Hape Brfdaa to Carisa!!

Today was Carisa's birthday and to celebrate Brooke, Kirsten and I decided to take Paxton and Kyler for the day so Frank and Carisa could spend a day together. They had a blast, and so did we!!!

Paxton had a day camp at the YMCA to go to in the morning, and Kyler slept through that, so Brooke, Kirsten and I just hung out. We decided to take the boys to the park after we picked Paxton up, and I invited Bonita and Linda along (they love the boys!). Bonita was out with her mom, but Linda came with us and it was WONDERFUL!

Unfortunately, we got to the playground and found out that they won't let kids over 10 even go into the building. Poor Linda handled it well, but she was pretty sad. We didn't stay long, but the boys had fun while we were there. We left the playground and dropped Brooke, Kirsten and Kyler off at home. Brooke and Kirsten cooked dinner while Kyler took a nap. (Oh to live the life of a 1 year old!). At the same time, Linda Paxton and I headed to Ikea. Paxton played in their playroom for an hour while Linda helped me finalize my new kitchen. It wasn't the most fun for her, but we both enjoyed spending time together. Paxton really enjoyed having Linda around and she had fun playing with him as well, especially in the car. They both sat all the way in the back and I have no idea what they were doing, but they both laughed a lot. Ky also enjoyed Linda and she took such good care of him. He didn't cry once while she was with us, she was so great with him!!!

After Ikea we took Linda home (much to her and Paxton's dismay) and headed home for dinner. After dinner Paxton worked on a birthday card for Carisa (which is where the Hape Brfdaa comes from) while Ky practiced standing up and almost walking. He is SO close!!! We all played together for a while before it was bedtime for both boys. Paxton actually picked me to read him a story, which I was SO excited about!!! Now that he is 5 he has a lot more people around him to play with and he isn't as interested in hanging out with me. He still loves me though, and that was all I needed to know. :)

After the boys went to bed we all just hung out for a while until Frank and Carisa got home. I really enjoyed hearing about their day and I am SO SO glad that Carisa had a good birthday. It appears that Frank even had fun...even though they did things that Carisa loves that he doesn't necessarily always enjoy. Overall, it was a great day for everyone.

Our Ohio group is leaving early tomorrow, but I got to say goodbye to them tonight. I have been struggling with some guilt this week as I wasn't able to spend as much time with them as I would have liked. It doesn't help that J was able to. I had hoped to at least make it to their final debrief tonight, but J didn't have his phone on him and missed my phone calls. I heard it was an awesome time though, and they are already talking about coming back. It sounds like everyone had a great week and I don't think they are too upset that I wasn't around all the time.

I realized tonight that me hosting groups is always going to be hard. The ministries that I am involved with are ones in which I can not focus on the group, I have to focus on the ministry. If I were to lead work projects, I would get more time to interact with the group. However, I lead VBS, Kids Club, Teen Club, etc. It would be ridiculous for me to focus on the group during those ministries...I need to be focused on the kids and the teens. And of course, there is the fact that whenever I do have "down time", I tend to have at least 2, sometimes 6 or 7, kids with me...making it harder and harder for me to pour into the groups. I found myself getting jealous of J tonight as he spent the entire day with the group and was there for their final debrief, but when I really look at it, I like what I do. My ministries don't necessarily allow me free time for other people, but that's okay with me. Thank God J is available for that.

I am VERY excited about this upcoming week because we don't have a group in. I don't have to worry about how much time I spend with whom, I just get to me a missionary in Philadelphia. Yay!!

On a completely different note, I want to introduce you to 2 boys that I LOVE. One you have already met and the other you will get to know very well very soon. These two boys are almost exactly a year apart and they have so much in common. They both love life, love people and especially love God. They are fun, smart and everyone loves them. When I read Jesus telling me to have faith like a child, these 2 boys come to mind.

But there are some very distinct differences between these boys. I am learning a lot about myself, my ministry and my God from these 2 boys, and I want to share that with you soon. However, right now I need to get to bed. I wanted to introduce you to Paxton (top picture) and Lil' A (bottom picture) so you can be praying for them and so you can keep me accountable to actually writing what I am learning. :)

I'm a Survivor! :)

This has been one of the busiest weeks of the year for me, and I am not only surviving, I am thriving!!! Of course, I say this as I look at a ridiculously long to-do list with very few things checked off. I still have SO much to do, but I am seeing God accomplish SO much at the same time, so I am not complaining at all!!

