February 2012
1 post
My Favorite Psalm
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the Living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all the day long
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
How I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house...
January 2012
4 posts
I'm Not Able
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the bodyand the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4...
Occupy Gratitude
Let me begin by making one thing absolutely clear: This is in no way, shape or form a political statement of any kind. Don’t try to argue politics with me on this one, because quite frankly, I don’t want to hear it. Rather, see this a call to perspective, to look at our seemingly dismal situations from a global standpoint. This is not a matter of partisanship; its a matter of the...
My New Semester Resolutions
I’ll be the first to admit that I have never been one to get excited about the New Year. In my mind, its a day like any other, and I’ve never been drawn to the idea of a “starting fresh”. A new semester, on the other hand, carries a different appeal to me. Maybe its the change of pace or the change in my schedule that makes it feel so different, but I cherish the potential...
November 2011
3 posts
Today I am thankful, not for anything God has done for me, but simply for who he is. I am grateful that his character is unchanging. Though my circumstances, my emotions, and my desires may shift, he remains constantly present, and constantly good.
I am thankful for the majesty of the God who exists in my “mountaintop” moments; when I simply must dance for the joy his love brings....
“The worthless bundle of rubbish you are clinging to for all your life is nothing compared to the matchless worth of Jesus Christ.”
Time to let go of my bundle. Much easier said than done…
BOOM.
Do you ever have those moments when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God exists?
I just had one of those moments. I literally don’t know what to do with myself.
He is much too good.
October 2011
1 post
A Summer in Review, the ADD Edition
I was asked to speak at Calvary Baptist on Sunday to share my testimony of my time at Fuge. I’ve been trying to figure out how to condense the most life-altering experience of my life into 7 minutes, and while reading through my journals, I came across a few key phrases that I wanted to include. I would like to present to you the ADD version of my summer.
“wreck lives”
“It’s not about what...
September 2011
4 posts
DAWG Days.
Alpha Phi Bible study seems to come with a challenge every week. Its never intentional, but in the time I spend alone with the Lord before we meet, he always lays something new on my heart to share with these incredible ladies.
Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about looking at our relationship with Christ as a marriage; A divine romance, if you will. One of the key components of any...
The Post I'm Afraid to Write.
If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Mark 9:34-35
These verses have been popping up left and right in the last few months. It was the key verse of day 3 at camp, as well as the theme of Alpha Phi’s Bible study this semester. The Lord has...
My apologies in advance…In case you didn’t notice, its 3 am. I’m tired, so this probably sounds like nothing but rambling. Bear with me…its been on my heart tonight.
I’ve had some interesting conversations since I’ve been home. I don’t know if they’ve appeared suddenly, or if the Lord has put them in my way all along and I simply wasn’t...
All I have in You is more than enough.
My mom, like most, is full of excellent advice. One of the many things she has taught me in the last 5 years is that one should never forget where they come from. Remembering your past brings humility, as it allows us to constantly remember that while we are so very weak, our God is anything but.
August seems to have exposed one weakness after another, and let me tell you its been quite a...
August 2011
1 post
Lift your chains, I hold the key
Before you read any further, here’s your warning: This is going to get a little personal. If you are easily freaked out by emotional train wrecks like me, read no further. This, of course, assumes that anyone aside from my mother actually reads this junk. Since I highly doubt that is the case, this warning is probably pointless.
If by some miracle you have been reading this consistently,...
I’m sending these updates from my iPhone, and it’s kind of a pain, so for the time being you’ll be getting the bare minimum. The Lord is already rocking my world, and I’ve hardly been here 24 hours. Though I’ve been here before, I’m seeing the town of Maywood and the Chicagoland area in an entirely new light. The Lord is breaking my heart for these people in an...
“If God claims to be alive, then you’ve got to start living.”
– Lecrae, my new obsession
July 2011
15 posts
The Cornerstone crew is preparing to ship out to Chicago this morning! I haven’t been in two years, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to get back and be involved in the work the Lord is doing there. If you think of us in the coming week, pray for energy for all of us. I for one am still dragging from camp. I am absolutely certian that I’m going to have to rely on his strength...
For Everything There is a Season.
The time to head back to reality has finally arrived. I have never been good at closure as denial is generally my coping method. But for the sake of being sentimental, I decided to have breakfast at Panera one last time. This is the first place I stopped when I arrived in Panama City Beach two month ago. I sat and cried, scared to death of what I had gotten myself into. As I sit in the same seat I...
kaitlinmcintosh:
Camp has officially come to a close and my heart, life, and passions have been wrecked by the gospel of Christ through and through this summer. FUGE PCB 2011 is a summer I will never forget. These next couple of days, weeks, and months will be full of reflections as I try to gather all that the Lord has revealed to me through this incredible journey.
