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!

The Mango Life Lessons

I think my love affair with Mangos started when I was in high school.  I was looking for a nice refreshing snack at Wawa one day, and they had a fruit cup of Mango chunks.  Now, up until this point, I didn't recall having a life-changing experience of enjoying a mango - although I find it hard to believe the first time I had a mango was when I was 15.  But the moment I tasted those sugary fruity cubes, I knew I was in love. 

A decade later, Mangos still are one of my favorite fruits.  They are sweet - but not so sweet - and have a tropicy flava to them.  When you get them chunked they are great!  It didn't take long for my Wawa mango chunks to progress to Rita's mango water ice (YES- WUDDER ICE - I am from Philly afterall...).  It then progressed to Trader Joe's Frozen Mango Chunks - an alltime favorite dessert. 

But the problem has always been that I don't know how to really eat a real mango.  I have picked them up at the grocery store before.  They are bigger than an apple, and although I usually dig around for the ripest ones, they are still tough and have a giant pit inside.  I have had countless experiences of coming home with a mango, getting out the knives and going to town.  (Usually this process requires an abundance of paper towels, maybe a newspaper covering on the kitchen table, and near catostrophic incidents regarding a finger and the knife.  I have actually switched to the little plastic butter knives because I have grown attached to my fingers after a few decades with them, but it only seems to make the task harder.)  At the end of this ordeal I am usually left with a large mess, sticky mango juice up to my elbows and on my face, and an amount of mango meat which is unproportionate to the work and labor invested.  But even though it is difficult, I always grin at the end as I cut up and enjoy the few peices of mango I was able to salvage. 

The funny thing is, that I always get frustrated when opening the mango.  But in a weird way, I really enjoy the process.

But I say this all, because in the last week I have learned a lot from my mangos.  My Egyptian friend Ezzat had been telling me about the Mangos they used to eat back in Egypt, and it started my stomach yearning for a good mango.  I shared my problems with Ezzat that I always struggle to open them, and he told me it was so easy!  So I figured buy a mango.  Take it to work.  Learn how to open it easily.  BRILLIANT!

I came in last week, prepared to learn how to open my mango in a clean and easy way.  - it did not work out that way.  With an audience of my fellow co-workers, Ezzat explained to me that what I had purchased was not a Mango.  I argued with him, that yes it was.  I even showed him the little produce sticker that said very clearly "M-A-N-G-O."  Well the two of us went to town on that mango.  It was a struggle - as I had always experienced.  There were moments of sheer comedy as we bantered back and forth and Ezzat in his heavy accent says "That is NOT a mango.  Never in my life have I done THAT to a mango!"  About 15 minutes in, my co-worker was laughing at both of us, and I found myself in a familiar situation - covered in sticky mango juice, with very little mango fruit to enjoy.  But I cleaned up my mess, and went on with my day.




What do you think?  It looks like a Mango, right?  

 
But Friday I went to Sam's Club with my friend, puppers' mom.  It was a lot of fun to just catch up, take it easy, and get a few things for a bridal shower (pictures of which will be posted soon).  But while we were there, I found a crate of mangos.  But these mangos looked different than the mangos I always bought at the grocery store.  Excited to bring them to Ezzat and see if THIS was the mango he was talking about, I swiped a crate immediately, anxious to give my sweet mangos another shot.

Well, today Ezzat and I dissected the new mangos.  I prepped my workstation for the mess, and Ezzat and I sat down to break into the mango.  I did exactly what Ezzat said, and within 5 minutes I had a clean workstation, sliced mango, and actually had some of the mango meat to enjoy! 

So, now that yo uheard the long-winded story, I bet you are curious about how that led to my life lesson of the day?

I realized, that without Ezzat, I never would have realized how easy enjoying a mango can be.  I would have continued to enjoy fresh mango the hard way.  I would have found myself in mess after mess, and although I enjoy the mango at the end, sometimes I'd wonder if all the work warranted the joy.  But just by learning that I was using the wrong type of mango, sharing the experience with a friend, and laughing, toiling,  and almost cutting my finger off - I realized I had to change my approach to the situation.  Draw wisdom from his experience.  I know that in life I will always have messes, and there is never a shortage of them in life.  But by seeking wisdom, using the right tools, and not going at it alone - your mango mess can become a mango feast when you finally make the change.

Rotated pictures are not uploading will fix later - but look - no mess!

