What I’m Dealing with Today…

UGH.

 

Yes...that's my car. Yes...that's a tow truck.

UGH.

 

365 Days…and Counting.

So…I wanted to write this post a couple of weeks ago, but it just hasn’t been feasible. Warning: it’s a tad long.

It’s been a little more than 365 days ago now that I officially made the move from West Palm Beach back “Home” (Central Florida). Because I feel that I’ve learned so much and experienced so much in the past year, I wanted to take a little bit of time to reflect on where I’ve been and where God’s brought me (literally and figuratively).

October 17, 2008 marked the beginning of this part of my journey. And the following are random lessons learned and experiences had that may not have been possible at this time in my life if I hadn’t listened to God’s quiet voice saying, “It’s time to go ‘home’ now.”

In the last year, I have…

• Had the opportunity to live life on a daily basis with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew for about nine months. And, now have the opportunity to live with two of my best friends.
• Been able to visit my parents without tons of planning and preparation. One hour drives are much easier to make at the last minute than three hour drives.
• Learned to trust God for the “simplest” of provisions…namely, a roof over my head and food to eat.
• Learned to make difficult decisions that defy my human understanding, but that honor God.
• Come to firmly believe that I have all that I need through my relationship with God in Jesus. No amount of friends, mentors, money or alleged circumstantial stability can provide what I need.
• Become a little entrepreneur, launching Two Florida Girls with my sister and doing odd freelance jobs for various non-profit and ministry organizations. I never thought the word “entrepreneur” and my name could ever be in the same sentence!
• Finished my Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Palm Beach Atlantic University and joined the first-ever Orlando Campus cohort, meeting 7 incredible leaders who I now call friends.
• Learned (over and over and over again…and then some more…and do you see a theme here? Think God might be trying to help me grasp something?!) about the process of transition and change at a time that it was most applicable to my life. Thanks, Moses. Thanks, Israelites. Thanks, Dr. Holder.
• Taken steps so far outside of my comfort zone, just because God asked me to.
• Seen God provide me with more than I can begin to lay claim to. Without gainful employment for a year, I’m not sure how I still have a cell phone, health insurance, car insurance and gas money. Praise God for His provision!
• Begun to accept and recognize God’s moving in my circumstances…even when I don’t understand. Even when I thought I “needed” a certain job or position.
• Been available for my family at a time where it has been most needed…because I accepted God’s moving of my circumstances.
• Been able to attend Bible Study Fellowship with Kati, Paul and now, Cadence. What a blessing!
• Found new opportunities to serve. My favorite is my weekly position in Guest Services at Give Kids The World.
• Experienced the early moments of Cadence’s life, and been able to watch her grow so much already.
• Been able to spoil Paul and Cadence even more than I could have from three hours away!
• Completed my first 5K and am signed up for number 2 in December!
• Realized that I do have multiple “jobs”…I’m just not being paid monetarily for all of them.
• Truly begun to live and understand one of my favorite quotes…”Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.” -Oswald Chambers

Sorry…I told you it was long. And, that’s not even all of it…just the highlights!

But, praise God that He continues to work in my life and the lives of those closest to me. I can honestly say, the last year hasn’t been easy and there’s still more adjusting and settling to be done, but I know that God is faithful. He is good. His plan is perfect. And, He knows what He’s doing.

Thanks for reading.

Bummed…but Convinced

I’m bummed…

But I’m also convinced…

There’s a reason I’m not gearing up for Day One of Catalyst in Atlanta right now.

I don’t know what it is, but honestly I’m convinced God had a different plan.

If you don’t know, Catalyst is THE conference geared for young leaders–especially ministry and church leaders. I’ve wanted to attend for YEARS. And every year there’s been some reason that I could not go. This year, even though Cadence was due to arrive the day I’d need to leave for Catalyst, I decided to take the plunge and buy a ticket.

