Blessings

God is so good. Sometimes it seems more evident that He is good, but He is always good, all the time. Right now in my life God's goodness is especially evident - I just got engaged!!

Chris and I are ecstatic about the great things God has done to bring us together. We were engaged on Sunday after church :) He walked me around outside church "looking for good spots to take pictures". We stopped in the courtyard in the middle of the church and he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him! (Of course I said yes)

Our wedding will be on June 5th, 2010, and we cannot wait to see what kind of wonderful things God has in store for our life together : ) More details to come, including a link to our wedding website. YAY!!

Disorganitis

That is the name of the disease I suffer from. I have terminal, fatal, absolutely incurable and destructive disorganitis. I can't keep track of anything, I lose half of my possessions. I pile things up until I can't stand it, and then I can't find anything in the chaos. People try to help me, offer advice, give me ideas and suggestions, and they work for about a day. And then they don't work for more than that day... and I'm back to being disorganized to death. I am literally stressed out beyond all reason about this. I'm losing important things, missing deadlines because stuff gets covered up... I don't know what to do!

This pretty much stinks.

Wow, such a long time...

A thousand apologies for the complete lack of updating on my part. The summer turned out to be crazier than I thought it would be, and I didn't have time to update facebook AND a blog, so I just updated FB. Horrible? Perhaps. Bottom line from the summer of working camp:
GOD IS ENOUGH. No really, He is! I saw God work in so many amazing ways, through kids, through counselors, through fellow staff members, through parents and younger siblings, through volunteers, through music, through Creation... it was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I will never forget my summer with WinShape Camps C3!!

Since the summer, I've gotten back into the swing of teaching life again. This year is going better, considering I had a much better idea of what to expect as I came into the year. I have four classes of freshmen, and starting with a clean slate has been fantastic with them. None of them know I was too nice last year... ha! I do have two classes of students from last year, and that's a challenge. But God is teaching me to love them even when it feels like they're my enemies (which is, like, every day...)

As to what God is teaching, oh my goodness, where to start? Patience is the newest and most relevant one (to be explained later...) He continues to show me just how powerful and AMAZING his grace really is. We could never deserve it, never earn it, never understand it, He just keeps dumping it out on us every day to excess. What a great God!!

Speaking of pouring out blessings, there's also a new blessing in my life, and his name is Chris :) for some reason, God saw fit to bring this great man of God into my life unexpectedly this summer while I was at camp. After about a month of talking via email and phone, we met in person and well, the rest is history. I'm only happier when I'm fellowshipping with my Savior, if that clears it up! I don't deserve someone so kind and level-headed and practical, and AWESOME as he is, but that's how God works, isn't it? Once we finally let go of those things we think are so precious, and just trust Him to bring us whatever it is He wants, we get something SO AMAZING we couldn't have ever imagined it! So cool :)

So apologies again for the delay in updating. Chris is actually the one who told me I should update, so thank him for this post! Much love to everyone, and I pray God's richest blessings over your lives!!

Almost there!!

Wow, I can hardly believe that 3 days from now I'll be on my way up to Berry to start training week for camp. This is going to be a fantastic adventure, and I am SO excited! But I'm also starting to get a little anxious. About what? Well, there's packing, there's meeting my team members, there's planning out track times, set lists, worship practices, staying focused on Jesus while lovign kids all summer and trying to keep up with my Master's, too!! ......... I certainly can't do all of it on my own. This is going to take the sustenance and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ EVERY MOMENT of EVERY DAY to make this work. And as scary as it sounds, that is the PERFECT place to be :)

So for those of you who are still a little unclear on it, here's a link to the WinShape camps website. If it doesn't come straight up to the C3 website, be sure to click the little "C3" tag. Watch the video, read the info... it's awesome what we're about to go do. I am so jazzed about WinShape's vision for this camp and how to reach communities through these camps. It's so much more than just fun. God is gonna do HUGE things!

More about C3 camp

FAQs:
*What exactly are you doing personally?
Well my official title for my team is "Worship Leader," but that doesn't mean I'm the female version of Chris Tomlin. No, that just means I'm the one playing guitar and singing the melody most of the time :) I get the awesome privilege of playing with 3 guys in a band and helping kids learn how to praise Jesus, as well as just being a servant leader for the other folks on my team. I'm super pumped.

*Where are you going?
My team is going to 9 cities total. I'll be able to join them at 7 of those locations (sadly, I have to leave after week 7 for some more adventures back at the homestead getting ready for school next year). Here is a list of those locations!
Week/Dates City

June 8-12 Ft. Worth, TX

June 15-19 Lafayette, LA

June 22-26 Tifton, GA

June 29-July 3 Pasadena, TX

July 6-10 Broken Arrow, OK

July 13-17 Germantown, TN

July 20-24 Plano, TX

July 27-31 Lake Charles, LA

Aug. 3-7 Killeen, TX

* How can I pray for you and your team?
Great question! We would greatly appreciate your prayers, as would the other C3 and boys'/girls camp teams! You can pray for safe travel, good health, unity among our team, for the Holy Spirit to go before us and do mighty things, for protection from the little things the Enemy would do (equipment mess-ups, budget break-downs, you name it) to defame the name of Christ, and for kids and their parents to come to know Jesus!! That's probably not even everything, but it's a start. Thanks in advance!


Be sure to check back in with my blog, I'll be updating and posting pictures whenever I can!
Blessings and hugs,
KP :)

It's time for an adventure!

