Meet Beth!!

We got a dog!!! We are keeping this one, the adoption papers will be finished soon. She is a 4 or 5 year old white shepherd mix; VERY lovable, and very protective of me, Jen and the house. I wish we had gotten her before I paid for the security system!! Seriously, if people come in the door and we welcome them, she is fine and will quickly become your best friend. If you start to walk in the door and we haven't welcomed you; watch out! Plus she has a very intimidating bark which is just nice to have around. :)

She was found as a stray, so she's kinda skinny but we're working to fatten her up (Gizmo is teaching her everything he knows). She is loving and friendly to anyone and everyone, unless you seem to be posing a threat to me or Jen...then she's not so nice. (Needless to say, my dad loves this dog, haha). Anyway, she's also GREAT with kids, is very laid back and already house trained. Basically, the perfect dog for us!!

She even gets along with Gizmo!! Of course, Giz is still getting used to her, but the only real problems they have had have been when she accidentally wacks him in the face with her tail (which really makes Gizmo mad, haha).

Isn't she cute?!?




And yes, we did take her to get a picture with Santa. She would only look at the camera if Jen was sitting with her though. Still a really cute picture!

Christmas Parties!!

This has been the week of Christmas parties!

We had the 7-10 year old party on Monday:


11-12 year olds on Tues:

5-6 on Wed:

and then the teens yesterday (I was too busy doing other things to get a group shot at the Teen Club party...whoops!) Tomorrow is the Adult Party. Its been a fun, but very exhausting week!

I was actually responsible for planning the 7-10 party, so the rest were just fun times to hang out with kids and help wherever I was needed. I really enjoyed all of the parties, and I think the kids did too!!

(She isn't quite 5 yet...more like 2....but is just so darned cute!!)


(That's not actually the present Miguel left with, he traded for another gift just as we were heading home!)

EVERY kid that came to one of these parties (except for the teens, their party was a little different) left with a sweatshirt or tshirt (this is the 5&6 and the 7-10 shirt...isn't is so cute?!?),

as well as a brand new Christmas present (that they got to choose!) and a bag full of school supplies. The preteens and 5-6 year olds also got hats and gloves (there are too many 7-10 year olds, for them to get winter gear, haha). There are lots of really great pictures of all of the parties that you can check out here!!

The Christmas parties also mark the end of our Fall Season of clubs, meaning we all get a break! If course, there is still a lot going on to keep us busy for a little while, but it is really nice to have evenings free for a while! After Christmas we will really get a break, with time to prepare for the winter/spring season as well as do all the things we don't have time for when clubs are running (i.e. home improvement projects).

I have a long list of goals I am hoping to accomplish during this break. Some are personal (time with Jesus!!), others are relational (fun activities with the kids!) and MANY are home improvement...all of which I *should* be capable of doing on my own (meaning no major construction). I'm excited to see what actually happens! :)

Peter and I would be Besties

For those of you who are not teenage girls living in Philadelphia, bestie is the new term for best friends. :) And the Peter I am referring to is the apostle.

Of course, I have never met Peter, but I do know a lot about him and his character from the bible. He was very passionate and outspoken about his love for Jesus, something I can relate to. He also made some pretty huge, and public, mistakes...which I can relate to as well. I think if I was an apostle during Jesus life I would have been a lot like Peter. Can't keep my mouth shut, but with the best of intentions nonetheless.

The other day I was reading the story of when Jesus walked on water and I really saw myself in Peter. In fact, I heard (not audibly) God telling that I have been Peter recently. Talk about walking away with my tail between my legs...

Jesus had been on the mountain, alone, talking with the Father before deciding to head out to the boat that the disciples were in. They were pretty far out on the water so He decided rather than take another boat, He would just walk. On the water.

The disciples first caught a glimpse of Him on the water and were scared, thinking it was a ghost. Jesus assured them it was him, and Peter was the first to pipe up a response. Here is how I picture the scene:

Upon hearing Jesus words that it was in fact Him walking on the water, Peter thinks: "Jesus IS awesome and we just watched him feed 5000 people with very little food, so it makes sense that He could walk on water" (Peter and I think very logically). But, just because someone is walking on water doesn't mean he is Jesus. Who knows what kind of crazy things the devil could pull off. But, ONLY Jesus could give ME the strength to walk on water. Hmmm..."

Peter says: "Okay Lord, if it really is you then call me to come to you on the water"

Jesus: "Aight, come on" (Jesus' ghetto language comes out occasionally)

Peter steps out onto the water and doesn't sink. He takes one step. Then another. Then another. Still not sinking. His confidence builds quickly and he starts walking a bit faster, though not too fast. He's not sure what would happen if he tripped.

