Braggin on the boys

The group of brothers and sisters I spent the summer with can only be described as blessings. Although my sisters have been equally amazing, I wanted to brag on the guys... The nine gentlemen of SummerLINK were such gracious and servant leaders. There were several examples of this throughout the summer. Heres one that was captured on camera:
For our last mens/womens night of the summer, the guys came into womens night wearing their SummerLINK t-shirts and carrying yellow roses. Each rose had a tag with Ps 45:11 written out (the King is enthralled with your beauty...) and was accompanied by a handwritten card from one of the guys.
Once they had passed these out, they serenaded us :)

Wrapping Up

Hey Everyone!! So sorry this took so long!! The last couple weeks of SummerLINK were pretty packed with fellowship and generally wrapping up the summer. The last couple weeks of project were definitely busy but well worth it as Gods hand is so clearly seen in everything. The last group the Bluffton interns hosted was from home!! The Crosspoint youthgroup was with us for the week of July 13-19 and we thoroughly enjoyed the time we had with them! They arrived on Saturday to attend the preview service orientation that evening and help us with the service on Sunday. That evening at Prayer and Praise, our youth pastor, Matt, brought messages from home for the group. He told us that we are prayed for and thought of often with joy. Despite thoroughly enjoying being here and considering this to be an experience I would not trade, that encouragement came at a time when it was truly needed for us to maintain the pace and finish strong. God has provided consistently provided the encouragement I’ve needed all summer through the amazing group I have the blessing of being here with, the service groups I have gotten to work alongside and the passionate service of the Bluffton Team. The spoken encouragement that evening was just the beginning of how the Crosspoint Team would uplift us. The Bluffton interns had the blessing of spending the week with the team doing service projects in Bluffton. We did some painting at an elementary school, picked up trash on the road, cleaned some debris from around a playground (Matt described this experience in a blog entry: ), and did spiritual surveys in a neighborhood. They also joined us for Celebration (where Matt gave a great message on the stewardship of time His notes are on his blog (July 30th entry), Bible Study, and Men’s and Women’s nights where Matt and his wife Sara challenged us with great messages(the girls talked about intentionally living life with other believers in fellowship and accountability). Friday was a great time of fellowship on the beach with the group. I had an opportunity to hang out with the girls for awhile and truly enjoyed getting to know them more. The Crosspoint Team consisted of six high schoolers whom Matt has chosen to work with him to completely redesign the highschool and middleschool ministries at Crosspoint. Throughout the week, we had opportunities to talk with them and hear their hearts on these ministries. This group is going to be such an asset to the church family! They have such a sweet desire to see their highschool ministry be used of God to set this group on fire for Him. They also spoke of mentoring the middle school to see them grow in Christ as well. I am so excited to see how they’ve grown and what great things come from this ministry when I return to Clemson.

The Crosspoint Team suited up for picking up trash
They really served well all week

The team on the beach for some fellowship time
Crosspoint Church was written in the sand :)

Heath and I with the team on their last night in HH

The last group scheduled to come while the interns were in HH ended up cancelling. As we didn’t have service groups, the days for the Bluffton interns were a little less structured but still fairly busy. We went into Bluffton on a couple of days to help Gray with some final details like research on the USCB campus. We took a tour of the campus to gather some information on campus life and ask some questions about getting involved with the students. Although I'll never admit to taking any enjoyment from being on enemy territory, I will say that the campus is very nice.
Gray and Brandy were so kind in inviting the interns for lunch on one of our last days of work. It was such a blessing getting to know them this summer. Hearing their hearts for the nations and observing their obedience to God has been a great encouragement to seek God and live to bring Him glory.

The interns, Heath, Tracey and Meredith with Gray and Brandy

Meredith and I discovered we were matching when we met in the parking lot to leave for lunch
I suppose after spending the summer together we've started thinking alike....

