A few petals later...

Hey, its been a while. Im glad to be back and in writing (no pun intended). When I view the past three months or so, I begin to reflect on whats happened. And like many of us, I tend to look at the roots. The things that were harder to get through. The roots i've had to go through these past few months have been the most difficult yet rewarding. Ive let go, cried...lots, and found something most beautiful. When I begin to write these types of blog posts I recognize who I am and begin to get a little teary eyed. I have had to deal with a tug of war type mentality and learn how to give God the power... once again. He always has the power don't get me wrong, but the choice was mine whether or not I wanted to give it to him within my own life. I had to remember that I was given seeds but to maintain them and grow them was the real key. My seeds were being squished by my mindset that they weren't going to grow because of my perspective.

It's a change in perspective to get this turned around. Do I look at a flower and think "well...that would look better in the ground." I don't know about you but sometimes thats how I see situations and people, at least before this key shift. I would believe that if the problem was pushed away (in the ground) then everything would be okay above ground. Thats not how we were made. We were made to flourish and live out our most wildly blooming lives. Now Im not trying to ignore the roots that happen, because trust me I've had my fair share of roots. But what if we looked at roots the way we looked at flowers? Like both mattered equally.

definition of roots: "the part of a plant which attaches it to the ground or to a support, typically underground, conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant"

"The nourishment to the rest of the plant." Eventually, the inward emotions and self image becomes the reflection of the outward parts of you. What is rooted inside of you, can become what others see on the outside. If you say the negatives, you look the negative.

This is what i've come to know these past couple of months. I hope this is a mental click that can help you understand whether you view the world (and yourself) as roots or flowers. God has plans for you. This is why he created you, why he imagined you before you were even put on this earth. Are you going to accept the life of love, peace, and joy or let the roots of your past and hardships control you?

-Abby

Why Camp?

I seriously can’t believe it June. It's really crazy how time flies the older you get it seems. As most summers for me, I manage to keep myself busy by working a bunch and being involved in my church. But something I always find myself looking forward to each summer is camp. When I look back at the end of each year, camp is always a week that I say is one of the highlights of my year. This summer will be my 9th year attending camp at Lake Geneva Christian Center. My 2nd year as a counselor and 7 years attending as a camper. So you might be asking, What the big deal about camp? Well, let me tell you about why I keep coming back year after year.

Tonight I decided to pull together all of my old journals. As I was looking through these journals I would find notes and journal entries from past years of camp. I love reading those letters and seeing where I used to be and where I am now. I actually accepted Christ into my life and my heart at my very first camp experience. The bible that I use to this day is actually a Bible that my Dad bought me the weekend before I left for camp. I’ve tried to buy different bibles in the past few years but somehow I can’t get myself to do it because I love this bible so much. This Bible is one of my most prized possessions.

When I look back on my walk with God, some defining moments I’ve had in my walk have been at camp. Some of my moments at camp have actually just been the start to a certain season in my life. For example, My friend Valeria and I started a bible study on Tuesday nights after a camp experience one year. My experiences with God during the week of camp have been a launching pad for me. It has prepared me to return back to my life to walk out what it looks like to follow Jesus authentically and wholeheartedly. I can’t promise you that I didn’t make mistakes after camp but I can promise you my heart grew more to love others and to love Jesus more. I’ve experience forgiveness at camp, not only extended to me but also I’ve been able to extend forgiveness to others as well. I’ve watched people at camp get healed not only physically but also emotionally.

Another thing that keeps me coming back to camp is the memories that are made with my Anchor fam and all the fun you have. Sometimes, me and my friends talk about past camp moments and it makes my heart so happy. Just overall camp is just such a fun week. Camp is the place where you not only have fun but you grow in your relationship with the lord.

