Encouragement for staffers as the end of summer approaches.

This is a letter that I wrote to the Horn Creek Staff as I felt led to do so after the Lord kept reinforcing this spiritual analogy to me through my time in the office and interactions with hummingbirds:

As the summer wears on and will be quickly coming to a close, I just want to encourage you to keep your minds and hearts fixed on the things above as you press on to finish out this summer strongly. I have some food for thought that I’d like to share with you all that I really feel that the Lord has given me and has continually placed on my heart in the past few days to really drive home a lesson about the great news of the grace of our Lord Jesus that is displayed through the gospel.
Over the course of the past few days, there have been several different occasions that hummingbirds have flown into the office and have not been able to get out on their own accord. It saddens my heart to see these birds struggle for their freedom and for the insight into finding the path in which they are able to fly in order to receive that freedom. Watching the hummingbirds fly in and try to draw food and nourishment from the wood walls as well as getting caught up in continually hovering in the same places next to the windows, trapped on the inside of the glass, trying to escape, but not knowing the way out is a bit heart wrenching as well as it is frustrating. It’s so easy to look at this situation and think, “you are such a stupid bird, why don’t you just go through the door and then you’ll be outside and can fly, freely in the beauty of the Lord’s creation as well as being able to drink from the food that will nourish you because that’s where you were designed to be in order to thrive- outside!” But the only way that I could help them was to let them tire out and gently catch them to place them outside where they will not only survive, but thrive. If they were left inside for an extended period of time, they would surely die.
So often, this same principle is present in our lives. Imagine how the Lord feels when he sees us struggling, tiring, and flapping around trying to find a way of escape from this bondage that we so often find ourselves in through the sin in our lives. Yet He knows that there can be abundant life and freedom only found in Him and not when we try to find it on our own or in things that can never satisfy. Even though we can be so narrow sighted, by God’s great mercy, instead of responding in frustration, he is patient, gentle, and faithful with us despite our confused wandering and faithlessness. He’s waiting for us to tire out and come to a place of surrender and allow him to come to the rescue in order to direct us onto the path that brings life. It’s amazing to realize His omniscience and His great perspective into our situations. He truly knows best, but yet we can get so caught up in thinking that we know what’s best for us and what is right and how to live. So often we try to drink from wells that will not satisfy or that can harm us and yet we tirelessly continue to try to save ourselves and stay in bondage, even unknowingly. BUT there is another path that leads to life. It takes trust and faith in our awesome God, but ultimately its for our own good because He brings life, health, and freedom into our lives even if we don’t always have the foresight to see what He is really doing.
I challenge you and encourage you to take an assessment of where your heart is. Be honest and vulnerable before the Lord. Where are you trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment? Is it in things that do not satisfy or are you running to the fount of Living Water and the Bread of Life? For that is where we can find sustenance and life abundant. I don’t know about you, but for me I’ve been realizing just how similar I am to this hummingbird in that I keep trying to find my own path to life and freedom and peace, but in reality all I’ve been doing is hitting myself up against the window. Truly, I am in need of a savior to rescue me from myself to take me to a place of freedom that I cannot find on my own. I need to surrender. Where are you at?


Don’t forget that Jesus has already saved you and I both but yet we constantly need Him to continually renew us and set us free from the sin that so easily entangles us. Often I can forget this, and I challenge myself as well as you to be bold in proclaiming Christ and what he’s done on the cross and continues to do in our lives to renew us so that we are more apt to resemble him. Don’t listen to lies and deception that come from this world or from the evil one. Fight them off with the truth. Resist the devil and he will flee. Draw near to the lord and let his glory cover and protect you. Don’t be taken captive by the things of this world and of the hollow and deceptive philosophy, but allow the lord to transform and renew your mind with his word and truth so that it penetrates your entire being in how you live and act.
What immense grace that God has showered upon us, as his undeserving children! Stay strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, put on his armor and stand firm in His truth so that wherever you go you will shine forth his light and his truth and his glory. Press on as the summer comes to a close so that you can finish this ministry well. Remember that these campers who are coming up to camp towards the end of the summer haven’t been up here yet this year and are super excited. God is doing amazing work and I urge you to take part in that by helping to make their week an awesome week!

