Monday, April 06, 2009
Sunday, April 05, 2009
upcoming adventures
in the midst of looking and listening for what God has next for me career-wise, he has provided me with the opportunities for a couple of adventures about which i'm very excited!
first up is my trip to london. it was something i'd planned for before i left ys, but the cool little God bit is that in addition to the 5 days in london is i'm going to stay on 5 more days to volunteer at an event called spring harvest. last fall i met a few lovely people from the uk who run a youth ministry event there-one in particular i've kept in touch with since then, wendy. she also runs spring harvest and i'm going to volunteer at the event in minehead (there is a simultaneous one in skegness) from the 14th to the 19th. i'm so curious to see and learn more about spring harvest and to experience the church in the uk a bit, plus i'm excited to see wendy again. i leave wednesday for london and spend 5 days there before going onto spring harvest. i can't wait!
the second adventure doesn't feel wholly real yet even tho i've booked a plane ticket and am working on it already. i've been asked to train youth workers in singapore alongside my friend dr. amy jacober. this is totally a God-thing. i'm so excited and honored to be asked to spend time working with & training this group of youth workers. this trip isn't until july, but i have lots to do for this.
both of these are adventures that i feel like i only have the time and space to do because i'm in transition. i'm curious to see what other adventures come my way as i continue the journey.
first up is my trip to london. it was something i'd planned for before i left ys, but the cool little God bit is that in addition to the 5 days in london is i'm going to stay on 5 more days to volunteer at an event called spring harvest. last fall i met a few lovely people from the uk who run a youth ministry event there-one in particular i've kept in touch with since then, wendy. she also runs spring harvest and i'm going to volunteer at the event in minehead (there is a simultaneous one in skegness) from the 14th to the 19th. i'm so curious to see and learn more about spring harvest and to experience the church in the uk a bit, plus i'm excited to see wendy again. i leave wednesday for london and spend 5 days there before going onto spring harvest. i can't wait!
the second adventure doesn't feel wholly real yet even tho i've booked a plane ticket and am working on it already. i've been asked to train youth workers in singapore alongside my friend dr. amy jacober. this is totally a God-thing. i'm so excited and honored to be asked to spend time working with & training this group of youth workers. this trip isn't until july, but i have lots to do for this.
both of these are adventures that i feel like i only have the time and space to do because i'm in transition. i'm curious to see what other adventures come my way as i continue the journey.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
list girl
i have always been a list girl. i always have several lists going at any given time. for example, currently going are:
- groceries
- ideas for my blog
- books to read
- errands
- movies to watch
- tasks for the godparents 50th anniversary celebration
- packing for trips to tulsa and london
- ideas for a couple of clients
- youth ministry ideas
- gift ideas for upcoming birthdays, holidays, etc
- and of course, the generic to do list
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
because after endings come beginnings
one month and one day ago, i was laid off from my job at ys along with 13 others. yesterday was officially my last day as a ys employee. it is the ending of a dream job that lasted nearly 9 years.
my time at ys has been amazing and such a gift in so many ways. i've met, worked with and become friends with a wonderful and slightly wacky group of people and have ended up with friendships that will continue long into the future. i've had the privilege of serving youth workers from all kinds and sizes of churches and have learned from and been blessed by the stories of so many. i've been able to work with youth ministry professors and students through the ys academic support network and had more fun and learned more from them than i would have ever imagined! i spent time with denominational youth ministry leaders and loved connecting with them just because of how much they wanted to encourage and equip youth workers. and then there are the dozens of youth workers who've volunteered at the conventions who've become friends and with whom so many memories have been created. (for some reason, the one that popped into my head was my fake birthday courtesy of scott riley & friends!)
of course there are all the ways i've grown professionally. for example, i can pack, label and shrink wrap a pallet. not a skill i had before going to ys. seriously tho, i can't begin to list or describe all i learned at ys. it's rather diverse. for example, in addition to the pallet packing, i leave with skills ranging from basic html programming and database management skills to the ability to create direct marketing strategies and direct art for ads and campaigns.
finally, i leave ys more confident, more comfortable in my own skin. and with a richer faith that is simultaneously more simple and more complex.
the ending of my season of life at ys is truly bittersweet. there is a part of me that is heartbroken. i have truly loved being able to serve with youth workers alongside an amazing team of people. i will deeply miss working with this team and serving youth workers on a daily basis. somehow though, alongside the sad, is the hope and excitement of what is about to begin. i'm starting to see some clues in some opportunities to do some freelance work by which i'm both excited and challenged and in an least one opportunity to do some speaking. all of the opportunities that have turned up so far were completely unexpected and totally show God's hand.
i used to tell people who would ask me about working ys that for most of us who worked there, it was a crazy God thing that we ended up there--something that was especially true for me. and so in this ending, i can't help but believe that God is in this too, just waiting to show me what else in my life is ready to begin.
my time at ys has been amazing and such a gift in so many ways. i've met, worked with and become friends with a wonderful and slightly wacky group of people and have ended up with friendships that will continue long into the future. i've had the privilege of serving youth workers from all kinds and sizes of churches and have learned from and been blessed by the stories of so many. i've been able to work with youth ministry professors and students through the ys academic support network and had more fun and learned more from them than i would have ever imagined! i spent time with denominational youth ministry leaders and loved connecting with them just because of how much they wanted to encourage and equip youth workers. and then there are the dozens of youth workers who've volunteered at the conventions who've become friends and with whom so many memories have been created. (for some reason, the one that popped into my head was my fake birthday courtesy of scott riley & friends!)
of course there are all the ways i've grown professionally. for example, i can pack, label and shrink wrap a pallet. not a skill i had before going to ys. seriously tho, i can't begin to list or describe all i learned at ys. it's rather diverse. for example, in addition to the pallet packing, i leave with skills ranging from basic html programming and database management skills to the ability to create direct marketing strategies and direct art for ads and campaigns.
finally, i leave ys more confident, more comfortable in my own skin. and with a richer faith that is simultaneously more simple and more complex.
the ending of my season of life at ys is truly bittersweet. there is a part of me that is heartbroken. i have truly loved being able to serve with youth workers alongside an amazing team of people. i will deeply miss working with this team and serving youth workers on a daily basis. somehow though, alongside the sad, is the hope and excitement of what is about to begin. i'm starting to see some clues in some opportunities to do some freelance work by which i'm both excited and challenged and in an least one opportunity to do some speaking. all of the opportunities that have turned up so far were completely unexpected and totally show God's hand.
i used to tell people who would ask me about working ys that for most of us who worked there, it was a crazy God thing that we ended up there--something that was especially true for me. and so in this ending, i can't help but believe that God is in this too, just waiting to show me what else in my life is ready to begin.
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