Storm

In every storm, there lies a calm. A few years ago, I arrived at church to head over to STL for a youth praise service, but tornadoes began to roll in and instead we needed to stay at the church. I found myself standing in the parking lot with my mother admiring the swirling green sky and pondering if that cloud out in the distance was, in fact, a tornado. Where we stood was completely calm. The wind was a bit gusty, but otherwise, no rain, thunder, or lightening obstructed an otherwise calm evening.

This weekend I stayed down at Camp Ne-O-Tez between two weeks of camp. Last night, we had a rather hefty storm. Myself and three other girls who stayed need to move from one side of camp to another. We found a moment where the rain let up, and we made our run for it. But, we didn't make it far before the sight of Crystal Falls stopped us in our tracks. Just that afternoon we had been viewing a calm, clear barely flowing crystal falls (See first picture). Now, water gushed across it creating white crested waves that raced through camp. Parts of the creek, normally only being about ankle deep, were flowing at over waist deep.

This morning, I noted the calm Crystal falls, still more active than usual, but exceedingly calm compared to last night (See second picture). And the story of Jesus calming the storm drifted into my mind. For Crystal Falls, the water was calm after the storm, but it will take hours maybe a day or so for the water to return to normal. But for the disciples, the calm came during the storm. Imagine just ofr a minute how incredible that really is. The story can be read in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but all end on the same note: the disciples were terrified and in wonderment of who Jesus was that even the wind and the waves stopped at his words. Think about that. You're standing in a tornado and the man with you says: "Wind. Be still." And instantly it is.

As my mother and I wondered if that cloud was a funnel cloud or not, a tornado destroyed a building 10 minutes across town. People are trapped in storms everywhere, desperately searching for some sort of peace. We may be standing in the calm for now, but someone else is battling the storm.

A lesson on Aliens

A couple weeks ago, a friend and I went and saw Super 8. I loved it; I never like sci-fi flicks, but I loved it. It wasn't trying too terribly hard to be some great sci-fi, alien rampage, end of the world insanity. It's about an alien that wants to go home (Yeah, sounds like E.T. but not, I'm aware). In fact, we never even see the alien until the movie is almost over. It's a movie about aliens that is really about the other people.


Middle School week is winding down. It's friday morning. My campers now hate my co-counselors and I I'm sure for waking them up with our rendition of rebecca black's Friday. But, today is going to be an excellent last day. I mentioned last post that there's something different down at camp. I found it: Aliens. This week's theme is Aliens. In middle school lingo it's a way to say, when we follow God, we are aliens in our culture because our home is elsewhere than Earth.


It is amazing to watch these kids work out that truth. That we are different, that we are not of this world. There's a Thrice song that gets me everytime with the words:

No point in putting roots too deep when I'm movin' on

Not settling for this unsettling town

My Heart is filled with songs of forever

A city that endures when all it made new

I know I don't belong here

I'll never call this place my home

I'm just passing through

I have roots. I have roots in this world. I have things and people and places I've rooted my hope and my trust and my faith deeply into. God is one of those things. He's even the biggest. But I still have roots in the world, because, to be completely honest, it's hard to pull all those roots out. Funny how we might just be a little like Super 8. We're just trying to get home - but, unless we pull out our roots, the world won't even see our alien side until its almost the end.

40 Days

40 Days.
That's a pretty long time when I really start to think about it. Last summer, I spent exactly 40 days at Camp Ne-O-Tez. Otherwise fondly referred to by many of my friends at home as God Camp or "that one place you go all summer." I had intended to post this before I left, but, ah well, change of plans (Let's be honest, I procrastinated - on the upside I have my laptop for school reasons and intend to post periodically).

This summer I'm not spending nearly 40 days down here. Those 40 days included a week as a camper, 3.5 weeks as a counselor, one week wasing dishes, and a couple random extra days that topped it off at 40.

Biblically Appropriate? I thought so.

Here I am, Day One (well, technically two) of camp. I'm up early to do a little work for my online class before all the excitement starts for the day.

Last summer, I learned quite a bit. 40 Days prepared me to leave for college. It took me out of my own, Kelsey-revolving world, and let me focus on God and the campers. I did quite a few different jobs, I counseled, I camped, I washed dishes, I assisted the cooks, I played nurse for a couple days, and I helped run some activities. More importantly, I learned the value of attitude, I taught, I was a friend, I made friends, I needed friends, I enjoyed a trip to the doctor, I cleaned, I sweated, and I saw God.

When I think of seeing God, I think of being down here in this valley, not the top of some mountain somewhere. It's not a perfect valley, the bugs can be bad, last night was hot and humid, so sleeping was a little rough, but something is different here. Last summer, I breathed that something different.


40 Days. I think Jesus in the desert being tempted. I think 40 days of fasting. I'm thinking maybe last summer's 40 days was my fast from the "real world" to be in touch with a different world, and that I came out of it ready to handle anything.

I anticipate great things this summer. I hope you do too and come along for my journey.