As the interns wrapped up our summer, SummerLINK also headed into our final week. The last few speakers were really helpful in reviewing the summer and giving practical advice on how to apply what we've learned. Celebration, Women's night and church services covered missional living, sharing the gospel, gender roles in ministry and living "glocally" (part of Crosspoint Bluffton's mission: global and local missional living) Women's night also had a panel of the pastors wives which was so uplifting and edifying! It was so encouraging to hear from the wives of the men who have surrendered their lives to build this young church and to lead their families as examples for a growing congregation. The women serving alongside their husbands at Crosspoint Bluffton are such examples of Biblical womanhood! They are practically living out what it means to come alongside as a suitable helper. I've learned so much over the summer especially from Brandy as I've had the blessings of opportunities to observe her and ask her questions. Titus 2 has truly come alive to me in the last few months as I've been surrounded by women I can look to and turn to as I learn how God will use me in my role as His daughter.
Overall, I’d count project among the most positively life changing experiences and blessings of my life. I spent the summer with an amazing group of brothers and sisters who consistently seek to glorify God with their whole lives. I’ve learned so much from interactions or just watching them exude their love for Christ with their attitudes and actions. I’m truly looking forward to being back in Clemson and serving alongside this group again.

Bittersweet

Just wanted to let everyone know I made it back safely last night. (I promise there are still several SummerLINK blogs on the way Getting them written and posted is a goal for the next few days as I settle in!) Admittedly, departure from SummerLINK was incredibly bittersweet. In some ways, more bitter than sweet. As nervous as I was at the beginning of the summer I never would have imagined it would be so hard to leave at the end. I have enjoyed seeing my family but I feel that I've also been separated from family. My SummerLINK and Crosspoint family are such blessings. I couldn't have imagined at the beginning of the summer how much I'd grow not only in my faith but in love for my brothers and sisters. We have laughed, cried, rejoiced, prayed, encouraged and challenged together. We truly lived life together and I pray the bonds created would only grow stronger. I'll be praying for the group that will return to the field after an intense summer of equipping and training *please be praying for them as well as they seek to take what we've learned back to be guiding lights and catalysts on the campus and in the community* I'm still processing exactly what this summer has meant. I think I've come to the partial conclusion that I most likely will not know the full extent of this impact possibly even for years to come.
Right now, I'm settling in to my parents house where I'll be staying while I raise support to be a GenerationLINK intern. I have been so encouraged during our de-orientation and banquet share time, getting a small glimpse of what God has planned for the group He hand-picked to make an impact on our church, campus and community. I'm so excited, humbled and blessed to be a part of it. I'm ready to get back and dive in but I know God has a purpose for the next few months while I raise support. I know He'll teach and stretch me even more. Whatever He has planned is whats best for me and what will bring Him the most glory. I'm slowly learning not to be afraid of what God may take away or require of me as it always leads to something better and more wonderful than what I could have chosen for myself. Please be praying for me in this time as I know I will be stretched and possibly get discouraged. I'm praying that I will keep this desire to forge ahead on the path God has laid before me. This summer has increased my passion for discipleship and serving in the church. The desires and abilities God gives are such blessings as I'll get to see Him use them for His kingdom and continue to be enthralled with my "front row seat" of his work and glory.

