Gosh I feel like I have a lot to say but to organize my thoughts would take way too long. So I'm making a list. That seems like the easy way for me to do things.
*My fish almost died last night. It was traumatic. I was cleaning out his bowl (because after getting home from a night of hanging out with friends I could think of nothing better to do than clean out Coco's bowl). I got a little cup ready for him to wait in while I cleaned his actual bowl. I scooped him out in the little green net thing and as I was attempting to transfer him to the "waiting bowl"...brace yourself this is horrible...he JUMPED INTO THE SINK!!! I was like "Uhmm...what the trash Coco, I knew you were sad about your bowl being dirty but you don't need to kill youself." So Daniel, Billy and I staged an intervention. I called Derek because I was so upset and he said that Coco would be fine, that he just had a concussion. I called my mom (yes, she was in bed because it was an ungodly hour of the night/morning) and she said she was really sorry, she hoped my fish survived and that she was going back to bed. Then I sat and talked to my fish for awhile. This morning he was still alive so I guess the intervention worked. Maybe he needs fishy therapy or something.
*I found things to add to my file of things I want for my house/apartment. I hope to have a house someday so I usually say house, but in reality it's just an apartment right now. I keep looking at sheets online. I want new sheets so bad I dream about them. Really. I dreamt about changing my sheets last night. Tell me that's not bizarre. I keep looking for the perfect ones, but I keep coming back to the purple-ish ones, which is odd because purple is not my favorite color.
*Yesterday I had lunch with my birth father, his wife and his stepson. It was great. Daniel went with me but he didn't really have anything to say (cause he doesn't know them ya know) so he was mostly just there to make me feel better with his presence. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been if Alisa had been there. I hate times like this when we don't talk and she lives a million miles away and I want to fix it but don't know how. It literally makes my heart hurt.
*I am supposed to be working right now. I have the bulletins printed but not folded. Whoops. Apparently Ben taught my Sunday School class last week and they learned about David and Goliath. So today we are expanding on that lesson with a project. Fun times. Then it will be almost time to start teaching about Easter. I love this time of year as far as teaching Sunday School because it's great to teach and fairly easy to find hands on things for them to do. Oh, and I finally remembered to bring my craft sticks so they can finish their puppets today. Whew!
*I hate not having the internet at my house. I would get internet before I would get cable I think. Then I could post random things every day. Also, whenever I post the time stamp on my post is like two hours earlier than the actual time. Like right now it says "Draft saved at 8:52 AM" but when I post it will say like 6:52 AM. So strange. I don't know how to fix it because I'm not a computer genius. Maybe I should call Dana. Hmm...
That's all for now. I am formulating a post in my head, but don't have time to get it all on there right now.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
So busy...
I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. I am such a slacker these days. Life has been crazy busy. But good busy. I have been doing some MAJOR cleaning and organizing in my classroom. This project takes a long time because there is a limited amount of time I can work on it before or after school. I will be happy when it's done though. And next is my house. Ok, I've kind of already started on the house, but I haven't gotten much done so it doesn't really count that much. :) There are some major things changing for me soon and I can't wait to be able to share them. Ok, really it's only one BIG thing but I still can't wait to be able to tell people! Hopefully soon I will get the ok to do that.
Anyways...right now I am in my office at church. I am looking up fun things to do with my Sunday School kiddos for Valentine's Day. I am looking forward to hanging out with them and telling them how cool they are and how much me and Jesus love them. And I'm looking forward to helping them come up with ideas on how they can share love with others. It's so easy to make Valentine's Day about Jesus. Today will be a great day. I am sure of it. I am looking forward to the possibilities this week holds.
Anyways...right now I am in my office at church. I am looking up fun things to do with my Sunday School kiddos for Valentine's Day. I am looking forward to hanging out with them and telling them how cool they are and how much me and Jesus love them. And I'm looking forward to helping them come up with ideas on how they can share love with others. It's so easy to make Valentine's Day about Jesus. Today will be a great day. I am sure of it. I am looking forward to the possibilities this week holds.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Snowed In!!
