Christmas Break is here!

I don't think I have ever looked forward to a Christmas break so much in my entire life! This semester was absolutely crazy! It was very busy, and required a lot of hard work. But, the good news is, I SURVIVED! It was a miracle, but I made it. Now just waiting for those grades to be posted!

Now, I only have one semester standing between me and graduation. Well, technically 2. At Erskine, we do something unique called J-term, or January Term. This is a "semester" where we take one class for the entire month of January, for 3 hours a day. Now to some of you, that may sound awful. But actually, its quite fun. Usually it is a fun class. This year I am taking Personal Finance, which should hopefully be helpful considering next year I'll be out on my own managing all of my own money. But last year, I took The History of Music Videos. It was such a fun class. Part of that class was we got to make our own music video. 

***You can watch it here..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6jbGGbzIBo. ***

You should definitely watch it. It is hilarious. Its a parody of the "Party Rock Anthem." Anyways, this year I will be taking a much more practical class. But I am very much looking forward to J-term because it is a much more relaxed time in the school year. It gives you time to enjoy the other aspects of college, you know, the non-academic ones. It is a great time to just relax while having plenty of time to hang out with all of your friends.

After J-term, comes my last semester of my undergraduate college career. It is absolutely crazy to think about that. This last semester will consist of me doing my Student Teaching. I will be in a classroom every day all day, getting to work with students. I am very excited about this! It is going to be great, I just know it!

And after that, comes graduation. I can't believe its almost here. As cliché as this is about to sound, it feels like just yesterday I was graduating high school. Part of me is very ready to graduate, very ready to move on to the next step of life, finding my own job, having my own place, and taking that next step. But the other part of me is going to miss college a lot, always being surrounded by my best friends, and just having a good time. But I know that all good things can't last forever, so I am ready to move on. But first, one more semester of college.

This past semester was great. I did some awesome things, and I can't wait to do so many more fun things in my last semester of college. I don't want to let it waste away, because I know there will never be another time in my life like this. So goodbye first semester of senior year, and hello to second semester. Its going to be awesome!

Here are some highlights of my first semester:

Go to go to the Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Game. Even though my Yellow Jackets lost, it was still a good time!

Also got to go to the South Carolina vs. Wofford Game. Had a great weekend chilling with my brother, Kevin!

Got to be a part of my friend Bryan's, aka Beans Wedding! This was a great time!

Got to see Lee Brice in concert. It was awesome!

And went to the ACC Championship game, to watch my Yellow Jackets play. They lost, but it was an awesome time!

I got to march in the Greenwood Christmas Parade with some of my students that I have had the pleasure of working with this past semester! It was a very neat experience!

It was a great semester! And I am so ready for the next one! I can't wait to get to hang out with all of my friends at Erskine again! But first, time to enjoy Christmas Break and all the time I get to spend with my family!

Purple Rain, Purple Rain

So this past weekend was absolutely incredible. I got to go as a Chaperone on Team Survival Challenge (TSC) with the Bethel United Methodist Students (BUMS), which is the group I interned for this summer. I was so excited for this trip, not only becasue I would get to see some of my best friends, but also because I was excited about a good chance to get a break from school and just go enjoy myself for a weekend.

Team Survival Challenge is a trip in which the youth, and parents of the youth, come together at Awanita Valley to compete in fun, silly, and sometimes strenuous games, competing against each other to win the coveted prize, which is 12 lbs of candy and getting to sign the box! This was my 4th TSC, but my first as a chaperone. College Students who are BUMS alumni come back to be the captains of the youth teams. Every year I have been on this trip, I have always been on the purple team. It all started the very first year, when I was team Purple Nurple, and we had a blast. So I have pretty much begged every year to be the Purple Team since then, and Chad complied. So I came back this year, and we were team Purple Rain.

The weekend started off quite well, as my team won the first three events to jump out to an early lead. This kind of set the tone for the whole weekend, and every team kind of had it out for us in game number 4, in which we came in last. But it was all good, my team was out there, having a blast, just doing our thing. One thing I stressed to my team all weekend was that no matter what, win or loss, we were going to have fun, and be happy about it. My team complied, and we did have an absolute blast.

The weekend continued with many more fun games, including the annual boat race, a home run derby with a spatula as a bat and marshmallows as a baseball, torpedo, warball, bucket ball, and many many more. My team kept competing, and we pretty much stayed middle of the road for the weekend. Placing somewhere between 2nd to 4th for about every game. It came down to the last game, and we knew we were close on the score. We finished tied for 1st in the last game, but we still were not sure where that left us for the weekend.

Finally the time came, and they announced the winners, and it was Team Purple Rain!!!! It was so cool to finally win, after every other year, I had not had that happen. But regardless, as always, the candy was shared among the entire youth group. After all, who could eat 12 lbs of candy anyways? It was a such a great weekend. Shout out to my team, which consisted of Sam, Erin, Jordan, Jillian, Alex, Kent, Patrick and Sally. They were all absolutely awesome, and I had a blast hanging out with you guys this weekend. And thank you for finally letting me get my name on that box. Its been a long time coming! Also, shout out to Chad Deetz for continuing to be the awesome youth pastor that he is, and leading great trips like this. It was so great to spend some more time with the BUMS, which are pretty much my second family.

