Pine Cove, Take Two

Well, I just finished my second full summer at Pine Cove.  Well, almost full summer.  I had almost a week off thanks to the flu, and I’m not working Week 11 thanks to a family cruise to Alaska.  Yeah, be jealous.

Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to share some of what I learned this summer, largely for my own edification.

All summer, but specifically last week, I learned a ton about service.  I honestly wasn’t expecting to learn very much about serving others.  I mean, Work Crew has always been my favorite part of camp.  I’ve always enjoyed being helpful to others, and doing what I can to make their lives a little easier, but I never really realized what it was to serve others without ANY recognition or hope of some benefit (including goodwill).  During Week 10, I was counselor to seventh grade boys, so naturally we talked a lot about girls.  During the course of the week, we were challenged to serve the girls – particularly at meals.  At the same time, our Bible study was challenging us not to do our acts of righteousness before men and not to seek the approval of others.  It was a really interesting razor’s edge to walk.  I mean, it’s so easy to serve girls or open doors when you think they might notice and think kindly of you.  It’s easy to serve in secret when someone COULD find out.  But to really serve others, just because THEY ARE PEOPLE and not because of the PEOPLE THEY ARE?  That’s really difficult.

I learned a little bit what it looks like to pursue a woman.  First of all, let me clarify a few things.  1) I am not in a relationship. 2) I don’t think camp is an appropriate time/place to start a relationship.  However, I did learn a lot, I think.  Going to Baylor, I hear the word “pursue,” a lot.  All the freaking time honestly.  I hear these ridiculous stories of guys calling girls’ dads to ask them if they can “pursue” their daughters, or asking girls if they can “pursue” them.  Most the time, pursue seems to take the form of “let’s flirt and hang out so much that the girl finally asks ‘are we dating’ and then I’ll say ‘yes.’”  But through things like serving the girls, dances, talks with wiser individuals than myself, and interactions with the fairer sex this summer, I’ve learned that pursuit looks a lot more like intentionality than flirting, and that is something I can take with me after camp.

Which brings me to the third thing I learned.  Intentionality.  That has become a sort of spiritual buzz word recently, which unfortunately weakens the impact of such a great concept.  Ultimately, intentionality – to me – begins with the realization that life is short.  When you really realize that, you figure out quickly that every moment is precious.  So I want to be intentional.  With my relationships, certainly, but also with my time.  This coming semester, I’m going to have three-day weekends every week.  How glorious would it be to get all my homework done Thursday night, and have all Friday and Saturday to do whatever, and have Sunday be a Sabbath?  As in a real “wake up, eat breakfast, go to church, get lunch with friends, come home and do nothing but read and nap, make a nice dinner and go to bed early” Sabbath.  Not cramming for tests, not ignoring homework, not allowing relationships to drift apart. In short, being a good steward of what God has given me.

I also learned patience.  In short, you can’t have patience without love, which is probably why I suck at it so bad.

Definitely the hardest thing I had to learn this summer was humility.  Honestly, I never thought I struggled that bad with pride.  Which is the first sign that you really do.  This summer, I began to realize the depths of my own arrogance.  The sad thing is, most people don’t know how prideful I am, which just makes me a really good liar.  I mean, there’s pride that blabbers with the mouth, and then there’s pride that judges on the inside.  I’m definitely the latter.  I began to notice this summer how often I consider myself better than people, and how sick that is.  Furthermore, God really began to expose how much I crave recognition and approval.  It was interesting to see God begin to teach me without completely breaking me.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really have a problem with brokenness.  I mean, I do, because it sucks, but I get it and it’s awesome.  But at the same time, maybe it means I’m maturing a little bit, that he doesn’t have to destroy me to teach me?  That maybe I’m a little more open to him?  I don’t know, maybe that’s just arrogance speaking.

Anyway, it’s like 12:30 am, right after camp, and I’m exhausted (I’ve already passed out once in the past 48 hours…), so I’m gonna leave it at that.  The summer was hard, interesting, frustrating, wonderful, and profound.  I’ll miss it deeply, but I also know that I put in a hard 12 weeks, and now I’m heading to my rest.  Praise The Lamb.

