I hope no one reads too far in to me posting this song! haha. It's Gavin DeGraw's most recent single. So excited for his new album at the end of the summer. I think he is just lovely.. and every time I hear his music, I think about my move back home from Dallas, and how I listened to his album the entire 20+ hour drive. He's one of my favorite musicians.

When I lived in Dallas, I had the opportunity to meet a girl named Jan who worked Fuge with a mutual friend of ours, and then in 2009 we saw eachother again at Program Training. I was so nervous about being on leadership, and Jan, who barely knew me, sat at dinner and was so nice, and encouraging about the summer I had ahead. She immediately friended me on facebook, which is of course, the pinnacle of friendship, and promised to pray for me. :) I hadn't seen or talked to her since then....

Today, my newsfeed was blowing up on facebook. Jan suddenly passed away earlier this morning. I didn't know Jan very well, but I know a lot of people that worked with this Fuge veteran, who are hurting upon hearing the news. I went to her facebook page though, and read some of the sweet comments her friends and family are saying about her. Wow, I wish I had had the opportunity to work with her. What a legacy of love and encouragement she has left... people are absolutely confident she's "dancing with Jesus" today. It's incredible. She was incredible.

Pray for Jan's family in Trinidad and those close to her, and for the Fuge world who lost a beloved member of its family today, and praise Him for the work He used her to accomplish during her short time here on this earth. In the midst of sorrow, we can trust that He is in control.

Nashville Trip

It's no secret that my favorite summer working Fuge was in 2008 when I was out in New Mexico at Glorieta. Maybe it was being in the midst of the beautiful mountains, the no humidity, my incredible Bible study groups, and the fact that I got to see bears. Mostly though, I think it was my staff. There were close to 40 of us, from all over the country, that came together to serve the Lord and love on students during their week of Fuge.

The night we celebrated Christmas in downtown Santa Fe

Not gonna lie, singing Christmas carols in July, in a very public place, in matchy t-shirts,

was one of the most embarrassing things I've had to do as a part of a Fuge staff! :)

Before 2008, there was this joke among Fuge veterans called "The Glorieta Curse." Let's just say, there had been some rough summers in the years prior. Knowing this, we were determined to make it a great summer... and it was.

This past Sunday, after church, I ran home real quick, packed a bag and headed to Nashville. My director (and wonderful friend) from that summer, Jeremy, was going to be in town on his birthday (Monday) and some of us were getting together to celebrate him. I hadn't seen Jeremy in a couple years, and so I was so excited to spend time with him, and with the other Fuge staffers that came for the party. In all, there were 9 of us there, I think, from my summer out at Glorieta, and it was such a sweet time together. At the end of camp, you get hit with that thought of, "wow, this entire group of us will likely never be back together again," but it's those little mini reunions that keep those memories so vivid in our minds.

The birthday boy, Jeremy, and me back in 2008

At our staff appreciation dinner.

Love him!

Jeremy, as "JAW Man," duh!

We laughed about the crazy stuff that happened in our 7 weeks of camp, and we laughed about the things we did together as a staff, we sang pop music together like we did in '08, and just enjoyed one of those moments that, though we hadn't seen eachother in awhile, it felt like hardly any time had passed at all. By far, my favorite part of the night was when we were getting ready to break up the party, and Jeremy asked if we could pray together. As a group, Jeremy led us in a prayer for the things going on in our lives, the members of our staff that weren't present, but are still very much in our hearts, the different Fuge camps our former team members are working at, and the ones we'll be taking our students to as youth ministers. Above all, we praised God for being the reason for our friendship. It was Him who brought us together, and our love for Him that keeps our partnership in the Gospel growing strong.

I love those people so much and am so incredibly blessed to still be able to call so many of them my friends. I learned so much from that staff, and a lot of them continue to pour into my life. It doesn't make sense that so many people, with so many different stories would connect the way that we did, except to say that the Lord's hand was on our summer together at Glorieta. It was definitely a summer that changed our lives.

Summer Time

Dude, it's official, I'm a Belieber. I'm a little slow to join the crowd, but I just can't help it. Last night, after the prompting of some of my middle school girls, I watched Justin Bieber's movie "Never Say Never" and oh goodness, I can't help it... this girl's got Bieber Fever. I think my fever is a little bit different from some of my middle schoolers, as he's a little young for me to be madly in love with... buuuut he is a cute little Jesus loving Canadian who makes these little 12 year old girls the happiest people on the planet. I mean, I even cried a couple times... the same kind of crying I do when I watch Extreme Home Makeover and junk like that. Judge on people, but I liked it. You should watch it.

