Stuck in a funk

Sounds bad right?

Well, I like funk.  I like funk music, playing that funky music white boy, and I even like the funky cold medina.  I like a life with funk.  So I'm putting a new spin on the phrase 'stuck in a funk.'

Have you ever just looked around your life and thought, "really and truly, every day has been better than the last."  I don't remember ever thinking that before specifically, but I thought about it driving home tonight.

Things have been good lately.  Not perfect, not only good.  But yes, they have been good.  I might even say great.  And it seems that each day is better than the last.

And while I enjoy these last few moments of summer before the hustle and bustle of Younglife starts again, and share in the joy that some friends will be sharing as they get married in the next month, I know that it's true.  That each day really can be better than the last.

Things still can and are going wrong.  But I will pray, and smile, and move on because Life is So Good, and I do believe, it's getting better. <3

Oh, you better believe it's personal!

Let's face it, sometimes little things happen.  They hit a nerve with us and we take it personally.  And with me, it is 9 times out of 10 something that was done inadvertantly with without intention of anyone getting hurt.

But it still happens.  Things personally move us, hurt us, make us angry with ourselves or one another.  People personally let us down.  Things don't go they way we plan them in our perfect snapshot of what life should look like.

That is the sympton of a fallen world.  A world of pride, a world of selfishness, and a world of busi-ness.  A world where our agenda does not always include the best of some of the people we love.  We try, but we fail at times, because we are not perfect. 

Which is why it's personal.  There will always be personal let downs, personal disappointments, personal moments of feeling forgotten or  not-good-enough.  Which is why it is so great to have a personal God.  I sometimes forget to be thankful for the fact that there is a God out there that doesn't just spin the world on an axis, but wants to be here - there - wherever we are - for those personal moments that we feel personally hurt.  And not only does he want to be there, but he wants to be the source of that personal joy that keeps us from feeling too much personal hurt or disappointment.

I believe he blesses us dearly with people in our lives that love us and care for us, but without the occasional disappointment, we would not realize the personal joy that only he provides.

So is life personal?  Absolutely.
Is that painful sometimes?  Absolutely.
Is that overwhelmingly amazing as well?  Absolutely.

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes." ~Frank Deford

The little diva who came to the beach with my small group ladies. <3

Mid-run, wearing the dogs down!

Little Bean - just straight chillin....

Loves him some playtime with the dogs!

It's a girl!!  Cupcakes for my sweet Caitlyn to congratulate her on her new addition.

Do you heart cupcakes?

Sorry - still having rotating issues.  But my little babe, showing her phantastic phillies pride :-)

Best blogger ever!!

Ok, so in an effort to actually keep up with my blog - I'm changing it up a bit.  While I like to write stories for people to read, it is just too hard with keeping up with a busy life and a blog, and by the time I MAKE time for a blog, it's just a list of exciting things that have happened in my life, which always sound less exciting as a list.

So from now on it will be little glimpses of my life.  From the small, seemingly unimportant blessings, to the big ones.  Just whatever struck me as a wonderful moment of adventure, love, God, joy, etc.  Life is so full of the little positive moments that when we miss them we miss moments worth cherishing.

I am so grateful for:

Roommates that are so different, so beautiful, and so much fun to be around.

Friends who inconvenience their lives to help you be closer to your pup for a week.

Learning the art of geocatching, speanding whole days laughing, and just being with a great guy.

Moments in the grocery store where God shows us that he is in control in the small moments too.

Friendships that are not perfect, but when put in the stress-test always come through brighter and stronger.

Puppy dates with Cooper, Blake & Luke, Lulu, and Bingo - and their owners :-)

2 Day vacations, family, friends, sun and the reminder that there is a life outside the mundane work week.

Friends who found someone that they want to spend the rest of their lives with, and have invited friends and family to be a part of that.  It is an honor to share in their happiness.

"To whom much is given, much is expected."  I'm grateful for having that engrained in me, and constantly beign challenged to live that out in my life, and seek new ways to to so.

Have had a year with slaing to live in the same state.  See each other frequently, and wish her off to begin a new life up north.