Comic Book

I just wanted to say that I officially submitted my comic book on Wednesday to a company called Dark Horse Comics.  They are the number three comic book publisher behind Marvel and DC.  The big draw to Dark Horse – who produces, among others, the Star Wars comics and Buffy comics – is that all the material is creator owned.  That, in a nutshell, means that some d-bag isn’t going to come along and do whatever they want with my characters without my permission.  So, score on that front.  Anyway, I figure that the comic is there by now, so I am officially starting the countdown.  The website says that if you don’t hear back from them within a month, you have been rejected.  So, I guess within the month I’ll know if I got my dream job or not.  That’s terrifying crap.  Honestly, I think I’m more afraid of it working out than I am being rejected.  Rejection leads to binge eating and determination.  Acceptance leads to contracts and deadlines and editors and fan reaction.  Major fear there.  So, anyway, I guess just be on the lookout for updates on that, and a huge huge huge thanks to those of you who helped edit it!

Suddenly I’m Brimming With Plans

Plans have always been a comfort thing for me.  When my life feels like it’s crashing down around me, I normally make an action-plan, and I calm down.  I like plans.  Plans provide security.

Honestly I struggle with the concept of plans a lot.  Or rather, the “morality” of them for lack of a better word.  Many times, I wonder if it’s ok to be safe – either as a result of where you live, how much money you earn, or having a plan.  I once heard that we should make plans so that we can lay them at God’s feet.  This sounds like good advice, but then again how often does Christian radio tell you something you don’t want to hear?

Regardless, I have a lot of plans for my life, but nothing I am holding onto so tight I won’t let God take it.  I think that’s healthy, but who am I?  Anyway, I plan to become a comic-book writer.  I wrote a whole script, and plotted the series out, in detail, for eighteen months (and less detailed for another 20, with vague ideas for another 12 or so).  I have everything I need done, and all I have to do is mail it in.  If everything works out the way I’d like it, I end up with my dream job.  From there I become a bigger name, move into the television industry, and write my two favorite mediums of story-telling for as long as I want.  Sweet.

Of course, life doesn’t always go according to plan, which is why I have what my parents would call “a real major” – Financial Services & Planning.  Basically that means I tell people what to do with their money.  Awesome, because people are stupid, and need someone to tell them that.  Honestly, I think I could do that for a living and be perfectly happy.  It would certainly provide security, and it is something I enjoy.

Recently, however, I’ve been realizing more and more that I really like fitness and nutrition.  The Biggest Loser makes me so happy.  I think I could make a really good personal trainer.  I think it’s kind of the same skills as a Financial Planner – encourage people, but kick them in the rear to get them moving.  Working out and eating right is something I really enjoy, but moreover, I really get a kick out of other people doing it too.

So with that in mind, I feel like I have two options in front of me post-graduation (assuming that the comic doesn’t work out immediately).

My first idea is to go to Grad School.  Now, if you know me, that might shock you.  If you don’t know me that well, here is why that is a strange thing for me to say (get ready for a no-punctuation, stream-of-consciousness rant): Basically I think that people my age have been so petrified of living in the real world because their parents emotionally handicapped them as children that they will do whatever it takes to delay reality until they feel ready which generally means going to grad school.  In addition I have been tired of school since mid-high school and I don’t really feel like college has been an extremely rewarding experience thus far and I really just want it to end so I can get on with the parts of life I am looking forward to (wife, kids, herb garden, vegetable garden, house, lawn, company barbeques, little-league games, family reunions, etc).  Now, back to what I was really saying.  I seriously see grad school as an option.  I kind of always figured I’d go to grad school for something, but it would be a few years after I was done with college.  Personally I hope to go to A&M grad school.  I don’t know if that makes you an official Aggie, but it’s enough for me.   So yeah, go to grad school, get a Masters in Nutrition or Kinesiology, and become a personal trainer.  Not that you need a masters, but it doesn’t hurt.  It also adds versatility to my resume.

Option Two is something that only recently came to me as well.  All my life, I’ve had great skill at languages.  When I lived in Norway, I was put into the Advanced Norwegian class after just a month or two of being in the country (although they later put me in Intermediate because Advanced was only for native speakers).  I took French in high school, and besides finding it easy, I still retain a ton of it, even after almost five years.  I also took Japanese, and didn’t find it that hard either.  I also really like travelling, and Europe.  So when I put those together, combined with my degree, I came up with “Banker in Switzerland.”  I figure I’d need a little more skill in both French and German to be desirable as an employee, so I’m thinking I might try to spend a year or two teaching English (another passion of mine) in Switzerland while I learn French and German, and then try to get a job in the Banking Center of the world.

Anyway, I was just really excited about these options, and thought I had to share.  Of course I still hope the comic works out, but as far as back-up plans go, these are pretty wonderful.  Besides, if all else fails, I’m joining the Amish, a monastery, or a farm.