Singly Selfish

Last week I read "The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition".

A lot of people including me, read this book wondering "What is my love language?" We're so obsessed with self-help and personal improvement. We want to know "How do I receive love?" and how should other people be loving me, but truly that's not the point of this book. Over and over again, Dr. Chapman draws the reader away from a selfish look at love to a lesson in chosen sacrifice.

This snippet from his love languages website sums it up:

Jesus taught an important lesson about relationships. Essentially, what He
said is that if any of us tries to improve a relationship by getting the other
person to change (working hard to get the speck out of the other person’s eye),
energies are being expended in the wrong direction. The place to begin is with
our own failures (the plank or beam in one’s own eye).

Love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for
yourself. Most of us do many things each day that do not come “naturally” for
us. For some of us, that is getting out of bed in the morning...And normally, before the day is over, we feel good about having gotten up. Our actions preceded our emotions. The same is true with love. We discover the primary love language of [someone we love] and we choose to speak it whether or not it is natural for us. You might not love the language itself, but speaking it will clearly communicate love. Love is a choice. And either [person] can start the process today.

Love is not about knowing what we need from other people. It's not about making sure we're comfortable or getting our way. It's about learning how to love others in the way that they need to be loved...even those that we may not get along with.

I've been learning a lot about my selfishness lately...and I think a lot of it comes from my singleness (not being married). On an average day, the only person I really have to worry about pleasing is myself. I eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it. I do what I want to do when I want to do it. I don't like being told what to do because I'm my own person. In a way, I think I'm entitled to this...as though it's the reward I get for still being single or something. When someone else comes into the equation and messes up my plan, I feel that they are inconveniencing me. I sound awfully selfish, don't I? But that's the truth and that's one of the many things that God's working on in me.

I'm learning love-not just romantic love, but a love for family, friends, and co-workers. This book really challenged me to pay attention to the way people around me respond to certain gestures of love and I've been secretly studying a few people in my life over the past week. But if you want, you can help me out by letting me know your love language. You can take this 30-second assessment or search the internet for a version of the love language assessment. And of course, all of the love language books include the assessment. You should read one if you get a chance!

Nora Nancy

Happy Birthday Nora. My neice was born at 2:33 am on Sunday July 12th, 2009. She has dark red "spikey/curly" hair. She weighed 8 lbs. and 4 oz. And she's beautiful. I haven't been able to meet her yet, but I have seen pictures and cannot wait to see her in person!

I've been excited about her since I first heard that Teresa was pregnant, but I never would have expected to feel the way I do about her now. When my mom called the other night to tell me that she was finally here, I couldn't go back to sleep for an hour. I was excited she was here, but I was sad that I wasn't there. I cried out of relief, love, and longing. When I saw her first picture yesterday, I cried again. I can't explain the feeling...I am overwhelmed with love for this little person that I have never met.

Her name, Eleanor Nancy, is a combination of my grandmothers' names. Although we have been given permission to call her Nora, it seems that my brother is determined to use her full name. Eleanor is of Greek origin and means sun ray, shining light, or compassion. Nancy is from Hebrew origin and means grace.

My brother, Ryan has done a great job keeping everyone updated on the pregnancy and arrival on his blog. You can check it out at http://www.dokteryan.blogspot.com/. He and Teresa are missionaries in Haiti and are planning to return at the end of the summer. But not before finishing out their tour of the states complete with a trip to Grandpa Tom's Cabin in Alabama at the end of this month.

Andrew and I will be making a road trip to Alabama on July 30th-August 5th to meet the newest member of the Price family and to spend much needed time with the rest of my family, a few friends, and his grandparents. I can't wait!

Beach Re"Tweet"

Beach Retreat began on Sunday for our High School Ministry as they rolled out to Gulf Shores, Alabama with almost 800 people from the West Campus. Junior High will be headed to South Padre Island, Texas this Sunday for our week in the sun.

We've been keeping up with everything that's going on at Beach Retreat on the Beach Retreat Blog, through Email Updates, and on Twitter...and you can too! Just click the links to read the blog, sign up for email updates, send notes from home, and read real-time updates from the staff and volunteers. This will continue next week for Junior High as well-so be sure to send me a note from home!

Obviously you know what a blog is if your reading this and you probably know how to work email, but if you don't know what Twitter is...it's a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others' updates, known as "Tweets" (Hence, the title). You can check out my "tweets" by reading the "Play-by-Play" over on the right column of my blog or clicking on the link.

Beach Retreat is one of the biggest highlights of our year...and we're excited that more people get to be a part of it this year simply by sitting in front their computer...technology is a great thing!

My Muddy Feet

I don't always blog about my personal spiritual life. Maybe because it's too personal or maybe it's because I'm not spiritual enough. But anyway...God hit me with something literally in the middle of the night and I feel like I'm supposed to share it. I know it's David's story, but it's mine too. As I read through these words last night, I identified with each verse in a very real way.



I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3

Those who know me well may not even know every detail of my story and that's okay, but God did something big in my heart and my life this past year. I truly feel that He put a new song in my mouth, not because there wasn't a song before, but because there was a need for a new, fresh song. I hope that it's been evident to others, and I hope that "many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD" because of what has done in me.

