A Wandering Spirit

26.2, Turkey, and a lot of Rangers Baseball

2011-11-24T19:45:00.023-06:00

Yet again, I let my blog go unattended for awhile. The last couple of times I've posted I it was the beginning of October and I was just getting back from a series of trips (with the last one being to meet with my Company of New Pastors group in Southern California). I got back to Arlington just in time for the start of the Playoffs. Sadly, the World Series didn't end quite the way I wanted it to. But, it was a great series. I have a ton of pictures from throughout October I could post, but I will just share this one...

it's the pictures from the night the Rangers clinched the ALDS. It was an amazing night to be at Rangers Stadium!

Besides going to baseball games, there have been some pretty cool FPCA functions in the last month or so. We had our annual Trunk or Treat. And you would be very proud of me, I talked to a clown (though it helped a ton that i knew who was behind the clown make-up).

We also had our second annual Pumpkin Bowl (a youth v. adults flag football game), which is always a really good time, and a highlight for me.

I must say though that I am not a fan of the tradition of getting a gatorade bath at the end of the game!

A highlight of this year for me was getting a chance to run a marathon. I had signed up for it months ago, but was skeptical that I would be able to do it because of a stress fracture in my foot (the stress fracture was diagnosed in Sept during my marathon training). Thankfully, my foot healed just in time. And while I hadn't been able to put in as much training as I would have been able to do without the injury, I was still excited to try the race.

It was in San Antonio, and I was doing it with my friend Jennifer (and my friend Michelle was running the half).

We also ran it with 23,000 of our friends....

The course is pretty fun - this is Jennifer running past the Alamo.

Running 26.2 miles was a challenge, and I could definitely tell I hadn't been able to train as much this fall as I would have liked to. And I definitely developed a new appreciation for the half marathon. I can honestly say now that I love running 13.1 miles now. But, all that said, it was a great experience, it was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I did it.

I came back from San Antonio with two big things to look forward to: our annual Disciple Now youth retreat and Thanksgiving. Disciple Now is an in-town youth retreat, and it was a blast! I am so thankful for the youth and adults I get to work with at FPCA.

And then, I got to leave late Tuesday evening of Thanksgiving week to fly back to NC. I am only here a few short days, but it's just nice to be in NC, to see the fall colors, and to enjoy catching up with a few people.

It has become a holiday tradition for my mom and I to do the Ridgewood Turkey Trot, so that was a blessing to walk that this morning. We put on our 2011 Turkey Trot t-shirts and our Team Draffin sweatshirts and head out the door early.

We ran into a few friends at the Turkey Trot, who it was SO good to see!

And then we waited around until it was our turn to go!

After a good walk, it was time for a family Thanksgiving dinner (which as you can see is a very serious time!).

It's been a great visit so far, and I am looking forward to another day here in NC!

Here, there, and everywhere

2011-10-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

Usually summer is my busy travel time, but for some reason, I have been traveling a fair amount this fall as well.

My first fall trip (and I was so excited to have to pack sweaters knowing it was still in the 100s in Texas) was to Minnesota. This trip was to be a part of the Fellowship Gathering that was taking place in Minneapolis. Seven of the twelve elders, and all three of the pastors from FPC Arlington made the trip to Minnesota to be a part the Gathering.

It was a wonderful time of learning and worship. I loved connecting with old friends from across the country and meeting tons of new people.

Everything wrapped up on Friday night, but several of us didn't fly out till Saturday morning. We were able to take a shuttle for free to the Mall of America. We surprisingly didn't do any shopping, but we had a blast riding the roller coasters and eating a delicious meals.

It's amazing how much fun it was after two days of meetings to just relax, enjoy the fun of roller coasters, and just shoot the breeze over dinner.

While I have been in town, I have tried to make it to as many JH/HS football games at possible. The FPCA youth group is filled with people who play in the band and play football. I love that part of my job involves going to see these talented students play!

And of course, my fall has involved running. I have so excited by the cooler fall temperatures!

I had two smaller races over Labor Day Weekend. The first was a 5 miler on that Saturday.

The second was a 5k on Memorial Day. The best part of that race, was that I got to run with Harry Cordellos! Harry, completely legally blind, has run 154 marathons, including one sub 2:50! He is now 73 years old, and ran the 5k on Memorial Day (along with one of his friends who is also blind).

I was just in awe of these two men (photographed below):

Nick ran with me, and we both managed to place in our age groups:

I only had to work a couple of days that following week before it was time to leave for Charleston, South Carolina for the Francis Marion Dirt Dash!

On occasion, I will just do a search of various races (I want to do a half marathon in all 50 states) throughout the country. I want to find out which states have races during which seasons, etc. One day as I was searching, one race jumped of the page at me, the FRANCIS MARION DIRT DASH! It was a half-marathon to be held at Francis Marion National Park.

If you don't understand why this is so exciting for me, you have to know that Francis Marion was my grandfather's name (who tragically passed away in 1964).

- my dad's name is Richard Marion and mine is Sophie Marian

- my grandfather went by Marion, and I did to, well till about age 24 (and I still do in some circles).

I really, really wanted to run in a park where the name of the park was also the name of my grandfather. Everything began to fall into place when my parents said they would drive down to Charleston and meet me for 3 days. I invited both Nick and Michelle to join us for the trip. Michelle couldn't come, but Nick had some vacation days left, so he came with us.

And we just had an absolute blast! We played on the beach, rented bikes, took a horse/buggy tour of Downtown Charleston, and went to take a Tour of Fort Sumter. Oh, and we ate lots of great food.

Daddy and I at Ft. Sumter:

Nick and I on the boat ride back:

Nick and I, early in the morning, waiting to catch a shuttle to the race site:

Madre finishing strong on the 5k!

And then my mom went to play while she waited for us to finish running. She even made friends. And there is no better friend than this man, er, pig....

Nick finishing the half

Sophie on the last kick of the half

With my padre after the race

and mi madre

Guess what, la madre won her age group, again. Yep, she's a beast!

The 6 fingers represent that I have run halves in 6 states. 44 to go.

We got prizes for having come from the farthest away.

I couldn't leave the park without getting pictures in from of the Francis Marion signs. I would have just been wrong.

I landed on Saturday, worked Sunday, and then left Monday morning for Atlanta for a quick Youth Conference Ministries meeting. No pictures from that trip, it was mostly business as we work to make Fun in the Son Padre 2012 the best ever!

This is just a small glimpse of the amazing worship we have during The Well (our Sunday night youth group time(

These next two pictures are just fun...I'll give you the task of figuring out where we were and why there are goats on the porch.

My first weekend back in TX, I had two races. The first was the hugely attended Tour de Fleur! We had talked Kyle P. into attending - this would be his first ever athletic event.

The great part of the Tour de Fleur is ALL the FOOD afterwards. There are sooooo many vendors out after the race, you can't possibly even try and sample them all. It's ridiculous. We also picked up samples of bubbles, which we had a good time playing with....

The FPCA guys:

Funny story, Kyle not only finished his first athletic event ever, he dominated it. At a 3,000+ person event he won his age group. He ran a 50 minute 10k. That's impressive.

That evening I had the "Run in the Dark 5k," this time with a different (and shorter) crew.

You have to love races when there is a Chick-fil-A cow!

The post race shot! Everyone raced well!

The sad news is that I haven't run since that race. I went to the doctor two days later and found out my foot injury was indeed a stress fracture, and that I would be in a boot for 2-3 weeks. The boot just came off today. Hopefully I will be able to start some light jogging relatively soon.

The Company of New Pastors - Graduation

2011-10-06T00:50:00.000-05:00

For the past 6 years I have been affiliated with a program called the Company of New Pastors. At the beginning of those six years, I made a commitment to be in Scripture daily. But I also made a commitment to be a part of certain covenant groups (that probably isn't the best word, but that's the best one I can think of).

The first two years of that program I was still a seminary student. The CNP program selected 10 students each from 5 different seminaries (so there was 50 students total). One of the first things we did was gather together in Louisville, Ky.

Then, we met once a month with those in our seminary groups, and studied the questions of ordination. These would be the questions we would be asked when we would be ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. We also had time just to worship together, pray for one another, and fellowship.

Upon graduation, we were placed in regional groups. My call search was slightly delayed because of my bout with mono, so when the regional groups were divided I was still living in CA. Thus, I was placed in the Western Regional Group. I am glad I was placed in this group, because I love my group.

Instead of meeting with two professors (as we did when we were in seminary), our group was assigned two pastor mentors. I had never met either of them prior to Jan of 2008, but I am so thankful for them. I can't imagine having walked through the first 3 years of ordained ministry without them.

Mary Graves is one of the mentors who has given her time,

and the other is Jeff McCrory.

We have been getting together once a year without the 8 or so members of our group, plus our two pastor mentors. But this gathering brought together all the different groups from around the country. The gathering was longer than it usually is, but I was thankful for the time in that it gave us time to do the things we had to do with the national group gathered and then we still had time to do things with just the West Coast Group.

We had one afternoon completely off from scheduled activities, so we left and headed South. Jeff (Captain Jeff as we call him) has a point, and he is very generous about taking us sailing.

It did get a little chilly while we were out on the Pacific, so I bundled up.

There had been lots of Blue Whales sighted in recent weeks, but sadly we didn't see any. We did, however, see this friendly seal.

Afterwards our sailing adventured we grabbed a meal at a local Dana Point Restaurant. Now, while I think that anything would have tasted good after eating monastery food all week, the food was truly good. So good in fact, that Tina and George seem to be quite taken with it....

What do you think of the rental car?

One of the parts of the nation wide gathering that I did like was having a speaker there. This year's speaker was Mark Labberton (tall guy in the picture down below). Learned a lot from hearing him speak and just had fun getting to know him a little bit.

Our last night we were there, who ever was in charge of devotions, decided to have devos on the beach. We quickly figured out that sand and boot don't go well together, but thankfully I was able to hitch a ride to where we were meeting - thanks Chris!

Our group (hopefully with the help of grants) is going to try and stay together. But, we may be meeting at the various locations of where our pastors work. So that means no more Serra Retreat Center in Malibu (the monastery where we meet).

It's just a beautiful place to be, and I have loved our yearly meetings there.

But more than the place, I love our group and our time together.

Can you believe it's been 6 years since we made a commitment to the program?

It's Fall in Texas, and that means Foot...I mean, Playoff Baseball

2011-10-05T21:53:00.006-05:00

No one can deny that football is huge in Texas, and that Fall in Texas usually means football. But, with the Rangers making the postseason the last two years, fall has also meant baseball.

I was on a trip to California, as the playoffs were starting, but I made it back just in time for Game #2 of the Texas Rangers v. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (and it seems that I made it to the better game. The Rangers lost in game #1, but managed to win game 2).

