Funtastic Friend Friday: Jen Harrell

Words cannot describe my relationship with this girl. She is the one I dream with and the one I travel with. She is the best Young Life team leader I know and there has not been a day that she has not encouraged me towards knowing Jesus more. She sits beside me when I cry and when I am jumping for joy. She lived with me in the McMansion and she will always be one of my very best friends.

Her words will make you laugh but present so much truth. She is trying this whole graduate, get a job, grow up thing... it teaches you things, of that I am confident. I am forever thankful for her outlook on growing up and graduating. 

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There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). 

This- these months right out of college- this is a time for tearing down.

This is a time when your best friends are living in Hawaii and New York and Colorado and you realize you’re not officially a resident of any state and you’re not really sure where your home is but your happy to have your passport because at least you have something that says you’re an American.

This is a time when your friends are falling in love and getting engaged and marrying their best friend and you’re getting spam emails from ChristianMingle. 

This is a time of realizing maybe setting up all your automatic bill pays for the same exact day wasn’t the most fiscally responsible decision you’ve ever made.  And a time of looking at your checking account and realizing maybe things like Oreos and really good wine actually are wants not needs.

Also: a time of buying Oreos and really good wine and eating them for dinner at 9 o’clock because damn it you’re an adult and you’ll do as you please.

This is a time of feeling so weird and so unlike yourself that- hot butter and oil Seth!- you convince yourself you probably, definitely have diabetes only to have a doctor recommend that you just go home and eat a sandwich.

Consequently, this is a time of crying in the parking lot because you didn’t really understand how health insurance works and it just cost you $78 to get your finger pricked.

Have I convinced you that I’m doing a good job being an adult yet?  Transitions are hard and right now it feels like I’m not getting, well, anything right. But in the past few weeks I have found comfort in the Lord’s promise that this is a season in my life. It is hard to imagine when you are in the middle of something that things will ever change. But we live and we do change and there are seasons to our life.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil- this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:11-14)

Today I will trust that this is a season in my life. I will trust that even if I don’t always like this season 

that it is designed so that I may know Jesus more and know that He is enough and trust that He is good.  A few days ago I felt frustrated at everything and I realized two important things.

1.     For everybody who is growing up right now, this is the first time they’ve ever done it. I don’t really know how to move from 22 to 23 because this is the first time I’ve ever done that. So I’m figuring it out. And it won’t always go that well, but the Lord promises me “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16).  

2.     I have never lived a day in my life where Jesus didn’t give me all the grace I needed to get through the day. Never. I will not have to figure out a way to make it through tomorrow without His grace. “For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (John 1:16).  And this means that I do not need to figure out next month or next year or the next season of life right now because I’m getting there just as fast as I can and when I do get there, there will be that grace that I need for that day. When Jesus teaches us to pray, he teaches us to ask the Lord to “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). My heart wants to live so far out in the future (yo, Jordan the heart is wicked amirite), but Jesus is giving me all the grace I need for today.

Well, that’s what I think about all day long in the cube. Star employee over here. Deuces.

PS there are also a lot of really fun parts of being 22 and out of college and living the life and being single and I do have a savings account and sometimes I still eat vegetables for dinner.  Mostly including this in case my momma reads this and is worried about me. Love ya Nance.   

Funtastic Friend Friday: Comin' in Hot

It's coming back, y'all. The blog took the summer off from having friend guest posts on Friday for a few different reasons: 1- I don't have that many cool friends to sustain this forever. I joke, but not really. 2- Didn't want to have to be committed to something so regularly when the days were not readily labeled by the day of the week. 3- And mostly because so many of my friends were off doing really awesome, cool amazing things all over the country and world, and well, I figured it would be best they share when they return.

But it's returning now... the fall has come and it's time to share some of the wisdom of my really legit, amazing friends all over the place again.

Until Friday has officially arrived, check out some of the guest posts from last school year because they freakin' ROCKED. (There are links to them all in the tab up top that says "Funtastic Friend Friday").

There are posts on all sorts of things and from people all ages and from places all over. I am continually amazed by the people the Lord has put in my life. I am blessed and my prayer is that you are too by the words that they share.