 Life is so good.  And I do believe, it's getting better <3

100 degrees and 10 miles an hour... here are my (barely) coherant thoughts

Yet, I did not put up my windows and AC.  Yes, they work.  Yes I was wearing pants and a long sleeved shirt from work.  But you know what I realized?  If you drive an 01 Jeep Cherokee, and then put the windows up and AC on so that you are more comfortable, well then, you probably aren't doing 'The Jeep Thing' right.  So I will roll up my sleeves, blast some classic rock and some sweet shades, and enjoy the sticky heat on the side of my neck.

Blink 182 is back on tour.  I got some knock off ray bans yesterday for free.  Are the 90s returning?  If the answer is yes, then I am very excited!!

I am all about diversity and inclusion - heck I'm in HR after all.  But if all my friends were Eagles and/or Phillies fans, I would be ok with that.

Also, I made a new friend driving yesterday.  He had a big Eagles sticker on his back window so I waved at him, and he looked at me like I was crazy.  But then he saw that I had an Eagles sticker of my own, and the next time he was next to me he honked, opened his window and yelled, "Yea!  Go Birds!"  ... I hate when people knock brotherly love.  We are all about it in Philly.

I am very grateful for my inability to hold a key, hit the right pitch, or sing in tune.  (Not even sure if I said those things correctly.)  But I realized that singing in the car to a favorite song would not be nearly as fun if I was GOOD at singing.  So in the meantime, I am going to ham up my whacked out vocals and belt my jams like I'm Britney Spears.

My work keeps mentioning that they may send me to Djibouti for a week or so.  If I can handle sitting in the Jeep on the beltway in 101 degree heat, going 10 miles an hour or less, I think I can handle the 115 degree Djibouti weather, right?


So if you ever wondered at what I think about while I commute to and from work each day, now you know.  Happy Thursday!  And SKYDIVING ON SUNDAY!!

Life is SO good.  And I do believe it's getting better <3

Wanderlust has overcome me, like Lewis and Clark I'll dream...

So there is this great song that I have been in love with since I first heard it my freshman year of college.  It's by the band called The Afters, the have a great song called Love Lead me On.  The title of this blog is a direct lyric quote from that song, and aptly match my life lately.

A few people keep telling me to update my blog, they have no idea what's going on in my life, and my response is usually - you can just call me you know...  But really the reason I haven't been keeping up with this lately is because things have been such an incredible whirlwind.  While life is going really well these days, it's also at times exhausting, but I am caught up in my own little adventure world which is so great for me and makes me so happy.

So let's start with Texas.  Seeing old summer staff friends was great, and it was really nice to hang out with my old college roommate.  Now that she has a husband and daughter, it's weird that she is in her "Family role" right now.  It was really nice to see her life as a family woman, and just be able to take some time with catching up and loving her little girl.  Also, I may have said this before, but summer staff with Younglife was one of the biggest blessings in my life.  I have friends now that are scattered throughout the country (actually some are even international!).  And what's unique about these friends is that no matter how much time has passed since we have served together, it's literally like picking up with you left off.  These are friends that if I am still running into when I'm 70 years old, I will be incredibly blessed.  Also, I read an amazing book while traveling.  This book, The Heart and the Fist, I recommend to anyone who likes a read that nurtures both the excitement seeking side as well as the heart of the reader.  The author is inspiring, encouraging, and honest, and a rarity of the person who not only chases their potential, but tried to exceed it.  This is a must read and needs to go on your book list.

For your pleasure here are some pictures:

My beach-day sidekick when I went to Galveston in Texas.

Freshman year roommates on the ferry.  I love that little Ava is already chasing after my venti Starbucks iced coffee.  Mhmmm :-)

My adorable Austin, TX hosts in front of the capitol building

Posing for our ghetto-fab album cover for our gangsta rap album.

The Stage - best country bar ever, great hot spot in Austin.  Only downfall?  The band didn't know Thunder Rolls!  Country band Fail!

Just one of the many beautiful missions I was able to visit in San Antonio.

Remember the Alamo!

View of downtown San Antonio from the Riverwalk.  River walk = best salsa, most beautiful city water way I have ever seen!

I was even able to visit the San Antonio Botanical garden and visit the garden for the blind!

