Reading Rocks Pics (password: church).
And, you definitely want to check out our mission team video/slide show here:
Cornerstone Teen Mission Trip 2010 from Trish Reed on Vimeo.
Stay tuned for a real update!! For now, I am going to rest! :)
Monday, August 16, 2010
A Quickie to Tide You Over ;)
Hey!! Things have been SO busy, and I am still recovering. I got back Saturday night from our teen mission trip (after driving for 16 hours straight!!) and spent all day yesterday cleaning and paying bills, so now I need some rest!! I will post a long update soon, on everything! For now, you can check out pictures from the Reading Rocks party here:
Reading Rocks Pics (password: church).
And, you definitely want to check out our mission team video/slide show here:
Stay tuned for a real update!! For now, I am going to rest! :)
Reading Rocks Pics (password: church).
And, you definitely want to check out our mission team video/slide show here:
Stay tuned for a real update!! For now, I am going to rest! :)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Its Just So Hot Outside!
This is my first summer not working for AIM, which means it is my first summer with only one job, instead of two. Yet, somehow this is the busiest summer I have had in my 7 summers in Philly! (After my first year in Philly, I spent the summer in Ghana, so while I have been in Philly for 8 years, I have only spent 7 summers here). Of course, the only reason I am surviving all of this busyness is my incredible intern, but I will talk more about her later. :)
Despite being busy, I do not feel overwhelmed... Praise the Lord! My friend Carisa described it perfectly, my plate is absolutely full, but its not spilling over. Its so true! I go to bed exhausted, but excited for the next day!! :)
We just completed a 5 day long VBS (during the hottest week of the summer, at our church that does not have any air conditioning!!!), and I am more than exhausted.
I can't complain, though. This is what I look at during my "work" hours:
Of course, there are also the staff members kids, who I get to see even more often (and love every second that I do!!). These kids NEVER cease to make me smile!! How could you not love these faces??
Of course, we still had God Squad, Teen Club, Kids Club, Reading Rocks, Prayer Pals, Theology Class, and Mission Trip prep to keep me busy. Still, when I come home, I am often greeted by these faces:
My favorite moment so far this week was when I introduced Gizmo to the neighborhood kids (who were all crowded at my front door to get a look at my big kitty). The best reaction came from this boy:
As he was petting Giz, he very emphatically yelled (and I do mean yelled); "He's so big and fluffy, like a pillow! I just want to sleep on him!"
Yup, I definitely can not complain at all. :)
Despite being busy, I do not feel overwhelmed... Praise the Lord! My friend Carisa described it perfectly, my plate is absolutely full, but its not spilling over. Its so true! I go to bed exhausted, but excited for the next day!! :)
We just completed a 5 day long VBS (during the hottest week of the summer, at our church that does not have any air conditioning!!!), and I am more than exhausted.
I can't complain, though. This is what I look at during my "work" hours:
Of course, there are also the staff members kids, who I get to see even more often (and love every second that I do!!). These kids NEVER cease to make me smile!! How could you not love these faces??
Of course, we still had God Squad, Teen Club, Kids Club, Reading Rocks, Prayer Pals, Theology Class, and Mission Trip prep to keep me busy. Still, when I come home, I am often greeted by these faces:
My favorite moment so far this week was when I introduced Gizmo to the neighborhood kids (who were all crowded at my front door to get a look at my big kitty). The best reaction came from this boy:
As he was petting Giz, he very emphatically yelled (and I do mean yelled); "He's so big and fluffy, like a pillow! I just want to sleep on him!"Yup, I definitely can not complain at all. :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
All Work and No Play...
That's definitely NOT how I am spending my summer! In fact, Ashley and I are trying to make sure we do something fun each week (a necessity since I am averaging about 70 work hours each week!). This summer is VERY different for me, as its my first one without the girls. Usually, I am planning trips to Hershey Park and the beach for at least 3. Now, its just me, and almost always Ashley. Its definitely a bittersweet time as I am having a good time, but something is missing...
My new favorite "get away" activity is going to the drive in!! Delsea Drive-In (the only drive-in inNJ), is about an hour away from Philly, and provides the PERFECT night away!! Every Friday and Saturday night, they show double features for $8 per person (and they are all new releases). In addition, they have an incredible concession stand that is actually reasonably priced, with TONS of options! You can get cotton candy, pizza, slushies, fries, burgers... they even have sundaes and chocolate dipped strawberries!! Its a really easy drive, and then we just relax in our car enjoying movies and the clear night sky!! We LOVE it!!
Of course, I can't afford to go to the drive-in every weekend, so we are getting creative. July 9th was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A, and Ashley, Lindsay and I decided to go! On C.A.D., Chick Fil A provides a free meal to anyone who comes to a store dressed as a cow. So....
Yup! We made our own cow costumes and got our free meal! We also ran into another family from church, and enjoyed eating with them! It was a lot of fun!
Cow Appreciation Night has motivated us to have more theme nights. :) Last night, Ashley and I hosted our own Fiesta night! Unfortunately, we didn't have sombreros, but we did have tacos and guacamole dip! And, thanks to Netflix instant being available on the Wii, we had endless movie options. It was fun!
We are hoping to make it to Dorney Park sometime this summer, and are looking into a possible cruise in the fall (saving my pennies!). But, for the most part we are spending our time being creative and thrifty! We have gotten a few fun coupons for meals out and some birthday gift cards have allowed us to get away as well. As busy as the summer has been, its definitely also been a lot of fun!
The best weekend yet, however, came on my birthday. It was an AWESOME birthday! On July 3rd, I turned 30 years old. I know that isn't old, and I don't feel old. However, it is a milestone and one I'm honestly not too happy about it. I really thought I would be in a different place by the time I turned 30.. but that's for another post.
As my birthday approached, I had no idea what I was going to do. Its 4th of July weekend, and since I hate crowds, my options were limited. I was also warned that my new block tends to get a little rowdy on the 3rd, so we were looking to get away. I started looking at what beaches were nice (the Jersey Shore is close, but CROWDED), and everything that came up were beached near my parents! So, Ashley had the genius idea of taking a road trip to see my parents!! They live an hour from several great beaches, and my brother and his fiance said they would come to hang out too! So, that's what we did!!! It was awesome!!
