Life has been infinitely sweeter this week than any time that I can recently remember. I feel a peace in my soul that the Lord is good, and the Lord is with me. My circumstances are no different than they were before camp. It is my attitude that has changed.

As I prepare to leave for another week, I pray that I can keep this peace with me. I will be serving as a chaperone for a group from my church going to White Oak, Tennessee. I pray the Lord gives me strength to sustain me and help me finish some homework while I'm there, too.

For now, I'm tired. More updates to come later.

Much love and many blessings,
Katie

Life is Precious. Life is Sweet.

I desperately wish that I had time to sit and write all that I have learned in the past week. However, that is not possible at the moment seeing as I have to leave for work shortly. For now, I leave you with a poem that one of my fellow Huddle Leaders wrote about the week. Her thoughts sum it up perfectly.


This Week (July 11th-18th)

This Week
I learned that I am an eagle
and I need to stop living with the chickens,
spread my wings, and fly.
I learned that it is possible
to throw up for God.
I learned that Christianity IS a crutch,
because I AM crippled without Jesus,
and I need Him to support me.
I learned that I'm not worthy of myself
and that I am so precious to God
that only He is worthy to hold my life
in His hands.
I learned that prayer is the most powerful
weapon, stress reliever, compliment, praise.
I learned that being in community
is one of the greatest gifts to ever be given
and that feeling safe is a part of being a family.
I learned that choosing between two things is difficult
but that when you choose the right one
even when you think it will hurt someone
you do not feel defeat.
I learned that being a united front
is essential to being a parent.
I learned that being a role model
may be a tough job but reaps great rewards.
I learned that having a role model
means showing respect and being able
to admit your weaknesses and doubts.
I learned that I am not the only one who feels dry
and wants to be filled up.
I learned that swaying to a worship song
will always be more powerful when standing
next to your best friends.
I learned that dealing with difficult situations
is impossible to do on my own,
and shouldn't be done on my own.
I learned that when the girls start laughing
it is useless to try and not join in.
I learned that I did not deserve what Jesus did for me
when He gave His life on the cross
but that being unworthy would never stop Him
from saving those He loves.
I learned that being called Christian
means standing up and declaring
"I Am A Disciple Of Jesus"
and feeling your own voice resound in your heart.
I learned that Summer Games has saved my life
one more time.
I learned that God will never
ever
give up
on me.


Thanks Karleigh! This is my favorite poem, and I have a feeling it will always have a dear place in my heart.

Blessings,
Katie

A Wonderful Realization

As I prepare my heart for a week of camp counseling next week, I am so excited.  Working with high school youth will be a different counseling experience than what I'm used to.  However, I'm excited to be able to share with these campers on a more mature level and hopefully dig into some real deep faith issues.

Thinking about my years as a sr. high camper has made me realize just how much I've changed since then.  I've always been a passionate person, loving to talk and express my feelings on a variety of subjects.  The most striking change I realized was that just four years ago, I knew Jesus but I didn't know him intimately.  What would get me most fired up when I talked to people was politics and history and what was going on in the world.  As I would talk about those things I would grow angrier and more frustrated.  Today, after all that has happened in the past four years the thing that I'm most passionate about is the Lord.  I don't like to talk about politics anymore because of the fact that it makes me angry.  I would much rather talk about my Lord and feel my face light up with love as I speak.  Praise be to God for the changes He has made in my life in the past four years. :-)  May I make a loving impact for His glory in the lives of my campers next week.

W. O. W.

Ok...so let's see. In the past month I've completed exams, moved home, missed my friends' graduation, began coursework for my summer classes, and started two jobs. Whew!