Since going to Texas, I have moved into the Ashley house, and have a couple really great roommates.  One is a new friend, and the other old, but so grateful to be living with them.  I literally moved a few days after I got back from Texas so that was pretty crazy for sure!  But I am pretty settled in there and starting to look for where I am moving to next.  (The plan was to move into the Ashely house temporarily since they don't allow dogs on the lease.  So Gracie has been living in PA with the rents!)

The weekend after that I was able to go to Philly for a dress fitting with my friend Carmoo and her other bridesmaids.  Carmoo and I have been friends since high school, and it is so weird to imagine her getting married!  But she found herself a military man who things she is just the bee's knees (yes, I said that.) and so they will be getting hitched in a few short months!  It was great to see her and some other old friends from high school even if it was just for an afternoon.  That was the same weekend my friend JaK graduated from UMD with her master's so that day I rushed down to MD after the dress fitting to help my church softball team get defeated, and then rushed out to JaK's house to celebrate with her family.  JaK is another summer staff friend, who I can not even begin to tell you enough good things about.  This girl is one of my favorite people ever and has really encouraged and inspired to me to grow as a woman of God.  (Also, her mom is amazing.)  As if that weren't a crazy enough weekend I had a jam-packed day with some people from church to go down to Andrews Air Force base in Virginia for the Air Show.  Well... we missed the last shuttle to the base, and we had to completely forgo the show, but we were able to instead just hang out with each other in DC and do some exploring. 

Now my life is starting to blend together with all the craziness.  That next weekend may have been memorial day weekend, and I may have gone to the beach with my family, but I think there was actually one weekend where I actually stayed where I live!  (I know - it's a crazy concept!)  Either way, last weekend was beach weekend in Stone Harbor, and my pocket-sized friend decided to join me because she didn't have work either.  It was great.  We put 18 people in one house (eek!) so it was a BIT crowded.  But got to hang out with a lot of my cousins, and uncle and of course my immediate family.  Of course my crazy family is amazing, but so inappropriate, and my mind is still in the gutter from 4 days spent with them.  But the weekend included boating, tubing (bad idea for my back), water skiing (first time since the accident I was able to get up!), sea turtles and eels, lots of bocce ball, catch, and naps on the beach, mini-golf, shopping, and beach bars.  Basically, the quintessential beach weekend.

Some friends who met up at the beach bar in Stone Harbor.  Inch, me, MH, and Tess

Random stop on the highway on the way back do Rockville.  Why not stop and get a picture with the massive rocking chair?

Now, as I write this, I am en route to DC from NYC, where I was able to go to Brooklyn to hang out with some of my distant family and favorite 15 year olds.  These are kids I babysat for when they were 9, and now they are talking about college, and state championships, and are 15 years old!! It's amazing where the time goes, it's amazing the beautiful woman and men they are turning into, and I am so grateful for those relationships, and how we have been able to keep in touch with each other. 

While traveling about like a crazy person, somehow I have managed to find time for meeting with my manager at work, finding out about the new programs I support, and finish out some of my other programs.  I have also been able to celebrate the end of the year with my younglife kids.  The last few weeks we have had the biggest Younglife clubs and campaigners ever at Richard Montgomery High school.  I am very happy for my kids who are moving on and graduating, but yet it's bittersweet.  This graduating class is so dear to me, and we have gotten so close over the last few months.  It will definitely be a different Younglife without them.  I am excited to see how their relationships with God grow as they go off to college, and am very excited still for the younger ones that are still sticking around.

Picture even after half the kids left.  Remnants of our biggest club ever!  I love my high school friends :-)

My most adorable junior leader.  She has been such a blessing and encouragement this year.  Did I tell you I love her?

Some of my senior girls...

One of my little-uns!

THAT in a nutshell is the chaos of my life lately.  It has been super crazy and busy, but so great, and I am reminded time and again of how blessed I am to have the people in my life that I do have, to have the opportunities and resources that I do have, and to have a faith that restores my strength and energy, even when I feel like I am running on empty. 

And exactly one week from today I will be jumping out of a plane!  THAT is crazy!

