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~

give

give |giv| Freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone); hand over to : they gave her water to drink. bestow (love, affection, or other emotional support) administer, hand over.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.

Dear Readers,

Obviously the focus of this post is giving. I'm sick of how selfish humans can be. Oftentimes the selfishness within my own self is more than I can bare. We all get so greedy because we want to live 'perfect' life's with all of the comforts we somehow 'deserve.' All that we truly end up with are selfish hearts. Sometimes we are not simply self centered, but self oriented.

In my mind being self oriented is somewhat different then being self centered. When we are self centered it is me, me, me, all the time. When we are self oriented, things 'should' revolve around us, but we often don't even realize we believe that. We expect the world to care about everything that happens in our life, and yet we live life believing that we are giving, caring people. The only way we can see this poison in ourselves is if we search it out. We must dig it up and ask God to reveal the self oriented thoughts to us.

In this post I want to share with you some idea's that have helped me change, and have helped me give of myself more freely. So below I have listed three of my own thoughts on becoming more giving. I still have many things left to dredge up, and I'm not saying that these will help you, but these are steps I have taken and I now have a foundation to build off of. I want you to know that as I am saying all of this I also believe that God created this world for us to enjoy. So (when the time is right), I believe that God finds it enjoyable when we get the chance to buy ourselves something special, or sit down and enjoy a mug of hot chocolate and read a good book. That is awesome! My point in, 'becoming a giver' is that we also have the chance to give of ourselves in awesome ways, and we too often pass it up, because, we are human beings, with a human nature, and that human nature...is selfish.

1-Search out Selfishness

Once you have decided to 'become a giver,' you must put God at the center of your heart. You cannot search out selfishness without God. God has given us so much, the only way for us to become givers is to give ourselves to Him. That is the whole first step, asking God to show you your selfishness. If you don't ask God to help you, you will not make it through.

2-At The Feet of Jesus

When you have found the specific areas you struggle in, then you must place them at the feet of Christ. All of the thoughts and decisions you've made that were somehow self oriented, now must be given to God or you will just suffocate in them. God loves you and wants to see you through this journey, but you have to ask Him to take them away.

This step is the hardest step, because it continues on for your whole life. Everyday you will have to ask God to take away your mistakes. Whenever God provides an opportunity to give and you find yourself holding back, you will have to go back to the cross. It is an all day, everyday task. I often find myself trying to get around giving money to a sponsor child or (this is crazy) even lending my friend a good book! I want to save it for myself! Well, what is the point in that! The worst thing that could happen is that my friend might hurt the book! Thats is it. The End (we humans are so weird sometimes). When I find myself in this position, that is when I cry out to God and ask for help.

3-Give, Give, Give!

I love the way The Message rephrases Deuteronomy 15:10. It says, "Give freely and spontaneously." Yeah! That is what I want to achieve! I want to give of myself freely and spontaneously! When I find someone having a bad day I want to feel free to give them a hug. When I'm shopping with a friend and she sees a book she wants, I want to buy it for her! I know that this won't always happen (I am a teenager...we don't have money), but I can always give love. This last step should be the easiest step, thought at times it will have its downs. Giving is one of the greatest joys and so in the end the joy of giving will far out weigh the sadness (like if my book just happened to get hurt).

So now that I have reached my conclusion, I want to give a part of me to you. I want to give you my blessing for you today, my prayers throughout tonight, and the ongoing joy of knowing someday we will all be together, giving, giving, giving, forevermore!

I love you all,

Megs

2 Corinthians 8:11

Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

This is War

We are not blind, we know the truth, still we won't stand, still we don't choose
we'd rather stay, so comfortable, stuck in our world, that's under control
We may not pull, the trigger but we, stand by and watch, then pretend not to see
Silence is worse, then evil done, what in the world have we become..

can't you see

That this is a war So pick your side
Its time to move not time to hide
Don't let lies make up your mind
cause can't you see, were running out of time

Tomorrow will come, and one day we'll see, the choices we made, made history.
Before it's to late, find where you stand, so let's use our voice, while we still can

can't you see

That this is a war So pick your side
Its time to move not time to hide
Don't let lies make up your mind
cause can't you see, were running out of time

God were crying let us feel again
God we cry let us feel again

~BarlowGirl-Running Out Of Time~

Dear Readers,

This post should not be comfortable. It should get in your face. But it should also fire you up. I want to encourage you, but I want to make you realize how 'lazy' we have become. With that said, read on.

