the house, NSO September 4, 2010

well, i think this was the first full (maybe second) week that everyone was in the house. I haven’t been getting much sleep.

You see, I have work at 5am every morning (except wednesdays and sundays). And so really, I need to get up at either 4am, or 4:30ish, depending on what I left un-done from the night before. And I should probably get a good night’s sleep since my job is an on-my-feet 8 hour shift of being attentive to all my customers at Starbucks and making drinks and being coherent to remember all those drink orders and which one had no foam and which one had 3 shots.

But, people have been swinging by my room and staying to chat and well I can’t hep but want to engage with them. I haven’t even attempted to go to sleep before 10pm yet. I know the noise in the house could keep me up but usually that doesn’t bother me.

I hope that now that the first week of school is done, my housemates will start getting homework and stuff, and not be around as much. I say that in the best way possible, because its hard for me NOT to stay up and talk. I think I stayed up to talk almost every night this week.

And by today I am literally so exhausted. I think i’ve also taken a nap after work the past few days as well, but that makes me feel unproductive and lazy when i have a wide open afternoon and i use it up sleeping. I need the sleep though.

Next week is NSO at Rider. I’m soooo excited to see all the returning students who I’ve invested my heart in this last year as a volunteer. I am pumped to meet the new freshmen and transfers. Who will God bring us as solid christians who want to be missional to the campus? Who will have musical talent and want to play worship? Who will come along who doesn’t quite know Jesus yet, that we might lead them to Him? Its this fantastical treasure hunt mad scramble the first two weeks of school. There are so many possibilities and exciting twists and turns as we follow God on the campus looking for where He wants to use us to love on people. To bring them to Him. To use them to change their campus, and to send them out into the world as those who long for healing and change, lasting impact.

On top of this NSO craziness (which any student in leadership in InterVarsity knows that NSO takes up your LIFE the first few weeks) I am working 40 hours a week at Starbucks still. I wasn’t able to hand in my availability changes until the funding came in and since it was so last minute, I have to tough it out a few weeks of working a full time schedule there as well. Which stinks. If you asked any of my donor partners or other staff, they would HATE that i have to spend more time in a starbucks than with students, doing what matters on the mission field i’ve been called to. But, Praise Be to God that it is not NECESSARY, only temporary. I don’t NEED to keep working 40 hours a week because I will be part time on campus getting paid part time.  Sooooo exciting!!!!

I get to plan the freshmen retreat, (first time for Rider, ever! well, as far as I know) first time for THIS fellowship. I’m excited because the frosh retreats are always so influential. I’m hoping to use it as a time to really build the upperclassmen leaders to RUN the thing themselves. I’ll just delegate and give some standards. I have to plan a meeting for that i suppose.

If you’re reading this, take a second right now and pray for NSO. that i might have stamina. that i might be sustained by God’s strength, not my own, not by caffeine. That when I’m at starbucks, I’m not grumpy or resentful ALL the time. (maybe just on saturdays ) For the freshmen coming in, that you would help us to find them, that God would be clearly calling and drawing them, us to them, and them to Him. (make sense?)

Pray that we will be SPIRITUAL ALARM CLOCKS for the campus. Awakening dead souls to the glory and love of God. Opening their eyes to the Kingdom, and inviting them to get out of bed and participate in all that God has for their lives.