Abundant Life

I can't even believe I'm typing this right now, but it's gametime y'all! Camp kicks off in less than 4 days for the Summer. I seriously cannot wrap my mind around the fact that we have been diligently praying over these next several weeks since last August and now they're here!

Last week when I left Camp after a long, hot day outside painting rotation awards, I had the most surreal and one of a kind feeling; I didn't really want to leave. My heart is eagerly awaiting the Summer to watch this plan we've been working on for months play out. I'm invested. And I can say it's not by my own might, but God's. Zack and I both are so excited about the summer and all that's coming up with Camp.

A verse that's been on my heart for a few weeks now aptly sums up my "job": Psalm 145:3-4

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom. 

 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.

I consider  myself blessed beyond words to say that I'm part of a ministry that is centered on this verse and focused on telling the next generation about how great our God is. 

'Til next time folks, the Carscaddons will be at Camp! 

1 Year

Today marks a year that I've been with Camp Oak Hill as the Business Manager. Wow wow wow. What a blessing this past year has been! The Lord has used me, stretched me, challenged, and grown me SO MUCH over the past year. I came into the job on Monday, May 21, 2012, just one day home from my honeymoon and 2 days after finding out my childhood puppydog passed away (this was life-altering for me). I was nervous, excited and hesitant to take on yet another change (as if getting married, quitting one job, moving, dog dying, and Zack graduating in 2 weeks time wasn't enough change). Last summer's camp is really just a blur to me since it was such a HUGE time of transition in so many facets of my life, but now this year I'm ready!!! I can't wait to watch this summer play out. Months and months of planning, marketing, praying, and heart have gone into what will unfold in a couple of weeks. To say I'm invested in this place is an understatement. I just know that God's going to show up this summer and I can't wait to be a part of it!

Camp Oak Hill has turned out to be one of the biggest blessings in my life. I can only pray that I'll return the blessing to "Make Christ Known" to those who come to camp.

My current "work verse" is Psalm 145:

"I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵ On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶ They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
⁷ They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness."

 I am so honored to be a part of the generation telling the next about Christ's love. Camp Oak Hill has blessed me this year; I couldn't be more thankful for God's provision over my life, even when I'm scared and don't like change; He knows what's best for us. 

His plan is so so good y'all! 

P.S.- just for the record, I did receive the "Change Doesn't Scare Me" Award last August at our Staff Beach Retreat- boy I've got them fooled ;) 

Reflections on a Year!

Some days it feels like just yesterday we were celebrating saying our "I do's", then other days it seems like we've been married 20 years. Nonetheless, we rejoiced over our 1 year of marriage this past weekend. What a beautiful of celebrating God's provision in our lives and marriage over the past year!

   The photographer asked us right before our wedding how we were feeling- here's our visual responses.

For our anniversary, Zack got me a gift perfectly unique to him :) A gun and a bracelet. I love them both. I'm honestly enjoying my little .22 handgun- it's exhilarating shooting something you're not too afraid of!!

I gave Zack a gift that I like as well :) I found some inspiration on Pinterest to print and frame our wedding vows, so I set out on a project. The very talented Kristin Fowler designed these babies for me and then I took them to a local printer to get them printed. A trip to Michael's for some frames and this project was D-O-N-E! I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out :) They are now hanging on each side of our bed as a daily reminder of the heartfelt words we said on May 5, 2012.

This past year has been a good mix of the following:

good, hard, fun, difficult, trying, hilarious, learning to adjust, a lesson on grace, selflessness, and love and the list goes on. I'm so thankful to have spent the last year with my best friend. I can't wait for many more to come!

Where is Time Going?

Oh my lands it's been over a MONTH since I've been on here!! I initially asked where is the time going, but then I remember that's a silly question- it's flying by!

Since the end of March we have:
-survived teaching high school
-had a successful and fun COH Spring Fundraiser
-celebrated 1 year of marriage
-celebrated 1 year since Zack's graduation
-reminisced about the fact the I'm 2 years out of MC
-continued to plan Camp...still a work in progress


Whoa whoa whoa y'all- this season of the year is insane and we are just buckling our seatbelts and enjoying the ride :) It's been a fabulous time of celebrating and remembering all those steps that we took to be where we are now.

Until next time,
Nataleigh

Learning to Shoot...