Nick, Michelle and I had 3rd deck seats (fairly close to being behind home plate) for the game and loved every moment of being in the ballpark.

As part of our playoff tradition, we brought Nick's Mickey River's (that he has had since he was two) and my rally monkey.

And basically, we just had a great time!

How could you not have a good time when being at Ranger Stadium?

Thankfully, the Rangers won the series against the Rays. The next series will begin on Saturday, but where and against which team is still up in the air. NY or Detroit?

A Summer of 1,000 Pictures

2011-08-27T00:03:00.000-05:00

As those of you who know me well, you know that I carry a camera with me wherever I go, and that I take a picture of everything (they do say after all that a picture is worth 1,000 words). I have been able to post on the first part of my summer, the first two trips I took with the FPCA youth group to New Orleans and Colorado. But, I got back from Colorado at the end of June, and there was still a whole lot of summer left (which means a lot of time to take pictures)! I figured the best way to catch up on the last few months of where I have been and what I have done is to share some of those pictures and provide captions when necessary.

In June and July, I don't spend a lot of time in Arlington (since I'm out on the road a lot with the youth). One of those weeks I was in town and spending time in the office, the FPCA preschool was having camp, a Texas themed camp. Because of the theme, they brought in a pony for the students to ride.

I may not be a preschool student, but I was under the weight limit for this particular pony, so I got to ride it.

There's just something about getting to ride a pony on a Wednesday morning to liven up a work week!

In the small break I had between my trip to Colorado and the next trip to South Padre, my friend Stacy decided we needed to celebrate my half birthday. She and I rarely get to spend time together near my birthday (since we are both so tied up with Advent and Christmas festivities), so this year she decided to celebrate on my half-birthday. I love any excuse to hang out and have fun, so I was all for it. We started our time together by going out with her girls to one of those places where you can pick out a piece of pottery and paint it however you want. Cameron, Taylor, and I had a blast painting!

After we had gotten out our creative energy we went out to dinner with some good friends.

One thing I have quickly learned is that summer time in Texas means extremely hot temperatures (though it doesn't take a genius to figure that out). This summer has been exceptionally hot, as we had the 2nd longest streak in history of number of consecutive days over 100 degrees. I have learned though it is still possible to run and race - I just have to be smart about when I run, how much liquid I drink, and how far I run.

One of the races I did was a 4th of July 8k (5 miler). It was definitely a warm day, but it was still a fun race. Nick ran in too, and we both finished 3rd in our respective age groups.

As soon as the race awards ceremony over, we headed back to Arlington to be there for the 4th of July Parade. One of the FPCA youth was marching. Well, unfortunately we didn't park at the right end of the parade. But, fortunately for us, this kind gentleman driving this super cool WWII jeep was willing to drive us to the right area of the parade.

Another part of my summer has involved going to Rangers games. Part of the fun of going to Rangers games is getting seats in different areas of the stadium and seeing different aspects of the game. One night, we got to sit behind the bullpen. I quickly learned that some of the pitchers get a little bored as they are waiting to go into the game. N. Felize during this game spent several innings through sun flower seeds at other players...

One of my favorite holidays in July (no it's not July 4th), is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick fil A (dress like a cow, get free food).

This year I made the decision that if I was going to dress up, I might as well go for lunch and dinner. So first I got together with a crew that was going to the Chick-fil-a in South Arlington for lunch.

We had to finish up our spots and our outfits.

And then we headed out to Chick-fil-A.

That evening I went to the Chick-fil-A in North Arlington for dinner. They were temporarily closed due to a power outage! Thankfully, it was only a short wait before they re-opened. I would have been a very sad cow if they hadn't re-opened.

Another holiday in July was Emma's birthday! Michelle, Nick, and I had the honor of taking her out for her birthday (and she had no clue what we were going to be doing). We started at dinner with her dad and boyfriend,

and then wisked her away to a Rangers game (which turned out to be a very, very abonormal night at Rangers staidum - if you are curious about that, let me know).

Next up on the agenda was bowling.

After all that fun in Arlington, it was time to leave for another trip with the FPCA youth. This time with the FPCA senior high students. Once again we were going with a trip with Youth Conference Ministries - this one was called Fun in the Son and was to South Padre Island in Texas.

We had a charter bus, which was a nice break from having to drive 15 passenger buses. The US women's soccer had a World Cup game while we were driving down. Unfortunately we couldn't watch the game while we driving down. We did do our best to follow the game on our phones (and we were excited when they won in penalty kicks).

There are so many things I love about Fun in the Son (being able to worship with the senior high students, watch God move in their lives, etc), and an added bonus is being able to get up in the morning and walk/run on the beach as the sun is rising).

We had an AWESOME morning speaker - a chalk artist named Ben Glenn. He is self proclaimed ADD, and has learned to use that to the glory of God. He takes his added energy and channels it in amazing ways. Each day he would create a chalk drawing on a Martha Stewart bed sheet, and then use that drawing as a way to teach everyone at FITS about Christ.

Day #1 Drawing:

In the afternoons, we had free time to play on the beach,

or be a part of structured rec activities (Monday was volleyball).

Monday night was the dance after our evening worship. Can you tell what the theme was?

That's right, it was Christmas in July!

How can Ben start a drawing like this?

And have it become this?

It just blows my mind every time I see it!

Tuesday's rec activity was basketball.

Wednesday morning the rec activity was a a 5k.

Wednesday's drawing:

Wednesday was a free day, so we had the afternoon free to do whatever we want. We decided to rent some kayakas and go parasailing.

I have soooo many parasailing pictures I could put up, so I just picked this one picture of Taylor and I about to go up.

Wednesday evening we also got to go out to dinner (which was a welcome break from camp food!). This is our group after dinner.

Presley and I outside the restaurant after dinner.

Thursday's drawing:

I don't feel like I need to say much about this picture except to say that this vehicle was parked in our hotel parking lot....

Thursday's rec activity was dodgeball. Some groups dress up for dodgeball...

We tried our best...

Thursday night after our very last worship service of the week, we went with several other churches to one of the two local movie theaters on the island to watch the midnight opening show of Harry Potter (we had rented out the theater). Good times

I got home from an epic week at Padre Island, though tired, especially after a super late night at Harry Potter the night before only to find my house had been decorated!

I didn't have too much time to enjoy the decorations though, because I only had about 12 hours before I head to leave for the airport. There were two important events happening over the weekend of July 17 that I didn't want to miss - Rebecca's last Sunday at WPC in Durham and my Dad's birthday celebration. Because of my travel schedule in the summer I rarely get to be with my dad for either Father's Day or his birthday, and this year I had the chance, so I jumped on the opportunity to go. Plus, after being a church member for many years, and then serving as the youth director for 3 years, Rebecca was celebrating her last Sunday. I really wanted to be there with her as the church honored her for me years of service.

I quickly had to die my hair back from pink to blonde, re-pack a few things, and get ready to go to NC. Before I knew it my hair was (mostly) blonde again and I was on a plane.

The very first night I was there, I went to the Hope Valley Country Club with my parents and some of their friends to celebrate my dad's dinner. Turns out I had come in just in time for the annual lobster dinner.

I can't ever remembering eating lobster before, so I really enjoyed the experience of having an excuse to play with my food!

(and I think my dad did too)

It was also great to be in NC on a relatively cool evening, where we could eat dinner outside. I spent some time just walking around enjoying the grounds of HVCC, trying to take some pictures of the sun setting.

The next morning, I had the opportunity to worship at Westminster Presbyterian Church and be a part of the worship service as Rebecca was honored for her years of service to the church.

She gave the benediction,

and then their was a reception in the Fellowship Hall afterwards where the youth (among others, presented her with gifts).

The youth also serenaded her (and at one point Rebecca also joined in).

Of course Rebecca shared some concluding thoughts.

I couldn't go visit Rebecca without going to visit her beautiful pooch as well - I love my Ronin.

That evening, we continued my dad's birthday celebration with a family dinner.

There are a lot of things I miss about NC, but one of them is the Duke Cross Country Trail. It's one of my favorite places to walk/run in the world. So every morning while I was there I either went for a jog or walk on the trail.

I would have loved to have spent weeks in NC to catch up with people, but I was thankful for the few days I did have. I got to spend one day at the pool goofing off with my Danku girls. We took scores of pictures (I won't post all of them - just one).

After a fun day relaxing at the pool, we headed down to downtown D-town for dinner. (I love that downtown Durham is now a place where people hang out).

After a little less than a week in NC, I flew back to TX, just in time with the Sizzling Summer Half Marathon. Why would anyone plan a half-marathon in Arlington, TX during July? I don't think the person who planned it really thought through a lot of the details because it was probably the most unorganized run I have ever done. But, it was still fun.

Nicole did her first ever race, a 10k - though the 10k turn around wasn't actually marked, so she ended up running a lot more than the 6.2 miles she signed up to do.

A fair amount of people from The Runner Training Team came for either the 10k or the half.

The race was delayed, so we took a few pictures at the start of the race as we waited for it to start.

And then finally, it was race time...

All done!

A few weeks later we went back to River Legacy to do a 5k.

That same weekend, it was Freshman Kidnap (there really is something fun about waking up new freshman early on a Sunday morning, taking them out to breakfast, and then taking them to church).

I was spoiled in August with having guests come to visit. First came Tully, who came in for his cousin's wedding. He had a little bit of free time on either end of his visit. So one morning we decided to go take a tour of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium (it's only a mile from my church, but I had never done a tour). There was a soccer game the next day, so we didn't have field access, but we still had a ton of fun touring the stadium.

Actually, I had tickets to that soccer game the next day - which was super fun.

I got to see Tully a few days later. His aunt lives about 45 minutes from me, so I was able to get together with him at her house to celebrate his birthday. It was wonderful to spend time with a friend from NC and have the chance to catch up.

In case you haven't figured it out, I love to run. I love to go out on training runs, I love to run in races, I just love to run. My roommate loves triathalons. While in the past I haven't been as keen on tris, I agreed to do one with her this summer. It was a sprint one - only a 250 meter swim, an 8 mile bike, and 2 mile run. It was an all women's tri, and after not having done one in two years it seemed like a good one to try it out again.

Much to my surprise, I had a ton of fun. And surprisingly, we both did very well.

I had forgotten that when you do a tri that they write numbers on you in a permanent marker. So, when I went to a wedding those numbers could still be seen on my arms and calf. Thankfully it was a wedding where I didn't know too many people and the people I did know, I knew extremely well.

My best friend Becca had come in to be the Maid of Honor in a wedding (one of the bridesmaids from her wedding was getting married).