We have a group from Ohio here this week and they are doing an outdoor VBS along with work projects and helping with out Kids' and Teen Clubs. They have been really great and although it is REALLY hot (the hottest week so far...we're in the hundreds with the heat index!), the VBS has been really fun! We have been having around 60 kids each day, and they have had a blast. I hear kids singing songs from the VBS all the time, all over the neighborhood! :)

Reading Rocks also started this week, and its AMAZING!!! Carisa and I commented that we would both love to make it a year round program, but it would be really hard to do with kids having homework and such. Tuesday was a "normal" day where the kids read books and earned points. Wednesday is our "special events" day where we do something fun at the church. This week we had them get in groups and write their own stories, which they all really loved. Thursday is another normal day of reading and earning points. We have a great group of kids (already 2o on the roster!) and an awesome group of teen leaders helping out. I think this is going to be our best year ever!!!

I have also gotten to spend a lot of time with Bonita and Linda this week, and I am really enjoying them!! I miss the days when they were so cute and little, but I am also enjoying watching them grow up. They have their bumps in the road (puberty is not easy for anyone), but overall they are WONDERFUL!! The have been at everything this week...VBS, Reading Rocks, Kids Club, Prayer Pals...and I have loved every minute of it. They even spent the night on Tuesday and we had a blast. They make me laugh a lot. :)

We discovered on Tuesday that they have very little summer clothing. In fact, Linda has grown out of almost all of her summer stuff and the only reason Bonita has anything is because she can wear Linda's old stuff. Shannon Schultz (one of the staff members at church) told me about an amazing sale at JC Penney where everything is buy one get one half off. So, today after Reading Rocks we quickly ran out to the mall and bought a TON of new clothes for the girls that actually fit them and are modest! They were SO excited! (Shannon also gave us a $50 gift card, which we made go a very long way...thank you Shannon and Jesus!). I am keeping all the clothes at my house, so they will always have things to wear when they come over. We got back from the mall just in time for Prayer Pals, which was small but nice.

This whole week has been just go go go! I leave the house around 9 a.m. and get home after 10. VBS is from 11-1, Reading Rocks is 2-3 (or 3:30 on Wednesday) and then we have stuff every night as well. The "down" time is used for running errands, quickly eating and preparing for the next event. Its been crazy, but fun!

Tonight was also really fun, and it actually included adults instead of just kids and teens!! I am discipling the AIM summer staff this summer and I get to take them out every Wednesday to just relax, have fun and talk and encourage them. Tonight was our first night out and I wanted to start with a bang, so we headed to Ben and Jerry's to eat a Vermonster. The Vermonster is a GIANT ice cream sundae that includes 20 scoops of ice cream (yes, 20 scoops!) with tons of toppings, bananas, cookies, brownies, and a lot of whipped cream. There were 7 of us, and while we didn't eat all of it, we ate way more than I thought we could!!! We had a lot of fun and spent some good time talking about the Lord and really encouraging one another. It was a really great night.

The rest of this week looks pretty busy, but next week is the light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow will include VBS, Reading Rocks and Teen Club, and I have several birthday and graduation parties to attend on Saturday, as well as worship practice. Friday is already full or to-do things to accomplish, so I am REALLY looking forward to Sunday. I am already planning a nap after church. :)

Despite all the things going on, I am really learning to focus on Him and not the plans or even the programs. He has absolutely called me to do exactly what I am doing, but He doesn't want me to lose sight of Him, not even for a second! Please continue to pray that I won't and that I will continue to have toe peace and joy that I have right now! And that I would get some sleep... :)

I am in Awe!

God is SO GOOD!!!! I know you all know that, but today I have to say it because its the only thing that I want to say. I just can't believe how good He really is!

This week has been insane. We had a group of 120 high school students working with the church, and while it was amazing, it was also draining. Of course, I had jury duty at the beginning of the week, but that seems like weeks ago. I have logged over 70 "work" hours again, yet I don't feel the least bit burnt out. Tired, yes...but the good kind of tired. The tired you feel at the end of a really amazing day. The kind of tired I felt after Hershey Park.

Frank and Carisa led this group themselves and I honestly don't know how they are even standing. They did an INCREDIBLE job and I am absolutely in awe of the things that God accomplishes through them.