I had a mission team meeting until 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd, so we left really late and drove through the night. My GPS took us in a really ridiculous route, so we didn't arrive until almost 5 a.m. on my birthday. My parents just left the door unlocked for us, so we went in and went straight to bed. We both slept in (which was so nice!), which was fine because Jack and Suzanne didn't arrive until around 4. So, on my actual birthday we relaxed, and then went out to eat at a restaurant by the water. It was very low key, and absolutely perfect.
On the 4th; Ashley, Jack, Suzanne and I packed up the car, drove about an hour and spent the entire day laying out on the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with absolutely awesome people. We all got pretty burnt, but it was totally worth it.
We drove back to my parents house where they had a bbq dinner ready for us. Yum!! Then my dad, Ashley and I drove into downtown Washington to watch the fireworks. And, we got there in time to watch the sunset over the water. So beautiful!
Unfortunately, Ashley and I had to go back to Philly the next morning, but it was still a great weekend. It was short, but very refreshing!!
So, that's the fun times of a single, 30 year old missionary in Philadelphia. I've also had a sleepover with some of my God's Girls and a few Wii competitions with some of the teens. In all, its been a lot of fun. Not what I thought my life would look like at 30, but its still pretty fun. :)
My new favorite "get away" activity is going to the drive in!! Delsea Drive-In (the only drive-in inNJ), is about an hour away from Philly, and provides the PERFECT night away!! Every Friday and Saturday night, they show double features for $8 per person (and they are all new releases). In addition, they have an incredible concession stand that is actually reasonably priced, with TONS of options! You can get cotton candy, pizza, slushies, fries, burgers... they even have sundaes and chocolate dipped strawberries!! Its a really easy drive, and then we just relax in our car enjoying movies and the clear night sky!! We LOVE it!!
Of course, I can't afford to go to the drive-in every weekend, so we are getting creative. July 9th was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A, and Ashley, Lindsay and I decided to go! On C.A.D., Chick Fil A provides a free meal to anyone who comes to a store dressed as a cow. So....
Yup! We made our own cow costumes and got our free meal! We also ran into another family from church, and enjoyed eating with them! It was a lot of fun!
Cow Appreciation Night has motivated us to have more theme nights. :) Last night, Ashley and I hosted our own Fiesta night! Unfortunately, we didn't have sombreros, but we did have tacos and guacamole dip! And, thanks to Netflix instant being available on the Wii, we had endless movie options. It was fun!We are hoping to make it to Dorney Park sometime this summer, and are looking into a possible cruise in the fall (saving my pennies!). But, for the most part we are spending our time being creative and thrifty! We have gotten a few fun coupons for meals out and some birthday gift cards have allowed us to get away as well. As busy as the summer has been, its definitely also been a lot of fun!
The best weekend yet, however, came on my birthday. It was an AWESOME birthday! On July 3rd, I turned 30 years old. I know that isn't old, and I don't feel old. However, it is a milestone and one I'm honestly not too happy about it. I really thought I would be in a different place by the time I turned 30.. but that's for another post.
As my birthday approached, I had no idea what I was going to do. Its 4th of July weekend, and since I hate crowds, my options were limited. I was also warned that my new block tends to get a little rowdy on the 3rd, so we were looking to get away. I started looking at what beaches were nice (the Jersey Shore is close, but CROWDED), and everything that came up were beached near my parents! So, Ashley had the genius idea of taking a road trip to see my parents!! They live an hour from several great beaches, and my brother and his fiance said they would come to hang out too! So, that's what we did!!! It was awesome!!
I had a mission team meeting until 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd, so we left really late and drove through the night. My GPS took us in a really ridiculous route, so we didn't arrive until almost 5 a.m. on my birthday. My parents just left the door unlocked for us, so we went in and went straight to bed. We both slept in (which was so nice!), which was fine because Jack and Suzanne didn't arrive until around 4. So, on my actual birthday we relaxed, and then went out to eat at a restaurant by the water. It was very low key, and absolutely perfect.
On the 4th; Ashley, Jack, Suzanne and I packed up the car, drove about an hour and spent the entire day laying out on the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with absolutely awesome people. We all got pretty burnt, but it was totally worth it.
We drove back to my parents house where they had a bbq dinner ready for us. Yum!! Then my dad, Ashley and I drove into downtown Washington to watch the fireworks. And, we got there in time to watch the sunset over the water. So beautiful!
Unfortunately, Ashley and I had to go back to Philly the next morning, but it was still a great weekend. It was short, but very refreshing!!So, that's the fun times of a single, 30 year old missionary in Philadelphia. I've also had a sleepover with some of my God's Girls and a few Wii competitions with some of the teens. In all, its been a lot of fun. Not what I thought my life would look like at 30, but its still pretty fun. :)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A Busy Time of Year
Wow, and once again its been a month since I have updated. I guess all I can say is, its a VERY busy time of year for me!! I do want to keep everyone who is interested (all 3 of you!) updated with what's going on, so I have committed to writing several posts today to hopefully catch you up on everything (including my thoughts of turning 30 a few weeks ago!!). First, I will start with the ministry happenings of the last month!
The most exciting and fun thing happening, in terms of ministry, has been Reading Rocks. Reading Rocks started just after my last post, and its been going strong every Tuesday and Thursday! We have a total of 83 kids on our roster! We are averaging about 30 kids a day, which is the biggest year yet for us!! We have made some big changes this year, that I was EXTREMELY nervous about, at first, but seem to really be working out for the best.
(That's me up front! Ahhh!)