My season right now is change, and I'm ok with that.  I just need to be checkin myself to make sure that I am allowing all this change to be for the best.  And if I feel for a moment that I am not changing into the person I want to be, I need to be able to switch up my tools and perspective, and grab people to show me how to change.  Otherwise, I will end up creating mess after mess, with a little fruit in the end.

Blog is going Political!!

Ok, I know a lot of you stopped reading.  But today is April 1, and contrary to what you may believe, what I am about to tell you is NOT an April Fool's joke.

12 people were killed in Afghanistan today.  Of those 12, 8 of them were international employees working for the UN to spread peace in a nation, a region, and a culture, where peace is a dirty word.

Almost 30 more were critically injured. 

The violence was spurred by a Christian group in Florida that burned the Quaran a few weeks ago.

I can't honestly tell you which one bothers me more. 

I am a Christian.  I am proud of my faith.  I will tell you about my faith if you ask, and I will try to live it out every day.  This does not mean I think less of you if you do not believe in God.  Being Jewish, or Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, aethiest, or WHATEVER does not make you less of a person than me.  I believe in my bible.  I believe that that is the truth of the world.  It does not mean I have the right to hurt or offend you, or destroy your things because you don't believe the same thing.  How messed up is thinking that goes "Well if you don't believe in my book, I'll burn yours!  Yea!  Take that.  Now your's is ashes so you have to read mine.  And believe it.  And let it change your life."

I read my bible sometimes.  And my take on it is that we need to try to be like this Jesus guy.  And to my recollection, Jesus didn't do that.  Jesus flipped tables over, and Jesus challenged the pharisees.  Jesus did not burn their temples or scriptures, or defame what was important to them (unless you consider flipping tables excessive.)  

But the Afghan rebels killed people.  In brutal ways.  People that were knowingly innocent and unrelated to the group in Florida.  They did it to prove a point.  Last I checked, the value of a human life is not equivalent to the need to "prove a point."  (I have separate thoughts on war, but best leave that to another time.)

It's just difficult sometimes to look at the world around us, and think about how much hate is being bred. Maybe you think me naive or too liberal or hippi-tastic, but I honestly believed that if we taught our children and communities that the value of a human life is unparalleled, than maybe we would see a world that isn't so scary to live in.    That we don't have to worry about raising children in.  A world that - will not be perfect - but will be safe.  We don't have to all agree - and we never will - but we do have to value and respect each other.

That is my prayer for this fallen world.

Cutest Baby Girl!

I feel like I can say that - and I hope I'm not offending anyone when I say I have a baby crush on the cutest baby girl!  And she comes to my small group.  She adds a bit of sass, and I can tell she really gets Esther - even from such a little age.  Tuesday she was the victim of a random photo spree.  But it's ok because her awesome mama captures the majority of sweet baby girl's life on camera, so she is quite used to it.  But I figured mama needed to see the pictures of her sweet pea.  And if you aren't familiar with mama, she keeps an awesome blog that I have a slight addiction to reading.  Fields of Green

Sweet baby girl who has kinda stolen my heart:

Captivated by the peas...

technique: see spoon, and dive mouth first

Yep.  ADORABLE.  

She gives you the stank eye if you try to steal her food

Used to being the center of the camera focus

Mama can pose too!

Let me do it already!

Sass-a-frass lil one <3

Tuesdays with both of these girls and the other 4 that make up my Tuesday night shennanigans is pretty much one of my favorite nights of the week!  (Please note that my camera died minutes before baby girl was put into the cat pjs.  And if you are wondering the cat pj's had a tail - I would tell you yes.  Yes it did.  Sorry for my unfortunate battery regard.)

Bye bye fancy apartment!

Ok, who needs a fancy apartment?
Who needs to live directly across the street from the metro?
Who needs to live above the only grocery store that it's ok to buy sushi from?
Who needs to have a walk-in closet bigger than my current bathroom?
Who needs to have a terrace that wraps around the entire apartment?

Ok.  I need to stop now.  I don't need that stuff, but the minute Joe showed me the terrace I was one smitten kitten.  My immediate thought "I could decorate this with bright outdoor furniture, get a fire pit, and make s'mores and sangria.  Parties at my place every summer night."

I already had it decorated in my head.  Took about 30 seconds.  I had bright Adirondack chairs in bright green, yellow, pink, and blue.  A wine table for my sangria that I will inevitably make every weekend.  And a small garden for my herbs and... what else?  Sunflowers.

