Laurel Falls

One of my family's favorite easy hikes is Laurel Falls. It is a paved trail that is only 1.3 miles, leading to a beautiful waterfall. For people, especially families, looking for a trail with a nice view that is not too strenuous, Laurel Falls is an excellent option. We used to do it with baby strollers, but now there is a sign at the trailhead advising against that. There are a couple of spots with really steep dropoffs where very young kids would need to be watched, and while there is a path at the destination of the waterfall, some choose to climb around which may get dangerous. All in all however, the trail is very easy, without a steep incline or long distance (plus it's paved!!!) and the views of the mountains along the way, combined with the waterfall at the end, make it a great starter trail, especially for families. Check back the rest of this week for more trails to check out, especially if you are up for a more challenging hike! Even if you're an adventurer who is all for strenuous hikes, Laurel Falls is still worth it...just to see that view.

Mountain view along the trail

The waterfall destination!!!

It rained (and when I say rained, I mean flat out DOWNPOURED) the WHOLE way back from the falls...it was an adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. But, if there is a chance of rain, you might think about bringing a poncho or umbrella.

Up on a Mountaintop in Tennessee

This past week I was on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN with my extended family.  It was an absolute blast!  We go there often because one of my grandparents is a co-owner of a chalet, but this was the first time we had gone for a full week in the summer.  This week, I want to recap what we did/give tips for what to do in Gatlinburg.  I actually have maybe been shopping, like, twice...because I spend most of my time in the national park, hiking and such, with a couple of trips into Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge for other activities.  Here are the activities I will cover this week:

1. Laurel Falls Trail
2. Chimney Tops Trail
3. Go Karts and Coasters
4. Alum Cave Trail

I have many personal photos that I will share covering these activities, most of which are trails, as I said before.  Here's my challenge to you...next time you travel to Gatlinburg, don't go shopping.  I know, I'm a crazy person, but if these teaser pictures that I took throughout my week don't convince you...I don't know what will.  Happy traveling, and I will update you on these topics throughout the week!

Beautiful views (feat. my acoUstiKats shirt...if you don't know them...look them up, they are my fav a cappella group!!!)

A picture of Mt. LeConte is truly worth 1,000 words

Bonus picture of a baby bear we saw off of our chalet deck

Bonus picture #2 of the baby bear's momma

Loving Charleston

All that seems to be on the news lately are stories about destruction of communities and the lives of people within them, with the most recent being the story of the shooting that took the lives of nine church-goers in Charleston, South Carolina.  The world we live in is one full of evil.  However, I struggle with many of the responses to these tragedies.  While the crimes committed are absolutely full of hate, many of the responses are full of the same.  I feel that all I see in response is people pointing fingers at one another, debating where the crimes originated from, who did what to whom, what the overall trends are around the country, how we are spiraling into a world of destruction, and so on and so on.  While I 100% believe that these issues should be addressed to make progress as a society, I question whether in the immediate days following such tragedy should be so full of this.  All of the debate leads to absolute chaos, primarily on the internet, full of people then pointing fingers at not only those involved in the crime, but also "friends" and "followers" with differing opinions.

While the rest of the country appears to be dividing in political opinions and hate, Charleston appears to be uniting in loss, but more importantly...in love.  The words of forgiveness and hope spoken from the families of the victims reflect the God we serve.  In a time when they could choose to show hatred and anger, they are extending forgiveness and love, because they recognize that hate will not win.  Ever.  To me, this demonstrates what I fail to see in many Christians...peace.  We often talk about how God holds the future and because of this we should have absolute peace.  Why don't we then live like that?  I hear so often Christians say this and turn around and freak out over how the world is headed into such destruction and corruption and how horrific it is and so on and so on.  God has it.  Yes, this world is so very full of evil...so full.  But instead of worrying about the world that God holds in His hands, why don't we focus on extending love and forgiveness to that world.  The world is so messed up because there is a lack of love--God's love.  Yet I have hope, because there are people like those in Charleston that are living a life of love, knowing that God holds yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  His plans are greater than anything we can dream.  So instead of debating and becoming hateful over opinions about Charleston, or any other crime that raises it's head, let us do what those in Charleston are doing--let us love.  Let us pray.  Let us do what Marcus Stanley did in his comment on Dylann Roof's Facebook--let us share the forgiveness and hope of Jesus...with everyone.  Let us love like that--loving everyone, no matter who they are, what they look like, what they have done, or where they have been.  For, as Charleston is showing us, love--God's love--will always triumph.  Always.

VBS Part 5: CELEBRATION!