(If this picture doesn't make you jealous of my job, there is something wrong with you! Haha) :)
In the past, Carisa and I were in charge of the younger kids (the ones who need help reading and/or just aren't quite up to reading chapter books), while Laurie and Shannon took care of the older kids; the chapter book readers. This summer, we decided that Carisa would partner with Shannon with the chapter book readers and I would take charge of the younger kids; with the help of my intern of course! :)
This new role means that I am up front more and in charge of more, both of which I was very nervous about, but it has all actually worked out beautifully. Lindsay and I are enjoying our time with the younger ones, and Carisa and Shannon are (of course) doing an incredible job with the chapter book readers. In fact, this is my favorite year of Reading Rocks!! (How Shannon and Carisa manage to do all that they do while also taking care of their own families... I will never understand... but I'm SO thankful that they do!!!)
**In my previous posts I referred to Lindsay as Cupcake. I don't like to use kids' real names, but now that Lindsay is 18, is my intern and will be my newest roommate soon, Cupcake seemed kinda juvenile for her, haha. So, I got her permission to start using her real name! :)
We have also had one week of VBS already at church (no pics, sorry!), with another one on its way next week, as well as a Kids Day on July 2nd, and another one (hosted by the mission trip teens!) on July 15th! The kids (and I!!) are having a really busy, and fun summer!
I have to apologize for not having many pictures. I usually forget my camera, though even if I had it, I'm usually too busy to take pictures. The only reason that there are Reading Rocks pictures is because of Carisa! I'm going to try and work on that though...
So, that's whats been going on with the kids (as well as, of course, Kids Club every week). But that's not all that I have been up to! The teens are keeping me pretty busy this summer as well, and I have to admit I'm enjoying them as much as I'm enjoying the kids! The Extreme Team is in full swing and we have had many awesome events. First, several of the teens are regular helpers at Reading Rocks (I will take more pics of them soon!). In fact, in my opinion, they are the core of Reading Rocks and I know I couldn't survive without them!
My favorite teen event, so far, was our read through the bible. We got together and for 4 hours on a Sunday night to read through 40 essential bible passages, from Genesis to Revelation. We had 20 teens come and participate! It was amazing!
After the bible reading, we let the teens sleep over at the church because at 6:00 the next morning we all loaded onto a bus to drive to Blue Rocks to spend the day hiking. It was a VERY intense day of hiking over boulders and through the woods, but we all survived! I HATE hiking, but I REALLY enjoyed the day with the teens!
I am also heading up our teen mission trip this summer, and we have been VERY busy preparing for it. We will be driving 12 hours to Jacksonville, FL this year! We started with 12 people; 9 teens and 3 leaders. Unfortunately, we are down to 10, having had a teen and a leader step down, but we are still VERY excited about the trip... and we leave in 3 weeks! Right now we are in the midst of some major fund raising. First, we hosted a spirit night at Chick Fil A, where the teens served customers and we were given a percentage of the profits to put toward the trip. Tons of people from the church came out to support us that night, so it was a lot of fun!
The teens are also sending out support letters, and tomorrow we will start our hoagie sale! We have to raise over $4000 total, which is a bit daunting for an inner city church (especially with my own personal support struggling). God is teaching us all SO much through all of this, though, and the teens (and leaders!) are really being in their faith, and its awesome! I'm trying not to get too overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done to prepare for the trip. The teens hosted and ran a Kids Day at church this past Thursday and while I expected them to do well, they did even better than I expected!! Its been really great to see God stretching each of them and watching them rise to the challenge every time. I'm so excited for the trip!! Now, if I can just stop stressing about all of the details....
In the midst of ALL that is going on, though, the #1 highlight for me this summer (in terms of ministry) has been my weekly mentoring with 2 of the teens. I have the incredible privileged of meeting weekly with these two beautiful ladies:
(The pic is from their prom. Aren't they SO BEAUTIFUL???)
We are studying the book "Experiencing God" together, and we are all being blown away. These two young women both have such incredible hearts for the Lord (they are both going on the mission trip!), and I love every minute I get to spend with them! We have already realized that we won't finish the book this summer, but all agree that we want to keep going in the fall. What a blessing!!!
Of course, in addition to these special events, we have been having God Squad and Teen Club regularly. Our numbers have been down this summer, but commitment has been stronger from the teens that are coming out, so that's exciting!
Well, I think that's pretty much been ministry in a nut shell for the past month, though I'm sure I have left a ton out. I still have about a month of ministry being in full swing, culminating with the mission trip, before we take a little break. So, please continue to pray!! My house is on the verge of being declared a national disaster zone, and yet I can't seem to find the time or energy to clean it. I'm just hoping Ashley can put up with it for one more month before threatening to move out!
Speaking of Ashley, we have been up to some fun stuff over the past few weeks as well... I will post about that next! (Apparently my motto for this summer is to go non-stop with work and fun for 3 months and then collapse in August. Let's hope I survive until then!)
The most exciting and fun thing happening, in terms of ministry, has been Reading Rocks. Reading Rocks started just after my last post, and its been going strong every Tuesday and Thursday! We have a total of 83 kids on our roster! We are averaging about 30 kids a day, which is the biggest year yet for us!! We have made some big changes this year, that I was EXTREMELY nervous about, at first, but seem to really be working out for the best.
(That's me up front! Ahhh!)
(If this picture doesn't make you jealous of my job, there is something wrong with you! Haha) :)In the past, Carisa and I were in charge of the younger kids (the ones who need help reading and/or just aren't quite up to reading chapter books), while Laurie and Shannon took care of the older kids; the chapter book readers. This summer, we decided that Carisa would partner with Shannon with the chapter book readers and I would take charge of the younger kids; with the help of my intern of course! :)
This new role means that I am up front more and in charge of more, both of which I was very nervous about, but it has all actually worked out beautifully. Lindsay and I are enjoying our time with the younger ones, and Carisa and Shannon are (of course) doing an incredible job with the chapter book readers. In fact, this is my favorite year of Reading Rocks!! (How Shannon and Carisa manage to do all that they do while also taking care of their own families... I will never understand... but I'm SO thankful that they do!!!)
