Galveston Island

This last weekend the Durant family took a two-day vacation to Galveston in southern Texas. The weather was beautifully warm--I love the heat, remember--and the water perfect. Of course, I had to get used to the nasty, salty taste of the sea which made me feel sick if I got much in my mouth. But that didn't prove to be much of a damper on the fun we had.

   Gina, Jon, Seth, and I walked way out into the ocean...it never really got very deep where we were at...and played Giants, and all sorts of fun stuff. We found baby jellyfish that were clear and not at all painful to touch. They looked and felt like snot and at first it was quite creepy to have them brush against you in the water. They didn't really swim, I don't think, but just floated around and lots got stuck on the beach. After awhile we got used to them and tried to see who could catch the biggest one.

    The second day at the beach we found lots of hermit crabs in the mud, of all sizes. Some were very tiny and several were quite as big as your thumb. We put them in the shallow and watched them come out of their shells and either bury themselves in the sand or begin scuttling back toward the sea. They were very curious! Seth even found a tiny crab on a length of muddy rope he pulled out of the mud.

   The height of our vacation was on the second day when we were out swimming. Gina, Jon, Seth, and I had all gone out deep up to our chests again. We played some more giant and just swam around in the waves. There weren't very many because it was a rather calm day and the sea was pretty flat. Suddenly I looked behind me, and then Gina and Jon did too. We saw a black dorsal fin about twenty feet out from us, swimming parallel to the shore. Without a word we all took off for shore with a great deal of splashing--the thought crossed my mind that the shark might hear us and come after the noise if it hadn't noticed us there already! We were deathly frightened--so much so that nobody said a word. After a moment I got my breath and shouted to Mom and Dad at the shore with the little boys, "Shark!" The others immediately echoed the cry. I looked behind us and saw the fin come up again, and another a few feet behind it. There were two!

       As I looked behind us, I thought--"better make sure we're all here"--and just then Seth popped up out of the water, just where we all used to be standing. He had been digging for hermit crabs and had just found a great big one. As he wiped the water out of his eyes I saw the dorsal fin appear again right behind him! Gina and I started shouting at him to swim back, there was a shark, and we weren't kidding! He looked a little alarmed and started wading back...but not fast enough for us! We shouted for him to hurry faster!

   Thankfully, the fins turned out to be dolphin fins, and Seth got back to the shallow quite safe. But after that, we didn't go out so far. We didn't even stay much longer on the beach. But we did have a good laugh at ourselves, and so did the few people swimming around us. (the beach was pretty deserted that day) The boys all said they wished it would have really been a shark so that we could say we had escaped after being really close to one. But me--I'm just glad the incident turned out as it did.

Family Project

The funniest thing happened two weeks ago Sunday...the four oldest Durant children decided to write a book! And not just any sort of book--a fantasy.
 Jon is writing the comedy, Seth the heroics, Gina the romance, and I am in charge of everything technical and historical. I also am learning Sindarin for our lovely elves to speak. This book will be called "The Book of Elements: Water, Stone, Fire, Air, and Earth."And it is a five part book that tells how three planets collided in space and merged into one, throwing an odd assortment of folk together. Of course, not all these folk get along and there are plenty of battles, rescues, and intrigue in our proposed plot. Also a bit of romance...can't do without that. There's also plenty of nerdy historical and linguistic content for my own benefit. The project may end up never being finished--but the boys, Gina, and I are having a lot of fun at it!

If your curious, I've attached a piece below. :D

Lindsey

“Arphen Badhor, this history I am copying, does it contain the account of the Nirnaeth?” he asked, timidly, for fear of disturbing the elf’s intent working over the great manuscript on the table. The elf looked up and gazed at the hobbit until he thought the old man had gone into a trance or a doze.

“I heard you were an inquisitive hobbit, Master Fileg,” he said at last, “but few ever wish to hear a retelling of that terrible time.”

         The hobbit felt chastised, but his curiousity was not to be abated so easily. He flipped to the back of the book when the elf’s eyes were not on him, and searched the last chapters for the account of that ancient upheaval. The history ended with a certain king he had never heard of, and he was once again itching to ask the elf a question.

“Arphen Badhor, may I interrupt you?” he whispered politely. The elf looked up at him again, sighed, and motioned for him to come to the doorway, which stood open to allow light and air. The hobbit shuffled to the elf’s side quickly and wondered if the old elder were going to tell him the story himself! Fileg was not a child anymore, but he was still a very young hobbit, and loved a good story, especially if it were in poetic form.  The oak tree Torthond, curved the doorway to make a perfect seat for the elderly elf, and the hobbit climbed up onto a short stool opposite.