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you.
Much love from your co-laborer in Christ,
Emily

Top 10 Things Westcliffe Has To Offer

10.) Some cities offer historical monuments, famous statues, such as the Statue Of Liberty, howerver Westcliffe offers extra large wooden lumberjacks.

9.) While most coffee shops offer coffee, along with the occassional pastry, Westcliffe's Coffee shop offers Coffee AND ....?

8.) Most towns have Cinamax 10 or Hollywood 15, but here at Westcliffe we have Jones Theatre 1. Were you get one movie per weekend and if your lucky it might even stick around for the following weekend. Movie Discussions and free coffee also take place after each movie, actually only on Friday night. If so desired season passes are available.

7.) Along with our lumberjuack friend we have another famous statue, The cowboy who smokes cigars while reading. This statue brings alot to the Westcliffe community.

6.) Westclife has a lot to offer in terms of fine dinning. If you are in the mood for somthing fast you can choose between the local Hungry Bear, or the Subway located in the gas station. If you are in the mood for a late night snack you better hurry because it closes at 8:00 p.m.

5.) Most stores close for the night and even on holidays but around her they close for entire seasons.

4.) A place where you will find yourself often is the Westcliffe Super Market. It is the only grocery store in town but it does have alot to offer. Such as movie rentals, discount racks, and a small selection of flowers. Make your selections fast because along with subway and the rest of the town it cloes at 8:00 p.m.

3.) Pedristrians, bikers, and children at play are all signs that can be seen in most cities. How many cities to you know that have the Warning sign to beware of the Omish buggie.

2.) Located past Wanda's Garden and the Mennonite Bakery you will come across a public bathroom. Just another public service that Westcliffe has to offer.

1.) In case you were wondering curbside internet literally means curbside internet. Westcliffe is on the forfront of technology. Providing internet....all the way to the curb.

Intern Retreat

After returning from our Easter break where everyone was able to take nine days to go home or visit friends; we all met up at Jeff's cabin in Breckinridge, CO for an intern retreat. The retreat was designed to fulfill several purposes: to bring us all together as a group, to have some fun before we transitioned back into work, and ultimately to get our hearts focused and prepared for the fast approaching summer. The three day retreat consisted of snow shoeing for some, a Rockies game in Denver, and enough food to feed a small country! Our afternoons were filled with discussions on articles that we had read, mixed in with some affirmations. With most of the interns praying for discernment for what God has next for our lives, we have been using our meeting time to take one individual intern to affirm and challenge them in personal areas of their lives that we have seen over the course of this year. These timeshave proven to be very fruitful as we get to have our peers both affirm us on what they see our strengths to be, and yet challenge us in areas thatwe could work on. The entire retreat was interwoven with prayer; prayer for individual interns, prayer for the internship as a whole, and prayer for this summer and the challenges that may arise. One of the biggest topics of the weekend was getting our hearts ready for the summer and the summer staff who will be arriving in just a few weeks. We as the intern staff have an incredible oppurtunity to minister and be ministred to by these summer staff. All the interns are going to be leading a small group on sunday mornings for the summerstaff, and since most of us are in leadership positions this summer, we will have plenty of intentional interaction with them as we work.Probably the most impactfulpart of the retreat for me was meditating on an article we read. The article was talking about the necessity of being rooted in Christ. I realize that this seems so obvious, and something that my five year old niece could challenge you with, but it is a biblical truth that I forget so often. In my life it is all too easy for my identity to be put in things or other people, and if im perfectly honest with myself, I would go so far as to say that I care about what certain people in my life think about me more so than what God thinks about me. Isaiah 7:9b says that "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." I can't tell you how quickly my faith shifts form God to man, and then to see how quickly i fail to stand.Trying to put that in context of working here, living here, and even in regards to investing into the soon to arrive summer staff, I cannot be obedient to God's voiceif my ears aren't aimed at Him. All in all I would say it was a good time together, the rockies pulled out an overwhelming victory, pounds of beef and chicken were consumedin the form of fajitas, and God was able to meet us there and speak to our hearts.