I was so excited. I was even looking forward to the solo road trip, thinking ahead to all the podcasts I’d be able to catch up on. I’d lined up a great place to stay, with a friend who recently moved to Atlanta and who I haven’t seen in quite some time. I’d also talked to several others who would be there, knowing that we would meet up to sit together, eat together and just enjoy the time together.

As it got closer, I was starting to become convinced that Cadence knew I was going to be out of town and she was planning her arrival accordingly. But as you know my sweet niece arrived Saturday morning, giving me the “a-ok” in my mind to travel to Atlanta.

Well…God had a different plan. Obviously. And I’m not saying that because it’s the “right thing to say.” I honestly believe it.

I have been fighting a cold since Monday night. When I was so sick Tuesday that I couldn’t go to BSF, I knew a trip to Atlanta was out of the question. Fortunately I had a friend who’d already made his way to Atlanta hoping to find a ticket (Catalyst sold out this year). I coordinated a ticket hand off with some other friends coming through Orlando on their way and now he is able to attend.

Anyway…so this was kind of a long story to say (again) that I am convinced there is a reason I was not supposed to make the trip to Atlanta this year. I don’t know what that reason is, and I may never know, but I trust that God has a reason.

And, now, I’m ready for this cold to go away so that I can go hang out with Paul and Cadence!

Here’s hoping for Catalyst 2010!

[Still A] “Runner” in Training

Tonight I realized that we are officially one month away from the Tower of Terror 5K! Wow! If you missed this post, in July I decided to train for a 5K…and here we are, one month away.

I’ve been keeping to my schedule with only a few bumps in the road here and there. I am confident that I’ll be able to run the 5K with no problem. I even decided to set a goal for the race. My goal is to finish in 30 minutes. I think it’s totally doable.

It’s safe to say that, even after almost two months of “training,” I still don’t love running. But I will also swallow my pride and admit that I don’t hate it as much as I used to.

So, one month-ish from now be on the look up for an update about the race. I’ll be sure to include pictures…especially one with my medal!

Conversations with Paul

He's my favorite.

My nephew is the cutest, funniest, sweetest, smartest three-year-old I know. And the following are a sampling of this evening’s conversations with Paul.

On the way to Kasey and Matt’s house
Me: We are going to the bank and then to Kasey and Matt’s house so that you can spend the night with me!
Paul: Kasey and Matt will be so excited to see me! They will like to watch Meno [aka Finding Nemo] with me!
Me: Well, Kasey and Matt are on vacation. They aren’t at their house. They are at a hotel.
Paul: A HOTEL?! Whoa!

Discussing what we need to get out of the car when we get home
Me: When we get home we need to get some things out of the car. We will need to get your back pack and your sleeping bag.
Paul: I’m not going to sleep in a bag!!

After arriving home
Me: It’s cold in here, Paul!
Paul: Well, Mimi, you can turn the air up. If you turn the air up it will be warm. Then it will not be cold.
Me: [While trying not to laugh] Yes, Paul. You’re right. Thank you.

In the kitchen
[Paul checks out the pantry and sees the toaster oven]
Paul: Mimi, what’s this?
Me: That’s a toaster oven.
Paul: Oh cool. A oven for the toaster.
[Again, me trying not to laugh]

Here’s to more fun conversations with my favorite little guy. And for now, we’ll finish watching Meno and get to bed so that we can go to BSF tomorrow. So grateful for this time!

Productivity

I like to get stuff done. I like to make it happen. I really like lists and crossing things off of them. Lately I haven’t had much need for lists because many of my days don’t require getting too much done. However, last night I had several things running around in my head and knew a list would be the best way to make sure I didn’t forget anything. And not that you people care, but I just felt like sharing.

You probably can’t read everything on the list, and that’s ok. There’s about 25 or 26 things there. All things waiting to be crossed off. Let’s see how I can do in the next day or two.

Oh, and I think I heard you say (through the Internet), “I love that fun personalized ‘a’ journal. Where did she get that?” Yeah, I love it to. It’s compliments of my very talented, very creative Chanda friend Cathleen. She’s got a wonderful Etsy shop (TripleCDesigns) and if you don’t see what you’re looking at in the shop, she’ll customize something for you! Go check her out!