Well, we just got word that tomorrow will be another snow day for our school. That means out of one whole week we went to school for half a day. Ha! I am glad that in a society that seems rushed in everything we do our schools are taking the time to make sure the roads are safe for our busses, teachers and other drivers before we go back to school. I have not been so glad however, to be snowed in at my tiny apartment with no television or internet! Yesterday my dad and two friends of mine dug my car out so I was finally free. Today I left my house for the first time since Monday around noon. I ran a few errands and came to my parents house. There still are no people around, but there is television and internet and what can I say...I like it here. I have come to realize that though I will never love this house as much as "my house" (the house I grew up in), I do still love this house. Today I just walked around and looked at things. It feels like a million years since I have been here. I know it has only been a week or so, but when I am here I am usually watching Jersey Shore, cooking with my mom or talking to my mom or things like that. Rarely am I here alone. I felt like a little kid discovering new things. I opened all the closets just to see what was in them. This reminded me of having snow days when I was little. When we were old enough to be left at home "alone" (my grandparents were always 'popping in' to visit us which we figured out later meant check on us) my siblings and I would be left a list of chores to do before our parents got home from work. Other than doing these chores we were pretty much free. In "my house" we had HUGE closets. I loved to go sit in the closets and look at stuff. I know that sounds strange, but the closets were like a magical world to me. There was a particularly large closet in the hallway that was great. It was home to some clothes, lots of shoes, a file cabinet, and tons of boxes! I loved to get the boxes off the shelf and look through them. It was always random stuff, but I remember thinking it was great! Sometimes I would find little trinkets that I would keep in my room for awhile and later return in search of something new. There also was a small place in the back of the closet in my room where I would sit and think. I would go there to cry when I was sad. I would take the cordless phone up there and talk for hours to my friends. I loved that house! On snow days we would also usually try to make snow ice cream. We always ended up with something more like snow soup with so much sugar in it it was grainy. We were never great at "cooking" back then. Oh, and we used to make my brother go get the mail in the snow by telling him that we would time him to see how long it took to get down there and back. We would also occasionally offer him nickels and other random things. He always went. I love him.
I guess I don't have much else to say today. I am just enjoying being here and watching television and relaxing. Oh, and I have decided I want to make fondue. Maybe that's what I will take to the SuperBowl party. We will see. For today, for now, I am happy.
I guess I don't have much else to say today. I am just enjoying being here and watching television and relaxing. Oh, and I have decided I want to make fondue. Maybe that's what I will take to the SuperBowl party. We will see. For today, for now, I am happy.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Superheroes...(AKA--How I know that God is REAL.)
Confession. I am slightly obsessed with superheroes. I mean, I don't have tons of knowledge about comic books or anything...but I still like heroes. I am not absolutely sure when this obsession began, but I can pin it down to two reasons. First, I like that most heroes struggle with the battle of good and evil. They choose good (I mean, they're heroes.) but they often struggle with bad. Second, I think the obsession comes partly from the fact that more times than I care to remember I have wanted or needed a hero.
Ok, so the first reason. I fight to chose good over evil all the time. Not the same way that my beloved heroes have to, but still it's a choice I identify with. The "evil" of my choices often would equate to caving in to darkness. Because my life was dark for so long and I was so sad it seems easy for me to chose that. I could easily lock myself in my house and not come out for days while all the while not interacting at all with the outside world. It would be easy to return to cutting when life gets hard and I want to feel something. It would be easy to chose to give up. But that's not what my heart desires. So I fight. I fight to trust in God. I fight to chose the Light that I know surrounds and embraces me. I fight to chose to acknowledge my past while not letting it overtake me. I embrace who I am now and know that the events of my life have created this version of me.
