Once again we started on our road trip at 6:00 am. Good thing I am a morning person otherwise this would have been a struggle. The leaders instructed us that our theme for today on the road was GO GO GO! (In other words we were eating on the go). We stopped at Arby’s and got delicious food. I got my favorite chocolate turnover. Along the way we rolled down the windows to get a sneak peak of the warm weather and enjoy some fresh air, we noticed the temperature rise each time, and we became giddy when we got that blast of warm air brush against our cheeks! The STP group caravanned together to South Carolina so as we were driving we saw other STP people in the cars to our sides fist pumping and getting stoked for our upcoming summer. We waved and honked as they passed. As we got to the Myrtle beach area it didn’t take long until I could smell the salty and refreshing aroma the ocean brought us about ten miles out of Garden City. This gave me a burst of energy for the rest of the ride, we were NEAR!!!!! Yayyy! In those last ten miles of the drive I started imagining all the great things we would be doing this summer like long walks and talks on the beach, worship songs, creating new friendships, and most of all growing in my love and relationship with the Lord. As we pulled up to our Hotel we were greeted cheerfully with smiles and waves by the STP staff that had already been there for a few days. The gentlemen kindly carried our luggage to our rooms and we discovered who our future roommates were going to be. My roommates are Kari, Amanda (both of them are from University of Sioux Falls), Jesamine, and Laura (both from Bethel University). We walked behind the hotel where we had to register and we were greeted by the ocean. I had no idea our hotel would be that close to the ocean but thankfully it is. It seemed surreal that we would have an entire summer sharing the same desires to grow in our faith and love for God while enjoying the beauty he created. Wow it still seems like I am in a dream, I have the ocean in my backyard while being surrounded with a great group of loving people. We unpacked our belongings into our room, which is great. It is on the top floor on the outside of the hotel so we have a huge padio to the right of our room overlooking the view. We went down to the water to wade in the ocean. Kari got so excited she jumped into the water with her dress on. Haha nothing could keep her from enjoying the ocean she had been cooped up for too long I guess ;) . It made me laugh; I decided to wait to jump in the water until later on that night. We went to Wal-Mart for groceries and once that was all settled we got back and went for a swim. The ocean is so calm and peaceful at night. Hardly anyone was out there and it was just a time to be content and absorb all of the little things in that moment. The Atlantic Ocean feels like bath water. The waves aren’t very big and the water is very salty but other than that I cannot complain. There are TONS of delicate, intricate, and little shells scattered on the white sand. Each one is so beautiful. I have a feeling the upcoming photos in my blog will consist of lots of shells! I am starting a shell collection. Tonight we had a great talk about the theme we will be focusing on this summer. It comes from the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:6 “ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. C.S Lewis states, “ There is no substitute for a mind awake”. We quote C.S Lewis a lot here! Our goal is to have a mind that is WIDE awake which entails constant and total amazement. Being awake means being intentional and attentive. It is when we take horizontal admiration and direct it vertically. It is when we end with God. It is God here and God there, and “ God did this”. It is when we realize how insignificant we are compared to him and his immense holiness and greatness. God is happy (John 15:11, 17:13), humble (Matthew 11:28-30); he suffers (Hebrews 2:10 and John 11:35), and is merciful (Matthew 9:13 and Micah 7:18-19). Most importantly God is a giver-server (Mark 10:45 and Acts 17:25). Exodus 3:14 says, “ I AM WHO I AM”. God invokes awe, not simply admiration but mystery and fear. He is not tame or controllable. He is who he is and he is ultimate. The book we will be going through this summer is Colossians using the inductive method. The inductive method is a simple way of studying the bible, which consists of three steps … Observation, interpretation, and application. It is focused on two or three verses a day, which helps to dig deep into the scripture. Today was wonderful I didn’t want it to end but my body did, we were all a little sleep deprived from our long journey.
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