Top Gear, XJ's and sunrise smiles...

I love Top Gear, this is the REAL top gear..with my 3 favorite men and I couldn't think of a better way to ring in my birthday in exactly 1 hour than with an episode of Top Gear featuring a product that I am most passionate about...the All New XJ.  I sell these, dang straight I do. I couldn't help but smile at the end of this episode. I've been waiting for Top Gear to review the All New XJ ever since we debuted it about a year ago, and the day has finally come!

I am slightly in love with the show and I must admit that while most women my age are not be drawn to a car show hosted by 3 British men, I am! This particular episode wasn't filled with as much humor as some, however this episode right here was absolutely hilarious!

Well, my birthday is tomorrow..the big 23...???.  I think I am more excited about the fact that I get to tear a page off of my desk calendar and flip the calendar in my bathroom than I am about my actual birthday..however, I vow to make the most of it.

Love Hungry - Philippians 4:13

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you to all who supported us in our journey to Love Hungry! We reached our goal and with 23 students and 8 leaders were able to raise $10,762 and that number is still climbing.  The Lord is so good! I can't adequately express my appreciation for each of you who supported us and prayed us through this weekend.

We started fasting after lunch on Friday and all met at the church at 6pm to finish out the rest of the famine together.  We were able to make 30 hygiene kits and send lots of extra hygiene supplies to the Global Aid Network warehouse where they will distribute those kits to Haiti and this is also where we spent 3 hours on Saturday working in their distribution center.  We spent the rest of Friday night just hanging out, and enjoyed a challenge from Sarah who focused on Philippians 4:12-13... I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. We then finished up our night with Despicable Me and tried to sleep. Which by the way, have you ever tried to sleep on a church pew? Not very comfy, I probably should have just slept on the floor, but apparently that wasn't the cool thing to do as all of the girls were on the pews, so in an attempt to make myself seem as cool as possible and to try to dispel a few of the rumors circulating that I am in fact and old woman trapped in a "Gen Y" body I slept on a pew. Never again.

Saturday morning came quickly and we were blessed by the wonderful Cari who brought us "breakfast"!!! She brought us frozen fruit juice cubes, a wonderful cold punch and an AMAZING hot drink with cranberry and orange juice! That got us going on the right foot, oh and the coffee definitely helped too.  We played a couple games of Birdie on a Perch (Jane and Krista were stripped of their reigning title and winning streak, soorrry girls!) Josiah started off our morning with a challenge and then we headed out to the GAIN warehouse and distribution center.  Half of the group went off to make salvation bracelets and the other half of our group headed over to unpack and repack shoes.  Some of us received a tour of the facility and it was awesome seeing all of the things that are being done right here in our own back yard.  Shoes, clothes, wheelchairs, computers, food, seed packets, and many many other things are constantly being sorted and assembled to be sent across the world to places like Haiti, the Ukraine, and Zambia.  We got back to the church around 330 and cleaned the downstairs and then had a quick meeting and then it was time for...DIINNNNERRRR!!!

A HUGE thank you again to Sue, Lyn, Sandy and Marcia for preparing a wonderful meal for us to break the fast! Sue made us spaghetti and garlic bread, which if you haven't had Sue's garlic bread, you are missing out my friend! Lyn made her famous salad and I...well I...apparently broke a cardinal rule of the famine.  I didn't make Banana Pudding. I thought we could do ice cream instead, boy was I wrong.  I thought they were going to burn me at the stake, throw me to the wolves, make me walk the plank..you get the idea, NEVER AGAIN will I not make Banana Pudding for the famine! I'M SORRY!!!

The last thing I have to do is plan a pizza party, as an incentive I told them whoever (leaders included!) raised over $300 I would throw them a pizza party! So, 14 of us are going to be partying it up sometime this month!

We all wrote down thoughts, verses, or something that we were were made aware of during the famine on an index card and we taped them at the back of the church. On one of the cards was written something to the extent of ..."I kept thinking about dinner, and then I thought of all of the kids and people who have no idea when their 6 O'clock will be..." So I will end with this, Philippians 4:12-13 from the message, I feel as though it just sums it all up so perfectly.

Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don't mean that your help didn't mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

so, why don't you blog about it!?

Britt had her Lia Sophia party on Thursday and as a host she received plenty of rewards including many half priced items and hostess benefits.  She was letting me choose some things for my birthday and kept on complaining about the jewelry that I was picking out because apparently I like pieces that are "plain" and "boring" I can't help it that I like simplicity! We eventually came to the conclusion that because I have my Rook and Tragus pierced when I wear "fancier" earrings, it just doesn't look right and that's when I said "I know, and I've thought about taking them out but I really don't want to because I feel they define me!" I was partially kidding and partially not, that's when Brittany retorted "so why don't you blog about it" so...here I am! (and now she's making fun of me because I actually am blogging about it)

I decided to pierce my Rook and Tragus when when I was in high school, both with Sara Nissley and both on a whim.  They aren't too daring and they are by no means hardcore, but it takes me back to a time in my life when I lived from moment to moment and apparently enjoyed pain. I feel like these piercings add something to my personality, even though they are small and most of the time covered up by my hair and I forget about them, I still like to think that they say; hey this girl is different and maybe she thinks a little out of the box.  So this is to you my dear twin. You know my taste in jewelry may be simple and not very exciting, and I hate to disappoint you, but we both just need to accept the fact that I am a simple, without major frills type of girl. However, you, my Jegging wearing, leather boot sporting, over sized belt accessorizer may enjoy all of the fancy schmancy bling bling that your little heart desires, and apparently it desires quite a bit!!!

On a totally separate note: I went to the Dr. today and low and behold I have a sinus infection, he gave me "ZPack" and sent me on my way, 10 minutes, I was in that office for less than 10 minutes. I still don't know if I should be feeling impressed or not cared for..either way, I'm happy and on the road to good health. However, before I left, the Dr asked me if I was planning on selling my prescription or if I was going to use it!? Hello, you heard the mucus rumbling in my lungs...why would I sell it!? I mean, I guess the man does have his reasons for asking me, but that's in the past man...c'mon! Move on, I sure have!

John 10:10

AAAHHHH this weather. I think the good Lord new we all needed these past couple of days to get us through the rest of the winter.

Last weekend was a dear friend's birthday so after work on Saturday Erica, Sara and I packed up Rhonda (the Accord) and headed down to Baltimore.  Of course, we were so involved in our conversation that I forgot to stay in the right lane and subsequently missed the exit off of 83 onto 695...poo. For those of you who know, this is bad..very bad, because you can't simply just get off, loop back around and get back on, so after some fighting with an iPhone, and 4 u turns...we figured it out! We finally made it into Baltimore and found Sam's apartment, we picked her up, she helped us find a spot in front of the Safeway and we unloaded our stuff.  As soon as we got out of the car I noticed a homeless man rummaging through his bush obviously trying to find something. I can only assume that this was his bush because he eventually emerged victorious with his brown paper bag and bottle of liquor! Ohhh Baltimore, how I love you and miss you!

We had a great time, we were able to just talk and catch up about our lives. Things have definitely changed for all of us in the past year, and we've all hit the real world running. Sam is working in the NICU as an RN, Erica is working for a lobbying firm in Mechanicsburg, Sara is now MARRIED and works as an OTA at Willow Valley, and Kristen is working for Nationwide and happily dating someone. Man, life is crazy. 

We left there around 12am and headed home. This was my favorite part I do believe, we were able to have a heart to heart..I mean a tear shedding, lay it all out on the table heart to heart.  I don't think we have ever had this type of talk, at least not all of us collectively. I love Sara because she encourages me to be the best that I can be, she has shown me what it really means to have faith, to have hope and most of all...to love like Christ loves us.  Erica, ohhh Erica...this girl has a passionate personality that I wish I had even a quarter of, she has goals and dreams and she works so hard to make those dreams a reality. I'm pretty sure that she was more of an encouragement to me on the way home than I was to her, which may be bad on my part especially since she was the one seeking the answers and assurance.  I'm so glad these girls have been placed in my life and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with them just doing what girls to best...talking.