The first part of this is simple and done throughout the entire week--celebrate.  Celebrate when a child says yes to Jesus, first and foremost!  Celebrate during worship what Jesus has done for us!  Celebrate Bible stories!  Celebrate the giving in offering time! Celebrate being at VBS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Having an optimistic, celebrating attitude lifts everyone's spirits throughout the entire week.  However, my current church sets aside the afternoon and evening after the final day of VBS to really celebrate.  I personally love these ideas and think that they would be beneficial for anyone.  They first have an "I Said Yes to Jesus Party" where all the kids who made decisions for Jesus get to come and eat cupcakes.  Every kid who made a decision gets an invitation, and all are followed up with, regardless of if they attend the party.  It is a fun way to celebrate what is hands down the best decision they will ever make!  After this they have a carnival with inflatables and food and games.  It is a lot of fun and is a great way to reach not only the kids who were at VBS, but also their families.  This is a great way to serve the community while creating one.

Overall, CELEBRATE. God is good.  If seeing a bunch of kids praising Jesus and unabashedly following Him during the week doesn't get you excited, something is wrong.  It makes me feel so full of hope and joy, knowing that this is the generation that is going to lead the way in loving Jesus.

And this concludes my VBS series on my blog.  I realize these posts were kind of broad, but I wanted to highlight some specific examples of large, overarching themes.  Up next...who knows??? You'll have to come back to see.  There are several things I am considering blogging about that are going on in my life...

...but right now I'm going to CELEBRATE writing these VBS posts!!!!!!!!

VBS Part 4: Theme

Today's post is short and sweet: utilize the theme of the week to create one big experience, connecting all of the smaller portions of the week...aka the past 3 posts.

1. Music- Not only use the songs provided, but use music connected to the theme as kids come and go during check-in and check-out.  For example, we used spy music, such as Pink Panther songs, during Agency D3 week.  Use this throughout the whole week to backup any activity that may need a soundtrack.
2. Storytelling- As mentioned before, use the characters.  However, go a step further and give the characters fun, themed costumes.  Connect the Bible stories to the theme too!  Bring the theme back to the Bible days!
3. Games- Make the games related to the week, even if that means altering a version of tag or hide and go seek to become a "spy mission."  Games can even extend to walking in the halls.  For example, during Agency D3, I had my class sneak around the building like spies when we were changing activities.  During Journey Off the Map, we climbed/marched/sneaked through the jungle, using each staircase as a tree or mountain to climb.

As you can see, the littlest things can be used to enhance the theme and overall experience for the young people, making it more fun and a great big adventure.

(P.S. Many curriculum also provide room decor, or you can create your own...my church always has some super crazy fun room decorations that kids LOVE!!!)

VBS Part 3: Games

Games bring a lighthearted sense of fun to VBS.  Sometimes they relate to the theme and/or Bible stories, but sometimes they do not.  Here are some game ideas for your week of VBS:
1. Have a rec time outside, if weather is nice and you have the space.  At my current church we had a rec time out in front of the church, led by some of the guys from the youth group.  They played normal outdoor games, such as sharks and minnows, relay races, and variations of tag.  This was a good opportunity for the kids to get their energy out, as they spent a lot of time in more structured activities.
2. Play getting to know you games with the small group.  Within the grade level classes, playing "get-to-know-you" games is a good way to break the ice.  I use a lot of theatre games, and one of the kids' favorites is a game called Zip, Zap, Boing which a quick google search will give you instructions for.  One good game to learn names is for each person to pass a soccer ball to another person in the circle and say their name. The person receiving it must say, "Thank you____" to the person who passed to them.  Then they pass to a new person until everyone in the circle has had it.  Then you repeat this, in the same order, trying to get a lower time.  This game breaks the ice, requires focus, and helps both teachers and students learn names.
3. Use games provided  by the curriculum.  This is self-explanatory.  If the curriculum provides games...use them!  I've said it before; the curriculum is there to help.
4. Have activities for the drop-off and pick-up parts of the day.  For example, we had a small bowling set, as well as craft supplies like pipe cleaners, beads, and markers and paper, and a few board games.  These kind of things provide structured activities that help things not get too crazy during these times.

All in all, use games to let kids get their energy out while providing them with fun ways to bond with their classmates!

VBS Part 2: Storytelling

One of my favorite memories from VBS is the characters that came to talk to us in the larger, group worship time.  For example, during "Avalanche Ranch" at my old church, there were two characters, Wild Bill and Rowdy Ray, that came and talked to us every day.  These characters were played by our youth pastor and another lady.  They were fully committed and were absolutely hysterical.  All of us attending fell in love with them!  At my current church where I volunteer, they had two characters played by people in the youth last year, and this year with "Journey Off the Map" they used puppets to be "Chloe" and "Veronica" who were our tour guides.  I believe that the scenes for these characters may come with the curriculum for VBS, so utilize them to their full potential in whatever manner works best for your church.  As seen in the variation between the puppets and humans, there are many ways to go about using these.

These stories aren't necessarily Bible stories, but Bible stories are obviously the more crucial ones, and they too can be fun.  For example, when our pastor at my current church came in, they did a video intro and then he came in as Indiana Jones, some days with a giant rock rolling behind it and a villain (played by another pastor) behind him.  Having him come in as this crazy character got the attention of the kids, who went absolutely crazy with excitement but were then were drawn into the Gospel that was then shared.  Likewise, the lessons within the smaller classes can be made more engaging with interactive games and questions and props.  