I started subbing in the high school and middle school here in Houghton Lake. It has been an awesome experience...very uplifting. Not only has it confirmed to me that I am right where God wants me in my career choice, but it has also been really affirming. I was scared that I wouldn't have any authority in the classroom, but my time as a sub has given me the opportunity to practice my classroom management skills. It's been an incredible blessing! Since I've subbed for several teachers in the high school now, I'm starting to get to know some students that I've had a few times. I've been able to build a respectful relationship with my students, showing them that I've been right where they are and that I am on their side. I think this approach has gone over much better than the strict, disciplinarian approach. I have also become known as the "candy sub" since I always have my little bag of mini candy bars at the ready for when students are doing well and we can play games at the end of the hour. Not sure how I feel about being known primarily by my rewards system, but hey, at least they are well-behaved for me for the short-term. :-)

I'm also working at the Custard Cup again...I've decided that I really like working there a lot. And even though it's been more than a year since I worked there, everything came right back to me.

Getting ready to send in my visa materials to the Spanish consulate in Chicago. I'm also trying to apply for several scholarships right now, which is difficult to do when I come home from work exhausted every night. But oh, well. :-)

Yep....life is fairly uneventful here at home. My best friend from home is in Germany, away from any form of contact. My best friend from school graduated and is now home in Connecticut. There is almost no one back home in HL for the summer, but I've been working so much that at least I don't have time to get too bored. :-) Speaking of getting bored...I've decided to plant a vegetable garden this summer to stave off boredom and to keep my hands busy, as well as get me outside often to get a bit of a tan! :-)

I suppose that's it for now...as for me: it's bedtime!

Praise the Lord...I'm rich(er)!!!

I received this email today from a scholarship committee I applied to in March!
Praise the Lord, for He is providing for my study abroad a little at a time!!

"Dear Ms Wiggins,

The Scholarship Committee of Phi Sigma Iota has met and reviewed thescholarship applications we received this year. I am pleased to tell youthat we were impressed by your application, by your proposal, and by yourletters of recommendation. We are happy to award you the Dr. Cleon CapsusScholarship in the sum of $1,000.

We wish you well in the work that you will undertake with this scholarshipmoney and ask that upon your return to the United States, you write us abrief report telling us the effects that your stay abroad have had on you,both personally and professionally. We also ask you to bear in mind thatPhi Sigma Iota has helped you in your career, and that you in turn promotethe interests of the Society, so that others may have the same opportunityyou are now enjoying.

Sincerely yours,
Phillip Wolfe, Second Vice-President
Phi Sigma Iota
For the scholarship committee"

Walking on Water

A couple weeks ago, a speaker in chapel prayed and talked about how it's so easy during this time of year to start looking around at the wind and waves, and we begin to sink. It's only when we lock eyes with our Lord and focus on his gaze that we can keep going. And it only takes a little thing, and we're back frantically looking around and floundering once again.

I'm really good at this whole "get distracted, sink and flounder" routine. I'm a planner: where am I going, what will I be doing, who will I be with, what will it be like.... It's so easy to rely on my plans, and to embrace the security they seem to offer. Then, when things don't work out at all as I planned, I realize my repeat offense and my eyes snap up to meet the gaze of my master. And how marvelous and wonderful it is that those eyes are always filled with love, care, and concern, never shaming.

This weekend I watched Fireproof again, and one of the lines struck me a little differently than it has in the past. "How can I show love over and over to someone who constantly rejects me?" My wandering heart....oh, my wandering heart. I have rejected God, and flaunted that rejection back in his face. Now that I am running hard after him again, I can't believe that he would embrace me after the hurt I've caused him. It amazes me beyond the slightest comprehension that he still calls me his beloved.

Is that kind of love even possible? I look at my brother and his wife, and it gives me hope. But I really wonder if I could ever be loved in a Christ-honoring relationship. I can imagine it in my mind, but my heart doesn't believe it, though I desperately want to believe it. I don't know how to start believing it, but the best solution I can think of is to keep my eyes locked into his, into that incomprehensible, encompassing love. If only I can keep my selfish, wandering heart centered on him...

:-)

Summer is coming. I am elated. That is all. :-)