He is now far enough away from the boat that no one could reach him if he started to sink. That's okay, though, because he is walking on water!

Peter thinks: That is Jesus! I'm walking on water! This is crazy! He really is everything that He said He is!"

Unfortunately, the novelty of the walking on water soon wears off and Peter starts to feel the wind. The water from the waves starts splashing on his face. He is still walking on the water, but as his friends are becoming more and more distant, the wind and the waves seem to be increasing.

Peter thinks: "Wait a minute. I am walking on water, but I'm still getting wet. Is that supposed to happen? And the wind is picking up, what if it blows me over? Whoa, that was a huge wave, it barely missed me! What happens if a wave goes over me?? Will I walk above that? I don't understand what's going on, what am I supposed to do now??

Jesus, watching this scene unfold before Him, thinks: "Come on Peter, just look at me. I'm standing on the same water. I'm getting hit with the same wind and the same waves. Just look at me. Do exactly what I am doing and you will be fine".

Of course, Peter doesn't hear this, and is too busy wiping water from his face and staring at his feet waiting for the first sign of possible sinking. And that's when it happens. He slowly starts to sink. Panic quickly sets in and he instinctively turns toward the boat, hoping that his friends notice him sinking, hoping that they will pull him out of the water.

But, its dark and he is too far from the boat for them to see. Besides, they're busy trying to keep their own boat from sinking.

His knees are underwater, his waist..."Help me Lord!". Without hesitation, Jesus reaches out His hand and pulls Peter back on top of the water. Peter is shocked by how quickly this happens. Apparently Jesus was standing much closer to him that He realized. In fact, He was never more than an arms length away. Even in the excitement of walking on water, Peter never noticed where Jesus was. Whoops, he had been focused on the water most of the time.

Jesus looked at him with such compassion, and...disappointment. "Why didn't you just look at me? Who do you really think I am?" Peter is immediately disappointed with himself. It wasn't the first time. It certainly won't be the last.

They walk back to the boat and the storm calms down.

It really is Jesus. He really is so much more than they thought.

Jesus doesn't dwell on Peter's failure, however, which allows Peter to move on as well. He still has much to learn, much to do; no time to dwell on the mistakes.

That's my take on the Peter walking on water story. And I see my name written all over that.

"Oh yeah, Jesus, we can do this whole life thing together. It will be sweet. You are God, so I can trust you with everything!
But wait a minute....
My dad has cancer, what if I don't get married before he dies. My dad might not get to walk me down the aisle!
Oh wait, I'm 28 and still single. Almost all of my friends are married, in a relationship or having babies. What if I never get to experience any of that?
Hold up; I've been living in Philly for 6 years and things seem to be getting harder and harder. Even Bonita and Linda are making really bad decisions. What's up with that?!"

Sinking...sinking...

Thankfully, I am finally hearing what Jesus has been trying to say to me.

"Trish, I'm out here standing on the same water as you. Just look at me. No, don't look at them, look at me. Do exactly what you see me doing. You will stay on top of the water, just like I am. Ignore the wind and the waves, I have total control over them and will not let them overtake you. Just keep looking at me"

Okay, I have to say that at this point all I can think of is: "Here's lookin' at you; Jesus". Haha, anyway...

So, that's Peter's and my story. Walking on the water with Jesus trying not to focus on the storm all around me. Just keep my eyes on Him, and He will take care of the rest.

Jesus, I need your help to even do that.

"I know Trish. That's why I'm standing right here"

Thanks Jesus.

"Anytime"

A Thought

I had a thought today...

At Cornerstone's staff retreat in August several of us felt like God was calling us to have all church prayer on a regular basis at church, similar to Brooklyn Tabernacle. We felt like God was calling His people together to pray.

Unfortunately, we couldn't find a day that worked, so we shelved the idea. We did have one all church prayer evening, but not one every week like we wanted.

Over the last four months our church and staff has been attacked like never before. Heart attack, stroke, cancer, bed bugs, gossip, slander, depression, and on and on.

I wonder if God knew all of that was coming and was calling us to come together and pray; to prepare us and even invite Him to come and provide protection from an attack that we didn't foresee but He did.

But, we didn't invite Him.

And we were attacked.

Just a thought.

**Quick note to add...I am NOT saying that I think the attacks we are facing wouldn't have happened had we done the all church prayer, nor am I saying that God hasn't brought good...even great things out of these struggles (He's pretty sweet like that). I AM suggesting that I think maybe God was trying to prepare us for what we were going to face and was trying to bring us together as a body to fight against the attacks together rather than individually being blindsided by them. (Kinda goes along with the message today at church).