During this week I helped with the morning VBS for 3-5 year olds. I really loved playing with those kids, they are so cute and sweet. After the VBS I was able to get a lot done (mostly preparing for Reading Rocks or other groups we have this summer) before picking my kids up for the afternoon VBS for 5-12 year olds.

Let me just take a second to tell you all how proud I was of my kids this week!!! The VBS this week seemed to get crazier and crazier each day, and while my kids are usually pretty well behaved, they can get caught up in things going on around them and get themselves in trouble. I am SO proud to say that my kids were GREAT all week!! Linda and Pedro were surrounded by kids that were acting up, and they didn't join in! It was SO incredible to watch them really do what they know they should despite what the people around them were doing. They are growing up so well!! Miguel even got a black eye after he was accidentally kicked in the face, and he handled amazingly. I would have expected him to get mad, but he didn't. He was hurt, but he didn't get mad or complain. YAY!!!

Anyway, the VBS's and preparing for Reading Rocks kept me very busy this week, along with all my normal ministry stuff. I didn't get yesterday off and today I had to run errands all day to prepare for another group that came in tonight. In fact, I left the house at 8:45 a.m. and didn't get home until after 9:30 p.m.!!! I really should be pulling my hair out by now, but I actually feel at peace and am excited about the upcoming week.

The group that is here now was a last minute addition to our summer. They were scheduled to come to Philly and work with a different church and 2 weeks ago received a call that the church they were working with no longer needed them. They had already done all the planning and preparation, and raised all their money and had nowhere to go. I honestly don't know how they found out about us, but they called and I agreed to lead their week. They have been so appreciative and encouraging! I also agreed to do all of their food for the week...although I'm not sure how that happened or why I agreed to it. But, I am doing it and its not stressing me out at all! Actually, this is a lot of what I did with AIM, so even though I haven't done it in a while, its kinda second nature to me. I am SO SO excited about this group, they seem really excited to be here and are ready to see God move. It's going to be a GREAT week!!!

Reading Rocks starts up this week and we are almost ready to go. Its been a lot of work getting everything ready for it, but that work is going to pay off. Reading Rocks is kind of like a summer after-school program...but with people to help me! How could I not love it?!? :) Actually, its one of the things that Carisa and I actually do together, which makes it that much more fun. I'm excited to get going!

The only thing I am struggling with is my time management. I have found myself getting to the end of the day before I realize that I haven't had any time alone with the Lord. I am also struggling to find time to meet with the teens that I am mentoring. I only have 3 to meet with, but so far I have neglected them, which I don't want to do. I have already accepted (reluctantly) that my house is not going to be as clean as I want it to be all the time, but I can't accept neglecting my teens. Its getting harder and harder to balance time with kids and time with teens. And of course there is always Bonita and Linda...

And then there is also the ever elusive full nights sleep. That's the one I am really craving...and I think I might actually get it tonight, if I can stop writing. Good Night!! :)

Oh What A Week!!

Let me start this post with, I AM OKAY!! In case you haven't heard (and I would be shocked if you haven't) there was a 7 alarm fire early this morning 2 blocks away from me. The reports on the national news have only mentioned Kensington and Potter St...which has worried many of my friends and family. The fire was on the corner of H and Potter, I live at F and Potter. Praise the Lord, no lives were lost, but several homes were damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of people have been displaced and need a lot of prayer. Bonita and Linda's oldest sister lives on that block, with her boyfriend and 2 kids (3rd one on the way). Thankfully, none of them were at the house last night, but they are not allowed near their home for a while. There have been rumors of robberies on that block since the fire, but nothing has been confirmed.

My tenure as a juror was very short as the entire trial was over and decided by lunch on Tuesday (it began just before lunch on Monday). Unfortunately, it was a frivolous lawsuit that never should have been filed, which made our decision as a jury very easy to make. I was sad to see the court system abused in the way it was, but also very happy to be going home and back to normal life so quickly.

Well, I WAS happy to return to normal life...until normal life got insanely busy. Actually, I am still so happy to be doing what I am doing, but I can feel the stress level in my mind slowly raising by the minute. There is just SO much to do and no time to rest, process, relax. I am finding it hard to quiet myself before the Lord, which I desperately want. I am hoping to have next Friday off. If I do, I am going to leave the city for the day and hopefully will be able to let my mind wander to Christ and not to my to-do list. Of course, I am praying that will happen sooner than next Friday....

