The Blog: How it is

Hey All!

So I am SO sorry that I have not been able to blog! 

1- Not enough time

2- Internet access is scarce

3- When I have time I would rather sleep.  :)

  So due to all of these complications and hurdles I have decided I am only going to post on my photo blog unless I have inspiration and umph to blog.   On my photo blog I will post photos, verses, and a quick note/update.  I am going to update that at least two more times this summer along with a large “wrap-up” post on the summer in all of it’s awesomeness.

  Please understand that I will still try to post updates on my website (megscolleen.com) and on my twitter (megscolleen) as often as possible, but it is very difficult to find the time to write a full out blog post with the crazy camp schedule. 

 On the other side of things I would also love to hear from you, and what God has been doing in your life!  It is always so encouraging to hear about what God has been doing and I am completely willing to pray for all of you in whatever area you need!  I LOVE receiving mail out here at camp so please feel free to contact me in whatever way suits you.  I will do my best to respond as quickly as possible, but please understand that I may not respond as soon as we would all like for me to.

My Summer Address is:

Megan Menke

N18250 Lake Lane

Pembine, WI

54156

One last note that I would like to leave with you:

God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46:5-7

I love you all and I thank you for your support!

Megs

Soon...

6.20.10
Hey!
We are now done with staff training and one week into camp!  The time has flown by so fast and I can't seem to keep up!  
  This past week I was on A/V which includes running the sound board, power point, and various other tech savvy tasks. :)  It was a fairly relaxing week and a great way to start out the summer.  
  Starting tomorrow our next group of campers will be coming up and I will start my first week of counseling!!  I am SO excited and nervous at the same time!  As I have been preparing and praying over these campers God has brought up so many amazing memories from when I was a camper.   It fills me with so much joy to pick up the torch and carry on what my counselors have taught me.  
  Any prayers you can send my way would be amazing and I thank you so much for you're support!!!!!  I love you all!


God Bless,


Megs

This is a quick update that I posted on my website.  I will be posting a new post on this blog hopefully sometime this week.  I will also be updating my photo blog within the next two weeks.  The photo blog will include photos from SST training, the first week of camp, and weekend outings.  Thanks for being patient with me!

God Bless,

Megs

Get Up And Walk

Dear Readers,

Have you, "Fallen from grace" recently? Have you made a mistake that you wish you could take back? Have you had something done to you recently that hurt you deeply? Have you been searching for God's will in your life? I have done all/had done to me, each of the above in the past week and I have found the simplest answer for all of these questions in my own life is to, "Get up and walk." Ok, that is not easy and often hurts, it is a difficult task and most of the time seems impossible.

Let me paint a picture for you. You feel worthless, you have been laying on the streets because you cannot walk, and try you as you might you can never make it into 'the healing pool' because you take too long. You continue to do your best to survive and you continue trying to go into the pool, a pool that has been stirred up by the hand of an angel, which causes it to heal whomever enters it. You have grown oh so weary, your hope and perseverance is dying within you. Then one day a man stops in front of you and asks if you want to be well again. You tell him your story in kind of a, "Dude, don't you get it" voice, but when you are done the man in front of you simply says, "Get up, take your mat and walk." Instantly you can feel your body transforming. The muscles in your legs respond and flex as they are supposed to, and it is a brand new feeling for you, as you have been waiting for 38 years! You rise from your mat and quickly do as he says jumping up and rejoicing!

Now let me explain something to you; you don't just get up and walk after 38 years of not walking! I was in a wheelchair for about a month and a half, and it is IMPOSSIBLE! Your muscles have no strength causing you to instantly fall down again. Your body would run out of energy and you would get dizzy so fast and most likely pass out. Even with my short experience in a wheelchair I can tell you how crazy awesome this miracle is!

So with that story in mind, yes getting up and walking is impossible...without God. With God it is actually possible! Can you believe that! We after sinning, after being hurt, after being confused by the choices of life can get up and walk!

How do we, "Get up and walk?"

After making a mistake, make it right. First with God then with whomever you made the mistake against. Whether it be friend, not a friend, an enemy, a family member; apologize and ask forgiveness. God will forgive you and whether or not the person you took offense against does, is up to them and God. You just need to do your part, in love and sincerity. When you have done your part, and have laid the situation before God; Get up, leave it before God, and walk.

When someone hurts you, first take it to God. He believes in you. Whether the person was confronting you (in which case you should deeply consider what they said), or said something behind your back, you need to bring it to God first. Ask Him to help you forgive them for the hurt they caused. Once you have come to a place of forgiveness (if you seem to be unable to do so, give your best and follow these steps anyway. By the end, God willing, you will be in a place of forgiveness) ponder the words or actions done to you, was there a purpose? Did they have a reason for hurting you? Was there something you did to provoke there behavior? If so, do your best to make it right. Whether you did something to provoke it or not, you do need to (should the circumstances allow) go to them and, in forgiveness explain to them how they hurt you. When you do this, it is giving them the opportunity to apologize, but whether or not they do, you can have an inward peace knowing you did your part. After this you have done mostly (each circumstance is different) all you can do; you must get up, leave the hurt at the cross, and walk.

