what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

I have probably listened to this song about twenty-million times in the last 2 days. Well... okay, maybe not that many times... but definitely a lot.
The past couple of weeks have been weird. I've been drifting from happy/excited, to frustrated, to kind of melancholy, and back to happy. There are reasons for these feelings, but I won't go into details of circumstances here.

What matters is that Jesus, my Savior, is Lord of my life, and I can rest in knowing that He loves me and has good plans for me. A line from that song says, "What if my greatest disappointment and the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?" So true. Disappointment and pain are inevitable, but if it drives me closer to God and causes me to reach out to Him... then it's worth it.

His love and patience..... are beautiful.
"You hear each desperate plea, and long that we'd have faith to believe."

waiting ain't fun..

Do you know what it's like to be waiting for something and to feel like your whole life, every breath, is on hold until it comes?

Do you know what it's like to want something so bad that you can't even pray for it... all you can say is, "Please, God"?

And you tell yourself again and again that it will all happen in God's perfect timing. That He is maturing and perfecting me in the process of waiting. That He is my satisfaction and completeness and peace, whether the awaited-event comes or not.

But it doesn't make it any easier.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord."

grass and sweat... mmm.

I love the smell of fresh-cut grass.

I hope that when I get married, my husband will go out and mow the yard and come back smelling like grass and sweat. Love it.

Is that weird?

wouldn't you say that life is beautiful?

Just as I was about to start writing this post, someone knocked on my front door. It was 2 of the guys I work with at camp. Apparently, they, along with one of the other guys and his girlfriend, had decided to make a "fancy" dinner for all of us in the Dining Hall, and they wanted to know if I had any candles. I happened to have a couple of vanilla scented candles, so I took those and we went to the Dining Hall, where the 5 of us had a candlelight dinner together. Random? Yes, but quite fun. Man, these coworkers of mine... gotta love 'em!! :-)

This past week has seemed really long. On Monday night, my whole small group came out to camp. We hung out by the lake, went canoeing, and had a campfire. It was sooo much fun! I'm really thankful for that new group of people God has put in my life in the past few months. They have really been a source of encouragement to me. I can't wait until Monday nights roll around each week, and am really going to miss it during the summer!

Our office at camp is getting a MUCH-needed remodel, so we've been working on that a lot this week. I have a brand-new, custom-built desk, and the walls are being repainted. It's going to look fabulous when it's done.

The countdown to Briana's wedding.... one week away! Unbelievable. I hope all the details are worked out and it's a gorgeous day for them. After I get back from the wedding, it will be a week until our first group of summer campers arrives. Crazy.

Okay, enough Ashley's life updates for one night. More could be said, because life is pretty crazy and adventurous...... and beautiful :-) I'll just leave you with this thought: don't forget to look for the beauty, the fingerprints of God, in every day of your life.

(if you want to see the lyrics, click here to go to the actual YouTube page, and the lyrics are there.)

Fast Forward Life

This has been an interesting week. In fact, all of life is just interesting right now! Briana's wedding is in 16 days, and summer camp starts in 24 days. Add the rest of "life" into that madness... and there you have it. I told my dad the other day, that I feel like every aspect of life is in fast-forward right now, and it's not gonna go back to a normal pace for quite awhile!

Today and yesterday, we've had a volunteer work group here at camp, working on various projects, and we've cooked each meal for them. They leave this afternoon, and tonight begins our first-ever Father/Son Retreat. We're not sure how many people to expect to show up for this... could be anywhere from 5 to 50. We will also be cooking meals for them, as well as running some activities tomorrow. And tonight... my boss has asked me to play my guitar for the worship service with the fathers/sons. A few people will be singing with me, but I'll be the only one playing. I've just taught myself to play guitar over the last several months, and have never played in public before. I'm nervous!!!!

The past couple of mornings, I've been reading in Romans 12:9-21. Briana and I memorized this passage when we were younger, but I've only in recent years realized how much good, challenging truth it contains. The phrase that spoke to me this morning was in verse 9: "Cling to what is good."

No matter what.