.....a great finish (462)
....the end of a long headache (463)
....a clean house (464)
....saying good bye (465)
....sleeping in (466)
....laying on the couch with my kids (467)
....getting away (468)
.....a few minutes with a friend (469)
....getting back in touch (470)
....the promise of a day at the beach (471)
.....a cooler day (472)
.....the opportunity to worship (473)
.....reuniting with dear friends (474)
.....unspoken encouragement (475)
....fresh staff coming in (476)
....veggin' with my kids and a movie (477)
....falling asleep (478)
....a new day (479)....and a day of worship (480)

The Fruit of the Spirit

As you leave the whole burden of your sin, and rest upon the atoning work of Christ, so leave the whole burden of your life and service and rest upon the present inworking of the Holy Spirit.

Give yourself up morning by morning, to be led by the Holy Spirit, and go forward praising and at rest, leaving Him to manage you and your day. Cultivate the habit, all through the day of joyfully depending upon and obeying Him, expecting Him to guide, to enlighten, to reprove, to teach, to use, to do in and with you, what He will.

Count upon His working, as a fact, altogether apart from sight or feeling. Only let us believe in and obey the Holy Spirit as the RULER of our lives, and cease from the burden of trying to manage ourselves, then shall the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, meekness, self-control, appear in us, as HE will, to the glory of God.

(BABR staff manual)

.....little sleep, but time to pray (441)
.....my daughter being old enough to help out more (442)
....the 12 year old 'mini-me' that follows me around (443)
....the opportunity to be an example (444)
....a visit from a new friend (445)
....Lois, who has helped me lots this week (446)
....hugs (447)
.....laughter during cabin scores (448)
....seeing growth in our staff (449)
....the 'opportunity' for growth in others (450)
....peter being mostly healthy again (451)
....a husband who doesn't mind doing the 'yucky' jobs, like going to the dump each week (452)
....friends coming in this weekend (453)
....a quick but good talk with my pastor's wife (454)
....my kids being able to have a couple of "pajama" days (455)
....safety at mission impossible last night (456)
....being exactly where God wants me to be (457)
....Colossians (458)
.....the short, but often quiet walk to my house from the camp (459)
....the comfort of God (460)
....the fact that He listens to me, unconditionally (461)

....a new day (418)
....the opportunity to be an example (419)
....bacon! (420)
....more down time than expected (421)
....horses (422)
....hard work (423)
....my bike (424)
....swamp coolers (425)
....impacting lives for Christ (426)
....a 10 minute nap (427)
...a husband who helps out....LOTS (428)
...my Bible and all the notes in it (429)
....campers who are learning Scriptures (430)
....the possibility of getting my own horse (431)
....camp cooks and all the meals they make (432)
...a Tulsa workteam member who is coming back this summer to serve (433)
....responsibility and the grace to deal with it (434)
....clean laundry (435)
....sleepy children (436)
....acting like a kid at the water fight (437)
....great worship music at chapel (438)
....encouragement (439)
....tiredness (440)

It doesn't take much....

I was reminded of something today....EVERYONE needs encouragement. Sometimes (i'm speaking for myself, too) I think we tend to only try to encourage those who 'look' like they need it. If someone looks down, lost, sad, troubled....we are pretty quick to offer help and words of encouragement. But then there are the people who seldom looked troubled....who are always in the spotlight.....leaders....they have an air of confidence about them....they seem to be in complete control of things....people are often drawn to them. I realized today that they may need encouragement too....not that they are faking their joy, their confidence or appearance of control....it may all be true and real. But there may still be a need for a kind word, a promise to pray, a shared verse of Scripture. It may not take much to touch a secret hurt, or lessen a pain that they are too busy to deal with.
I learned that today, when an unexpected friend stopped me as I hurried from one place to another to ask how I was doing....stopped to ask if there was something particular she could pray about. I know I probably looked silly as I stood there and stuttered for a moment....I was speechless. I know people pray for me....I have a huge support team of people who are committed to pray for us on a daily basis...it is such an encouragement to know that they are there. But then it's another thing to have someone tangibly standing in front of you, wanting to hear about how you are really doing and how they can encourage you.....it says a lot. And if I had stood there any longer, I probably would have gotten misty-eyed....it was a sweet gift from God. And although this friend has no idea what that meant to me (I didn't really feel the impact until later), I am so thankful that she took the time. And I want to challenge you to take the time to encourage those around you...the ones that "look" like they need it, and even the ones that don't look like it. Be a blessing!

.....little sleep, but feeling rested (402)
....memory verses (403)
....sweet time with the Lord this morning (404)
....seeing my sin, but focusing on His grace (405)
....a new day (406)
.....a quiet, slow morning (407)
....but the busy ministry facing me today (408)
.....forgiveness (409)
.....my children playing quietly...that's rare (410)
.....encouragement from friends (411)
.....great worship music (412)
.....the lives of Noah, Esther, David, Paul and many other great biblical leaders, that inspire me to continue on (413)
.....campers lined up outside the snack shop....ready to hear about their need for a Savior (414)
....supporters who lift us in prayer (415)
.....my heritage (416)
....tears of thankfulness (417)

What if...?

Every week here at BABR, we have a work team come and help us with our many needs here at the camp. At the beginning of the week, our staff spends time getting to know the work team....we get about 1 minute to talk to each member and gather as much info in that time as we can.
Well last week, while making my way through the line, I met a very interesting young girl. As I stood in front of her, trying to extract information out of her, I had an strange feeling I was looking in a mirror. Although we physically looked nothing alike, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were very similar. She had a "tough" girl attitude...she looked like she could take almost any of our guys in an arm wrestling match....she hardly said 2 words and I had to work to get those.....and trying to extract a smile seemed like an impossible task. I know few of you knew me as a young person, but i would have described myself very much like that.
But there was something about her that was very different from the younger me....she had a quiet, peaceful, yet confident spirit about her. And although most of our staff didn't really know how to approach her, I spent my time seeking her out, drawing her out. It took hardly no time before she was talking and smiling....and her love for the Lord became more and more evident as well. And that is when the question struck me: "What if I had become a Christian as a young person....what would that have looked like?"....."Would it have looked a lot like this young girl?" Although I am thankful for the life God gave me and I am confident of the path He led me down, meeting this young girl made me just wonder, what would it have looked like and where would I be today? Again, I wouldn't trade what I have today for anything, but there is a part of me that is sad I didn't begin my journey with the Lord earlier.
But if nothing else, it made my desire to spread the Gospel and disciple young women even stronger....
thank you, Lord.....for your perfect plan....and for the reminders of your faithfulness. Help me never to take it for granted....