Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Being in the presence of God:
At Camp Ithiel, living in a community, being surrounded by newly excited volunteers.

Remembering Gifts of the Day:
waking up, laughter, smiles, volleyball in the rain, finger fencing, paying attention to bubbles, hugging trees, talking on Skype with Jerry, going barefoot, amazing banana pancakes

Holy Spirit's Guidance:
exploring, looking ahead, searching, listening to others, listening to myself

Prayer:
to remember all these things that affect me and shape me, test me and frustrate me.

(This was an activity done at BVS orientation to help us pay attention to the day and to reflect on the day.)

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So today has been quite the day here in sunny Florida. I think I'll compare it to the book series and movie "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because in many ways that is what happened today.

Here is the Sharon version of a series of unfortunate events on this Monday January 26th:

1. Woke up early to the girls getting ready for their beach day. I could have slept in. (Not a big deal at all, but true never-the-less.)

2. Went to leave the house I was staying at. Couldn't leave. (You know most people have troubles getting IN to the house. Not me. I had problems LEAVING the house. I didn't have a key to lock the front door so I tried to go out the garage door using the automatic doors. That didn't work because I couldn't get under the door without the door automatically stopping and going back up. This was a problem. Go figure.)

3. Finally made it out of the house. Thirty minutes later.

4. Went to go get my hair cut. The salon that was recommended to me was closed on Mondays. (I think this deserves another 'go figure.')

5. Found a place to get my hair cut (this was actually a good thing, but caused the next bad thing).

6. Went to leave the parking lot. Was backed in to by a woman who didn't see me (in my bright red rental car). (Side note: I'm fine and she's fine.) (Second side note: my dad called right after the accident occured, it was like he knew or something. Gotta love dads!)

7. Went to Enterprise to check in about accident. Got the wrong directions so I had to back track a bit.

8. Got on the road to head to Fort Myers from Miami in just enough time to get Emily from the airport, luckily.

And as the movie and I think the books, end on a happy note. My day has as well. But I thought I should record this crazy day of rather unfortunate events.

"Must Do It"

Okay so we (myself and the Interdistrict Youth Cabinet) were playing Cranium last night and my team had to fill in the blanks and this was our clue:

Hint: Inspirational Ad

_ U _ T
_ _
_T

So, being the smart young adults that we are we came up with the answer "must do it!" first. Now does this sound like an inspirational ad to you? I don't think so! Then just before time ran out we came up with the correct answer of JUST Do It which of course is the Nike tagline that has been around since forever it seems! Even though we did in fact get it right we laughed and laughed over the fact that we originally came up with 'must do it.' I'm not a huge fan of Cranium, but that was a good time right there.

A Spring that Waits to Be

Whelp, tomorrow I'll be heading down the road towards warm weather, friends, old and new, a new opportunity and a ton of fun! That's right, I'm on my way to Florida where the current temperatures are in the mid 70's on average. Don't get me wrong, I do still love the cold and the snow, but this trip to the sunny (hopefully) south is a much needed break!

Over the course of the next week and a half, you'll find me in Atlanta, GA making a overnight stop to visit some BSVers there, North Miami, FL at a youth retreat led by the Interdistrict Youth Cabinet (which I was on when I was in college!), North Fort Myers, FL for a workcamp on site visit at ECHO and to visit my good friends the Reimers, and finally in Orlando, FL to spend some time with the current BVS orientation that will begin this Sunday!

Needless to say I'm a tad bit excited for all of that!

Last night during the staff retreat at the CoB offices we sang the hymn "In the bulb there is a flower" and one line stood out to me over the rest in that moment. And I'll leave you with that thought:

"In the cold and snow of winter, there's a spring that waits to be"

Well, I might not have to wait until spring to find some warmer weather, but it still is a wonderful line. One to give us all a sense of hope and what is to come in the future!

Silly Faces

So lately I've found it impossible to actually smile normally into any camera that is pointed at me. Especially Bekah's. It's a strange phenomenon for sure. But it's one that I kinda like. It's a time when I can express myself in any way that I want to. I don't know if this change means that I'm more confident in who I am, or if it means that I'm less confident, or if it's just a silly side of me that is yearning to get out in this time of seriousness.

So since these silly pictures are popping up other places and they make myself and others so incredibly happy, I thought I'd share two of my favorites on here too! Enjoy!

In the Still of the Night

So last night we were under a blizzard warning and Beth and I decided we needed to go run a few errands. The snow had actually stopped falling and we felt comfortable going out for a little bit. We proceeded to clean off the van and when Beth was about to back down the drive she said "there's a fox!" And sure enough a fox was trotting down the street as sure as can be. We ended up following the little guy down the road a bit before he headed into a yard, hopping through the snow as he went.

There is such an added calm when the world is covered with a thick layer of white. Everything becomes still and silent. Colors seem even more vibrant against the whiteness of the snow. I was remembering last night just how much I loved going walking during college in the middle of the night. Especially when there was snow on the ground. It made me smile to think of those midnight adventures.

Good Things

snow falling, talking to my younger cousin on G-chat, youth calling me, eating chicken and mushroom and pineapple pizza, sleeping in, the color green, a clean room, The Irish Tenors, seeing my housemates happy, Frisbee, reading by the light of a headlamp, drinking a mango smoothie, getting an e-mail or letter from a friend, seeing a snowy hill full of sledders, crying just because you haven't had a good cry in awhile, seeing my bracelet that a loved one made me just because she could, when someone tells me I have a beautiful smile

A Fine Frenzy

So at work I typically turn on Pandora to play quietly in the background. The music helps me to focus on what it is I'm trying to do. Well it usually does anyway. So as part of Pandora you can share stations with friends and my good friend Beth created one based on the group A Fine Frenzy which I had never heard of before but whom I enjoy now. So I'll listen to them from time to time. I don't know why they came to mind, but their name just struck me as a good way to explain my life right now.

My life currently consists of a fine frenzy of events. I feel like I'm being pulled in twenty million different directions, some of which I can control and others that I cannot. I feel very emotionally bogged down. Lately I can't seem to find a happy medium of just that, being happy. I've got a lot going on that keeps my mind very occupied.

Everything from trying to figure out the secret to getting more people interested in spending a year doing voluntary services, to preparing myself mentally and physically to travel to Nigeria. I'm also struggling with how to have meaningful friendships with people who seem to want more than I am capable of giving them but who I do want to be friends with. It's not something that I'm used to dealing with.

I find myself day dreaming of the day when I can have my own place. It will be a bright and airy space, full of natural light during the day and energy efficient lighting during the evenings. A place where everyone is welcome, to come and visit and stay a day, or two or twenty. These are the things that you realize when living in community. I just said the other day that I was surprised at the great community that I found here and now I think that I take it for granted. It's hard sometimes to find a balance of being together in this house that sometimes seems like a sorority house (six girls living together), or retirement community (it's often that we all pull out the mind sharpening games and knitting/crocheting), or summer camp (gotta love those crazy fun games).

Life as I know it is crazy or mad, but it all is wonderful and I wouldn't trade these years for anything. It's hard to keep that in mind all the time, when things might not be going as well as maybe I think they should. But I also don't believe that things that are worth having come easy.