What an adventure this summer has been. I can’t believe I haven’t typed up an update in so long.

Sonshine was an awful festival as far as the booth went. Hardly anyone came up to the booth, no one was really interested in what we were doing, and sales were the lowest they were all summer. But in spite of the horridness of the booth, the community time that week was some of the best we have had all summer. I had some friends from Kansas who were playing there, and it was really good to hang out with them… and just the community time with the team and the to write love guys was so good. This summer has made me realize even more than I already had how important community is.

Following Sonshine fest was a day at Julia’s house, and then a 28 hour drive to the west coast. It sounds awful, and it kindof was… but it really wasn’t too bad. I spent about half the trip in the to write love van and half in my own. Some good conversations, sharing of stories, and discussions happened. We stopped at the badlands in Montana right at sunset… so breathtaking. The beauty of crazy gorgeous creation while surrounded by beautiful people makes for some of the most memorable moments in life.

We spent a few hours in seattle after we got to Washington, and holy crap I love that city. I’ve wanted to visit the northwest for forever, and it was fantastic to be able to go there. I would’ve liked to visit Portland at well… but that’s another trip. I wish we had gotten to spend more time in the city, but the little time there was wonderful.

Creation West in enumclaw, WA was by far my favorite festival of the summer. The location of the fest was gorgeous, in the clean mountain air.. reminded me a lot of the mountains at home. We got fed well that week, I don’t think I ate any pb&j at all which was nice. The booth was pretty consistently busy, we had a lot of good conversations, gave out a ton of literature, and sales were good too (yay gas money!). despite some miscommunications and arguments within the team, hangout time was really good too.

I just really love the northwest. Someday, for some period of time, I will live there.

After that fest we made a twenty+ hour drive to my house. I was home for four days or so. It was good to see my family and sleep in my own bed. On Wednesday night we had a bbq and a ton of my good friends came over and it was lovely. The team & I went hiking and hung out a lot. We went up to YWAM Denver for one of their worship&intercession sessions, and that was really interesting. On the drive home after that we had a really good discussion about the charismatic side of the church.

Saturday of that week was heavenfest. It was hothothot, and I was running around the festival taking pictures all day, as a Heavenfest volunteer. I wasn’t at the booth, but things went really well, people were really interested in who we are and what we had to say. That night, mike sliced his hand open with a half of a pair of scissors… and got stiches… and then we were on the road again to lerryn’s house. The next day we had to say goodbye to lerryn… which I am still not happy about. Seriously she just needs to be back out with us right now because the team has a hole in it that no one else can fill and I just really miss her a whole awful lot.

We then drove to bk’s house, stayed there for  a day or so, picked up his daughter, and then headed to soulfest. We just finished up that festival last night. It’s so strange that it was the last full festival. I really don’t know how to feel about that.

We’re at mike’s house for today and tomorrow, then we’re in NYC on Tuesday through Thursday morning, then we drive to PA for purple door festival on Friday and Saturday… and then it’s back to ohio and then home. I really don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, it’ll be nice to be home, it’ll be nice to be working and to not have to worry about my bank account and miscommunication…. But I am really really going to miss being out on the road. And having no idea what direction I’m headed in after I get home doesn’t really help.

We’ll see where God takes things, I guess. Just gotta trust.

loves.

it’s so crazy that i’ll be home for good in a week and a half.

only two more festival days after tonight.

i have so many stories to tell.
so many pictures to share.

lovelovelove.

twenty-four hours + a few more.
all the way from albany, minnesota to seattle, washington.

so many hours in the van, but so much good music and so many great conversations. testimony sharing. talk about how important community is. future plans.

coffee, red bull, mcdonalds. driving completely through north dakota, montana, and idaho. dance or die reminiscing.

mountains that reminded me of home.
lakes that took my breath away.
sunsets & sunrises.

lovelovelove.

so excited for what this week will bring.
hello seattle.

