#TecumsehTuesday: Highs and Lows

It has become and informal tradition to begin nightly devotions with Highs and Lows. And oh gosh, how I love highs and lows.

I think it's a pretty common thing, but basically you go around the circle and everyone shares their high and low moment from the day. I add the rule that you have to say your low first because we have to end on a positive note. Sometimes, you can throw in a "God Moment" from the week too.

I love highs and lows because it gets kids to open up. They start talking about things that might seem insignificant, they loved pool time and hated all the mosquitos, but it forces them to look back on their day and find moments that stick out to them.

As a counselor, highs and lows gave me a different insight to my kids and the opportunity to see what is really going on. They loved pool time because they were jumping off the high dive for the first time - this shows me that the kid likes adventure and the opportunity to challenge herself. If we really pay attention during highs and lows, we can intentionally help kids experience similar moments throughout the week to enhance their experience and help them avoid the deeper things they don't like.

Highs and lows remind me of the Examen Prayer. We live in a society that is always pushing forward and never stops, so by practicing highs and lows at camp, we are giving kids the tools for self-awareness. And once you really know yourself you can begin to really dive deep into our relationship with Christ.

So today, I am grateful for highs and lows because they gave me the basic skills to really start to know myself. It's a good practice to have in your daily life to know yourself, and to stay connected with your friends.

Here are my highs & lows from yesterday. What were yours?

Low: Not waking up in time to eat/make breakfast

High: Site visit for the New Evangelization Summit with Christine and finishing the Matched Trilogy

My 23rd Year

I rang in my 23rd birthday in a van full of pretty amazing girls. We were on a nun run, and I spent the night in Nashville with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. I joked and told them I had now spent two birthdays in the convent, to which they replied, "any many mooorrreeee!" Hilarious. 

Some of the best live tweeters I've ever met. And some nuns.

On Monday night, my friend Elizabeth asked for my high, low, & God moment of the year. She asks such good questions, and I hadn't really thought about it until that moment. 

Low: Summer Training. NST is a magical place where hundreds of Catholics gather together in the middle of nowhere to grow closer to God and to be trained in evangelization. Training for me was, well, awkward. I felt kind of out of place - I was no longer a campus missionary, but I wasn't quite yet on the events team. And then there's the business of it being summer time and missing camp. But I think the biggest reason that training is so hard is because we missionaries put ourselves in a place of vulnerability where we are trying our hardest to conquer ourselves and grow ever closer to God. So this past summer, I got very attacked with loneliness and a confusion of where my place truly was. The beautiful thing about struggling in a place such as NST is you are surrounded by people who are passionate about others. My fellow missionaries, the priests, and religious that were there made all the difference in my place of struggle. And the thing about our low moments and struggles is that they propel us forward. If everything is perfect and easy all the time, we will never grow. Shout out to Caitlin & Katie for walking with me during this time, to the Marco Island crew for providing much needed community and carefree timelessness & to Carol for being so welcoming & the beginning of our events team friendship.

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee belong, we belong togeeeetherrrr.

High: Closing Campfire the week I subbed at Tecumseh. Of course my high would be from camp. I wrote about this when reflecting on 2013, but this moment was so profound for so many reasons. I last minute decided it would be so fun to have a picture with my campers who are now on CT Staff, so I asked Rachel to spread the word that we should meet behind the benches after cheers. I was not prepared for being stampeded by those 10 girls, being picked up, and all the squeals and hugs of reunions. 

such a happy heart.

It was in that moment of nostalgia, cherished memories of their time as kiddos in my cabin, that I remembered why I loved working at camp. Yes, we have fun, Yes we get to be crazy. Yes, I have made lifelong friends there. But this moment reminded me what camp is all about: loving those kids. 

God Moment: I had two I just could not choose from. First: being prayed over by my Nebraska teammates. I really struggled to understand why God sent me to UNL and how I was making an impact for the kingdom. As the year drew to a close I had no idea if I would go to the DSC or stay on campus. So my team prayed over me for a solid 20 minutes, and then we hurried off to Mass. 

look at these beautiful, holy people. 