The second reason might be slightly harder to discuss. I have often in life wanted or needed a hero. There are tons of things I could say here, but I am chosing to skip to the college version of me that needed to be rescued. I can remember sitting on the floor of my closet crying wishing that someone would come and save me. It came to a point where my life was just too overwhelming. My "forever love" had turned out to be not so long term. My grades were sketch at best. My friends mostly thought I was crazy. And Jesus seemed to slip further and further away every single day. Then came the night that changed my life. I don't remember many of the details of this night but have pieced it together from listening to my closest friends recount it. I made some poor choices and ended up in the hospital. I was confused and didn't really know what was goign on besides that tons of nurses and a doctor kept talking really loud and fast and there was constantly someone with their hands on my face. I know now that they were checking on me by making sure my eyes were resonsive and things like that...but at the time I just knew they were touching my face and I didn't want them to be. Enter my real life hero, Daniel. The one person who refused to sit in the waiting room like the hospital staff told him to. He refused to stay outside the door and listen to me scream. He insisted that he be allowed in the room with me. Then he refused to sit in the chair in the corner like they told him to. He refused to watch them struggle to help me when he knew that he could help. Daniel saved my life that day. He told me that he was there and all I needed to worry about was looking straight at him and listening to him tell the life story of Superman. All the horrible things he witnessed in that room while they tried to save my life and he never flinched. The thing that makes Daniel a hero is that even though he did all of this for me he never acknowledged it as being of himself. He even today will tell me about how Jesus saved my life that night.
After that night I began a long journey. One that will not be finished this side of Heaven. I chose to believe Daniel and embrace the only hero who ever gave His life for me. I chose to believe that Daniel was right and that God really did have a plan for my life. I chose to believe that God created me and loved me. That I was a sinner in need of rescuing. That because He loved me so much Jesus died on the cross as payment for my sins. That in order to have a perfect relationship with Him all I had to do was accept his love. WOW. I became best friends with two heroes that night-Jesus and Daniel. And they are still my best friends. In that exact order.
So why still the obsession with superheroes? I like to think that if I needed a hero maybe other people do too. Maybe there are people who are struggling and don't know that (as cheesy and cliche as it sounds) Jesus wants to be their hero. Their best friend. I like to think that one of the reasons my God rescued me is so that I can help others find their way to Him. If you are hurting, or just not sure where to go from where you are...I want to help! I want to be your friend. I want to do life with you. I want to introduce you to my hero. I want you to be a part of the chaos that is life as a Christian. I want you to know that heroes are real and you are not alone. <3
Ok, so the first reason. I fight to chose good over evil all the time. Not the same way that my beloved heroes have to, but still it's a choice I identify with. The "evil" of my choices often would equate to caving in to darkness. Because my life was dark for so long and I was so sad it seems easy for me to chose that. I could easily lock myself in my house and not come out for days while all the while not interacting at all with the outside world. It would be easy to return to cutting when life gets hard and I want to feel something. It would be easy to chose to give up. But that's not what my heart desires. So I fight. I fight to trust in God. I fight to chose the Light that I know surrounds and embraces me. I fight to chose to acknowledge my past while not letting it overtake me. I embrace who I am now and know that the events of my life have created this version of me.
The second reason might be slightly harder to discuss. I have often in life wanted or needed a hero. There are tons of things I could say here, but I am chosing to skip to the college version of me that needed to be rescued. I can remember sitting on the floor of my closet crying wishing that someone would come and save me. It came to a point where my life was just too overwhelming. My "forever love" had turned out to be not so long term. My grades were sketch at best. My friends mostly thought I was crazy. And Jesus seemed to slip further and further away every single day. Then came the night that changed my life. I don't remember many of the details of this night but have pieced it together from listening to my closest friends recount it. I made some poor choices and ended up in the hospital. I was confused and didn't really know what was goign on besides that tons of nurses and a doctor kept talking really loud and fast and there was constantly someone with their hands on my face. I know now that they were checking on me by making sure my eyes were resonsive and things like that...but at the time I just knew they were touching my face and I didn't want them to be. Enter my real life hero, Daniel. The one person who refused to sit in the waiting room like the hospital staff told him to. He refused to stay outside the door and listen to me scream. He insisted that he be allowed in the room with me. Then he refused to sit in the chair in the corner like they told him to. He refused to watch them struggle to help me when he knew that he could help. Daniel saved my life that day. He told me that he was there and all I needed to worry about was looking straight at him and listening to him tell the life story of Superman. All the horrible things he witnessed in that room while they tried to save my life and he never flinched. The thing that makes Daniel a hero is that even though he did all of this for me he never acknowledged it as being of himself. He even today will tell me about how Jesus saved my life that night.
