Campo de Verano

I am at Strong Rock Camp. This place screams my name deep into my heart when I am not here and from now until July I get to join in the shouts. What does that sound like, you ask? There are no words.

Stop for a minute and imagine a time and a place when you are in your element. When you feel loved and accepted even as you act ridiculous. I adore this place.

There are so many things that fill my heart to overflowing. I have not been so excited or bubbly or utterly ridiculous most likely since last summer.


One thing that screaming especially loud tonight are the stars. They are piercing beams of light. They stab through the dark velvety sky and amaze me.

"Star light,

Star bright.

You've just rocked my world tonight.

 Yell down from the heavens.

Sing the glory of my Lord."

Number two, a beautiful song.

Contrary to what my fellow staffers may think, it is not the Fruit of the Spirit song. It's God's song.

Tonight we sang a song with James. The bridge says: "You are my strong melody/ You are my dancing rhythm/ You are my perfect rhyme/ And I will sing your praise, forever."

In my dance class this semester I learned about modern dance. What I loved about this was at times this dance is very structured and at times you just dance with the rhythm inside you. If I think of this as life, I want God to be my "strong melody". Not a weak melody, but strong. Strong enough to create the world. To live on earth, to die for the entire human race. Strong enough to show me life, life to the fullest. I want to dance for God. I want my life to be a dance to the song that God wrote for my life. Someone told me the other day that a Christian scientist did a research and found out that if you take our DNA and turn it sideways and transpose it, it makes a song, a unique song. I haven't done research into this, but it makes sense with God. He loves us so much He not only provided a way for us to conquer death, He gave us a song, a rhythm to dance to. For our lives. For my life. I want to dance to God's song, not my own.

My goal this summer is to follow God. His song. My life. Our dance.

The Safety of Your Car

First off - check your oil. Running your oil out is good way to ensure danger for your engine.

Now that we got through what it sounds like this post is about, lets move on to my real meaning.

Yes. It's about walking, as many of my posts seem to be lately. Or maybe its just my thoughts. Maybe one day I'll compile them into one work. The Car-less Chronicles. Catchy right?

Tonight I took the bus to the bank and then caught the return bus. Since the bank was closed I used the ATM then got to stand at the bus stop for ten or so minutes. Always interesting. Especially during rush hour on one of the main streets leaving down town. People stare. I was reminded again of the judgmental way I used to look at bus riders from my car.

When I got on the bus I got to have a lovely conversation with what must have been the driver's daughter. She sat right behind the driver with no noticeable guardian figure. She struck up a conversation within ten seconds of my sitting next to her. Fun personality.

Then I got off half a mile early to run into the Bestway. It was there I was carded for the first time – for my grape juice, sparkling of course.

I love that stuff and keep waiting to get carded on it. Tonight that dream came true. Needless to say the little guy behind the register quickly became my best friend.

Now let me explain what I mean by "Safety of your Car". It is a reference the bubble like feeling we get when driving. There is always a hunk of metal between you and the world around you. You have no direct contact with anything outside the car. This can be a good thing (especially in the ghetto half of my city), but you can also miss out on a lot, like:

1) The people who walk too.

I passed little boys with basketballs. Twenty year olds with dread locks. Old couples exercising. My favorite of the day came from the bus stop by my apartment. There was a middle aged couple jogging, both plugged into their iPods. When they got the intersection, the man turns around to the woman and starts waving his hands around communicating commando style to decide which way to go.  They went straight.

2) The sensation of it.

Something about walking. Being near the earth. Having to watch for the uneven cracks in the sidewalk. Squinting in the sun. Embracing the breeze. The rush of passing cars. Ducking under dangling branches. Just feeling your feet move. Have you ever stopped to wonder at that? We do things like walking without giving them a thought. I am exceedingly blessed by my legs and feet, and so are you. Working lower limbs are one of the greatest things around you. They are what keep you in a semblance of independence. Being without a car my legs are 60-70% of my transportation. If I did not have the ability to walk I'd be in real trouble. Not only has this made me more thankful for my legs, but has made me more impressed by people who are without working ones.

3) The world around you.

I got to see part of the inside of the round house. Yes there is a circular house on my street. Its classy. The girl was either moving in or out. Either way I got the chance to see part of the inside and also walked away with a box and an awesome old wooden crate. I saw people in their yards as well as a less than intimidating, small, old dogs behind a fence labeled "Beware of Dog".

4) The smells.

If you have never walked down the street when honeysuckle is in bloom you are being deprived of one of the joys of life.

5) The opportunity to stand out.

There are very few people who stand out in their cars. The best you can do is make your car stand out. Walk down a busy street with a large red crate on your hip. Start dancing at a bus stop. You stand out a little. Not everyone wants to be the center of attention, but I think a part of us all wants to be noticed. Something you can't really do in a car.


Finally I need a share blooper photo. I did a image search to find the photos I used in this blog. I found many different pictures. Some were rather inappropriate because that's what everyone thinks of when you type in "girl walking" and "smelling flowers". A couple of them were down right hilarious.

I mean come on? There was a hilarious picture of this kid walking I was going to add but I missed the copyright.