Saturday, June 19, 2010

Top 5

Ok so i thought I'd make a list of top 5 of various things

my TOP 5 Games(for game night)-in no particular order
1-Catch phrase-always a classic and instant noise maker:)
2-Buzzword-my parents got it at Christmas and I fell in love!
3-Ticket to ride-if you don't own it- Buy it!
4-Bananagrams-for the nerd in all of us-there are even several other "fruit" versions including an apple and a pear-my sisters have those but the banana is the best!
5-family- all you need are paper pens and not everyone even needs to speak the same language! bonus! Learned it at camp a few years back and everywhere we've played it everyone loves it!

my TOP 5 summer ice creams
1-MINT CHOCO CHIP- can i put that for all 5?
2-Raspberry blast-from the carousel ice cream shop in Ocean City, NJ-I get it EVERY time! it's black raspberry ice cream with little choco hearts filled with raspberry sauce-yum!
3-Mango Sorbet-does that count? I hope so cuz it's a fav!
4-Black raspberry ice cream with jimmies from Friendly's
5-Peach ice cream- with little flavor burst of actual peach!

My TOP 5 artists (at the moment anyways)
1-The Civil Wars- check them out- amazing voices and awesome people!
2-Brooke Fraser-can't get enough of her Albertine album
3-Kelly Clarkson- always good when working out!
4-Patty Griffin-need I say more?
5-The Weepies-Say I Am You album

my TOP 5 stores to shop in (in America)
1-Old Navy-If you've ever met me you know 85%of my clothes come from here-but it's def hit or miss
2-Kohl's-cuz they have the most amazing sales ever! and I got my $7 converses there!
3-target-cuz who doesn't love one stop shopping in a clean and organized environment?
4-Gap-pretty much the only other store my stuff comes from
5-New York & company-for all my "dress up" needs- which are few and far between:)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Villers Abbey with Emi

Well . . . a little while back when there was more than one person(me) on staff here in Belgium we used to go to this abbey once a month for some solitude time. We would go out there with our Bibles, journals and Ipods and spend a few solid hours just being alone with God. I used to sit under this MASSIVE tree that stood right in front of the entrance to the former church. It was a great place because even if it rained I didn't get wet(the tree was that massive). I LOVED it. I mean it's great to spend some time every day but every once in a while it is so REFRESHING to spend a chunk of time alone with Christ. Enough time that all the thoughts, worries, things running through my head have time to run and there is still time to actually spend quality time talking to God.
I hadn't been out there since all the staff left. Somehow those types of things get pushed aside when you are the only one here. So today was a gorgeous day and I was trying to think of something I could do outside and the Abbey came to mind. So I called my friend Emi up and asked her if she was free(she graduated last Friday and is pretty free til she starts college in Sept). She said sure so I picked her up and off we went.
Now remember-I had not been there for over a year and even then I wasn't usually the one driving so sure enough I got us a little lost- but as they say-getting there is half the fun! This is what we found on our back way adventure! I so wish I had an artistic bone in my body because I would LOVE to paint the colors in these pics!
Does it not totally look like I photo shopped this? There is no editing to this pic-the day was that perfect!
There were NO cars around so we just pulled over on the cobblestone road!
We ended up getting to the Abbey a little while later and explored the grounds. While we were exploring we ended up going up a bunch of stairs and then walking around for a bit. Instead of going back down the stairs I decided we needed a little more adventure. So in our flip-flops:) we went down this kind of steep hill and climbed over some fallen trees and found our way to the bottom. I don't think Emi knew what an outdoors girl she was until today:)
Here's a picture of the abbey from the hill.
and a pic of the inside of the abbey-you can see how huge it is-that's Emi is at the bottom right.
After we walked around we sat on a bench in the shade and chatted for a bit. It really was a great day!

Monday, June 7, 2010

The Velveteen Rabbit

You know the story of the Velveteen rabbit becoming "Real."

Today in french class I was talking to a friend about jobs and she said something very revealing. We were discussing different jobs and she said, "well you don't have a REAL job." I looked at her quizzically and thought to myself-I bet that's what a lot of people think about me-even if they would never say it to may face. I mean what's REAL about a 33 year old woman hanging out with teenagers? Even I find it difficult to explain my job to others.