On The Brink

It’s hard to believe we only have nine days left on project! The summer has truly flown. God has been so good in all that He’s teaching and allowing me to see of His work here. I’m looking forward to posting a more detailed update in the next day or so but I wanted to post a few thoughts from the last few days.
I’m starting to get really homesick for Clemson. It’s hard to hear so many SummerLINKERs talk about going back knowing I’m not going with them. I don’t have a class schedule, no books to buy, none of the usual tasks and errands I would be busying myself with at this time of the year. I’ll admit I’ve been looking at some old pictures and such mentally reviewing some great memories wishing I could go back and relive them all again. This is where the need for trust and dependence on a holy, sovereign God is so evident. There’s a reason that that season of my life is done. There’s a reason I graduated a year or more before so many of the people I’ve grown so close to this summer. Despite my discomfort and fighting desires to cling to what I had until a couple months ago, God has a plan that will ultimately bring Him glory. That’s what I need to be striving for. Above feeling the loss of places, people and experiences that filled my life with such happiness and contentment over the last few years, I need to be striving for Gods glory, His renown.
Although I do miss the sunsets over Lake Hartwell, the peacefulness of walk on campus on a quiet morning or evening, and fellowship with brothers and sisters that I’ve grown to love so much, this next stage of my life is exciting. God’s opening doors and allowing me to see what He’s graciously given me a part in. Even though (as my roommate pointed out just today) I’m a sinner who constantly disappoints a loving, blameless father, He still allows me to be part of His plan. Over lunch today, one of the girls and I were discussing how we’ve seen God move and work in Clemson. Clemson presents an amazing opportunity to spread the gospel through the international community.
God’s moving in Clemson. He’s using the university and its surrounding churches as a sending ground. So many of the amazing spiritual leaders on campus and in the community were trained there and are either now training others or are going out into the nations.
It feels we’re on the brink of something large
Maybe like the breaking of a dawn
Or maybe like a match being lit
Or the sinking of a ship
Letting go gives a better grip
I'm finding everything I'll ever need
By giving up gaining everything
(Forever and Ever- D. Crowder)

My God is mighty! Praise Him He’s in control! As one SummerLINKer mentioned in her testimony recently, no one ever got to Christ by staying in the boat. It may get a little uncomfortable for awhile but I’d rather be uncomfortable in my temporary human skin than out of place in His kingdom.
I cant wait to see what Gods got in store. I pray that I’m obedient and willing to take the leaps of faith He requires to get to be involved in all He has planned for me. Thank you father for planning out and controlling my life! There are no greater or gentler hands than your nail pierced ones.

Walking in His Footprints

Today ends our first week without the staff. The student leadership has been doing a great job keeping things running smoothly. The hardest part is just missing the staff for the friends and wonderful brothers and sisters they've become to us. All things considered though we're doing well and looking forward to digging in here for the next 4 weeks. We all know it will fly by and it will be hard to leave such a great group.
On Sunday, we went to church with the Bluffton team at a community center. It was a great atmosphere of a group of 40 or so; praise and worship and a great message. Mike, a church planter in Beaufort who has been partnering with Crosspoint Bluffton, spoke to us on Leviticus 10. Aaron's sons were priests with the responsibility of gathering coals from the altar each morning so that incense could be burned to fill the Holy of Holies with a sweet aroma. One morning, they bypassed the altar and got the coals from another place. They were burned alive for offering unauthorized fire to the Lord. Although God does not burn us alive for mistakes today, this reference serves as a poignant reminder of what God expects of us. We cant get lazy when it comes to offerings to the Father. In this case, the particular illustration was for our time alone with Him. If we bypass the altar or cheat God with this, the consequences are not just for ourselves. Mike reminded us of our purpose here this summer: we're helping to plant a church, to spread the gospel, to reach this area for Christ. If we get lazy in our offering of time to the Lord, how can we expect that He will use us in these ways? The whole illustration really struck me and I'm sure many others. Its easy to get busy with good things and excuse cutting our quiet time short or out completely but this isn't an area to be negotiated. Time with the Father should be zealously guarded. The message has stuck with me and I'm trying to work on consciously setting aside the time needed to really meet with the Lord to know Him more and be prepared to do His work each day.
On Monday, the Bluffton interns began working with a new team from Spartanburg and Columbia. The team was amazing!! They were incredibly diligent and worked without complaint. Their leadership also clearly loves the Lord and exemplified to the teams what means to serve. It was so uplifting and encouraging to watch them serve as unto the Lord. It was a joy to spend a few days with them. I know I've learned a lot from them about serving with joy and sacrifice this week.
Heres a few pictures of my team this week :) We cleared some bushes from around the pond, raked pinecones, and helped build shelving for a greenhouse at an elementary school





On Wednesday, for reflection night, I took a walk on the beach with my camera. Appreciating God's creation through photography is one of my favorite forms of worship. I like to use the time to dwell on God's creation and His majesty. Its also an opportunity to get lost in communion with God. That night, the wind was blowing pretty intensely so I started out with it at my back. The song, "Blue Skies" by Point of Grace came to mind:

Like the wind at my back
And the sun on my face
You are life
You're grace
You are blue skies

I began to praise God for His goodness this week: an outstanding volunteer team, good quality time with Him, uplifting time with other SummerLINKers (particularly my sisters), good conversations with friends and mentors, God teaching me a lot about Biblical Womanhood as I serve here this summer and being filled with more of His joy as I do. So much to be thankful for! I was having a great time communing with Him. After awhile, I had to turn around as I didn't want to have too far to walk back with the sun setting. I started to head back towards the resort- my summer home. I had forgotten that I'd have to walk back against the wind. I got pretty tired. The wind was blowing so hard I couldn't hear anything around me. The sounds of the ocean, of people talking and enjoying the beach were no where near as clear as they had been before. Thats when the illustration hit me...I'd started out praising with the wind at my back, a beautiful view of God's creation, the soothing sound of the rolling waves...Its only right to want to praise in a situation like that. But what did I do when things weren't so idealic? I felt God gently reminding me that this was very similar to the Christian walk. Its easy to praise when all seems to be as it should be. But what happens when I'm against the wind, I cant hear much around me (other than God's steadfast, reassuring encouragement to persevere--I could still hear my own thoughts and prayers should I have chosen to reach out to Him), when I'm tired and feel alone is perhaps more important. The journey home is a long and often trying one. When things get difficult and I'm not sure how I'll get through, God's voice may be the only thing I can pick out of the white noise but I have to be diligent in seeking Him and listening for His voice.
I read a quote on the GirlTalk blog today that reminded me of my walk on Wednesday:
“God has not promised to give us the grace to face all of the desperate situations that we might imagine finding ourselves in. He has promised to sustain us only in the ones that he actually brings us into. He therefore doesn’t promise that we will be able to imagine how we could go through the fire for his sake, but he does promise that if he leads us through the fire, he will give us sufficient grace at that time. Like manna, grace is not something that can be stored up for later use: each day receives its own supply” (Iain Duguid, Daniel, p. 53).
As one of the girls pointed out in her testimony shortly before I began my walk: He's all I need, He's enough, His will is best.

John Class and Staff Departure

The past couple of weeks have been tremendously growing. I can see how God is stretching me and changing my perspectives on things to be more like His own. Last week, I spent mornings joining members of Crosspoint staff and interns in a Theology class on the Gospel of John taught by a Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary professor. John is full of Jesus' words and actions made even more vivid by the authors commentaries. We've been digging deep into the meaning of Jesus' teachings combined with the actions which exemplify His words. The class was overall very powerful both as a guide to in depth theological study of the Bible and for personal application of Jesus' teachings in the Gospel of John. The basic outline was that we discussed a number of doctrines found in John: Revelation (how God reveals Himself to us), God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, Sin, Salvation/Gospel, and Church/Mission. With each we practiced making theological observations from the passage, refining it with other passages and confessional statements (such as the Creeds, Abstract of Principles and the Baptist Faith and Message) then discussing Life and Doctrine (how the observation helps us be a better Christ-follower) The material was very much given in a "fire-hose" method but I truly enjoyed it. Studying the theology of Gods word is very growing in that it requires going deeper than just reading and understand the basic concept to examining more closely what Christ wanted to convey in His words and actions.
Here are a couple of pictures from the week:

All the John class students with our professor, Dr Shem: Current and upcoming Clemson and Bluffton interns, SummerLINK staff including director, Jeremy


The week was a rare occasion in which all of the Crosspoint interns (Clemson and Bluffton) were in one place. It was so uplifting to be there with them discussing the gospel and through that hearing their hearts for ministry. I've been blessed to be a part of a hand-picked team who is truly running after Christ. I cant wait to spend more time with these amazing brothers and sisters I've learned so much from them already.
God's been so good in pursuing my heart and showing me more of Himself as I seek Him. During the week of the seminary class, I found so much to apply personally. Between the class and SummerLINK content, last week was very personally growing.
The weekend after the seminary class was parents weekend. It was good to see my family. I enjoyed getting to share with them what project has been like and introducing them to the wonderful brothers and sisters I'm blessed to be here with this summer. SummerLINK hosted a cookout for our families on Saturday and the church service on Sunday included some special things including a slideshow to show our families what we've been doing.
On Saturday, the outreach event was at Bluffest, the first annual festival event at a nearby highschool. SummerLINKers helped venders set up, changed trashbags and other odd jobs to help the event run smoothly.