Oh, and this week's friend, is a real good one. Kickin' it off right.

Thoughts As The Bell Tower Rings

The sidewalks were crowded, the restaurants bustling with students and families, and dorm rooms being decorated. Life was being breathed into Chapel Hill this weekend as students poured back into town for school to begin once again.

And in that I realized: I am no longer a student at the university. I no longer have syllabi to read, books to order, or schedules to piece together.

But I did absolutely love my four years at UNC. And I am beyond excited for all of the students beginning another year there.

For you all beginning another year of school, whether it be your first or your last, here are a few little things that got me through college and a few that I wish I had known myself as I went through college:

Don't waste your college. And by that I mean don't waste your years from eighteen to twenty-two (or whatever age) doing things that don't matter and have no significance. Use your years in college to live outside of yourself, even though the world says differently. Use your college to love others, serve in your free time, adventure, and to live radically different as the Lord has called you.

Speaks words full of Truth and grace to your roommates and housemates. Living situations in college can be some of the most life giving or some of the most stressful things while in school... make them life giving by using words that build one another up. Extend grace more than you do anything else towards one another and never stop encouraging one another in the gospel.

You are not your GPA. You have never been identified by a number and you never will be identified by a number. You are a child of God. Do not let striving for a certain GPA control you.

It's okay to say "no." You do not have to over commit yourself and agree to take five leadership positions, volunteer in every organization, and be at every event. You just do not have to. Choose to say "yes" to the things that you love and things that you can be fully committed to.

When given the opportunity to dress up in some sort of themed attire, go all out. You won't regret it and you will be thankful for all of the pictures that you have afterwards.

Never turn down the opportunity to get coffee with someone. Even if you don't drink coffee. Time spent in conversation and sharing life with someone over coffee (or tea or soda or whatever you would like to drink) is invaluable and worth every penny and second spent. Take that time to share with others, be vulnerable, and to listen.

Use your time effectively and efficiently. It will help you get more done and allow for more fun. When you study, actually study, so that you can go play faster. When you are spending time with people, be all there and make it quality time so that you are not rushing from one thing to the next.

When finals time comes around, remember, it is not as serious as you think it is. I do not remember the grade that I made on one single final. There is not a large amount of eternal significance in the grades that you make on the final exams you take, so do not take them too seriously. Do try hard and do really study, but never let finals steal your soul or your kindness.

Stay up late, even if it's a little irresponsible sometimes. Some of my favorite memories from college are when I thought I was going to go to sleep, but then spontaneously decided to go to Waffle House with my roommates, or to answer the late night phone call, or to put on a fashion show with the third floor besties.

Do not pull all-nighters doing school work. I never did and I am thankful for that. And all of my school work still got done.

Honor the sacredness of Sundays, the day of rest. I wish that I did that more. I wish that I honored the day the Lord has called us to rest a little more often. Work can be done on other days, even if it isn't fun those other days. Take a day to fully rest and delight yourself in the Heavenly Father.

Don't put God in a box. God is the Lord. He is the Creator of the universe and he cannot be limited. Do not set expectations that will limit God, but believe that He can do more than you could ever think or imagine. Open yourself fully to the work that He wants to do in you.

Share wardrobes. College are some of the only years where you get to live with lots of people and with lots of wardrobe options, so take full advantage. And then one day, way down the road, when you get married your roommate will be the opposite gender and you can't share clothes anymore (womp), so do it now.

Take classes that you love and study what you love. I did not regret a single class that I took that I actually enjoyed. I chose to study a subject that was interesting to me, challenged me intellectually, and made me want to (sort of) go to class and do the reading. You do not have to choose a major that will make you a ton of money just because that is what the world says you should do.

Take hold of the small things in life and practice being grateful always. The Lord speaks through little things and He blesses us abundantly, sometimes we just have to open our eyes by being thankful for the little blessings He has put in our lives.

Travel and go on adventures. Use fall breaks, spring breaks, and Christmas breaks to go on all sorts of adventures. Once you get a big kid job breaks don't come as readily, so use them while you have them to see new places and to spend time with friends traveling all over. And do it all on a college budget... it's entertaining, spontaneous, and memorable.

