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. :-)

Merry Christmas from Florida

Snowman in the Sarasota beach.

From left to right: Christie, Sara, me, Mom (Roxy), Peter, Dad (Orin)

Mom loved the picture coasters Sara made for her.

Homeschool reunion Christmas masquerade party (wow, how many adjectives did I need to use to describe the party?)

The end of the Macy's Light Show:


A snippet of the Comcast Christmas Show:

Christmastime in Philly

Friday night brought a dozen girlfriends over to make earring holders from picture frames. This is Hannah and me with some of our frames. It was a great night of AMAZING food, a variety of Christmas music (everyone brought a CD) and most of us walked away with some Christmas gifts.


Shelly and I headed downtown Saturday morning to see the Macy's light show and the Charles Dickens village. We also did a little Christmas shopping. Shelly needed to run home for family events and so I went around downtown by myself. I love being downtown by myself. A friend told me of the new Comcast Christmas Show and so I checked it out. Wow. I'll try to figure out how to post some of the videos of the show.

Thanksgiving in Washington DC

• Amazing food. Some of it was nontraditional or at least very different from what I'm used to.
• Shopping on Black Friday. Becca is the only person I could shop with on that day. The crowds aren't as bad when we're laughing, trying on clothes and eating along the way.
  
• Dancing the night away with girls at an Irish Pub.
  
• President Bush flew over the highway as we drove into the district. Becca told me that you know that it's the President when there are three helicopters in the air. He has two decoys, everyone else has one decoy.
  
• Thanksgiving photos
  

A friend of mine sent me an email this week reminding me of good things about Winter. I was so thankful to read the list she has about her love for Winter. Be encouraged:

-getting to wear scarves (I love scarves!)
-drinking hot chocolate or apple cider
-wearing fun coats/jackets & sweaters
-Thanksgiving dinner
-time w/ family
-seeing the snow as its falling or just after it's fallen
-huddling on the couch under my fleece blanket
-eating yummy soups
-Sara's wedding (this winter only!)
-sledding/tubing/skiing
-crawling into flannel sheets
-CHRISTMAS!!! (lots associated w/ this...wrapping gifts, decorating the
house, Christmas music, going caroling, etc.)
-etc...anything to add?

And then there's Carter...

I get to hang out with this little guy 8 hours a week. I LOVE it! He was only 8 weeks old when I started watching him. Taking care of babies and kids all day brings smiles to my face and joy in my heart.

Could I get off the merry-go-round? Please?!

Autumn has peaked in Philly

I forgot how much I love the intense colors. I've thought about and reflected on why I love and yet fear Autumn. The leaves are so beautiful and yet their turning is an indication that Winter is around the corner. I hold my breath and brace myself for the season I like least. It's hard for me to truly enjoy the few weeks of Fall because I'm dreading the Winter. I don't want to live like that. Help me enjoy the moments.

Life is a process and full of seasons. There are many beautiful Autumns, cold Winters, beautiful Springs and warm Summers. As Winter comes to Philly, I find my heart entering into Winter. God is working on my heart in huge ways. Boy, it's painful and hard. I wish I could fast forward this Winter and be in the Spring. And yet, I appreciate the Spring so much more after an especially cold and hard winter. I'm thankful for the parallels I can find between my life and the nature seasons God gives us.

Well, I must admit that I love this book. I just finished "reading" it on tape. I was able to relate to Bridget a lot more than I realized or would care to admit. I found myself laughing out loud in the car as I listened. The movie is on tonight. Renee Zellweger completely embodies the character of Bridget Jones. Colin Firth is brilliant, of course. The way he looks at her is quite amazing.

The Phillies are the World Series Champions!

Philly has been buzzing with the excitement this whole week. It's been so fun to be a part of it all. I joined in with all the honking as I drove home tonight. My dad and I chatted tonight just after the Phillies won the World Series. He said that I was in Philly the last time they won. It was 1980 and I was about 6 months old and my dad was a teaching assistant at Temple. Crazy things happened on Broad Street the night they won. He remembers that his students didn't show up for class for days after the Phillies won the World Series. I don't remember their win in 1980 but I'll sure remember this win 28 years later!