During the first part of March, Zack taught me how to shoot a gun. Talk about a fun day! I was so hesitant at first (with good reason-guns are scary), but I loved learning how to shoot and actually hit a target. Here's our documentation of a good day :) 

I don't have the best form yet...

...but I sure did have some fun!

Not a huge fan of this gun- it scared me!!

Zack helped me so much!

I shot. Then I got scared. Really scared.

We're so tough. Yea, we shoot guns :)

This was my favorite part of the day. I hit the target every time with this gun. Zack thought I'd had practice beforehand!

 We're heading to the beach for Easter and the fist part of next week. Can't wait to have a few days away to rest and reconnect with hubs. Happy Easter, y'all!

Refinement.

It's safe to say the month of February was an entire month devoted to God refining my heart. Just as coal is refined to remove it's impurities, God used February to refine my heart. Several notable things happened in the second month to make me examine my heart in a deep, honest way.

1- Joy. Zack's sweet grandfather's sickness and passing away was nothing short of a beautiful picture of Christ's love for us and our nature to long for Him. In Bill's last days with us, we left him one night praying. His prayer was a simple one of thanksgiving. Even in his final days, Bill was still thanking God for His faithfulness on his life- what an encouragement. The picture of Bill just talking to God will be one I never forget. This was one of those defining moments of my life; you know the ones you just can't get over?! Since that night in the hospital, my mind and heart have just been drawn in the blessings of God. If Bill could praise Jesus in his final days, why can't I do it everyday, all the time?! This picture of God's people praising Him has convicted me that I am simply not thankful enough. I have EVERY REASON IN THE WORLD to be joyful, yet sometimes (more often than I like to admit), I simply am not. Lesson one of February was simply to be thankful.

2- Refine. The month of love proved to be a month of acknowledgement of sin in marriage. While most people associate February with sappy romance, this month has been the toughest since we've been married. But in a good way. Jesus has softened my heart to acknowledge my sin and work on it. Once again, He's taking my heart of coal and refining me. Zack has been so faithful to me throughout the ugliness of working on my sin. It's been tough. There's been a lot of crying. But it's been good. Jesus has made me more aware than ever of specific sin and already forgiven me, so now it's my job to work on it. It amazes me just how absent-minded I have a tendency to be and this month has been tough/great in really digging deep into my struggles that I've been hiding/fighting for months/years.

3- Frailty. In the middle of my little pitty pot of sinfulness and shame of said sins, an acquaintance from NCSU, who happened to teach me a thing or two about shagging, passed away from cancer in the second month. His passing sort of came as a shock; how can it not when you're talking about a 21 year old man losing his life? Ian's passing was and still is a ministry to me. Life is frail. Life is short. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest, not sizing up to others. I realized just how much of my time I spend worrying about what others are doing, where they're going, etc. It's CONSUMING. But I'm pretty sure that if I were in Ian's shoes, I would not want to look back at my life and say that I spend my early 20s (a great time of my life) focused more on other people business than I was my own life, marriage, job, family, etc. I took his death hard. Calling it a wake-up call is an understatement. Jesus has a message with every circumstance, and His message was loud and clear to me through this situation. The frailty of life is evident and I don't want to be so caught up that I miss out on this life I've been given and the gifts God's given me.

All in all, Jesus is good. He's so good. He loves me and gently teaches me daily and I'm thankful February was a time to draw closer to Him. Yes, spiritually exhausting, but so worth it!

Boyfriend Cookies My Husband Loves

I have hit the baking jackpot in finding a perfect cookie recipe. Several friends have asked for the recipe so here it goes :) 

(disclaimer- I can take absolutely no credit for this creative recipe. Thank you, Pinterest!) 

Ingredients (the amount of chocolate can vary, depending on what you like):

• One softened cup of butter
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3 1/2 ounces of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• one teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• one teaspoon of baking soda
• One cup of milk chocolate chips
• One cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips (I didn't add these in)
• 1/2 cup of M&M’s, any kind you like
• 1/2 cup of Reese’s Pieces

How To:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and sugars
3. Add the pudding mix (don't add milk like pudding calls for), eggs, and vanilla into the mix and stir well
4. Next add the flour and baking soda to the mixture, and continue to mix well
5. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips and the rest of the candy
6. With a regular spoon or a scooper, drop a spoonful of the dough onto regular ungreased baking sheets
7. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown
8. Remove and cool before indulging :)

And I give you absolute deliciousness to enjoy with your boyfriend, husband, or girlfriends!!