Diving Back In...

I have been absent for far too long...
I want to start writing again, but where to start....
anywhere, i guess...just dive in, right?

bear with me as i share some random things from my life lately:

1. I just got a new computer! So, now, it is much easier to be on the internet and connect with my friends and family! It's not a MacBook, but it will do for now. It's an HP, one size up from a mini, which will come in handy while traveling or making a pit stop at Starbucks!

2. I'm in dire need of a vehicle, I've been without one for some time and for the last 8 months, I've been living on a farm, so being able to go into town is a must! Thank God for other houseparents who are willing to take me along with them.

3. I've learned all sorts of things about taking care of a farm and farm animals. For instance, today I cleaned the stall of one of our baby 700lb steer and rinsed him off. Successfully, without any headbutting, I got the lead rope attached and got him tied up to the fence. Who knew scooping poop and hay could be so fun!?

4. I've been exercising at least 6 days a week and LOVING the results!!

5. For some odd reason, I started researching Graduate Programs at Eastern University. I'm not really sure if school is the next step for me, but if it is--I am very interested in their Urban Studies/Community Development or Non-Profit Degrees. Plus, I LOVE Philly and it's near a lot of the intentional communities I'm interested in.

6. One of my best friends in the entire world is coming home from Africa this week with her fiance!! I can. not. wait. to see her!! It's been nearly 2 years and that's way too long for besties! I can't wait to see him as well--excited that his visa was approved! Thank you, Jesus!

7. Julian Smith is one freakin' hilarious guy! I've been watching his videos on YouTube and laughing ridiculously. Seriously check him out! Some of my faves so far are: 'Red Eye Flashes Twice" "Racist Coffee" "Stuck in Your Head" You won't be disappointed.

8. I'm trying to make my list to ten...Harry Potter--so bittersweet. Yes, I did go to the theatre by myself to see it! I may or may not have cried...a lot. Will be going again on Friday!

9. I have pets. 4 Hermit Crabs. It's okay, go ahead and make fun, I'm used to it. But, I rather enjoy them.

10. I haven't been to the beach near enough, but I did find a beautiful beach that I will be returning to frequently down on Anna Maria Island. Pure Bliss. My birthday is coming up real soon, so hopefully a trip to the beach will be had!! :)

Next time, I promise a more narrative post...had to at least get my feet wet today!

all things new...

This post is dedicated to Miss Jessica Williams, who specifically asked me to "update yo blog, jolene"...so here's to you Jess!!

When I was traveling the East Coast last fall, there was a joke amongst my fellow travelers that one of our members was going to be going on a "taste tour," to broaden his taste buds' horizons, as we tried lots of new foods. It seems that when I made the move from the landlocked state of open plains to the shoreline of western florida, that my taste buds would soon be on tour of their own. I have always been a fan of fish, but have never really ventured out into the world of seafood because my first brush with shrimp ended horribly. But, I'm up for trying anything at least once, so Jess and Amber introduced me to the wonderful world of seafood.

After our softball game one night, we headed to the Captain's Table for dinner. Can I just say, delish?! I tried baked oysters, two different kinds even! Regular (i guess that's what you'd call them) and Cajun. I also tickled my taste buds with grilled scallops. And for my meal, I had a Grouper sandwich. tasty! I also had the opportunity to eat at Bonefish Grill, and tried bang bang shrimp (still dislike shrimp heavily, it's texture is like eating very fine bubble wrap and i do not enjoy it) and Mahi Mahi. Man, that fish is so good!

Since I am taking on the vegetarian lifestyle, I'm sure there will be more food-related posts...maybe i could do a "julie and julia" segment...haha

Here's to trying new things! Here's to you, Jess!

New Beginnings!!

I have been in the great state of FLORIDA now for almost two months and have been seriously lacking in updates. Here's the low-down:

Job Hunting: I had high hopes of finding the coolest ocean side job, that would be both fun and financially worthwhile. after a couple weeks, i wasn't sure that was going to happen...

Free-Time: In the beginning, I had a lot of time on my hands and no where to go and on most days, no vehicle. So, I took up my beloved past time of walking. Conveniently, there is a walking park about a block away (a mile loop), so I would walk there often. That quickly turned into wanting to walk a marathon. I did a little research via google and found a training guide. When i got bored with the walking park, I moved to walking along Beach Drive, about a block away as well and it goes along the bay. It has a beautiful view and I can walk along the shore if I want :-) I am 6 weeks into my 24 weeks of training! and I am loving it! There is also a possibility of entering a half marathon in Pensacola in April!!!

