Regina Spektor's concert was a blast this week! Five girls and one brave man (taking the picture).



I've tried to upload some video footage from the concert but it's taking so long. I'll keep trying.

Yummy food and fun atmosphere for dinner before the concert:

Concerts

Last night I went to The Note to see NeedToBreathe. About 10 years ago, Kerri, Megan R and I worked together as lifeguards at our YMCA. Meg ran into Kerri in FL a few months ago and they realized that Kerri and I only live about an hour apart from each other in PA. So last night Kerri, her hubby and a bunch of their friends and I went to this concert. It was amazing. I'm new to the concert scene. I mean, Meg and I saw a lot of Christian bands growing up but you know... it's not quite the same.

I'm not going to pretend I'm someone who can review a concert but let me just say it was a great concert. Their music, lyrics, stage presence- everything was EXCELLENT. The venue was nice and intimate.

Next week is Regina Spektor with friends. Mat Kearney is coming to Philly next week too... might go. I don't think this many concerts will be normal but I'm enjoying something new.

Humble Swag

Today I visited a church with a new YoungLives volunteer. The preacher said we should walk with a humble swag. Love that picture! We're called to be humble and yet at the same time to walk with confidence because Christ is for us and is our identity. Brilliant phrase- humble swag.

Moved... again

This most recent move has been harder than the other four moves in Philadelphia. I know a large part of this is because I had salmonella poisoning and didn't feel well. It's been a reminder that this world is not my home. God is not letting me physically settle here in Philly. Emotionally and spiritually I've settled because my calling is sure.

Two weeks ago, I've moved two miles closer to Center City Philadelphia. My life is changing, my calling has changed and is being re-focused. On Camac Street I was only a few miles to easy access to the suburbs and the mall. Now on Luray Street I'll be closer to where many of our YoungLives girls live. This is exciting because it's more holistic in my mind and will allow us to hang out more naturally.

The new neighborhood I've moved to is called Hunting Park I need to learn some Spanish in the coming months to talk with many of my neighbors. Just a block away there is an amazing Colombian restaurant called Tierra Colombiana!

Salad
This evening I went to my front cement patio and picked some lettuce from the window box. There is nothing like eating a salad from lettuce that you've grown... from seeds! Yes, I'm a little proud. :-)

Well, I'm up at 5:00AM, not having gone to bed yet. I'm only now just starting to get tiered. Must of had too much caffeine this afternoon. It's been so long since I blogged so here are some updates.

-Philadelphia is still the place I call home. My lease runs out August 1st so I'm in need of two roommates. I'm also looking for a few places around the area. God will provide- it will be interesting to see how

-YoungLives is my passion and I'm in full swing of raising support to go on staff.

-I was in Florida for the past two weeks for Megan's wedding, seeing family and raising support for YoungLives. Wonderful times were had.

-I'm not sure what blogging will look like for me in the coming days. More regular blogging may happen or I may take a break from blogging. We'll see. :-)

I just returned from an Urban Young Life training conference. About 60 Urban Young Life leaders from the Easter division met at Lake Champion for 2 ½ days to learn from Richard Cohen. We went to learn how to care for and love our kids who struggle with same sex attract. It was powerful. He talked about wounds from childhood the first day and how we need to healthy people to be able to help people. The second day he went into same sex attraction issues: how it happens, how to love in the process and how to help.

Worship was Gospel, urban style. Worshiping with people where I was the minority was refreshing. The refrain of one song said “all I can do is believe and trust.” Simple but what I needed to repeat over and over again. Raising support for my new job and finding two roommates within the month are the two largest areas where I need to trust the Lord. All I can do is believe and trust. There is something beautiful in the simple words. There is something free in realizing all I can do is believe. God is for me. He is for you. He ALWAYS provides for his children. Let’s rest in this truth.

"Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art,
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, As Thy beauty fills my soul;
For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless, Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings, Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings: Thine is love indeed!"