And then, Becca stayed through Wednesday! We had a blast, as we did those goofy things you do when one of your best friends comes to visit....

(we took Becca out water skiing for the first time ever...

and she got up!)

I have always missed being in NC on Rally Day. We used to cook a whole pig at WPC, and so to have Rally Day without a pig just seemed wrong. This year, we had a mechanical bull at FPCA in Arlington - it was the first year Rally Day seemed more complete.

After the excitement of the mechanical bull, several of the youth sponsors went to play whirlyball (think bumper cars, meets lacrosse, meets basketball). I had read about the game, but I had wanted to play it and check it out before I took the youth group. I highly recommend it - go play.

So that's my summer in pictures. Now maybe I'll remember to blog more regularly.

New Orleans to Colorado

2011-08-23T18:14:00.000-05:00

I did start a post called New Orleans to Colorado sometime at the end of July, I just never got around to finishing it, and now it's the end of August....

I guess I will finish this post, and then catch up with the rest of life sometime soon...

Since the start of June, I've made trips with the FPCA youth to both New Orleans and Colorado. The trip to New Orleans was a mission trip involving 19 youth and adults ranging in age from 8 to 79. Prior to going to New Orleans, I don't think think I realized that New Orleans was still so devastated from from Hurricane Katrina. One out of every 5 homes is still not lived in. If this house tells you anything...

We took our a group of people on our annual "Music and Mission" trip. This meant we did a lot of manual labor during the day, and then in the evenings the youth choir (the Agapes) sang at retirement homes and at a church. This is our group (minus two people) one evening after the youth sang at a church in Covington.

While we did our fair share of work, one of my favorite parts about these trips is the interaction with the people who live there. The youth know they can take breaks during the day to take "prayer walks" around the neighborhood. These prayer walks involve praying as we walk (thus the name) but also stopping to talk to people we meet, learning more about them and their stories, and offering to pray for them. We have interaction with the homeowners. One night we were there we had a block party down in the lower 9th ward at one of the houses where we were working. We grilled some hot dogs, offered them to anyone who wanted one, and just had a good time hanging out and getting to know people in the neighborhood. This is Ruby (one of the homeowners), Molly, and Hannah one night at the block party.

Our final day in New Orleans, we only worked a half day, and then we went down to the French Quarter for a little R and R. We took the group on a paddle boat cruise, had some time to walk around the French Quarter, and then ate dinner there. This is Homer and I in front of our boat.

About a week after I got back from that trip, I left with 25 others to drive in the other direction to head to Gunnison, Colorado for the Great Escape (a junior high conference put on by Youth Conference Ministries).

This is our group as we are about to load up into the vans and leave.

The Great Escape is awesome. We have worship in the morning and evening with 400+ youth from all over the country, and then we have the afternoons free to enjoy the Colorado Rockies. It was colder than this year than it has been in past year, but we still had a great time. Monday, we went rock climbing.

I always take one climb up with my camera so I can take pictures from above.

The speakers are always good at the Great Escape, but this year's speaker was awesome - Jim from The Maze (a Christian illusionist). His tricks were phenomenal. But even more importantly, he connected with our youth really well.

There are a lot of late nights at the Great Escape, but I would still get up early to go for a walk (or a jog). It was too pretty to not take advantage of the change to enjoy the outdoors. This is Katherine and I one morning when we went out for a walk.

One of the best parts about Jim's illusions, is that he involves the youth. James got pulled on stage one day!

If you are interested in what the illusion was, ask me, and I will tell you more.

While we are at the Great Escape, we stay at the campus of Western State College- and this is one of the very noticeable landmarks we always play on.

Tuesday's afternoon activity involved a drive up to Crested Butte,

so we could cross a river (last year there was a log to help us cross the river, but there was so much snow run off this year, the little creek was bigger and the log was gone),

hike up part of a mountain (and find snow!),

and go swimming in a VERY cold lake.

We did all this with the very cool group from First Presbyterian Church of Midland.

This is the FPCA group at the end of our hike. After we got back in the vans, we drove into downtown Crested Butte where we walked around for a bit, ate ice cream, and got burritos for dinner before heading home.

Our evening speaker at the conference was another Jim - also very cool.

Wed's afternoon activity was white water rafting.

We took a break about half way down the river, so if you wanted to you could get in the river...

One of my most favorite things to do in the world - worship with students!

Thursday's afternoon activity: a shaving cream fight with the whole camp!

After doing this for a few years, I have learned to come prepared!

And then Friday morning, we begin our drive back to Texas! It was sad to leave, but it had been an awesome week!

Blessings of the last Three Months

2011-06-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

I know I've haven't made my blog a priority in the past three months or so. I thought I'd try and capture a few of the highlights of those last few months here. There has been a lot going on, so I know I am going to miss things, but I figured it would still be worth an effort...

Belize

My last post was about a trip I was about to take to Belize. 15 of us from FPCA traveled to Belize on Saturday, March 12 and had a life changing experience. We once again partnered with the Word at Work, a missions organization based in Amarillo.

On our first full day in Belize, we made the drive from Belize City to Corozal to visit Moises and his family. If you don't remember me talking about Moises before, he's a little boy we first met in 2009 when he was literally fighting for his life. Only through a miracle were we able to find a hospital in the States that would take him on as a pro-bono case, someone with a private jet willing to pick him up, and a loving community willing to support him. Now Moises his a totally normal boy, back with his family in Belize.

We had the treat of spending Sunday, March 13 with them, taking them to lunch, and then taking them to explore some local Mayan ruins. We had a blast!

Here's one picture. There are plenty more if you go to the FPCA missions blog, and i have literally hundreds more if you ever want to see them!

The rest of the week, we worked at YES (Youth Enhancement Services), a school for girls who do not fit in the traditional school system for one reason or another. All schools in Belize cost money - "public" schools are just simply cheaper than private schools. The girls who attend YES often can't afford the normal tuition. Many of the girls come from abused or broken homes. Two of the fourteen girls who were there when we were there were pregnant. One of those girls was pregnant because she had been raped twice, once by a stranger and once by her uncle.

We had an opportunity to do construction around the school. We building an awning on a building we had constructed last year (and we painted that building). More importantly though, we got to spend time with those girls. Members of our team taught sewing and computer classes. In between classes we had the chance to talk, relax, and play soccer with them. We were able to pray with them and for them (and they prayed for us). It was a great week of building relationships as we were on their campus to teach and build. We have been invited to come back next year to YES, and I hope that's where our group will be next year.

Every time I leave Belize, I leave a little piece of my heart there. I love the people, I love the culture. I love leading a team and watching the team members grow. There's nothing like the experience.

Half-Marathons

Despite the travel I have been doing, I have still been running. My times haven't been overly impressive by any means. But I found two half marathons to do this Spring to help me stay in shape that were a little different than the normal race.

The first was the Zooma Women's Race. I had never done an all women's run, and I thought it seemed like a laid back, fun race (which was what I needed post Belize).

Things I learned from this race.

- just because it says women's race, a few men will sign up. Awkward? or no?

- cool thing about doing an all women's race, they gave up fun necklaces instead of medals. I have already worn the necklace way more than I'd wear the medal.

Definitely not a PR for me. Was a really hilly course, i did more walking than I normally do, but I had fun. Michelle came along as support, and that made it even more fun.

The second race was the Tulsa Oklahoma Aquarium Run. Why would any runner not want to sign up for a race that describes itself as mostly flat, with a cool shark medal to all finishers, and a free ticket to the Aquarium?

Michelle and I were pretty stoked about the event. I still wasn't sure if I was in good enough shape to get a PR, but i knew I'd have a fun time trying.

I took off on the half mile course, Michelle took of on the 5k course and we both quickly realized there was a problem. There were no mile markers anywhere. Longer races almost always mark off the miles so runners know where they are, when to start kicking, etc.

I was a little lost without my milemarkers....

This confusion only got worse when someone said we had 5.5 miles to go, and then a half mile later someone said we were only a the 5.8 mark. Then I heard you're at mile 8, quickly followed by you're at mile 10. I wasn't quite sure where I was, when to kick. boo.

I learned two things - I need to run with a Garmin and keep track of my own miles.

And I learned to just have fun. Once I realized I had totally psyched myself out, I noticed the 60+ people there from the YMCA, including a lot of underprivileged teens. I started running with some of them, trying to encourage them. That made the race special.

Pre-race

Mid-race

Post- race

I would still love to run a sub 2 half marathon, but this wasn't the Spring for that. I'll have a race this Fall in South Carolina that I'm super excited about (for lots of reasons). Mostly, I'm just enjoying people about to run. And it's fun to see new areas and new terrains, meet some random people while doing it.

Retreats:

Spring is always a good time for retreats. And this year I got to participate in two of FPCA's retreats - the Women's retreat and the Youth Retreat.

Skiing

Spring means the start of ski season. I am not a phenomenal skier by any stretch of the imagination, but there's something fun about spending a few hours on the river/lake skiing. Maybe one day I'll be able to get up on one ski, maybe not - for now I'm good with getting up on two and dropping one. I just enjoy being on the water and trying a sport I don't do a lot. There's also something fun about taking friends to the lake who are new to skiing.

Baseball

One of the benefits of living in Arlington is being so close to Rangers stadium. I've made to a few games so far this season - including opening day, a Yankees game, and a handful of others.

Mission Trip to New Orleans

I last wrote when we were about to leave on our Belize mission trip, and I just returned from FPCA's New Orleans Mission Trip. I had never spent much time in New Orleans, and really I knew little about the city. I definitely didn't realize how much work still needed to be done from Hurricane Katrina.

We went and partnered with an EFCA (the same organization we have worked with in Galveston the last two years). I am a big fan of EFCA, how organized they are, their staff, and how they run their organization.

While we were there, we split our group into two teams. Half of our group went to a house, owned by a woman named Ms. Ruby who lives in the 9th Ward. They went to her house daily to help with some drywall finishing. The rest of our spent time at various different sites. Monday and Tuesday they actually went to Bush, LA, to an area that was recently impacted by a tornado. Wednesday and Thursday they went to a neighborhood near the Superdome to help a woman named Ms. Cammie. Ms. Cammie is in her 70s and had paid a contractor $105,000 after the storm to work on her house. The contractor actually damaged her house and left with her money (he's now in jail, but unfortunately he's bankrupt, so there's no way to recover her money). We spent a couple of days helping mainly with the exterior painting.

Besides working, we were able to have some great conversations with the residents of New Orleans and spend some time praying with them. We had a "block party" one evening and served hot dogs.

New Orleans may be one hot and humid climate, but I was very glad we went down there.

Visitor!

