Speaking, Waiting, and Listening...

Hey everyone! The past couple weeks for me have been jam packed with a lot of work, but also a ton of fun. Along with days of cleaning and running rides I have been able to enjoy time with my fellow interns during time off. A week ago I was introduced to the music of Stephen Kellogg when I attended an Atlanta concert with four other interns. The event was great as I was given a healthy dose of the folk-rock style of Kellogg and also entertaining accompaniment by his band the Sixers. Along with enjoying the music, I also was happy to escape the camp world for just a bit and check out a part of Atlanta.

Just a few days later, we came back to the ATL and toured the CNN center, home to one of the world's largest cable news networks. I appreciated the wealth of knowledge given by the energetic tour guide and was intrigued by how much work goes behind the camera to come up with a news story, figure out how it will be distributed through television, and then make sure the presentation is executed effectively and accurately. The tour tickets were actually a free gift from a past intern of SharpTop, J.J., who is now a weather producer at CNN. I was amazed at the journey God has taken him through, starting with a Young Life camp internship back in 06-07, and now a pretty good job at a world reknown news network.

It was really encouraging to hear J.J's story, because many of us as interns are struggling with the question, "what is next?" after this internship. This may seem crazy as we still have more than ten whole months left. However, we have already experienced how quickly this time can pass and know that next August will be here before too long. With this question looming overhead, we all are eager to find out where God wants us to be. I have no doubt that all nine of us truly desire to serve Christ and find a career that we can joyfully bring glory to him. Unfortunately, God does not always clearly speak in a medium or time that we may desire.

So, how do we actually have conversations with God? After all, we are in a relationship with him through his Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that figuring out the answer to this question is something all of us can grow in over the next ten months. Right now our intern class is studying the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and have had great conversations regarding the practices of meditation and prayer. We all realize that we need to be intentional in giving God our time to spend with him. Yet, the struggle is trying to discern when God is actually speaking to us and then identify his presence.

Even though there are times of confusion and times we may feel nothing, I am confident our continual pursuit of God will lead to a lot less of me and a lot more of Him. Ultimately this is my desire, even though the journey is not always easy. So as I continue to seek him: I speak, I wait, and I listen. Through these stages I believe God will lead me where he wants me to be.