DNow 2017–“Overwhelmed”

Our favorite youth thing of the year… DNow!  We had a great weekend with a great group.  We have never had such an awesome group of kids, ever.  They make us even more grateful our jobs.  We have such a sweet group of seniors that are so close to my heart…  I love them like my own and am going to be a puddle of the floor come Senior Sunday.

We watched a video series about being overwhelmed.  All of my girls have stressed to me how much they worry.  It is sad to think about the pressures they face these days. 

Going through these lessons with our youth… is always going through a lesson for myself also.  In our first session together he talked about signs of being overwhelmed.  Ask yourself these ten questions:  Are busy and tired words I use to describe myself?  Am I always in a hurry?  Does my schedule make me stressed and anxious?  How am I sleeping?  Do I blame other people for my feeling overwhelmed?  Do I say that this is only a “season” of life?  Do I show less compassion to others?  Am I losing hope?  Am I withdrawing from family and friends?  When was the last time I genuinely had fun?

At the time, I was experiencing most of these “signs”.  It was almost funny how spot on everything was…. almost.  I wasn’t even aware of these overwhelming tendencies in my life.  Compared to the people I love most, I thought I was super chill.  This weekend was God telling me not to let the enemy use these tendencies to push me off an emotional cliff.  I have to fight for peace in my life!

In Matthew 26:36-46 when Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray before his crucifixion, He is understandably overwhelmed.  In fact, the Bible says He was crushed with grief…. overwhelmed with sorrow… swallowed up with sadness. 

We’ve all been to a deeply painful place where we feel like we’ll never recover, but even in the every day where we don’t even think we are overwhelmed the same lesson applies… Look at what Jesus did.  He prayed!  This is a small but mighty step that can not be ignored.  We desperately need prayer…. Deep conversations with God where we can be honest, get things off our chest, and let go.

Jesus also asked his close friends to pray for him.  He didn’t try to carry this heavy burden all alone.  Close Christian friends are so important in my life.  I hope you have those special people in your life.  Knowing that I have dear friends that pray for me daily is one of the greatest blessings of my life. 

This first crucial step to overcoming the overwhelming is simple: We must pray!

Next we have to acknowledge what we’re good at, and what we should let go.  Don’t put too much on your plate…. If we stack all our plates too high, eventually everything will come crashing down.  All our responsibilities accumulate to increase our stress level.  Sometimes we just need to say “no”.  Perfectionists and people-pleasers have a hard time with this.  When you’re both, like me, it’s especially exhausting.  When you finally learn how to prioritize and give only what you can of yourself, the freedom of letting go is amazing. 

Lastly, we have to deny our fears and transform our minds.  Fear always plays a part in my life… I learned a long time ago that I will always have them.  I just have to deny their power over me and give every worry to God.  Looking to Him first will always make things better.  He will carry you through whatever you are facing.  Then when you are ready… dig into His word and further transform your mind by learning about Him.

So are you overwhelmed?

PRAY… LET GO… DENY YOUR FEARS… TRANSFORM YOUR MIND

Boom!

Thank you God and thank you Disciple Now.

Falls Creek 2015

June 8-13

Falls Creek is always a blast.  This year the theme was “Kindred.”  It was all about unity and I think it really was a turning point for our group this year.  We have certainly grown together this summer and it has been an answered prayer happening right in front of my eyes.  Beautiful thing to watch!

Leaving Mollie is not my favorite thing.  I committed to going on the youth mission trip this year, so I was determined to have her with me at Falls Creek.  It’s important for her to know how important God is to us and it’s always fun to watch her interact with our students.  The one problem, it that she is a little shy…. so interacting with our students is not her favorite.  Nate and I juggled parenting and youth ministering pretty good this time.  I’m comfortable skipping things now and making Mollie my priority.  My girls know how much I love them and am there for them.

This year she slept upstairs with all the girls.  This was a first for both of us.  It was fun…. But not so much fun shuuuushing the girls all the time.  We both had a great time.  Mollie especially enjoyed the baths in the kitchen sink and the icee’s.  On Thursday she got to go home with Grandmama and Granddaddy and I think it was perfect for both of us.

I’m so proud of her flexibility and I’m grateful for such a calm and sweet little girl.

Falls Creek 2014

I have always enjoyed camp.  It is a time away from life to just focus on our God and our students.  Falls Creek is simply the best. 

After Nicaragua, I decided I couldn’t leave Mollie again for the youth mission trip.  That decision was later reinforced when I wanted to go but my mom couldn’t watch Mollie for us.  So I decided to let Mom and Dad watch her for a few days while we were at camp.  It was a lot easier to be involved and focused.