Emily, Karn, and Kelsey at a Rookies Game



Karen, Christian, Jeff and Lauren...ice cream is always a must!

Did not get the ice cream that he ordered...

But Alex did!

Thoughts on Community

Hello, Emily here. 

As we transition into the new year that marks the halfway point of our internship year at Horn Creek, I would like to take a bit of time and share with you all that I am currently learning specifically in regards to our community: both the highs and the lows.

Community is a gift, a blessing designed by our Sovereign creator to help us grow in relationship with him.  However it can also be very challenging because it pushes us to look past ourselves and love others with a selfless love. Community can only flourish with this sort of selfless love when the Lord is truly being placed first in priority in each individual’s life because that is where the ability to love stems from- the Lord’s great first love.  When this first love is even partially understood and received by an individual, it is then that the person can respond to that first love with love for the Lord, which can be demonstrated through loving our surrounding community. 

We were made for relationships, with the Lord as well as for one another- our community, the body of Christ: to challenge one another, encourage one another, spur one another on towards Christ and in all things point each other back to him…back to truth to remind one another of the things that we can sometimes so easily forget.  I love Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  We need each other, but we must be united through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Yet as important as community is, it should never be used as a crutch or as a place that we run to before we run to the Lord.  The Lord should always be our center, our place of refuge and rest, from whom we are refreshed, enlivened and granted an abundant life filled with joy and gratitude from being in His presence. For he alone is completely trustworthy and able to meet our needs fully.  He knows what we need even better than we do.  Jeremiah 17:5-8 speaks to this and has been a great encouragement for me, “ This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  He will be like a bush in he wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” 

It is out of a place of solitude in which we are able to be filled with life in order to be strengthened to face all that life may throw our way, especially within living in a community of sinful, messy and needy people.  We need to feed the spirit during our time of solitude so that we are able to enter into community, walking in the Spirit so as to live in a way that will glorify the Lord.

It is when the priority lines between solitude and community get blurred that things can get messy. There must be a balance between the two.  I am by no means perfect and have definitely been feeling the tension between sin/flesh and spirit as well as feeling the pain of the sanctification process as I’ve been wrestling with these issues of solitude and community. But praise the Lord for His patience with us as He grows us up in Christ. 

For me, this has been quite the lesson that the Lord has been teaching me.  I have realized that when difficult and painful things arise in this life, my tendency is to look to my community, whether I realize that I am doing so or not.  When responding this way, unspoken expectations can be placed on the community, which can be extremely damaging to the community as a whole, for they are unaware that such expectations are being placed on them.  How in the world can they meet those expectations without knowing about them?  And even if they did know about them, maybe it still wouldn’t be right for me to expect some of those things from them, because of the need to depend on the Lord first through surrendering my burdens to him and waiting upon him to answer and bring healing.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think community is a powerful tool that the Lord uses to show his love and comfort to his people in a physical way because sometimes it can be difficult to feel that from an invisible yet ever present Lord.  It is important to keep perspective that our surrounding community is but a limited physical manifestation of the Lord’s love stemming from a deeper place of the Lord’s perfect and unconditional love.  The Lord uses community so that we can teach each other, comfort each other and love each other in tangible ways… to be His hands, His feet, and his hugs.

This has been a hard lesson for us all to learn as a community, as we are still figuring out what exactly this balance looks like lived out for us as interns up at Horn creek.   Although tough, this process has been a refining process indeed and I am excited to see how the Lord continues to use each of us in one another’s lives as we seek to know Christ more and point each other towards Him. 

I will leave you with a great quote from Bonhoeffer that sheds great insight on this subject of community, “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.  He will only do harm to himself and to the community… But the reverse is also true.  Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.  Into the community you were called, the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray.  We recognize, then, that only as we are within the fellowship can we be alone, and only he that is alone can live in the fellowship.”