AMP2 at Old Oak Ranch

Oh man, how this song just opened up my eyes. I have so many thoughts and feelings going on in my heart and mind, I dont know if Im going to give them justice trying to process them out to share. But I guess it wont hurt to try.

Sitting in worship practice when I first heard this song, I instantly liked it. And I will admit that the main reason was it was a new song in our church, and at Sonora Hills Community Church, that is exciting! But just reading along with the lyrics, theyre obviously very deep. I dont think this is just any ordinary worship song.

But anyways, sitting in church, taking a part in worship, singing the words of this song, its true meaning flooded my brain. I felt like it wasn’t a song anymore. I felt like these lyrics became the words of a conversation between me and God. I wasn’t just singing anymore. I was standing there having a conversation with my God:

“God of Justice, Saviour to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served”

The story of Mary and Martha, told in the book of Luke (Luke 10:38-42), instantly comes to mind when I think of this first verse. Some of you might be thinking…what the heck does Mary and Martha have to do with anything? Well, when Martha invited Jesus into her home her sister Mary instantly sat at the feet of Jesus and just listened to what he had to say. Martha on the other hand was distracted by pretty much being the perfect host for Jesus. Martha was upset at Mary for leaving her with all of the work. She was so upset she even complained to Jesus telling Him to tell Mary to help her. Jesus simply responded by telling Martha that there was only one important thing, and that is what Mary was focused on. So here is where my dots are connecting:

“Chose to serve and not be served”

Martha was so wrapped up in serving God. She invited Jesus (He’s kind of a big deal) into her house, and she wanted everything to be perfect for Him. Which, I don’t know if I can really blame her for that desire. I mean, I would FREAK OUT if Jesus was just chillen in my living room. Thats kind of intense. Haha. But anyways. Jesus didnt go into the house of Martha to be served. Thats probably the last thing on His mind. I doubt Jesus was looking around to see how clean the house was, or wondering what kind of great meal Martha was going to prepare for Him. He wanted to be the one to serve. And I dont mean in a literal sense, of cleaning or making dinner, or being a host. Jesus’ way of serving was through talking to these women, to share His insight and knowledge. And I think that is why He definitely favored Mary in this instance. She was being sensitive to the Spirit and allowing Jesus to serve in the way that He served.

I mean come on. Really think about this: This is Jesus, THIS IS GOD! I mean He could have walked into Marthas house and commanded the most ridiculous things, could have had such high expectations of the service He should get. And no one would really think anything of it, this is Jesus. He is worthy of anything He asks for, and so much more than these women could ever offer Him, in a physical or material sense. But all of that is what He did NOT want. He just wanted to be the one to turn around and serve them. Thats so crazy for me to wrap my mind around. The King of all Kings wants to be my servant. How am I even remotely close to being worthy of such service? IM NOT! But God loves me, loves you, so much that that is His desire. Moving on…because this thought can be a whole blog in itself.

“Jesus, You have called us
Freely we’ve received
Now freely we will give”

Duh! God has given me so much in my life. My heavenly father has spoiled me like a princess. And again, all that I have, I have no right to any of it. But God loves to serve me, and to bless me. And I have happily recieved every bit of it. But, would I happily give every bit of what I have been given? Im going to just leave that there. :-)

“We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go”

The first time I heard this song and read the lyrics to this chorus, I think obviously, my mind instantly went to the thought of Missions (overseas missions). And maybe that was the intention of this song, because I think thats where anyones mind would instantly go, understandably. But that Sunday morning, in my conversation with God, it became so much more than that. And yeah the video I posted looked like it focused on the missions idea too…but still…bear with my train of thought here. This chorus is just so, profound! Why does my mind go to such a literal place?

As I spoke these words to God, He changed my heart for Sonora Hills Community Church. I’ve been going there technically since summer of ‘09. I considered myself, I guess, a “member” last year once I lived up here more permanantely. But to me, honestly, its just been the church Ive gone to, because thats where we (Old Oak Ranch) go. Its hasnt been anything personal for me. But this chorus applied just standing in that sanctuary.