Did you know that life is war? That this life is all a spiritual battle for souls? This time in history is our time to make a change in the battle, but most of the time we back down and let the world do whatever it wishes. Why? Because we're scared! We don't want to, 'rock the boat.' Why should we be scared of men when GOD is on our side! We say, "Oh Jesus will come back and it will be all good." What about our part in this battle? We are given one life to live and we say, "No I want to be excepted and I don't want them to think I'm weird." When you don't agree with a worldly perspective you need to put that out. Let everyone know that. Yes, we need to do everything in love and I will focus on that in another post but right now I want you to see how much we have backed down. When was the last time you stood up for your faith? When was the last time you made a stand and did not follow the crowd. I'm a fighter. I don't let anything change who I am, but I know that I have so much to learn. I have slowly given some of myself to the world and I'm now realizing this and I'm going to change. This is not something I'm just saying, change is a verb.

The song above says, we are running out of time and that this battle is going on, we just have to step out and fight. Part of what we have to do is show the world not only the love of Christ, but the passion of Christ. Did Jesus ever deny God so He could fit in? No! Not only was he perfect, but He was full of passion for His father and He loved His Father so much that He would never fail Him and never deny Him. The world sees us back down every day and they see us take back a commitment we've made, and look at a magazine we shouldn't look at, say words that we know are wrong, make choices that are just on the edge of being inappropriate. What is up with that. We should love God with our lives and we should show the passion of Christ so others will want this love and passion. I am a teenager and in your teen years peer pressure is at one of its worst points in life, but I think too often teens (myself included) use that as an excuse. We need to face this and fight. Live your life full of passion. There is a spiritual battle going on and I am not going to give up.

So this is me and this is what I am fighting for. I am fighting for my soul and I'm fighting to show others this passion and love that I have. I am fighting to love God (and in the process love others) in a world of hate. I'm running out of time to leave my mark in the battle so I'm fighting now. I'm praying that you'll join me.

Revelation 3:15-16 (The Message)

"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

-I'll Wait-

Dear Readers,

Hey!

I know I have not written in a while because I have been very busy. But today I am going to make up for that with a very cool story and a very important challenge.

So for the past few weeks my cousin has been up from South Carolina and He has been on volunteer staff with my sister and I. It has been really cool to see him grow in Christ and meet new Godly christian guys. He is a christian which is awesome, but the growth I have seen is just super exciting.

This past week he has been chatting with one of my LDC leaders a lot and sharing all kinds of things with him. On Sunday we went to a picnic and he road up with my LDC leader and shared his life story with him. Once we arrived he came up to me and showed me something awesome. He stretched out his hand and on his hand was a brand new purity ring!

How cool is that! A new commitment to love his wife from now onward. An awesome commitment to live a life honoring to God with his body and actions. That is such a huge decision and that takes guts to step out and make that choice. I'm super proud of him!

Last week at camp one of our speakers talked about how love is not a toy. Don't mess with it. When you play around with love someone gets hurt. Like the illustration in the movie, "fireproof" if you super glue a salt shaker and a pepper shaker together and pull them apart one of them if not both of them are going to brake.

My challenge for all of you is to make the choice to step out and fight for what is right. My cousin is going to have a hard time in the future with all the peer pressure in this world, but he has chosen to go ahead and take that step anyway. Take that step and what ever God has chosen for you to abstain from or go to, do it. Love God with your life just as my cousin has chosen to love God and his future wife with this commitment.

Don't be scared. Set an example. Say I'll wait.

Acts 18:9

"Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you...

1 Timothy 4:12

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Encouragement

Dear Readers,

   This is now my second week of being put on video production at LLBC and I am enjoying it immensely.   I pretty much work for David Jackson and do whatever he wants me to do.  My job usually consists of recording (audio) chapel every morning and evening, and this week I am also recording (video) the new dish crew orientation video.   On the side I am also helping the bible speaker and his wife (Mollie and Nathan Jones) record interviews and other things for chapel.  I have learned so much doing these things and more.   It is so much fun!  

    I would encourage you to go to the camp website and check out the changes we have made and the new things we have added.   You can download the chapel sessions now and then you can listen to them on your computer, ipod, or you can burn them onto a CD.  