**In my previous posts I referred to Lindsay as Cupcake. I don't like to use kids' real names, but now that Lindsay is 18, is my intern and will be my newest roommate soon, Cupcake seemed kinda juvenile for her, haha. So, I got her permission to start using her real name! :)We have also had one week of VBS already at church (no pics, sorry!), with another one on its way next week, as well as a Kids Day on July 2nd, and another one (hosted by the mission trip teens!) on July 15th! The kids (and I!!) are having a really busy, and fun summer!
I have to apologize for not having many pictures. I usually forget my camera, though even if I had it, I'm usually too busy to take pictures. The only reason that there are Reading Rocks pictures is because of Carisa! I'm going to try and work on that though...
So, that's whats been going on with the kids (as well as, of course, Kids Club every week). But that's not all that I have been up to! The teens are keeping me pretty busy this summer as well, and I have to admit I'm enjoying them as much as I'm enjoying the kids! The Extreme Team is in full swing and we have had many awesome events. First, several of the teens are regular helpers at Reading Rocks (I will take more pics of them soon!). In fact, in my opinion, they are the core of Reading Rocks and I know I couldn't survive without them!
My favorite teen event, so far, was our read through the bible. We got together and for 4 hours on a Sunday night to read through 40 essential bible passages, from Genesis to Revelation. We had 20 teens come and participate! It was amazing!
After the bible reading, we let the teens sleep over at the church because at 6:00 the next morning we all loaded onto a bus to drive to Blue Rocks to spend the day hiking. It was a VERY intense day of hiking over boulders and through the woods, but we all survived! I HATE hiking, but I REALLY enjoyed the day with the teens!
I am also heading up our teen mission trip this summer, and we have been VERY busy preparing for it. We will be driving 12 hours to Jacksonville, FL this year! We started with 12 people; 9 teens and 3 leaders. Unfortunately, we are down to 10, having had a teen and a leader step down, but we are still VERY excited about the trip... and we leave in 3 weeks! Right now we are in the midst of some major fund raising. First, we hosted a spirit night at Chick Fil A, where the teens served customers and we were given a percentage of the profits to put toward the trip. Tons of people from the church came out to support us that night, so it was a lot of fun!
The teens are also sending out support letters, and tomorrow we will start our hoagie sale! We have to raise over $4000 total, which is a bit daunting for an inner city church (especially with my own personal support struggling). God is teaching us all SO much through all of this, though, and the teens (and leaders!) are really being in their faith, and its awesome! I'm trying not to get too overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done to prepare for the trip. The teens hosted and ran a Kids Day at church this past Thursday and while I expected them to do well, they did even better than I expected!! Its been really great to see God stretching each of them and watching them rise to the challenge every time. I'm so excited for the trip!! Now, if I can just stop stressing about all of the details....In the midst of ALL that is going on, though, the #1 highlight for me this summer (in terms of ministry) has been my weekly mentoring with 2 of the teens. I have the incredible privileged of meeting weekly with these two beautiful ladies:
(The pic is from their prom. Aren't they SO BEAUTIFUL???)We are studying the book "Experiencing God" together, and we are all being blown away. These two young women both have such incredible hearts for the Lord (they are both going on the mission trip!), and I love every minute I get to spend with them! We have already realized that we won't finish the book this summer, but all agree that we want to keep going in the fall. What a blessing!!!
Of course, in addition to these special events, we have been having God Squad and Teen Club regularly. Our numbers have been down this summer, but commitment has been stronger from the teens that are coming out, so that's exciting!Well, I think that's pretty much been ministry in a nut shell for the past month, though I'm sure I have left a ton out. I still have about a month of ministry being in full swing, culminating with the mission trip, before we take a little break. So, please continue to pray!! My house is on the verge of being declared a national disaster zone, and yet I can't seem to find the time or energy to clean it. I'm just hoping Ashley can put up with it for one more month before threatening to move out!
Speaking of Ashley, we have been up to some fun stuff over the past few weeks as well... I will post about that next! (Apparently my motto for this summer is to go non-stop with work and fun for 3 months and then collapse in August. Let's hope I survive until then!)
Friday, June 18, 2010
Ooops, again...
So, apparently I am only going to be updating once a month. Well, hopefully this trend won't continue, but that all depends on my schedule. And, considering that I have worked 70 hours this week... well, we'll just see. :)
The last month has been CRAZY, but I will try and give you the highlights.
May ended with me spending the weekend in New York with my family for my cousin's wedding. It was an GREAT weekend!! My dad and brother had never been to NY, so we had fun touring the city and taking pictures of all the sights. The rehearsal dinner and wedding were a lot of fun as well. I was so impressed with my cousin; she really made her wedding very "her", but also made sure the rest of us had a really great time. It was definitely worth the trip. :)
We didn't take many "family pics", but I did get one of my dad and brother at the site of George Washington's Inauguration (we are all history dorks, haha).
Here is a pic of me and my mom at the wedding. We look good! :)
Once I got back from the wedding, I jumped right into my crazy summer schedule. First, came the 5th annual CCC Block Party. This year we decided to do it on a Sunday, which made for a really long day, but it was totally worth it! After church, we blocked off the entire street in front of the church and from 3-7 had a blast with the neighborhood! We had 3 giant inflatables set up, basketball courts, face painting, free food (pizza, hot dogs, sno cones and popcorn!), a puppet show for the kids, Christian music, and a drama and hourly gospel presentation. Oh, and free t-shirts! It was an insanely awesome day!!
That same week was the re-start of all of our regular clubs: God Squad, Kids Club, Teen Club and Prayer Pals. Its also my month to lead Children's Church and with Carisa out of town on vacation, I'm also leading Sunday School last Sunday and this upcoming Sunday. Its a busy time!
One of the best days of my life so far came on Saturday, June 12th. That is the day that Cupcake graduated from High School!!!! (She also turned 18 on May 25th! I'm not ready for her to be so grown up!!). I am constantly amazed at the work God has done in her. When I met her she was a feisty little (very little) 11 year old girl, and now she is an absolutely beautiful young woman. And she has worked SO HARD to get to where she is. She graduated with a higher GPA than I had in high school, along with 6 college credits. In a neighborhood where 82% of high school students drop out, she didn't. She persevered and I am SO PROUD of her!!! After spending her summer interning with me, Cupcake will continue taking classes at Community College of Philadelphia in the fall and then transfer for a 4 year college to major in early childhood education, so she can come back and teach kids in Philly to follow her example instead of everyone else's. She is nothing short of amazing.
