Life has been crazy lately, and I don’t mean crazy as in busy…I have been confronted with so many issues, so many things to deal with in my own life, and it is taking time to deal with them all. And that’s okay! I know that God is working with me, not against me, and that He has a purpose for these struggles and these lessons. I also feel as if I may be at a point in my life where two paths are emerging, and that it is up to me to choose the path…sometimes I believe God does this, where He gives you two equally good choices, and you can choose which one. This is one of those times.

Yesterday was an incredible day…even though I received my first speeding ticket…sad! But I deserved it, and I will pay the fine when it comes. Thankfully, by doing online traffic school, the ticket won’t appear on my record, which is good.

But yeah, yesterday was a great day. It took me 9 hours (of driving) to get back to APU because of holiday traffic…but I had some great worship time, great prayer time…I was able to talk to some of my close friends, and it was just wonderful.

I was reunited with a friend (that I have mentioned before) over breakfast, which was so needed. Just talking with him, listening to him made me realize that I’ve missed his friendship over the past three years, and he realized the same thing. We are going to slowly build a friendship again, but who knows what depth it will have this time. I am trusting the Lord with this one, and I’m not going to worry about it.

I had lunch with Duane–I cooked my “creation”, which I have named “ciotola di pasta”–and once again I was reminded of how blessed I truly am to be friends with this godly man. I was able to see his trunk (he is in the Air Force), where he has every letter I sent to him while he was in the Middle East (I cannot believe he has them ALL!), as well as his souveniers from his excursion.

There is a possibility that I may be an intern at his church next summer, to assist with the incredible youth ministry things that are happening there. Our association (for those who are not familiar with Southern Baptist Convention terminology, each state has a “Convention”, which is composed of “Associations”, which are usually the churches in two counties, and those churches work together to minister more effectively…I think that explains it)has youth who are SO on fire for the Lord and for becoming a “disciple”, that right now is the time for people to jump onboard and minister with them. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does!

Anyway, so yesterday was a great drive…I am back until Friday morning, when I will drive only 270 miles this time, up to Yosemite National Park for 5 days to be with my family (our 40 something reunion…I can’t remember now how many we’ve had). Good ole Los Angeles.

Later I’ll post the devotional I did with my cabin girls last Friday morning…it is a lesson I am learning more each day.

“How great is the love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” –I John 3:1

Hello everyone! I just wanted to make a quick post about camp…

It was amazing. God truly did some awesome things in the lives of the youth there, as well as in the lives of those who were serving as staff.

For those who are curious, my friend, Brandon, who I was going to see for the first time in three years this week, was not there because he was unable to get a sub for work. I may see him Monday.

My only complaint is that my allergies to dust and smoke (campfire) have turned into bronchitus, which I hope goes away soon.

It was an awesome week, basically completely away from technology. No cell-phone reception, even.

The girls in my cabin were incredible, and I love each of them so much! We were part of the “Missions” track, which consisted of one boys’ and one girls’ cabin, and my friend Duane and I taught them more “in depth” stuff about being an “On Mission” Christian. We were separate from the rest of the camp for most everything, and it was actually life-changing for all of us. Because there were 11 girls in the cabin, there were two counselors, me and the summer missionary–Brittany. We hit it off and worked together so well! I wish we could have been partners during our summer missions experiences!

It was absolutely amazing to be able to spend 6 days with my best-friend Duane, who is seriously one of the most incredible men I have ever met. We have been friends for nearly 9 years, and we’ve been through a lot together. He is in the Air Force, and was sent to the Middle East last year for a few months. I am only sad that I was able to spend that much time with him because now I’m having “Duane Withdrawals” (and he says the same about me). By the way–no one won the game of “capture the flag”…we did it Lesa vs. Duane, and boys vs. girls. And we were equally matched. I’ll post some pictures later of Duane and I in our attire…let’s just say that we are hard-core about this game! 🙂

Anyway, more reflections later. Must continue resting to get rid of this wretched cough. In summary: God is awesome, and He’s my everything!

Saturday night we are having two sleepovers for our youth group–one for boys and one for girls. I’m responsible for preparing a “talk” about seeing ourselves through God’s eyes–which is something that I have been preparing for my camp Bible study group anyway.

