Manual Labor. What comes to mind when someone says that? Do you get a feeling of despair? Ugh? Why me? Someone else can do it.

Well for me, I get excited. Really excited! I enjoy the aspect of working out in the sun and sweating. Any chance I get to help others out, I take it, especially if it consist of manual labor. I had the chance to go to Joplin and help with the relief efforts.

My days there consisted of bending over for 6-8 hours in 104° picking up debris from the houses the tornado tore to pieces for the first 2 days. The second day there I worked with an organization called Relief Spark where 12 other people besides me unloaded two semi-trailers full of donated food. We then proceeded to sort the food, pack it into boxes for families and churches, and finally we distributed the food to those who showed up that afternoon. The next 2 days I worked with Relief Spark once again, but this time we demolished a house each day and set everything beside the curb.

The point I am getting at is this: my spiritual gift is serving. I am more than willing to use it at any time to do work for the Lord. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms”

(1 Pet. 4:10). Right there! The Bible says each one of us has a gift given by the Lord. Use it for His kingdom! Use it to help others. Not everyone will have the same gifts, but each one of us can use the gift for others around us in many ways and forms.

Sometimes life is a mess…an unpredictable mess. My days don’t go the way I planned. My life isn’t turning out exactly like I thought it would. I mess up, miss deadlines, accidentally stand up a friend, do the things I said I would never do. Blech. So…what do you do when things aren’t going quite right? When everything in your life feels just a little bit off? I’ll tell you what I usually do…I get grumbly. I find a friend to vent to and I start grumbling and complaining. “If only this were better… If only I had done a better job at that… It’s not my fault, she’s the one to blame, it’s his fault.” Blech again. You know what I usually fail to do when things aren’t going right? Talk to the Lord. Or better yet, listen to Him. Read His Word. I often fail to sit down and truly examine what’s going wrong. Maybe the problem lies within my own heart. Maybe I need to rearrange some priorities, lay some things down before the Lord, surrender. Maybe I need to take a step back and realize that He’s still in control, even when I’m failing and flailing. The attribute of God that I’m most thankful for these days is His constancy. He never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He is the Alpha and Omega, who is, who was, and who is to come. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” He is constant, even when I am not. He is faithful, even when I am not. He is good, even when I am not. What a peaceful thought. So, it seems that the antidote to my particular illness is probably more thanksgiving and less grumbles. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Lord, give me a spirit of thankfulness.

After coming out of a very busy semester where it seemed like our pace was a dead sprint, I found myself tired and a little worn out. I’m happy to say that the summer pace has slowed down considerably! We are not at a walking pace or at a running pace, but rather a pace that is steady. So far I have found summer to be a great chance to rest and catch up on some work that I let slide during the last semester. In the internship we are required to read eight books a year. Last year I let that slide off because of other things. I did not do a good job at keeping up with my readings. This summer I have found it to be very relaxing to sit back and read for an afternoon. I’ve had my nose in several books. I find myself reading Union in Truth, a book about the restoration movement as well as The Shack and various CS Lewis books. This has been a great change in pace that I have embraced rather well. I have also spent some time this summer ‘hanging out’ with God. That is one perk to the solitude that summer offers. You have ample time to sit and talk with God as well as to listen to exactly what he is saying. I won’t address the fact that summer is half way over. I don’t want anyone to become depressed. As for the rest of the summer, I plan to use it has a chance to get ahead on work as well as catch up on rest. How are you using your summer break?