Anyway, again, it was just a thought...

Thanksgiving...and then a rant :)

This has been somewhat of a whirlwind on a holiday for me, with lots of traveling and I'm not quite finished yet. Still, the traveling so far has definitely been worth it and I have been so blessed to get to spend time with family members that I rarely see.

I arrived in North Carolina on Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. My parents picked me up at the airport and we immediately began the drive to South Boston, VA to spend the day with my brother and his fiance. My flight required me to be at the airport at 4 a.m., so I decided to just stay up all night the night before rather than risk oversleeping. This would have been a great plan were I able to rest as soon as I arrived in VA. Unfortunately, the hotel didn't allow us to check in until 2 p.m. so I was basically the walking dead for a few hours.

It actually wasn't too bad for the most part. In South Boston we got to check out my brother's personal training studio (that he OWNS!). That was sweet! He actually just moved to a bigger place because his business is going so well. To say that I am proud of him doesn't even begin to cut it.

After visiting his place, my parents and I went around and visited friends of my dad (he was the chief of police in South Boston before moving to Washington, NC). Finally, at 2 we were able to check into the hotel and I promptly went to sleep. My parents apparently went to dinner with my brother and his fiance (Suzanne), but I slept through all of it. Whoops! Its okay, though, because we spent all of Thursday together.

Thursday morning we all got up and drove to Roanoke, VA...about 3 or so hours away. There we went to my grandma's house and met up with my dad's 2 brothers for Thanksgiving. I can't remember the last time we were all together, its been years. We had SO MUCH FUN!! My grandma spends most of her time taking care of her mom (who is 96 years old), so we decided to take care of the food this year instead of asking her to cook. Unfortunately, since both of my dad's brothers are single that meant we didn't exactly get a home cooked meal. :) It didn't matter though, we all had so much fun together the company was most definitely worth it.

My dad and his brothers are all VERY different from one another, but are hilarious when they are all together. I loved hearing stories of all the trouble they got into as kids and really enjoyed hearing how my grandfather reacted to them (he passed away when I was 12). We have already made tentative plans to get together again at Christmas. I'm pretty sure this will be the first time we have all spent Thanksgiving AND Christmas together. I'm sure that this has something to do with the uncertainty surrounding my dad's cancer, but I'm just going to go with it. I really enjoy my family.


(My baby brother and his fiance, Suzanne. He's even bigger than he looks in this picture!)

(My dad...the one on the left...and his two brothers, Steve and Eddie. I have never known siblings to be more different, but I love them all!)

(This is the whole family. I am the only girl in this picture actually *born* into the family! I do have a cousin that isn't in the picture...a boy. Reed's don't have girls...except me!)

It had been over a year since I had seen my brother, so it was especially nice to spend time with him. We laugh a lot together and despite being very different in many ways, still have a blast when we are together. Hopefully by next Thanksgiving, he and his fiance will be married!

After many hours of laughter we decided to part ways and all headed home. My brother and Suzanne headed back to South Boston while my parents and I headed back to NC. It was a long drive (about 5 hours!), but we made it and were exhausted. The time change doesn't help either. Its so dark at 6 p.m. that you feel like its midnight! Anyway, the arrival in NC began my days of sleeping, eating and more sleeping.

And, that's basically what I have been doing for the past few days! I did get up early on Friday to do some Black Friday shopping, but didn't have to leave the house at all! In my research beforehand for the best deals I found that everything I was looking to buy was on sale on line with free shipping! So, I got up early, spend some time on the computer, bought everything I needed and then went back to sleep. It was great!!

Today I did venture out into the world, taking my usual trip to Greenville, NC. I usually spend the day there reading a book in Barnes and Noble and sipping on some Starbucks. (Greenville is the closest "city", Washington is a small town to say the least). This time, however, I went to a movie (by myself, which is such a fun experience!) and then spent some time in Barnes and Noble. Oh, and I usually have lunch at Sonic since I rarely get to eat there in Philly (the closet one is about 20 minutes away).

Now I am at my parents' house, packing to head to Georgia tomorrow for an AIM conference. I'm not too excited about it, although that has nothing to do with AIM. I'm still not in a very good place mentally, spiritually or emotionally, so being around people that I merely work with but know next to nothing about me or my life (and 97% of whom are men) is not exactly what I'm looking for right now. But, I do enjoy the people that I work with, and I enjoy my job, so hopefully this won't be nearly as bad as I think it will be. :)

I think I am definitely walking a fine line toward all out depression. Not wanting to get out of bed, not really caring about anything. That's kinda where I am. What it really boils down to is, I'm trying to reconcile my faith with the reality of my life. I know that's a very generic and I will give you more as I work it all out, but for now that's really the only explanation I have.