My mom decided to come for a visit this May! It was a busy 3 days while she was here, but we had a ton of fun! We did everything from a 10K Fun Run/Walk (where my mom won her age group) to shopping to dinner with church members.

Next up: The Great Escape Junior High Conference in Gunnison, Colorado!!!

Belize

2011-03-09T22:13:00.000-06:00

I'm leaving for Belize this Saturday morning, March 12 with a wonderful team from FPCA. The FPCA Missions Blog will be updated while we're gone. Check it for updates.

DMin Coursework Year Uno

2011-03-09T19:53:00.000-06:00

I just returned from California where I began my Doctor of Ministry course work at Fuller Theological seminary. I will go to CA once a year for 3 years where I will have class with the same cohort. It was a gift to be in the classroom again, and to be surrounded by people who are serious about youth and family people (the DMin I am working on is in Youth, Family, and Culture). I have a few (not many considering how many pictures I normally take) pictures to show you from the last two weeks.

The first picture is of the cohort. This was taken on our very last day of class. As you can see I was one of only two women in the cohort...

Since I finished my Masters of Divinity, Fuller has done as massive renovation to their library. It will definitely make spending time in the library more enjoyable. I did find it ironic though that they didn't update the copy machines...I guess that wasn't in the budget?

The majority of the students in the cohort stayed in the Fuller Guest Center. I had the privilege though of staying with some good friends who live just outside Pasadena. That meant that every day after class I was greeted by this smiling face.

Over the weekend I found a run to do in order to get out some energy - the Coto de Caza Endurance Runs. While it was supposed to be rainy all weekend, it actually ended up being a beautiful day for a run!

It was an incredibly hilly, challenging course, but it was fun just the same.

And it's always fun to get a medal for completing a challenging course!

Later that day I had free time (since it was the weekend) so I went off to explore the Saddleback Church campus with my friends Mike and Becca. It really was a campus. and they had everything! There was a reserved parking space not just for Rick Warren but for his wife as well.

And what's a weekend pastor?

One of their newest additions (within the last two weeks) is their "fitness course." I guess they are on a new fitness kick. A diet has been designed just for members of their church and Rick Warren has pledged to lose 90 pounds. When we were there he had already lost 21. So as a part of their fitness challenge they installed this new fitness course.

I'm curious how many people actually use it...

Though I know we had fun playing on it.

After we played on it for a bit, we went off to find their main worship sanctuary...

equipped with stadium seating and

outdoor overflow seating.

This was the first of two baptismal pools we discovered.

We had a great time exploring the children's play area.

I thought the stair way fountains were pretty (though I was pretty sure if we stayed there too long we would have been kicked off)

Sunday morning I had the chance to worship at Calvary Presbyterian Church. It happened to be Confirmation Sunday, which was really cool for a couple of reasons. It was the first time Rev. Becca Bateman had done a baptism, so I loved being there for that.

And one of the former SMCC youth was there being confirmed, so I got to see him and his siblings (though I felt very short seeing them...).

One added bonus of being in CA during those two weeks was that Hillsong United happened to be there and doing a concert at the Staples Center.

It was an amazing concert and just a wonderful time of worship.

Wonderful two weeks!

2011-02-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

I started this blog post as an ode to running sometime in January. I never finished, so I figured I should go ahead and post since I'm in CA for school and then I leave March 12 for Belize. So, if I don't write, I'm going to get way behind, and the blog will once again be abandoned....

A few things then I've been thankful for in recent months:

Running:

I love to run. This winter I was exposed to running/races from a lot of different angles.

First up was the annual Jiggle Butt (an all women's run). Now in it's 5th year it's become a HUGE event in Arlington. First was the 1k fun run (the wiggle butt).

All Wiggle Butt participants get a medal.

Then it was time for the Jiggle Butt. A group of us had made a team, and we (I) named ourselves Team Speedo. So that meant running in Speedos, goggles, and swim caps.

The next weekend I had another race. This time I didn't go out with a big team, but just with one other friend. There was no costume this time, just cold rain. But that cold rain was the motivation I needed to run fast.

And Nick and I both walked with snowglobe trophies.

A few weeks later the 2011 Belize hosted a 5K - the Tortoise Trot. I never realized how much went into planning a 5K! We had so much fun though on the day of the event. I didn't run, but loved encouraging others, taking pictures, and being a part of the race day culture.

And of course, we had our very own Tortoise.

Part of our Belize team after the race:

Rock Climbing Lock-in:

I might be crazy, but for the past 3 years I have organized a rock-climbing lock-in for the youth. Staying up all night may be a little brutal, but it's a fun way to spend time with the kids and meet to know their friends. We start off the evening by rock climbing from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M. My rock climbing skills peak around 12:30 A.M., but some of the kids could climb all night long.

Snow:

When you think of Texas I know you probably don't think of snow/ice. But, we had our own Texas size version of snowapaloza this year - we had an unprecedented 5 snow days! I really enjoyed the winter weather!

Superbowl:

Not everyone in Arlington was an excited about the winter weather, especially those who were affiliated with the Super Bowl (which was in Arlington). I stayed clear of the Stadium on game day, and instead had the youth group over for a party as we watched the Packers take on the Steelers.

It's been a fun month with lots going on. And I know the next month will be full as well!

Blessings of the Week, Christmas and New Years Edition

2011-01-16T19:48:00.000-06:00

1: Christmas in Texas:

2010 would be the first year I would not get to celebrate Christmas and my birthday with my family in North Carolina. Ever since I've been 18, whether I've been living in Richmond, VA while attending the University of Richmond, or living in Pasadena, CA to attend Fuller Theological Seminary, I always had enough time off from school/work to make a trip back to North Carolina for Christmas and New Years. The first two years I worked at FPCA, I simply left on Christmas Day, and traveled back to NC where I would get there just in time for Christmas Dinner. It's a part of the holidays I looked forward to each year!

Well this year, plans had to be altered a bit. In May my best friend Becca called to say that she was ENGAGED!!! She asked if I would be her Maid of Honor, and of course I said yes.

Becca and her fiance Mike quickly set the date for of the wedding for Fri, Dec 31, New Years Eve!

What a great wait to celebrate the start of a new year - by celebrating the start of Becca and Mike's new life as Mr. Mike and Mrs. Becca Bateman.

The one problem is that it didn't see practical for me to leave TX on Christmas Day to head to NC for a day or two, just to have to fly all the way to the West Coast. Well my parents agreed to come out here a few days before Christmas, and stay for the Christmas Eve services at FPCA. It was a little different to have celebrate Christmas in TX, but it was still a ton of fun.

The stockings came from NC to CA.

We opened presents a few days early, but still had a great time (didn't matter that the calendar said the 23 instead of the 25!).

This picture was actually taken in my office on Christmas Eve between services.

It was a great Christmas, and though I missed being in NC, I was thankful my parents could come out to TX.

2: Birthday

As I mentioned, I have never celebrated my birthday anywhere else but NC. And it was strange, not to be there. But I still had a great day.

I went out a few days before the wedding festivities were to begin to enjoy being in CA. Michelle and I landed around dinner time on the 25th. It took us awhile to find someplace that was open for dinner, but finally we found a delicious Thai place called Sophy's.

We woke up early the next morning, because I had found a race I wanted to do - what better way to start my 30th year than with running!

One benefit of getting up so early was seeing a beautiful sunrise (the picture didn't turn out that well because I was trying to take it through the window).

It was probably one of the strangest races I had ever done. There is a guy named Charlie Alewine, and he sponsors a ton of races each year. He usually caps the races at 25 people, and this one wasn't full.

The race was set to start at 7:30. The guy in charge of this race pulled up at 7:25 with his husky, and started pulling out the water coolers. He decided to wait a few minutes to see if anyone else who was signed up would show up. Then he had us raise our hands to see who was running the half and who was running the full marathon.

When he decided it was time to start, he named a water line on the ground as the start line, and said, "1, 2, 3, go."

It was a beautiful course. It was in Orange County along "well manicured horse trails." It was actually in the community where The Real Housewives of Orange County was filmed. I've never seen the show, but I thought the trails were beautiful.

I ever occasionally had to pause just to enjoy the scenery!

It was definitely a great way to start the day!

Another benefit to waking up early to run, is enjoying a nice big brunch afterwards!

The rest of the day was low-key, but we did meet up with Becca (the bride-to-be!) for dinner that night).

I had a couple of amazing surprises before I left for CA. One present that totally surprised me away and blew me away is the following:

Yes, that is a picture autographed by the Duke basketball coach that says, "To Sophie: Happy 30th Birthday! Mike Krzyzewski."

The other huge surprise was a surprise lunch. My parents were in town, and I thought my mom and I were going to lunch with 2 of the ladies from church. Well there were definitely more than 2 ladies there. It was a total surprise and a huge blessing!

3: Disneyland!!!

We had the 27th free as well before the wedding festivities started, so what else to do besides go to Disneyland. When working at Disneyland, Becca and I used to take the youth group quite often. So, I have a lot of fond memories of Disneyland. I haven't been back since I've moved to TX.

It was a crowded day. In fact, as Becca was driving down there to meet us, she heard the radio announcer say, "Disneyland is full." But despite the crowds, it was still a fun day. I got to ride some of my favorite rides.

Of course I had to ride "It's a Small World!"

We took a quick trip to Toon Land.

And being a big Winnie the Pooh fan, Michelle and I went to Pooh's Corner to see Winnie the Pooh,

Eeyore,

and Tigger too.

There's something about being at Disneyland - you just need to go get ice cream (or sherbert) on Main Street).

We did have a Mickey sighting, but that was a close as we got to the famous Mickey Mouse all day.

As we waited for our dinner table in Downtown Disney we had plenty of time to explore the shops, and play with the various things we found.

It was great to be back at Disney and to enjoy the rides and the sights again!

4: Bachelorette Party

Two days before the wedding we had Becca's Bachelorette Party. We had to wait until the week of the wedding because several of her bridesmaids were from out of town, and this was the easiest time to get everyone together.

We got all dressed up, had some snacks and then headed out to dinner at the Yard House. I like this picture because Becca hasn't put her shoes on yet and I look tall!

After dinner we headed off to part 2 of the party. What else would a youth pastor do for her bachelorette party besides go bowling!

Definitely was a great time! Was great to celebrate Becca!

5: Wedding Errands

Who knew running errands could be so much fun! But, when you're getting ready for such a big day, and when you're with good friends, anything is fun. We spent most of Thursday running around securing last minute details. We did make a trip out to San Pedro, California to Becca's parent's house to help with the wedding flowers. Actually Becca's mom had done a lot of the work before we got there.

One of the best feature's of Becca's parent's house is the view (you can see Catalina!).