This is one of my earliest memories of Cupcake, at a wedding in 2005. Little 13 year old girl knocking on my door, literally asking me to come out and play with her. :)
And here she is, an 18 year old graduating from High School! (I've been in Philly for a long time!)
I am so blessed to have her in my life!!
The day after Cupcake's graduation we left for our annual Teen Club retreat. This year we took 25 teens (with 6 leaders), out to Camp Men O Lan to enjoy nature (something most of the teens don't do very often), and learn more about God. The focus this year was the following statement: "Salvation is by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, in Christ ALONE, according to the scriptures ALONE". We had some really awesome and powerful teaching, and several of the teens seem to come home really changed. Of course, we also had a lot of fun playing football in the mud (during and after a huge rain storm!), competing in a team quad-athalon (running, biking, canoeing and paddle boating), swimming, going down the water slide, and even cooking smores and hot dogs over the fire. And, we had almost no drama! (Which is unusual for a teen retreat, haha). Overall it was a really fun 2 days! (And I'm so glad it wasn't any longer, haha).
We got back from the retreat on Monday night, and I immediately went back to my normal, busy, weekly schedule. Each week I have Sunday School and Children's Church in Sundays, God Squad on Mondays, Reading Rocks (which begins in just 2 weeks!) and Kids Club on Tuesdays, Staff Prayer, Mentoring Teens, Prayer Pals and my Theology Class (I'll tell you more about that in a minute) on Wednesdays, and Reading Rocks and Teen Club on Thursdays. In addition, there are 3 VBS's planned for the summer, at least 5 Extreme Team (a part of God Squad) events planned, several more Kids Days and smaller Block Parties, as well as preparing for the Teen Mission Trip, which I am in charge of this year. I am already feeling a little (okay, probably more than a little, haha) overwhelmed! This was a perfect summer for me to have an intern helping, now I just pray I can raise enough money to be able to pay her!!
I am already having a lot of fun and I'm so excited about everything coming up this summer, especially the opportunity to spend it with Cupcake. I am also a little nervous about how much I have on my plate. So, I am really working hard to make sure I keep my daily time with God, something that has been a struggle for me for the last several years. One thing that is really (and I mean REALLY) helping me out with this is the Theology class that I am taking.
Jeff, one of our staff members (and the person I bought my new house from!) graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and decided to teach a Theology class for our church this summer! Actually, its going to last for 3 summers, I guess kinda like a 101, 201 and 301 type class. We started 3 weeks ago, and it has been AMAZING!!! (Its also really nice to take a class that's just about learning and not grades!). I have learned SO MUCH, and get so excited about the class every week. And, this class is coming at a perfect time in my life. With everything that has happened over the last 6 months, especially with Linda and Bonita, my faith has been challenged.. a lot. This class is not only drawing me closer and closer to the REAL God, but its strengthening my faith in ways I didn't even realize it needed to be. God is so good!!
So, there you have an update on what I've been up to, and an explanation as to why I keep taking so long to post (although I'm really going to be better about that, really!).
Did I also mention that I'm carrying 2 mortgages right now, and my support account is depleted from all my medical bills, so I may or may not get paid this summer? Life is crazy! But God is good!!! :) Wait, let me rephrase that. Life is crazy AND God is good! :)
The last month has been CRAZY, but I will try and give you the highlights.
May ended with me spending the weekend in New York with my family for my cousin's wedding. It was an GREAT weekend!! My dad and brother had never been to NY, so we had fun touring the city and taking pictures of all the sights. The rehearsal dinner and wedding were a lot of fun as well. I was so impressed with my cousin; she really made her wedding very "her", but also made sure the rest of us had a really great time. It was definitely worth the trip. :)
We didn't take many "family pics", but I did get one of my dad and brother at the site of George Washington's Inauguration (we are all history dorks, haha).
Here is a pic of me and my mom at the wedding. We look good! :)
Once I got back from the wedding, I jumped right into my crazy summer schedule. First, came the 5th annual CCC Block Party. This year we decided to do it on a Sunday, which made for a really long day, but it was totally worth it! After church, we blocked off the entire street in front of the church and from 3-7 had a blast with the neighborhood! We had 3 giant inflatables set up, basketball courts, face painting, free food (pizza, hot dogs, sno cones and popcorn!), a puppet show for the kids, Christian music, and a drama and hourly gospel presentation. Oh, and free t-shirts! It was an insanely awesome day!!
That same week was the re-start of all of our regular clubs: God Squad, Kids Club, Teen Club and Prayer Pals. Its also my month to lead Children's Church and with Carisa out of town on vacation, I'm also leading Sunday School last Sunday and this upcoming Sunday. Its a busy time!One of the best days of my life so far came on Saturday, June 12th. That is the day that Cupcake graduated from High School!!!! (She also turned 18 on May 25th! I'm not ready for her to be so grown up!!). I am constantly amazed at the work God has done in her. When I met her she was a feisty little (very little) 11 year old girl, and now she is an absolutely beautiful young woman. And she has worked SO HARD to get to where she is. She graduated with a higher GPA than I had in high school, along with 6 college credits. In a neighborhood where 82% of high school students drop out, she didn't. She persevered and I am SO PROUD of her!!! After spending her summer interning with me, Cupcake will continue taking classes at Community College of Philadelphia in the fall and then transfer for a 4 year college to major in early childhood education, so she can come back and teach kids in Philly to follow her example instead of everyone else's. She is nothing short of amazing.
This is one of my earliest memories of Cupcake, at a wedding in 2005. Little 13 year old girl knocking on my door, literally asking me to come out and play with her. :)
And here she is, an 18 year old graduating from High School! (I've been in Philly for a long time!)