When it says “live to feed the hungry” God wasnt telling me to literally feel people who are hungry, such as the homeless. He was telling me that I have been given a gift of leadership, and I need to live to feed those who are spiritually hungry. And you’d think, “Jenika, you are in a church, people are being fed.” Granted, they probably are, but that doesnt mean that I cant help feed them. And even going beyond the church, but with my family, my friends, in the town I live in, ANYWHERE I am: I should live to feed those who are spiritually hungry.

“Stand beside the broken” COME ON! We are all surrounded by broken people. I have been a broken person time and time again. And I will be broken probably 5,000 more times in my life. But God is calling me to be a person to stand beside His people that are broken. Not to fix them, that is not my job, and that is something the Lord is teaching me. But to just stand by them, and encourage them in their dark times. And just be sensative to the Spirit and let God shine through me.

“Stepping forward, keep us from just singing. Move us into action.” KEEP US FROM JUST SINGING! That was the exact experience I was going through. God was keeping me from just standing there singing. How many times have I been in church and really liked a song and just stood there and sang and worshiped. Which Im not saying that is a bad thing. If it were up to me I would stay in a world of worship forever. But as good as it feels sometimes to stand there and sing and worship God and feel His presence, we have to go beyond that. We cant just get into a routine of doing God’s will and feeling His presence only when the church sets it up for us. I want to do more than just sing! I want to take what I am singing about every Sunday and take it into action. I mean, just think of the last few worship songs you sang. What if every word that you sang you took into action, even if its just simply how much you love God. But seriously, if you put all those songs into serious action, and if everyone did that, think of how much we can change this world! Ahh, the thought is mind blowing!

But yeah. That is my passion for this song. God is truly opening my eyes to so many different things. I just feel so good right now. Stay sensative to the Spirit guys!

Love you all!

God Bless!

-Jenika

FILL US UP AND SEND US OUT! WE MUST GO!

So, I cannot deny that I have lagged just a little bit in this whole blogging thing, I think. How often is one supposed to blog usually? Oh well, my blog, I’ll do what I want.

I have been back at Old Oak Ranch for about 2 weeks now. That’s so crazy. It feels like it has been so much longer than that, and I don’t say that in a negative way like its taking forever! Haha. So far, so good. There were a few bumps in the road, but God tends to work out all things. Sadly, Cookie and Daisy are no longer interns, for different reasons. I miss them both and I wish they were here. But I have to remind myself everyday that God has a better plan for them than I ever would.

Other than missing my two friends, so far, so good. This year I wanted to make sure that I came back here with a mission. Last year when I moved up here, I didn’t really know what to expect. And though that is still true in a lot of areas, I know something now that for some reason I didn’t realize before. This oppurtunity that I have now, is….amazing. How many people my age get a chance like this? To work at Christian based summer camp 24/7! Not many. And I’m not saying that we just get to play all the time, that is false, we definitely work our butts off. But in everything we do here, we do for the Lord. And we are constantly being reminded of that. It’s just so awesome having a job where in everyday work you are being challenged to connect everything back to God.

Hmm…another exciting thing about coming back is I got to meet Rylee Grace McFall. She is the most adorable baby I have ever seen. And some might say my opinion is a little biast, considering in my opinion the McFalls are some of the most awesome people in this world, there for they will of course have the most awesome child in this world. BUT, that has nothing to do with it (even though it is a fact). Shes just so precious. Its just amazing that I got to be here for majority of the time she was growing inside her Mommy’s belly. And when I left Old Oak last year, thats exactly where I left her. But now that Im back, shes an actual human being in this world. I dont have to talk to Grace’s stomach to talk to her anymore. I can hold her, talk to her, and rock her back and forth. I guess Ive just never been so close to someone who has had a baby like this before. Other than my own mother when she was prego with Carrisa, but I dont remember any of that. I must subconciously block that time of my life out (just kidding Carrisa :-) lol). Sorry for rambling about her, its just exciting! Moving on…