After that night I began a long journey. One that will not be finished this side of Heaven. I chose to believe Daniel and embrace the only hero who ever gave His life for me. I chose to believe that Daniel was right and that God really did have a plan for my life. I chose to believe that God created me and loved me. That I was a sinner in need of rescuing. That because He loved me so much Jesus died on the cross as payment for my sins. That in order to have a perfect relationship with Him all I had to do was accept his love. WOW. I became best friends with two heroes that night-Jesus and Daniel. And they are still my best friends. In that exact order.
So why still the obsession with superheroes? I like to think that if I needed a hero maybe other people do too. Maybe there are people who are struggling and don't know that (as cheesy and cliche as it sounds) Jesus wants to be their hero. Their best friend. I like to think that one of the reasons my God rescued me is so that I can help others find their way to Him. If you are hurting, or just not sure where to go from where you are...I want to help! I want to be your friend. I want to do life with you. I want to introduce you to my hero. I want you to be a part of the chaos that is life as a Christian. I want you to know that heroes are real and you are not alone. <3
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ten Random Things...
Today is a snow day. Another snow day. That means I am losing a day off of my already painfully short Spring Break. It makes me miss the days of college when Spring Break was a week long and there really were no such thing as snow days. I mean, I know I should be thankful that I had a whole day off of work when most people still have to go to work no matter the weather. I worry about people who have to drive to work when the weather is bad. Really, I do. I guess I would rather have something to do than just hang out at my parents' house. Thank goodness I had a few episodes of Jersey Shore on the DVR that I hadn't watched yet. In any case being quazi bored all day has led to me generating this list.
Ten Random Things I'm Thinking About Right Now
1. I love peanut butter. Like, really really a lot. I could eat a peanut butter sandwich every single day for lunch and be perfectly happy. I like to stir honey into peanut butter. I like to put jelly on it. I have always wanted to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich, but have never tried. I just think peanut butter is great. Whoever figured out that if you smush peanuts and add a few other things it would make peanut butter...you are my hero.
2. How did people ever feel safe on the road before they had cell phones? I drove to my mom's house today and I was frantic thinking about what would happen if I wrecked. I actually said out loud to myself "at least I have a cell phone". If I did not have a cell phone I mean yes, I could walk to the closest house and call for help, but I seriously feel panicky just thinking about being stranded somwhere without help. Strange.
3. Magazines fascinate me. It doesn't even matter what they are about for real. I read a magazine at my mom's house today that I was not even really interested in, I just picked it up. I like reading different articles and find most writers have a sarcastic wit that I can really appreciate.
4. Snow is beautiful. It can be disastrous, but it is just so dang beautiful. Being here I can look out across fields and see totally beautiful, white, shiny, untouched snow and it amazes me.
5. I love to plan things. I have files on my computer for my future. Things that may or may not ever happen. I have a wedding file. A house file. A funeral file. Really. I think it's because I am a control freak. I have furniture picked out for a house that I may never own. Maybe I'm crazy.
6. My purple sweatpants might be the ugliest pants I own, but they are also probably the second most comfortable piece of clothing I own. So I love them. And I wore them today cause I could. My mom hates sweatpants so she is slightly annoyed that I have them on. Ha!
7. I want to throw a really great party. A super chic, totally awesome dinner party. I want people to tell me that I am a great hostess. I know, it's selfish, but I want this really bad.
8. I am planning on making some super cute cards for my friends next month. I found some great designs today that I want to try and use. I hope I can make them look at cute as the ones online did.
9. I want VERY badly to learn to speak Spanish. There are lots of reasons and tons of things I could say about this...but it would take too long to explain. I just want to speak Spanish.
10. My friends amaze me. Seriously amaze me. There are times when I am just in awe of the fact that I have such great friends. I am blessed.
That's all for now. I am working on writing something about my love of superheroes...but it probably won't be posted today. It's taking too long to make perfect!! <3
Ten Random Things I'm Thinking About Right Now
1. I love peanut butter. Like, really really a lot. I could eat a peanut butter sandwich every single day for lunch and be perfectly happy. I like to stir honey into peanut butter. I like to put jelly on it. I have always wanted to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich, but have never tried. I just think peanut butter is great. Whoever figured out that if you smush peanuts and add a few other things it would make peanut butter...you are my hero.
