nothing to say.

our camp this past week had us leading 250 junior high students. it was super fun and super tiring.

morning show was a blast to do. i like morning show.
but i hate mornings.

i taught them all the bacon dance. it was AWESOME.

we have CIY:MO this week... i'm sooooo excited. i'm remembering Bible and Beach and how good it was... and i'm thrilled i get to go to another CIY. it's been over a year, i think i'm having withdrawals.
just kidding.

but seriously.

i've been super homesick. i think loving daniel bayes' family so much makes me remember how much i love my own family.. i long for them quite a bit.

i'm kind of a baby about it. i should grow up i guess.

i don't really want to.

i bought jeans today, and they don't have a zipper. they're super weird. monticello, illinois has almost nothing in the way of clothing stores. bayes' parents told me to look for pants at dollar general.
i was so confused.

good news. i called my dad today and found out that he would be giving the sex talk to 300 college age students at my home church to help out with their series on sexual purity.
of course, i know many of these people. i wish so bad i could've been there. oh well. i had the same talk seven years ago... i guess i need to be generous with my dad's biblical wisdom on Christian sexuality.

haha.

God, Gideon, and my father

so i had a project due for my Old Testament class called a "Lesson Plan"... 3-4 pages of a teaching outline or something similar about part of the OT we had studies previously in class.

so i figured i would do a lesson for junior high or highschool aged kids about gideon and how he needed to trust God more or something like that. but as i did my research and read about it and studied the scripture itself, i found gideon to be completely underrated by most of us.

he only asked for verification three times for the biggest action of his lifetime for his entire nation. he asked that the Angel of the Lord stay and wait for his offering, and that the Lord would give him two different signs from a fleece left in dewy grass. but check this out -- while God pared down his forces from some thousands of men to only 300 to defeat the huge army of the midianites and amelakites, gideon didn't complain or question God once. not once.

the people recognized gideon as a strong leader; a general worthy of their respect and their trust. when he blew the trumpet and called Israel to arms against the impending enemy attack, they came. and after the battle, gid went after the enemy with fierceness and decisiveness that behooved a general of the Almighty.

he went from a young man scared of his own family's reactions to anything he might do, to a general that fiercely fights battles for the Lord.

and what caught me the most about this story, was the very beginning. in the very beginning of the story, God goes to gideon to talk to him about what he is supposed to do, and he calls this kid a mighty warrior. gideon's like, "say what?!"the Lord called it like he saw it... he knew gideon would become a mighty warrior for His Glory, and told him so.

God sees our potential, too... and he calls us by His name to live for His glory. i hope i can transform the way gideon did... and do awesome stuff for His kingdom the way gideon did.

also, i got an email from my dad today, and i would just like to brag about him. he's the most humble, smart, wise, loving, compassionate, just, generous christian man i've ever seen. he's the best husband and best father i've ever even heard of. i am so, so proud to be called his daughter, and have the same last name as him. i get to talk to him  all the time!!! be jealous of me! haha..

also, i love triscuits