Traverse City Vacation Part #1

I was so excited to have a long weekend getaway with my man. It was something we so needed and came at a great time. You may not want to know all the details of our vacation, but I will be using this blog as a reminder--so when I actually scrap book this trip I remember the details:) 

Friday morning we slept in and went down to the bay. Oh, sweet Traverse Bay:) 

Once at the bay, Jon went for a run and I had a fabulous quiet time. I spent time journaling, praying and reading my Bible along the shore. 

I saw a handsome guy walking. I picked him up and asked him out to breakfast. 

Growing up, my family used to vacation in Traverse. We would ALWAYS go to the Omlette Shoppe and get raisin toast. This morning, I introduced Jon to the Omlette Shoppe, a favorite:) The wait was long, about 30 minutes to get in for BREAKFAST.

After breakfast we had some time before getting back to the hotel and get ready for the wedding. Oh yah, the real reason we were in Traverse City for the wedding of my students...well now, former students. 

mmmmm. Where should we go first? Good thing I saw a hot guy with a map to ask for directions!

 

It was wonderful to walk down the street, hand in hand, with the love of my life. We weren't rushing, we weren't changing diapers, we weren't chasing a toddler. We were simply with each other. We went window shopping, enjoyed good conversation and simply were. 

Ending the night on a very very good note

These days have been long and tiring. The past few have been someone difficult as I figure out a schedule for our family, process through some of what the Lord is showing me and walking obedience that is simply terrifying at times. I didn't even want to start today, because I knew what was ahead. I knew that there could be some hard conversations with students, I knew that I would be on campus until 9pm at the earliest and would have to come home and put in a few hours of work and my house is...well, you can tell it is NSO season. 

And yet. 

What a fabulous day. 

So different than I had anticipated. 

Difficult small group leaders meeting as we wrestled with scripture and what God might be saying. I had to eat some humble pie during this time. Lord, are you REALLY leading us to step out in faith this way. (I know the answer is yes, but I am hoping that if I keep asking God will change His mind. It works that way, right?) 

In spite of the above, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that God has allowed me to partner with Him in His work There is nothing about me that is good that deserves this. I am so grateful for the students I work with. I am constantly blessed and humbled by them. 

Ah, the greatness of good conversation. 

And then, I had leftovers in my fridge to make some quesadillas for 2 students. A fun impromtu lunch! 

Those same students sat on my couch, played guitar and sang for about an hour. Lovely! 

Caleb went down for a fabulous nap. 

Caleb calls me "George." I have no idea why, but it cracks me up, and I call him George. I think he has started an inside joke with me that I don't know about. Whatever the reason, he gets a pretty big laugh out of me every time he says it. 

More greatness....Another great conversation with a student 

More greatness....receiving mail from my other half...er....my other 1/3. I went to the mail box today, found a post card from China and Chinese stationary and a card. I simply had to take time to START my letter back to Krista, still not finished. I could write a whole post about Krista and our relationship. Maybe another time. But receiving mail from her....so good. Good news from a distant land. 

More greatness......God is working on campus in UNbelievable ways. WOW. I know, vague, right? 

More greatness......Jon has had a song idea brewing in his head for months. Tonight, he sat on the couch and played it for me. It is the mesh of two songs and I LOVE it. I love the music, the lyrics, my husband playing it, but most of all I am inspired by his vision of choosing these two songs. It shows me how God is working in His heart and speaking to him through music. 

And just as I thought I was going to bed I receive this email from a friend...and cried....because seriously, I am blessed today. 

Hey Kristin,

Thinking of you...

 ³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6)

² I always thank God for ... you, mentioning you in my prayers. ³ I continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 ⁴ For I know, you Kristin loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. ⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷ And so you became a model to all the believers...  (I Thess. 1:2-7) 

Was sharing a few stories from the past and thought you should know what came to mind.  Thanks.

In Christ,

M

Dear Cara,

This is for you my Dear Cara.

Just wondering if you really read my blog as much as you say you do:)

I had a great time with you today, Lila says hi.

Your beautiful book is at my house.

The end. See you Monday.

I'm here, I'm really here, and my office is my car, and Jon's car, and the kitchen table and my actual office.

Just a bit of what has been going on lately.

A lot. It is New Student Outreach time, which is completely amazing and completely exhausting. It is difficult for me, because I don't enjoy all the New Student  stuff. I am not a big program person, I don't really enjoy meeting new people and I don't enjoy small talk. It is hard to be an introvert and act like an extrovert.

