family, about my faith journey, about my job experience and whatever the Camp Director inquired of me. I felt flustered one time during the duration of the interview when he asked me if I was comfortable getting dirty. Stammering, I replied that I loved being outdoors and had no qualms about dirt. He laughingly explained that his reasons for asking were the pristine white skirt set and high-heeled shoes I was wearing.

One of the residents on my hall of our dorm, Sally, had also applied and interviewed for a camp job with the same local YMCA camp. The days slogged by as we waited to hear something back, and we would often ask each other if the other had heard anything. One day, Sally popped into my room appearing harried and fretful. She asked me if I had heard anything from the YMCA camp. I told her no. Sally said they had offered her a job, and she was trying to decide whether to accept it or not. I felt crestfallen, but congratulated her and assured her that I knew she would be a most excellent counselor. We conversed politely a couple of minutes longer before Sally departed. Desperation surged ahead.

The next afternoon I answered my incessantly ringing phone, annoyed by it awaking me from a much needed nap. I recognized the Camp Director’s voice and held my breath; desperation was aggressively gripping me. He offered me a job, and I accepted it immediately!

Relief overwhelmed me, and I almost missed hearing his parting comments: “This is the last female counselor position we have available, and I am so happy that you are taking it. I thought the other female applicant was going to accept it, so I was preparing originally to offer you a Day Camp counselor position.” Immediately confusion crept into my emotional whirlpool.

Why didn’t Sally accept the position? She seemed like she was excited about the job. Did she know something I didn’t?

A quiet voice inside of me whispered, “She refused the job for your sake. Sally knew that spiritually you needed this job more than she did.” Despite the distance I had tried to put between me and God, I recognized His voice and the signature move of His Son –sacrifice. I was and still am deeply grateful for Sally’s willingness to give job up in order for me to have it. It was life changing!


Camp Tecumseh YMCA

          Sappy, I am. I wept as I drove home from dropping of my son’s CILT (camper in leadership training) registration for the summer of 2012.

I was not overwhelmed by the thought of him being away at camp for two weeks or by the fact that he will be old enough to be a part of the program next summer. What swept over me and caught me unaware was a renewed sense of how much I miss living and working at Camp Tecumseh YMCA. Who knew I was still grieving over that move?

Don’t get me wrong. I do not view Camp T through the same starry-eyed lenses that I did my first summer working there. Working there as an intern and then full-time helped to clear up that unrealistic first impression. So it’s not a perfect job or a perfect community in which to live…AND? How true it continues to be that time and distance bring clarity. Would I sprint toward a chance to live and work there again? I discovered this morning to my delight and surprise that indeed I would!

My heart is full of the many people that we know and love who work and/or live there. It’s complicated, really, the whole live and work at the same place thing. Yet, knowing all that I know now, I would dive back into that ocean again today. The camp staff is not a group of perfect people, but they are amazing, creative and dedicated people. How I miss you all!

http://www.camptecumseh.org/