Spring-esque

I had great plans for today. I wanted to get a lot of things done, somehow in the middle of the winter we've been blessed with a few spring days and I wanted to take full advantage of them! I guess my immune system had a better idea. I woke up with a sore throat and all of it's closest friends.  So instead of going out with my favorite little man and Katie and then going to meet baby Cadence, I stayed in and did some major spring cleaning. Oh wait, was I supposed to relax when I am sick? Psh..that's for the weaklings. I feel too guilty relaxing when there is cleaning and organizing to be done.  Side note...stink bugs! I saw one this morning in our sun room and I thought he was dead so I went about my business and kept on vacuuming and dusting and I looked over probably about 5 minutes later and he was GONE!!!  (why I didn't just suck him up with the vacuum while I was close, I don't know, I regret that now). So all of you who are coming over for Britt's Lia Sophia party tonight..watch out, there is one on the loose!

I guess I may feel better if I shower, but I'm waiting for that harsh chemical smell to leave my bathroom before I shut myself behind my shower curtain and succumb to the fumes. Which leads me to this question. What are some good cleaning products that aren't as harsh and abrasive as Lysol and it's byproducts?

I love this weather, spring cannot come soon enough, my windows are down and the heat is off...if I could actually smell I'm sure it would be invigorating!

Paradise Lake 2011

Even thought it has been been a week since the youth retreat, and I should have written about this sometime early last week... I didn't, so here it goes. 

Each year for our winter retreat we head off to Paradise Lake located in Denver, PA for a fun filled weekend in an A-frame house with a lakeside view. This is my favorite retreat, I haven't figured out why yet, but it's probably because we're forced to all be so close all of the time, it just makes for such better unity. So this is what the weekend looked like: 

All of the girls with their food supply for the weekend!

It's not a retreat without a game of Settlers of Catan

The weather on Saturday wasn't the greatest

Some of them still went sledding anyways...

 

 

 

there was lots of "jamming"

There was LOTS of Wii Dancing

by everyone!

Classic violent game of Dutch Blitz

AND BLANKET FOORRRRTSSS!!!

All in all I would say that everyone had a great time! We watched the movie To Save A Life and did the study that goes with it.  I found it extremely challenging and I really hope that it impacted our teens as well! 

quiet reminders

Have you ever been doing something mundane, almost seemingly pointless or just plain..strange? Then you start really thinking about what you're doing, and why you're doing it. Then you start thinking about how this relates to your spiritual life and the next thing you know you have to share this awesome epiphany with someone.Well folks...here is my epiphany!

Lately it's been taking longer than usual to dry my hair in the morning, but it's been such a gradual thing that I didn't really take notice as to how long it was really taking me.  Also, I've been smelling a really hot plastic smell, my heating elements have been glowing orange and I seem to not have as much air flow as I once had.  I remembered a very long time ago that I popped off the back of my hair dryer and was able to clean some lint out, so I did that...and this is what I got!

Naasssttty!!! I must admit, it has been a very long time since I even thought about doing this, but let me tell you what, I dried my hair in less than 3 minutes! As I was picking my tiny lint balls from the wire mesh trap in the back with a bobby pin I began thinking about my walk with Christ and how all he wants of me is to be all that he created me to be. All of the lint that was causing my hair drying to run to sluggishly and was inhibiting the hair dryer to run at it's fullest capacity. Sure, each ball of lint itself is no larger than the eraser from a pencil, and each ball individually would not have made a difference, but all together those 25 lint balls make one pretty large mass, inhibiting critical air flow that was needed. Is it too strange to think of our spiritual lives in comparison to a hair dryer? I'll be the first to admit that I have little things that are keeping me from becoming the woman that God truly desires me to be. My friends..1 ball. My job...1 ball. Media...1 ball. Pride, insecurities, worry, doubt, 4, 5, 6, 7 balls...you get the picture. I am working on removing the negative parts of my lint balls and becoming the perfect hair dryer for the Lord :) I pray that if you're reading this you are too, there is nothing better than the freedom we have through Christ.