Honor the Lord with your school work. Having the opportunity to go to college is a privilege and a blessing and should be treated like one. Never be completely irresponsible with your time in school if that is where the Lord has called you. But all the while, show yourself grace when you don't do as well as you had hoped or thought you would.

Serve. Serve in a campus ministry or serve at a church or serve in a campus organization or simply serve your neighbors, but serve, somehow, some way.

Don't live in a "if I can just get to ______________" mentality. Fall break, winter break, summer, end of finals, end of that exam, your vacation weekend is never ever enough. That mentality is always a vain hope for deliverance and it will not save you; it will only wish your days away and leave you disappointed when you realize that things are never as perfect as you had imagined on the other side of that deadline.

Dance in the rain and play in the snow. You won't be sad that you did and you can feel like a little kid again. Note: no matter how intense the rain, attempting to tube down McCauley will not be successful, but it may include lots of laughter.

Eat lots of pancakes. At the McMansion with so many friends is kind of the best.

Remember that we were created for eternity, not for this world. There will be quite a few disappointments during your time in college... caused by yourself, your friends, family, professors, or just the circumstances of life, but do not lose heart. Jesus, says "take heart, I have overcome the world." Things are surely not always easy, but an eternal perspective will bring hope when nothing else can.

If you go to UNC, get a cherry smash from Sutton's regularly. It provides a little bit of soul sunshine every single time.

You are never "so busy" that you do not have time to spend with Jesus. You choose what time to set your alarm for in the morning and you can choose to say "no" to some of the many things you have in your day if it means you spend any amount of time with Jesus. So choose Jesus. I only regret the days that I did not make the time.

Send snail mail to your friends that aren't in your town. It's always appreciated, keeps the USPS in demand, and brings unexpected joy.

For seniors, it is completely okay if you do not know what you want to do with your future... and I seriously do mean that (no matter how many times people ask you and expect an answer). You were not made to do one great thing, you were made to serve one great God. So do that.

Love, always love. Love your housemates, roommates, friends, teammates, leaders, professors, class mates, and every person you in encounter. You won't regret it and love does things... to you and to the people you love.


Today I pray for all of you beginning another semester of school that is right around the corner. I pray that it will be another semester that grows you more into who the Lord has desired you to be. I pray that you extend yourself and those around you grace each and every day and that you are challenged to be more like Christ in the way that you live. My prayer is that you never stop loving Jesus, even when it gets tough and that you realize your only hope can be in the One who has already saved you.

Season of Circles

I believe life happens in seasons. Sometimes we can recognize the season that we are in and other times  we can look back on our life and point out the seasons that we experienced.

For the past few months I would say that I have been in a season of transition. A season of transitioning from college to the post-grad life. This season of transition has been full of emotions, ups and downs, and all that go in-between. 

For the longest while I blamed the swing that was my emotions and the madness that was my head and the confusion that was my heart on the "transition season." 

I swept many issues under the rug to be handled at a later date or after the transition phase had passed. But in that, I have come to realize that I have been living through a much larger season of life. One that while being lived in could not be easily named or easily recognized.

It was (and still is a little bit) a season of circles. 

A season that is delicately held together by the cyclical motion. It is a season like a merry-go-round: full of pretty lights and sweet music, coupled with the ups and downs of the horses' movement and the questioning of when it will ever stop.

To describe the circles seems silly because there are so many pieces comprising them. The words juxtapose themselves in ways that are difficult to comprehend and make this a season that is not easily identifiable. 

In my feeble attempts to put words to this season I can say that it has been a season of: frustration, excitement, grasps for Truth, guilt, delight, feelings of being less than and not good enough, recognition of my sin, anger, celebration, heartbreak, beauty, unbelief, blessing, and love. 

Now is the time to say WHAT? Jordan, you're crazy. All those words do not fit together in any sort of picture. And it's true, they don't. They don't make a lot of sense. 

But as I said, it's a season of circles. Circling through each of those places on repeat, over and over... over and over. I have asked myself when is it going to stop, more times than once actually.

The lessons I have been learning never seem to stick... it has been as if they are going in circles, dragging me through each of those places multiple times. There have been moments of victory where I feel as if I am on the cusp of something real and lasting, only to be met with tears a month later when I have forgotten all that the Lord has done and said to me... and the circle only begins again.