Well hello all! It's been quite a while since I last blogged, I know. I mean, I've just been sitting around doing nothing, so I don't know why I haven't gotten to it... ;) Okay we all know THAT'S not true. It has been CRAZY getting to the end of the year!! But here we are - finals this week and then the kids are out, I do the post-planning thing, and that's it for my first year of teaching! WOW!!

I can't believe that it's already pretty much over. It just flew by. It feels like yesterday I was sitting in my classroom scared beyond all reason about my kids coming in the next week, and we've already finished up our year together. I pray I have made a difference, made a positive impact... I pray they'll remember something! Hopefully the math sticks, and some organizational skills stick, and some vocabulary, and some math history... but more than that, I hope they become better people because of the little bit of time I spent with them. If it happens, it is ONLY because God in his Holy Spirit worked through me this year, it is certainly not because of anything I did. Because oh boy, did I mess up a lot!

I have learned SO much this year. I now know how NOT to manage a classroom, how NOT to handle guided study, how NOT to assign projects, how NOT to take up cell phones and iPods (or rather how TO)... so many things I did wrong, but I can learn from them and turn it around next year. At one point this year I was doing some soul-searching about teaching and thinking gosh, I just can't do this job. I mean I can do the teaching part, but the administrating and the organizing and the accounting and all else, I can't handle that... maybe I should do camp or something all the time that I enjoy and can do better at. And God has gently reminded me over the past few weeks just how his Kingdom works. He doesn't pick the people who are good at things to go do things they're good at. He picks people who AREN'T good at things to go do those very things, so that when something good comes from it, HE gets the glory. That's what He's doing in my life, right now, in this teaching journey. And when I think about it like that, I want to boast all the more about my weaknesses! (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10) So bring on the tough stuff. I openly confess that I don't know how to do it, can't do it, and won't be able to do it on my own. Great :) that gives God LOTS of room to do BIG THINGS!! (sweet)

Another place God has the chance to show up big is starting the WinShape Camp. In case any of you don't know, I'm going to be leading worship for a 1st-6th grade kids camp this summer called WinShape C3. yes, that's the Chick-fil-A WinShape I'm referring to, but my camp isn't up at Berry all summer. I'll be moving around with my team to 7 cities (they'll do 9, but I have to miss the last two :( *cry* ) around the U.S. We'll be doing a day camp, partnering with local churches and chick-fila's to bring the good news of Jesus to communities all over. I'm SO pumped! The scary parts: 1) I head off to camp the very next day after post-planning is over. 2) I'll be playing with a band of guys who are awesome I'm sure, we just won't get to practice like, at all.... I'm sure there's more to be scared about, like staying healthy and not losing my voice, finding some way to eat right while we're out at restaurants all the time... the list goes on.

But God is good and I can't WAIT to see what He's going to do through all this. I'll keep everybody posted (probably via this blog, isn't that what it's for?) and let you know how things are going. Pictures of kids are always fun, too :)

OH YEAH I started my maste'rs degree online. That's right, I'll be doing summer camp AND summer school online. What was I thinking? Apparently too much at once... like always =D.

That's all for now!! Hugs and blessings,
KP

WOW...

I had an unusual experience today. It was not bad, it was rather good, actually! Here goes...

For the first time in a long time, I really enjoyed work today. I was totally excited about the material I was going over, totally excited about seeing and spending time with my kids, and just especially positive and encouraging. It can ONLY be the Holy Spirit pouring through me to those I teach and serve. WOW! It was so great, THANK YOU JESUS for such a great day!

On several occasions, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience, and just marveling at the enthusiasm I had for the kids and especially for the math I was teaching. At one point today during tutoring, a student presented a problem I wasn't sure how to do. And then all of a sudden all of this math knowledge just came flooding out of me... I don't know where it came from, except Jesus!! SWEET!!! I mean, how cool is that?

I finally got a glimpse, a sweet taste, of what it is like to "walk in the Spirit" at work. I have been struggling with what that looks like, feels like, sounds like. I've wondered how I make that happen. But I DON'T make it happen. I can't contribute it to a fantastic quiet time this morning, or a wonderful experience at church last night or anything... just the Spirit's presence on me, all day. It was unbelievable.

I pray that we can all have that feeling at some point; of God just FLOWING through us and doing what we can't. Yay!

Vision

I just spent the weekend in Orlando, Florida with the leadership team from WinShape Camps getting ready for camp this summer. It was an extremely fun, extremely PRODUCTIVE weekend, as well as very exciting. I am SO PUMPED for camp right now, it's not even funny. I keep wishing that time would fast-forward and I could be at camp now... that I didn't have to leave camp early to fulfill my other obligations...
that camp was my job.......

The vision of WinShape Camps and Connect Ministries, the two groups partnering to make this camp a reality, is unreal. They painted such vivid pictures of camp and what they want to convey and put forth, that it's almost as if I had already seen it. I can picture in my mind what a day should look like. I can't wait to be there!! I love thinking about, preparing for, getting excited about, camp. And it makes me wonder -

If doing camp makes me this happy, this fired-up, would it be possible to do it for a living? I don't know what that looks like, or how it would happen, but I just know that this weekend and the prospect of getting ready for camp was the brightest spot in the past few months. I was doing something I enjoyed, without frustration. Aren't we supposed to do what we love as our job, if possible?

Only God knows what His plans are for me. He will reveal His plan in time. I guess I'm just restless, or over-thinking. But maybe..... maybe I'm not....