I’m completely exhausted tonight, but I want to share this because I want to remember every single part of this day. This wasn’t at all what I had planned to share tonight, but this week of camp just keeps throwing more surprises my way.
This morning, I shared with my students how the Lord worked in my life last night. I was trying to encourage them to be real with each other, because...
Pray Big Prayers and You Get Big Answers
Today was an absolute turn around from yesterday, but as always, not in the way I expected. Hearts are so heavy at Fuge this week, and just walking around the basketball court after worship, I could almost feel it. I’ve talked to several student today that are dealing with things I never imagined I’d hear about here, from sexual abuse to suicide.
Tonight’s sermon was the...
The last thing I wanted to do was begin week 7 discouraged. I was so looking forward to watching the Lord rock my world every time I turned around, and I don’t want to say I’m disappointed with the way the day went, but it certainly wasn’t what I expected.
Bible study was a struggle…I practically had to threaten my kids to get them to discuss anything. Then, when I set up...
Go Big and then Go Home
Its the moment I’ve been dreading…Week 7 officially kicked off tonight.
I’ll never do another opening celebration this year. Never greet a new group of spitfires. Never play awkward name games and force my babies to do push up when they act like they’re too cool to cheer.
I’ve always been overly sentimental. I don’t like knowing a chapter of my life is closing...
It's not about what you do, It's about who owns...
I came into this summer hoping the Lord would give me some kind of direction for my life. I was excited for the opportunity to serve him, but even more, I was excited for the chance to refocus and figure out where I’m going from here. If you know me at all, you know I’m a total Type-A personality (Tatum tells me I’d be a type AAA if such a thing existed.) If it can be...
Each week, students are given registration cards when they arrive at camp. During the first night of bible study, they answer a series of questions to turn into their bible study leader, which allows us to get to know them and gauge where they are spiritually. One of the first questions asks “what does it mean to be a christian?” I get wide assortment of answers from my 7th & 8th...
Somewhere in the Middle, You'll Find Me
All too often, I allow my circumstances to dictate my happiness. My joy is found in people and in the chaos of productivity. In the times that are lonely and filled with mindless activity, I find myself in a darker place; a place that leaves me down and frustrated.
I know that’s the kind of place I’m going home to and I can honestly say I don’t want to leave.
I’m tired...
A Week of Answered Prayer
Each week at Fuge Camps, we begin with “P.P.” time. Usually at Panera, I sit down with the best Prayer Partner ever, Britnie, to reflect on the previous week of camp and pray over the week ahead. Before week 5, I sat with Britnie and prayed that the Lord would give me kids who were actually excited to be at camp. Up until this point, he seemed to bless me with a lot of sweet, but very...
My kids are awesome!!! Soooo much energy this week…i’ve never seen anything like it (in my group, anyway).
Wreck some lives, Lord!!
“Finally, be strong in the LORD and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on...
June 2011
15 posts
BEST. DAY. EVER.
I got awesome presents and encouragement from my secret santa. I got to share with two of my students and see both come to know the Lord.
I had the best bible study ever. My kids were awful on the Rec field. They were so bad that I made them do jumping jacks because they blatantly refused to show any kind of enthusiasm for the initiatives. I got pretty frustrated, and I think they began to...
“Take my life and let it be all for you and for you glory,
Take my life and let...”
I’m sitting in PIT, listening to excited campers trickle in. As they are filling out their registration cards, I find myself begging the Lord to give me an even better group than last week (when I’m not singing “My Old Kentucky Home” and quoting Dale Peterson, that is.)
I feel like I’m being a little selfish.
I never want to ask for a well behaved group at the...
My Father continues to shower me with blessings I simply don’t deserve.
This week was everything I needed. After spending week 2 with a group of 30 students who seemed more interested in terrorizing me than growing in their faith, I was beginning to wonder if I was really meant to be at camp. This week, however, Father handed me 32 kids that were ready to see their lives changed. Some...
My God is GREATER
This day has been overwhelming in the best way possible. Two students came to us this week from an atheist home, and before anyone really got to know these kids, our hearts were already breaking for them.