It's official: I've been offered the position of YoungLives Coordinator in Philadelphia! I'm so, so excited. It's been a long time coming and feels so great to have it official. Details to come soon. If you want to read more about YoungLives check out the website.

Limping but alive computer

Well, the great news is that Walter was able to pull most of my stuff off my corrupt hard drive. The annoying news is it will be in one folder. All pictures, videos, Word docs, excel docs and music are together. I'm going to have quite a sorting party with me, myself and I. :-)

I do need a new computer within the year, but he's going to put in a new hard drive (2nd one in one year). That should give me a few months. There's something in my computer that's eating hard drives. It's not virus related so that's good. Guess I'm going to start saving for a hard drive. :-) Let me know of anyone who wants to get rid of a computer.

Silent retreats are good for the soul. I spend Saturday here.

Walking on Water

Pastor John recently preached a sermon from Matthew 14:22-36. I was out of town or in nursery the Sunday he preached so I listened to it online. Wow. It was just what I needed to listen to in the context of going on staff with YoungLives. I want to share a few of the highlights. If you want to listen to it you can find it here. He preached it on January 18, 2009.

Fear is so often our motivator. Instead we need to know that it’s Jesus who's out on the water. We should be willing to join him and walk on water. It’s more important to be where He is, not in the safety in our boat. The boat often represents our comfort zone. Even in our fear, the best response is to tell God what I’m afraid of. Don’t hope for an island in the lake between you and Jesus, just in case you start to sink and need to swim to the safety of the island.

Are you in a boat? Is it being battered by the wind and the waves? What waves, sins, what broken relationships grieve you, what fears, destructive habits do you have or impossible needs that won't go away? Don't pretend, cry out to Jesus. Take a step, any step. If you sink, it's ok, ask for Jesus. You're not a failure, you've just realized you need Him more than you realize.

1. Express to God you're willingness to get out of the boat.

-Then wait for God to give the go ahead.

2. When you get the go ahead- go ahead!

-It doesn’t matter if you think you can.

-How do you know if you're getting the go ahead? From the Bible, as you pray and talk with wise friends.

3. If you start to sink ask for help

-Cry out, “Lord, save me!”

-We must be faced with fear and weakness, broken, bent, afraid and beaten.

-Don't let the storm have the last word in your life.

4. The impact on your life is worship and healing

-Jesus wants us to walk on water with him because it's impossible. We need his grace and power each step of the way.

-He draws us to step out and sometimes sink. This causes us to realize it's all him and none of us.

People were praying yesterday and last night! As I drove home from club, I was overwhelmed with how smoothly things went. Thank you for everyone who were bringing the girls and club before the feet of Jesus. Club went SO WELL. We were short staffed but there were only 20 girls and 6 kids which helped. Everyone pitched in so well. The overall thought I have is we were a team tonight. I felt so support and didn't feel like I was flying solo.

Class starts tonight. I'm so excited! Rach and I are taking the same class: Counseling Problems and Procedures. This is a topical course and is going to be so relevant to my work with YoungLives, friends and myself.

This week is crazy. I'm leading YoungLives club because Debbie's got something with her son, I work normal hours and start a class Thursday night and am speaking at the women's retreat about Young Lives. I'm excited about all this stuff but need the Lord's strength and words for all of it. I'd like to do it in my strength but that's never a good idea.

Yesterday was beautiful- 57 degrees. It was so refreshing to have a warm day. Today it's snowing a little bit. At least the days are getting longer and longer. I'm counting down the days until Spring.

Going to San Diego, CA

It snowed some yesterday and most of today. I've lived in the North for almost 3 years and I'm not sure if I'll get over the wonder of the snow. Love it!

Early tomorrow AM I leave for a national YoungLives conference at a Young Life camp just outside San Diego. It's perfect timing to leave Philly in the beautiful snow and then to go to the warmth. :-)