This Summer and Fall

Hello, readers.

For the past two months I have been working as an intern at Community Baptist Church of Edwardsburg. Things have been going pretty well. I am learning to manage my time better. I still feel like I waste some days. Other days are very productive.

We are currently painting murals on the walls. We have almost all of the Creation days painted, I believe. Adam and Eve being sent out of the garden of Eden is getting close to done. The birth of Christ has some color painted on it, and the Death/Resurrection mural has only just been drawn sketched onto the wall (at least last time I saw it). My friends Maddie and Becka have been a great help. They have done most of the painting so far, which has allowed me to be manager/concept artist.

On the art topic (school-wise), there have been several developments.
I currently anticipate not going to college this fall, or in the near future for that matter. At least, full time enrollment is not something I anticipate. Due to a conviction about student loans and debt, which I’ll get back to hopefully later in this post, I have sent my letter of regrets to both of the Art Colleges I had been pursuing. I sent my deferral of enrollment to Kendall College of Art and Design and to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the meantime, however, CCS, the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, has contacted me. I applied there and have looked at the financial aid they've offered. The price is still too high. I need to see if there are businesses and people who would support me financially and cover some of the costs. If not, I don't think I'm going.

Plan B:
If God is willing, I will get a job somewhere in the area I'm currently living and earn up some money while working my way into the art world through making more of my own art, applying to art competitions, galleries, and art fairs.

Part of this process also involves volunteering time at art related events, going to art fairs to talk to artists and do research, and just plain making artwork and doing research. Ask my friend Dave if I enjoy doing research. He'll probably laugh. My parents and many others have been helpful in this process.

Recent happenings:
I have visited a few art fairs with my parents and talked to a few artists, which has been helpful.

My parents and I went and talked to a nice lady name Lilly, down in South Bend, who is moving out of the country and sold me a lot of her art supplies, including a very portable easel, lots of chalk pastels, oil pastels, and some acrylic and watercolor paints, as well as a box for my oil paints, which included a painters palette. I did not have an oil paint palette, so it’s a wonderful addition to my supplies. 

Since then I have been drawing pictures in my sketchpads, playing a little with the chalk pastels, and a little with the oil pastels too.

Interestingly: I pulled out my watercolor paint palette to get a brush, which was sitting with my paints. I was surprised to see my crimson paint looking a weird tan color. ... then I realized it was a fuzzy tan color. I'm pretty sure my watercolor paints have grown mold. ... I've never seen that before.

Alrighty.
Talk to you later.

-Stephen

Bair Lake, Church, College

Well, let's see. It is June 10th.

I have been just about as busy since leaving camp as I was when at camp. Though it seems I do not stay away for very long at a time. I'll get to that in a minute though.

I started my internship at Community Baptist Church on Monday, June 4th. And since I started, I have torn down and set up chairs and tables, I have started the design for a billboard for the church (based off of some designs I was given), and I have worked together with my friend Ashley to get our first college group small-group together. Our group met Saturday night at Riverfront park in Niles.

I have been continuing my efforts into The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) as well as for Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD) in Grand Rapids.

Tomorrow I have a phone interview to set up classes with someone from the admissions department at SAIC (Chicago). There is a tuition deposit that I currently have too little money to pay for, however, God has been showing his provision, and I am confident that he will provide as He deems best. I hope that they will extend the deadline or waive the fee.

That brings me back to my comment about being a camp a lot. I was a at camp for variety of things, but one of them was for being hired for a few days to work ACE (Adventure Challenge Education) for some guest groups. The camp offered to pay me to come work for 4 days, which would have covered that tuition deposit fee right there. I ended up only being available for 3 of those days, but it was a great reminder of how God can and will provide the needed money, and I do not need to worry.

I have been reading The Shack by William P. Young. It's a very interesting book, and I hope to write more about it after I finish reading it.


One last thing for this update:

June 1st was the deadline for a competition I entered for SAIC (Chicago). It was a Merit Scholarship based on the quality of my submitted portfolio. It had to be submitted electronically. I worked hard on it. I asked God for help with the process. My friend Stephanie helped me a lot by going over my recent work with me and giving great advice and encouragement. She also lent me some supplies for taking good photos of my artwork. In the end, I got all of it in by the deadline. And Yesterday, Saturday, I received the letter saying that I won the Scholarship!

Praise be to God!

And thank you, Stephanie!

Thank you all for your interest.

-Stephen

Love

Love:


... keeps no record of wrongs, rejoices in the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.


Is:
Patient
Kind

Does not:
Envy
Boast
Delight in evil

Is not:
Proud
Rude
Self-seeking
Easily Angered

Never:
Fails




Of the three lasting things, which are faith, hope, and love, the greatest of them is love.