2. How did people ever feel safe on the road before they had cell phones? I drove to my mom's house today and I was frantic thinking about what would happen if I wrecked. I actually said out loud to myself "at least I have a cell phone". If I did not have a cell phone I mean yes, I could walk to the closest house and call for help, but I seriously feel panicky just thinking about being stranded somwhere without help. Strange.
3. Magazines fascinate me. It doesn't even matter what they are about for real. I read a magazine at my mom's house today that I was not even really interested in, I just picked it up. I like reading different articles and find most writers have a sarcastic wit that I can really appreciate.
4. Snow is beautiful. It can be disastrous, but it is just so dang beautiful. Being here I can look out across fields and see totally beautiful, white, shiny, untouched snow and it amazes me.
5. I love to plan things. I have files on my computer for my future. Things that may or may not ever happen. I have a wedding file. A house file. A funeral file. Really. I think it's because I am a control freak. I have furniture picked out for a house that I may never own. Maybe I'm crazy.
6. My purple sweatpants might be the ugliest pants I own, but they are also probably the second most comfortable piece of clothing I own. So I love them. And I wore them today cause I could. My mom hates sweatpants so she is slightly annoyed that I have them on. Ha!
7. I want to throw a really great party. A super chic, totally awesome dinner party. I want people to tell me that I am a great hostess. I know, it's selfish, but I want this really bad.
8. I am planning on making some super cute cards for my friends next month. I found some great designs today that I want to try and use. I hope I can make them look at cute as the ones online did.
9. I want VERY badly to learn to speak Spanish. There are lots of reasons and tons of things I could say about this...but it would take too long to explain. I just want to speak Spanish.
10. My friends amaze me. Seriously amaze me. There are times when I am just in awe of the fact that I have such great friends. I am blessed.
That's all for now. I am working on writing something about my love of superheroes...but it probably won't be posted today. It's taking too long to make perfect!! <3
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Cooking
I started writing this post this morning and I SWEAR I hit the save button before I walked away from my computer, but I came back and it was gone. Sad day. Good thing it's not a super long post or anything, so I'm just gonna write it again.
I love to cook. I have always enjoyed cooking, I am just not super great at it. I can cook a few things really well, but I usually make a HUGE mess doing it. I have not figured out a good method for organizing my kitchen and organizing my cooking skills. There are times when I literally feel like I use every pot/pan/dish that I have and that every surface in my kitchen is covered with something. This combined with the fact that I live by myself equals me not cooking very much. Living alone makes it easy to eat convenience foods that are pre-made, pre-packaged and basically not that great. So one of my things on my list of things I want to do in 2011 is cook more. I want to figure out how to cook better food with better ingredients and with a better method of cooking. (I think that sounds oddly like a Papa John's commercial.) This is a HUGE goal so I decided that a good place to start would be to pick a cookbook I own and cook everything in it. I picked a small one. Ha! I am going to cook everything in the GAL cookbook I have from college. The foods in it aren't necessarily super healthy or anything, but cooking anything at all is a good place to start I figured. Plus they are recipes that were submitted by my sorority sisters (therefore my friends!). I will let you know how it goes.
Oh, and speaking of cooking...tomorrow night (hopefully, unless plans change) I am going to be making homemade pizza. It's not from scratch or anything. I am using a crust mix and already made sauce, but adding lots of fresh veggies and good mozzarella cheese. Like I said, it's a start. Maybe someday I will get ambitious and make pizza sauce from scratch, but that's not happening this week! I hear that it's not actually that hard, so I have faith that I can do it. Tonight I will finally be making chocolate covered pretzels. I was supposed to make them last week and it never happened. If I remember correctly I was going to make them on Thursday, but got distracted with watching Jersey Shore. Ha!
I am hoping that by cooking more I can develop a healthier relationship with food. I will be able to control what goes into the things I am eating. I will be able to make foods that I really want and keep learning to do it in a healthier way. I still love cooking, I am just hoping to minimize the mess and be able to love cooking more often than I already do! It will be a fun experiment if nothing else!
