Week 3

So this last week, the sickness was really on me, but on this Saturday, I am ALMOST over it! Praise God! He also used it to show me that I need to be thinking of others, even when it isn't easy. Because thinking of others when you're sick...not the easiest. :) Let's see if I can think of some highlights of the week.

1. Ok so first off, tonight will be our very first service ever! I am beyond excited! We had rehearsal yesterday and I am just blown away by God's Sovereignty. I honestly think I am going to enjoy singing 100 times more than drumming, we'll see how that goes!
2. My team leader gave me permission to sign during songs now! I am so thankful for that, and for his spirit, that he letting me have privilege. For right now, I think I am going to hang back some, because I am not entirely confident in my singing, but now, the door is open, praise God!
3. On Thursday, we had our "date night", which meant we all got to dress up all fancy and get some really amazing food! We had a great table that talked in british accents the entire time, very proper.
4. The team outing last night was a lot of fun, in which we went to the beach, first to pizza, then to the fountains, then volleyball, and finally, back to the beach. I love how our team is one big family.

Sorry this is shorter, but it is really hectic right now, so maybe later. Thanks for following! Sooner we hit the ROAD!

Week 2

Well, as my second week comes to an end, I sit here, listening to my new Steven Curtis Chapman CD (which is amazing), trying to think back over the last week. Wow…a LOT of stuff happened. Let me give you some of the highlights.

1.       I started a small group playing volleyball this week after the evening service since there is a tournament today, and it quickly expanded to pretty much the entire team coming to play at one time or another. I am so thankful to God that He gave me the idea, because it has a great fellowship time for team members who wouldn’t normally see each other to play and interact.

2.       I got sick. Woohoo. Not the best part of the week, but it was definitely one of the main parts of the week.

3.       We had pictures this week, and I didn’t break the camera, so that’s good! We’ll see how they turn out, but I was quite happy with how fast it went.

4.       Got to go to Jimmy and Lori’s a couple of nights, both of which were a lot of fun, from watching Justin record Adena’s birthday video( happy birthday Adena!), to playing Wah.

5.       We got to go off campus last night to McDonalds which was probably one of the best fellowship times with the teams I have had yet.

6.       Had a spontaneous music session last night with Wesley, Trevor, and Blake in the Lodge last night.

Now, for some more serious notes. J

1.       At the end of last week, I was having a good time. At this end of this week, I am having an absolutely amazing time! And that is even with me being sick! I look back and I think that God has brought me closer with pretty much every person on the team in at least one instance over the last week.  It is really cool because the team has said that last year did not have this kind of unity until December. WOW, then praise God! And already, the team jokes are starting to flow, these are my kind of people!

2.       I got assigned to be a materials manager for the team, and I got to put in my first order yesterday! It was a little stressful, but God worked it all out, and we should be ready for at least the next 3 summits. Score!  

3.       At McDonalds, some of us were sitting around a table when a young man, probably around our age, came up and just randomly started talking with us. His name is Jacob, and we got to talk with him for about 10 minutes or so, and he seemed like a interesting guy. Even though he didn’t have anything he wanted us to pray for (props to Clint for asking him!), I am definitely going to add him to a prayer list I am starting soon.

4.       This week was revival week, and honestly I had no idea of what to expect. I hoped that God would show me something in my life but…wow he really showed me some major stuff, and honestly I am still in process mode, perhaps more on that later.

Quick Prayer Request

Hey all, I will write more later, but for now, I have a quick request before the service starts. I should have known it was going to happen but I oh well, I got sick. Haha it happens, sore throats are so fun aren't they? Anyways, I got about 30 minutes of sleep last night, and pictures are today, but God promises that I can do all things through Him, so I am gonna just do my best. Thanks for all the prayers and love.

Josh

Week 1

Day 1- Ahhhhhh we’re here! Well, not ALL the way “here”, but we are in Indiana so that kind of counts. It’s pretty cool up north, wish it were COOLER than Georgia, I think it’s actually hotter here than home. We drove pretty much the whole time, stopping only for breakfast and lunch, and got to Lawrenceburg around 3 or so and…….Mom is trying to spy on me…..hey Mom….. ok so back to writing, and I’m getting stoked for the Creation museum tomorrow. Random announcement #1 :Ffor dinner, we went to Arby’s and as we walked in, the radio was playing Brooke Fraser “Shadowfeet.” Made…my…night.

Day 2-So tonight is the last night with Mom and Dad. We have all been kind of out of it today, but I guess that is kind of expected. Went to Creation Museum today which was pretty cool, had someone tell me that they liked my shirt too. That’s the SECOND time in 3 days that that has happened, must be a sign for something. Tomorrow we will make it to camp annnnnd then after that, who knows? It’s really bizarre tonight, this feeling, hopefully by tomorrow it’ll be all gone so I won’t do something ridiculous. Fingers crossed! :D

Day3- So finally, we are HERE here. I’m actually cheating a little because right now it is the morning of the 4^th day, but oh well. Got to the camp round 2:30 or so, and finished some paper work. I’m rooming with Clay and Justin (who is still asleep as we speak) and we’ve already made an alliance with the guys next door in case someone decides to prank us. The afternoon and evening were cool, and I have meet pretty much everyone on my team now face to face (which is much better than Facebook to Facebook). Yesterday was definitely a shotgun experience so hopefully today will be a little calmer.

Day 4- Ok, so the first day of singing was today, twas not what I expected. I now have a new appreciation for singers of any type. It’s HARD work people, but it’s really cool, I am immensely enjoying it. Learning a lot of new stuff every day, and I am really enjoying everyone on the team. And…my mouth hurts like never before. After all my years of talking, and one day of singing makes my jaw hurt. Haha, go ahead, make jokes, I sure did. This will probably be my first prayer request, that God will strengthen me so that I will be able to sing and keep it strong throughout the entire practice, for 6 hours a day J

Day 5- So I know this won’t be all 7 days, and no, I won’t be giving a day by day all year, just wanted to start the year off by letting you all know what the first week was like. Right now, I am sitting here in the practice church listening to the band play “Standing Ovation” and listening to a recording of “I am”, one of our A cappella songs (hard but a LOT of fun to sing). The crew has been great, and it’s been neat getting to meet all the team members, new and old. We had one of our first team outings last night, and we had to make a cheer for Life Action. It was pretty much the best thing ever, complete with a sandal drum line and pom poms. Revival week is coming up next week and I am looking forward to it a lot. In between my quiet time and morning prayer time on the dock, I think there are a LOT of things I am going to learn next week.

NOW, a couple house keeping things.

1^st: The wifi here isn’t amazing, so Facebook doesn’t always work and Skype is even worse, but I will try my best if any of you want to chat, but it’ll have to be in a free time and I just won’t have long for right now this month. Texts are always welcome. J

2^nd: My first prayer request to you all: Insecurity. My worship leader, Dustin, talked to me one day here about being transparent so I am going to be transparent with my prayer warriors. God has convicted me of a lot of insecurity in my life, and that is not right because God is where my security comes from, so if you all could just pray for that, I would be grateful. Thanks for all the support and help so far!