Knowledge, wisdom, speaking in tongues of men and of angels, the ability to prophecy, having "a faith that can move mountains," giving everything away to the poor, and being willing to be a burned up in the flames.

All of that gains me nothing, leaves me as a nothing, and does nothing if I have and do all of that but do not have love.

Verses of Guidance

Philippians 4:7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

James 1:17-18 "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Psalm 139:1-6 "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in -- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Psalm 138:1-8 "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise. I will bow down towards your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. When I called you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. ... Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever -- do not abandon the work of your hands."

Proverbs 3:3-6 "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:11-12 "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves as a father the son he delights in."

James 1:2-8 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. that man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

James 4:1-2 "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God."

2 Peter 1:5-7 "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Psalm 23 "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

Life Update

Hello, world.


Here is an update on my life:

I'm in my 2nd year of the Outfitter program at Bair Lake Bible Camp.
We're currently studying the book of Proverbs in the Bible, guided by a study made by Navigators.
We're learning Life Skills from the Sandbergs.
We're hosting many groups, working in experiential education, Bair Lake's ACE program. (Adventure Challenge Education), working in housekeeping, and etc.

I'm also working at 5 Star on Wednesdays, an after-school program for middle school age kids. The program has a Biblical base to it. I'm warming up to it more and more.

I don't get to church as often as I used to, but I'm usually there on Sunday nights. Some Sunday mornings (kind of on an every other weekend basis) I'm able to be there.

My good friend Mindy Hamilton is now my girlfriend :) Official as of August 21st, though since we're not "facebook official," not a lot of people know about us dating. It's a long distance relationship, since I'm in Michigan and she's in greater Chicago area, but we get to see each other about every month, or a couple times a month. God seems to be blessing the relationship. :)

I have been given the opportunity to work with Marketing a little bit at the camp. I've taken pictures of ACE groups, found pictures on the MAC for Nanci to send to the graphic designer and organized some other photos on the Mac. It's fun for various reasons. I am interested in Graphic Design, photography and marketing. This is the job that Mindy used to do too. .. :)   So, it is fun to be able to work on this stuff on some Thursdays.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16

-Stephen

Short Note - Where I am.

My, it has been quite a summer and beginning of fall. I'm up in my apartment at camp thinking over the day and writing to different people. Some wonderful piano music is playing on the instramental station my brother made, and shared with me, on Pandora.

Mindy was here for Women's Retreat weekend, running the audio/video equipment and taking photos. The retreat seemed to run very smoothly. Nearly ten ladies still did the high ropes course Saturday, even though it was a little rainy up until we went up onto the course.

I joined in with the youth group from Community Baptist Church for a 'Destination Unknown' that was at the Kanaby's house. Then I came back to camp and Aaron G. and I had a guys' night, watched a video, ate ice cream mixed with all sorts of goodies, which he got for a really good deal at Meijer. It was a good time.

The new Outfitter(the discipleship/internship program I'm a part of here at Bair Lake Bible Camp) year has officially started and we are back to Bible studies, meetings, assignments, guest groups, and Retreat Season schedule. The new season has started off wonderfully. We are heading on a semi-mysterious trip this coming weekend, probably with the Reid family.

I am in a new phase in my life. I look forward to seeing what God does with it. I am feeling like God is bringing growth and fruit in my life.

-Stephen

Post Again

Still, having trouble with the "listening to the Spirit" stuff. .. :/  ... it drags me down badly when I feel like I'm wrestling through stuff with God's Spirit.

I recently basically got saved. ... I got up on April 21st, before heading to morning current events and ACE training, and I prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart. ... Long have I focused on God and on improving and growing.. and in sophomore year of Highschool I got saved or rededicated my life to God, at least I thought so. Still, it wasn't about Jesus and accepting His free gift, it was "God I want to live for you, I'm tired of living for me." .. So, he has indeed used me, and I have done much in His service it would seem, over the last 5 years. .. He has guided and provided for me as he does for His children.    However, my esteem, value, and focus/attention to Christ Jesus and his role, which only He could fill, have been so.. so small.

For some time now I have recognized doubts of my salvation and faith, and I realized that the value I placed on Jesus as well as my perception of Him were frighteningly low.

I don't know what all of this necessarily says about my life up to this point. I know this though: God is who He says He is. Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator of the saving covenant that brings me into a relationship with God. I believe and have received Jesus Christ and His Spirit, so I am His and He is mine, and I will live for him and someday live with him in Heaven.

Feel free to ask questions. .. I hope I will have adequate and honest answers for you.

-Stephen