I love to cook. I have always enjoyed cooking, I am just not super great at it. I can cook a few things really well, but I usually make a HUGE mess doing it. I have not figured out a good method for organizing my kitchen and organizing my cooking skills. There are times when I literally feel like I use every pot/pan/dish that I have and that every surface in my kitchen is covered with something. This combined with the fact that I live by myself equals me not cooking very much. Living alone makes it easy to eat convenience foods that are pre-made, pre-packaged and basically not that great. So one of my things on my list of things I want to do in 2011 is cook more. I want to figure out how to cook better food with better ingredients and with a better method of cooking. (I think that sounds oddly like a Papa John's commercial.) This is a HUGE goal so I decided that a good place to start would be to pick a cookbook I own and cook everything in it. I picked a small one. Ha! I am going to cook everything in the GAL cookbook I have from college. The foods in it aren't necessarily super healthy or anything, but cooking anything at all is a good place to start I figured. Plus they are recipes that were submitted by my sorority sisters (therefore my friends!). I will let you know how it goes.
Oh, and speaking of cooking...tomorrow night (hopefully, unless plans change) I am going to be making homemade pizza. It's not from scratch or anything. I am using a crust mix and already made sauce, but adding lots of fresh veggies and good mozzarella cheese. Like I said, it's a start. Maybe someday I will get ambitious and make pizza sauce from scratch, but that's not happening this week! I hear that it's not actually that hard, so I have faith that I can do it. Tonight I will finally be making chocolate covered pretzels. I was supposed to make them last week and it never happened. If I remember correctly I was going to make them on Thursday, but got distracted with watching Jersey Shore. Ha!
I am hoping that by cooking more I can develop a healthier relationship with food. I will be able to control what goes into the things I am eating. I will be able to make foods that I really want and keep learning to do it in a healthier way. I still love cooking, I am just hoping to minimize the mess and be able to love cooking more often than I already do! It will be a fun experiment if nothing else!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Ten People Who Inspired Me In 2010
I stole this idea from the Baby Bangs blog that I happened to find one day. It is a great blog that always makes me smile. She had written a blog about people who inspired her in 2010 and I thought it was a GREAT idea, so I am doing it too! It was really hard to pick only ten people to put on my list. REALLY hard. So I cheated. I used entire groups of people on some of them. I know, I know...that's so sketch, right?! I couldn't help it. There was just no way around it. So here it is...my list of ten people who inspired me in 2010.
1. Janet Huffman. My Mama. Gosh I love her so much. I often say how I think my Mama is a little bit crazy...and she is, but that's part of her charm. She is so stinkin cute and I am so much like her it's unbelievable. Sometimes I will be talking about how something she did or said is silly and my friends never fail to point out that I would have done or said the exact same thing. She loves me even when I don't deserve it. She teaches me to give freely and willingly. She believes in my ability to change the world and tells me often. She never gives up on me. She loves me unconditionally and without end. I literally feel like I would cease to exist if it weren't for my Mama.
2. Camp Metamorphosis staff at Camp Jo-Ota. The people I had the opportunity to be counselors with impacted my life in a big and lasting way. Richard and Ben challenged me when I didn't want to be challenged. Laurie, Kate and Keely loved me even when I was crazy. Martin showed me characteristics of a Christian that awed me and made me want to be better. David with his softspoken voice and his positive attitude was totally opposite from me...and that intrigued me. Steve and John were so willing to serve and literally do anything they needed to do to make things happen at camp. Ben's step-mom and Richard's mom who came to be counselors so they could spend time with their boys showed me commitment to the ones they love. Elizabeth with her witty comments never once complained about the pressure of her technology job. Even when we lost power in the barn. Ha! And Andy. Last year I led a group with him and mostly just watched him because I was trying to figure him out. This year I told Andy why I don't like my face to be touched. I said it really fast and kind of as a fleeting comment and immediately changed the topic. But for just a split second he sucked in his breath and looked at me with wide eyes. It was then that I saw why Andy is a pastor. He may come off as all techy (like someone who spends their days in Nerdville) but he cares deeply about God's people. I feel like I am leaving someone out..but it is simply for lack of ability to remember everything I want to say, not for lack of their impact on my summer! I got as much from working with these people as any person could hope to gain from volunteering at camp for a week! Simply put, they made me want to be better.