6: Rehearsal/Rehearsal Dinner

Later that evening was the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. Unlike most rehearsals, it wasn't at the church. It was supposed to be outside at the house where we were going to have the dinner. But because it was a cold day for Southern California, we did the rehearsal in the entry way of the house. It was a little cozy, but we were still able to go over the basics.

One benefit of it being so cozy was that we got to know everyone really well, and I got to know the amazing flower girl really well!

After going through the ceremony and eating dinner, it was time for gifts. Mike gave gifts to his groomsmen.

Becca gave up gifts to her bridesmaids - here we are (or most of us) all lined up.

In addition to getting jewelry to wear on wedding day, we got super cool clothing hangers with our names on it.

Then it was time for the parent's gifts. Mike is a UCLA grad and an avid UCLA fan, so he gave his future in-laws UCLA gear in order to welcome them to the Bruin family.

Likewise, Becca is proud of the school where she went to seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary. So, she gave her future-in-laws gear from Fuller.

It was a great way to get ready for the wedding!

7: Becca's Wedding Day:

Finally it was Friday, wedding day! The boys headed to the reception site to set things up and the girls headed to the salon to have our nails and hair done (I think we got the better end of that deal!). We went to the Aveda School in Westwood. So the people working doing our hair/nails were actually students training to become stylists. It was a fun way to spend the morning as we prepared for Becca's big day!

By 2:00 we had all finished with our hair and nails, and headed off to the church to get ready. Our wonderful flower girl was there waiting for us!

Becca didn't have her shoes on yet, so once again I look tall!

Once Becca was ready (with her shoes on), it was time for Mike and Becca to go and take some pictures.

And then the rest of us joined them for some wedding party pictures.

It was a fairly cold day for Southern Cal, so we huddled together for warmth between pictures.

The ceremony was beautiful! I'm excited to see the professional photographers pictures, because I know they will be great!

After the ceremony we posed for a few pictures so the photographer could use a flash (I promise we weren't talking and this unfocused during the ceremony).

And then, there were more pictures...

After that photo session, it was off to the reception. You can't really see the room in this picture (which is Mike and Becca's entrance), but the reception was held at this cool mansion in Pacific Palisades).

Instead of a traditional wedding cake, they had cupcakes,

with one large giant cupcake for them to cut into during the cake cutting.

There was of course a time for speeches, and the

first dance!!!

The cake cutting was hilarious! It was the first time I had ever seen a couple get in a cake fight before the actually cut the cake.

One of my favorite pictures of the night - right after the boquet toss!

Right after ringing in the New Year, Mike and Becca left. It was a great way to ring in the 2011!

Becca and Mike's Wedding

2011-01-14T15:09:00.001-06:00

I'm still working on a blog post recapping the holidays, but in the meantime I thought I'd post the slide show that the professional photographer from Mike and Becca's wedding put together.

Just click here to see it!

I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures that he took!

Blessings of the Week, December 21, 2010

2010-12-21T22:27:00.009-06:00

1: A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree:

Despite the fact that I'm going to be gone the week between Christmas and New Years, I thought it would be fun to get a live Christmas tree. Well the tree my roommate and I ended up with is a little different...

It's a little under 6 feet tall, but we had to get a stand for a 10 foot tall tree. It's base is a little large for it's body, and the trunk, well, it's a little crooked. There wasn't even a tag on the tree at the store. It was by itself. I call it the Charlie Brown Christmas tree - and I love it.

2: FPCA Staff Christmas Party:

We have a great staff at FPCA. We laugh a lot, and we enjoy being together. It was great to have everyone together for a Christmas party this past weekend.

3: Jog'r Egg Nog'r:

I love to run, so why not dress up as Mrs. Claus for a 5K. No one else was really dressed up, but hey, it was fun! The race was called the Jog'r Egg Nog'r - and they did serve Egg Nog after the race. I don't care for Egg Nog anyway, but I found it even more unappealing because it was in big 9 gallon gatorade water jugs...

4: Youth Christmas Party:

We had the annual FPCA Youth Christmas party at my house this past weekend, and it was so much fun. There were plenty of sweets,

and spaghetti for dinner (which you could have with normal spaghetti sauce or "Elf" toppings."

Since it's Texas, we don't have actual snow right now. So we built snowmen out of newspapers and then had a snowball fight (flour in pantyhose makes a snow ball). After the games, we ate and had a White Elephant Gift Exchange - great time!

5: Yogi Bear:

When I saw the previews for the Yogi Bear movie, I thought it would be cute. And I was surprised that it really was a good film. Not a blockbuster, and you could probably wait till it came out on video, but I thought it was funny. A good clean movie, some great one liners, and Yogi Bear is always fun.

Blessings of the week, December 13, 2010

2010-12-13T20:44:00.001-06:00

1: First Christmas Party of the Season

Normally I always feel like the Christmas season starts too soon. I got in the spirit early this year, however, on the first day of Advent. It wasn't about shopping, but it was driving to church on Sunday morning, listening to the radio, I really had a moment of recognizing the importance of Advent and preparing for the coming celebration of Christmas. My Christmas tree still isn't up, and I may be behind in some of my other Christmas preparations, but I'm excited about this "pre-Christmas" time.

I went to my first Christmas party of the season, and oh what a party it was! There was quite the spread of food, both normal dinner type food

and desserts.

The beauty of this party was that it gathered friends from all different parts of Texas that I rarely get to see.

It was a great way to celebrate the start of the Christmas season!

2: Chris Perry's Birthday!

As we all do each year, my friend Chris Perry had a birthday. Chris started volunteering with the youth group this summer, and he quickly learned that when you have a birthday as a youth group volunteered you have a lot of people who are very excited to sing to you (though it might be loud, and it might not always be in the right key).

It was fun to sing to him with the youth group and watch the expressions on his face!

Michelle and I got Chris a Harley shirt (he rides a Harley) for his birthday, and he had gotten us Harley shirts over Thanksgiving - and we had all worn them on that day.

Had a great time celebrating him, and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with him in the future!

3: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

This past week, another movie was released based on the writings of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. It has gotten mixed reviews, but I was impressed with the movie. I was impressed with the way they handled the spiritual themes of the book. I thought they cast Eustace well. If you are a Narnia fan, I definitely recommend seeing it.

4: Marshmallow guns and good worship:

What do those two things have in common? The answer - the FPCA youth group. Had a great last night of youth group (last night of the fall semester. We still have our Christmas party, but that was our last "normal youth group"). Had a great time of corporate worship, and a fun time playing with the marshmallow gun. Great way to spend a Sunday evening!

Blessings of the Week, December 8, 2010

2010-12-08T21:02:00.003-06:00

1: Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot:

This year on Thanksgiving Day, my mom and I tried something new (maybe started a new tradition?) by doing a Turkey Trot. We went out Wednesday afternoon to Raleigh to pick up our race packets, which included these snazzy long sleeve shirts.

Of course we had to wear them Thursday morning so we matched (and the long sleeve factor helped to keep us warm)! But, I had also made us matching sweatshirts, so we were very matchy!

They said, "Team Draffin" on the front and had our names on the back.

I love races, and this one was particularly fun because it was on Thanksgiving. There was even someone dressed up as a turkey!

An added bonus of doing it in NC was that the Hatch family was there and I got to spend time with them as we waited for the race to start.

And then finally it was time to walk (my mom and I walked this one together, which was tons of fun).

It was a little longer than the normal 5K, it was an 8K, but we had a ton of fun doing it, and made it home in plenty of time to finish making Thanksgiving dinner (though that was more of my mom and grandmother) and get ready before the extended family arrived.

2: Duke-UNC Football Game

Another highlight of being in NC was getting to see a Duke football game. I don't go to Duke football games because I expect to see Duke win a lot of games, but I still love to go. And this was no ordinary football game, it was the Duke-UNC football game. I couldn't stay for the whole thing because I had a flight to catch, so my dad and I made sure we got there early. Our first stop was Duke Chapel for a photo shoot,

and then we swung by Cameron Indoor Stadium before

making our way over to tailgate to catch up with some friends.

It was senior day (though it wasn't a full band, and there weren't as many students as there normally are because of the Thanksgiving holiday).

Duke did manage to score the first touchdown - this picture was taken right after they did (I think the Carolina defense was in shock that they had been scored on).

And a picture of the scoreboard to prove that at one point during the game Duke was actually winning.

We didn't end up winning, but it was a ton of fun to go see Duke play!

em

3: Time with Rebecca and Ronin

I couldn't leave NC without visiting with one of my dear friends and one of my favorite dogs. Our time together was short, but it made me so excited to catch up with both of them!

How could you not love that face?

4: Danku Family Time

One of the families I met through Westminster Presbyterian Church growing up is the Danku Family. There family (and extended family) has been a huge blessing throughout the years and I love getting to see them when I'm in NC. I was able to see everyone, all 7 of this time, and we had a great time going to see the newest Harry Potter together and then having lunch.

It was a great visit to NC and I was thankful being able to spend Thanksgiving there!

Thanksgiving Blog A-Z

2010-12-05T18:48:00.000-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. I started on this blog post a good week before Thanksgiving, but with only working on it a few minutes here and there, that clearly wasn't enough time to finish it. But since it was already started, I figured I'd go ahead and post it.

God has richly blessed my life in so many ways during 2010 and this is just a small sampling of the things, people, and places I'm thankful for, from A-Z.

A: Adventure Races

I love to run. I love running around the block, on trails (the Duke University Cross Country Trail would be my all time favorite place to run), and recently I've gotten more involved in running races, 5ks, 10ks, and half-marathons. This fall though I had the chance to run in two Adventure Races. Adventure Races bring the ordinary 5K to the next level. The first was called the Jailbreak and was held at the DFW Adventure Park in Roanoke, TX.

I signed up for the Jailbreak not knowing much about it, except that it was a 4 mile course, with several obstacles scattered out throughout the course. It ended up being a ton of fun. There were still a few long stretches of just running, but there was a slide down into a river, which you had to wade through. There were mud crawls and several other obstacles. In the end it was fun to just out run and get a little dirty and contribute to a good cause (all the proceeds from the race contributed to providing clean water for those who don't have it).

By the end of the race we were covered in mud, and had laughed all the way through the course. We rinsed off by the time we took a picture, but I grantee you, we were plenty dirty!

Well we had so much fun doing the Jailbreak, we decided to do the Caveman Extreme.

The Caveman Extreme was so much more fun than the Jailbreak! They sprinkled 30 obstacles into 3.1 miles.

While the Jailbreak may have had great weather conditions, the weather for the Caveman Extreme was not as picture perfect. Between the falling rain and incredibly high winds that continuously blew threw on that day, it only made the adventure race that much more adventurous.