This weekend once again emphasized how important it is to be surrounded by a solid body of believers around you. I was so encouraged by not only my team this past weekend, but also all of the other youth on this trip, as well as the parents who came out and competed all weekend as well!

Colossians 3:14-16: And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 

Yea....I know, its been a while

So my Senior Year here at Erskine college has been off to a crazy busy start. That would explain why I haven't written a blog post in like a month! But I have been up to some pretty cool things, so here we go:

I have really enjoyed getting to hang out with all of my friends this semester. College is the only time  in your life where you are in such close proximity to your friends at all times. So it makes it so easy to be able to enjoy quality time with your friends.

I have taken a couple of cool trips this semester. I took a crazy 10 hour drive to go to Blacksburg, VA to see my boy Cade, and get to see my favorite team Georgia Tech take on Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech lost, which made for a really long and sad drive home. But it was still totally worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat (maybe not on a school night though.)

                        Here is a picture from my seats at the VT vs. GT game!

I have also been holding down my reputation as the Intramural Champion of Erskine. What is ironic about this, is I have never actually won an intramural championship. However, I play every single sport. Usually, I just get together a bunch of my friends to go out there and have a blast, no matter how bad we lose (and yes, we do typically lose.) Right now, Intramural Frisbee is going on right now, and my team name is A + for Effort (insert points for the creative name.) I got the name because our team consists of a lot of education majors, but also, and most importantly, because we all go out there, every single game, and try our hardest and have fun doing it. Sure, losing every game 11-2 isn't always great, but we always have a good time.

I also got to go up to Presbyterian College with my boys Josh (aka Tim) and Matt (aka Deegs) to go to a football game as well. We had an amazing tailgate with some very delicious grub. It was a good day just to kind of get away from all the business of Erskine and all the school work that goes along with it.

Speaking of that schoolwork, that is where I have been spending most of my time. I have been very busy with all of my work. From papers, to tests, to you name it. School has been the dominating part of my life so far this semester. But so far, I have been keeping on track of things, and everything is going pretty well. Below is a picture of one of my beautiful creations for the semester, my bulletin board. I am pretty proud of it, I'm not going to lie.

I believe I mentioned in my last post that I was worried about being motivated to continue to learn about special education even though I believe that I now want to pursue Youth Ministry for my career. Sure, I have struggled at times, but I have also grown a rejuvenance and passion for Special Education, and I have really loved this semester so far. I guess that may make it a little bit harder to choose my path after I graduate.

This semester has been kind of crazy, and definitely hard. But it has been good, and God has continued to bless me this semester. Sure, I have made some mistakes this semester, and some things haven't exactly gone my way, but God still loves me no matter what, and will continue to guide me and take care of me.

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

The Start of Senior Year

Wait...hold on a second. Let me read my own title again. WHAT? I am a senior now, in COLLEGE, when did that happen. It seems like just yesterday I was starting my senior year of high school. But now 4 years later, my last year of schooling has begun. There are a couple of emotions running through my mind.

First of all, I am very happy to be back. I absolutely loved this summer, and I would go back to it in a heart beat. I miss the BUMS very much. But I am also so glad to be back among all my friends here at Erskine and just be able to get the ball rolling on what is going to be an incredible senior year. I am, as always on a first day of school, a little bit nervous. I don't really know fully yet what this year is going to entail. But that also brings along some excitement of the unknown, and ready to embrace what ever God presents me with this school year. 

But most of all, I am scared. This year is going to be very interesting to me. I absolutely love Special Education, which is what my major is here at Erskine. It has always had a very special place in my heart, thanks to the influences I have had on my life. It will always have a special place in my heart. However, now, that I am also influenced by this past summer, and a desire to do youth ministry, I am worried that I may lose that passion and fire I have for doing special education. So I ask you, my blog readers, to pray for me, that I will continue to do my best in my major here at Erskine, and be able to complete this senior year and the years of teaching after that with a heart full of joy, and worry about crossing the bridge into youth ministry once it gets here.

There is going to be one bible verse that I am going to live by this school year:

1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God."

I am going to do my student teaching and everything else to the glory of God this school year, because I know that is what he would want me to do. I am very excited to be a senior at Erskine College!

Leaving a Legacy

I can't even begin to describe how much of an impact this summer has made my life. And now, it has come to an end. I literally can't believe it. It seems like yesterday I was just starting this internship. Yet 14 weeks ago today, I was just beginning the journey of this summer that would truly be life changing. And even though I only got paid for 10 of those 14 weeks (which was what I signed up for) I wouldn't trade back any of those 14 weeks.  And now I am about to go start my senior year of college (How crazy is that, that's a whole different blog post.) I am honestly struggling to write this blog post because I am literally at a loss for words to try and describe this summer. Ill try: Amazing, God-filled, super-blessed, incredible. I don't what else to say. It was awesome!