 

We were having a great time with our students, and Mollie was having a great time with her grandparents.  I couldn’t wait to get back to her.

 

She spent Friday with us at camp, and then we went home that night.  Everyone else was just one morning behind us.

Falls Creek 2013

Being super involved with the youth and being a mom kind of clashes when your child is a baby.  Especially in the summer…. This year I kicked our cooks out of the cooks quarters and Hollie and I stayed in there with our babies.

 

I think Mollie and Hope had a good ol time.  It is a good thing that Hope is a sound sleeper because Mollie was a little loud throughout the night.  We learned really fast that Mollie girl likes her bed at home or nothing.

Sum, Sum, Summer Time…

I was looking back on my last like 20 posts and they are all about our baby girl.  Can you tell what I am thinking about most days? ha

I need to get back on track with what’s been going on in our lives.  For some reason, this summer has been crazy.  We do the same amount of youth stuff every summer, sometimes even more than this summer, but for some reason… this summer has been a little overwhelming.  When we were at a larger church, we even took two mission trips instead of one.  I must be getting super old, because the thought of leaving my house for another week makes me want to cry.  I’ll just chalk those emotions up to pregnancy ;)

Anyway, despite my lack of energy, we have had a great summer!  It has been hot… I mean oober hot with a side of sweat.  (You can’t step outside for more than 10 seconds and not sweat.)  But at the same time we got to spend a lot of time together and with our friends and youth. 

Get ready for the mother of all recaps…

May 23-27 --- First there was Nate’s first day of vacation this year.  It was of course for the Big Twelve Baseball Tournament. 

We go to it every year and look forward to it every year.  We watched around 12 baseball games, and enjoyed just relaxing at the ballpark.  Nate has basically been in charge of everything at church for a while now, so he needed a small break in the worst way.

 

May 28 ---  Memorial Day.  We went over to Zack and Hollie’s for the annual cook out and it was just a great relaxed time with friends.

We couldn’t talk the boys into playing any games, so we just ate and talked.  It was a little hard for me to hide being pregnant at this point, but I made it through a whole day with my best friends without saying something.

 

May 30 --- Falls Creek Bash

Nate and I sumo wrestled for the first time. I think I got a concussion from the first hit.

 

June 1-20 --- The “calm” before the storm.  If this is calm:  we were busy at church getting ready for our new pastor, going to business meetings, putting on a wedding, telling the world we are going to have a baby, going to the doctor, having youth outings, and stopping by the Whitney family reunion.

 

June 24-30 --- Falls Creek

Our biggest week of the summer.  It was jump started with a bunch of van problems and ended with some more van problems, but it was a great week in between!

We focused on prayer and learned about different ways to pray.  We had a few decisions in our cabin and will get to see one student baptized this Sunday, because of what happened at Falls Creek.  That makes everything worth it!

 

July 1-5 --- We were working hard to get ready for Minneapolis.  The other secretary was off so I had to work all day everyday… boo.  And we had our big ultrasound!  Not much Fourth of July celebrating went on in our house…. we were already too tired.

 

July 8-14 --- Mission Minneapolis

The second biggest week of our summer!  It was a wonderful trip where we headed north to help a new church plant.  We spent the week telling people about Lexington Community Church while sitting at a grocery store, doing a car wash, and a block party.

We worked with powerplant again, so every day we were also getting in tons of Bible study and group time.  We really got to know each other and I think everybody took home some life-changing memories.

 

July 15-21 --- We welcome our new pastor at church, get ready for VBS, go to the doctor, and Nate spends every night at the church (until 11pm) putting in a new sound system.

 

July 22-27 --- Vacation Bible School

We followed around a bunch of 4th and 5th graders.  It wasn’t much work, but just being at the church every day and then every night til 9:00 made me exhausted.

Katrina is tiny pregnant here.  I am like a jumbo elephant next to her.

 

July 28-29 --- Melissa’s Baby Shower for Duncan

I was super excited to help with this shower for one of my best friends.  She is always doing things for other people, so it felt good to do something for her.  Baby Duncan will be here in a few/couple short weeks!

I was a little obsessive about this shower.  Pregnancy has made me OCD and a little selfish.  I spent the majority of the day on Friday making this tub…

It was worth it though, because she loved it!  Yeah!

 

And now, July 30-August 2 --- Our first semi-normal week!  I am working my normal hours and Nate isn’t up at the church late.  It has been wonderful going home everyday.  And the Olympics started so we have thoroughly enjoyed staying home and taking in all the swimming and volleyball we can.

We are looking forward to things slowing down a little, and are grateful for all the safety God gave us this summer.  School starts on the 16th, so bring on the cold football games!