    Over the past few weeks God has really encouraged me to work hard at each one of the jobs put in front of me.   In my position that can be (and most often is) very hard.  My job is new.  I am the only one who has ever had this actual job before, so I'm kind of a gopher as well as videographer.   I am starting to find my place among the staff, but at first it was really hard.  I'm used to  different schedule, I'm used to knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do and when.   But in this job things are totally different.  I have to ask questions about what to do.  I have to be flexible to record at different times, I have to be willing to stretch my mind to do things I've never done before.   And I have to be ok with the fact that no one knows what I do.   That last one is the hardest for me.   I love being praised and acknowledged.   In this job hardly any one sees me because I'm behind a computer most of the time.  The coolest part is, I'm ok with that now.  God pulled me beyond what I thought I could do and now I'm a better videographer because of it.  I'm a better staff member because of it.   I'm a better person because of it.  

   So now I want to encourage you to work hard at each and every job God puts in front of you.  Even if you don't like it at all.   He could make you into a better person because of it.  Strive to be all you can be, but without any praise.  Be a servant to all, but don't let anyone know.  Sing praise to God for all he has blessed you with, but don't let anyone else hear it.   

    A few things you could pray for if you have a chance:

-Health

-That I will pace myself and not work my legs to much

-That I will glorify God in all I do

-Campers

-The heat (it has been super hot and just please pray that no one will get dehydrated)

-Chapel (that God will speak in mighty ways)

God Bless and I love you all!

Megs

His Eyes

Dear Readers, 

As I write this I am praying that God will give me the right words to express my point today.  The challenge I am going to share with you today is very dear to my heart and I fight to follow through with it every day, though much too often I fail.   Over the past few months I've been going through The Truth Project with my church small group and we went through the final tour last week.  On this tour I pulled some very important points, but the think that struck me the most was opening our eyes.  More like asking God to give us His eyes.  Let me give an example of why this needs to be carried out with a story.

  Melyssa stepped down the walk and onto the sidewalk giving herself pep talk all the way to the mall.  Once she arrived she searched for her friends. As soon as she spotted them she also saw her reflection in the windows lining American Eagle.  I look awful! She thought to herself and made the decision to just leave.  Before she could run the group of girls waved at her and she knew she lost her opportunity.  She pulled her shirt straight, sucked in her stomach and walked over the the group.  One of her friends squealed in her ear, "Did you see the sale at Target! We have to go over there!"  Lyssa tried to act excited, but she wasn't really looking forward to comparing waistline sizes.  

  They got to Target and she calmly followed the group wishing that she could be somewhere else.  They reached the jeans and the girls started picking out there sizes.  Zeros, and twos.  She just stood there trying to blend in and not have to grab her size, "Thats soooo cute!"  She said trying to distract them to another item.  "It's not really my thing...." Her friend Rachel said and then paused. She reached for a pair of jeans, "These would be so cute on you!  You have to try them on!"  Lyssa froze and searched for an exit.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw a bathroom not too far away. She ran for it but had to stop abruptly to dodge a red head.  She quickly got back on track and locked herself in a stall.  She looked down into the toilet and then shoved her finger down her throat.  Her throat started to burn as she barfed up her lunch.  As soon as her sickening deed was done she ran home and did it again.  Day after day she became skinnier and skinnier.  She soon reached a size two, but wanted a size zero.  Now she is wasting away, but she is stuck in a spiraled trap.

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

The ones that are far beyond my reach

Give me your heart for the once forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see

~Chorus to "Give Me Your Eyes" by: Brandon Heath~

Can you see what I am pointing out here?  There is so much going on around us and we walk around not even seeing it!  Oh please ask God to give you His eyes and make the decision to do so.  Look around you for the unwanted for the left out, and for the needy.  I know that pretty much covers every one at some point or another, but God will present the opportunity for you to not only be His eyes, but His hands as well.  Just by being willing to listen to what they have to say, being willing to be a friend when there are no other friends around.  Please take time today to see through God's eyes.  Make that your prayer and strive to fulfill it.

  Below I've listed two awesome organizations that I have fallen in love with because of there amazing love for God and His children.  I just wanted to share them with you because they have given me inspiration to continue in this battle for Christ and I'm sure they will inspire you as well.

Mercy Ministries of America 

Compassion International 

Psalm 119:33  (The Message)

God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me— my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me— promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics— but what you say is always so good. See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways!

