Journey

To anyone on the outside looking in, this summer would look like a fairly ordinary, somewhat dull summer. I've just been living in Warroad, trying to make some money at Subway, and traveling around Minnesota with Jeff. Nothing all too exciting. But God's really been taking me on a journey this summer. In fact, I can see where this journey began a few years ago, but it seems to have made giant steps this summer. It all started by reading books like Blue Like Jazz and Velvet Elvis a few years back. A lot of new ideas presented themselves to me through books like these. They really got me thinking and started challenging me.

Fast forward to this summer. This summer I have just been devouring books. Books that have proved even more challenging than the ones previously mentioned: books like The Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President. Even though I was being challenged by what seemed like every page I read--challenged by everything from Fair Trade to being environmentally friendly to the war in Iraq--I still felt as though something was missing. (Now, I do not necessarily agree with 100% of everything I have been reading. However, my positions on matters such as these have been challenged, and some key beliefs have been altered.)

Enter camp. Although I was a counselor, God still did some pretty sweet stuff in my life at camp. We had some quality one-on-one time when we took care of some issues that needed to be taken care of. But even more than that, it was the interaction with my campers that made the biggest difference. I was finally able to use some of the knowledge from classes and the books I've been reading to help out. It was good to see some fruit from all those hours of classes and writing papers. It was very encouraging indeed. While I had been reading all this stuff that had been challenging me to the core, camp helped make it more personal. I needed the personal Jesus thing to help make sense of all that was challenging me.

Since then, I've continued to consume even more books. While I have been challenged in my personal life, I have also been reading these books with youth ministry on the brain. I can't help but read these books and think about how I can integrate some of these ideas into youth ministry. (It doesn't seem all that far off now...less than a year now and I'll be starting my internship. Crazy.) God's definitely been stirring in me and putting some crazy ideas in my head about youth ministry. I'm excited to be in a position where I can put come of these ideas into practice.

That's been my summer. Normal on the outside, but a whole lot going on on the inside. It's good times indeed. I know some of this might sound a bit vague, but if you want to know more, I would LOVE to talk with you about it. All you need to do is ask. Have a great everyone. much love becky

Books I've read along this journey: Blue Like Jazz, Through Painted Deserts, and Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller; Velvet Elvis and Sex God by Rob Bell; The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne; Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw; Everything Must Change and Finding Our Way Again by Brian McLaren; Jim and Casper Go to Church by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper; and Lord, Save Us from Your Followers by Dan Merchant.

Travel Time

We will be travelling for a bit. Friday after work Jeff dropped me off in the cities where I'm staying with some friends (Kate and Raquel) for a few days. Then he headed down to Taopi to spend some time with the Voigts. He's already back on his way to Warroad because he has to work this week. I'll be heading down to camp tomorrow. Jeff will be down next weekend to pick me up. I know it's not all that exciting, but that is what we are up to. I'll write more about our trips when I get back to Warroad. much love

Back in Warroad

We have been keeping quite busy since leaving Sussex. Our trip out here was as good as any 40 hour drive can get. Jeff started working at Doug's (the only grocery store in Warroad) two days after we got here. He's cutting meat for them. He is enjoying it way more than the loading dock at Marvin's. I'm back at Subway for the summer. Both our jobs have been keeping us quite busy. When we're not working, we've been helping my dad out with his new venture. My parents are starting a small business, Heritage Acres. This summer they are planting blueberries and grapes. The blueberries are just about finished, and the grapes will be here next week. Jeff's been helping out with the planting and all that sort of thing. My job has been quite a bit easier...taking pictures of everything so my parents can make a scrapbook/photo album of the whole experience. Other than that, we haven't been up to a whole lot. Jeff, of course, has found the time to do some fishing, and I have found the time to watch the Lakers and do some reading. That's it for now. Have a great day everyone. much love

I Love L.A.

Not much has been happening here. Campus is cleared out, and we're just waiting until Tuesday so we can leave. Jeff's been working on getting the dorms cleaned out and everything else he has to do at the end of the year. I've been laying around, doing a whole lot of nothing. One thing I have been enjoying is watching the NBA playoffs. I love watching the Lakers. I have done pretty darn good not posting anything on here all season, but I just can't help myself now. Sweep of the first round. Won game one of round two today. Kobe is probably the MVP. Gotta love it. Let's just hope I haven't jinxed 'em. That's it for now. much love

All Done

We finished our last finals today. Oh what a joy that was. The end of the year has been crazy with papers, projects, and tests. It is so nice to be done with all of that, especially because it's finally warming up here. We've been able to get outside more...go for walks, play tennis, throw a softball around. It's been good. Jeff misses the snow but I'm loving the sun. We leave here on the 6th for Minnesota where we will be living for the summer. Sorry for such a bland post, but not a whole lot of news this way. I'll try and get something a little more interesting up within the next few days. much love