I have grown so close with so many of the kids in my youth group. And so many of them have impacted my life in ways that I will never forget. I never even thought that I would gain so much from this summer when I first began way back in May. I thought this summer was going to be so much more about me making an impact on the youth. And I know part of it was. But I seriously ended up making some great friends this summer in the youth group. I hope and pray to God that I did make an impact to these youth this summer. But I do know for sure that each and every one of them made an impact on my life this. But that's the hard part about ministry. You don't always get to see the fruit that is produced after you planted the seeds. I hope that I planted a seed in these youth this summer, a seed that wants to grow closer to the Lord. But I don't know for sure. Now, I do have an advantage since Bethel is my home church, so I know I will be back for frequent visits over the next year in school.

But it wasn't just the youth who made such a strong impact on my life this summer.  Probably the biggest influence came from my boss, who was also my youth minister, Chad Deetz. Chad has always had a special place in my heart. And he always will. He always seems to know what to say to me, and help me out through hard times. And even though I may not always listen to him, I know he still loves me all the same. Chad displays one of the best examples of unconditional love I have EVER seen in my life. People have made jokes all this summer about me being Chad's "mini-me". But I have constantly blown it off, as if I didn't enjoy it. But in all honestly, if I turn out to be half the man that Chad is today, I will be very happy with myself, and where I am. Chad has literally changed my life this summer. He has changed who I am, and what I want to do with my life. If it wasn't for him, I know there is no way I would feel the strong calling towards Youth Ministry that I am now ready to pursue.

Tonight, as it was my last night at youth, I taught the lesson. I talked about leaving a legacy. Everywhere we go, everything we do, we leave a little part of us.  We are leaving our mark on this world everyday. But how we do that is what makes it different among everyone. Many people in this world have left being remembered well. But just because someone is remembered as being a good person, doesn't mean that they have left a positive legacy on this world. God calls us to leave our legacy through Him.

There is a great song called Legacy, by Nichole Nordeman. It talks about how we all want to hear good job while we are hear on this Earth, or an "atta boy or atta girl" as it says in the song. But the song goes on to say that stuff doesn't really end up mattering in this world. What truly matters is that when we get to Heaven, we hear God say to us "Well done, my good and faithful servant." We need to live our lives to God so that when people remember what we are all about here on this Earth, they will remember us by the Godly lives we lived, that were dedicated to him, and loving on others here on this Earth, so that our lives may impact the lives of others.

I have definitely been impacted by many others this summer. And I hope that I made an impact on at least one youth, if not many more. I thank God so much for this amazing opportunity he blessed me with this summer. And now I know that he is really calling me into Youth Ministry. What kind of legacy are you leaving on this Earth? What will people remember you by?

Here are some pictures to recap my summer:

 Having fun during some Sing and Play on the Mission Trip!

 Hanging out at one of the Block Parties!

 Helping out with the Praise Band (which I did a lot of on the Mission Trip.)

 Having fun on the Bus Ride!

 The Man himself, Chad Deetz! Thanks for everything dude!

Our entire Youth Group having Worship on the Beach!

Our Entire Youth Group on the final day of our Mission Trip!

Thank you Bethel United Methodist Church for an amazing summer and thank you BUMS for an awesome time this summer. I am going to miss you guys like crazy, and I will be back to visit soon!

An EPIC Mission Trip!

DISCLAIMER: This blog post is going to be long. Because God did so many amazing things this past week in Vero Beach, FL. So only my most dedicated followers will read this blog.

So I just got back from the BUMS (Bethel United Methodist Students) Mission Trip to Vero Beach, FL. I am exhausted, tired, but also extremely blessed. So here is what went down. Last Saturday, we spent right around 12 hours in the car on the way down and arrived at EPIC Missions and were greeted by a delicious dinner, and then we were treated to Rita's Italian Ice. EPIC Missions is an organization that brings in mission teams from all across the nation to do God's work in the area. We were by far the largest group they have ever seen, but they did such an awesome job hosting us and making us feel right at home the entire week.

On Sunday we worshiped at Northside Christian Fellowship. This was the church that I would be in charge of overseeing the VBS. Worship was quite an experience, and I really enjoyed it. After the worship service, the church treated our entire team to a delicious lunch, which was so kind. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the church getting ready for VBS that upcoming week. After we finished decorating, we were supposed to go door to door in the local neighborhoods to hopefully round up some kids for VBS. Unfortunately, there was a bad thunderstorm and we were prevented from doing that. So we just went back to EPIC missions and enjoyed ourselves for the evening.

              Here is a picture of  our group having worship as we did every night!

Monday morning rolled around, and it was time for VBS. Unfortunately, we had a problem. We had no kids. Not a single child showed up for VBS. I was literally crushed, heartbroken, and didn't really know what to do. But we weren't gonna let that stop us. So we went door to door and gathered up some kids for VBS for the rest of the week. On Monday afternoon, we went to the Gifford Youth Center, which is where our other VBS was going on, and just hang out with the kids. It was such a blast.