It is so hard to remember that what’s on the outside is unimportant compared to the condition of the heart! Last night, for instance, my roommates were watching a show about becoming a model…and one young woman was considered to be a “plus size” model–when she couldn’t have been over a size 8! I was amazed. The average woman is a size 12…which must be obese in the modeling industry.

Our society places so much value in outward beauty…

But how does God see us?

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

–I Samuel 16:7

To begin, I am going to give the girls a piece of paper with several questions on it, for their own personal reflection…”What does your heart look like? What do you treasure? What makes you who you are? What do you like the most about yourself? What do your friends like about you? What does God see when He looks at you?”

After they have completed this sheet, we will have a discussion; afterwards I will hand them several poems and passages from various authors that talk about appearance and inward beauty. I found this one years ago in a magazine, and it has stuck with me ever since:

In God’s Eyes

In God’s eyes, it doesn’t matter

How much you weigh

How many people you dance with

Or even whom you kiss.

In God’s eyes, it doesn’t matter

Where you shop

What you wear

Or even how much you spend.

God doesn’t see the wall you hide behind;

God sees beyond.

When you’re grasping for things that

You convince yourself

Will push you to the top,

God sees the person you know is really you.

~Emily Viola and Emily McNeill

They say you really know something if you can teach it…so I need to work on applying this in my own life, because this is something I struggle with daily…even hourly. What does God really care about when it comes to us? The Bible gives us several ideas…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness…obedience…but do I really believe and apply these lessons to my life? Do I really truly believe that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14)?

What really matters?

Not fashion…not outward beauty (though, of course, there is nothing wrong with beauty)…but the condition of the heart.

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

–Proverbs 31:30

PS–Shingles are horrible. Avoid them at all cost! (LOL–not that you can!)

Today the pain has increased quite a bit, so I am INCREDIBLY thankful that it is only in one spot! I cannot imagine what the severe cases feel like. Praise the Lord for my high pain tolerance, as well–though it was not easily attained.

Also–I reached 5000 hits on my blog! How exciting!

Updates on a few things…

–Ministry–

I spent my last two summers in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as a “Summer Missionary” through the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (a mouthful, I know! 🙂 ), and I loved being there, experiencing everything that I experienced, spending time with amazing people, and doing what I was doing. I realized as this summer began that it was going to be difficult to not be involved in full-time ministry this summer–since that had been my life for the past two. This also is the first summer that I have ever worked full-time, and I was concerned about how I would deal with it…(and I’m doing fine with that 🙂 )

Well, God answered that unspoken prayer!

Each week, so far, more doors of opportunity have opened for me to be involved with my church here in Glendora, or with churches back home. Last night, I walked through another door, and it made me realize that I am basically a summer missionary again–which is great. It’s what I wanted, right?

We had a Vacation Bible School (VBS)planning meeting last night, and rather than solely teaching the music portion this year (as I have done for the past 8 or 9 years), I am also teaching 5th grade (kids who just finished 4th grade). I’m very nervous about this–as I will probably have 20 kids in my class, and I’ve never taught this age group.

If you have ANY suggestions for this age–please let me know!

I will be leading two Bible studies each day, plus doing music and crafts in the class room. I’m not all that good at crafts, so that will be an interesting portion of the class, LOL. I’ll have to find something easy! 🙂

I began to look through the material last night, and I definitely feel overwhelmed–but I also am excited because I love this stuff…I love my church here…it is like a family, and most of the members actively participate in the church activities and ministries, making it so much fun! It’s awesome!

So all this to say that God makes me smile 🙂 He has a way of giving us what we need before we even realize that we need it! I needed to be involved this summer, and though I am going to be so busy with camp planning, youth group stuff each week, and VBS, I love it all!

–Roommates–

Things with my roommates, Jessica and Erin, are going really well…SO much better than previous living arrangements! I am SO thankful! Last night, Erin and I laid in bed talking until after 1am, getting to know each other better. It is so awesome to be with two girls who are so sweet, so loving, so GENUINE…:) I couldn’t have asked for a better living situation for the summer!

–Family–

One week from today my brother graduates from high school…I can’t wait to see my family! I’ll get to see my 18-month old cousin as well, and I am so excited about that. He is the cutest, most wonderful child! I also can’t wait to see my family at our annual reunion in July…I have been blessed with an incredible family!

That’s life for Miss Lesa Close right now…things are going well. 🙂