Problem.  I have no one to move in with yet, and I hear that eating only ramen noodles is not healthy.  Shame too, because I could eat a lot of Ramen on that beautiful terrace.  But Gracie can't.  My poor dog would need to crash diet faster than an Olsen twin.  I can't make her do that.

So, I am probably gonna move back into the Ashley house.  That is, unless God has some grandiose idea he is just waiting to reveal to me in the next month!

So I did would any woman would do when she finds her dream terrace apartment slipping through her fingers, and ready to move into a significantly cheaper home (at least temporarily).

I got a personal trainer and a gym membership.  Or at least I will have tomorrow.  His name is Hoyt, he is 6'5 and blonde and loves the Lord, is super quirky and random like me, and his biceps are the size of my head.

Ok, that's all a lie.

But still, whether I chose the gym where my YL girls go, with the awesome kickboxing classes and spectacular proximity to starbucks and the sushi place, or the gym that is practically right next door and directly on my way to the office... I will have a gym home tomorrow.  And a trainer.  And be on my way to being one super fit, super chic athlete.  

Unknown

I like knowing the answers to questions before I ask them.
I like knowing that 1 + 5 = 6.
I like having plans, and seeing that plan work out.

But on the reverse, I like learning new things about a person.
I like when people and things surprise you.
I like that feeling when what you thought you knew about yourself was only a fraction.
I like when things look like they are going to fall apart, but then pull together in a way no one could have expected.
I like adventure, and I like being challenged. 
I like changing up my routine, but need the dicipline of a somewhat structured schedule.

Hi, I'm Jennifer, and I'm a walking oxymoron.

My roommate is getting married 2 months from Sunday.  That is soon.  That means that within about a month and a half, I need to find a place to live, and I need to move there.  I need to pack up my life and move to __________. 

I would really like to have that blank filled in.  There are so many questions right now.  House or apartment?  Nice place where I can LOVE where I live, or decent place where I can AFFORD to live?  Will I live on my own, or with others?  What will my commute to/from work look like?  Will Gracie come right away?  Or will I have to send her up to PA until I can find something more structured? 


I feel like I'm about to dive into the unknown.



I have started looking but it has caused me a lot of anxiety.  I know that I have backup plans, but is a backup plan without my dog really a backup plan?  I'm gonna throw up a hail mary pass right here.  I've seen this before where somehow things just happened to work out with my old roommate KJohns, and I trust that it will happen again - even though I don't know how the game is gonna be played. 

You know, it's scary - not knowing.  Especially when it is something big like where I will live!   But I have trusted God before when it looked scary, and I am really excited to trust him again!  Time to step to him, and walk on the water and take some bold steps!

Found a cute story when looking for a good image for right here: http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/01/31/how-to-walk-on-water/

However scary it is, I know I'm the person to embrace adventure.  So, I go to my users-guide of life, draw out the map of my adventure, and set off.  (Hint: I've included peices of my map right below here!)

Don't fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. *Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

Therefore, do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (Or 'Where shall I live?' could fit nicely here)  For they seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.  Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  *Matthew 6:31-34 (ESV)

It's nice to not have to worry about things.  To trust that his promises do not fall short.  And in the skydive of life, he's our parachute.  (Have I mentioned I'm going SKYDIVING?!?)

You don't have to tell me how cheesy I am, I already know it.

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

Adventures!!

Yep.  I'm going to here at the end of April.  Oh, and here.  And I get to see some old roommates and younglife friends.  And... maybe I'll go here for a day too, and see this awesome thing.

I'm jumping out of a plane with some friends that I love.

I'm moving into a new house or apartment.

And this morning I signed up for my first ever half marathon.


ahhhhhh!  things are going pretty well you might say.  There is a lot of change going on.  A lot of adventure.  One change coming up is me stepping out of Younglife next year.  Since moving to the DC area I have been a Younglife leader.  And my first year was SO trying.  I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't break into those girl's hearts.  Well, I figured out why.  I needed to let them break into mine.  And I did.  And I LOVE those girls so much, and am delighted to watch them grow with God after leaving high school.  I had 8th graders who grew into high schoolers, who I have walked through the last 3 years of their lives with.  

So what's next for me?  What's next for them?  I know that leading where I was was NO mistake on God's part, and he reminded me of that every week.  But what now?  This is one adventure I am ready and excited to seek out what he has in store for me.