                                          Here is a picture of one of the VBS sites

And another one.....

On Tuesday, we arrived back at Northside, ready for kids to show up. 9 am rolled around, and again no kids. So myself, my youth minister Chad, and one of my youth Sam, got together and prayed. No sooner then as we finished praying, I looked up, and there stood a woman with 2 young girls. I really dont think I have ever been more excited in my entire life. I literally jumped for joy. It was so amazing, and it was such a God moment. So we ran our VBS for those two girls, and it was awesome. On Tuesday afternoon, we got to go to an amazing place called the Harvest which is a grocery store with much cheaper prices to help those in need. It was so cool to be able to help them out and serve there for an entire day.

Tuesday night we went down to enjoy God's beautiful creation at the beach. It was beautiful.

Wednesday rolled around, and we became even more blessed at VBS at Northside. We had 6 children on this day. It was so amazing, and VBS continued to go very well. It was so great to see all the youth who had worked so hard to prepare for this trip actually get a chance to show off what they had been working so hard for. God continued to bless our VBS. On Wednesday afternoon, we had our first block party at EPIC Missions, the place that hosted us. It went well, and we had somewhere around 60 people come out. It was a lot of fun, and I know some lives were touched. At our block parties, the praise band played, we had free food for everyone, as well as snow cones, popcorn, and games. As well as this year, the Youth Choir presented their musical Flashback, which was a very unique but powerful way to witness to people. Wednesday night, we had our senior night, in which we honor all of our seniors by giving anyone who wants a chance to say something to them in front of the whole group. Its a great way to honor the seniors of the youth group.

Here is a picture of our youth choir doing their musical at one of the Block Parties. 

On Thursday, our last and final day of VBS, we had 9 kids. Such an awesome thing. God went from there being 0 kids at our VBS to 9 kids. Sure, its not a lot. But it was so amazing. And I loved it. It was such a great day at VBS, and it was hard to say goodbye to the kids we had spent time with this week. Thursday afternoon we had our second block party at Northside Christian Fellowship. We once again had a pretty good crowd at the block party It was a lot of fun.

Thursday night, we got to share in one of my most favorite things to do ever. Its called the Heart Ceremony. This is a time in which you get a paper heart and you go around to one another and tear off a piece of your heart and give it to people and you share with them why they will always have a place in your heart. It is such a cool event, and has become such a staple on the mission trip. It is just a great opportunity to share and grow in your relationships with others. But this heart ceremony was a special one for me. I had a great conversation with my youth minister during this time. He has been strongly encouraging me for quite some time to become a youth minister. But now, I think I finally had the breakthrough I have been looking for.

I had a great time this past week, and this entire summer. I have loved working with youth so much. So now, comes a hard decision in  my life. I love special ed, but I also love youth ministry. But I am definitely thinking I want to work with youth now after this week and summer. So I plan to still teach for a little while, for 3 years or so after I graduate. But I could definitely see myself going into youth ministry at some point during my life. I absolutely love it.

On Friday, we had our fun day, in which is a good time to relax and enjoy ourselves after a long hard week of work. We jumped over to Tampa, FL to enjoy the day at Busch Gardens. It was such a good day. Then on Saturday, we hit the road back home. It was such an amazing week, and I was so glad I got to be a part of it.

Determining God's will for your life can be hard to do. And its something that I have struggled with my entire life. But this week really helped me figure things out. Here are a couple of scriptures that have been on my heart this week:

Proverbs 3:5-6"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

This verse is great because it shows that as long as you trust in God, and depend on him, he will guide you. And the second verse:

Matthew 4:19-20 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." So at once, they left their nets and followed him.

This was our verse for the entire week. God is calling us to minister to others. But not only that, but to drop everything we have, and do his work. That doesn't mean that we need to quit everything we are doing, but instead, do everything for the glory of God. This was an eye opening verse for me. I'm now, from this moment on, letting God control where my life is headed. It's in his control. If God wants me to be a special ed teacher, then so be it. Or if God is calling me to be a Youth Minister, then so be it. Hear I am Lord, Send me.

One Week

You know, One Week of time is actually a good bit of time. Sure, it doesn't seem like it in the long scheme of things, but it really is. A lot can change in one week. But the reason one week of time is important to me right now, is because that is exactly how long until I leave with my youth group on our mission trip. 

It's kind of an unusual feeling. It has always seemed that the mission trip has always been so far away since the beginning of the summer. It was always that thought in my mind that would come eventually, but not too soon. And what's crazier even about that, is I only have 10 official days of work left after we return from the mission trip. But now is not the time to worry or focus on that, it is time to get all those last minute preparations ready for the mission trip. I am very excited about this opportunity. I know it is going to be so great next Saturday morning, at 5 am, when we load up the buses for a 12 hour drive down to Vero Beach, FL. I am excited about it for many reasons. One, I can't wait to see the youth I have been working with do their work that they have been preparing for for the past 2 months. I am also excited because I always loved the mission trip when I was a part of this youth group, and I can't wait to have those experiences again. But I am also a little nervous. 