(the picture of the 3 of us does look a little cheesy because a big gust a wind came in as we were taking it - oh well)

As you can tell from the tiredness on my face, I was worn out after the Caveman Extreme. But I loved it! It was a fun day, and a race I'll always remember!

B: Baptism

One of the blessings of being an ordained minister of the Word and Sacrament is being able to administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. I haven't participated in a lot of baptisms. On Pentecost, which was also Confirmation Sunday, I baptized one of our Confirmands. Usually the two methods of baptism are "sprinkling" or "dunking." Well, this 6th grader decided he wanted to be baptized by pouring (our sanctuary isn't really set-up for immersion baptisms). It was a lot of fun to celebrate his baptism on a day when we were celebrating his confirmation as well as Pentecost.

In August I had the opportunity to be a part of another baptism. My friends Emrys and Sara wanted to have their daughter Gwendolyn baptized. Emrys is a pastor, but he wanted to be the dad and not the pastor. So, they invited me up to New York to be a part of the service. It was such an honor and a privilege to be there and to baptize Baby G! What an amazing expression of God's grace and love for us that we are in-grafted into the family through baptismal waters!

C: Chris Tomlin

I have always loved Chris Tomlin and his worship songs. There is something special though about seeing him perform his own worship songs live. He has a gift of singing, but also he has a gift of leading worship. I had the privilege of seeing him twice this year, and both times were amazing. Turns out he is from Tyler, TX. It was great to see him there - he was sooo excited to be in his own hometown!

D: Duke = 2010 National Champions!!!

As long as I can remember I have been a Duke basketball fan. I grew up to season tickets to Duke basketball games, and I have seen more games than I could even begin to count. But, I had never seen them play in the NCAA tournament. Well that changed this year. First, they played their Sweet Sixteen game in Houston, so I went down for the game.

Then, as I realized they might make it to the Final Four I started to think about if it would be possible to watch them play in the National Championship Game. The idea was crazy. It involved leaving shortly after lunch on Easter Sunday, picking up Tully in Memphis, camping along the way, and arriving in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, just in time for the National Championship game.

Well, let me tell you, it was all worth it. The trip was very memorable. And seeing Duke win a National Championship was amazing!

The morning after the game, we drove back to Lucas Oil Stadium. They had run out of the National Championship t-shirts the night before, and so we wanted to make sure we got them

before we left town. Then, we started the drive back to Texas.

It was one trip I will never forget!

E: Effie

Until April of 2010 I drove the same car I got (used) when I was 16. That car traveled with me to the University of Richmond. It went with me to graduate school at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, and it made the drive from California to Texas when I stated at FPCA in 2008. I had that car for thirteen and a half years, and I loved it. But, sadly, the transmission went out. There was some debate if they were going to be able to find one to replace it at all, and if they did, the transmission would cost more than Effie was worth. So, I finally decided to get a new car. I donated Effie, and I love my new car, but it was still a sad day when she was towed away.

F: Family Time

I don't get back to North Carolina nearly as much as I would like, but I have truly enjoyed the time with my family when I was there both between Christmas and New Years, and for a brief visit in August. This is just a wide range of pictures from the year, everything from my parents and I at the 2009 Durham Debutante Ball, to lunch with my grandmother, to coming back from a walk with my dad, to opening stockings with my brother.

G: Good Friends, both near and far

I love where I live and work. One of the problems though is that because I have lived in several different states, I have friends who I love dearly that are scattered throughout the Country. And while I might not get to see them often, I am thankful for the visits I do have, and the friendships that are maintained across the miles.

And I am thankful also for the new friendships I have created here in TX!

I won't try and explain them, but these are pictures from the year of people I love and am thankful for. Clearly I couldn't take pictures of everyone, so these are just a few I picked out.

H: Healing for Moises

In March of 2009 I went to Belize for the first time with a missions team from FPCA. One of the first nights we were there, Tim Tam from the Word at Work asked at dinner if any of us would go with him to hospital to meet and pray for a boy named Moises. He told us simply that he had been in an accident in January, was in bad physical condition. Well I don't think anything could have prepared me for the little boy we were about to meet.

After attempting to fix his massive internal injuries through several operations, the doctors in Belize were not able to do anything to save his life. He was literally barely hanging on to life. During the last operation, the surgeons had been unable to close his abdomen. They began to sob as the surgery came to an end, knowing that this boy would most surely die within a few hours.

Well somehow he held on. And he made a promise to God, that if he was to live, that he would dedicate his life to serving God. The doctors asked us if there was anyway we could find him medical care in the States. We went back to the rest of the team, told them the story of Moises. And we began to pray, and make phone calls, and pray.

Several hospitals told us to give up, because we wouldn't be able to find a hospital or a surgeon who would be willing to take on Moises' case. Well a hospital in Amarillo did. And someone volunteered to fly his private jet down to Belize to get Moises. Only a few weeks after we first met him, Moises was on his way to Amarillo, TX to get medical care.

About 5 months after that, Moises was headed back to Belize - he had gone through the necessary surgery and was fully healed!

We had a chance to see Moises in March of 2010. Except for the large scar on his stomach, he looked like a typical 8 year old.

We had a great time taking him and his siblings for ice cream, getting the tour of their house, teaching them to play American football. Moises recited Psalm 1 for us, which he had been working on memorizing. It meant a lot to me to see him back in Belize and doing so well.

I: Internet on my phone

Wherever I go, I almost always have my blackberry with me (it's not that uncommon to spot me holding it in pictures, or to see it sitting next to me while I'm eating). I have become so thankful though to have the world "at my fingertips." To be able to google anything anytime. I love being able to look up batting averages while at a Rangers Games, or directions when I'm lost. It's handy to be able to check movie times or respond to an email. I am definitely a fan of my blackberry.

J: Jumping out of Planes

I went sky diving in August of 2006 for the first time. It was a planned event - we made reservations and looked forward to the day for weeks. I had a great time, and knew that if the opportunity ever came up again, I would always be up for sky diving a second time.

Well, just as I was wrapping up a youth retreat one Sunday afternoon, I got a friend who volunteers with the youth program at FPCA, "want to go sky diving?" After checking with Michelle and Becca (who as in town helping to lead the retreat), we decided that sounded like a great way to spend the afternoon. So the five of us loaded up in the car, and headed to Sky Dive 35.

It definitely wasn't as scary the second time around. I don't know if it's because we made the decision to go so quickly, or if it was just because I had been before. But whatever it was, I had a blast!

K: Ketchup

A strange thing to be thankful for I know....but ever since I was a little kid I loved ketchup. It really is the perfect condiment for sooo many foods. It was tragic the other day when I ran out, and there was no back-up....

L: Lord's Supper

I already mentioned what a gift it was to be a part of a baptism, but I thought it deserved mentioning what a gift and blessing it is to be able to serve communion. Unlike baptisms, this is something I get to do on a fairly regular basis (we serve communion monthly at FPCA).

There are certain times during the year though that I have had the privilege of serving communion in services that were very meaningful and memorable. At Becca's ordination service in February, she and I served communion together. Having worked together as seminary interns for 3 years at San Marino Community Church, it was special to stand side by side at her ordination service and celebrate the Lord's Supper.

It made me remember too of my own ordination service when as one of my first acts as an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament I served communion with my youth pastor/mentor Paul Ransford.

There have also been other times throughout the year when I have simply partaken of the sacrament that have been very meaningful. One of those times was at my Company of New Pastors retreat this past September. What a gift to partake of the Sacrament with my colleagues at the end of our time together.

M: Mission Trips

I love mission trips. I love being able to interact with people of other cultures and having the opportunity to share God's love with them through words and actions. I love taking teams on trips and watching their lives change on the trips. It's truly a blessing that as part of my job I have the privilege of being a part of several mission trips this year.

In 2010 I traveled to both Belize and Galveston. The top picture is of the Belize team on the last day, and the bottom photo is of the Galveston team on the last day. Why do we always wait until the last day to take pictures?

N: (Nearly) Newly Renovated Bathroom

Every room in my house has been textured and painted, except the guest bathroom. Well, we "hired" Rob at the Belize servant auction to texture and paint this last room. As he was removing paneling and getting the room ready, he discovered mold. Long story short, a texture/paint project quickly become a bathroom renovation project!

It's not completely done yet, but in about a week, the shower should be functioning again. And then all we really will need to do will be texture and paint the walls.

O: Ordination of Becca Moran

I mentioned earlier that Becca was ordained in February. I flew out to California to be a part of her service, and it was an amazing gift to be there. Mostly because she's one of my best friends and I know how hard she's worked to get to this day. But our stories are very similiar in that we both felt a call to ministry in high school. And so I understood that this day was a very important defining moment. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate that with her.

P: Pausing for Reflection

Life has become really busy. Or I guess I should say life stays busy. I crave those quiet moments when I can sit and something be. Those are the times I turn off my blackberry and escape all the beeping that comes with having my phone attached to my hip.

My Company of New Pastors retreat to California is one place that creates that opportunity to pause and reflect. You couldn't ask for a better place to meet than a monastery on the cliffs of Malibu - provides the perfect place for some good prayer.

Q: Quirky Faces

As you might be able to tell, I love pictures. I love posed pictures, but I love those random pictures too that tell the true story of what's going on, those ones that make you laugh every time you see them.

R: Running

I mentioned earlier, I love to run. This was a year for me of trying to get back into shape after my Oct 2009 abdominal surgery. But, despite not running fast, I still had a blast. I did some 5ks, a half marathon, and have just loved being able to run.

The most fun race I did all year was one I did down in Cleburne, TX called the Boo Run (it was the day before Halloween). The race was to benefit a local charity called Community Opportunities Inc, whose "purpose is to provide life opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities." Those individuals that are a part of COI were the race volunteers. I have never seen more enthusiastic, nicer race volunteers.

The COI mascot is a bee. "Our mascot, Bud E. Bee is a symbol to those we serve. To look at the bee you think how can such a thing fly. It's wings are too small for it's body. Well, no one seems to have told the bee he couldn't fly; he just does. Our philosophy is the same for the people we serve...we don't set limits...we let them FLY!" In the spirit of the day, Michelle and I dressed up as bees. No one else really dressed up at all, but because we did, we quickly made friends with the race volunteers and had fun (both while we were running and after the race). It was the best race of the year, for lots of reasons.

S: Snow

When you think of Texas, you might think of hot summers, football, or BBQ. But you probably don't think of snow. There's a good reason for that. Well, this past winter we got a lot of snow (for Texas). It was a beautiful treat (I just wished it had lasted longer!!!)

T: Texas Rangers

I have never been a huge baseball fan. When I lived in California I went to one LA (Anaheim) Angels game and several LA Dodgers teams. While I would cheer for both teams and enjoyed the games, I never really connected with either team.