Now why in the world did I say yes to being a counselor two years in a row? Why would I take a week off from work when I have college to pay for? Why would I put everything else in my life on pause for a week of camp? Here my answer for you, Because I’ve seen and I have experienced what God can do in a week of camp. There is something special that happens when you get away from the hustle and bustle of life and it's only you and Jesus (and I mean their other people there too but you get the point). I pray that the students would experience Jesus in a way that they never have before and that they would follow Jesus no matter what it takes. My years of being a camper have deeply impacted me, therefore, I want to give back. I want these students to experience Jesus and watch their lives get transformed by him. I can’t put a price tag on a camp experience. I’m willing to stop my life so I can watch students encounter Jesus and So I can spend quality time with Jesus as well. This is why I keep coming back to camp.

I believe those moments I have had with God at camp have helped shape and mold me into the young woman I am today. But let me tell you a secret, Camp isn’t the only place you can experience God. Yes, Camp is a great place to get away to grow in your relationship with God. But now some of my greatest moments with Jesus aren’t found at a camp or at Minnesota Youth Convention. Some of my greatest moments with Jesus have been in my devotional time, quiet time, talking with a friend and they say something that Jesus uses to speak to my heart, laying in my bed at night or in the morning and just on a regular Sunday or Wednesday night service. I encourage you to go to camp if you can. But just always remember that you don’t have to be at a camp or retreat or a conference to experience God. You can experience God anywhere, just have an open heart to him and be open to listening to him.

Much Love and Much Coffee

Brytt

And if not, He is still good

I have officially just finished my sophomore year of college. My parents always say that the older you get the faster time passes by and man are they right about that. I can’t believe that I am halfway through college and one step closer to being a college grad. My sophomore year was an amazing year full of growth and learning as well as God continually showing up and being faithful to me. One of the best things about this school year is that I became friends with an amazing group of gals! (Tera, Abby, and Naz-I love you guys so much). This academic school year was truly amazing filled with awesome opportunities, learning, and growing in my faith.

When I look back at this past school year I see a lot of good moments but there were also moments that I went through that weren’t so good. This past school year I watched my heart get broken in more ways than I ever thought it could. There were moments of getting rejected from internships, people, and a job promotion. I watched as times I had my life together one minute but then the next moment I didn’t have it together.

Something that has sustained me this past year are these words “And if not….He is still good”. I remember during my winter break I had a good friend ask me during a coffee date “Will you still think God is still good even if the outcome isn’t what you want?". I responded right way by saying “Of course I will”. But after that day I remember I started to truly think about those words. Will I still think God is good? Do I truly believe that statement or Do I just say that I do?

This past year I watch God pick up the pieces of my broken heart and put it back together more beautifully done then the time before. I look back on this time last year and I am so proud of how far I have come from this past year. These past few months I have seen many prayers being answered and many blessings spring to life.

On that note, I think it time to discuss my summer plans. As many of you know, I have been searching for an internship for this summer for the last 8 months. I am so excited to announce that I have accepted a Management/Sales internship for the summer at Sherwin Williams. This internship will be taken place in Owatonna.

As well, I will still be interning at my church (Northridge Church located in Owatonna) and serving in whatever capacity I can while I am home for the summer. My job at Caribou Coffee will still continue on but I will be cutting back my hours drastically. I will be working at Caribou full time for the next three weeks until I start my internship at Sherwin Williams at the end of May. Then I will be there one day a week or every once in a while throughout the summer (this part of the plan I am still figuring out).

Then in the fall I will start my junior year of college at NCU and moving into an (on-campus) apartment!

I want to thank my friends and family for praying for me and being there for me these past 8 months. You guys are truly the best.

Today I want to leave you with this, whatever you may be going through I pray that you would believe that God is still good through it all. This past year I learned that you really do have to go through the valleys sometimes to reach the mountain top. And those valley moments are really going to define you and grow you in many ways. You get to choose how you let those valley moments define you. If you are faithful in the valley moments, then God will be faithful to you in the valley and even more on the mountain top.

The best is yet to come!

Much Love and Much Coffee

Brytt