I am so blessed to have her in my life!!The day after Cupcake's graduation we left for our annual Teen Club retreat. This year we took 25 teens (with 6 leaders), out to Camp Men O Lan to enjoy nature (something most of the teens don't do very often), and learn more about God. The focus this year was the following statement: "Salvation is by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, in Christ ALONE, according to the scriptures ALONE". We had some really awesome and powerful teaching, and several of the teens seem to come home really changed. Of course, we also had a lot of fun playing football in the mud (during and after a huge rain storm!), competing in a team quad-athalon (running, biking, canoeing and paddle boating), swimming, going down the water slide, and even cooking smores and hot dogs over the fire. And, we had almost no drama! (Which is unusual for a teen retreat, haha). Overall it was a really fun 2 days! (And I'm so glad it wasn't any longer, haha).
We got back from the retreat on Monday night, and I immediately went back to my normal, busy, weekly schedule. Each week I have Sunday School and Children's Church in Sundays, God Squad on Mondays, Reading Rocks (which begins in just 2 weeks!) and Kids Club on Tuesdays, Staff Prayer, Mentoring Teens, Prayer Pals and my Theology Class (I'll tell you more about that in a minute) on Wednesdays, and Reading Rocks and Teen Club on Thursdays. In addition, there are 3 VBS's planned for the summer, at least 5 Extreme Team (a part of God Squad) events planned, several more Kids Days and smaller Block Parties, as well as preparing for the Teen Mission Trip, which I am in charge of this year. I am already feeling a little (okay, probably more than a little, haha) overwhelmed! This was a perfect summer for me to have an intern helping, now I just pray I can raise enough money to be able to pay her!!
I am already having a lot of fun and I'm so excited about everything coming up this summer, especially the opportunity to spend it with Cupcake. I am also a little nervous about how much I have on my plate. So, I am really working hard to make sure I keep my daily time with God, something that has been a struggle for me for the last several years. One thing that is really (and I mean REALLY) helping me out with this is the Theology class that I am taking.
Jeff, one of our staff members (and the person I bought my new house from!) graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and decided to teach a Theology class for our church this summer! Actually, its going to last for 3 summers, I guess kinda like a 101, 201 and 301 type class. We started 3 weeks ago, and it has been AMAZING!!! (Its also really nice to take a class that's just about learning and not grades!). I have learned SO MUCH, and get so excited about the class every week. And, this class is coming at a perfect time in my life. With everything that has happened over the last 6 months, especially with Linda and Bonita, my faith has been challenged.. a lot. This class is not only drawing me closer and closer to the REAL God, but its strengthening my faith in ways I didn't even realize it needed to be. God is so good!!
So, there you have an update on what I've been up to, and an explanation as to why I keep taking so long to post (although I'm really going to be better about that, really!).
Did I also mention that I'm carrying 2 mortgages right now, and my support account is depleted from all my medical bills, so I may or may not get paid this summer? Life is crazy! But God is good!!! :) Wait, let me rephrase that. Life is crazy AND God is good! :)
Monday, May 17, 2010
Almost a Month?!?!
Wow, I can't believe its been almost a month since I last updated. That is inexcusable!! I will really work on getting better about that! Of course, I have been traveling for the last 2 weeks, often staying places that don't have easy internet access (I'm actually sitting in a starbucks right now!), so that would explain SOME of my absence. The rest is just, well I have no excuse. :)
So, what have I been up to? Well, the most exciting thing is probably my NEW HOUSE!!! That's right, I finally moved!!!! I still can't even really believe it, it was SUCH a long process... but totally worth it! I have posted pictures on my phanfare site, so definitely check them out if you get a chance!
We closed on the house on Tuesday, April 27th (Linda's 15th birthday!). I had a team of people at my house Friday morning (April 30th) at 10 a.m. and I was completely moved in by 1:00 p.m. How crazy is that?? And we were completely unpacked and settled in by Monday! No one really believed me that I don't have that much stuff, haha, but its true! Of course, it really helps that I was only moving 3 blocks away... and my team of helpers (Frank, Jared, Andy, Jeff, Jonerik, and Emily) were all AMAZING!!!! They even took out a window to get my queen size bed into my room... and even with that it only took 3 hours! THANK YOU!!!!
Oh, and on Sunday, May 2nd, I ran my second Broad Street Run! (It was a crazy weekend!!). Once again, it was so much fun! It was a really hard race for me, but I completed it and crossed the finish line with my friends Frank and Elizabeth. I didn't do as well as I did last year (about 10 minutes slower), but I'm okay with that. 2 days before the race I moved my entire house! Plus, this year the temperatures were in the 90's during the race! They had fire hydrants spraying water on all of us pretty much the entire race. The people who WON even said that their times were hugely affected by the weather, so I don't feel too bad. Completing a 10 mile race, in that heat, 2 days after moving (usually you aren't supposed to lift weights before a race, haha) and 3 weeks after a half marathon is still an accomplishment I am proud of!! Next year, I will work on my time. :)
After moving and getting settled in, I pretty much immediately packed and left town for a BIG trip. Well, first I spent the day on Thursday babysitting the cutest 5 week old baby!! My friend Ashley (a friend from high school), recently moved to Swarthmore, PA (about 45 minutes outside of Philly) and needed a babysitter while she was speaking at a conference at Temple (she is really smart, haha). I'm SO EXCITED that I live close enough to one of my high school friends to be able to babysit! Of course, 5 weeks is really tiny and I was a little nervous, but we both (me and the baby) survived!
I left Philly on Friday, May 7th, and I'm still not back! In fact, I will be heading back to Philly on Wednesday (May 19th), but then I'm leaving again on Friday (May 21st) to spend the weekend in New York with my family for my cousin's wedding (bridesmaid dress #12!!!). Whew, that's almost 3 full weeks being away from Philly, I haven't done that in a long time!
So far its been a really great trip. My first stop was in Northern Virginia where I spent the night with my friends Jacqueline and JL. They are huge supporters of mine, in every way, and I was SO excited to get to see them!! They took me out to a wonderful dinner and provided a really comfy bed to help me break up my travel time. They were literally moving to a new house the NEXT day, and I woke up to the movers arriving, so I didn't stay too long. :) They are only about 3 hours away from me, though, so I am sure I will see them again soon. At least I really hope I will!