The oldest boy was a struggle. Described as an intellectual, he came to camp in hopes of winning senseless arguments in his apologetics class, but thanks to his extremely competent and...
For some reason, I seem to have the energy for a midweek update.
I have the most incredible group of students on the face of the planet. Its a night and day difference between this week and the last. These kids are so excited to be here, so excited to cheer on the Rec field, and so ready to soak up the message God has for them. They have been a breath of fresh air and exactly the motivation I...
If you are praying for God to give me patience, rest assured he’s heard you loud and clear.
This has been a trying week-hopefully, the most trying I will face during my time at Fuge. I came into the week feeling defeated before I had begun, and when the last camper climbed into his bus on Friday, I can’t say I felt much better. From a spiritual standpoint, it was a dark week. There...
Live Simply, So that others may Simply Live.: Week... →
kaitlinmcintosh:
Week two. Where to begin?
Ever since I got this job with FUGE and was offered the Support Staff position I was excited and felt like the Lord placed me there without a doubt. After all, behind the scenes stuff is totally me it’s where I feel I work best and am most comfortable. But not too long…
I’m way to tired too tell the whole story tonight, but its such a good one that I want to do it justice. Here’s the abridged version:
I was having a terrible, horrible, awful day. I spent most of my lunch crying on the phone to my mom while trying to make everyone else think I was ok. I was letting my worries consume me, and I was letting the rude remarks of the 7th grade boys in my...
“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper,...”
– Joel 2:25-26
I don’t really know what to say. My heart is heavy tonight. Our staff was read a list of over 30 students at camp this week who don’t have a relationship with Christ. We heard the story of a youth group who lost a student to suicide less than two weeks ago. We heard the story of a youth group who came without some of their students because their lives were taken in a car accident last...
I’m absolutely in love with this place.
I love the people, I love the beach, and most of all, I love the mission God has put before us. I’m crazy about waking up every single day with a purpose. Its not just any kind of purpose though; this one is eternal, and its the kind that leaves me unbelievably exhausted every night because I’ve spent the day pour myself into something...
The Campers are Coming!!
The wait is over!! In about 12 hours, the first round of campers will pull into Shalimar for what will hopefully be one of the most spirit-filled, life changing weeks they’ve ever had.
I’m awfully anxious about tomorrow. Though I’ve spent the last 10 days preparing under the leadership of some very capable people, I feel ridiculously unprepared. Maybe it’s Father’s...
May 2011
8 posts
I've Never Been More Homesick than Now...
Today has been a wonderful day. Despite the fact that we had to work on one of my favorite holidays (because it’s about America, naturally), we got to sleep in and had a nice dinner together at Carrabbas. I can’t tell you how great it felt to get a shower, put on something besides nike running shorts, and feel clean for a few hours.
Tonight was the assignment of prayer partners....
Bring Me to My Knees, Lord I Lay Me Down
I found myself on my face tonight. Don’t worry, I didn’t trip and fall…this was intentional. You see, I rarely pray on my knees. It wasn’t something I was brought up doing and it always felt too awkward for me. Tonight, however, it felt absolutely necessary.
I can think back to two distinct points in my life when I knelled to pray. The first was in a crisis situation when...
I'm Hiding
I’m hiding right now.
I’ve been in PCB for about 45 minutes, and though I could have checked in 15 min ago, I’m hiding out at Panera and writing about it to kill time. I don’t know why I’m so scared. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. I know God is going to do incredible things. I know I’m going to meet amazing people. But right now, I’m...
I'm a Big Girl (Almost...)
Time to tell the truth: I’ve been dreading this trip for at least a month.
Its not that I didn’t want to go to Fuge. While I’m going to miss my momma like crazy for the next 2 months, I’m unbelievably excited to see how God is going to use me to serve these students. And I won’t lie, a summer at the beach is pretty flippin sweet. What I’ve been dreading is the...
2 More Days!!
Holy moley, I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. 48 hours from now, I’ll be on the road to PCB. I’ve never been more nervous or more excited at the same time.
I know several people have asked about my summer address, so if you’re interested, you can send mail to:
Taylor Bumgardner
Centrifuge Staff
Shalimar Retreat
203 Shalimar St.
Panama City Beach, FL...
AOE
People can say what they want about Greek life. I took a lot of flack when I pledged last year. Many thought I was going to get myself into trouble, but I have to say my walk has never been stronger thanks to the love of these ladies.
Tonight they threw me a surprise going away party. I thought tate, liz, and I were just having a movie night, so when these three crazies crawled out of the...