“Curiosity is not a negative trait in one so young, Master Fileg, for there is still hope that you will be able to mix with it discretion. I have heard that you are not only a story-lover, but also what is better, a story-writer. And as all good story-writers know, the best way to become good at story-telling, is to hear a story told. So I will tell you the tale of the Nirnaeth, and as I am not inclined to tell it to you everyday, you must take heed to remember it.” Here the old elf paused to lick his lips and look toward a jug of water at the other end of the room. The hobbit jumped down from his perch and brought the mug. Then the elf took a noisy gulp such as old folk do when they are enjoying a cool, refreshing drink.

“Ah!” he said at last, “And now, the Dance of the Sun-King.”

“Oh!” exclaimed the hobbit, “But I thought—“

“Listen, small one.” And the elf cleared his throat once more before he began on the age-old tale. “Long ago, when the princes and princesses of Oyarsa still danced before the throne of the Sun-King, there lived a beautiful princess, who was both fair and good. Her name was Elgwilith—Star in the Sky—and she was the youngest of Oyarsa’s many children who danced before the King.”

         Arphen Badhor paused to sip his spring-water once more, and the

         Hobbit blinked twice and sighed, quite enthralled by the tale.

“Elgwilith’s dancing partner was a funny lad—tall and stately, but very shy. He was often quiet to the point of mystery and no one liked him much except the princess, simply because they knew nothing about him. Elgwilith loved him. He danced with her gently and skillfully, and there was a great kindness in his eyes. But these two who danced at the end of the Sun-King’s great hall did not go wholly unnoticed. There was one prince who admired the princess above his own partner and also envied the shy prince who danced with her. In fact he quite hated the poor prince and let his venom be known through many terrible flashes of outrage.”

“Oh my!” Fileg interjected.

He knew this was an allegory for the twelve planets that spun in orbit before the brilliant sun-star in the east, and the thought of a planet making “terrible flashes of outrage” quite took his breath away. He also was a bit confused, because he knew that the elves had written the folklore about the Nirnaeth and wondered why they referred to their own planet as a shy and mysterious prince, and the planet that lay to the south of them, the beautiful princess. Why should the elves’ own dear land not be the hero or heroine of their own story? But he set these thoughts aside as Arphen Badhor continued with his story.

“Finally, the prince’s demonstrations came to the attention of the Sun-king and his anger was aroused against the rebellious prince. He had him banished and flung him out of the dance. But the evil prince’s heart took this opportunity to bloom and it soon bore a bitter fruit. In his fall the wicked prince sped swiftly down upon on the shy prince, who did not notice. The princess Elgwilith saw his danger and stepped more quickly than the dance’s time allowed in an effort to flee the prince’s path of destruction. Alas! Her heart led her to folly and with an awesome clash, the three collided and the shy prince was crushed fatally between the enemy and his lover. The dance of the Sun-King was never broken, but the sorry trio spun silently with the shock of the collision into the vast, eternal throng of lookers-on. Such was the Nirnaeth.”

Fileg had fallen into a sorrowful trance and his gaze rested on the bare and withered foot of the elf, which peeked out from underneath the long grey robe he wore. The robe was gilded with faded letters of the Tengwar. Fileg could not read the ancient elf-script, but his eyes focused and his thoughts came one again to the present. He looked up to find the elf leaned forward on his cane, mug in hand, watching him.

“Why do you want to know so much about the old histories and things beyond your time, Master Fileg?”

“Oh…” Fileg smiled nervously, “I don’t know. I’ve always been interested in such things. Ever since I was a small child. Ever since I had a curious dream one midsummer’s night, in fact. “

“And what did you dream?” The elf asked in perfect seriousness.

         Fileg had never spoken of the details of his dream. He did not dream often and mostly forgot what those fitful dreams contained. But that one particular dream had worked in him a change that made him so curious and quiet—so un-hobbit-like, as his mother put it. Somehow, he felt like the elder elf should know. Perhaps he could help Fileg make some sense out of the dream.