And now I can finally say: I think the circle might just be breaking. At least a little bit. This summer it's been broken, piece by piece, slowly but surely. 

I can finally recognize that I have watered God down to a mere list of lessons and truths that I have needed to learn and know: 

1- God loves, adores, and cares for me. 2- I am made in God's image. 3- I am safe in Christ. 4- The Lord is faithful to what He has promised. 5- The Lord's love is unfailing. 6- I am not defined by how other people see me or how I see myself, but by how the Lord sees me. 7- The Lord not only loves me, but likes me. 8- The Lord has a plan for my life. 9- My worth is in the Lord and in nothing else. 

Those are the lessons that have been on repeat, over and over and over... never sticking and never really making any sense in the deepest part of my heart. It is easy to proclaim those truths over someone else's life, but just not my own. 

I have finally come to see that maybe, just maybe, these lessons are not ones that are meant to be crossed off a list, but are ones that are meant to be believed by the deepest part of my heart and soul. It's no longer about Bible verses just being memorized, but about the God-breathed Scripture being engrained in all of my thoughts, words, and actions. 

It is about the Holy Spirit breathing life into the deepest part of my soul and letting Him write those truths throughout all the parts of me and guarding me from the many lies of the enemy. 

So come, Holy Spirit, come. 

Life Under 5

Kids and babies teach you things. And I just spent an entire week with my mom's whole side of the family at our family's lake house, therefore, I spent a lot of time with little kids and babies. I picked up on a few things and learned a few lessons:

1. There is never an inappropriate time to swing on swings. You get to experience the freedom of the wind blowing through your hair and you get to enjoy the thrill of swinging really high in the air. Best. Thing. Ever. 
2. We begin to say very early on: "I am a big girl and I can do it by myself." By the grace of God may we learn that we can't do it by ourselves and that we need Jesus each and everyday. 
3. Dancing creates all sorts of giggles and laughter, so dance a lot... even if it's just moving in circles and being all kinds of goofy.
4. "Mine" is one of the first words in a child's vocabulary and one that is difficult to overcome. Lord, grant us hearts to share and hearts that want to freely give. Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you. [proverbs 3:27-28]
5. We all crave attention and the desire to be known and heard and loved. Praise to the fact that the God of the universe looks at us as children and we can call Him "Abba." 
6. Playing dress up is never a bad idea. I learned that with third-floor McMansion, but these little kiddos reminded me. 
7. When you're five and you hurt someone else's feelings things are quickly resolved by saying sorry and giving one another a hug. Lord, may we come to know the power of repentance and forgiveness and humility more.
8. Eating all of your peas just so that you can have a cookie after dinner is worth it. And I'm celebrating that because I am twenty-two I can eat dessert before my dinner anyways. BAM. 
9. Tubing is sure to strike fear in the hearts of four-year old little girls, but when they have their daddy right beside them it seems exhilarating and beautiful. Life is kinda like that too: Life and the unknown is sure to strike fear in the hearts of twenty-two year old girls, but when they have their Daddy right beside them it seems exhilarating and beautiful. 
10. Tears express discomfort or some kind of discontent. May we be less scared or self-conscious of crying and more prone to search out the discomfort or discontent in our life and ask Jesus to bring healing and to fill those voids. 

I am thankful for these little lessons and reminders. I am thankful for a week with my family. And I am thankful for some of these special moments and the pictures that captured them:

there is no where else i would have rather been

the beauty speaks to His majesty

two and a half years old, some kind of cute

dancing with my favorite little man, owen

brenna:my little bestie

tubing on the most beautiful of evenings

brenna & brooke always wanting to help

owen's twin brother and my favorite little smile

if the shoe fits

A Letter to Twenty-One and Twenty-Two

I don't know about you, but I am feeling twenty-two. 

Thank you Taylor Swift for that song and thank you for reminding me that it's okay to dress up like hipsters; eat breakfast at midnight; be happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time; make fun of exes; spend time dreaming instead of sleeping; and ditch the whole scene. Oh yes, thank you.

