What my summer could look like if i devoted it to helping those who need it

I actually have a really nice opportunity to volunteer at the Parish School in their Caruth Center which is a physical and occupational therapy center for kids. I learned about this opportunity on community service day when we went to the Parish School to volunteer. they gave us a tour of the entire Caruth Center and i met a few of the ladies that worked there. i am really interested in Physical and Occupational therapy and i love kids. i would love to help these kids and do something i love. i have been thinking of contacting them and asking them if i could volunteer there, but school has been so busy. summer would be a great time to take advantage of this opportunity. also by doing this i would be using my summer wisely and not wasting it.

My Summer

I am so excited for my summer! the first part of my summer (5 weeks to be exact) will be spent at camp Mystic. I am going to be a counselor for the whole month of June. this will be my 11th year at camp and i will be in Wiggle Inn with the first year campers. I will also be a life guard and teaching swimming, aerobics, beauty inside and out, and dance. i can't wait to build new relationships with younger girls and grow closer to God.
The second part of my summer will be spent with my friends and family, hanging out and doing fun stuff. I plan on spending as much time with all of my closest friends as possible because my best friend Loren is going to Africa for like 10 months and my boy friend is going to Michigan for college, 1300 miles away. i have to cherish the time i have with all of my friends because this is the last summer we will all be in one place.
a normal day will look like this: wake up at about 11 or 12, eat lunch/breakfast, call Loren or Allie or Cullen, or all three to make plans for the day, work out/go swimming, shower/get dressed, go out with friends, come home around 12:30 am, sleep, repeat.
also this summer i will be getting ready to start my life at Baylor University! so i will be attending orientation and line camp and getting my classes set up. also i will be shopping for dorm stuff and books. i can't wait for college!!!!!!!!!!!

Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well

I know I don't share the Gospel enough with those i know. but i do however talk about God. I think this is because everyone that is close to me is a Christian. I may not share my faith with my friends and family but i do encourage them in the lord and discuss things that are related to religion and God. For example, I talk with my boyfriend frequently about revelation and what we both think will happen regarding the second coming of Christ. we also talk about forgiveness of our sins and we encourage each other with reassuring words from the Bible when we are stressed or sad. I do the same thing with my friends, but i don't really do this with my mom and dad. the last time i talked about who Jesus was was in september with a young child at Champions. she was so cute and i asked her if she knew Jesus as her friend, and she said yes. we talked about who he was and what he meant to us in our lives. i also recently talked to my best friend Clare about what she believed, because it is different from what most Christians believe. I told her what i believed and we discussed why we believed what we believed. this happened in february and it was an interesting ad unique experience.

Celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden--Should We?

Should we be having parties in celebration of someone's death? in Osama Bib Laden's death? From an American perspective, maybe yes, from a christian perspective, definitely no. what if you are both? what do you do? i think it is appropriate as an American Christian (not saying that all Americans are Christians by any means) to be relieved that Osama Bin Laden has been killed, but it is not ok to be elated and rejoicing in his murder. this goes against may principles in the christian belief system. we, as American Christians should be relieved that our military's hard work has paid off and that the lives of many military men have not been wasted. also as Christians we know that we should not "rejoice when your enemies fall; don't be happy when they stumble. for the lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them." this knowledge makes me fearful of what is to come...

Panhandeling Dilemma

It's always so awkward when you're in your nice car at an intersection of a busy street and a homeless person is staring right at you with his sign proclaiming his poverty. i never know what to do!! what runs through my head is this: is he really homeless? does he have a family? did he lose his job b/c of the economy? is he hungry? is he lying to everyone? is that a cell phone he's pulling out of his pocket? will he use the money i give him for drugs? or food? should i even make eye contact with him? is it rude to ignore him? i mean he's a person too, even though he is poor and awkward...im sure he wouldn't like to be ignored...
things i would like to include in homeless person packages: a small piece of paper with a bible verse on it to encourage them, gum that is good for your teeth, a protein bar (low calorie but high in vitamins ect), V8, sanitizing wipes, deodorant to go, "wisps" which are like to-go tooth brushes, and some sort of cleansing face wipes.

Radical video review

My personal opinion of the Radical videos is that they are boring and too long. they are very informational and helpful, but they do not hold my attention. i think he talks kind of funny, and that is distracting when i am actually trying to pay attention. I think he tries to make things too dramatic in order to catch the audience's attention, but i think its over the top. I think it's neat though, that he is so young and has his own church and that he is expecting such amazing things out of people instead of being conventional and ordinary.
I feel these videos of sermons are not benefiting my spiritual life. i can get the same effect in church, and i do, every sunday, so that is why i think these videos do not hold my attention. It would be much more beneficial to help other people and actually do mission work than to watch videos that are mostly about how rich people can't go to heaven. also they are too long, so the speaker loses my attention quickly. i do feel i benefited from one of his sermons. the one about his friend's last sermon was really impactful because his friend's words were so inspiring.
i think he does a good job at preaching, but i don't feel like this class should be about being preached at everyday. that is why i am not interested in these videos. they get old after a while. i do, however, appreciate that he is young with new ideas and new styles of teaching and not old ways of presenting material. the logo of Radical is appealing and fresh, which is a good change of pace from plain and boring.

Radical Urgency

In your life right now, what is most "urgent and pressing"?
In my life, my future is most urgent right now. specifically my relationships in the future with my friends, my boyfriend, and my family. Going away to college puts lots of stress on the relationships in my life. My best friend is going to Africa, none of my really close friends are going to Baylor, my boyfriend will be 1000 miles away in Michigan, and i will be very separated from my family who i am so dependent on. going away to college is like the end of an era, and its something i have been thinking about lately: i will be much more independent, something i am not used to, i will not have close friends anywhere near by to keep me sane and in a good mood all the time, and my boyfriend who makes me so happy will not be anywhere near me until next thanksgiving break. I am basically starting anew, and its stressing me out, because im pretty happy with where i am now.
How have your career plans and personal life schedule taken on an urgent status in your life?
My career plans have taken an urgent status in my life because i will soon start preping for my career, so i need to start thinking about what would be best for my major and what would be most beneficial to my life and my future family and career. also my social life has become more inportant because i am a senior and i am trying to have as much fun as possible with as many of my friends
How is that unhealthy?
because i fail to live in the moment and sieze the day because i am too worried with my school work, my future and my relationships.
There is little urgency to reap harvest. there is little urgency to share the gospel truth with others. How can this be the case?
we can not see the reality of the harvest, so we don't seem to care. it is hard for us to see something not tangible, so we are not radically urgent about it.
What must we do to change this?
we must pray to God to let us see the radical urgency of reaping the harvest over the importance of our own lives and life plans.