“I was out in the field with my siblings, sleeping underneath the stars on a clear, midsummer’s night twenty years ago when I was still a very young dwarf. The night was warm and we all fell asleep quickly after our evening meal. I was lain out between my two older brothers, Brog and Caun, fast asleep when I began to dream. And in my dream it seemed that I woke and seeing the sun’s first sliver peeking round the dark moon, saw that it was almost daybreak. There was a thick mist along the ground, yet when I stood I found that I flew above the mist and could see through it as if it were a clear pool. It was still very dim and chilly about, and so I flew toward my house to go and get some breakfast. But just as I crested the hill near our camping place, a sunbeam lit the mist afire in front of me and I felt compelled to follow its path to the east. Of course, you know what lies to the east—the great cliff edge that drops to the lower world! In my dream I followed the sunbeam all the way to that very edge and looked down over. What I saw in my dream I have never seen in real life, because my eyesight is not as sharp as an eagle’s. But I remember that sight more vividly than any real memory. I saw the surface of the lower world! I saw cottages, roads, farms, cattle, and all sorts of people milling about. The light of the sun had reached their regions much sooner than it does our platuea and they were already busy about their work. I watched for a long time, noticing many odd and peculiar things about the way life is lived down there. And then suddenly I awoke again between my own two brothers, with the sunlight peeking around the moon’s edge just as it had in my dream. As you can imagine, I got up on my feet right away and ran as fast as they would carry me to the cliff’s edge. But all I saw is what I have always seen when I go and peer over into the depths—cloud tops and the hazy blue of hills far in the distance.”

“And you have wanted to see that sight again, have you not?” the elf asked him.

“Of course! It was so beautiful and intriguing. In fact, I have often wondered if it were possible to find a way down.”

“Ah!” the elf exclaimed, pulling himself off of his perch and hobbling across the room. “You are not the first to wonder that—but all the others have never returned from trying.” He sat before the great manuscript and turned to look at Fileg. “Its not worth considering.” 

Love Hurts

It is not for me to discern perfection from folly,
It is not for me to know times and seasons before they come,
It is not for me to bind chains or to send forth decrees,
Yet it is mine to love.
And if love can't teach perfection, give divination, or never-failingly anchor
its object to myself--
How painful is that love.

Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

Well, the summer's over now and it's back to work for Lulu. I've had the time of my life the past ten weeks and it seems like an age since I was home. I flew in about a week ago and have been recuperating and catching up on sleep.

On the way back I got stuck in Denver for 17 hours because our plane had mechanical problems that delayed us so that I missed my flight to Dallas and had to wait--with about a million other people all wanting to go to Dallas--for the next available flight. I followed the standby group around for awhile and talked with them. Had a good conversation with one guy--a southern baptist who believes in evolution?--about why the Bible is absolute truth and why that's an important part of the testimony that supports Jesus' claim to being the Son of God. I had quite a few conversations that night...

I talked with two Mormon kids; I encouraged a catholic young lady who expressed the desire to become a Methodist because they actually study the Bible as opposed to just going through the motions of tradition as she had experienced in the catholic church; I chatted with an Indie-Rock musician and a nurse who'd just come back from a trip to Haiti, while standing in line for an hour. All the while I kept thinking, "Well, Lord, that was a good conversation. Is that the last one? Can I go home now?" Honestly, I was tired of airports and just wanted to get out of there, but looking back with an eternal perspective, it was a very successful evening and I wouldn't trade my delayed flight for any other.

Once I got home I was inundated with discontent. Ugh. How I hate that! But it happens. Last night I told Mother: I need a job, I need a car, I need this house to be clean (it was a crash area), I need money to go back to school, I NEED A HUSBAND!!
      Then we both laughed at me. Because its not about what you have but where you are. And I'm in my house, with my family, doing quiet, at-home things while looking for a part-time job. That's where I'm at and that's where I'll be until the Lord moves me. I can (and probably will) make myself completely miserable with looking to everything that I WANT. Or I can stop looking around and just be satisfied where I am. So, if you think of it, friends, pray for contentment for me.

As far as plans go, I am going to try and keep very busy this fall. I will be helping to homeschool my little brothers, Judah and Israel...and maybe help keep Jon and Seth in line too. Hehehehe
I am accompanying my friend, Susie Fergus' elementary choirs on Mondays. That's something I love and I also really enjoy working with Miss Susie--so there's a very positive part of this fall.
I went out yesterday and talked to people at twelve different restaurants that are just down the street from my house. I got one interview and have to go back for more applications later this week. Hopefully I will get the job where I'm interviewing...a nice little mexican restaurant. Its within biking distance and I can work as a waitress for a couple extra hundred dollars a week. If that is what the Lord works out.
Then I am also working twice a week in the mornings with a family friend. Their daughter went through a traumatic experience a year ago and emotionally was very hurt. She needs some help and so I am teaching her piano and guitar and working with her on schoolwork, etc. We'll become friends and hopefully I can help her heal. I love this kind of work because its not just work--its very much of a ministry.