From there, I headed to my parents' house for a few days. That is always so fun, and restful for me, and this time was no different. I was REALLY excited to be in town for Mother's Day and to actually get to spend the day with my mom! Of course, my brother still managed to upstage me and sent her a really awesome video that he made for her, but that's okay. :)
Unfortunately, I spent a few days being sick. In fact, I spent about 2 days pretty much just laying in bed. I don't think it was an illness, we decided it was probably just my body de-stressing. Its been a really, really, rough 6-8 months and I think my body was just finally getting to rest a bit. Crazy! :)
So, I had a good time hanging out with my family until Wednesday, the 12th. I rested, read A LOT, and even did some work/planning for Kids Club this summer. And of course, I laughed with my parents a lot. They are hilarious people!!
From there I drove to Raleigh to have dinner with my friends Charlotte and Dan. Charlotte and I have been friends since junior high and we were even roommates our freshman year at Tech (when she and Dan started dating!) We haven't seen each other in 3 years, so it was really nice to catch up! After dinner, I drove to my aunt and uncle's lake house. That's right, they are letting me stay (by myself!) at their house on the lake!!!
Here is my view from every part of the house:
And the view at night:
Yeah, its been AMAZING! I spent my first 2 days here in complete solitude, just me and Jesus. There isn't internet access, so I cut myself off from the world and just spent time with the Lord. It was SO HARD, and SO AMAZING! Like I said, its been a really rough few months for me, and part of the problem has been my relationship with the Lord. I have kept myself so busy and basically ignored some real things that I needed to deal with Him (kinda on purpose, I hate to admit). So, we started working on those things. No distractions, no excuses. It was one of the hardest times of my life... and we've only just begun. But its beautiful. :)
Finally on Saturday I decided to head into "town" (meaning I drove an hour into Roanoke), to spend some time with Jesus in the place where I grew up... and to use the internet for a while, haha. I'm glad I did, too, because I got an email from my pastor at my church in Roanoke telling me to prepare something to share with the church on Sunday for about 15 minutes. I wasn't exactly prepared for that, last time I talked to him he had just planned on sharing things for me, haha. So, after catching up on email and spending some time (literally) driving down memory lane, I went back to the lake house and spent the evening being extremely nervous and preparing something to share the next morning.
Sunday morning, I got up and drove back in to Roanoke to go to my home church, and it was awesome!!! They actually changed their plan at the last minute and decided to just interview me, which was a huge relief and much less nerve racking! (Although I still hate any form of public speaking... not matter how often I have to do it!). I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the service! The worship was amazing, and everyone was so encouraging after I shared! Pastor Jef'f's sermon was awesome and very challenging. They really treat me like family, and it reminded me why I need to work to visit more often!!! I left feeling so refreshed, encouraged, and hopefully with a few new supporters. ;) After church, one of the families that I have known for YEARS (and yet they still support me, haha) took me out to lunch and it was so fun! Their daughter (whom I have known since she was very little) is actually getting married on my 30th birthday, so that was fun to talk about. :)
After being up late, and then getting up early and talking to so many people, I was pretty tired, so I went back to the lake house and just relaxed for the evening. I finished another book (I think I have read 5 so far on this trip, haha) and then went to bed... falling asleep to rain drops on roof. Its so quiet here!
So, that brings us to today. Whew!! I'm in Roanoke again... using the internet, and doing some shopping. I still don't have everything I need for the wedding this weekend (you would think by my 12th time I would be more prepared!). Tonight I am having dinner with my friend Dawn, and I'm so excited! We haven't seen each other in at least 8 years! We have been friends since junior high, and I was maid of honor on her wedding... and we've hardly seen each other since. I can't wait!!
Tomorrow will look a lot like today... getting things ready for the wedding and then I'm having dinner with some college friends/supporters; Misty and Tina. Misty and I were roommates our sophomore year at Tech, and Tina was a good friend at Tech. All 3 of us were in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship together, so I'm really excited to catch up with them again.
I will be heading back to Philly early Wednesday morning, and I am so excited! This has been an amazing time away, and I'm SO glad that I have been able to see so many people that I love, but I miss home. Of course, I won't be home for long! On Thursday, my parents, my brother and his fiance will all be arriving and spending the night (at my new house!). Then we will all get up on Friday morning and drive to New York for the wedding weekend. More people I haven't seen in years! :) It should be a lot of fun, but I will be really excited to be back home for good on Sunday night!!
Okay, now you are all sufficiently updated!! I will be back again soon!!! :)
So, what have I been up to? Well, the most exciting thing is probably my NEW HOUSE!!! That's right, I finally moved!!!! I still can't even really believe it, it was SUCH a long process... but totally worth it! I have posted pictures on my phanfare site, so definitely check them out if you get a chance!
We closed on the house on Tuesday, April 27th (Linda's 15th birthday!). I had a team of people at my house Friday morning (April 30th) at 10 a.m. and I was completely moved in by 1:00 p.m. How crazy is that?? And we were completely unpacked and settled in by Monday! No one really believed me that I don't have that much stuff, haha, but its true! Of course, it really helps that I was only moving 3 blocks away... and my team of helpers (Frank, Jared, Andy, Jeff, Jonerik, and Emily) were all AMAZING!!!! They even took out a window to get my queen size bed into my room... and even with that it only took 3 hours! THANK YOU!!!!