Twenty-one, you were good to me. You taught me:

1. Michigan summers really do steal your heart.
2. Buying plane tickets and surprising best friends really is never a bad idea and that it should be done more often than not. 
3. Cars are meant to be driven, so go places and drive all over the country to be with the people you love and to see the things you have always dreamed of.
4. Coffee at Merritt's is in fact one of the most delightful things.
5. Making a list of things you are grateful for will open your eyes to so many places the Lord is really working.
6. Living life alongside high schoolers is challenging and hard some days, but it is absolutely worth every single second of it. 
7. When it rains, it pours. Literally and metaphorically. 
8. Flowers from best friends when things get rough do truly make things better... of which Sydney Jones is the best giver.
9. Plane tickets to Denver with no other plans really do work out. Strangers at the air port do even offer you their mountain house in Breckenridge to stay at (of which you should politely decline the offer for safety reasons). 
10. A little coffee and a whole lot of Jesus make any day wonderful.
11. If there is cute party-ware at Target, a dinner party is just the thing that will bring it all together... and be sure to add best friends, cute dresses, a photographer, good wine, and even better food.
12. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
13. It's always best to tell the whole truth, say what you really mean, and take ownership of your feelings... for this is a lesson I am continually learning.
14. Vulnerability is scary and sometimes ugly, but it is also beautiful and necessary. 
15. Going fishing with the entire McMansion on a boat does not produce catching fish but it does produce laughter and joy that tickles the deepest part of your soul.
16. Dressing up as Santa and his reindeer makes for an eventful Halloween of caroling and prancing.
17. Asking for the Lord's grace each and every single day is necessary; just as is extending grace every chance you get.
18. Love. Always, love. 
19. Taylor Swift concerts are best with Anna Wong.
20. It is always better to stay up late, make mistakes, cuddle in beds, drink out of mason jars, hunt down raccoons, twerk at dance parties, take pictures every chance you get, and have real talk with your house mates.
21. Nothing is better than loving Jesus... absolutely nothing. 

But, twenty-two, I could not be more excited for you. I cannot wait for the lessons that you will teach me and all of the adventures that you will provide... I mean I am moving to freaking Colorado this year, bring on the adventure and good times. 

Twenty-two, you have already taught me that I do in fact have some of the best friends in the entire world. Friends that send the most fun gifts, call at just the right time, and encourage me to know the Lord more each and every single day. You remind me that mornings spent with the Lord are beautiful and necessary. You teach me that Yahweh is my shepherd and I lack no thing (Psalm 23).

And twenty-two, above all else I cannot wait to know the Lord more this year. I cannot wait to be seized by the power of His great affection each and every single of day of twenty-two. May I never lose sight of the One who has called me His own and has my name engraved on His hands. May twenty-two be a year to glorify the Creator.  

Lessons From the Casino

On Sunday I found myself in no place better than a casino in the Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, PA. A lot of words in that sentence don't really all align... me + Sunday + casino + Bethlehem = say whatttt?. Yes, a little out of the ordinary, but nonetheless it is where I was this past Sunday.

I had never really been to a casino before. For multiple reasons I would say: (1) We do not have casinos in North Carolina, except on the Indian reservations, and I have yet to really find myself there. (2) I most surely do not have a poker face. (3) I would never imagine myself overly flourishing in a casino.

But this past Sunday, the casino just happened to be where I was for about half an hour as I was exploring an old city in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with three of my best friends from high school.

the steel stacks in bethlehem & also the home of the casino

I did not know what to expect walking into a casino.

But what I saw saddened me, broke my heart, and then reminded me ever so perfectly of myself.

The casino was full of people with eyes glazed over staring hopelessly at slot machines and tables full of cards and chips. The slot machines were pretty, full of lights and fun pictures. The tables spoke of something serious, yet with the potential to win big and to walk out with heavy pockets.

The people were devoted to the slot machines and to the tables. They stared intensely, longing for something, anything.

Yet not a soul seemed to be happy. The life in their eyes seemed to be dried up and gone. Smiles seemed to be a thing of the past. Their hope was in the slots and in the cards, neither of which seemed to really be delivering.

And as I was observing my heart was overwhelmed with hurt, not because I thought that I was better than any of the people gambling, because I most assuredly am not, but because I am just as much one of them.