As you search for God's will. So often we overlook God's will in our lives. We are waiting for Him to scream it in our faces, so we wait, and wait, when the answer is often right in our faces. God rarely (if ever), sends down a message with His will written on it, for your whole life. Why in the world would He give you your whole life story? We don't know what will happen tomorrow, and that is why we have faith. If we knew everything He had planned we would not have faith and we would rely on ourselves instead of God. God will light the path of His will, but it will most likely occur like a flashlight, a little bit at a time. Only what we need to see. "Your word is a lamp unto my feet." Right in front of us, not the landscape before us. Though every situation is different and God can do whatever He wishes, what I have seen is this: In order to get up and walk as we search for God's will we have to realize that He is all knowing and He will show us what we need to know, when we need to know it. So go, do what He has provided for you now, get up, trust Him, and walk one step at a time.

So as you can see, it is a journey we cannot do on our own.

We must have God by our side to light the way and to guide us.

Our job is to trust, learn, share, and walk.

May God bless and keep you.

I hope He speaks to you through these thoughts and revelations.

Let these words be Yours oh God, not mine.

Use them even in they're unperfected state.

God Bless,

Megs

When the thorn in my flesh

Causes blood to flow

It is hard to consider joy

When my weary body stumbles

Causes me to fall

It is hard to consider joy

But at the center of my heart

You're calling me back

Consider it joy

I lift up my face

In times of desolation

Sing songs of surrender

Get up, take yourself and walk

When the attack of words

Causes my heart to harden

It is hard to consider joy

When lies from false lovers

Causes me to fall

I cannot even see joy

But at the center of my heart

You're drawing me back

Consider it joy

I lift up my face

In times of desolation

Sing songs of surrender

Get up, take yourself and walk

-copyright Megs Colleen 2010-

"Just"

Dead Readers,

Let me start out by reminding you of the movie Finding Neverland (if you have not seen it I recommend it). The movie is about the writer of Peter Pan, and how he got the inspiration for writing the play, 'peter pan.' I am going to look at one conversation between Peter and Mr. Barrie (the writer).

Towards the beginning of the movie the young boy Peter refuses to use his imagination, because he has held his emotions in from the death of his father. Even so Mr. Barrie (the writer of Peter Pan) meets Peter and his family in the park and uses his own imagination to dance with "the bear" (being his dog), and acting as though they are at a circus.

Here is the conversation that goes on between the two:

Peter: This is absurd. It's just a dog.

Sylvia (Mother): Come on, darling.

Mr. Barrie:

"Just a dog"? "Just"?"

Porthos, don't listen to him.

Porthos dreams of being a bear,

and you want to dash those dreams

by saying he's "just a dog"?

What a horrible, candle-snuffing word.

That's like saying, "He can't climb

that mountain, he's just a man."

Or, "That's not a diamond, it's just a rock."

"Just."

I wanted to focus on this conversation because of the truth it holds. The world constantly tells us that we can't do things, and the people around us often follow suite. As Christians we need to get past those words and trust God. He can do amazing things with each and every life, we just have to trust His will.

When we offer God our lives and give Him full control our lives, everything instantly becomes an adventure. Now you probably know this, but I will remind you that adventures are hard, and often scary. They hold heartache and pain, but in the end they turn out right. God's plan is the same. You will go through trials and it will be hard, but in the end God will be waiting to say well done.

Now I've gotten a bit off track, so I would like to veer back to the idea of saying, "just."

If I dream of doing something wonderful, and someone tells me, "Oh you're just a homeschooler" or "You're just a small town girl" It will deeply wound my dreams.

It hurts our dreams when others put us down, and that is just a fact. So if it hurts us, do think it will hurt others when we dash they're dreams? Of course!

Hello people, we are CHRISTIANS! We need to build others up. We need to encourage they're dreams. We need to Believe in the impossible. Would Jesus tell someone that they're goals are impossible? Would He say, "You'll never do that. You're just a kid."? On the contrary! He would tell them nothing is impossible with Christ.

Nothing is impossible with the strength and power of God.

So my challenge for you is to please go out and encourage the dreams of others. We have so many people willing to kill dreamers, we desperately need more people to encourage dreamers.

Love like the Lover of all.

Lift up the dreamers, and those that are tired of dreaming.

Don't say, "just."

God bless, and keep dreaming,

Megs

I am a dreamer

Take me higher

Open the sky

And start a fire

I believe

Even if it's just a dream

-Bethany Dillon-

(thoughts and quotes taken from the movie "Finding Neverland" are under copyright of the creators of the movie)

Song Of My Father

Dear Readers,

A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house and while sitting on her couch I picked up a book that I recognized and read it. It was the book, "With you all the way" by Max Lucado. The book is timeless and tells a great story. Let me paint the scene for you.