Another change - there is a new Pastor at Sonora Hills Community Church (the church that Old Oak Ranch is a part of), Pastor David Wheeler. I briefly met David when I was a summer intern in ‘09. Then last year when we were on our missions trip we got to hang out with him a lot. He was really cool and connected with all of us interns super quick. So when I heard that he is now our Pastor, I was super excited. And just another plus - we will still get to meet with David Moore (Pastor before Wheeler at Sonora Hills) and talk and stuff! He is also a great man! Anyways, I see a lot of growth for Sonora Hills in this coming year. And I’m excited that God is allowing me to be a part of that. I believe that Sonora Hills will be a great, positive impact on the city of Sonora.

Well, due to my slacking of blogging, this is a wee bit longer than I had intended. So I should probably begin to wrap it up, if there is anyone who loves me enough to have read this far. But as a reward to you, the one who loves me enough to read my babbling, I will end with a story that I hope will make you laugh.

Andrew Quist. The Educational Program Director at Old Oak Ranch. 1 of my 8 bosses at Old Oak. Andrew and me, anyone would say we have a…special…relationship. And when I mean special, I mean he shows his love by picking on me relentlessly for everyone elses entertainment. And to keep me humble of course. During this time of year we, as in interns, have class with Andrew, at least 2 times a week, all day! So that means Andrew gets to pick on me a lot. Which means I cry, a lot (just kidding, sorta. Well here is a taste of my life involving Andrew Quist with these top 4 moments of “He’s ruining my Life” this past week (or so):

#4: He’s in the process of making me a dunce hat. If I disobey in class (or even if I dont and he just wants a good laugh) he is going to make me sit in the corner, facing the wall, wearing a dunce hat (if he makes it big enough to fit on this fro!)! That is where I draw the line. And what I mean by “this is where I draw the line” is…I’ll probably give up after 3mins of begging him not to make me do it. :-(

#3: During vocab. review on the Gold Rush I answered the original question he asked me correctly. But then he decided to throw in a bonus question (that nobody else knew the answer to, but I should because Im an AMP2)! Well, I couldnt remember the word, so he MADE me write it on a piece of paper 100 TIMES! Flume…I’ll NEVER forget flume!

#2: He said something weird like “twiddle my thumbs”? So i giggled. After begging him not to make me, I ended up sitting in the corner, facing the wall, while still answering questions! (HOW OLD AM I?!?)

#1 aka the worst moment of my life: My mother (for his birthday) mailed him a home videa. No biggie right? Too bad its my most embarrassing childhood moment…ON DVD! And now in the possession of Andrew Quist. Oh, its bad. Just a few key words to describe - Dance recital, jazz, Mariah Carey, “All I want for Christmas”, me=Not good. All this means is….He forever wins.

So there you go….This has kinda been my life for the past couple weeks. I’ll try to blog more so these arent as long.

Love you all and miss everyone! And I really mean that.

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercyendures forever.”

1 Chronicles 16:34

So many of you already know that this Friday I am leaving again, for 10 1/2 months again! I will be an AMP2 Intern at Old Oak Ranch in Sonora! I’m super excited to go back and work and serve another year with the amazing staff that is up there! And anyone who tried keeping in consistent contact with me last year knows that that is nearly impossible. Sooo…after talking to my sister and giving it some thought, I decided to start this blog. :-) I have a feeling that a lot of really cool, life altering things are going to take place in my life this year, and I thought it would be cool to take my loved ones on this journey with me. For those of you who choose to follow and read often, I hope I don’t bore you too much with stories of living at a Summer Camp 24/7! But like I said, I know this year is going to be an amazing year, so I think you shall be entertained! So we’ll see if this blog thing really works out. There probably won’t be too much postings over the next few days, I’m planning to really get this going once I move up there and get 2011 really started! Love you guys and thank you for reading. May God do amazing things for all of us in 2011! Love you all!

-Jenika