After working at camp for ten weeks I have realized my passion. I think God has put this in me and I just didn't really notice it before. I love doing ministry that involves music, teaching, and children or youth. Its what I've been doing all summer, and I've never done anything I enjoy more. All the times I've done ministry with any other age group or in another setting I haven't enjoyed it as much. And even now God has provided this job with our family friend so that I can continue developing skills as a counselor and teacher. He is so good and I can't wait to see where He's going to take this! I am not sure, but I think I would like to make a school in the Middle East or East Africa that functions like a school during the fall and spring, but is a summer camp in the summer! That would be awesome and I'd get to work with orphans and then other kids too. Because I think the school would be a boarding school and have a lot of orphans there. But who knows, it could end up being any kind of school/camp. We'll see what the Lord has in store.

For now, I must try to be content and learn what I can from these experiences here at home. After all, I'm going to be a Sophomore, then a Junior soon. And who knows how many times I have left to spend months and months with my family. Its hard to think of moving "home-base" to somewhere else. But when you grow up, that happens. So I'll try and enjoy these family times while I can.

Firsts

A lot has happened in the last 9 weeks! I've done lots of things for the very first time and so I thought I'd make a list :D

First time in...
Colorado
Montana
Wyoming
South Dakota
a town as small as Ekalaka :D

First time playing...
paintball
woodsball
lacrosse
ninja-wha

First time...
rappelling off of a cliff (it was 60 ft tall)
having lunch while river rafting
riding in the back of a dump truck
driving a bus...ok it was a mini bus :)
working as a camp counselor
working as a sound man (girl?)
seeing Sanctus Real, NeedToBreathe, and Jars of Clay live
camping out under the open sky...and getting rained on
making a fire with only paper, a car lighter, and bugspray ;)
fire-throwing
waging a prank war
liking a hot guy
seeing a real turkey
shooting clay pigeons
meeting a hissing beetle
mowing
weed eating
shooting a rifle
starting a vehicle without a key
jumping to a trampeze off a 29 ft. pole
eating an onion ring
cooking breakfast over an open fire
having a vehicle stall on me
tackling someone
standing underneath a waterfall
having a huge mud fight with ADULTS!!
leading a song in worship that I don't know
having a secret from my family that they're not going to find out about till I get home
wearing basketball shorts
not wearing my rings for more than a few days
rode a 500 ft. zipline
cracking over 300 eggs for one meal (no, I didn't eat them all)
seeing baby fawns in the wild
riding mountain bikes on a mountain
riding a unicycle


That's all I can think of for now...I'm sure there's much more I've forgotten!

Lessons in Intimidation

Camp has become ingrained--and I really am missing home, while feeling like this is family at the same time. I have finally gotten used to Montana's sudden storms that materialize out of a clear sky within minutes. I have gotten used to people teasing me and learned to not take everything so seriously. I've learned to fail and let it roll off my back. I've learned my own limits of energy and strength.

This week has been very interesting also because I am not counseling and other stuff's been going on. Last week I got pretty burned out and asked Pat if I could have this week off of counseling. I'm still doing music and leading worship, but I got sick on Tuesday and was extremely grateful that I didn't have a cabin and had enough time off each day to take long naps and get rested up.

Sunday I got myself into some trouble. Well, you could call it that, but it hasn't bit me back too much as of yet. So, to explain: there's this guy here at camp--the director's son--named Jordan, who is pretty famous for pranking. In previous years he has stolen girl's clothes and frozen them solid. He's put green dye in people's shampoo. He and his dad have dunked people in the kitchen sink, etc. This summer he got his girlfriend all wet and then covered her in flour. So, there's a lot of people here who won't mess with him.

So Sunday the staff went out to the Rolando's for dinner. All the previous staff hid their shoes inside the house, but us newbies left ours outside on the porch. Well, after dinner we discovered that Jordan--according to tradition--had pitched all our shoes off the porch into the yard. So I asked his dad where his shoes were at. Then I went, right before time to leave, and put two hand-fulls of ice in the toes of his shoes. He was so mad! Later I told him it was me--he hadn't even suspected me--and he said he was going to get me back. So all week we've been going back and forth with little pranks and his haven't really worked very well. I've got all my stuff hidden and I've got lots of spies on him. Hehehe.
Its been really fun and even though sometimes he comes up to me and is really intimidating, I've learned that there's not really much he can do to me and so I shouldn't be afraid.