A beautiful young princess.

Many handsome suitors.

A King.

A Prince.

A classic fairy tale is coming into view right? But the difference lies in the wisdom of the story.

The King told the suiters that the first one to make it through, "The way of Hemlock" could have the beautiful maidens hand in marriage. The only way for them to find their way through was by following the sound of the Kings' flute. Everyday the King played the same tune at the same time for each of the suitors to hear. Only one person in the whole land could play the tune the same way the King did and that was the prince.

After giving these instructions each suitor was given the gift of choosing one person to join them on their journey. The suitors had an idea of the danger they may face and chose their partners carefully.

Once on the journey the suitors realized how hard the journey really was, for the forest of Hemlock was the home of the dreaded "Hopenots." The Hopenots were not strong, but very clever and everyday when the King would play his song the Hopenots would mimic the sound of the flute and create music coming from every direction. The suitors became very confused and all, but one lost the sound of the Kings flute.

When that one suitor arrived at the castle and appeared before the King, everyone asked how he had made it. At that point the lone suitor revealed his partner, the prince.

Everyday the prince would play the song for the suitor and the suitor learned the song inside and out. Because he learned the song so well, even in all the chaos of music, he could here the Kings song and followed it until he reached his destination.

How often do we feel that God has left us alone and we do not have his companionship any longer? How often do we feel lost and abandoned in the music of the world?

The fact is most of the time we choose the wrong partners to help us through our forests of "Hemlock." We get lost in the sounds of the world, we 'hope not' because we cannot hear the song of our Father.

If we would only spend time with our Father.

If we took the time to listen to His song.

If we choose the right partner (being Jesus Christ).

If we would study His letter to us.

That is when we would become like the successful suitor.

Then we could navigate through the mimicking songs and the false voices that the world throws at us.

So will we?

One of my favorite shows has an episode that also reflects my point in this post.

It is about this teenage girl that wants to play music, become a musician and "do the music thing." Her musical talent came from her father, yet he is completely and totally against her band and what she is doing with her life. The thing is though, whether or not the father realizes it, he was the one who taught her music.

She, in a way, was following his song. Because she spent time with her father when she was young, she grew up with part of him in her.

At the end of the show, the father and daughter reunite and sing the lullaby he taught her as a child. Unfortunately it is the last time she will ever sing with her voice because she has throat cancer.

My point with this story is when we spend time with our Heavenly Father we naturally 'grow up' with a part of Him in us. When we study His words to us, we can follow His plan for us, His song. He will sing a lullaby to us and remind us of His love, but if we do not spend time with Him we will never hear it.

Spend time with the creator of the universe today. Listen for His love song.

He is with you all the way.

My prayers are with you,

Megs

"With You All The Way" is written by max lucado and any and all comments from this book are under copyright

"Song For My Father" is episode #913 of Touched By An Angel and any and all comments are under copyright

confused

confuse

Cause (someone) to become bewildered or perplexed :past and present blurred together, confusing her still further.
deceptionThe action of deceiving someone.
lie An intentionally false statement.
fact

A fact is a pragmatic truth, a statement that can, at least in theory, be checked and confirmed.

truthThe quality or state of being true.

Psalm 26:3
for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
Psalm 40:11
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
Psalm 43:3
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Psalm 51:6
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.


Let truth be our voice. Let us understand truth. Father God be truth in confusion that we may know Your heart.Speak, and clear my heart so I can hear.
With the love of God,
Megs

a quick thought on criticism

Dear Readers,

Do you worry about what others think of you?

Really that is a ridiculous question, because if you are human you do. End of story.

So why do we worry, and care about what others think of us?

In the end when we dwell on the way others think about ourselves, we lose our own thoughts and trade them in for someone else's.

I wish to have a passion of my own, but when I concentrate on fitting into a mold that is not me I lose my God given passion!

Oh why do we do this to ourselves!

God must cry out every time he sees us take on the image of the world. Now I want you to please take heart, I know this is a short post with a short message but it is very important.

-Please keep your individuality and do not lose your love of God!

-Be strong and courageous (Deut. 31:6) not lacking in zeal (romans 12:11), but instead living out God's plan for your life.

-Do not waver and fall, but stand firm.

-Do not worry about your outward appearance and the criticism of the world. They do not matter, all that matters is what our Abba thinks. He is the master of all, and creator of all. He does not just think, He is, He knows, and He decides what is right and true.

Please take on the challenge and take part in this battle. Share the love and passion that Christ has given you. Even when it is hard. I am writing this specifically to myself as I struggle with it every day. I know how difficult it is to not join the trends and to just ignore the biblical truths.

I will be praying for you all, and I hope, with all my heart that you will pray as well.

With the love of our Father,

Megs

The fear of criticism robs man of his initiative, destroys his power of imagination, limits his individuality, takes away his self-reliance, and does him damage in a hundred other ways.

~Napoleon Hill~