Its always a fear of mine that I am going to be rejected. Sharing your faith in the Gospel can be a hard thing, especially if the people you are sharing it with do not accept it. I am also scared a little bit because I am going to be in charge. We do Vacation Bible School at two different locations. Obviously, Chad, cannot be at both locations at once. So, on the first day, he is going to the second location with the other Intern, Emily. This is because there are going to be a lot more little kids at the second location, so he is needed there to help manage the almost guaranteed chaos. So knowing that I am going to be the person that everyone comes to if there is a problem at the first location is a little scary.

So I write this blog to ask for prayer from my faithful blog readers. Pray for a few things: 1) Pray for the people down in Vero Beach, FL, that they will receive our love and accept us with open arms. 2) Pray for the students in the youth group that they will be able to go with confidence into Vero Beach, FL and share their faith, their love for Jesus Christ, and their experiences so that they may help others come to know and love Jesus as much as they do. 3) Finally, pray for myself, Chad, Emily, and all of the other adults that are going on this mission trip that we me have the strength and patience to do as God instructs us to do by setting a good example for the students, as well as just allowing us to sit back and watch the amazing things God will do through these students.

Matthew 28:18-20: "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is the only verse that ever comes to mind when I think of doing mission work, mainly because I first heard it when I was on a mission trip myself to St. Lucia. God instructs us to go and make fellow disciples, so that we can share in the love and fellowship of Jesus Christ. And that no matter what we go through, God is going to be with us through it all, no matter what. One Week. That's all I have left till I leave for what is going to be one of the greatest weeks of my entire life. I can't wait.

This is a picture from the last mission trip I went on with the BUMS, in 2009 to New Orleans. 

The Most Relaxing Week of my Entire Life!

So, in case you didn't know this, I have the best boss in the entire world. His name is Chad Deetz, and he was my youth minister growing up. But now he is my boss, and he is amazing. Now many of you are probably asking "Why is Chad Deetz so amazing?" Well here is why. He was so nice to give me this entire week off so that I could relax and get rejuvenated for the rest of the summer. Chad Deetz, you are the man!

So to enjoy my week of the 4th, I came down to Pawleys Island, SC to hang out with one of my best friends Matthew Deegan. And I also got to see my friends Shelbee and Rachel from Erskine this past week as well. This week has been so awesome. I have actually done a whole lot of nothing, which is what has made it so great. This week has just been very relaxing and restful. Lots of swimming in the pool, grilling out, and just chilling and enjoying myself. It has been so nice. And it really has gotten me excited and rested up to have a ton of enthusiasm for the rest of the summer. I am very thankful for this past week to rest. But what is even better, is my week is not over yet. Tomorrow, I head up to Lexington, SC to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and most importantly, my niece. It has been over 2 months since I have seen them, and I cannot wait any longer. It is going to be good to get to spend some quality time with some of my family. So I am very excited about the rest of this week as well. And then, on Sunday (which is my birthday, woo-hoo) its back to work again. But I am glad about that too, because i have missed it a lot.

Matthew 11:28- Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Did you know that the word rest (or some form of it) can be found in the bible over 500 times? I think that is pretty awesome! It's obvious that God meant for us to be restful at times. After all, he did put an entire day into our week (the Sabbath) for us to rest. In the society we live in today, it is all about go, go, go, and we always have to be productive. But that's not how God meant it to me. God also meant for us to rest and relax. I also have a song lyric for you:

"Sunday was a day of rest, now its one more day for progress. And we can't slow down, cause more is best, its all an endless process."

--Mayberry by Rascal Flatts

We think we dont have time to rest on the Sabbath. But it is necessary. I also found this lyric appropriate since the man of Mayberry, Andy Griffith, passed away this past week. That is a  sad day in American Television. I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July!

This was the pool where I spent most of my week! It was glorious!

Camp Hope....the Pride of all the States

So today, I got to go to the happiest place on Earth. And no, I'm actually not talking about Disney World. I'm talking about Camp Hope. Now, I'm sure that many of you probably don't even know what Camp Hope is. But it is the coolest, best, most wonderful and loving place in this entire world, and I am convinced of that. Camp Hope is a place located on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, SC at the Clemson University Outdoor Lab. It is a Camp that is for people with Cognitive Disabilities any where from age 8 until (I believe the oldest camper who comes is somewhere around age 70.) I have worked at this camp for the past two summers, and I have absolutely loved it. It is also a great way for me to get work in my major as well, as I get to work with people with disabilities. There are many activities at Camp, such as swimming in the lake or pool, as well as the water slide, arts and crafts, drama, archery, canoeing, and all kinds of different fun things to do.