Don't Stress, Don't Stress, Don't Stress

This week, I've been feeling the tension building as the big monster that is Beach Retreat gets closer and closer. People in our office have started talking faster and moving faster. No one slows down on the job...and that's great! But we've got to do some things to manage the stress when things get hectic or we'll all kill each other. I was trying to figure out ways to de-stress and get rid of this knot in my stomach today, so I googled ways to relieve stress at work. These aren't my own idea, but they're pretty good ideas...

*Remember, most times, you do not have to do every single thing yourself, so be willing to give up some of the control and ask for help. DELEGATE.

*If you have a big project or deadline, set up a reasonable time line of activities you need to perform or complete and stick to it.

*Get out! Instead of sitting at your desk eating lunch or even eating in the break room, go out for lunch with some friends and pledge NOT to talk about office issues.

*It may be impossible to leave the office to go out to lunch, so simply grab a colleague and go for a walk around the building.

*Listen to some calm, soothing music.

*Handle important tasks first and eliminate unessential tasks

*Reduce the urge to be "perfect"...Be flexible

*Avoid excess competition

*Reduce criticism

*Give yourself "me" time (but more importantly spend time with God!)

*Be cheerful, it deflates others stress and anxiety

*Silence your phone at night

*Laugh more, and often

*Remember you can only change yourself

Okay...BACK TO WORK!

Em and Em

Lately, I've been talking a lot about Emilys and it's getting pretty confusing.  Between Facebook and my phone it seems that there are or have been at one time or another, at least 14 Emily's in my life. Today I just want to introduce you to two Emilys who are pretty important people in my life right now!

Introducing Emily Hodges...

She's one of my best friends.

Loyal.

Trustworthy.

One of the most encouraging people in my life.

Amazing shopper.

Fabulous dresser.

She's not a mom, despite what the picture looks like.

Single. (I'll let you know if your worthy of her.)

There are not enough words to describe how much I appreciate her!

Friday was her 26th Birthday...Happy Birthday Emily!

You can follow her on Twitter elh2005.

And Emily Kormash...

I don't know Emily very well yet, but here's what I do know...

She's our summer intern for JHigh.

Sarcastic.

Works hard.

Doesn't complain.

Not single, but not married (see picture with boyfriend Matt).

Going to be a senior in at A&M.

Funny.

You can follow her on Twitter as Kormasher.

Sorry if you were looking for a blog about candy or a white rapper...you won't find that here.  This is just a little introduction of two important people in my life.  I hope you enjoyed this blog just as much as the candy that melts in your mouth not in your hand.

Typical Day on Junior High Beach Retreat

There's only about four weeks left before Beach Retreat...

We'll be heading out June 7th-12th for HS Beach Retreat (9th Grade-Graduates) and June 14th-19th for JH Beach Retreat (7th and 8th Grade). We're asking all of our staff and students to make the Beach Retreat logo their Facebook profile picture to get the word out in the community. Here's my version of the logo:



This will be my third year to attend Beach Retreat, my second year at JH Beach Retreat, and my first year not to attend HS Beach Retreat.



Here's a description of a ....
Typical Day on Junior High Beach Retreat


This year’s Junior High Beach Retreat is in South Padre Island, Texas. This family resort is as nice as you would expect for your personal vacation. While on Beach Retreat, you will stay in a condominium with 7 to 10 junior high students.

SILENT SOUNDS
Every day begins with Silent Sounds on the beach. The students and leaders receive a camp booklet for the week that includes daily devotionals. All the kids and adults spread out on the beach so that everyone is alone. With Bible and notebook in hand, each person spends 30 minutes reading Bible verses, answering questions in their notebook, and praying. It is quite a sight to see hundreds of Junior High students and their leaders spread out as far as the eye can see reading their Bibles and praying!

BREAKFAST, FAMILY GROUP, AND RECREATION TIME
After Silent Sounds is breakfast, Family Group Time and Recreation Time. Rec Time will be led by the Second Baptist Rec Team and will feature fun competition between condo groups. Family Group Time allows small groups of kids and adults to get together in a condo for games, Bible study, and discussion to tackle topical issues related to our theme for the week. Each group has lunch in their own condo. Students and condo leader invite other condos to join them for condo is always clean; a surprise inspection could come at any time.

LUNCH AND CLEAN UP
Each group has lunch in their own condo. Students and condo leaders often invite other condos to join them for lunch. After lunch, we have condo clean up time. Students must make sure their condo is always clean; a surprise inspection could come at any time!

FREE TIME
The afternoon is Free Time for the kids. They have a choice of swimming in the pool, playing tennis, hanging out at the beach, playing sand volleyball, and more. We have adults supervise swimming at the pool and at the beach.

EVENING SERVICE WITH DR.YOUNG
After dinner, we head to the beach for evening Silent Sounds. Then we load up the buses and head to our evening worship service. The services begin with music led by a great worship band and end with a strong message by our pastor, Dr. Young. He deals with hard-hitting topics such as how to become a Christian, self-image, submitting to authority, repentance, and forgiveness.

BEDTIME
After the service, we head back to the condos to get ready for bed!