I am a girl. Boys are weird.

So...sitting in the office today, I was thinking about how God created me so much differently than He created boys. Boys are not bad, thats not what I am sayin', but today I was thinking about all the boys I know to try to compare all the girls I know to prove (to myself) just how incredibly different we are.

BOYS:
I work in an office of boys: malcolm, clinton (also my husband), chris, joe david, and of course J-MO (john morgan). All brothers are boys. I grew up with a dad and a step-dad...and they are both boys. All Presidents have been boys. My principals in school were all boys. Evey cool guy is a boy. Winnie the Pooh was a boy. Justin Bieber is a boy. Most superheroes are boys. The founder of Sky Ranch is a boy. All boy bands are boys. The inventor of the lightbulb, electricty, and air conditioning = all boys. BOYS! BOYS! BOYS!

GIRLS:
I am a girl. Tamara is a girl (sky 1 & 2). Over half of our counselors are girls. Girls are pretty. Girls smell good. All wives are girls. All moms are girls. Mother Theresa was like the nicest person to ever live and, duh, she was a girl. Lady Gaga is a girl. Anya is a girl. Stephanie Meyer is a girl. The only people who can birth a child are girls. American girl dolls = all girls. Four of the top five songs on i-Tunes right now are girls...and the fourth is about a girl. The inventor of chocolate chip cookies, jeggings, and white out are all girls. GIRLS ARE AWESOME!

We think differently.
We act differently.
We talk differently.
We think different things are funny (girls...you get this, right?)
We are opposite beings.

It leads me to think and ask God: "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!"

Sitting in the office...this was my thought process today. I remember being in junior high and thinking boys were weird. I remember being in high school and thinking boys are weird. College...same thing. Full time summer camp director...same thing. And by weird, I really just mean different than me, even though I am not the most "normal" human around. I think growing up, I always assumed that eventually a lightbulb would go off in my head and I would realize that "THIS IS WHY BOYS THINK THIS WAY," or "I TOTALLY GET WHY GOD DID IT LIKE THIS!" And I have realized over my life, that because we are so different, I will never fully comprehend the way a guy thinks, but I now appreciate it. I actually LOVE that we are so different.

I have seen that on our summer camp team, we would not be able to accomplish all that we do if we did not have both genders. I mean, I AM NOT going to write a rap song - but John will. And being married - I have seen that if Clinton and I both thought, acted, and were created the same way - we would not have as much fun or work as well together. And to be honest, being created different - both boys and girls - we honor God the most because of our uniqueness! Our God is so stinkin' creative that he knew we needed both female and male, that He took time creating us that way, that He has had a plan from the very beginning to make us work together to understand one another.

I love Psalm 139. It talks about how He created us uniquely, fearfully, wonderfully. Again...he took His time on each of us - you are who you are for a specific reason. We always talk about our personalities being uniquely created, which is Truth. But, our gender is uniquely created as well...I am a girl because God created me that way, wants me that way, and has a purpose and a plan for my life that are specific to me being a female. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Ps. 139: 13 -14).

So...lets get exSKYted that we are so different - weird as each of us might think the other is. Lets honor God by doing what He told us to do! "I PRAISE YOU BECAUSE I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE!" That means we are supposed to tell God how awesome He is for creating us the way we are...so...Thanks God - I love being a girl! (even though I don't love pink =))

peace out for now.
Jill "J$" Pfalser

To Tell A Story...

So...we have this guy that some of you may know whose name is LANE DAVIS. Lane is incredible...which might be a bit of an understatement. Lane is part of Sky Ranch and grew up here as a camper, as a summer staffer, did the internship after graduating college, and worked here full time for awhile. He then went to Dallas and worked in the business world for a bit while discovering his passion for photography and telling other people's stories. So, God took him on this journey around the world. He was called to go and document other people's stories, To tell about what God is doing in other cultures, and to share them with the world....

HERE IS WHAT TO TELL A STORY IS: (http://www.totellastory.org)

Each new chapter in our lives has a pathway. A road that leads us to a new place. A series of breadcrumbs that has been left behind to help us remember the way, to give us something to tell, something to savor, something to remember. A story. There is no one without one. We each carry our own stories buried in the vulnerable fleshy part of our hearts. We hold it close to us as it maneuvers through our bloodlines and swims through our veins. It shapes who we are. Our stories. Our lives. Through cultural differences and language barriers there will forever be one commonality… a story that lies deep within each of us. All different. All personal. All unique. All begging to be heard, recognized, and seen. That’s where circumstance meets the Gospel. Where desperation meets Grace. Where perspiration meets Comfort. Where abandonment meets Acceptance. Where people meet Jesus.

For the next 9 months, I will be traveling throughout Africa and Asia in over 14 countries. I will be spending time with some of the poorest of the poor. Learning and observing their stories. Tragic, beautiful, atrocious, ludicrous, unbelievable, miraculous, pure, unfiltered stories of our brothers and sisters in this world. Some who know my Jesus and many who do not. But this is a time for them to be heard. It’s their time to be recognized, to be seen. This is where my story meets theirs. My job is to help tell those stories. My passion is to help give voice to the people who have none. To show the world the love of Christ and to paint a true picture of His sacrificial love and compassionate mercy. All through a camera lens.

This site will be a place where I will attempt to chronicle my experiences along the way (when internet access allows). Follow along in the journey. But please don’t just watch from the sidelines. Consider how you can join me in telling these stories, from wherever you are. But ultimately, consider how you can tell His story to the nations. This is all about Him, and nothing about us. Let’s bring glory to our Father together, from all corners of the globe. Let us blissfully rejoice in His love while never forgetting His story of sacrifice and redemption. For that is what life is all about, mimicking His story with our own.

http://www.totellastory.org