Pray

My grandpa is in the hospital again. He had a stroke.

The doctors said that his right artery was 90% blocked, and his left was 86% blocked.
He has some brain damage ( though thankfully it dosent sound like a lot), and they will have to eventually perform heart surgery.

We were planning on meeting my grandparents at a campground in Cali 2 weeks from now. Plans have obviously changed.

It kills me knowing that I can't be there with them right now... But we have family there who I know are taking good care of him, and each other.

I am reminded of Philippians 4:6-7. It was a verse that helped me get through the last time he was in the hospital, and it's a verse that is helping me now.

Though I am hundreds of miles away from him right now, I can still count on prayer. My grandpa is a fighter. He shouldn't be alive from his last accident, yet he is. I know that with Gods grace, he can win this new battle.

My grandma is also the strongest person I know. Her love for him is inspirational, and I know that with her by his side he knows this is not a fight he has to be in on his own... I'm so thankful for her.... For both of them...

Please pray for my grandpa, and my family. This is a tough one...

It's a Swedish Life for Me!

I started a new blog to talk about this next adventure in my life... I'm so excited about it actually becoming a reality!!!

Check it out: http://www.corriegoestosweden.blogspot.com/

Peace During the Hard Times

There was a fire yesterday at work. Something happened with the dryer, and it caught on fire, causing everything in the laundry room to pretty much be destroyed, and everything in the dining hall (which is above the laundry room) to have a nasty layer of ash.



I haven’t seen it, but apparently it’s a mess.


You see, it’s tough for a camp to have to deal with these kinds of things, because we have to keep on rolling. It’s not like we have time to take our time. Our weekend is full, and our laundry room and dining hall are currently unusable.


Not only that, but there are some major health issues going on within the staff. I feel like every day I come into work, there’s something new that a staff member is dealing with.


Not.fun.


But, it’s times like these that I am continually amazed at how strong and tight the staff at Ponderosa is. It’s times like these that I feel encouraged, when I would normally feel discouraged.


The staff here keeps on fighting. You can tell they’re stressed and they’re tired, yet they do everything they possibly can to help this camp improve, to make sure every guest is satisfied even when they are having to deal with their own personal huge hurdles.


It’s amazing how attractive selflessness is.


There are many reasons why I love this job. And one of those reasons is how I continually see the good in people. How every day I am inspired by those who I work with. That is something that I wouldn’t trade for anything. It is something that, no matter how low my paycheck might be, or how tired I am at the end of the day, makes every second up here worth it.

My new toy!

I got a new toy last week.

It’s one of these:

Canon Rebl XS

I. Love. It.

I’ve just started playing it, and can’t wait to figure what else it can do.

Echo Dog

Hole in the fence

Dad's Stream

I’ve been working on decorating my room… making it MY place. It’s been a work in progress- and will probably always be a work in progress. I move stuff around, add stuff, take away stuff. BUT, I really like how it looks right now- so here’s pictures, with my new camera, of course.

It's even clean!!!

My organization board...

My "life corner" includes a vine and a fish named Pat.

I've been seeing this idea of putting egg cartons around christmas lights... I always thought it was funny- until I tried it... and I love it!

A painting by my great grandpa. I never meet him- but his paintings are all over our house. They're beautiful!

My larger than life poster. It's cute, and I like.

snow and snowbound

"For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength... Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. " (Job 37:6, 14)

I have always loved the snow, maybe not so much the cold that comes with it, but fresh snowfall always perks me up in the mornings.


outside the office



On another note, SNOWBOUND was two weekends ago. I know, I know... I'm a little late writing about it, but it's been a crazy week.
Anyways, snowbound, as always, was amazing! Everyone had an awesome time coming together and growing a stronger relationship with God. There were 12 girls that came up, and all were fabulous to hang out with! The speaker did an amazing job speaking about God's love for us, about everyone's potential, about discipleship, and so much more. Saturday night was the "emotional night". You gotta have one at any retreat. The tears were rolling down everyone's faces. God was defiantly present that night.
Sad story, I could not find my camera before the retreat, so I did not get any pictures except for the two from my cell phone.
(note: my mom found my camera yesterday, in one of her flower pots? don't ask, cause I have no clue).
Here are the two pictures that I took. We got right up front and center during the bands concert. It was loud, and I probably experienced some level of hearing loss, but it was still rockin'!

Nick the man

Bethany the fabulous

Modern Day Serpents (or a bad apple)

Today I read Genesis 3. You know the story, the fall of man.


A serpent tempts Eve, Eve eats the apple off the forbidden tree, and now us ladies get to read, “I will greatly increase the pains in childbearing.” Awesome.

Satan told Eve, “You will not certainly die… For God knows that when you eat from [the forbidden tree] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil “(v. 4-5).

Wait… that sounds familiar. It sounds a lot like what I hear all the time in today’s world.

Get drunk… you wont die.. it’s fun.
Sleep around… everyone else is doing it
Wear revealing clothing… that’s what all the cool people wear
Don’t pray, go to church, read your bible… you have better things to do with your time

Genesis 3:6 says:

… the women saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye…

PLEASING TO THE EYE… I don’t have enough room to write everything that might be “pleasing to the eye” in this world. There are a lot of bad apples out there. Apples that look shiny, red, juicy… but on the inside they are bitter.
Apples like:
Drugs
Alcohol
Sex
Porn
Time “wasters” (echem… facebook)
Clothes
Media

…

You get the idea. There are so many things that the world has created to be pleasing to the eye, when in fact they are not pleasing at all in God’s eye.


So who are we gonna listen to?
The world, which could lead to hell
Or Jesus, who leads us to heaven

Adam and Eve lived a perfect life. All they saw, did, knew was Gods AMAZING creation.

They

Had

Everything

Yet, one simple idea changed it all. The idea that they could be like God.
One bite.

Don’t be the one who takes a bite out of a bad apple. Watch out for those serpents, they are everywhere.

Winnie's Wisdom

In light of the new Winnie the Pooh movie coming out (EXCITEMENT), I thought I would gather some of my favorite Winnie the Pooh quotes. That little bear was smarter then he thought.

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. I'll always be with you.”

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"”

“If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.”

“Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.”

“"I wonder what Piglet is doing," thought Pooh.
"I wish I were there to be doing it, too."

“When late morning rolls around and you're feeling a bit out of sorts, don't worry; you're probably just a little eleven o'clockish.”

“Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”

“I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.”

“You can't always sit in your corner of the forest and wait for people to come to you... you have to go to them sometimes.”

“If you want to make a song more hummy, add a few tiddely poms.”

“When having a smackerel of something with a friend, don't eat so much that you get stuck in the doorway trying to get out.”

“"Pooh," said Rabbit kindly, "you haven't any brain."
"I know," said Pooh humbly.”

"That buzzing-noise means something. If there's a buzzing noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee. .... And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey.....
And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it."