Give Me Words to Speak, Give Me Steps to Walk, Give Me Faith to Carry On.

OooooooooHiiiiiioooooooooooPyle.


A very cool place. Which was only made cooler by the presence of cool people. It's so great to have such a joy-full church family. I feel like whenever I'm with everyone, I just see God's grace everywhere. All weekend, there were good times to be had: pressure points and prank calls with the guys in the car, mountain pies that ranged from perfect to indistinguishable from the coals in which they were made, scary stories with all of the guys, beatboxing and singing around the camp fire, laughing at Alaina constantly being dressed in red, white, & blue, Kevin allegedly seeing a skunk jump into the fire and burst into flame (it was Phoenix-skunk), silly string on Mike's car, Jack Sparrow imitations by the pool, (attempting to) split wood and almost getting an axe swing to the shin from Nathaniel, swimming illegally because you only live once, biking more in one day than I have in my entire life, seeing my pastor stand over someone with a raised axe, weird and comical handshakes and high-fives, truly awesome worship at the foot of the J-ville cross in the face of a massive thunderstorm.


Wow that was a long list, and I can still think of more...


But by far, the most memorable thing about the trip was cucumber falls, and how I got totally humbled there.


Call me insane, but it's been a long-standing dream of mine to stand under a waterfall. At cucumber falls, I attempted to walk through the 50-foot torrent alone and fell the first time, crushed under the weight of the water. I tried a second time, and made it through. Third, I stood under it for about 5 seconds and stepped back, and finally I stepped in for about 10 to 15 seconds. At this point, I was pretty much full of myself... I could handle what this bit of nature could throw at me. Talk about being macho and self-reliant.


BIG mistake.


Mr. Skiles asked me to take Dani through the falls, naturally, I accepted. As we walked up to the back of the falls, I explained to her to keep her back straight and her head up. Blinded by the rushing water, I locked my arm under hers.

"Ready?"

"Yeah"

"Okay, 1.2.3."

She slipped and fell, ouch.

No biggy, I'll try and hold her up.

Wrong.

I slipped and fell, pretty much on top of her, Mega ouch.


So, the worst had happened. Mr. Skiles had trusted me with his daughter, and she got hurt. After making sure Dani wasn't extremely injured, I immediately went to Mr. Skiles and apologized. So, where was my macho, master of nature attitude now? Buried.


But, like always, God spoke in a way that I could never have expected. Shannon consoled me simply by saying that it wasn't my job to be ever-dependable. BAM, it hit me. How could I have put all my trust in my own abilities? When God is so much more infinitely powerful and so much more infinitely reliable than me. The waterfall, that God had created, bore so many of the aspects of God. It was furious, powerful, and constant, but also it formed a gentle pool, that refreshed everyone. It was truly awesome, while I am a depraved sinner who doesn't deserve to be refreshed or loved.


But Thank God, I am a son of the One and only I AM, adopted brother of the only perfect man, and daily receiver of the grace and joy of the Holy Spirit.


So, how did it turn out? Mr. Skiles and I are now closer, my friendship with Danielle is stronger than ever, and God has taught me, yet again, to rely only on him.


I am adopted, I am loved, I am disciplined, I am refreshed.


Praise God.