Megs

I'm Guessing

Dear Readers,

So you all know that I am on crutches because of surgery in January and I was hoping to be off of them by now.  Unfortunately that is not going to happen.  I'm going to have to be on crutches for another six weeks and I cannot use my left leg for much of anything at all due to a hairline fracture in my pelvis.  I would explain more, but it's somewhat hard to explain and I will spare you the boredom.   

  With this new development in my legs I am struggling to see what God is doing.  I thought He had given me enough patience by now, but their must be something else that He wants me to learn from all of this.   My mind keeps telling me to take over and make my life MINE, but when I can't even walk without sticks on each side of me God pretty much has me tied down and listening.  I am continually having to give myself over to Him and trust that He will heal me in His time, though I wish with all my heart it could be my time.  Everyday, every morning, I have to put myself at the feet of God all over again.  He has blessed me with some very cool God moments and taught me some pretty awesome stuff when I make that decision and give my future over to Him, but the human side of me always seems to wake up in the morning and override His plan.  How crazy is that!  No really how many times do we go through our day and we try to override the God of the universe!  When I think of things that way it makes me realize how much more I have to learn.  That is my prayer as I write this tonight.  That I would lay myself before God and let Him be who He is, my God and Father, and I'm guessing that His plan will be way better than mine.

  

   Over this summer I am challenging myself to post at least every other week with an update on what God has taught me that week.  Along with that I will post an update on how God has been working at camp as I will be out there serving most of the summer.

  I will be praying for all of you and I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my healing as well.  Stay strong for Christ and have fun guessing where your life will go, but let God take control.  ;)

Megs

And I don’t know how the story ends

But I'll be alright cause you own it

I don’t know where the highway bends

But I’m doing just fine

Cause your in control

Even when I don’t know

Where my life’s gonna go

You’re keeping me guessing

~chorus of 'keeping me guessing' by Francesca Battistelli

Prayers, Songs and Sayings

Dear Readers,

For this post I just want to muse and share my thoughts with you.  I'm going to paste some of my poems, songs, and prayers for you to see and hopefully you will find inspiration and hope for your life.  There are so many things I could say, but I would rather share some of my musings with you because that is the easiest way for me to express myself.  I will be praying for you all.  Please enjoy and ponder these writings.  If you have any thoughts or challenges for me, or anything that you would like me to post on please let me know at megmusic1@gmail.com

Your sister in Christ,

Megs

~Reaching~

Reaching for the sky.

Watching the clouds go by.

I dream.

Of many days gone by,

Of many calenders thrown away.

Of many flowers hidden to remember days of completion and pain.

Reaching for the sky

Watching the clouds go by.

I remember.

The many days gone by,

The hours I wish I could take back.

The flowers hidden to remember days of completion and pain.

Reaching for the sky.

Watching the clouds go by.

I Reach.

I'm reaching for the days gone by,

I'm reaching for the times I wasted

I'm reaching for the flowers hidden to remember days of completion and pain.

I'm reaching for you.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart

and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

-Unknown-

~Sweet Sixteen~

Verse 1

everyday I put up with my so called friends

I put up with myself, And somehow I still get played

They'll use me and I will accuse myself

Verse 2

every week I try to understand my so called friends

I listen to what they say, but somehow I still get hurt.

They'll neglect me and I will reject myself

Pre Chorus:

God I need your help to remember that this is not the end

Chorus:

Cuz Sweet sixteen is only the beginning

You have better things ahead then

All this pain, all these lies

I'm ready to hold on, to what you say

Cuz Sweet sixteen is only the beginning

The life You planned is more than 

The things they say, The people they play

Ephesians 4:25

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood

and speak truthfully to his neighbor, 

for we are all members of one body.

~UnNamed~

I bring this song to You

I sing this anthem from my heart

I know my voice is feeble and weak, but I am Yours.

The strength of who You are brings strength to my soul

The power of Your love brings power to my love

The awe of everything you are is why I live today

Though many voices sing around me

I raise this anthem from my heart

Though many more are stronger than I

I raise my hands to yours

The strength of who You are brings strength to my soul

The power of Your love brings power to my love

The awe of everything you are is why I live today

The passion that You radiate

The songs You brought to life

The life that You have given me

The dance You have arisen!

The strength of who You are brings strength to my soul

The power of Your love brings power to my love

The awe of everything you are is why I live today

Megs