3. mumBAi. My family group at this same camp. This group of kiddos forced me to be a better leader out of necessity. They needed John and I to be more real with them and give them God inspired answers...not the sugary sweet "mountain top" stuff you would normally expect at camp. They had me studying scripture hardcore any free minute I got at camp so I could have better answers for their mega super hard questions. I was blessed with the opportunity to witness many of them have moments of brokeness and healing. I am inspired by them because I know that I have only just seen the beginning. God is not done with them, He is raising them up to be leaders in their generation and it excites me like you would not believe!
4. Kalee. My dear friend Kalee. She inspired me to start a blog. She blew me away with how real she could be on her own blog. She inspired me to try new things. Most of all she is inspiring me to have a healthy relationship with food. I know that if there is one person on the planet who understands my emotional eating (I eat when I'm sad, happy, scared, bored, nervous, excited, etc...) it's her. And she on her blog talks about using cooking (making real food that is natural and good and made from scratch) to help find healing from an addiction to food. It literally blows me away.
5. Daniel. Much of why my dear Daniel inspires me I can not put into words. Most of this comes from years of friendship. But this year specifically I watched Daniel face emotional trauma and stand up and admit his sin. He swallowed his pride and said out loud that he was a sinner and he confronted that sin head on. He did not lie about it or try to make it some secret thing. He openly admitted that he needed Jesus. And I thought well maybe if Daniel can be freed from sin so can others. So can I. He showed me what God can do if only we let Him.
6. Alisa. My very best friend in the universe. Alisa inspires me by always being real with me. She is not afraid to tell me when I'm wrong. But she loves me through my mistakes. I like that when Alisa has something to say that she doesn't think anyone else will understand she calls me. I like that even though she was mad at me and didn't talk to me for almost an entire week this year she still loved me. I like that she is just like another part of my family now.
7. Beth Moore. I am constantly challenged by her. Whether it's through her blog, her most recent book or her Bible studies. She is one hundred percent real. She has been gifted for women's ministry and she is following that calling with everything she has. I attended a Simulcast this year. Actually two. And at both events I felt like she specifically spoke Truth into my life that I needed to hear at that moment. And this year (I know, I know...off topic from the 2010 list since it's 2011) I am memorizing scripture with other women on her blog. Yay!
8. Mike Slaughter. I had the opportunity to hear him speak at Missouri United Methodist Annual Conference. He changed my life and my view of ministry. Forever. There is not much more I can say about it than that. He is pastor of Ginghamsburg UMC in Ohio. He is being led by the Lord to do great things. He inspired me to live simply.
9. The Heartland Emmaus of KC community. My Walk to Emmaus (#34, Table of Ruth) showed me a lot of things. I went into it telling Laurie that even if I didn't get to do anything else besides hang out with Jesus for a few days I would be happy. What I got was a reminder of God's love. The way people showed love was incredible. If ever I start to doubt that I am loved by God or His people I pull out my Emmaus box and relive what it felt like to have people love me and serve me just because they love God. With no expectation from me. I look forward to the day that I can do that for someone else.
10. My students. The great thing about being a teacher is that when I say my students I can include two classes in the year 2010. They make my life fun. They are also super exhausting!! Some of them have already overcome so many challenges in life. They make me have hope for the future!
There it is. My list. I could have written way more but I'll stop. It's nearly 7:00 and I need to make some chocolate covered pretzels. Wish me luck!
1. Janet Huffman. My Mama. Gosh I love her so much. I often say how I think my Mama is a little bit crazy...and she is, but that's part of her charm. She is so stinkin cute and I am so much like her it's unbelievable. Sometimes I will be talking about how something she did or said is silly and my friends never fail to point out that I would have done or said the exact same thing. She loves me even when I don't deserve it. She teaches me to give freely and willingly. She believes in my ability to change the world and tells me often. She never gives up on me. She loves me unconditionally and without end. I literally feel like I would cease to exist if it weren't for my Mama.