There were a lot of different booths and exhibits at Bluffest including a tank.

Several SummerLINKers enjoying the festival.

For the Bluffton Interns, this week has been one of planning. Monday was the culmination of a great deal of prayer and planning for Coach Spence to speak at a breakfast and a lunch event in Bluffton. The events went smoothly and I very much enjoyed the opportunity to hear this great man of God share some of the wisdom he's gained from years of walking with God.

Crosspoint Bluffton Interns with the Bluffton Connections Pastor (who we are working with this summer), Gray and Coach.

The rest of the week has been spent preparing for the next volunteer team which will be with us next week.
This week has been one of "lasts" for the staff as we have all cherished the last few days and events that we will have them with us. We took the SummerLINK group photo before Prayer and Praise on Sunday and team photos before Celebration on Monday. The photos turned out great and will be wonderful to look back on especially as the students prepare to take full ownership and leadership of SummerLINK.


SummerLINK 2008 Students, Staff, Directors and the church planters who have been our gracious hosts.

Staff girls

Staff guys

Celebration Team! This is one of the three original planning teams for SummerLINK.(a fourth has been added to solely focus on planning group meals but its members were originally a part of the celebration team) After the staff leaves, I will be taking over the responsibilities of the Assistant Team Leader for the team (who coincidentally happens to be my Bible Study Leader). This includes assisting the leader in conducting meetings and ensuring that the group stays on task as well as acting as treasurer for the groups budget. Admittedly I am slightly nervous about maintaining the standard that has been set. Celebration meetings are the only time in the week that SummerLINK has to share a meal, fellowship and get into the word as a group. Its an important time for our growth individually and as a group. I look forward though to this opportunity for growth. I'm excited about what God will teach me and our team through these new responsibilities.

Tuesday was our last Bible Study with our leader, Becca. We had a great night of fellowship celebrating one of the roommates' birthdays with an ice cream cake and fireworks over the water at Shelter Cove. I know the Bible Study I was placed in was handpicked by God to share life together this summer. These are amazing women who have blessed my life so much. Becca will be missed so much but we're all looking forward to how we will grow as we've been charged to continue and increase the depth of our study and walks with Christ in the absence of the staff. Becca shared with us that she related to Paul in I Thess 3:8-9. Although she's saddened to leave us, she has confidence that we'll stand firm in the faith and keep challenging and encouraging one another to grow in our faith. It is so uplifting to hear this sentiment from Becca and the other staff members. The next five weeks will be challenging but also exciting as the team bonds together and spurs one another on.

My Bible Study watching the sunset and fireworks

Tonight, as part of our last women's night, the girls gave our directors wife, Liz, a baby shower. The girls really enjoyed the opportunity to show Liz how much we love and appreciate her.


As I have said, the last couple of weeks have been packed but excitingly as we continue to see God's blessings on our team and our work here. We're excited to see what this next chapter will reveal about Gods plan for project and its members individually.

Checkin In

Just wanted to put up a post to let you know I haven't forgotten about my blog haha. I've actually started one more than once but haven't had the time to put everything in that I want to. I'll keep working on it and get an update up as soon as I can. Its definitely been a packed couple of weeks.
heres some of the highlights:
week-long John class with the year-round interns and the first week of volunteer teams with the summer interns
parents weekend
the staff leaves on Saturday so we've had a week of lasts including a banquet last night

Theres so much to say about the work we've seen God do here and plenty of pictures to go with it I'm looking forward to sharing these as soon as I can
Hope you're having a great week!