Over the summer, I was telling a friend the story and I realized that ever since that moment of being prayed over, I had been blessed with a divine perspective of my time as a missionary at UNL. God had graced me with the ability to see some of the work He was using me for. It was a beautiful moment, and I was so grateful to The Lord for this gift and my team. 

Second: August & September of this year. Oh how the Lord blessed me during those months. I was so full of Jesus and gratitude and joy that I thought I felt like I would just burst. I was reading Interior Freedom by Jaques Phillipee and the fruit of the book was oozing into every aspect of my life. Jesus was so real and present to me and I am being propelled from that consolation even now. 

Thanks to you all for being a part of my 23rd year of life! I can't wait to see where year 24 will bring us.

7 Quick Takes on Keeping in Touch, SLS, and Florida [5]

--- 1 ---

One of my favorite things about camp is doing highs and lows during devotions every night. I think it's a simple way for kids to start reflecting on their lives, about what they love and what makes them uncomfortable. Sometimes it moves to further discussion, sometimes it's just about getting in the practice of self awareness. But what I think I love most about highs and lows is it really gives you a chance to get to know your kids. Especially the quiet ones who don't talk much. Hearing their best and worst moments of the day gives you a picture into what they're going through and it is a springboard for conversation the next day.

This is Maddie.

Aren't we so fun in our camp swim attire!?

Maddie is one of my favorite friends from Camp. We have so much in common and she is just an all around great friend. I haven't actually seen Maddie since Summer 2011. Which is pretty depressing when I think of that. We did a great job of keeping in touch for awhile, but then life got busy and we stopped. Now she's in DC & I'm in Colorado, making it really hard for our schedules to connect. In order to combat that, we recently started sending each other our highs and lows of the day. No explanation, no back story needed, just what's going on in our lives, our hearts, and our relationships with God. It's been so great to get a glimpse into her life into this way and it has really helped us stay in touch this year.

--- 2 ---

I went to Florida last week. Then I forgot to write about it because I was SO TIRED. Whoops. Enjoy this photo of the beach instead.

--- 3 ---

The reason Carol & I went to Florida was to attend the Rejuvenate Marketplace Conference.

It was so interesting to see the business side of conference planning. We met with 44 supplies (hotels, conference centers, universities, etc) each to see if what they offer (ie. space) will meet with our needs (SLS, SEEK, New Staff Training, etc.). It was a cool networking experience and I met some really interesting people. It was fun to hear about the sales and hotel side of the event planning process.

The concept was interesting because this event was only for religious meeting planners. Carol and I were two of 850(ish) meeting planners. Which was kind of overwhelming. It was great to represent FOUCS professionally and the Catholic Church as a whole. I had a lot of conversations about Pope Francis, the new evangelization, and just being young and Catholic.

The most awkward moment of the conference was when Carol & I were out to dinner with a lot of sales people and I confused Liam Neeson with Liam Hemsworth.

 

THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!



We were already being teased about being the youngest people at the event. Confusing Aslan/Zesus/Qui-Gon Jinn/Oskar Schindler/Jean Valjean with MILEY CYRUS' ex-fiance did not help my case. Insert face palm here.

--- 4 ---

Work is getting CRAZY right now. We have hit the two month mark until the event. AH! But I'm actually really, really getting excited. Yes, it is crunch time, but I think this event has the potential to be a game changer for every student that attends and the people in their lives. I'm so excited to keep working and see God work when we're in Dallas.

Please, please, please pray for all the students who will be attending the Summit and for our team as we continue to prepare for the event!

--- 5 ---

Speaking of SLS...

This is our branding:

This was my view walking out of the office Thursday night:

It was bluer in person.

Look familiar!?

--- 6 ---

This is my cat.

She's a huge weirdo. Also, her name is Kateri Tekakwitha.

Will the REAL Kateri please stand up!?

She's currently halfsitting on my leg, scratching her face on my computer. So I thought I'd include her in this week's #7QT. You're welcome.

--- 7 ---

One of the many things I get to do on Sunday's is teach Kindergarten Religious Education. I have 8 rowdy 5-year-olds and oh my gosh they are precious. I am an over ambitious teacher and have been walking through Salvation History with them with the hopes that they will know how the Old Testament is all about Jesus before they become FOCUS Missionaries. This week we learned about Noah's Ark. Check out how adorable these kiddos are:

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!