A Time for Every Season

A couple of days ago, I was reading from one of my devotionals, "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances J. Roberts, and it was so impactful to me at this very point in my life, I wanted to share it with all of you. I touched my heart, as only He can with the perfect timing of its words, and may it also speak to you through whatever journey you are currently going through.

"Come Away, My Beloved

'Come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord.'
2 Corinthians 6:17

My beloved, you do not need to make your path, for I go before you. Yes, I will engineer circumstances on your behalf. I am your husband; I will protect you, care for you, and make full
provision for you.

I know your need, and I am concerned for you; for your peace, for your health, for your strength. I cannot use a tired body, and you need to take time to renew your energies, both spiritual and physical. I am the God of battle, but I am also the One who said, 'Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). I will teach you, as I taught Moses on the back side of the desert, and as I taught Paul in Arabia. In the same way, I will teach you, and it will be a constructive period, not in any sense wasted time. Like the summer course to the schoolteacher, it is vital to you in order to become fully qualified for your ministry.

There is no virtue in activity in and of itself-- nor in inactivity. I minister to you in solitude that you may minister Me to others as a spontaneous overflow of our communion. Never labor to serve, nor force opportunities. Set your heart to be at peace and to sit at My feet. Learn to be ready but not to be anxious. Learn to say "no" to human demands and to say "yes" to the call of the Spirit. These may sometimes be at variance. Do not be distressed by the misunderstanding of people. Let Me take care of them Myself. They too must learn this same important lesson, and you can help them by setting the example; but if you try to please them by answering every demand, you will both fall into the same snare.

I am a jealous God, and i am always at peace with Myself. I would have you also to be at peace with my Spirit within you. As you give Me My rightful place and do not allow others to intrude, you wil be at peace with Me. Be very serious in this. I am not speaking to you lightly. I was never more earnest in any message I have brought to you. Do not fail Me. I have brought you this message at various times in the past. It was never more urgent than now.

For people are experiencing a new awakening, and they are searching for My Truth more than ever. I must speak through My prophets; and if they are not set apart for Me, how can I instruct them? Yes, I will nourish you by the brook as I nourished Elijah; and I will speak to you out of the bush as I spoke to Moses and reveal My glory on the hillside as I did to the shepherds.

Come away, My beloved; be like the doe on the mountains; and we will go down together to the gardens."

A light in the dark...

"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light." ~Luke 8:16~

Yesterday marked my 3 week anniversary at Harriman. I have found that in the last three weeks I've slowly melded into the "family" here at camp. I'm pleased to say that, as I happliy told one of the counselors, that Harrimian Lodge staff have been in my dreams; a sure indication that I've fully integrated into the culture here.

As I've been here these past 3 weeks, getting to know people, the in's and out's of Harriman, and how I fit in, I was struck by the above verse during time with the Lord. I've never found myself in an environment before where my foundation of solid, Jesus-loving friends were not present and where I was left wondering if I was the only Christian. I've been blessed to get to know John, the director's wife, Christine as well as one of the admin staff who are also striving to live out what it means to be a light on a stand.

I have grown to LOVE the staff here...British invasion and all. :) And while I've spend 5-6 days a week working in the health center, I've been able to do some fun things as well, like spend some time with my dear friend Sarah Couch helping out at Camp Anne, the sister camp of Harriman Lodge. Sarah was one of my best friends while I was on the Africa Mercy in Togo, West Africa, and is the reason I came here to New York in the first place.

We took the opportunity, one afternoon during a day off together, to to something that tested my personal fears... climbing on a ropes course!

Sarah planned out afternoon out, not knowing I'm deathly afriad of heights, and as we drove in... I'll admit it.. my face grew white. However, I was determined to allow the activity to help me get over my fear of heights, and so my surprise and amazement.. it did just that! By the end, I was climbing, balancing, and zip lining throught the courses. Check out the pics. :)

Praying for God's heart to be revealed here at Harriman Lodge this summer.

~Anna~

Harriman Lodge

Hello! I just wanted to share a few more pictures of my surroundings at Harriman Lodge. :) Cheers!
~Anna~

Arrival in New York!

Greetings from the Catskill Mountains of central New York! I arrived in East Jewette at Harriman Lodge on Thursday, July 1, 2010. The past week at home in Bemidji was a mind-numbing whirlwind of goodbye’s and packing up of a wonderful season of life. My room in the Pinkhouse laid bare on Wednesday, as my roommates and family helped me pack up the very last of my things for storage over the summer. While it was nice to be able to say “goodbye ‘till September”, I knew it would be a more permanent goodbye to Bemidji; at least for the next season of life.

So, to honor those who have meant so much to me over the years; here’s to you:
To my wonderful parents who have supported me and loved me more than I can say or deserve (which includes storing my roomful of boxes in their basement ) , to my brother, sister, nieces, and brother-in-law who is by the way my hero in this process of packing being my “man” to help haul all of my furniture and boxes in his pick up, I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU. To my roomies, Natalie, Miriam, and Ashley, thanks for so many wonderful years and memories at the Pinkhouse… I will truly treasure each one as long as I live. To all of my dear Bemidji friends, my amazing church family, and any and everyone to whom I never had the chance to say goodbye; I love you and am so thankful to the Lord for his goodness is giving me you.

In this new journey at Harriman Lodge (a camp for mentally/developmentally delayed adults) in central New York state, I am working as a camp nurse caring for the 75 “guests” we have here each week along with 6 or so other nurses. I found out about Harriman Lodge through my friend, Sarah Couch, who I met on Mercy Ships this past spring. The application process and how I ended up leaving Bemidji July 1 is a testimony to the grace of God! Oh my gosh! It was CRAZY! Looking back, it has only been 5 weeks since I came back from Togo, West Africa, and I am yet off again! So hard to believe. But I have been settling in here nicely.  The staff here are GREAT, a lot of fun and so great working with all of our guests. The camp is situated in the middle of the Catskill Mountains, and the view here is unbelievable. What a place to live at and work at every day! I already have some favorite to be along the lake.

My nursing work is, as I described to Sarah, Nursing Home meets Camp. She couldn’t agree more! It’s a lot of medication administration, first aid treatments, and minor crisis management. The campers or guests, as they are called here, are amazing! My favorite time of day is evenings when they have a dance party! I can’t tell you when I’ve had so much fun dancing or watching people dance as I have here! Wow. Their joy, innocence, and simplicity humble me, and even after 3 days, I have come to love them and learn from so many of them. I will be working about 6 days a week here, alternating day and evening shifts. Woo-hoo for working full time!  The staff here is about 75% British which will make my British inflection with my American English even worse by the end of the summer! Most all of the cabin counselors come from other countries, while the nurses are American.

Ways to pray: the one thing that I have found difficult jumping into this new situation has been not having a close spiritual connection with anyone here. I know the Lord wants me here and has some intentional purposes for me here among the staff and campers, but not having a close, seeking-Jesus friend here has been difficult. I don’t think I’ve ever been in this environment before, and so I want to be faithful to the Lord first and foremost and serve and obey Him with what He wants here. So, prayer for strength to have courage in Him and continue to seek him with passion. And for more of a heart to listen and obey. May we all grow to desire more of him.