Jackson Hole Recap

So this is a tad bit late…like 18 days late so I apologize for that, but I want to share what I learned on my month long trip to Jackson, Wyoming with Cru. Some of you may have read my blog I posted in about the middle of the trip. Although that gave some details into what I had been learning, I learned so much more after that post. I wish that I had enough space on here to share everything that I learned, but that would take a very long time. I will try my best to write multiple posts over the next few months going into more detail of the wonderful things I learned and experienced, but for this post, I am just going to kind of sum it up and share the biggest thing that I learned.

At the end of the trip, we were given some reflection questions to answer during our quiet time one morning. As I was reading back through my journal today, I came across my answers and thought this one perfectly reflects what I want to share. The question was, “What is one thing you will communicate to other about what God did here in your heart at Jackson Hole Summer Project?” 

My answer was this:

There are so many things I would want to say, but I think to sum it up: I fell more in love with Jesus. By realizing my weaknesses and the depth of my sin, I realized how much I need Him and I was able to let go of that part of me that still thought I could do it on my own. Realizing that I cannot do anything in my own power was huge for me because I love control and have always struggled with controlling everything that goes on in my life.”

Throughout the trip, I was constantly learning more about Jesus and who He is. Some things I had known before, but some I had never known. The Pastor of the Bible College we stayed at talked about this a little bit. To sum it up: “We will never know everything about Jesus. That is the great part about it. No matter how much we study, we can always learn more about how wonderful He is.”

One of the things that I struggled with before coming on this trip was spending quality time with Jesus and in The Word everyday. I would kinda just keep putting it off during the day til I was “too tired” at night to do it. I didn’t pray very often and I wasn’t learning anything knew about Jesus at all. During the trip, we had quiet time every morning and I sort of got into a habit of doing it, even on the mornings we didn’t have the scheduled time. This is something that I prayed about a lot during the trip, especially that I wouldn’t stop spending quality time with Jesus once I got home and was away from such a wonderful, Christ-filled environment. Although it took some getting used to with my schedule once I got home, I have been spending so much time in The Word and in prayer. It makes me feel refreshed in the morning and gives me something to focus on during the day. Usually I read “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young and write down the verses that come with. Right now I am studying the book of Matthew, so I have been trying to read that everyday but there are some days where I am a little pressed for time. I think this is one of the more significant changes after the trip, because I honestly don’t think I would have had the desire to do this before the trip. Like I said in my journal, I truly fell more in love with Jesus, thus creating a desire in my heart to get to know Him more and more each day.

I am going to leave you with some of the verses that were constantly brought to my attention during the trip, I hope they give you some encouragement as you continue your week!

God Bless!

The whole Psalm 139 was HUGE for me, but I will just put one of the verses. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” 

Psalm 139:14

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” 

Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

Matthew 5:10

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Romans 5:6-8

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes of Jesus, the author and perfected of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” 

Hebrews 12:1-3

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

 Proverbs 16:9