This past weekend was a lot of fun. My friends and I got together to hangout for Seth's birthday, and had a cookout. My throat hurt so much by Saturday night from all the laughing I did this weekend. Man, my friends are funny people. There were only about 10 of us there at Seth's party on Friday, but eventually we had to move inside from the back porch because we were surely laughing loud enough to annoy the neighbors. Saturday, my friends Candace and Jenny came in from Nashville. More laughter ensued. It was great to see them, and spend time with them before Cando heads off to camp in New Mexico for the summer.

And alas, camp season is upon us. I'm experiencing a kind of sadness that I've never experienced before. After 6 summers of working Fuge, having the best summers, ministering to students and meeting amazing people, I'm finding myself saying goodbye to my friends as they head off for incredible summers, leaving me behind. My summer here is going to be great, I'm just a little sad... and by a little, I mean super depressed. Here in Chattanooga, there will be a Seth Medley Band shaped hole in my heart as the boys head off to Panama City to lead worship there. I can't wait to hear their stories, and how the Lord uses them this summer, but I cant help but be sad that they won't be here, or that I wont be there in Panama too. Trusting that the Lord has so much in store for all of us this summer though.

I am hardcore... and when I'm not, at least I've got Justin Bieber, and a great group of girlfriends I'm excited to spend time with this summer.

B.U.S.Y.

Today was BUSY.

It was like a million degrees in Chattanooga as well, so I learned about 5 minutes into my day outside of my apartment, that straight hair was a bad idea. Very bad.

Tonight at my church we had Parents' Night, where students were encouraged to invite their parents to see what we do on Wednesday nights. It's a little misleading because we invited a band and guest speaker, so it wasn't anything like a Wednesday night, but it was still fun. There was a lot of set up today though, and I felt like I was running around a lot.

Of course I asked the boys in the Seth Medley Band to come lead us in worship. My students seem to really like them, and so of course I want them to come back as much as they're able. Then we asked my friend Chad to come preach for us. Chad is going to be our camp pastor at Fuge this summer, and the boys are leading in Panama City this summer... so we had a happy, mock Fuge night.

It was great.

I always get stressed out the day of events. I couldn't sleep last night at all, and I thought for sure they'd never get all their stuff set up in time, or we wouldn't finish at the right time or blah blah blah. I need to not worry the way that I do.

The band was great, and I was grateful for another chance to sing with them before they leave for camp, and Chad was awesome. I had forgotten just how funny he is.

Before I left, I had two students tell me they wanted to come to camp with us, and another one text me. I'm so excited. We're going to have a great group of students at camp this summer.... and its less than a month away! I can't wait.

Day 42

Day 42 - A picture of your dream house.

This weekend was a fun one indeed.

On Friday, I went to my friend Rebecca's pinning ceremony for graduation from UTC's nursing program. Rebecca is a smarty, and so I'm quite proud of her and her accomplishment. All the blood and guts, throw up and poop just isn't really something I feel like I could ever deal with. Rebecca has worked so hard, in the midst of planning a wedding, carrying out that wedding, and then learning to navigate the new waters of marriage...along with having a job, and a life. She takes her NCLEX test sometime this summer, and I know she'll do great. She's going to be a great nurse. She pours so much of her heart and love into supporting her husband Alex's music ministry, and I'm just so excited for her to feel like her work is a ministry of its own. I know she'll do an incredible job showing love and compassion to her patients and to the other nurses she works with, all the while, pointing them to Jesus. Congratulations, Rebecca!

I honestly can't really remember much about Saturday. I don't think I did too much.

Last night was super fun. I didn't have small groups, and so some of my friends when to the drive in movie theater out in the middle of nowhere Georgia. We saw "Thor" and "True Grit" and though I was ill-prepared (I'll do better next time... more blankets, pillows, etc), it was still a lot of fun. I'd never been to a drive-in before, but loved the experience. The stars were beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my friends.

Summer is fast approaching. Things are going to start getting super busy here soon! This Friday, my friend Mary and I are throwing a little get together for Seth's birthday, and a going away party for the band before they depart for camp. I'm trying not to think about how sad it makes me that the boys are leaving for the summer......... but I'm definitely sad. I know I'll be super busy, and the time will pass quickly, it will just be hard that most of my closest friends here will be gone, AND that for the first time in 7 summers, I wont be at Fuge.

Oh man....

It's going to be a good summer though, just different.

Day 41

Day 41 - A picture of your pet.

no pets. sad day.

Day 40

Day 40 A picture of your favorite disney character

Day 39

Day 39- A picture of your favorite movie

Day 38

Day 38 - A picture of the best part of your day.

I love sleeping.

Day 37

Day 37 - A picture of the people you spend most of your time with.

Duh! Even Kaylyn is in there since I spend skype time with her almost everyday. My homies.

Day 36

Day 36 - A picture of your ‘other half'.