Unfortunately, I think I'm now an adult

So the actual publicizing of this blog starts this week, so for many people this post will be the first thing you see when you visit.  Be warned: I'm a little weird.  If you'd like to learn a bit more about me, check out the list of old posts on the right hand side to go back to the beginning. If you're here because someone forced you to come to this site while looking over your shoulder to check your facial expressions, or because you already know me, I suppose we can skip some of that formality and jump right in. (And tell you're friend it's rude to read over shoulders...personal space and all that) So bottom line: you know that "still, small voice" we hear about all the time at church or in scripture?  Yeah, well, it found me.  And as many can attest to, if you ignore it, you often end up getting divinely thwapped over the head if you don't do as you're called.  So, since I like to avoid the twappings of the Spirit, I'm following the cal...

So I'm meeting with the Bishop and some of his staff members tomorrow.  After that, YASC fundraising will begin. In the mean time, I've been working on another major project that has kept me very busy.  You can learn more about it here . So, sorry this is short, but deadlines are only a few days away.  I'm off to continue editing web content, app events, presentations, videos, online surveys and responses, and to facilitate live training events for the service facilitators and attendees. I'll leave you with this thought to ponder:

As we approach the holiday of Easter, so many females are pondering their big question: What do I wear? It shouldn't be the biggest thought we have about the greatest miracle of all time, but for so many of all ages, it really is thought #1 regarding this holiday. I realized at a very young age that I would likely never fit the typical definition of "pretty".  Even in my ballet and dance classes, where beauty is paramount and grace is the goal, I felt less than acceptable.  It usually came back to the factor of my size.  Even at age 3, I was so much bigger than my friends and dance classmates that whenever we tried to play a game of leapfrog in warm-ups, many of the girls would literally get stuck trying to hop over me.  I'm not even kidding.  They tried, they couldn't, and they often ended up face planting into the back of my tucked down head.  It was mortifying.  Eventually, they just let the little girls skip me by walking around.  Not any be...

So over the past couple of weeks, I've been stalked by a particular song.  It would be the first on the radio when I started my car, and it's catchy.  I found it stuck circling in my head, a small ribbon of a melody entwined through my thoughts for days at a time.  And just when I could finally get it out, I'd start another drive to work, or a dozen other places, and there it is once more, waiting to re-wrap itself around my thoughts and my heart. It is one of the most raw, accurate, and honest love songs I've ever heard.  And that accuracy hits close to home every time I hear it, bringing tears to my eyes. I've seen this battle before.  True, I am absolutely nowhere near marriage, and haven't ever been invested in a serious relationship.  But this struggle has been one I've witnessed for so many other friends and family. My family takes marriage pretty seriously, and they are great examples of how to "make it stick".  Both sets of grandparents p...

So at this point, the blog has still not gone public, so I feel like I'm lecturing to an empty room as it were, but I know it's just a matter of time before others will be reading some of my ramblings.  With that in mind, I wanted to dedicate a post to this questions I've been getting a lot since telling people of my acceptance to the Young Adult Service Corp (YASC). Why? Such a simple question, such an extraordinarily complicated answer. I suppose the easiest answer for me to give is that I can't not  go.  When I look back on all the lovely blessings I've been given by God, and all the terrifying struggles He's helped me through, I can clearly see that the path I've been walking, although it seemed aimless and wandering before, was a bee-line for mission such as this.  When you first tell your family that you want to move to who-knows-where for a year serving the church and the response is, "I figured you were gonna do this years ago.  It's a...

How is it already March??? I could have sworn that I just started my new years resolution a few days ago, and yet here we are at the cusp of spring break already.  There's so much to do, and I'm sure time will fly, so here's the major things on my mind: YASC-provisional acceptance has been granted, and my background check paperwork has been mailed in.  I now have to wait for it to clear, then I should be ready to start prepping and fundraising in earnest.  I'm in the process of booking a meeting with 5 of the most influential people in the diocese to talk next steps, goals, and fundraising; in case you couldn't guess, it's a bit of a logistical nightmare to get them all together at once.  Meanwhile, I am going to present this decision to the youth group members tomorrow night, the church on Sunday, and friends around the diocese and country after that.  Lots of details to cover, but many graces and blessings to be found along the way. Summer Camp- as a head ...

Sometimes, writing a blog entry is a test in subject matter searching.  Other times, I am repeatedly bashed over the head with an idea until I have no other choice but to sit down, contemplate it, and finally write something semi-cohesive.  This has been a bit more of the latter this week.  I suppose the kickoff point was a simple prayer said by one of the brothers for a meal at the monastery last weekend: "Give bread to those who are hungry, and to those of us who have bread, give hunger for your justice." (or something like that, I've slept since then, it's close enough) This simple prayer rippled through me, and the rest of the room, like a massive tidal wave.  It was over well before the impact truly hit, and I stood a little shocked at its profundity and simplicity.  Since then, the persistence of message has turned toward the concept of brokenness, and I feel they go together quite well. Our faith, our songs, our conversations reference often the concept...