Well, when I moved to Texas, I started supporting the Texas Rangers. I went to quite a few Ranger games this season. And it turned out to be quite the year to start liking the Rangers - they made it al the World Series! This is a series of pictures from the year (more or less in reverse chronological order).

Josh Hamilton speaking at the Ranger Rally (a few days after the end of the World Series)

The end of the Ranger Rally, with Captain watching over the confetti.

Michelle, Nick, and I at Game 4 of the World Series

Kinsler (aka, the Hobbit) playing in the World Series

World Series game #3 - Saturday, Oct 30

Final score at the end of WS Game #3!!!!

After one of the Tampa Bay v. Rangers Playoff games

During the Tampa Bay playoff game

I just thought the bobble head was cool...

At that same Tampa Bay v. Rangers Playoff Game

Random regular season game in late August - needed to get a picture with Captain.

What a better way to end the first day of school then by going to a Ranger Game?

I'm a big fan of Chick-fil-A - I needed to get a picture in front of the giant cow. Nick and Michelle humored me.

I even got to catch up with long lost Richmond friends at Ranger Games!

July 5 - the night we took the students from the PCHAS homes to the Rangers Game

Random game with friends in June - best seats I think I sat in all season!

U: Underwater Camera

Last Christmas I was given a digital waterproof camera. It has been incredibly helpful all year long on the various trips to Belize, Colorado, Fun in the Son, on the Galveston Mission trip, and just when I've had chances to play some.

V: Vacation

I've been able to take some vacation time this year, to go out to CA for Becca's ordination service, to run the San Antonio half marathon, and to come home to Durham for a week in August (and then head up to NY to be a part of Baby-G's baptism). It's been great to have that time of relaxation, and rest. In particular being at home in NC, I was truly able to rest, relax, and take some true vacation time.

W: Water Skiing

The last time I had gone water skiing was in the summer of 2003. I was in upstate New York with my college apartmentmates, and we went water skiing one day. So when my friends Don and Brenda invivted Michelle and me to go water skiing, I was excited, but I wasn't expecting to much out of myself. I was just hoping to stand up.

Well turns out I was able to get up (on two skis). I can't get up on one ski, but I quickly learned how to drop a ski. We went out several evenings in the late summer, and I had a great time figuring out how to use one ski. I took several falls, but had a great time learning. And the best part was being out on the lake with friends and being able to enjoy the night time temperatures, and the beautiful sunsets as well.

Maybe by next summer I will have figured out how to get up on one ski...

X: XX Chromosome

I usually have problems thinking of things that start with the letter X, and granted there aren't that many X words. This year, I may have cheated just a bit, but I'd thought I'd celebrate the precious new life of my friends Rob and Stacy. They had their 3rd little girl (though decided not to find out the gender of the bay until she was born). She was born this past May, and it's been a joy to watch this new little girl grow.

Y: Youth Ministry Trips

I love what I do. I love ministry, but in particular I love youth ministry. Summers are particularly a busy time for me, because there are a lot of trips, mission trips, conferences. I love those trip though. I love the long van rides, and the chance to just hang out and talk. I love working on mission projects together. I love worshiping at conferences together with youth.

I could post pictures, but I wouldn't know which ones to choose.

Z: Zucchini and other fresh vegetables

I really do love eating good, fresh vegetables (squash and zucchini happen to be a favorite). And I'm always game for trying new fruits and vegetables. In Belize I discovered I have a love for papaya. And I September I went to a restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles. The options when ordering a taco was to either have a normal corn tortilla or to have a cactus leaf. Well I was intrigued, so I went with the cactus leaf. And I must say, it was really good.

Blessings of the Week, November 16, 2010

2010-11-15T10:22:00.012-06:00

The Right Now Conference:

Last week I had the chance to attend the Right Now conference. It was a combination of worship/speakers/break-out sessions. Speakers included people like Max Lucado, and it was amazing. I was so thankful for the chance to learn and just soak in information for two days.

Disciple Now:

Each year First Presbyterian Church puts on a Disciple Now Retreat. It's an in-town retreat. We bring in speakers, and the junior high students stay at one house and the senior high students stay at another. It was a blast, as usual. I have soooo many pictures I could post, so many stories I could tell. But, I will just say it was an amazing weekend. I'm thankful for the leaders who came in for it, for the families that sacrificed their houses for the weekend, for those who cooked food, and for those who came.

San Antonio Rock n Roll Half Marathon:

I love to run. Last year this time I was recovering from abdominal surgery, so I'm very thankful this year for the ability to run. I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I'm just enjoying the sheer act of running. This past weekend was the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. Michelle and I ran, and I had a great time.

We took a picture before the race, because we had plenty of time as we were waiting for it to start.

I love the San Antonio race because it's such a fun city, and there are so many cool things to see.

Some of the spectators were boring and surprisingly quiet, but some were fun, supportive, and others had very amusing signs.

I saw two people who really inspired me. The first was this guy on a walker.

The second was this woman pushing someone else in a wheelchair (who by the way kicked my tail).

I love the shirts people wear for the race - this one in particular made me smile.

Post race photo!

Blessings of the Week, November

2010-11-04T20:26:00.000-05:00

1: The World Series!

The Rangers made it to the World Series. First time in their 39 year history they won the American League Championship Series. As the mayor of Arlington said, "the Rangers have lifted this town about ten feet off the ground."

It's been fun going to Ranger games all season, long before anyone knew they were going to the playoffs, but it's been particularly fun to go to playoff games. And there was a TON of excitement around World Series games. I had the privilege of going to two of their games in Texas. We had standing room only tickets, and had a great time just being at the World Series!

I must admit though, it was special to watch the Rangers win their first ever World Series game in Ranger Stadium.

It's always more fun to watch games like that with good friends!

A few days after the conclusion of the World Series there was a Ranger Rally. It was a chance for the fans to celebrate the plays and the coaches for a fantastic season. We got to hear from a lot of the major players, like Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton.

And mostly just celebrated the fact that the Rangers had such a wonderful season (that's confetti flying through the air if you can't tell)!

2: The Most Fun Race Ever:

On October 30 I ran in what had to be one of the most fun races I've ever been a part of.

It was held in Cleburne, Texas, they had just over 180 participants (which was actually an 80% increase from last year). The race was a fundraiser for an organization that works with mentally handicapped adults, who happened to be the race volunteers that day. Normally the people handing out water/gatorade at water stops aren't particularly friendly, they are there to do their job. These volunteers were the most grateful, encouraging volunteers I had ever met. It made running that much more fun!

The mascot of this organization is a bee. As their website says: "Our mascot, Bud E. Bee is a symbol to those we serve. To look at the bee you think how can such a thing fly. It's wings are too small for it's body. Well, no one seems to have told the bee he couldn't fly; he just does. Our philosophy is the same for the people we serve...we don't set limits...we let them FLY!"

Being that the race was so close to Halloween and their mascot was a bee, Michelle and I decided to dress up at bees. No one else really dressed up for the race, but we had a blast! We made friends with several of the volunteers because of our outfits.

3: Adding a little color to a rainy day:

Why not wear rain boots with a business suit on a rainy day?

4: Getting dressed up:

I rarely have a chance to get really dressed up, and I must admit I'm more of the jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. But I do on occasion like to get dressed up. I had the occasion for an event at UT Arlington a few weeks ago (I wasn't really paying attention though to Michelle as she was trying to take my picture, because I was watching game 2 of the Rangers v. Yankees series).

5: The Caveman Extreme:

I had the opportunity to run in another extremely fun race. This was probably the most challenging 3.1 mile race I have ever run. Named the Caveman Extreme, it had 30 obstacles packed into 3.1 miles. The course was only made more challenging by Mother Nature. But despite the difficulty of the course, it was probably one of the most memorable races I've done. And I had a blast completing the obstacles.

We look a little goofy in the pre-picture because a massive gust of wind had blown through as we were taking it.

And as we finished, it started to rain (even harder than it had on the course), so we decide to head for the cars as soon as we could!

Blessings of the Week, October 10, 2010

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1: My Company of New Pastors Group:

The Company of New Pastors is a group I committed to in seminary. It was a six year commitment. We committed to daily Scripture readings. They selected 10 students each from 5 different seminaries. For the first year and a half we met monthly with our seminary classmates. After graduation we meet in groups (mixed up with between the schools with two pastors mentors). Now we just meet once a year, but it's always a gift to get together to say hi and be together.

Our pastor mentors have been a true gift as a part of the journey.

In addition to appreciating the group, I really enjoy the setting where we meeting. Serra Retreat Center is actually a Catholic retreat center in Malibu. You couldn't ask for a better place to meet.

One evening the book we were studying covered baptism, so we went down to the beach for our discussion and worship.

Very thankful for my time in CA and with the group.

2: Fuller Friends:

Since I was so close to Pasadena, I was able to swing by and say hi to a few Fuller friends -always an added treat!

3: Trying New Foods:

I always love trying new (healthy food options). And recently I was a restaurant where there was an option to get cactus leaves for a taco rather than tortillas. Actually really good - added something totally new to a taco.
4: A Successful Canned Food Drive: Each year, FPCA takes part in a canned food drive. This year we collected over 6.5 tons of food! Though the real winner was Arlington Charities, FPCA won the competition (and even got more food than all the other church combined).

5: Chris Tomlin:

Though I just got to see Chris Tomlin at the end of July, I had the chance to see Chris Tomlin again in Tyler, TX (not too far away from the DFW area). So we drive out there for the Thursday evening concert. It was an extra fun concert because Tomlin is from Tyler, and he seemed really pleased to be back. Always a gift to see Tomlin and be led by him in worship.

6: Fun Races: Recently Michelle and I haven't been doing the typical 5Ks, but have signed up for some different kind of races. The first was the Jailbreak, a 3.8 mile adventure race. It was a warm day when we ran it, so we were excited when we heard the words, "water ahead." We thought that meant a water stop. Turns out they meant we had to go through a lake. A little bit past that though there was a real water stop with water to drink.

The next race we did was a 10K, trying to get our mileage up before our half marathon. Had a great time wearing our "Team Compassion" shirts (for Compassion International). Lots of people asked about them, and we got to share the mission of Compassion with several people.

7: The Playoffs:

The Texas Rangers haven't played all that great at home in the playoffs, but it was fun to go to watch them play - they haven't made it to the play-offs in 11 years! It was a standing room only crowd!

This was my favorite big screen image - a bobble head Rangers doll when they hit a home run!
I got all Texanized (is that a word) for the game, and even wore my cowboy boots!

