trying out some new looks for the blog. haven't decided if i want to keep this one yet.

what do you think?

well friends i’ve resumed a chapter in my life i hadn’t anticipated entering again. saturday i moved back into johnson hall and have been looking around quite bewildered at all the new faces. i have about two years worths of faces to get to know. it’s almost intimidating. nearly all of my friends have left jbc for one reason or another so it leaves me feeling very much like a freshman. thankfully i’m more knowledgable than the freshies about knoxville and collegiate life ;].

when i got to school i found out that some of our rules were changing: we can dance, stay out an extra half an hour during the weekdays (may seem like not much to you but it’s pretty huge to us in the bubble), the dresscode is getting more relaxed, facial piercings are allowed and we can play cards! it’s nice that we’re starting to be treated more like adults.

i’m looking forward to classes starting because that means i’ll have something to do! i like being busy. i don’t enjoy having an over abundance of free time…and i feel like thats nearly all i’ve had over the past year. i know i shouldn’t complain but seriously, sometimes i wanted to beat my head against the wall.

last night i was invited to see transformers 2 with my roomate's youth group. i was excited because 1) i loved the first movie and 2) i know a good amount of her youth group, so i anticipated a great night. but it got even better! as amy and i were getting our tickets it was as if every time we turned around another teen we knew would show up! "it's james!" "hey look, there's reed!" "hey aaron!" "holy cow it's daniel!...and harris!" we couldn't help but smile at seeing two whole rows full of our favorite people and being smack dab in the middle of it.

the thought occured to me today that in two months to the day, i will be moved into johnson hall yet again. it's bizzare to think i'll be making that trip down 75 that i know all too well, once more. and that i'll be unloading my life yet again into the bubble. i never thought i'd be revisiting this chapter in life and adding to it's pages. but i find myself excited for the opportunity to do things differently and to do them right. and the perks of seeing familiar faces brings a smile to my face.

i've also realized that the next two months will be a bit overwhelming. it looked as if i was going to be able to get out of debt (except for college loans) and take a nice chunk of change back with me to school. but almost in true outer banks fashion that isn't so. i saw a job completely disappear, another cut back almost all of my hours but thankfully my steady job remains somewhat the same. and because of the summer schedule i have besides work i must accept the fact that i might not be able to take much money, if any, back with me to school. i have a week left in june to work, only two weeks in july to work and one in august. that's it. kinda scares me. cause i have to have money to get me back to ohio, planning on a trip to cedar point with my best friends (a last hurrah before they both get married), i need funds to get me to school, money to get me back to ohio for a few days a week into school to see one of the said best friends get married, i want to go to the national workers convention, etc. i see no way the money is going to be there but.... i have faith. yes i'm afraid but deep down i keep looking up. somehow things always work out. it takes a whole lot of patience but it'll be okay. but if you'd like to pray for me about these things, i'd appreciate it.

as i think about what's happening in the next few months i'm feeling bitter sweet. i prefer to feel that way. i don't want to feel heavily swayed either direction. i'm ready to leave the outer banks but it won't come without a lot of tears. i find myself bonding with a handful of amazing high school girls who i'm going to miss so much. not to mention living in this house with my awesome roomate. i'm going to miss EVERYONE so much. i'm excited to be home in ohio for a few weeks though. i never see my home folk enough. but i'm equally excited to hit the road for school and the adventure that lies ahead.

it's all happening so fast.

i have lots of reasons to smile. or actually, i have lots of people that make me smile. :]

last night around 8:30 our doorbell rang. this is unusual because we don't have many guests and we don't have many guests in the evening. as i approached the door i saw a few teenagers and heard some voices. i nearly jumped backwards as i opened the door to see at least twenty teenagers standing on our porch. the girls that surrounded the door all shreiked and dove for me engulfing me in a sea of bone crushing hugs. one was holding a vase of flowers but everyone was so caught up in the suprise of seeing me that they must have forgotten to tell me why in the world they were there. finally they asked if amy, my roomate was home. "no" i replied and they continued, "okay. well we [liberty youth group + a few] are going around encouraging all the youth pastors today!" they handed me the flowers and a few cards for amy. and then they added, "and since you're pretty much a youth pastor too..." they plucked a flower from amy's bouquet and put it in my hair. then all the teens that knew me gave me more hugs and off they went. not only did seeing them unexpectedly at my door bless my heart but also because i knew how much my roomate was needing encouragement. and in the form it came, wow. we serve a seriously awesome God.

i'm also smiling tonight. amy and i decided to hit up the free locals show of The Lost Colony in Manteo. to our surprise our seats were right infront of aaron and sierra (two awesome local teens) and then during the intermission we quickly stumbled upon maria (another insanely awesome teen) and she took the empty seat infront of us. :]

while i'm waiting to meet up with a friend for lunch i figured i had some time i post some more about camp.

one of the most impactful moments for me was when they had the altar call. now as i've said before, these things make me nervous. i've listened to many conversations over the past year about "salvation" and it's made me take a step back and see what i really believe about what it means and when it means we become followers. honestly i've become quite jaded in my ideas of what it is. so again, just like in the moment with the girls, i checked my heart. as i watched teens venture up to the stage making vows that they were going to start living their lives for the Lord i said to myself, "who am i to judge whether or not this is when it really sticks for these kids?! i need to rejoice in the fact that there's at least one teen whose life is changing from here on out and i need to rejoice right along side them. besides, wasn't it a similar experience when i finally got serious about God?"

i watched one of my junior high pres girls walk up there. when it was time for us all to lay hands on them and pray i made sure to be standing near her and a few of my other girls from my group that were making the same commitment. after we all prayed and lifted our heads i glanced around to see who was praying and who was sitting down. i noticed one of my high school pres guys standing behind my pres girl. i kept checking his face to determine whether he was praying for her or if he had went up to make the commitment. i was pretty certain he was already a christian so i waited till we all dismissed to go over to him to find out. as he walked toward me his face was beaming. "when i saw her walk up there, i almost started crying." i wanted to hug him so hard. a few minutes later my pres girl walked up to me and asked to speak privately. as we talked i brought up what he had told me and she said that she had felt a hand on her back and when she looked up he was smiling so big. it makes my heart swell to know that the older teens are right there ready to lift up the younger teens and get so excited in their growth. that was a big moment for me. i'm so blessed to just witness it. gosh i love teenagers and their passion for Jesus. it's so insanely refreshing.