Life is SO good.  And I do believe, it's getting better &lt;3

This one's for my daddy

So this one is for dad.  Dad and all those other readers out there that read my blog to catch up on my life.  Sorry I haven't kept you updated!

Some things I learned about Texas.

It is incredibly boring to drive through. 

Everyone said I would fall in love with Austin.  It was nice, but I wasn't in love with it.

San Antonio is beautiful.  The fire department found me - naturally - I don't know what sort of medical/emergency/fire personnel magnet I have in my body, but it needs to stop.

The missions were humblingly beautiful to tour.  So rustic, so simple, and so full of historic character. 

Galveston was beautiful.  It makes me wonder why I don't pack up my bags and move to the coast.  Even Annapolis.  I need to be near the water.  I blame Stone Harbor for putting this into me.

Marriage fever:  It seems that everyone is getting married these days!  Definitely, I am not the kind of girl that gets all sentimental and upset worrying about when I am going to find someone to marry.  But the weird thing is that I don't get all nervous and freak out when people tell me they are getting married.   It seems to be getting less scary.  Not sure if this is because I see more and more people doing it, or if I realize that my mom and dad (although crazy as they are sometimes) rock at this marriage thing, or if I'm just warming up to the idea, but I am not the big marriage freak out anymore!  (sidenote: this does not mean I am looking for a ring or a husband tomorrow.)

Summer is here!  And along with that means: skydiving, the beach, Younglife trips(?), sundresses, FIREWORKS, open windows in the Jeep, tanning, running outside, swimming, leaving work at 3pm just because, and long days, fireflies, baseball games, swinging in the hammock, long grass, creeks, outdoor concerts, and country music!

Work is hopping.  Like really hopping.  Like my life is crazy and things are challenging and stressful.  And for all the bad I could say about it, I have at least that much good.  So I'm happy.

I run a half marathon in four months.  That is not very far away.  But I am excited to run the streets of Philly and prove to myself that even 13.1 miles is not impossible.

And... Younglife.  This has definitely been a year.  We have had ups and downs, ins and outs, and through it all - I have been awed.  It hasn't been easy, and I am definitely looking forward to a summer away from the stress of planning clubs and contact work (although I expect to hang out with my kids a lot!) so that I can hit next year completely energized and ready!

(I'll post pictures for all this stuff as soon as I have a free minute at home.)

Life is so good.  And I do believe, it's getting better <3

Love like a hurricane...

Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes,

If his grace is an ocean we are all sinking....

And heaven meets earth in an unforseen kiss,

And my heart turns violently inside my chest,

I don't have time to maintain these regrets

When I think about the way he loves us.

How are you loved?

Are you loved?

Are you loved by a God?

Are you loved by a God who is great and majestic?

Are you loved by a God who is great and majestic and just?

Are you loved by a God who is great and majestic and just and forgiving?

 

I am.

I hope that you feel loved and pursued this Easter weekend.  I hope you see that the story God has written for us reads like an epic love story of God chasing after our hearts, and even chosing a horrific death on the cross to prove his love for us. 

My family is coming this weekend, and so I am completely elated.  I love spending this weekend with my family - no agenda, just spending time with each other.  <3  *I wonder how much taller than me my little brother is now...?
Happy Easter.



... and oh yea - bunnies are cute:

Funshare!

Another funshare for you all this week.  My friend JK sent this to me this morning, and I felt compelled to share with some of my other single christian girlfriends.  So if you are one, or know one, take a few minutes and check out the video in the link of something called Resurgence (I haven't looked it up too much yet, but it looks like one of those mega-church groups focused primarily on young adults - much like Willow Creek in Chicago or Frontline in DC.)

Must Watch Video for Christian Single girls!

"Who flirts with the ideology of 'how much I can get away with and still be saved'?"  I feel like I've asked myself that question so many times.  I'm not usually big into the whole Dramatic Poetry read, but I thought this was inspirational and convicting. 


IN OTHER NEWS...

I may or may not have gone to the Phillies v. Nationals game this week.

We may or may not have won 2 of the 3 game series.

I may or may not have gotten to hang out with Jon and Biga - which was awesome.

I may or may not have cured my baseball famine.

I may or may not have had sweet tickets.

