Ever since church camp a few years ago, I'll periodically think of the story in John 21 where Jesus reinstates Peter. We went over it in my camp small group one day, and before that I didn't really know it very well at all. It struck me as interesting, because I don't know of any other events or stories quite like it in the New Testament. Recently, I have come to understand verse 15 a little more personally, in that I feel convicted to literally do what it says: feed His lambs. The thought of people not getting to eat is awful to me, and I want to do everything I can to get people food. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to make this happen regularly though.
Recently I got the opportunity to help make food for two 8th grade girls from a Confirmation group I helped lead last semester who both recently had surgery. Now, neither one were in any danger of not eating, but it is a step in the right direction to care for those going through something rough. One of the girls injured her arm over spring break, but due to recent complications had to have the break re-fixed and start the healing process all over again. The other had surgery on her shoulder, and will have a long recovery. I complain every day with regularity, but I've come to realize that I am the most thankful and complaint-free when I work to help those who have something real to complain about! There is real joy in giving your time to God and serving Him through kindness to His children, and if I would spend more time on that and less time on me, then I'd be much happier and healthier!
With that in mind, I have been helping out at VBS this week in the evenings. I have been somewhat grumpy about it, because I didn't exactly have a choice to help or not, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it is a blessing. So many kids come who don't get regular attention or access to crafts and fun activities, and I get to help them have at least one really fun week this summer!
One very neat project we are doing at VBS is making origami cranes to send to Japan. Each crane represents one prayer, and our church is trying to make and send 1,000 cranes. I was told that many years ago, a church in Japan sent our church 1,000 cranes (and prayers) after some sort of catastrophe or natural disaster, and now we are sending them 1,000 cranes (and prayers) in response to the earthquake. I love that the body of Christ is so connected that we can make something as simple as paper cranes with a group of children from around our city and make a difference halfway across the globe!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
'Cause I'm busy! Busy! Terribly busy! You've no idea what I have to do!'
Ugh, so much to do and not enough time to do it! I've been trying not to think too much about everything that has to be done before I move out because if I do, I might just get over-stressed and quit trying. So I made a list of what had to happen, and it looked ok. Then I remembered everything I forgot to write down :P
Currently we are trying to clean out half our house, literally, and have a giant garage sale this weekend. This entails going through all my clothes, books, arts and craft supplies, and closet! The closet and clothes weren't too terrible, actually, but everything else is going to be no fun. I am a pack rat. A crafty pack rat. As such, I do not like to clean out, ever. What if I need something a little ways down the road and then find out it was sold at a garage sale for $0.25?! It is kinda fun, though, to see how many faces I can get my Dad to make by telling him I'm going to keep something ridiculous ;)
Dad did let me go through all the old hardware and screws and such that he was throwing away and I found some pretty cool stuff to use in my jewelry. Hopefully I can make some neat pieces from it!
College is closing in fast, and now I have to try to find a job :/ it's strange, I've worked more hours than most people my age, and yet I've never had to apply for a job, they've all just been given to me on a silver platter! Which means I have no experience with resume's or interviews, so I'm not sure how well this is all gonna go down. I don't even have any workstudy allotted, so it is gonna be decently difficult for me to find a good job.
On a random note, this spring I entered the duck tape Stuck at Prom scholarship contest, which is a contest for the best duck tape prom outfits for a couple. My 'date' and I didn't win, but I did just find out that we got honorable mention for my jewelry! The prize came in the mail today: 23 rolls of duck tape and a plush duck toy! Now if only I know someone who could come up with what to do with all that tape...
Currently we are trying to clean out half our house, literally, and have a giant garage sale this weekend. This entails going through all my clothes, books, arts and craft supplies, and closet! The closet and clothes weren't too terrible, actually, but everything else is going to be no fun. I am a pack rat. A crafty pack rat. As such, I do not like to clean out, ever. What if I need something a little ways down the road and then find out it was sold at a garage sale for $0.25?! It is kinda fun, though, to see how many faces I can get my Dad to make by telling him I'm going to keep something ridiculous ;)
Dad did let me go through all the old hardware and screws and such that he was throwing away and I found some pretty cool stuff to use in my jewelry. Hopefully I can make some neat pieces from it!