Alright…back to the list!

CHANDA: what it is, how we do it and the first Chanda Family Weekend

Alright…so I wanted to do part of this post several months ago, but I just never got around to it. Better late than never, right?

When I went to a friend’s college graduation in May, word spread amongst her and her friends that my friends and I still keep in touch even eight years after our graduation. The million dollar question was, “How do you do that?!” And, it was that question that I wanted to answer in a blog post. So, I’ll get to that. But, first…a little background.

CHANDA :: what is is
Chanda = five of my dearest friends from college. The six of us traveled to London together in the fall of 2000 and one of our rooms had a chandelier for a light. We began calling “her” Chanda. We decorated her, dressed her up and then somehow adopted the name for ourselves. Feel free to laugh–the name is still very silly to us too–but I would not trade the friendship of those girls for anything. We know just about everything there is to know about each other–the good and the bad.

CHANDA :: how we do it
We keep up with each other by rotating through a weekly update email list (one person a week for six weeks and then we start over again). It sounds simple enough, but it does take some coordination. With anything, it just takes someone to keep things moving. So, every 6 weeks or so, I send an email to all the girls with a “schedule” that we use as a guide. It’s not totally strict or stringent, but it just helps us keep on track. If memory serves me correct, we’ve been doing the weekly email update rotation since 2003.

About six years ago, we agreed to set aside Labor Day weekend as our annual reunion weekend. We are committed to that weekend and it’s pretty sacred. It’s amazing to see that each year, we pick up right where we left off. We can still make fun of each other, tell the same stupid jokes, eat the same junk food and sit around in our pajamas all day without a care in the world. We have Chanda babies now (thanks to Shanel, Katie and Sarah), but things go on. The babies come along for the weekend and we adjust as needed.

FIRST EVER :: Chanda Family Weekend
This year we moved our typical Chanda Weekend to March and traveled to Raleigh to surprise Sarah (read about that here, if you missed it). Sarah and her family are moving to Africa (check out their blog for the latest on that), so we knew she wouldn’t be able to make it for our normal September weekend. Throughout the spring and early summer, we discussed the possibility of doing a Chanda Family Weekend on Labor Day Weekend. All the plans came together beautifully and for the first time I spent this Labor Day Weekend with three of my closest friends and their families (husbands and kids included). It was so fun to see the kids play together and to enjoy time with my friends’ wonderful husbands. We ate meals together, played on the beach and introduced the kids to our favorite junk foods–queso, white trash and cake balls. We missed the Prince and Troxell families more than I could express, but I’m grateful that we had this time together. I love my friends. I love their families. And I’m so incredibly grateful that God has given us each other. Here’s a few more pictures from the weekend…

Enjoying the sunset on the balcony.

Learning to surf.

The littlest Chanda.

Queso for dinner...teaching them early.

Love.

Ubuntu. You Need to Check It Out.

My friends Casey and Sarah are preparing to move to South Africa to live life with the people there. In fact, they leave in a little over a month with hopes of staying three to five years. I am so proud of them and the ministry they are trusting God to do through their lives. If you have a minute, check out their sports outreach, Ubuntu.

They also have a personal blog: Under the African Sun.

I’m looking forward to hearing about the great things God does in and through the Prince family.

Always Give an ‘A’

Tonight I was reminded of something that my friends Sami and Russell taught me. Not anything new to me, or any of us for that matter. Just a twist on something we all know.

They used to tell me, “Give everyone an A.” Basically meaning, give everyone the benefit of the doubt…believe the best. Kinda goes along with another of my favorite Sami sayings, “Love Wins.”

Of course, when love  wins…when love is your highest goal, you always believe the best. You always “give an A.”

Funny that after these thoughts were rolling around in my head, I ran into an excerpt from LeadingSmart.com by Tim Stevens over on Summit Church’s blog. And while he’s talking about organizations or business, his thoughts can really be applied in any relationship. Check it out:

“I want to suggest that to have a healthy culture in your organization or business, you must believe the best about the others on your team. This is less about what you do and more about what you believe. It is less about strategy and more about a discipline of your mind.