In some ways I am being shaken to the core of who I am, but what I am discovering is that I am, without a shadow of a doubt, redeemed. That I know for sure.

Here are some other random thoughts spinning in my head.

The realities of what it really means to live among the poor and oppressed in America are NOT discussed by Shane Claiborne. Living in Philly, on Potter Street nonetheless, has somehow connected me to this man yet I find no comfort, solace or camaraderie in his words. Does he really live in the same city I do?

What do I do with the mom that refuses to take care of her kids, yet also refuses to let me or anyone else help?

What do I do with the addict that is taken into people's homes and cared for yet continually chooses the street?

What do I do with the teens who have heard and KNOW the truth, but choose to turn away?

I do the only thing I know how to do, I turn to God, to the cross and I cry out. I find hope in the words of my Savior. I find emptiness in the words of Shane Claiborne, and Rob Bell and so many others...yet my generation is turning to them instead of Jesus.

How do I live in a nation that allows and defends the practice of murdering babies by the millions, and not speak out?

How do I watch children grow up with no knowledge or understanding of the truth of God and His plans for His people, and not teach them?

That's what I am being asked to do by so many "authentic" Christians. Don't speak about Jesus, be Jesus.

How can I be Jesus, yet be silent?

And the truth is, I don't know how to be Jesus!!!! How do you show the compassion of the man who let the woman caught in adultery go, but also the passion of the man who overturned tables in the temple? If Jesus came NOT to bring peace, but to bring a sword, what does that mean for me??

I am struggling because I can't keep quiet. I am struggling because I am not okay with teens turning away, with moms abandoning their kids, with my country ignoring its God. I'm not okay with it...

But I don't know what to do about it.

Its easy to write a book on theology and even use some experiences to make your point. But living out a life of surrender? That is HARD. And UGLY. And LONELY. At least, that's how it feels right now.

And it goes so much deeper than not watching TV or making your own clothes. Living a life of surrender means that you are literally NOTHING, and you know it. And you rejoice in that. Because you get that He is EVERYTHING. Even when the world is at its ugliest, when YOU are at your ugliest, you still understand that He is what its all about. Not the kids, not the teens, not you...HIM.

I still don't really understand what all of that means. What I do know, however, is that I want to know more. More about Him. Because honestly, I can resist the revolution...but I can't seem to resist Him (and believe me, I have tried!).

I love Bonita

I had a really fun conversation with Bonita on Sunday that totally brightened my day (week, month, year). Linda didn't come to church, so it was just me and Bonita for the day, and we had so much fun! Bonita is going through a hard time right now. One of her closest friends has turned on her and is being really mean to her. She doesn't understand it and it really hurts. So, it was nice to be able to spend some time with her, talk to her about things that were going on, and of course just have fun.

Bonita is a talker...she really loves to talk (she is like me in so many ways!). This can be a problem when Linda is around because she constantly interrupts Linda, causing Linda to get mad and then forget what she was saying. Its actually a pretty comical scene, as well as a pretty common one. On Sunday, however, without anyone else around, Bonita was free to share what she wanted whenever she wanted to. It was really nice.

She was honest about things in her life, how she feels about her father and not getting to see him much, and even how hard it is for her to be 12 (not quite a teen, but starting to feel all the emotions of teenagers. It really is a hard age for everyone).

So, during our day together, Bonita struck up an interesting conversation out of the blue. Here is how it went:

Bonita: "Trish, when bad things happen, do you ever get really mad at Adam and Eve?"

Trish: "What do you mean?"

Bonita: "Sometimes when I am struggling or I see a lot of sin, I get so mad at Adam and Eve. I just wish they never sinned."

Trish: "Haha, I see what you mean. Adam and Eve might have been the first to sin, but they certainly weren't the last."

Bonita: "That's true. We all mess up. After I get mad at Adam and Eve it makes me think about Jesus and how amazing it is that He died on the cross just because I mess up all the time"

Trish: "That is pretty incredible, isn't it"

Bonita: "It just makes me love Him so much!"

All I could do is smile at that point...and try not to cry (I'm a crier, haha).

The next day she called me asking for advice on how to handle the friend that is being mean to her and I started to see some real maturity. I told her that too, she could really use some encouragement in the midst of what is going on for her.

I am so proud of her.