2. Camp Metamorphosis staff at Camp Jo-Ota. The people I had the opportunity to be counselors with impacted my life in a big and lasting way. Richard and Ben challenged me when I didn't want to be challenged. Laurie, Kate and Keely loved me even when I was crazy. Martin showed me characteristics of a Christian that awed me and made me want to be better. David with his softspoken voice and his positive attitude was totally opposite from me...and that intrigued me. Steve and John were so willing to serve and literally do anything they needed to do to make things happen at camp. Ben's step-mom and Richard's mom who came to be counselors so they could spend time with their boys showed me commitment to the ones they love. Elizabeth with her witty comments never once complained about the pressure of her technology job. Even when we lost power in the barn. Ha! And Andy. Last year I led a group with him and mostly just watched him because I was trying to figure him out. This year I told Andy why I don't like my face to be touched. I said it really fast and kind of as a fleeting comment and immediately changed the topic. But for just a split second he sucked in his breath and looked at me with wide eyes. It was then that I saw why Andy is a pastor. He may come off as all techy (like someone who spends their days in Nerdville) but he cares deeply about God's people. I feel like I am leaving someone out..but it is simply for lack of ability to remember everything I want to say, not for lack of their impact on my summer! I got as much from working with these people as any person could hope to gain from volunteering at camp for a week! Simply put, they made me want to be better.
3. mumBAi. My family group at this same camp. This group of kiddos forced me to be a better leader out of necessity. They needed John and I to be more real with them and give them God inspired answers...not the sugary sweet "mountain top" stuff you would normally expect at camp. They had me studying scripture hardcore any free minute I got at camp so I could have better answers for their mega super hard questions. I was blessed with the opportunity to witness many of them have moments of brokeness and healing. I am inspired by them because I know that I have only just seen the beginning. God is not done with them, He is raising them up to be leaders in their generation and it excites me like you would not believe!
4. Kalee. My dear friend Kalee. She inspired me to start a blog. She blew me away with how real she could be on her own blog. She inspired me to try new things. Most of all she is inspiring me to have a healthy relationship with food. I know that if there is one person on the planet who understands my emotional eating (I eat when I'm sad, happy, scared, bored, nervous, excited, etc...) it's her. And she on her blog talks about using cooking (making real food that is natural and good and made from scratch) to help find healing from an addiction to food. It literally blows me away.
5. Daniel. Much of why my dear Daniel inspires me I can not put into words. Most of this comes from years of friendship. But this year specifically I watched Daniel face emotional trauma and stand up and admit his sin. He swallowed his pride and said out loud that he was a sinner and he confronted that sin head on. He did not lie about it or try to make it some secret thing. He openly admitted that he needed Jesus. And I thought well maybe if Daniel can be freed from sin so can others. So can I. He showed me what God can do if only we let Him.
6. Alisa. My very best friend in the universe. Alisa inspires me by always being real with me. She is not afraid to tell me when I'm wrong. But she loves me through my mistakes. I like that when Alisa has something to say that she doesn't think anyone else will understand she calls me. I like that even though she was mad at me and didn't talk to me for almost an entire week this year she still loved me. I like that she is just like another part of my family now.
7. Beth Moore. I am constantly challenged by her. Whether it's through her blog, her most recent book or her Bible studies. She is one hundred percent real. She has been gifted for women's ministry and she is following that calling with everything she has. I attended a Simulcast this year. Actually two. And at both events I felt like she specifically spoke Truth into my life that I needed to hear at that moment. And this year (I know, I know...off topic from the 2010 list since it's 2011) I am memorizing scripture with other women on her blog. Yay!
8. Mike Slaughter. I had the opportunity to hear him speak at Missouri United Methodist Annual Conference. He changed my life and my view of ministry. Forever. There is not much more I can say about it than that. He is pastor of Ginghamsburg UMC in Ohio. He is being led by the Lord to do great things. He inspired me to live simply.
9. The Heartland Emmaus of KC community. My Walk to Emmaus (#34, Table of Ruth) showed me a lot of things. I went into it telling Laurie that even if I didn't get to do anything else besides hang out with Jesus for a few days I would be happy. What I got was a reminder of God's love. The way people showed love was incredible. If ever I start to doubt that I am loved by God or His people I pull out my Emmaus box and relive what it felt like to have people love me and serve me just because they love God. With no expectation from me. I look forward to the day that I can do that for someone else.
10. My students. The great thing about being a teacher is that when I say my students I can include two classes in the year 2010. They make my life fun. They are also super exhausting!! Some of them have already overcome so many challenges in life. They make me have hope for the future!
There it is. My list. I could have written way more but I'll stop. It's nearly 7:00 and I need to make some chocolate covered pretzels. Wish me luck!
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