2 Years!

2010-10-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

The average youth pastor only stays in a position about 18 months before they move on or are burned out and leave the ministry. Well that marker came and went for me, and then I had a lot of those 2 year markers.

First was the 2 year date (Memorial Day) of when Tully and I left California and started the drive towards Texas.

Then, there was my first day at FPCA (June 1).

Then, there was one of the most memorable and special days of my life, my ordination service (August 17, which I did celebrate this year by going water skiing with friends).

And then, there was my installation service a week later (August 24 - which Rob celebrated by bringing a veggie tray and sherbet to staff meeting - yummy!)

All these 2 year markers came and went and I never took the time to really stop and reflect. Last year when June 1 came around and I was at the 1 year mark, I had this desire to stop, take a few days to reflect on where I was, how I had grown, where I would like to grow, etc. But, summer is not the time to do that. Summers for me are incredibly full - I am constantly on the move with trips, mission trips, youth trips, VBS, etc. And so that one year reflection time never happened.

- I miss California, but not in the ways I thought I would.

- I miss North Carolina more than I thought I would.

- There is a whole lot they don't teach you in seminary.

- Texas is a culture all it's own.

- I like Arlington.

- Ministry is definitely a calling.

Blessings of the Week, September 19, 2010

2010-09-18T23:27:00.003-05:00

1: Play-off Tickets:

The Rangers are playing extremely well this season, and I've had a ton of fun going to various games throughout the summer. They are six games away (the Rangers have to win six games or the A's have to lose six games, or some combination of the two) from being guaranteed a playoff spot - and I am so excited I will be going to see them play in the playoffs!

2: Rain:

Now, I realize that the recent heavy rains caused massive flooding in Arlington and it was a huge headache for a lot of people. So I do realize that the fact that we got the after effects from Hurricane Hermine was a terrible thing. Before I realized the negative impact it would have on my community here in Texas I found myself enjoying the tremendous downpour. There was something that feels very familiar about being in Hurricane type rains in September. I guess having been through several storms in the August/September months in North Carolina makes me expect that kind of rain this type of year, and something about having that weather made me feel "at home."

Hopefully we can have smaller down pours that won't cause the flooding, but where I can still enjoy the rain.

3: Bike Rides:

It's been awhile since I've been on my bike, so Michelle and I decided to go out for a 20 mile ride early one Saturday morning and had a great time. There's something very peaceful about riding. You can cover a lot more ground than running, so you can really get out into some great country and just enjoy the peace and quiet of a good early Saturday morning.

4: Paintball:

If you've never played paintball, you should. It's fun. Yes, there's the occasional bruise that comes with getting hit. But there's something fun about running around, hiding behind random objects and strategizing with your teammates. We've gone as a youth group twice this year and had a blast each time.

5: Evenings on the lake:

Some of my friends at church have a boat and love going out after work to ski for the evening. There's nothing better than ending a hot day (why is it still so hot in Texas in September by being on the water). I still can't get up on one ski, but I've gotten pretty good at dropping one and skiing on one. But mostly I just like getting outside, enjoying being on the water, and getting to see beautiful sunsets!

6: Good friends:

I could have picked from lots of different pictures, but these were taken one night when I went out with a few friends to a movie and dinner. I have some good friends who make me laugh and I just love being with. Thankful for all the people, here in Arlington, and across the country that God has put in my life.

Remembering

2010-09-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

The day 9/11 is burned into our minds. It's the day the twin towers were attacked. I often forget that the Pentagon was attacked, but for those who worked there or who lost a friend or family member, I guarantee you they don't forget the Pentagon.

When I first moved to Pasadena, California in 2003 I quickly noticed that my new zip code was 91101, it was the same as the day of infamy.

It's now 9 years later and I can still remember exactly where I was when I first heard of the first plane flying into the twin towers. I was in my dorm room. I went to class and told my professor what had happened. He didn't believe me. He split us into small groups, left the room, heard the news for himself, and then sent us back to our dorms/apartments.

It was a day I think we'll all remember.

We all have stories from that day.

We all have days, not just on 9/11, but throughout the calendar year that we remember. Some happy, some sad, some that we'd rather forget that we remember, some with regrets, some filled with pride, and some that were so special that we can't put into words.

9/11 is one of those days for me that I will always remember, but not just because of the events that happened on during 2001. In 2004, while I was the Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Durham Academy, Katie McClary, the Junior Varsity Volleyball Coach, was struck by a bus while crossing the street. She was legally crossing the street in a crosswalk when a bus turned left and hit her.

The next few weeks were a blur as the two teams grieved the loss of a coach and a friend, and as I got ready to move from NC back to CA to start my second year of seminary.

It's easy to forget about 2004 in the midst of remembering 2001, but I am thankful that in the midst of such a tragic loss (Katie truly was an amazing person) that a lot of good has come out of her death. And so as I remember her this year, I want to remember the good things that have come as a result of her death.

In 2006 a bus operator for the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) received the first ever Katherine McClary Professional Operator of the Year Recognition Program Award Since Katie's accident MV Transportation has worked in partnership with McClary's family to ensure that all MV Transportation bus operators and employees across the country recognize and understand the importance of driver safety and pedestrian awareness.

Personally, I was forced to look at grief in a new way, both personally and professionally. I struggled with going back to California and leaving the teams with a few weeks left in the season. But in the end having to go back and face my grief on my own solidified my calling and forced me to understand what it means to turn to God in the midst of pain and hurt.

Katie is missed, but I am thankful that as I remember her I can remember the good times and be thankful for the good that has come in the last six years.

Blessings of the Week, September 8, 2010

2010-09-08T19:05:00.000-05:00

1: Seeing the inside of the new Cowboys Stadium:

Thanks to a friend who had some extra tickets to a preseason cowboys game, Michelle and I were able to go watch the Cowboys play (the practice squad mostly, but hey, it was still the Cowboys).

It was my first time in Cowboys Stadium, and all I can say is, WOW. After being at Rangers games all summer in the scorching heat, it was very weird to walk into an air conditioned football game. The stadium, nice, and totally over-whelming all at the same time. I doubt I will go to any regular season games, so it was great to experience the stadium!

2: The 37th Annual International Goat Cook-off:

Michelle and I have been running local 5Ks in order to get in shape. Well, we came across this one that would require a little bit of driving, but it seemed like too much fun to pass-up. It was a 5K in Brady, TX called the "Goat Gallup." It was given it's name because it is conjunction with the 37th Annual International Goat Cook-Off in Brady, TX. I've never had goat, and the whole event sounded like a ton of fun, so we decided to go.

The 5K was fun. The weather was cool and great, the people were friendly, the scenery was pretty, and we managed to get a pretty good understanding of Brady as we ran around.

Later that day, we went to the Goat Cook-off! We got a plate of goat!

My friend Jill drove in from Austin - great to spend the afternoon with her (all 3 of us decided Goat was pretty tasty).

The whole event was fun. This was the funniest part to me. It was a fundraiser, where they had flags for the 3 big Texas schools - Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Texas. You could pay to have another teams school flipped ($50), or to have your flagged raised, or another flagged lowered. And at one point I heard the announcer say that they would burn one of the flags is someone paid $1,000. We left before that point, so I don't know if that ever happened. There were five different rounds to this game. It was astounding the amount of money people were shelling out to have other flags raised.

Besides the random flag fundraiser, there were scores of vendors selling everything from jewelry to purses to food and everything else you could possibly imagine. There were games, carnival type activities, washer machine throwing contests, horse shoe throwing contests. It was quite the experience.

Had a TON of fun. Stayed for lunch, walked around for a bit, and then headed back.

3: FPCA Youth:

I love working with youth. I could list all the reasons why, but that would take up quite a bit of room. Maybe that will be it's own post later. This past Sunday, the youth helped lead worship. They shared stories of how God had transformed their lives. It was wonderful to hear from them. I am very thankful for each of them.

Just a few of the youth who shared.

4: The start of college football season:

Ok, you may be wondering what this picture has to do with college football - I went to watch the Texas Tech game with my friend Stacy and her youngest daughter was geared up for the game. There's something fun about football season. And it's not because Duke is stellar and I love cheering for a team that contends for a National Championship (though I am hoping for a winning season). It's because there are so many good teams, so many good games each week, and it's just fun!

5: The Dot Race:

I have become a Texas Rangers fan. It's probably because there wasn't a Major League team in NC. And while I did go to a few Dodgers games and Angels games, I never became a true Dodgers or Angels fan. But, I've had a ton of fun going to Rangers games this year. And in addition to having fun at the games, one of the most fun parts of the games happens in the 6th inning: the Dot Race. It's totally silly, the result of the dot race means nothing. But it's fun to pick a color and cheer for your favorite dot.

Blessings of the Week, August 24, 2010

2010-08-24T18:43:00.001-05:00

1: The end of 100 degree days (I hope):

We tied the 7th longest heat wave in North Texas history with 17 straight days of over 100 degree temperatures (and then there was only one day of reprieve before they started again). But after a 107 degree day on Monday, it looks like we are now out the 100s! I am looking forward to the cooler weather (I never thought 90s would seem cooler)!

2: Rangers:

It has been fun this summer to catch quite a few Rangers games. This past Monday we saw an almost no hitter (they gave up one hit in the 9th inning). But, regardless of where our seats have been, it's been fun to go watch a game and spend the evening with friends.

3: Robin Mark concert:

Robin Mark is a Christian artist from Ireland. You might be familiar with a few of his songs. One of the ones I know the best is These Are the Days of Elijah. I had actually never heard of Robin Mark, but two of my friends I know from Houston Presbyterian Cursillo were coming up to the DFW area for his concert and invited me to go with them. It was great to see them, and it ended up being a good concert, and actually just a good time of worship.

4: Last minute trip to Austin:

Last Friday I ended up going to Austin to take one of the FPCA students to UT. It was a last minute thing, but ended up being fun. I got to spend time with Kathryn, get to know her better, and see the UT campus. I stayed overnight t with my seminary friend Jill who works at a church in Austin. And despite the fact that we are only 3 hours away, I rarely see her. It was great to have a chance to catch up. And I even got to see Brian and Sharon Boles who met me in Austin for dinner. I hadn't seen them in a long time either, so it was great to catch up over dinner. I only took one picture the whole trip (was so busy I forgot to take pictures!), but did manage to take one.

5: Water-skiing!

One of the couples at church, Don and Brenda, have a boat. And they invited me and Michelle out to go water skiing with them one evening after work. I was a little nervous I wouldn't even get up since I think the last time I went water skiing was in 2003!

But, to my surprise I did get up!

And much more to my surprise, I quickly learned that I could drop a ski and stay up on one ski (I definitely couldn't get up on one though). Was great to get out on the water, enjoy the evening with friends, and try something I hadn't done in years!