The other day I was sitting at dinner with 3 girls who were about to graduate the next day and a mom. We were discussing college decisions and so on. The girls were sharing why they felt that their college decision was going to affect the rest of their lives and where they might end up because of the name of their school. The mom- interjecting about the importance of getting a good job-shared a story of a family member who ONLY makes $18/hr and considers that a "real job"- I didn't say anything out loud but in my head I was thinking-wow! if I made that much money I would think I was rolling in it:) but obviously what I do does not make much money- so is it not "real" or "good"? The internal processor that I am- this idea of a "real" job rolled around in my head for a while. Is my job not good enough? Not real enough? Not meaningful enough? since I don't make much money. As the conversation continued the mom revealed that though she has a job that makes a lot of money she only gets to see her son maybe 1 or 2 hours a day. It was obvious that she regretted not being able to spend much time with her son. At one point in the conversation the mom looked at me and said "even though you don't make much money you are one of the happiest people I've met."

Where does that happiness come from? How, I a world driven by consumption, can I be happy making so little? It's because I have the most REAL job anyone can imagine. I spend my days with PEOPLE.

We live in a world of disconnectedness. I mean we have all the means to be connected but most of us waste so much time(me included) on our computers or texting on our phones that we are not even present when we are physically with someone. But here's the cool thing for me- In a world of broken relationships my job is to lead people to the One who can restore those relationships. I a world where everyone is disconnected, my job is to connect with people and make sure they feel loved and cared for. I get to spend time with a lost generation. A generation that I often think does not know what REAL relationships are. I get to live life with them, show them what a relationship can look like and introduce them to the most important relationship they'll ever have- their relationship with Christ.

I mean is there anything more REAL than that? That's what REAL, it is eternally real. High tech gadgets are nice, vacations to exotic places are fun, a new car feels good but are they REAL? Do they live and breathe and bring meaning to your life? Maybe having lived in so many different states and countries has made me value things differently. I mean when you move as much as I have in the last 10 years you have to decide what's really important. Sure I take stuff with me when I move-but the reality is that if I had a choice the thing I would bring with me every time is people-I always say- If I could get all the people from my different "worlds" to live in the same place-that would be AWESOME- a little slice of heaven!

So I think I have decided that my job is REAL. It's REAL because Christ is real and eternal and the relationships that I have with people are real because of that.

Here is an excerpt from the book VELVETEEN RABBIT by Margerie Williams that I think describes why I feel REAL today.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Sunday, June 6, 2010

prom and graduation

The end of the year also comes with prom
and graduation

End of year

The end of the school year . . . (Why does it not concern me at all that I STILL think of my year in terms of the school calendar?) . . . comes with a lot of celebration and goodbyes.
We had our last YoungLife leadership of the year. The weather was great so we spent the first part of the night out on my terrace.
There were kids everywhere-we had 20 people there! Then we moved inside and talked from Mark 4 about the different types of seeds-not just in context of believing but also in context of letting Christ speak into different aspects of our lives and how we receive that. It was a great conversation!
One of the best traditions we have is that at the last leadership we pray for our seniors as they leave us and move on to college. Next year our seniors will be in; London, Virginia, North Carolina, California, Belgium, South Carolina and Tennessee. I was struck in that moment how much I LOVE these guys and how much I am going to miss them. God has given me such grace with these seniors. I have known a lot of students over the years but for some reason I feel especially close to this group. Some of them are students I have know for 3 years. Some of them I have know for 1 1/2 years. Some of them have a very strong faith in Christ, some are still exploring what that relationship might look like for them. Some of them had a relationship with Christ before I met them and some of them I have had the privilege of walking alongside of as they began their relationship with Him. I am SO BLESSED to have know each of them. I have never been a parent but I think I got a taste of what it feels like to send a child you love off to their next adventure. As I stood there praying for them, for their relationships at school next year, for critical decisions they would be making in the next few months and years- I was so thankful that I know that though I will not be there with them- Christ will be. They were in His hands long before I met them and He has them in His hands as they head around the globe next year.