God is so good.

because although someone enjoys reading the things my team and i have done, i am to weary to write them out. the enemy is writhing his way into me, and i am fighting him with every breath i can.

if you speak to Jesus, i would really appreciate your prayers for me and my team, that our spirits would be lifted. we need encouragement, badly. we need God to show up, badly. we need the people at this festival to be woken up, to have their eyes opened.

loves, i ache for this generation to wake up.

everyone is just looking for the next exciting thing, a new form of entertainment. don’t get me wrong, we all need a break from the horrors of the world every once in awhile. but when entertainment is all we seek, and the brokenness of the world doesn’t affect us… where does that leave us? will we always be so empty? will we continually be seeking something to fill the void inside of us, the new next thing?

i am breathing dust, and i don’t know how to clear it from my lungs. the sand behind my eyelids rubs me raw, and love trickles out of my heart.

but even amidst all the pain, we are a city not deserted. a community inhabited by the living God. we still woke up with breath in our lungs and a new day ahead.

there is always a new day ahead.

so even though the fruit of the labor is not being shown, fighting every day fpr hope and justice and being a voice will still happen. even though my heart is weary and my head longs for my sister’s shoulder, i’m still out here. i’m still going to yell for those who will never have a chance to yell. and i will still strive to love with all that i have in me.

so many words in my heart & in my head dying to spill out.

overall, cornerstone was filthy and way too hot (heat index of 110 two days of it), and largely the apathy was so thick you could cut it with a knife. but there were a few conversations that made all of it so ver worth it. there were a few moments that made all the heat and grossness okay.

i had a few conversations with two different guys this week who came up to the booth not really knowing what to do with the issue. they knew they were pro-life but had never done anything about it before, had never been outspoken about it before. one guy talked about how he just didn’t know if he had the words to talk about it with his friends, he didn’t want to offend them. the other was very much in the same boat. he saw the fetal models and was so shocked that those were the actual sizes and weights and that the babies were fully formed even at such a small size. with one of them, we talked about how legislature, although good and important, is not what’s going to stop abortion - how it’s all about education and the changing of hearts. i gave them both a few pieces of literature and hopefully some encouraging words, but their words were good for me, even if mine weren’t for them.

the most important conversation was one with a guy named calvin. he had invited me to his band’s show early in the week and i hadn’t been able to make it, so when he was walking by the booth later i stopped him to ask how it was and say sorry that i didn’t make it. we talked about a few trivial things, and i saw him fiddling with one of the fetal models and we started talking about the issue. his main reason for being prochoice was that he believed that believing in the sacredness of life was simply a moral and spiritual issue - apart from God & christianity life had no value. and i agree with that. but it was an issue for him, because he’s not at a place in his life where Christ is in it. he said at one point that although the idea of God loving him and giving him grace was a lovely idea, he couldn’t believe it for myself. bryan stepped in halfway through the conversation and said better words than i ever could, and i really think he got this guy thinking. i wrote his name down and i plan on praying for him often. that God would show up in a very real way in his life, and that he would see how much he is loved.

“they probably don’t love Jesus.”
words that will stick with me for quite a long time. seth from ch183 said that to me and my tourmates as we were saying some very judgmental words about our booth neighbors. so quick am i to judge someone, to call them creepy or weird or make fun of them or just to plain judge them. we can’t expect people to act Christlike if they don’t know Christ. we shouldn’t be judging them, but rather, showing them the love of Christ.

it’s so hard sometimes.

“i always thought that becoming close to Jesus would just happen as i got older. but as i’m getting older i realize it’s something i have to try to do”. david from children18:3 talked during one of their sets about this. and it’s exactly what i have felt so many times. that no matter what, even if i kept on living the way i was living, that closeness & intimacy with Christ would just come, would just happen. but a solid & intimate relationship just doesn’t happen if you don’t talk. it doesn’t happen if all you think is “i’ll try tomorrow”. it doesn’t happen if you just try to impress someone without actually building a relationship with them, you just end up making a fool of yourself. david suggested to start out, just take sixty seconds a few times a day, and just tell Jesus how much you love him. and i’ve started doing that. and i’m going to keep it up. and i hope that it turns into something a lot more than just telling Jesus i love him.

this week i saw some old friends. some from tour last year, some from bands, but all good and there were many hugs and high-fives given, and lots of waving as we walked by each other. i met some new people. like Josh and Emily, our booth neighbors, who are going to get married soon, and they have a ministry called Sowing Love.  friends from Enthos, LoveNailTree, YWAM (denver, montana, australia, sandiegobaja), and Fikisha. so excited to hang out with some of them more this summer at other festivals, bummed that i won’t see some of them at all.

so many more stories from this week, so much more to say. but i’m feeling congested and i have a sore throat and it’s past eleven and we have to leave early in the morning and i need sleep.

onwards.

cornerstone week is over.

it was wonderful & awful.

long blog coming tonight.