First Job: So, the first place that responded to my application was a fine establishment called Books-A-Million. I was pretty excited about it at first since i LOVE books and reading. I loved the people I worked with but not necessarily the management style and some business strategies, so after 3 weeks, I quit...

Second Job: My roommate's (jenny) mom owns a gymnastics gym and runs an afterschool program and was looking for someone to work with the littlest kids, I tried to resist working here a little bit, mainly for a chance to branch out, but finally gave in. So now I work with 4-5 year olds from 12-6pm. At first, I was a little bit hesitant and skeptical if this was for me...i think i cried everyday that week. I am not used to that age group, but they're starting to grow on me. it's my second week and i'm starting to find my groove...so thankful for that!

Church: Jenny is the youth director at her church and naturally I have been helping out with that. I LOVE the youth! They're great! I also love my sunday school class, and I'm very excited to be teaching Confirmation this year at Forest Park UMC!!

The Ocean: I've only been a couple of times but since the bay is so close it's almost the same! I am ready for a little bit warmer weather and the time to actually spend time at the beach, it's one of my fave things!

Pets: How could I forget! jenny has a cat, and his name is Einstein! love him, but he's starting to get fearless...just yesterday he jumped from the toilet to the top of the shower rod and knocked it clean off the wall...crazy cat! oh, and he plays fetch! he thinks he's a dog.

That's about all for now! I hope to update more regularly!!

Holy Collision

I woke up this morning...late. I had slept through all 3 of my alarms and for a minute almost didn't get out of bed. Church begins at 9:45 and it was already 9:10, I didn't sleep terribly great and part of me just wanted to return to my dreams, but I remembered that it is advent and didn't really want to miss it. So, I left the warmth of my bed and made my way into the freezing temperatures of my house to shower and get dressed. While in the shower, I sadly was weighing the pros and cons of going to church, even though I was already in the process of getting ready.

I love advent, well, I love the church, but the Christmas season can sometimes be bittersweet for me. I don't enjoy going to church alone, and this time of year pronounces the fact that I do attend by myself. I have always wanted to read the advent litany and light the candles during the services, but unfortunately, churches only seem to select families to perform this task and my family doesn't attend, and to top it off I am single. It's always sometimes awkward for me entering the church, and my first instinct is to try and find someone to sit with so I'm not the "loser" sitting by herself. Typically, it's with a friend and/or their family, and it's hard not to feel like the "plus one" of the group. I know these thoughts/feelings are ridiculous, but I still feel them.

I continued getting ready (yes, I got in the shower at 9:10 and made it to church by 9:40!!), and thought to myself "this is not about me." It's not about me feeling alone, it doesn't matter, worship is done corporately, but it is also individual. Me going to church is not about whether I will have to sit alone or be a "plus one," it's about worshiping my God! I got in my car and the first song on the radio had this line in the chorus, "I don't want to be alone..." hmm. odd, i was just thinking the same thing. God has funny ways of reminding us that we in fact aren't alone. I don't know so much that I was feeling alone, it was more like lonely. I am never alone, ever, even it feels that way.

I arrived at church just in time to greet a few folks and scout out a seat. I did decide to sit alone and worshiping was wonderful, why did I even entertain the idea of sleeping!? When it came time to do the advent litany, I watched as one of my friends' family took the stage, there were four generations represented, and ages ranged from 2 to 90. It was beautiful, and I couldn't stop the tears from flowing down my face. That is when it hit me, I should never feel alone, especially during advent!! It is, after all, the story of the collision of the divine and humanity! God sent His Son to literally be with us (Emmanuel=God with us), and after Jesus left this world, he gave us His Spirit to dwell within us, literally. I am never alone. You are never alone. We are never alone.

Deep Thoughts with the White Stallion..

Some of you know that we have been experiencing some transportation troubles lately. Over a week and a half ago, as we were making our way from Princeton, NJ to New York City, our beloved van (white stallion) unexpectedly broke down on the turnpike. What we thought would be a simple tow and quick fix has turned into quite the ordeal. While in NYC we had our van towed 4-5 times, and it turned out that the van needed some serious time with a mechanic. We had to completely reconfigure our time in the Big Apple and roll with the punches so to speak. As of right now, Kevin is still in NYC dealing with the van, while Robin and I are in Pennsylvania waiting to be reunited with our male counterpart.

