Hey Everyone! Life on the hill has been pretty fun lately! We have our pause families tonight, and everyone is super excited. Sarah and I convinced Bob to let us buy a fish, so now we have a cute little Beta fish and I named him Jude! We were so surprised that that the staff even said yes, so we are hoping we can keep him alive for a while! Amy said she only gives it a week! We had Thursdays with Bob today, and he talked about the danger of gossip and how it can affect our community, moral of that story is just don’t gossip! – Angie 224
God has been so good and present this week. My heart is full. The soul training exercise for the week is thankfulness. We were challenged to have a continuous list of things we are thankful for. Every morning I add something, sometimes a few things to the list. What has been really cool to see is that now, throughout the day, I am very much aware of God’s blessings and I catch myself thinking, “I’ll have to add that to the list”. Starting the day this way has proved so fruitful. I have started the past couple mornings with a joyful and grateful heart, knowing full well that I have done nothing to deserve the countless blessings God has given me. Worship has also been amazing! Every time we gather for worship, I observe a group of young men and women who all crave intimacy with our Father, and it is so encouraging. Our class has truly been blessed with wonderful musicians who have a talent for leading others in praising our Creator. Being able to count on getting lost in praising Jesus each day of the week is an absolute treasure. I cannot wait to see how God continues to grow and mold the hearts of this Joshua class to love, honor, and thank Him like never before. – Cindy 224
Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to my first blog sesh at the J! Life is breezy up here. The sun is hot and the shade is freezing. You’d be hard-pressed to find a single soul up here that isn’t having the time of their life. The community is a vibe. Whether we’re chanting for Bob or serving straight heat on the Spikeball nets, everyone is there for one another. The past few weeks have been speeding up a little bit. It’s great. Lots of homework and fellowship! Probably more fellowship than homework but hey, that’s all good! I typically find myself locked up in my room but the moment I hear commotion, I’m a sucker for inclusion. I love my brothers and sisters. There’s a bunch of cool dead animals hanging on our walls. I could’ve sworn Scott the moose winked at me yesterday. We are learning so much! I honestly get a ton out of each and every speaker. Recently, Jason King’s lesson on Joseph spoke to me in a very deep way. In fact, I even decided to write about his life for my “Dark Night of the Soul” assignment for my Spiritual Formation class. I also really enjoy my New Testament Survey class! My pause dad teaches it! It’s pretty sweet. He told us a story about waking up with an ambiguous presence hovering over his face. His kid, of course. In his hilarious narration, he screeched. I think a few of the kids in the class temporarily stopped breathing from laughing so hard. I got to work in the gift shop during the women’s retreat! It was pretty chill. I hit pockets of inactivity throughout the day but every now and then a squad of fifty women in hunt of cute stationery and hydro flasks would wander in. It was such a blast talking with people, interacting throughout the day! Usually, the highlight of my day is coming back from work and spending time with my brothers and sisters in the Joshua building! God is good and I’m super excited for all of the knowledge and wisdom I get to glean from this year’s staff. They’re an encouraging, funny, reliable group of men and women and I’m blessed to have them in my life during this season. Remember, “attention on deck!” “Happy to be here, proud to serve!” Classic Bob. – Benjamin 101
