Music: The universal language...well, that and sports.

I believe that music is one of God's greatest gifts to His creation. I mean, really, where would we be without music? There would be no musicals, no concerts, no bands, no worship songs, no radios, no mp3s, no singing in the rain or gettin' jiggy wit it. No lullabies, no pianos or guitars, no Phantom of the Opera, no Jackson 5, no prom, no awkward middle school dances, no blasting the music with your windows down, no disco, and certainly no shawty fire burnin' on the dance floor.

Ok, so maybe the world wouldn't be too bad without some of those things...

But there would definitely be a huge hole missing from the world without music. No matter how picky you are about which style/band/artist/genre of music you like, there is something out there for everyone. I mean, even if you can't find anything you like you can write your own!

Although I understand that certain types of music aren't for everyone, I don't think I will ever understand people who limit themselves to one type of music, or one artist or band. I know that there are limitless possibilities as far as music goes, but I generally believe that I have a pretty diverse taste for music. I can listen to practically anything and enjoy it! I mean anything! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Limiting yourself to one kind of music is like choosing to eat only cheesecake. Although cheesecake is a delicious dessert, a person would miss out on the fabulousness of ice cream sundaes, cookies, cake, pie, candy, and everything else sweet! Eating cheesecake would make you happy alright, but not when compared to a life filled with eating brownies and ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a big, red juicy cherry on top IN ADDITION to the cheesecake!! Granted, you might be a little fatter... but I'm taking this analogy too far. And I'm getting hungry.

Anyway, I would just like to challenge any people out there who have become set in their ways in the realm of music to branch out and try something new. You never know what might surprise you. But in the meantime, if you can't bring yourself to break out of your well-worn rut, just take time to thank God for the opportunity to put your hands together, slide to the left, mash potatoes, shake it all about, doci-doe, get down tonight, shake your groove thing, play that funky music, and walk it by yourself. After all, where would the world be without them?

Unfathomable Love

Working at a camp is one of the best and worst experiences in life. Or, at least in my life so far.

First of all, I love camp! It's so much fun playing games and being absolutely goofy and screaming at the top of my lungs. I love my fellow counselors and I love my campers! I'm getting to play games, teach, and tell kids all about God's love all at the same time, and I'm getting paid!! Sometimes it almost seems wrong to be paid to have such an awesome experience.

At the same time, camp is one of the most difficult and heart-breaking experiences of my life. I spend a week getting to know my girls and learning to love them for who God created them to be but as that happens, the girls open up and share about their lives... sometimes on purpose, sometimes more subtly. These poor girls have gone through insanely painful, horrible things and have to live life just like any other child.

What breaks my heart the most though is that I've been experiencing a little piece of God's love for us. I got to speak with the girls all week about God's love and how incredible it is to have a relationship with Him. It was awesome and some of the girls now know Jesus as their Savior but at the same time, some of the girls couldn't accept God's love in light of the pain they'd experienced. I felt like a mother with a sick child who refused to take medicine. I know that only God can heal wounds that deep but the girls saw God as the culprit. It was so difficult to see them resist the only solution to their heartache.

I found myself wishing that I could take their pain for them and let them have a relationship with God in my place. I guess that's a bit of what Jesus felt when he came to die for us. He saw us in our pitiful state, blinded by our pain, and He came to take that pain away.

Thank you God, for teaching me in this way. Let the girls know how much you love them and teach them to turn to you in the midst of their pain. Thank you for your immeasurable love!

Sand Monsters

Remember these days?When a trip to the beach meant covering every inch of your body with sand?It didn't matter that it was messy, it was just fun!Well, I went to the beach a few days ago with my nieces and spent the first few minutes acting like an adult and trying to keep just my feet in the sand. Then I saw this:and then I remembered how it felt to be little. When I did not care about about being messy or getting sand stuck on me and being uncomfortable. Then a little voiced asked me to play in the sand with her. I said yes.

It was so much fun, I didn't care that I had sand stuck all over me and wet pants the rest of the day. It's such a shame that we grow up and miss out on so much. If you get a chance this summer, I hope you'll hang out with a little kid and remember what it's like to have innocent, unashamed, messy, silly fun!