In times like these there are lots of things one can learn when circumstances quickly change and you are forced to improvise with plan B. Here are a few…

1. Being stranded on the side of the road, and waiting for a tow truck, makes for great bonding time. Or nap time.

2. Driving a rental car in NYC is a MILLION times better than a 12 passenger van in NYC. Taking the subway…even better.

3. Maybe you can get towed by AARP, sometimes you can’t…depends on who answers the phone.

4. Being missionaries CAN get you free dental care…

5. Community is key. When things go awry on the road, community is key. There is no way we would have made it to NYC without the help of the Rouse’s picking us up at the Shell station and making trips to haul our stuff out of the van and make sure we got to where we were staying. Again, the Rouse’s helped us when our van broke down the second time and spent a large chunk of their day attending to us. Community is letting go of our “independence” and really leaning on those around us to help us, even if it’s small. It’s also about being in community with God and depending on him to provide for us and placing people in our lives to help us along our journey. Today, Robin and I had to drive our rental car back from Hershey, PA to Allentown, PA because the van wasn’t ready today like it was supposed to be. Since the van wasn’t ready, we weren’t sure where we were going to be sleeping, we had to rely on God to provide and rely on others. We called the pastor of the church we met with on Sunday and asked if she knew anyone who could take us in for the evening or if we could crash at the church. She was more than gracious and set us up with a place to stay and even picked us up after we returned our car. This is community. Relying on God and each other to take care of our brothers and sisters. Like Jesus reminds us, God takes care of the lillies of the field and the birds of the air, and He will take care of us.

So, hopefully our van will be ready tomorrow and we can continue to Pittsburgh, PA. But, in case it’s not we will remember that God is taking care of us wherever we are and we will rely on Him and the help of those he places in our midst.

Stories...

A large part of the ministry and mission of Pray With Africa is sharing stories. I can't even tell you how many times I have seen our film, but every time it's different. I see something new or it provokes a new thought in my mind, or even pulls at my heart strings in a new way. I still cry during some parts too. Stories have a way of doing that, they tether themselves to our hearts and leave us forever changed. It makes me think of Jesus. I can imagine him sitting in a field talking to folks, telling parables, sharing stories and people leaving changed, transformed, tethered to Him and going and changing the world from a new perspective. And all those people listening to him tethered to each other, and I can envision small groups forming after Jesus had spoke (whether sitting in the grass or walking back to their homes) discussing what they'd just heard and how they can apply it in their life. All of us are woven together in a beautiful tapestry of story, and our tapestry stretches all around the earth.

Our stories are important and powerful and you never know how you may be changed by taking the time to know someone's story. Can you imagine being present at the Sermon on the Mount? Hearing words that didn't quite make sense to you in your head but resonated with your heart in such a way that left you almost dumbfounded, fumbling to grasp their meaning, but making an effort to know what those words meant for your life from that moment on. Knowledge of a life which defies the ordinary, and is intertwined in community, sacrifice, prayer, faith and action leaves you thirsting to make those qualities a reality. It gives me goosebumps even imagining hearing that firsthand in a world where no one had considered such things. I can hear the buzz among the crowd as they have just listened to everything Jesus has said...

You mean "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth? Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven?...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?...Forgive, Reconcile...Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth? but rather store up treasures in heaven? Seek first the kingdom of heaven?" This was a radical way of thinking and it left people stunned, but I think it also pulled at their hearts in the exact way it is pulling at my heart right now. it even says that the crowds were amazed by his teaching, because He had authority. It's funny to me how many times you can read something and think you know what it means and then you read it unsuspecting one day and it changes your life, changes how you approach things, changes how you live. It has definitely taken hold of me in a totally new way this week.

It has taken me just about a week to finish this post. One because of time, but also because I really wanted a chance to let the scripture sink in. This post was originally intended for sharing stories from the road, from Pray With Africa screenings, but I think God had a better story he wanted me to share, His story. Enter in to His story...you won't be disappointed, but be prepared to be radically changed. Amen!

in memory...

??-2009: in loving memory, i will miss you and your crazy ways!
you were the best dog EVER!!!