It's Been WAY too long!

Well, as the title suggests, it has been way too long since I last updated my blog. I'm pretty sure not many people read this but, I started this so that my family would be able to see what was going on in my Northern Michigan life and clearly, I have failed! I am going to attempt to get back on track!

I am sitting on my couch in my new house as I write this. This house is AWESOME! My roommate and I have lived here almost a week and, I could not feel more "at home". It is owned by a woman who works at camp with me and she has really kept this house up well, which makes it feel that much more like a real home. I love it so much I have even thought about making a video tour of it, like Cribs on MTV, so everyone can see it. However, I also think people should just come visit to see it!


Since my last post, other than moving, summer ended, life has slightly slowed down, and I have started an EMT class in Traverse City twice a week. Summer was great. It gave me a good balance of challenges as well as smooth, easy days. I learned so much and, lots and lots of kids gave their lives to Christ. I could not complain one bit. Now that summer is over and we are settling into the swing of school season camping, life has slowed down a bit. It feels nice getting to camp at 8am and leaving at 4:30. I believe my mind and body are still recovering from the summer so getting some rest is exactly what I need. The EMT class may be the highlight of my week. I have always loved medicine but never pursued anything related to it until now. I am going to start riding with Missaukee County EMS in Lake City, and I can't wait! The people in my class are characters to say the least which just makes class all the more fun.

My goal for the day is to unpack and finally settle into this house as well as study for class. I love having homework! While I know I have a HUGE purpose at camp, homework is a tangible task that gives me purpose. I miss that.

Anyway, I will leave you with one of my favorite pictures I took this summer. It was taken while I was driving back to Michigan from Virginia after Justin and Katie's wedding. Yes, my mirror is a bit dirty but, you get the picture!

A Case of the Can't-Help-Its

I woke up at a little before 9am this morning because my room was so hot and stuffy. I never thought A/C was something I would long for in Michigan, but this morning, I wanted it! While I know it is no where near as hot here as it is at home in VA or nearly as sticky as it gets in Eastern NC, because I was not expecting to sweat in my sleep, this weather feels much worse than it actually is! It is cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms all day with a high in the upper 80s. Gross.

Enough with the complaining about the completely bearable weather! Today I am working the PM shift so I don't have to go to camp until 3. Thus creates the perfect storm for my case of the can't-help-its. Because it is already 11:30 as I write this, I do not have sufficient time to go to Cadillac and do anything productive there, nor do I feel like getting ready for work 3 and 1/2 hours early! Therefore, I am sitting on my couch, writing this, and wondering what movie I should watch on Netflix when I am done.

I have also thought about walking down to the lake to read or just hang out. However, a 16 year old Lake City High School student drowned in the lake on Tuesday and his wake is today and funeral tomorrow. It might sound strange, but I almost feel disrespectful enjoying the lake when so many people in this community will be mourning today. Although I did not know this kid at all, it feels like the entire town is grieving. It was strange driving through town the night he passed because I could just feel sadness stretched through the two blocks of "downtown". As with all tragedies, I know good will come from this but for now, Lake City is sad.

Well, now that I have sufficiently turned this stream-of-thought blog into a depressing discourse on life in a grieving small town, I will say there are a few things I am excited about today. I feel like I am finally becoming a Michigander because I have opened a new bank account and I will soon be putting a Michigan license plate on my car! Both of these things are making me feel more settled in here every day!

Time to go eat lunch and, yes, watch something on Netflix!

Let's give it a shot!

What in the world would ever possess me to begin a blog? My thoughts exactly.

At this moment, I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop in Cadillac, MI looking out the large, storefront windows at Lake Cadillac. A storm is rolling in which, in all honesty, is cramping my style today because I wanted to get my car washed. However, watching these dark "thunderboomers" as we called them as kids slowly make their way over the lake is rather majestic. It is times like these that make me want to sit down and have a deep conversation with an atheist about his/her assurance that no greater being exists. How can you see something such as this and say "yep. nothing other than some molecules causes things like this to happen"? Anyway, let's get back to why in the WORLD I started a blog!

As I snagged my favorite table in the whole place, I took my journal and one of my favorite Sharpie pens out of my bag and had all good intentions of writing because I have not done so in quite a while. However, as I stared at my journal thinking of where to even start, my mind began to wander and I heard myself saying, "I can type so much faster than I can write and writing makes my hand hurt." I know these are just excuses and my friend Jennifer, who told me I should view journaling as a work of art, would be none too pleased with my lack of desire to write but I decided to blog. Besides those initial excuses, here are a few other reasons:

1) I can send this link to my family members whom I have neglected when it comes to communication.
2) If I know other people are reading, maybe I will "journal" more often.
3) Maybe I will get picked up by some major publication and become a freelance writer.

Well, the first two reasons are true and the third is a mere figment of my imagination. I enjoy writing every now and then but I don't think I would ever be a freelance writer. I was simply thinking of the movie "Julie and Julia"!

Life up here has been an exciting whirlwind. We are a little over half way through the summer at Timber Wolf and I am finally feeling like I have a grasp of what it looks like to be a member of the Guest Services team during summer camping. However, putting all of that into words would be an incredible challenge because our duties change every five minutes. Most of my days at camp are spent getting props and other items together for the events we run as well as answering requests by the program team. However, we could also drop those things in a minute to respond to a medical emergency on camp or simply to walk someone to a building they are looking for. I love that my job changes on the fly and that I am constantly reminded that without Jesus, I would not have it!

Another big piece of my job is leading my interns (who oversee the Ropes Course, Zip Line, Climbing Wall, and all of the sound/program equipment) as well as the Summer Staff (post-high school month-long volunteers) and Work Crew (high school aged month-long volunteers) in running rides and setting up for events. Because a big part of my personality is rooted in leadership, getting to lead is fun and rejuvenating. I am contemplating ways I can lead this fall, winter, and spring both in my job as well as in the community because I had no leadership responsibilities last school season and it became a bit draining.

I believe I have written enough for one day! While I have so many other things I could write down at this moment, I will save them or maybe write them in my own journal. I will leave you with this picture from yesterday. I was relaxing in my hammock by Lake Missaukee (the lake in Lake City that I live 2 blocks from).