Letting Your Light Shine: The Matthew 5:16 Project

When I got back from camp, there was such a light inside of me.  Everywhere I looked, there was God.  He made the beautiful desert canyon, the smiles on people's faces, and the hilariously ironic moments of my life.  Above all else, I learned and grew in the idea that God has a sense of humor.  So much so that it would cause me to laugh throughout the day at the little things that He would do to put a smile on my face.  It almost felt like a really happy dating relationship, without that getting too weird of a concept ;)

But that's the thing about coming back from camps or conferences that focus on your relationship with God.  Your heart is soaked in His message and your mind is zoned in on focusing on being more Christ-like.  While at camp, I had the opportunity to relish in prayer and conversation with Him.  He spoke to me through prayer and the dialogue we had was amazing.  It was refreshing and wonderful.  My friend, and fellow YL leader, Rhonda spoke about how she sees God in everything.  From the beauty of nature, to smiles, to babies, to everything good in life.  That mentality and the goodness of that week was so enriching for my soul.

Young Life Camp: Washington Family Ranch Day

I recently (as in the last year) became a Young Life leader.  It's been an AMAZING experience. First and foremost, my job is to love young people.  I get to show teenagers that there IS someone who cares about them.  Young Life was founded on Christian ideals, but whether a teen chooses to follow Christ or not, doesn't mean that we love him or her any less.  It's a really incredible organization.

Currently

1// Home Improvement

Ryan and I spent a day this weekend exploring the aisles of Walmart and Target and even a bit of time last week at Home Depot.  We're reorganizing our craft/gun room and we're planting some veggies for this summer. I tried a plot in the community garden on base last year and failed miserably.  I would spend hours after alerts and training trying to get vegetables and fruits to grow but nothing worked. We're trying our own potted plants in our backyard this year instead. I'm hoping that awesome soil and easy access to water will be in our favor.  I even have a set of adorable mini planters for our kitchen window.

2// #redballoonsforryan

Last week my heart broke for the family of a little boy named Ryan. They're from southern California and through a horrible accident, he was hit by a truck.  The blogging community has always been a resource for news but this time around, it has been a source of support.  I have been wanting to have a baby for a long time and one of my favorite things about blogging is to see my online friends from this community grow and prosper with their beautiful families.  In a way, it builds up the anticipation to one day having a child and simply loving my friends with my whole heart.  To see a family lose a child was terrible.  Last week I also had my first termination hearing as a CASA.  It was strange to see this spectrum of parenting.  On one end you have a loving family who lost their child by the will of God.  On the other end, you have parents who are struggling to maintain their families.  To see that comparison was very emotional for me.

3// Wicked by Gregory Maguire
My book club (yep, started an actual book club) has Wicked as its May read.  I'm really enjoying it and I could definitely see why I had a hard time reading it when I was in middle school lmao.

4//Young Life
This week is Senior's Club where we get to dress up like senior citizens and we celebrate our graduating seniors.  In my short time being a YL leader, I have loved every moment of it.  I know I am meant to be a mentor for them, but I also feel like each one of these young adults have mentored me.  I'm hoping that my leave for this summer gets approved because I can't wait to go to Young Life camp!

5//Erskine Anniversary Games
I've planned and dedicated so much of this month to little activities and challenges to bring Ryan and I closer together.  This month's focus is not to overwhelm one another but to simply each other's company and to remind ourselves what is love.  We do silly games and goofy challenges, but each little moment offers an opportunity for us to simply be with one another.  It's also given us an opportunity to communicate more effectively.

6//Broken by Laura Hillenbrand
One of our anniversary month challenges and something I'd like to incorporate each month, is to read a book together.  Our anniversary book challenge is to read Unbroken.  We chose it because it shows a man's struggle as he overcomes adversity and since we're both military, we were really interested in this best-selling novel.  PLUS, Angelina Jolie is directing (?) the movie version.

7//Sole Hope
As the Public Affairs officer for Malmstrom's CGOA, I come up with events and projects that allow us to contribute and reach out to our local community.  Well we're going international with this month's project as we are cutting out shoes for Sole Hope.  They'll be sent to Uganda for children to prevent small insects, called Jiggers, from infesting their feet.  Anyone can help with this campaign and I highly recommend folks checking it out!

8//Smash
I love the show Smash but I wasn't a big of the start of the second season. However, I was on a long alert the other day and watched the entirety of season 1 all over again.  When I got home I ended up downloading the soundtrack to the songs that are actually part of the Bombshell musical.  Now I've got a window tab up for Hulu and I'm ready to tackle season 2.  The CGOA is also looking to do a musical fundraiser where we host a concert filled with covers of Disney songs.  My obsession with musical theater is only enabled ;)

9//Heroes
I just started watching the show with Ryan and I love the characters of Hiro and Ando.  They're seriously the best! I love the idea of having super powers!!

If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!

A Young Life Experience- Megan's Reflections

You might have seen some Young Life related Instagram shots this past week.  I may or may not have flooded your Instagram feeds a few times with blurry shots of feet, human pyramids, soda challenges, and other ridiculous things.  But don't worry, it was just an Instagram-themed Young Life.

Young Life is amazing and I want to pour my heart and soul into so many posts describing why it is so, but I first put up a picture of it on Instagram.

 

I first decided to become a leader with Young Life because of my friend Michael but I was really moved to see that Young Life was a part of many of my friends' lives as they were growing up.  Admittedly I was a little jealous because little Catholic Kim would have loved to have gone to Young Life as a high school student.  Now I didn't go girls gone wild in college, but I definitely wanted a stronger foundation with the Lord and Young Life gives high students that opportunity if they want it.

After I saw the comments, I asked a few of my friends if they would be interested in being a guest blogger and talking about their experiences.  Megan responded right away!  She and I grew up together and one of my favorite memories was her love of Nsync and performing in talent shows together.  Today is an incredibly confident, fashionable, smart, trendy, and lovely woman who is a very witty blogger.  Big thanks to Megan for sharing her Young Life story.