Oh, and on Sunday, May 2nd, I ran my second Broad Street Run! (It was a crazy weekend!!). Once again, it was so much fun! It was a really hard race for me, but I completed it and crossed the finish line with my friends Frank and Elizabeth. I didn't do as well as I did last year (about 10 minutes slower), but I'm okay with that. 2 days before the race I moved my entire house! Plus, this year the temperatures were in the 90's during the race! They had fire hydrants spraying water on all of us pretty much the entire race. The people who WON even said that their times were hugely affected by the weather, so I don't feel too bad. Completing a 10 mile race, in that heat, 2 days after moving (usually you aren't supposed to lift weights before a race, haha) and 3 weeks after a half marathon is still an accomplishment I am proud of!! Next year, I will work on my time. :)
After moving and getting settled in, I pretty much immediately packed and left town for a BIG trip. Well, first I spent the day on Thursday babysitting the cutest 5 week old baby!! My friend Ashley (a friend from high school), recently moved to Swarthmore, PA (about 45 minutes outside of Philly) and needed a babysitter while she was speaking at a conference at Temple (she is really smart, haha). I'm SO EXCITED that I live close enough to one of my high school friends to be able to babysit! Of course, 5 weeks is really tiny and I was a little nervous, but we both (me and the baby) survived!
I left Philly on Friday, May 7th, and I'm still not back! In fact, I will be heading back to Philly on Wednesday (May 19th), but then I'm leaving again on Friday (May 21st) to spend the weekend in New York with my family for my cousin's wedding (bridesmaid dress #12!!!). Whew, that's almost 3 full weeks being away from Philly, I haven't done that in a long time!
So far its been a really great trip. My first stop was in Northern Virginia where I spent the night with my friends Jacqueline and JL. They are huge supporters of mine, in every way, and I was SO excited to get to see them!! They took me out to a wonderful dinner and provided a really comfy bed to help me break up my travel time. They were literally moving to a new house the NEXT day, and I woke up to the movers arriving, so I didn't stay too long. :) They are only about 3 hours away from me, though, so I am sure I will see them again soon. At least I really hope I will!
From there, I headed to my parents' house for a few days. That is always so fun, and restful for me, and this time was no different. I was REALLY excited to be in town for Mother's Day and to actually get to spend the day with my mom! Of course, my brother still managed to upstage me and sent her a really awesome video that he made for her, but that's okay. :)
Unfortunately, I spent a few days being sick. In fact, I spent about 2 days pretty much just laying in bed. I don't think it was an illness, we decided it was probably just my body de-stressing. Its been a really, really, rough 6-8 months and I think my body was just finally getting to rest a bit. Crazy! :)
So, I had a good time hanging out with my family until Wednesday, the 12th. I rested, read A LOT, and even did some work/planning for Kids Club this summer. And of course, I laughed with my parents a lot. They are hilarious people!!
From there I drove to Raleigh to have dinner with my friends Charlotte and Dan. Charlotte and I have been friends since junior high and we were even roommates our freshman year at Tech (when she and Dan started dating!) We haven't seen each other in 3 years, so it was really nice to catch up! After dinner, I drove to my aunt and uncle's lake house. That's right, they are letting me stay (by myself!) at their house on the lake!!!
Here is my view from every part of the house:
And the view at night:
Yeah, its been AMAZING! I spent my first 2 days here in complete solitude, just me and Jesus. There isn't internet access, so I cut myself off from the world and just spent time with the Lord. It was SO HARD, and SO AMAZING! Like I said, its been a really rough few months for me, and part of the problem has been my relationship with the Lord. I have kept myself so busy and basically ignored some real things that I needed to deal with Him (kinda on purpose, I hate to admit). So, we started working on those things. No distractions, no excuses. It was one of the hardest times of my life... and we've only just begun. But its beautiful. :)
Finally on Saturday I decided to head into "town" (meaning I drove an hour into Roanoke), to spend some time with Jesus in the place where I grew up... and to use the internet for a while, haha. I'm glad I did, too, because I got an email from my pastor at my church in Roanoke telling me to prepare something to share with the church on Sunday for about 15 minutes. I wasn't exactly prepared for that, last time I talked to him he had just planned on sharing things for me, haha. So, after catching up on email and spending some time (literally) driving down memory lane, I went back to the lake house and spent the evening being extremely nervous and preparing something to share the next morning.
Sunday morning, I got up and drove back in to Roanoke to go to my home church, and it was awesome!!! They actually changed their plan at the last minute and decided to just interview me, which was a huge relief and much less nerve racking! (Although I still hate any form of public speaking... not matter how often I have to do it!). I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the service! The worship was amazing, and everyone was so encouraging after I shared! Pastor Jef'f's sermon was awesome and very challenging. They really treat me like family, and it reminded me why I need to work to visit more often!!! I left feeling so refreshed, encouraged, and hopefully with a few new supporters. ;) After church, one of the families that I have known for YEARS (and yet they still support me, haha) took me out to lunch and it was so fun! Their daughter (whom I have known since she was very little) is actually getting married on my 30th birthday, so that was fun to talk about. :)
After being up late, and then getting up early and talking to so many people, I was pretty tired, so I went back to the lake house and just relaxed for the evening. I finished another book (I think I have read 5 so far on this trip, haha) and then went to bed... falling asleep to rain drops on roof. Its so quiet here!
So, that brings us to today. Whew!! I'm in Roanoke again... using the internet, and doing some shopping. I still don't have everything I need for the wedding this weekend (you would think by my 12th time I would be more prepared!). Tonight I am having dinner with my friend Dawn, and I'm so excited! We haven't seen each other in at least 8 years! We have been friends since junior high, and I was maid of honor on her wedding... and we've hardly seen each other since. I can't wait!!
Tomorrow will look a lot like today... getting things ready for the wedding and then I'm having dinner with some college friends/supporters; Misty and Tina. Misty and I were roommates our sophomore year at Tech, and Tina was a good friend at Tech. All 3 of us were in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship together, so I'm really excited to catch up with them again.
I will be heading back to Philly early Wednesday morning, and I am so excited! This has been an amazing time away, and I'm SO glad that I have been able to see so many people that I love, but I miss home. Of course, I won't be home for long! On Thursday, my parents, my brother and his fiance will all be arriving and spending the night (at my new house!). Then we will all get up on Friday morning and drive to New York for the wedding weekend. More people I haven't seen in years! :) It should be a lot of fun, but I will be really excited to be back home for good on Sunday night!!
Okay, now you are all sufficiently updated!! I will be back again soon!!! :)
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