My case ended Tuesday afternoon and I made it back to Kensington in time for the afternoon VBS. It was fun and from there I went straight to Kids Club. Kids Club was a little chaotic with many visiting leaders, but in the end it worked out and I had a blast, as usual. Tuesday was also Kareem's birthday, so after Kids Club Brooke and I took him, along with several other teens, to see Oceans 13 to celebrate. It was a fun time, but we didn't get home until after midnight (all of the boys fell asleep on the car ride home).

I got up early this morning to get to staff prayer and then helped the group with their morning VBS. The morning VBS is for kids aged 3-5, and yesterday they only had 3 kids come. It was pouring down rain at 10 a.m. and I was worried that no kids would come. Instead we had 7 kids, the highest number all week! It was really fun playing with the kids and watching them have fun, so it was an enjoyable way to spend my morning.

After that VBS I had a few hours to make phone calls and get some things done before leaving to pick up Bonita, Linda, Pedro and Miguel for the afternoon VBS. I didn't stay for that one (Carisa is in charge of the afternoon VBS, I am in charge of the morning one), so I had about an hour to get stuff done before Prayer Pals.

Prayer Pals went really well and I had a lot of fun. After Prayer Pals, Brooke and I planned on eating dinner together and then relaxing for the night while we worked on Reading Rocks. We were actually looking forward to our first night off in at least 5 days. Our plans were quickly changed...

I went to take 2 Prayer Pals home, M and N, but no one was at their house. I finally got in touch with one of their brothers but he was going to the church to play basketball. I decided that it would probably be more fun for M and N to hang out with me rather than watching their brothers play basketball for a few hours. So, I kept them until basketball was over.

We ended up having a really fun night! The girls at dinner with us and we laughed a lot. After dinner we decided to get some ice cream and took A with us. A is a 4 year old boy that I have completely fallen in love with. (Paxton is still my favorite 5 yaer old, but A has become my favorite 4 year old!!!) His dad is really involved with the church and I love being able to help him out...not to mention I really really love A!!! A, M and N had all won a free trip to get ice cream at our last after-school challenge, and we all enjoyed them receiving their reward tonight! I can't remember laughing this much in a very long time!!!!

Brooke and I finally got the house to ourselves around 10. We still got a lot done, but not as much as we had planned, which I am trying to be okay with. I had a WONDERFUL night, and I know everything that I need to do will get done...and the stuff that doesn't is not the end of the world. Its times like this, though, that I sometimes wish I had one of those jobs where I could leave at the end of the day and not think about work until the next day. My "job" is definitely not like that, but the pros most definitely outweigh the cons.

Please be praying for me tomorrow. Tomorrow night is Teen Club and I have really been struggling with Teen Club recently. Teen Club is our teen outreach, so we don't always have the nicest or most respectful teens there. I need to see these teens through Christ's eyes and have Him fill me with His love and patience. If I try and do it out of myself...well, it isn't pretty.

I'm a Juror!!

I can't believe it, but it is true...I was picked to serve as a juror on a case. I actually never thought I would be selected because my dad is a police officer. In fact, I probably never will be picked for a criminal case for exactly that reason. However, I forgot about civil cases, haha. So, today I was selected and the trial started. I am really praying that it will all be finished up tomorrow! Its not a complicated case, and its kind of a boring one, but at least I'm not spending 2 days waiting to never be selected!!

I don't mind serving jury duty, but I was very sad to have to leave the Teen Retreat early. Everyone had a BLAST yesterday and I stayed until bed time and then drove back. I really loved being with everyone and am sad I missed today. I heard it was an awesome day though, so as long as the teens had a great time, I'm happy.

We also have a mission group here this week. They have 120 people!!! They are running 3 VBS's and I am really excited to get to help out. I was scheduled for jury duty today and tomorrow anyway, so we weren't planning on me being able to help out until Wednesday. Hopefully this case won't make that any later. I heard everything went well today and I am itching to get to play with the kids!!

Serving on a jury has helped me feel even more affirmed in my decision to stay in Philly and get a part-time job. All I could think about today was the kids and the teens that I DESPERATELY wanted to be with. I can't imagine how I would feel if I ever left here, or stayed but couldn't be with the kids and teens all the time. Thank you Lord for your incredible plan!!!!!