College is closing in fast, and now I have to try to find a job :/ it's strange, I've worked more hours than most people my age, and yet I've never had to apply for a job, they've all just been given to me on a silver platter! Which means I have no experience with resume's or interviews, so I'm not sure how well this is all gonna go down. I don't even have any workstudy allotted, so it is gonna be decently difficult for me to find a good job.
On a random note, this spring I entered the duck tape Stuck at Prom scholarship contest, which is a contest for the best duck tape prom outfits for a couple. My 'date' and I didn't win, but I did just find out that we got honorable mention for my jewelry! The prize came in the mail today: 23 rolls of duck tape and a plush duck toy! Now if only I know someone who could come up with what to do with all that tape...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Why I don't bike as often as I should
As you might know if you creeped on my profile, I like to bike for exercise. Keep in mind that I bike around my neighborhood. Now, when I go for a ride, there are good things, such as exploring the neighborhood and being outside, and there are bad things, such as gravel and stop signs. But there are 3 things I dislike especially.
1. Cars
Now, one might think to themselves that unless you ride on main roads, cars should be going slow enough and infrequent enough to not cause much trouble. Well one would think wrong. Whenever one attempts to go for a ride, all of a sudden, everyone is coming or going, as if they were waiting for you to start before they went anywhere! In addition, Cars think they own the road, and drive so as to let you know that you are in their way and you need to move your slow-pokey self off the road so they can start speeding again.
2. Hills
I realize that the point of biking is to get exercise, which requires work and sweat and possibly a little pain, all of which a hill will induce. Now, if I go for a ride sans any major hills, I can get good exercise and go for quite some time before I feel like I must head home for fear of collapsing and dehydration. But when I go for a ride and decide to ride up a hill of much consequence, that feeling sets in about halfway up. And by the time I reach the top, I sort of feel like dying a little.
3. Dogs
I am not an animal hater. In fact, I rather enjoy dogs and cats and almost anything else you keep as a pet. But not rabbits, they make me sneeze. However, I do not appreciate riding past a house and getting chased by a loud, furry, angry ball of terror that seems to think it owns the street and can therefore bite your feet off for daring to ride by!
Now, I realize that there are also wonderful things about bike rides, such as sprinklers. There is nothing better than riding through a big spray of water on a hot, dry day. And people watching; I love trying to figure out what they think of that strange, pale-skinned, fluffy-haired girl on the bike two sizes two small for her. Actually, I got a 'new' bike that fits me, so that doesn't really play a role in what they think of me anymore.
I also realize that all of these problems could be fixed if I would bike at a park or on a bike path, but that takes at least an extra 30-40 min to load everything up and drive there and back, and who has time for that?! Not to mention that there is a severe lack of sprinklers on bike paths.
1. Cars
Now, one might think to themselves that unless you ride on main roads, cars should be going slow enough and infrequent enough to not cause much trouble. Well one would think wrong. Whenever one attempts to go for a ride, all of a sudden, everyone is coming or going, as if they were waiting for you to start before they went anywhere! In addition, Cars think they own the road, and drive so as to let you know that you are in their way and you need to move your slow-pokey self off the road so they can start speeding again.
2. Hills
I realize that the point of biking is to get exercise, which requires work and sweat and possibly a little pain, all of which a hill will induce. Now, if I go for a ride sans any major hills, I can get good exercise and go for quite some time before I feel like I must head home for fear of collapsing and dehydration. But when I go for a ride and decide to ride up a hill of much consequence, that feeling sets in about halfway up. And by the time I reach the top, I sort of feel like dying a little.
3. Dogs
I am not an animal hater. In fact, I rather enjoy dogs and cats and almost anything else you keep as a pet. But not rabbits, they make me sneeze. However, I do not appreciate riding past a house and getting chased by a loud, furry, angry ball of terror that seems to think it owns the street and can therefore bite your feet off for daring to ride by!
Now, I realize that there are also wonderful things about bike rides, such as sprinklers. There is nothing better than riding through a big spray of water on a hot, dry day. And people watching; I love trying to figure out what they think of that strange, pale-skinned, fluffy-haired girl on the bike two sizes two small for her. Actually, I got a 'new' bike that fits me, so that doesn't really play a role in what they think of me anymore.
I also realize that all of these problems could be fixed if I would bike at a park or on a bike path, but that takes at least an extra 30-40 min to load everything up and drive there and back, and who has time for that?! Not to mention that there is a severe lack of sprinklers on bike paths.
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