I hate to turn this into a spiritual lesson, but you know me! I was thinking the other day about Jordan and I's prank war. And just like he can be intimidating because he's bigger, faster, and stronger than me...I know I don't have to be afraid because I'm evidently smarter than him! So in the same way I ought to think of the enemy. I've been afraid of demons for awhile and this has often tormented me very miserably, especially if I'm along at night. But I know that the enemy can't do anything to me. And so I don't have to be afraid of him. Not because I'm smarter than him, but because Jesus has overcome him and has given me that victory.

Please pray that I will get well and not have to fight this cold anymore. It makes leading worship and having energy to teach music a challenge. But God is doing His work in spite of my weakness! Also, I'm planning on going home this fall to work. Possibly at a day care teaching music, giving piano lessons to friend's children, etc. I've found out this summer that I love working with kids and want to do this for the rest of my life. God has put it on my heart to have a camp like Trail's End in a foreign country like Kenya or Uganda. So, that's a big interest for me--working with kids--and I hope to keep doing it this fall. Please pray that I get a good job and find the place God wants me to be till I go back to school next Spring.

Update for the Summer #1

Hello friends,

Its been ages since I posted anything. As you read before camp is awesome, the people here are amazing, and I am being challenged and stretched in many good ways. 

  This is my second week counseling. Last week I had eight middle school girls in my cabin. We studied the book of Ruth together and talked about relationships and the way God wants Christians to trust Him for their spouse. Most of the girls had not read Ruth before and found it very interesting. One girl asked me, "So why did you say this was a love story if Boaz only married Ruth for the land?"

I love it when my campers ask questions! (especially if I know the answer...hehe) Well, I explained the last two chapters and how they show that Boaz had been watching Ruth and admired her character and compassion for Naomi. We also talked about how he tricked his relative into deciding not to be the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth, since he really wanted to marry her! The girls really enjoyed the discussion. 

One of my girls that week was having a lot of trouble with understanding the gospel. She was the quiet type and had deep feelings about God and what she'd heard in church and at camp, but didn't know how to put those thoughts and feelings into words. It was very difficult to talk to her about Jesus' love and then let her walk away without accepting Him. I would say that she felt comfortable with me--I didn't push religion on her--but she didn't make any decisions. I am keeping her in prayer. 

This week I have a great cabin of seven high school aged girls. I've been helping counsel one of their sisters, in the cabin next door, who is struggling with a lot of serious issues. She is depressed, has very low self-esteem, etc. Its been a wonderful experience pouring out Christ's love on her and feeling like God is truly using me to reach out. But I am very weak and she has a lot of questions and feelings that don't have a quick answer--I can only help her so much. 

So I'm having to grow in strength and stamina both physically and spiritually. Whenever I get grumpy and feel like a failure and want to quit I remember that I have prayed for God to pour me out, break me, and humble me. He has been doing just that. 

I am having a lot of fun too though. Its not all work and no play. The games here are a blast, I get to paintball some, and the friends I am making are really awesome. I also am learning that liking a guy is not something bad...I guess I always thought before that I had to repress it inside me, try to kill it, and hope that maybe it would go away. But, I think God's been telling me: "Give yourself a break. You're human and thats the way I made you. So enjoy it! Don't do anything stupid, don't put any stock in it, but enjoy it."

   So thats what I've been doing. 

Something else thats been on my mind is how a relationship would work best for me. See, I've kind of figured out how not to do things. I generally learn the hard way, so thats no news to me. But now I've been pondering and praying about what the best way is...for me. I understand that people are individuals and what works for one doesn't always work for another. 

   I'm the kind of person that is so serious about relationships that if I think I like someone and they like me, I immediately start evaluating them as a potential spouse. Now, don't get all scared and run away, guys, because as creepy as that is, I've always known it was a fault and tried to not react that way. I tend to have a lot of internal battles when it comes to boys, if you haven't picked that up yet. 

Well, I was thinking, if there was a way for me to separate in my mind a not-serious relationship and a serious relationship....then I could possibly do better about getting to know someone without getting to deep in a relationship. So I'm actually thinking about dating and then courting if things get that serious. Its an interesting thought to someone like me who has been taught a courtship mindset. But I do believe courtship is still the right way to go. Its just not fool proof and I have proven myself to be a little foolish before. 

Anyways, that my self-relationship counseling for the week. Hopefully I'll get some other's feedback on that as well. For now, I've got the joy of the Lord and the peace that He brings for everything and anything that life will bring.