I actually need to get to bed soon so I am not late to court tomorrow. Please be praying for wisdom as I help decide this case, and PLEASE pray that it will wrap up soon so I can get back to doing what I love. I am starting to question how good I am at it, but there is no question that I love it!! :)

Like Caleb

Have you ever studied much about Caleb? I have read a lot about Joshua but I have never really studied Caleb. I have always heard about Joshua and Caleb, but that is usually the end of what I hear about Caleb. I discovered on Monday, though, that I really want to be like Caleb.

His story starts when Moses sends him, along with Joshua and 10 others to spy on the land of Canaan, the land that the Lord has promised to give to the Israelites. All 12 spies come back, but 10 of them are scared. They have seen the Anakites, who are giants with a giant fortified city and they are afraid. All of them, except Joshua and Caleb. The spies come back and 10 of them try and convince the Israelites not to go to battle because the people in Canaan can not be defeated. Only Joshua and Caleb stand up for the Lord and proclaim the victory that He promised. Unfortunately, the Israelites listen to the other 10 spies, and as a result they had to wander in the desert for 40 years.

During that 40 years, and entire generation of Israelites died off and a new generation was raised. Only Joshua and Caleb survived and were allowed into the Promised Land. They were allowed into the Promised Land, but they also had to suffer through 40 years of wandering in the desert, even though they had been faithful.

Once in the Promised Land, the Israelites were sent to conquer all the different people groups of the land. The Lord promised them victory over everyone, but they had to follow a few rules. First, they were not allowed to take anything from the conquered cities. The "spoils" were to be set aside for the Lord.

Not too long after they began to conquer, they lost a battle!! At first they were very confused; the Lord promised them victory! Joshua went before the Lord to find out what happened and it turns out that Achan, one of the Israelites, had taken some of the "spoils" from their previous battle and the Lord had to punish them. The Israelites lost a battle they should have won, and many people were killed.

They were also told not to make any peace treaties with anyone in the land of Canaan. Enter the Gibeonites. To make a long story short (you can read it in Joshua 9) the Gibeonites tricked the Israelites into thinking they were not from Canaan and the Israelites made a peace treaty with them. (They didn't ask the Lord before they did it). Again, they were punished.

Caleb was not responsible for any of this and had to sit back and not only watch it, but also suffer the consequences. I don't know about you, but if it were me, I would be mad. At this point I would probably be pretty fed up with the Israelites by know. We don't read anything about him being angry and upset, just always faithful to the Lord.

The kicker comes in Joshua 14. As the Israelites are continuing their conquest of the land of Canaan, Joshua and Caleb decide to divide the land. When Caleb was asked which part of the land he wanted, this was his response: "Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."

Can you believe that?!? Caleb is 85 years old...he has wandered in the desert for 40 years, fought countless battles, suffered the consequences of other peoples' sin...I'm tired just thinking about it. Caleb wasn't ready to rest though, he wanted to continue to see what the Lord could do!!

I have been thinking about Caleb a lot this week, mostly because I haven't gotten to sleep much and I feel tired. There is a lot going on all the time, and sometimes I get overwhelmed and I just want to rest. Not just sleep through the night rest, I want a few days off to do nothing kind of rest. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that, but I don't think its time for that. Right now the Lord is calling me to continue to fight, and stand strong. I need to be like Caleb.

This mindset has really helped me this week. The girls have been with me and its been really good. They are going to school and actually doing their homework. It makes life a little more chaotic, but its worth it. I have also gotten A LOT done, although I still have a lot to do. We have the Teen Club Retreat this weekend and then a group of 120 teens working at the church next week. They will be running 2 VBS's and a ton of other things. We also have to get Reading Rocks finished before the end of next week because that starts the week after. We also have another group coming in that week to run an outdoor VBS...so there will be a lot going on! There is a lot of planning to do for all of these groups, plus I have 2 more groups coming at the end of July. All of this is in addition to our normal clubs, all the Extreme Team stuff we're doing with the teens and the craziness of my block (which seems to always have something weird going on). Oh, and I have jury duty this Monday and Tuesday, haha...maybe that will be my time off. :)

I am taking Friday completely off, not doing ANY work. My roommates and I are planning on sleeping in as late as we want and then heading to Center City to hang out. We always have so much fun together, I'm really excited!!!