~Whitney~

DNOW 2011! "Shaped to Serve"

February 18-20

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Last weekend we took some of our students out of town for this year's DNOW!

They had never been anywhere besides Falls Creek, so it was great for them to get out of their little box. We didn't have a lot of participation this year (long story) so Nate and I made DNOW about building stronger relationships and group unity.

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It was a great weekend! Complete with awesome worship times, led by three former students from Rogers: David, Durgan, and Jason (man it was so good to see them).... some dodge ball where the adults finally won!... some ropes course time.... and an impromptu karaoke night. The greatest time we had was outside around a camp fire on Saturday night, followed by some great worship and a call to action. God was knocking down walls we all had built up. Sunday morning two students that we have been praying for accepted Christ as their Savior and we are so excited about watching them grow in the Lord and become a regular in our little group. . . . Our God is greater than we deserve!

Spiritually BITTER or Spiritually BETTER???

An entry from my journal on July 12, 2010:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." ~James 1:2-6

Our house has been for sale for almost ten months now. I have been physically, mentally, and spiritually down for these months too. I have let my circumstances take control. This last week was a bad one, and I know that Nate and I are a little depressed. Yesterday at church I heard yet another sermon on "enduring trials." I'm tired of hearing things like this, but this message stood out.

Everyone is going to go through trials... How do I respond? Am I going to come though spiritually bitter or better? Until today I have been growing more bitter by the week. Today I choose to make myself spiritually better.

Verse 5 says to ask for wisdom, but ask without a doubt. Nate came to me this morning saying that for the first time in these ten months, he is really not doubting - I am totally opposite in that I have never doubted so much.

Lord, please search me and know my heart. Take all my doubt away because I know that you are there and that you have a plan. Please grant me Your wisdom to become spiritually better and know how to make it through this trial...

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Today I feel refreshed in the fact that Nate and I are here

"for such a time as this" to see God move in the lives of our students.

Nate with Sara and Daniel, Sunday 8/8/10, before they were baptized.

Me and Sara

Falls Creek 2010

What a week! We started out feeling a little down because it didn't really feel like Falls Creek.... None of our students seemed to be getting it.... Nate and I just wanted to go "home" to the mission house. Don't get me wrong... We were having some fun times, but nothing of eternal significance was happening.

Paiger, Me, and Jill-O on superhero night.

Nate and I on Nursing Home night.... Nate was a cute old man ;)

Brighan (AKA Aquagirl), Me, and Kym (AKA Tie-Dye girl)

We did have one student saved on Wednesday night and that was a booster for the whole group. We were so proud of Shaylee. But still, throughout the week everyone was just going through the motions... Until the last night. We played a game where there were 12 disciples and they had to witness one-on-one to help save everyone at Falls Creek. Every so often there would be a "disaster" of some kind and people that were wearing certain things, or in a certain grade were "killed" and had to go to "heaven" or "hell". It impacted a lot of our students.

The game impacted a certain young lady that we had been praying for ever since we moved and others had been praying for several years. Little Sara was broken over the fact that she went to "hell" in the game (because of silly bands... Praise the Lord for silly bands). I had the opportunity to talk with her and one of our other students about what was going on. She knew that she needed Jesus, but something was holding her back.... And she has been letting something hold her back for a long time.

We just sat and talked and waited for God to move. I could see Him working in Sara's life right in front of my eyes. It was wonderful! After a while, I prayed for Sara -that God would speak to her right then and that He would show her what was holding her back and that an overwhelming peace would fill her heart- and when I finished praying we looked up and Sara said with tears in her eyes, "I want to do it." So we prayed together and Sara invited Christ into her life.

What a night that was! I will never forget Sara's heart felt cry for God to come into her life. I was so blessed to be able to be a part of it.

AND, after Sara was saved at 12:15am, another one of our students that we have been praying for got to talk with Zack and was saved at 1:45am.

August 3oth/31st was a wonderful night/morning!

Re-united and It Feels So Good!

Nate just got back from Super Summer. It was only the second camp I have ever missed since we have been married. I wanted to be there with him and our students so bad... I am jealous of all the great worship they experienced. (I sure hope I get the job that made me miss it)

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Nate hasn't stopped talking about it since he got back. I know it was an awesome week for all involved and something that Nate really needed. He is playing some new songs he learned on his guitar right now. I can't wait to talk to my girls about everything.

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I made it fine this week, so I am already less depressed than I was last week :) Just got a little scared when I was in the shower or when I was about to go to bed. haha

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Looking forward to a great weekend to catch up with Nate, and praying for our house to sell at the open house on Sunday. Hope you have a great weekend too!

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God, we believe you can do a miracle this week and sell the house. We totally give this situation to you and will praise you whether it sells or not. You are God and You are Good!