I got to visit there today because my brother, Brian, is a camper there, and has been going there for somewhere around 10 summers. So I volunteered (because I really, really wanted to) to go pick up my brother from Camp today. I pulled in, next to his cabin, and literally, my car was surrounded by people, that's how much love exists in this place. Not only did I get to see so many of my favorite campers, but as well as some of my greatest friends that are counselors at Camp Hope. I was greeted with many hugs, handshakes, and high fives. It was great. I had a smiled glued on my face that was a mile wide. I absolutely love this place! And as great as it was to see everybody, it also made me quite sad. I really miss working there a lot. But I also love my job at Bethel this summer, and I know that's where God wants me to be this summer. But I am hoping that I do get to return for at least one more summer at Camp Hope next summer.

There is really only one good word to describe Camp Hope, and that word is LOVE, which I have already mentioned many times throughout this blog post. And, it just so happens that the theme for this summer is LOVE IS LOUDER! It fits Camp Hope so perfectly, and it reminded me of this passage of scripture:

1 Corinthians 13:4-13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs .Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But when there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


Camp Hope is the most beautiful place on Earth. And I don't just mean physically beautiful, but beautiful because of the people who work there. All of the Campers, Counselors, and full-time Staff are all so great. I really miss working at Camp Hope a lot, but it will always have a solid place in my heart.

 Here is my all time favorite picture I have ever taken at Camp Hope. This is the sunset on the lake on the last night of my first summer there!

The Life of a Youth Intern

So if I had to choose only one word that fits the job description for what I do, it would be the word BUSY! Wow, I thought I had a crazy life it school, balancing school work, social life, extracurricular activities, and everything else I do. But I am just as busy, if not more busy this summer. But its ok, because its a different kind of busy, a good kind of busy. I am absolutely loving what I am doing right now. So you might ask, well what exactly is that you have been doing?

Well, last week we had Vacation Bible School, round 2! But this time it wasnt my church that was putting it on, it was jut the youth group doing it for the daycare program at our church. It is known as our practice run in an effort to continue to prepare for our Mission Trip to Florida coming up in late July. But it is not only a practice run, but also just as much as a ministry opportunity as our mission trip itself. I always loved doing this when i was a member of the youth myself, but this year was a little bit different for me. This time, I just got to kind of roam around and see everything that was going on. It was really great to just be able to sit back and watch the amazing work that the youth were doing. It was truly a blessing to see how they impacted these children's lives. And I got to do some sing and play just like back in my day. Which just absolutely made my experience amazing.

I was also able to meet a young little boy who was just full of joy.  There was this 3 year old boy who has down syndrome. He was such an amazing little child who I got to interact with a lot during the week. And it was amazing because it was a way for me to tie in my major while working at my current job, which I love.  It was so much fun, and it made my week so much more fun!

Outside of my work, I went to a wedding this past weekend to celebrate the marriage of two pretty awesome people. It was not only a beautiful ceremony, but it was also great because I got to see a lot of my friends from Erskine which is always a pleasure.

On some really random notes, I was really upset the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship. I really dont like the Miami Heat.  And I have also really enjoyed watching the South Carolina Gamecocks go for their 3rd straight National Championship in baseball! Go Gamecocks!

So my song quote tonight really has nothing to do with anything, other than it was a bible school song and it was really a lot of fun to lead all week at VBS.

"A rig of bamboo, now what is that? Its something made, by the Princess Pat. Its red and Gold, and purple too! So you should take, a rig of bamboo."

Not only did I love leading this song at VBS, but Chad Deetz (there is your shout out buddy) really loved this song! And, I initially learned this song at Camp Hope (one of the greatest places on Earth) and anytime I have a chance to think about Camp Hope, then I am going to be in a good mood.

Everyone having a good time in Sing and Play!

A group of people enjoying time in Snacks!

Whitewater Rafting Trip

So this past week I got to go on my first BUMS trip as the summer intern! We headed up to Ocoee, TN to raft the Ocoee River, and it was an AMAZING week! We got up there Sunday night, enjoyed a delicious dinner at Fazoli's, and had our nightly devotion. Then we hit things right away by rafting for the first time on Monday morning. It was awesome, and our boat had a great guide named Jon who was super chill, but also a really fun guide and gave us a great ride.
   On Tuesday we ate lunch at an awesome BBQ place in Chattanooga, TN, which I had the "Feast for 2" which is so much food that you split between two people, and it was so delicious. Then the kids did a photo scavenger hunt in the mall, in which some of the pictures provided some amazing laughs. On Tuesday night, we went to the Riverbend festival which is in downtown Chattanooga. It was a great time just hanging out, plus, we got to see Chris Tomlin in concert there, who is always a good concert.
   On Wednesday we went to Pin Strike where we enjoyed bowling, as well as Laser Tag, Bumper Cars, and Balladium. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. And on Wednesday night, during our devotion, we had a very special time. It was a time that consisted of a lot of sharing, and something that enjoyed a lot. It was definitely one of those "God Moments" where everything in the world seemed perfect, even if it was just for a couple of hours.
   On Thursday, we hit the river again, and we had the same guide with the same people in our boat. Once again, it was a great time down the river. Whitewater Rafting is a lot of fun. On Thursday night, we went to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Show in Chattanooga, which was hilarious! It has become a staple of the BUMS Whitewater rafting trip. The kids really loved it! Then today we traveled home.
   Overall, it was a great a trip. I really felt that I got to know all the kids on the trip a lot better and bonded a lot with them. There are a lot of great kids in the group, and I look forward to the next 8 weeks I still have working with them. Even though I am absolutely exhausted right now, I wouldn't trade this past week for anything. It was so amazing and God did some pretty awesome things this past week. Now, no break for me, because we dive right into doing our Vacation Bible School for the daycare at our church at 8:30 Monday morning. So its going to be another long week, but its going to be another good one! I can't wait!