I may not be picking up gambling anytime soon (my poker face...bad...terrible), but I am continuously putting my hope in things that will never truly satisfy. I do not mean to, but it happens... and each time I am reminded that those things cannot deliver and they cannot save.

"A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save." 

-Psalm 33:17

The ultimate Creator, the one true Triune God, is the only source of life and the only source of real hope. He is the only one who can deliver and who can save.

Yet, we put our hope in other idols everyday. We bow down to things that we expect will satisfy, yet we are continuously disappointed when they do not seem to pay off. Things or people become idols when they begin to push God out of His high place in our life where He belongs. In the end, idols profit us nothing (Isaiah 44:10), they bring us no life and no lasting satisfaction.

I was reminded that afternoon in the casino that my soul should be lifted to no other than God alone. My soul should not be lifted to relationships, social media, material possessions, or anything else that I hope will bring satisfaction. May my soul alone be lifted up to the One who came to save me and the One who calls me His own.

Rather than sulking with frustration towards myself for the idols in my life, I am reminded that we are forgiven as we repent of our sins. Before I even fully recognize the idols in my life, the Lord has already forgiven me and made me clean. "The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

"Remember these things, O Jacob, 

for you are my servant, O Israel.

I have made you, you are my servant;

O Israel, I will not forget you.

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

you sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

for I have redeemed you."

Isaiah 44:21-22 

May the idols in our lives be laid down, and our cross picked up as we follow Jesus. 

From Going to Being

Since I graduated high school I feel like my life has been lived on the fast-track. College does that to you. Chapel Hill does that to you. It says do as much as you can in as little time as possible. Do it all efficiently and just GO, GO, GO.

I spent my semesters in college leading Young Life, nannying, working, and being a student. It was wonderful, really wonderful in fact, but it was a lot of going. It was a lot of early mornings and late nights, coupled with so many places to be in between.

I spent my summers interning at one of my favorite places in the entire world, Timber Wolf Lake. Those summers are some of my favorite times and memories from the past four years, but they were also full of going... Going in all the best ways, but still, a lot of going. 

I kind of like the "going" lifestyle. I thrive off of being around people and I have spent the past four years pretty much surrounded by people. I like to get things accomplished and checking things off of to-do lists. I enjoy having an organized calendar that maps out all that the day holds. I find peace in bits of exhaustion that exclaim things got done. 

My days have been full of goings. 

But since Michindoh, the days have not been full of a lot goings. The days have been full of being.

For once, in a really long time, I do not have many responsibilities. I am in the in-between. I am in the wait time of the transition. At the end of August I am moving to Colorado for a year, but in the mean time I am being. 

I am living at home with my family in Greensboro. I have not done this since the month after summer staff after my freshman year of college. And I am getting to be. With no expectations and no where to be.

This is new for me and it is humbling to me. There is no place I am direly needed and no place that I should really be. I just am.

I am learning to be. To be calm and to be still and to rest.

And in all of that I am doing things that I love and I am doing things that are challenging to me.

I am spending time alone and I am spending time with my family. I am making new friends in an old city dear to my heart. I am sleeping with no alarm and I am sipping hot coffee first thing. I am staying in my bed for as long as I want reading and spending time with the Lord. I am crafting and making lots of fun art projects. I am re-reading all of the Harry Potter books (of which I finished the first two in two days) because I can and I have the time. I am visiting Chapel Hill and reuniting with friends there. I am road tripping to Pennsylvania with two of my best friends from high school. I am going to the lake, soaking in the sun and learning to fish. I am running the hills of Greensboro and I am exploring the parks. I am leaving my phone at home when it's not needed. I am writing letters. I am breathing the days in slowly, seeking all that the Lord has in store for them.

I am doing the things that all of the going never left time for... but being, it allows for this. It lets the days be soaked in and enjoyed and lived.

It lets my soul breath a little bit and it allows me to fall in love with the Lord all over again as I get lost in His creation and the days that He has so perfectly made. I get to learn about Him as I learn to rest and to simply be. And I get to learn about Him as I spend time with my family and I prepare my heart for Colorado.