I may or may not have run into some of my other Philly Phans.

I may or may not have gotten a wave from Shane Victorino.... and immediately turned into a poptart.

I may or may not have yelled "We still think you're WERTH it!!" and gotten waved to by Jayson Werth.

I may or may not have tried to take a picture with Teddy the running president. 

We may or may not have had a bad photographer for that picture, and Teddy may have smacked my butt as I walked away.  It was awkward.

I may or may not have continued yelling to Shane how much we love him.

We (Biga and I) may or may not have had Shane Victorino throw a ball to us.  TO US.

And if you are wondering - yes - all those things happened.  Do you want proof?  OK

Bases Loaded!  Did I meantion I Phreaking love my Phils?

<3 Shane <3

Jayson Werth

Happy Halladays!! Roy is my #2 to Shane Victorino <3

Home team?  NOPE.  Visitors.  Sorry Nats - maybe one day you'll have fans too

Pervy old Teddy.

Did Shane throw that ball to us?  YES!!!

Jon!  My Maryland Big Bro

Plans...?

There is this song I heard for the first time when I did summer staff with Younglife at SharpTop in Georgia.  The song was written by a man who lost his 4 year old child, lost his home and fortune in the Great Chicago Fire, then sent his family on a boat to Europe and the boat sank and his four daughters all died.
It is a terrible story, but after this, the author creates this beautiful song called 'It is well with my soul.' 
It is a beautiful point when you come through a struggle and can look up at a Holy Creator, and honestly profess that it is well with our souls.
But it is also good to have that peaceful contentment and honesty even when we are not going through tumultuous waters. 

I am excited for the future of Younglife at my high school, and my great high school friends. 

I am excited that a bunch of them are going to camp for a whole week to have a great time and get to know God more closely.

I am excited for a Wegman's date with Emily on Saturday.

I am excited for the Derwood Bible Church softball team to start the season on Saturday.

I am excited for the Phillies v. Nationals game tonight - even though the weather is a bit icky.

I am excited for new friendships, relationships, and just getting to know the heart of people.

I am excited for my family to visit next weekend for Easter.

I am excited for skydiving in 2 months!!

I am excited for my return to social networking.

I am excited for the results I've been seeing with my personal trainer.

I am excited for my trip to Texas 2 weeks from tomorrow!!

I am excited to see old friends, and explore new places.

I am excited to move into the Ashley house in May.

I am excited for the new opportunties that are coming at work.

Things haven't been perfect, but they have been well.  And I love that I can say that, and say that I am abundantly full with feelings of contentment, excitement, joy, peace, and fervor for what is coming up next for me :-)

I have great friends, fellowship, and family, (and most times a great job) and can not wait to be completely enthralled with them all over the next few weeks.



Ok, and so let me also add in here about my most recent obsession.  You have heard me talking about running the Philadelphia Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon in September, and you may even recall reading about getting a personal trainer.  But I have also changed my diet in the last few weeks.  Specifically changed it to incorporate more of the yummy healthy stuff and less of the heavy junky stuff. 
However, this past weekend was so difficult for me.  I went to Younglife's Northbay Camp in northeastern MD and we spent the weekend serving.  (Pictures and stories to follow shortly - I promise!)  But we had Younglife food.  And if you've never had Younglife camp food before let me tell you - they give kids what kids want.  Cake, fried food, greasy food, pizza, baked goods, pretty much everything that will make a grown woman's thighs double in size just by thinking about it. 
But as I came home on Sunday, I was feeling pretty icky.  I thought at first maybe I was just tired, but the more upset my stomach got, the more I realized my body was more or less revolting from all the junk I consumed last weekend.  It was terrible at the time, but it is really refreshing to know that even my body is jumping on board with this whole healthy lifestyle thing.  Like the thought of brown rice and steamed broccoli for dinner beats some boneless buffalo wings by a mile these days!
Needless to say, that my smoothies, salad, over indulgence in water, and roasted asparagus for dinner last night combined with my nice 3.5 mile run (at a 10 min pace - YEA!!) was a welcome feeling after beating up my body all weekend.  Phils game tonight and one-hour-major-butt-kicking-session with Allison tomorrow!