Awakening Teen Camp Music Academy- A Journey I will never forget.

You can only soak up so much in such a short amount of time, they say. All I can say at this point is that I really miss Kansas City. I miss spending 2 hours in the prayer room every morning. I miss singing and worshiping God pretty much the entire day except when we're in seminars, workshops or eating. I miss the way someone would start to sing a song, then someone else would add a beat, then someone else would add guitar and before you knew it you had your very own worship set going as you waited outside for the bus. I miss singing the word with my counselor group and getting lost in God's presence in the corner of the IHOPU cafe during small group time.

At the same time, I'm glad to be home. It's a very good, different, yet odd feeling being around 200 people that are very similar to you. I didn't know how to react at first, and the first two days were very rough for me. I remember thinking "Someone get me out of here! I want to go home now!" It's scary not really knowing anyone around you and not knowing what's happening or what the schedule is, especially when you're borderline introvert and not used to things being high-energy and haywire. But once you get the hang of it and stick around, faces become more familiar to you. Schedules become easier to follow. Prophetic worship and singing become like walking.

I know in my heart that the Lord put the right counselor and small group in my path, too. I even prayed for them before I got to ATC, and I know we were in eachother's paths by grace. The similarity of our pasts were almost scary, but in the end we were drawn closer. I love my small group so much... and I dearly miss them. :)

I remember first going into the small set room with my worship team and putting my headphones on, adjusting my monitor and just waiting on the lord. I opened my bible and sat it on my music stand, becoming more relaxed and jumping into the flow of worship with the other prophetic singers and musicians on the set. After a few moments of adjusting, it was as if we took off. We sang "Better is One Day" and "Taste and See" and other songs on the three one-hour sets we did that week, then entered into intercession and began singing in the spirit. Honestly, It was as if God took me and poured his heart and his desires into my mouth. I became his instrument of prophecy and worship. And I just sang his heart...

Within the past ten days, I've discovered that I know what I need to do now. I know I'm called to prophetic music, songwriting and singing. How, when, or where? I'm not sure what all the points are right now. But I know that as a lover of God, I have a bedroom with a door and an open bible ontop of my keyboard, and that's where I begin. Devotion is so important. And as the summer continues and comes to a close soon, it's my job (our job as Christians as well) to spend time in that simple devotion and continue with it. Waiting on the Lord and dining in his presence. What else can satisfy our hearts? Nothing.

And so I have new challenges for myself this year. It's time for me to step up in my walk and increase not only in devotion, but in truth and reality in the words that I say and the actions I make. I want what I say and do to be edifying to the people around me and to myself. I want to love people and love God, and I want to show people what love can be. This is my challenge for junior year... to do and say things that really matter.


I'll be posting more pictures on here from camp later. :)