But I do it. I put on the faith, peace and joy that Jesus gives me. I lean into Him and lean onto His promise that He has called me to this campus for this season for His purposes and His glory. I can throw away my pleasures and my desires for the sake of the Gospel going forth on campus. On my own strength, not a chance, but living with joy in His strength.

What NSO has looked like this year.... (so far)....
-Chalking campus

-Follow up....going door to door getting to know students who may be interested in InterVarsity, interested in joining a small group, interested in learning more about God, etc.....

-Hosting a Welcome Tent, serving free hot dogs to any one who walked by, and of course starting spiritual conversations and inviting to InterVarsity

-Hosting a game night to get to know new folks better. I had so much fun at this, even though I hate games. I guess a few fun rounds of Spicey Uno and Catch Phrase can really convert me:)

-Emails. Texts. Emails. Texts. Emails. Texts. Emails. Texts.

-Training new small group leaders on how to lead inductive studies on campus. (insert giddy laugh, skips and jumps about how much I love my job).

-Jump into the book of Romans with said leaders.

-Briton Bash: Code for all of the student organizations on campus gather on the quad to promote their group. All students must attend Briton Bash if they want to eat:) We meet a lot of people who are looking for a Christian group and a lot of people who aren't. Those are the fun conversations:))

A few of my favorite God moments of NSO....(and conversations had) 


-A student comes to our table at Briton Bash--- "I am not a Christian. I am a  Buddhist from (asian country). I want to learn about God. Can I join? "

-Meeting a girl who has lived all over the world, and is really jaded by world religions. I asked if she would be interested in InterVaristy and she declined. As we talked, I told her that I am not surprised at her reaction, that the Jesus she has known about is not the Jesus I follow, and if I saw only what she saw I would be really turned off too. I asked her if she would like to meet and learn more about Jesus. She said yes:)

-We are meet SEVERAL international students that want to learn about who God is.

-One girl from an Asian country....In an airport from her country to here, she saw a Bible and decided to buy it. She thought it would be a good way to learn English and she could learn about God too. She asked one of the InterVaristy students if they could read it together.


So there you have it. An NSO run down if you will.

And now I am off to bed. Can't wait for Labor Day weekend. I can only live on 6 hours of sleep for so long, unlike my husband.

NSO

It is officially NSO season..(NEW STUDENT OUTREACH). I will be spending the next few weeks getting to know students, building relationships, doing a lot of publicity for InterVarsity, etc.

Tonight we chalked campus. For those of you who have not had the privilege of chalking, your back, knees and knuckles thank you. Sidewalk chalk may be fun as a kid, maybe even as a parent, but when you are chalking an entire campus, hoping that 2000 people will see your beautiful artwork (er.....publicity), well, body parts start to ache.

Here is how I spent my night:)

A week ago, Caleb and I ventured to Bowling Green State University for my Regional Staff (staff from Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania) for InterVarsity.

It was a G R E A T time. I loved being with other staff. They are my favorite people on earth, and I cannot believe that I get to work with them. It was an amazing place to hear from God, to be challenged and encouraged and to laugh. Regionals is one of my favorite "work requirements."

I would LOVE to share with you what happened during Regionals, in detail. We spent lots of time in prayer, and studying Hebrews. It was so refreshing in so many ways.

Last year I brought Caleb to Regionals and it was so fun to show him off to everyone. It was also hard, because we were sharing a dorm room together, which meant I heard every noise, had no bathroom and had to figure out how to make bottles and wash bottles out of the nearest water fountain.

Oh this year was going to be so easy. I could feed him whatever he wanted, he walked, he didn't require the huge travel system. Life was going to be easy. I could simply bask in the "oh, he is so cute. He is so big, I love his hair cut, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

Don't worry. I hit reality really fast. About 25 seconds into moving into our dorm room, I realized that life can be harder with a toddler. I had a meltdown.

"Mom, it looks like you need some help. Mind, if I put up my own bed?"

"ok, so this is harder than I thought. Mom, why didn't we bring daddy.?"

"Got it. I can sleep like this all week."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am going to miss this.

Life is about to get really busy. Doesn't fall do that? I love it!! I love busy, I love the excitement, but, a BIG BUT....I am going to miss my lazy days on the lake......

 When he gets stressed, I am going to picture him chilled out like this!

 Best thing ever! Dock the boat in the middle of the lake, hook the rafts together (with cooler in the middle) you could be out there all day!!!

 Jon's first time on the tube...didn't last long, Jalissa pushed him off:) Good thing he had the life jacket on