I tried to find a video from my old church or my current church, but was not able to.  If I find one later, I will link it in a future post!  However, the overall important thing about storytelling with VBS is to make the stories age-appropriate and fun, connecting the fun and characters back to theme for the week!  This not only will make the week more entertaining for the young people, but it will also draw them into what's most important--the message of salvation being shared!

VBS Part 1: Music

This week I will be sharing each day about an aspect of Vacation Bible School that I find particularly important.  When I was in elementary school, I attended Vacation Bible School (VBS) every year and it was one of the best weeks of my summer, hands down.  Since the elementary days, I have changed churches, but my current church has a VBS that brings in between 500-600 kids on average and I help out with it.  Since I have seen how VBS functions from both a student and volunteer viewpoint and from several different churches (as I have seen/been a part of VBS programs at other churches), I have gathered a few things about VBS, so I thought I'd share them with you, one a day for several days.  I figured this was appropriate, as last week was my church's VBS week.  We did LifeWay's "Journey Off the Map" and I had a ton of fun working with a third grade class!

Music.  To me, this is one of the most essential parts of VBS.  The wonderful thing about music for VBS is that it comes with the curriculum, so I say use it to its full potential!!!  This music has been used differently at each church I have been to, but I think one of the best ways to use it is to show the provided motions videos alongside people doing the motions onstage and use this as your big, group worship time.  This format made music my favorite part of VBS when I attended because the songs were fun, we learned the words and the motions quickly (which is helpful if there were to be a "concert" for parents at the end of the week...I will discuss this later), and we got to praise Jesus while doing so!  This is an example of the video they played for the last VBS session I attended in elementary school, Avalanche Ranch by Group Publishing:

Obviously this is an older video, from like 2007, but you get the point: there are words and young people doing the motions and singing.  Couple this with people onstage doing the motions and you are set!

One final thing I will put in here is a song from a newer VBS session, Agency D3 which was LifeWay's 2014 VBS curriculum.  I volunteered with this at my church last year.  This was my favorite song:

The songs are always super fun and age appropriate for kids.  They have most definitely been my favorite part of VBS, both when I attended it as a kid and now as I volunteer it.  Just google some songs...they are EXCELLENT stuff!

*WARNING: VBS songs are 100% guaranteed to be permanently stuck in your head.  They are just that catchy.

Lightening The Load

Sometimes life is just downright hard.

I was planning to post throughout this past week about rehearsals for a show I am in and Vacation Bible School at my church, and I will probably reflect on those later, but something more important came up.  One of my friends ended up having a death in the family.  I don't feel that elaborating on details will do any good, but let's just say that the situation took a toll on our whole friend group as we were mourning for her and with her.  It led me to think about just how much of a difference people can make.  Here's what I know: Nothing, absolutely nothing, that anyone can say or do will change or make the situation better.  However, here is what I also know:  You have to be there for people anyway, as day by day they get better.

Let's say you are carrying a large plank of wood.  It is much to large for you to carry on your own, too heavy for you to lift.  All it takes is a few people to come and lift it for it to not be so difficult.  The plank is still too large to carry; the load is not any lesser.  But there is help.  Lightening the load literally takes:
1.  Prayer.  Above anything, pray for people because God can do infinitely more to help people than we ever could.  Nothing we can do will truly help the situation, but He most certainly can.
2. Love.  Tell them that you love them, but also show them.  People love in different ways.  You know what works.  Maybe it's going to fun events with them.  Maybe it's supporting them in what they do.  Maybe it is going out to eat.  Maybe it is simply having a conversation.  Whatever it is, it is important to show them that you care, simply by being there.

This week has been hard, and I know that the coming weeks will be too, but we are trying to lighten the load for our sweet friend.  While we love on earth, we know that our prayers are being heard and that things are happening up in heaven.  God is working through this pain.

Romans 8:18 "The pain that you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming."

There is always hope.

Stories and Songs

Hi, all!  I don't know if it was senior year that got me all sentimental or if it is just my naturally reflective self, but I have spent a lot of time in the last few months thinking...about everything.  I have always loved writing, so I have decided to start this blog, entitled "Your Story, Your Song," for that is what my life (and yours too!) is made of.  At the end of each day, no matter how good or bad, you and I have a unique story to tell the world, a unique song to sing.  And that is a very beautiful thing.

This blog will reflect on many things.  I will be headed off to college in the fall, so college life will probably be a big topic, as will the arts, as my intended major is Arts Administration.  I will discuss music, theatre, friends, faith, and more as I journey through this next stage of life.  Because this next stage is a new chapter in my story and a new verse in my song.  Perhaps by sharing my own voice, I can inspire others to share theirs.  Because YOU have a story..a story worth telling.  YOU have a song...a song worth singing.  

Welcome to this story, this song.