1 Corinthians 12:27- Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part in it. 

It was so great to be part of such an awesome body of Christ this past week. I really enjoyed getting to spend a lot of time with some pretty amazing people!

Here are a couple of pics from the trip!

Summer is just getting started!

So yea, I know, its been a while since i have written my latest blog post, but thats cause since the last blog post, I have been so busy! But its been awesome, and I have really enjoyed this summer so far. So here is what I have been up to!

We had graduate weekend for our seniors in the youth group, which was a really fun way to celebrate their time they have spent over the years in the youth group. It was a little surreal for me, cause its been 3 years since i have graduated. Hard for me to believe that. After graduation weekend, I have just been doing a lot of work in the office, mainly planning the whitewater rafting trip which we have coming up! We leave on Sunday, and I am so excited! So lots of planning on that.

We have also had our BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) bible study, which we have throughout the summer. It was a great first one, because we talked about the differences in denominations. It was really a neat topic for me, since I have had a lot more influence from other denominations since being away at college. It was a very neat discussion!

I also got to play the role of Principal Jones in the Youth's musical. The person who originally had the role couldn't be there this past Sunday, and we performed the musical during the worship service, because it was youth Sunday, and the BUMS took over the entire service. It was a lot of fun, even though I only got my part a couple of days before the musical. But it was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed, and it actually went very well!

Finally, i made it to this week, and this week has been so busy! We have Vacation Bible School (VBS) going on at our church this weekend. I am helping out by acting in the skits as "Ranger Recruit Todd" as well as being a crew leader for the 5th and 6th graders. It has been so much fun! I have really enjoyed it, and we have our last night tomorrow! Then, as I mentioned earlier, we leave for our Whitewater Rafting trip on Sunday, which I cannot wait for! It will really be a great opportunity for me to really begin to fully connect with the kids!

This verse has really been on my mind lately:

Romans 12:1-2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and please to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. 


I am really learning what it means to truly give up my life as a sacrifice! I have worked some crazy hours for this job lately, some 10+ hour days! It has been tough and exhausting at times, but it has also been totally worth it. I have loved my summer so far, and I have barely even technically started (tomorrow, it will only be officially 1 week of work.) So I still have 9 more weeks to go, and I know they are gonna be some of the best 9 weeks of my life! Its going to be a great summer!

Witnessing a Miracle

So tonight, I got to do my first "real" activity as the youth intern at Bethel UMC. Tonight, our youth group was going to help out with the Carolina Miracle league, which is a baseball league for people with disabilities. It is an absolute awesome thing that happens. The volunteers are assigned a "buddy" and you get to help a child who normally wouldn't be able to play baseball enjoy America's past time. It was such a fun experience. I got to be in charge because my youth minister Chad accidentally double booked himself, so he put me in charge for tonight. We only took a small group, but we teamed up with SunTrust Bank to give these kids an experience of a lifetime. Tonight was the last night of the season, so it really was a time of a lot of fun. Each child always scores a run every inning after they get a hit, and each child received a trophy tonight as they crossed home plate. It was so great to see the joy of these kids and the huge smile on their face as they crossed home plate and got that trophy in their hands. It was absolute pure joy, which is something that I really needed to see tonight.

All too often we aren't thankful enough to God for giving us great blessings that he provides for us every single day. However, these people got so excited over something as simple as a small trophy. Wouldn't it be great to live like that? To be able to be overjoyed with everything, and just be so excited about life? It was so good to see that tonight. It was also awesome, because many of the players tonight have been my campers the past two summers at Camp Hope, which was great to see them since I won't get to see them at Camp this summer. But I really had a great time tonight, and I it was a great experience for anyone.

Tonight, I was really reminded of the pure joy of children and how God views children, so I was reminded of this bible verse:

Matthew 18:3-5: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 

God calls us all to be like children, which is awesome. It was so cool to see all of these children tonight living with pure joy, and living as God has called us to. So remember, be like a child more often. They are so much fun and have so much joy in their lives, and it was quite a witness to me tonight!

A Time for Celebration

Finally, after a long, hard-working semester, I was able to celebrate that it was over. I finished my last exam on  Thursday morning, and I was very glad to be done for the semester. And so Thursday night was a time for celebration. So, me and my friends Joey and Kevin went to see Zac Brown Band concert at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville. It was absolutely amazing! Probably one of the best concerts I have ever been to in my entire life! And it couldn't have been a better way of ending of the semester.