When people come at your team, always believe the best.

When you receive an anonymous accusation about someone, throw it away. Why? Because you choose to always believe the best.

When you hear one side of the story and there is every reason to believe that your staff member’s motives or intentions or actions were wrong…wait. Don’t react. Get the rest of the story. Believe the best.

When there are two opposing sides and it isn’t clear what is true and what is false—always side with your team. Make the mental choice to believe the best in those who are standing by you and with you.

This isn’t natural. It is easier to assume the worst. It’s always easier to believe the gossip and fall prey to the slander. Sometimes it takes discipline and integrity to go against popular opinion. But your team will give their best, be at their best and perform their best when they believe you have their back.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t deal with incompetence, bad attitudes, misaligned leaders or the sinful choices of others. It also doesn’t mean you should keep your head in the sand and not notice or deal with the obvious signs of trouble in the ranks. But those will be isolated situations. With most of your team, they need your undying loyalty and trust.

Whether they are below you, above you or next to you in position, your team will soar if they know you have their back.”

Dinner Party

**Disclaimer: Let it be known up front, I am not telling the following story in order to boast about myself, Kasey or Matt. I realized that it may be encouraging to someone else, and wanted to share.**

“And I realized that, for this night at least, I didn’t much care if anyone was the marrying kind or not–not even me. Who could tell? We none of us knew for sure what kind we were, exactly, but as long as we were the kind that could sit around eating together and having a lovely time, that was enough. Which just goes to show, I guess, that dinner parties are like everything else–not as fragile as we think they are.” –from Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

Before I tell my story, please know that I use the above quote, not because any of us are trying to decide if we are “the marrying kind,” but because I feel like it describes the satisfaction of enjoying a meal with a group of people and “having a lovely time.”

On Wednesday morning, Kasey and I decided it would be fun to have a Thursday night dinner party. Mind you, we still don’t know many people in the area. At any rate, the Ainsleys and I decided to put ourselves out there and invite a random group of people for dinner. It started with inviting three people and we ended up with ten coming for dinner! We were excited, and nervous.

I made chicken enchiladas and “crack” brownies. Kasey cleaned and cleaned the house and then made homemade salsa. We were all ready to go. As people began arriving, we welcomed them and began making introductions. Funny enough, we thought nametags might have been helpful. There were connections between everyone at the party that would later be discovered, but prior to Thursday night no one really knew each other.

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and it was so apparent that all of us are looking for community, for people to live life with. Several people even mentioned that they wanted to do dinner again, and possibly on a more regular basis.

So…here’s why I tell this story…hopefully it will serve as an encouragement to someone out there. Naturally, I am very much an introvert, but I’ve worked hard over the years to extend myself to others when appropriate. Living and working in the same place for so long meant that I had a very established group of friends. I never had to venture outside of that, but would often work to help connect new people to others they might be able to relate to. After moving, I waited and waited for someone to “connect” me in my new community. I even prayed that God would put someone in my life that would be that person for me. Eventually, I felt that He made it clear that I needed to step out and work on building community amongst the small handful of people I was meeting. And, that’s what I’ve been doing. And, I’m glad I have. Even though I have worried what other people would think, the benefits of beginning to connect with others in community is worth it. In fact, a couple of people have even thanked me for kick-starting things.

So, again, please don’t take this the wrong way. I have no doubt that God is working and that He prompted Kasey, Matt and me. I am not even beginning to try to take credit or say “look at us.” Really, I’m hoping this will serve as encouragement to someone.

Looking for new friends? Hoping to build community and find others to live life with? Take a risk. Invite someone to coffee. Or lunch. Invite a group over for dinner. Or go out to dinner.

It was risky for us, but we did it. And, we are glad we did.

I’m sure this isn’t the end of the story, but we’ll say it began on August 20, 2009.

To be continued…