Indescribable

Found this draft written from August 12. Thought I would post it because it is so meaningful to me.

I've been thinking about this blog post for a while: how to truly summarize the summer. I could describe each and every week, the groups, the homeowners, other staff, church leaders, etc, but that wouldn't be focusing on the big picture, the story of God and the will of God working in my lives. That would be giving the credit to the creation not the creator. Like Romans 1:25 says, "So they worshiped and served the things God created ins tea dog the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!" So let me stray away from telling you about how amazing the people I met were, and tell you how amazing it was to see God move through them to reveal himself to me and others.

Let me start with the staff. Although the first day was that typical awkward "I don't know you yet" type of day, we really grew as a family over the summer. Not only did I make amazing friends, have awesome mentors, and pure entertainment, but I also was consumed by the love of God overflowing from each of them. Let me point out what I admire about each one of the people I worked with:
DeeDee-passion, heart for serving others, and ease to comfort others.
Dwight-unbelievable wit and humor.
Doug-patience, flexibility (not physically), and "can-do" attitude.
Sarah-enthusiasm and ability to relate to all ages.
Karen-confidence, composure, and attentiveness to detail.
Reed-heart for others, leader in Christ, and reliance on Christ as strength.
Bryan-ability to make any situation light hearted and ease in friendships.
Andrew-simple enjoyment in the small things and enthusiasm.

Now there is so much I learned this summer:
-Confidence is Key

"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)."

This verse embodies the Blueprint Staff, especially DeeDee. Before anything, pray. What a blessing it was for me to be around both fellow staff who relied and believed so greatly on prayer. Every week before the group came in and every night before worship we met and prayed as a team. I went from feeling awkward praying aloud to leading prayer for dinner, for our teams, for the staff, etc. Prayer has woven itself into my life as an essential tool before doing anything. Just like we used tools on the worksites to get our jobs done, we used prayer many times a day as a way to fuel us through out work. Overall, God revealed the power of praying without ceasing. 

Dennis and Allison Graduate

The Graduates--Allison graduated with a Nutrition major. She is now doing a year with the Fellow Program in Memphis. Dennis graduated with an Electrical Engineering major. He is now moving to Atlanta to work for the engineering firm Enercon Services.

And don't worry, Dennis still graduated first. Although they graduated the same day, Dennis was a few hours before Allison.

Proud parents. Such great support systems for Allison and Dennis throughout their college experience. Definitely their two biggest cheerleaders!

 

Proud siblings and Volunteers for Life.

Love any chance to have the whole family together!

Sad that Allison and Dennis are leaving Knoxville, therefore, leaving me. But so excited and proud of them. They are both incredible and worked so hard throughout their years at UT! Can't wait to continue the rest of my college experience hoping to learn and do as much as these two did.