I spent Friday just chilling out with some friends as the semester came to a close, and Saturday came the day for graduation. No, I wasnt graduating (even though part of me wishes I was and another part of me is very glad that I was not.) But I did have a lot of friends who were graduating today. It was such an exciting time for them as they all take that next step in their life and move on to great things. But it also was hard to say my goodbyes today. I really don't handle goodbyes very well. Erskine is a special place with some awesome people that allows for you to build some friendships that you just know will last you a lifetime. So it was hard to say goodbye to those friends who are moving on today, and even hard to say see ya later to my friends who will be back at Erskine next semester, cause its gonna be a while before I see them all again. But regardless, it was a fun day, and good to celebrate the end of another semester. Its so crazy to think that this time next year, it will be me walking across that stage. I cannot believe how fast this time in college is going.

Now I am home for the summer. I am excited to be here, and so excited about my job, but also, its definitely gonna be different since this will be my first summer home since I have been in college. We will just have to see how that plays out. But I know it's going to be an amazing summer with God guiding me along the way. I leave you with a lyric from a song that describes my relationship to all of my friends.

"I get by with a little help from my friends." --- The Beatles

I have been so blessed to have so many great friendships in my life, including many of those who graduated from Erskine today as well as so many more that will graduate with me next year at Erskine.  These past few days have been an awesome time to just celebrate friendship, and enjoy them. I wouldn't be able to survive without my friends. They are always around for me to count on in times of need. So to all my friends out there, thank you! You guys are awesome. I can't wait to continue building my friendship with all of you, and I also look forward to the many more friends that I make over the rest of my lifetime. Summer is here!

You won't like me when I'm angry

So today I REALLY began to feel the stress of the end of the semester. I literally studied all day for my history exam, and then took it this evening. I hope I did well enough on it to get the grade I want in the class. But I'm not sure I did. But most of all, I am just glad IT IS OVER! That is my first exam out of the way, with two more to go. But the reason I am writing about stress is because when I get stressed, I end up getting angry. And being angry is never a good thing. My stress is coming from a lack of sleep most likely, and lack of sleep just makes me a little irritable., and that's just not a good combination. So starting today, I am going to try and not get angry anymore. I know its going to happen at some point, but I am going to try to not let myself get angry, particularly when it comes to something such as school or anything like that. So tonight, I am writing this blog for two purposes. One, as another study break (can't you see that I love study breaks.) and two, because I have heard that writing is a good stress reliever, so I thought I would give it a shot.  Two bible verses helped me get through tonight:

Ephesians 4:26-27 "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

1 Peter 5:7  "Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

It's never a good thing to give the devil a foothold. Because when the devil grabs hold of something, it's really hard to get him to let go. But anger is one of those things that the devil can use to control you and get you to do things that you may not necessarily want to do, but you do them anyways. But it is so nice to be able to know that no matter what we go through, no matter when the devil gets a hold of us, we can turn to our Savior Jesus Christ, who has already taken all our sins, our stress, and everything to the cross for us. Its such a relief to know that we always have someone that loves us that much.

Is Blogging for me?

So blogs seem to be pretty popular right now. So I thought, "Hey, why not get one myself." Now, before you start thinking that the only reason I am starting this blog is because everyone else is doing it, give me a second to explain myself. I am beginning this blog for a few reasons. One, somehow, by some miracle I think, I have actually turned into a writing person. Growing up, I was always the math guy (which is stereotypical with boys, as they typically do tend to do better in math compared to English or Writing.) But over the years, I have developed into a decent writer. My dad has always seemed to comment on how well my writing has gotten, especially recently. So I thought this would be a neat way to express my writing.

But there is another reason that I am starting this blog. This summer, I am getting to work as the youth intern at the church I have grown up at my entire life, Bethel United Methodist Church in Spartanburg, SC. Having this internship has always been a dream of mine, ever since I was a member of the youth group myself. Now, three years removed from youth, I am getting to return to the group that made such an impact on my life growing up, and hopefully be able to make an impact on some young peoples' life. I know that I am going to encounter some amazing experiences this summer, so this will be a way for me to document those experiences and share them with you guys. I am so excited about this summer, and cannot wait for it to get started. But first I have to finish up exams. Which speaking of those, I am using a study break to begin this blog, and now I really need to get back to studying. I hope to keep this blog updated throughout the summer, and maybe even after that. But if you wanna read about some experiences I have this summer, then feel free to read it. I also hope to close every post with either a verse of scripture that has been helpful to me recently or a song lyric that is I really enjoy. I'll start tonight with a song lyric, that also explains the title of my blog.

"Give me your eyes for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see."  -- Brandon Heath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY (listen to it here)

This song has always been something special to me. I want to have the eyes of God so that I can truly see what is going on in the world and know where to help. If you have never heard the song, I strongly recommend you to go listen to it. Its a great encouragement that reminds us that there is a lot going on around us that God has called us to help with, and sometimes all it takes is something as simple as opening your eyes to view the world as God does to reach out a helping hand. Thanks, and I hope you choose to read about my experience this summer!