hosea 2:16

The King of Love, my Shepherd is. 

Well, I've been at camp for 2 weeks and 2 days (WHAT) and it has been pretty grand, y'all. He knows my heart and doesn't disappoint. I'm doing things I love with people I love at a place I love and it doesn't get much better than that. 

So let's have some share time - here's what has been going on in my heart lately.

Wild and free.

These are the words the Lord has been calling me to grow in these past few weeks of work week and training week. All we've been doing is preparing for camp. And the Lord has used this time to prepare my heart for how the posture of my heart needs to be this summer. Let's break it down.

Wild. Hmm. My first thought with this is unrestrained. I think toddler running around without enough sleep and wreaking havoc in the living room. BUT I believe that God is trying to get at something a little different. I think He's going for something beyond belief - filled with wonder. Like a wild day at an amusement park - full of joy and awe and excitement that comes from a great experience. Unrestrained joy. 

Free. This one is a bit more interesting. To be free, I must know that I am protected and that I am safe. I must recognize the importance of the boundaries in order to exercise fully the joy that is desired. To be free is to know my identity without hindrance and to pursue love without restraint. Freedom is only found in knowing who I am. I cannot find freedom in pretending to be someone that I am not because then I would be inhibiting myself from true authenticity. Giving fully to God and fully to authenticity is living in full freedom. 

Okay. So wild and free. How do they work together.

1. The Holy Spirit resides in the wild and free. I can only be docile to the Holy Spirit and His promptings if I know my heart and my true identity that I am His. I can only let Him work in my life if I recognize the freedom He is inviting me to and how He desires me to give fully and freely of myself for His kingdom.

2. To be wild and free requires bold courage. I cannot be fearful and free at the same time. If I am experiencing fear, then I am believing the lie that I am not safe in Him. To be courageous and act according to His will no matter the circumstance - inconvenient or convenient -  THAT is what it means to be wild and free.

3. Dogs are pretty dang wild and free. REALLY THOUGH. When I was praying about this one day I saw one of my favorite pups on camp, Bandit, running across the field with his other dog friend Virginia. They were so wild and free!! Why? Because they were open to receiving love without exception. They ran up to anyone on camp knowing they are safe and will be cared for. They run across the field in majestic fashion --- living life wild and free. They know their boundaries. They know they are loved. And they just receive.

Okay, I know the dog analogy can only go so far. BUT. There is so much to learn there.

God is calling me to live wild and free. Do I know that I am His? Do I know I am safe and loved and cared for in His plan for me? Do I know that He will provide and I just need to be docile to His Spirit and open to His promptings? Or do I let fear creep in and allow myself to fall into forgetting who I am and Who loves me with an unending and fierce and gentle and ever-present love?

So, how has camp been these last few weeks? Challenging. Joyful. Hopeful. Beautiful.

But most of all - WILD AND FREE. 

Now bring on the campers next week!!

Praise You, King Jesus. Help me to be wild and free in knowing Your love like the sheep knows her Shepherd.

live with Joy.

--all photos courtesy of Madi Meyers-Cook Photography. She's pretty dang cool.