While I know that this time is unique and that it is a special blessing to have no responsibilities for a month and a half, I pray that I never stop enjoying just being. That I never stop seizing the days for all that the Lord has made them to be and letting them soak in slowly and sweetly.

The Next Stage: Crooked Creek Ranch

It's finally settling in that I am officially a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I have completed four years at a university that stole my heart when I was just a little girl and I absolutely fell in love with the town of Chapel Hill. I learned a ton, both in academics and in life. I met some of the best friends that I could ever imagine. I was challenged beyond belief. And I am leaving with some of the best memories I could have ever asked for.

But college has come to an end and the next stage of life has arrived. And it is a stage of life that I am extremely excited about. This stage is one that will land me in Fraser, CO for the next year working as a year-long intern at Young Life's Crooked Creek Ranch.

I wrote a post on "Going West" when I first accepted the position, but I want to now explain a little more of what my year will look like and to invite you in on the journey with me.

I first went to Crooked Creek with my high school's Young Life area when I was fifteen years old. It was truly one of the best weeks of my life. It was a week where I encountered the love of Christ and made some of the best memories from high school. I had no idea when I was fifteen that I would ever return to Crooked Creek and surely not that I would return to work and live there for a year. God began writing Crooked Creek into my story six years ago, knowing all along that it would be an even bigger part of my story in the future. I am continually amazed by his faithfulness and expert story-writing skills.

gore cabin gettin' ready for the o-course

best friend & hiking

If you are not familiar with Young Life, it is a relational ministry that is geared towards middle and high school students that's mission is to introduce them to the love of Christ and what it looks like to have a relationship with Him. I was involved with Young Life all throughout high school and the relationships that I formed then have continued to have an impact on my life.

When coming to Chapel Hill, I was blessed with the opportunity to become a Young Life leader in one of the local high schools, East Chapel Hill High School. Being a Young Life leader has changed my life in more ways than one. I got to live life alongside some of the most wonderful high school girls and build relationships with them that I will forever cherish. It is difficult to even begin to explain what it means to be a Young Life leader, but my friend Johnson wrote a wonderful post on my blog that begins to shed a light on the beauty and challenge of what it really means. One of the reasons that it is so difficult to imagine leaving Chapel Hill is because it means I am leaving behind some of the most precious girls at East who I have loved getting to know, hanging out with, and spending countless hours talking about the Lord with.

our awesome group of leaders at leader weekend

windy gap fall weekend 2010

girls crafternoon 

saranac volleyball tourney 2011

ice cream olympics 2011

rockbridge fall weekend 2011

rockbridge fall weekend 2012

the sweetest

Not only have I been blessed to be a leader, but I have also been blessed to work at a Young Life camp each summer of college. I fell in love with Young Life camping at a camp in northern Michigan, Timber Wolf Lake. I served on Summer Staff there the summer after my freshman year, and worked there for the following two summers.

da femterns #twl2k11

all time favorite picture... ever.

timber wolf lake interns 2012

Young Life camp is a place where Young Life leaders bring their middle school and high school friends to experience life to the full as they experience the craziness of clubs with 400+ people, the ropes course, volleyball tournaments, rodeos, and also the love of Christ through the people serving and the speaker who presents the Gospel throughout the week. It is a place for kids to come and really be themselves and to begin to let their walls fall down. It is a place where life is found and kids begin relationships with the God of the universe.

And that is where I get to work for the next year: at a Young Life camp in the mountains of Colorado; at a place where the love of Christ will be shared; and at a place where guests can come and encounter the Gospel.

I will be serving alongside nine other year-long interns from all over the country. We will all live together and work together as we make it our mission to truly set the stage for all the guests of Crooked Creek to know Christ. I am beyond excited to see all of the ways that the Lord is going to bond us together and all of the ways that we will be challenged through our jobs and through our community.

I cannot go into this year alone though. I am excited to invite you, my friends and family, into this stage of my life with me as well. I will need your support, spiritually and financially. First, please support me and the ministry at Crooked Creek through prayer... prayer for our group of interns, for each of the guests that come to Crooked Creek, and for the ministry that will happen there. Secondly, we have the opportunity to fundraise a portion of our salary and I would love your support there as well. Any contribution you could make, whether it be a monthly donation or a one-time gift would be a huge help in my goal of raising $583.33/month or $7,000 for the year. All donations are tax-deductible. If you would be interested in being a part of my support team and donating, there is more information at the end.

I cannot begin to express how excited I am for this next chapter that God is writing in my life. I am excited for the relationships that will be built and the lessons that I will learn. I am excited to be able to share those on here as I continue to blog throughout the year. I anticipate that the Lord will move in mighty ways and that He will move mountains in my heart and in the hearts of guests at Crooked Creek Ranch. Please be a part of this adventure and journey with me... it's about to get real crazy, in a really good kinda way.

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2 Options to Help Support Me Financially:

1- Mail a check to Crooked Creek Ranch: All checks should be made out to "Young Life" and mailed to Crooked Creek Ranch P.O. Box 250 Fraser, CO 80442-0250. With your check please be sure to include your name, address, email, and phone number. Also, be sure to note that the check is intended to go towards Jordan Abourjilie Year-Long.

2- Online donation: You can set up online donations to be monthly or a one-time gift. Monthly donations are a huge help for budgeting purposes. In order to donate online go to www.younglife.org and click the "Online Giving" button on the left side of the page. You will have to create a Giving Account. Select "Give a Gift" once your account is set up and under Gift Designation select "Young Life Area Ministry." You will search by area number 5400 and select Crooked Creek. Once Crooked Creek--5400 Camp Properties is selected, insert "Jordan Abourjilie" into the sponsoring space.

Please e-mail me at jordan.abourjilie@gmail.com if you have any questions about how to donate or just to let me know that you have donated so that I can make sure that it all goes through the Crooked Creek Ranch system properly.

And again, THANK YOU for considering to donate and being a part of my support team. It means the world to me and is a huge blessing.

Our God, the Creator and Crafter

The floor was dusty, cold and hard. The smell was rather peculiar and musty. But I sat on the floor, searching, searching for treasures.

These "treasures" were old books, books that could be remade into something new. Books that could be transformed into things of love, creation, and hope.

In my little free time here at Michindoh, my love for creating and crafting has reappeared. My mind swirls with ideas of projects and of things to make.

One woman on the Assigned Team here has a particular love for books and for journals. She makes all of her own journals, using old book covers, thrift store leather pants, thread, and some glue. Out of curiosity I asked her the process, thinking maybe just maybe I would give it shot, but in reality thinking there is no way I have the skill or the patience to pull that off. But in her excitement, Crystal gathered all of the materials I would need and began instructing me on how I could make my very own journal. I must admit, I was a little bit overwhelmed with all of the instructions.

Somehow it happened though. I took all of the supplies and began crafting. Slowly, and then quickly when my patience began to give way. I was excited to think that I would be able to make something actually useful of my own.

And then it was finished. The journal was complete. Nothing overly beautiful and surely not perfect, but it was hand-created.

The pages were blank, but were open for love and for hope and for words. My heart longed to fill the pages of something that I had created.

With that, I decided to simply write the book of Ephesians in the journal. Not my own words, but the words of the Lord. I have a slight love for Paul's letter to the people of Ephesus and those words seemed to be just the thing to fill the pages.

And my desire to craft and make journals has not ended. I have found myself on the floors now of Salvation Army and the super cool old book store here in Hillsdale, searching for books that I can make in to journals... my hands dusty and knees dirty, but overjoyed with the thought that there is a book waiting to be found.
 
There is something incredibly beautiful about old books, worn with stories of their own, that can be restored into something delightfully new and ready for love.

In all of this I have been reminded of the Lord, the ultimate Creator, who adores us and has knitted us together in the most perfect of ways.

He is searching for us. He is not bothered by our dirtiness or the dust around our hearts. He is not overwhelmed by our worn stories that cry out, "I can't." He is not dismayed by our past, for His love goes beyond all comprehension and understanding.

He sees us and sees the beautiful creation that He has made us and that He is making us. He sees us with hope and love and compassion. He desires to love us and to write His truths on our hearts.

The ultimate Creator is not giving up on us. He is restoring us and giving us new life and a new hope. 

"for we are God's workmanship" -Ephesians 2:10