On Monday, we had an AWESOME time helping out at Impact Day! Twenty “learners” or students as we call them came from each school for a day-long conference (so about 250 kids total!). The conference’s theme is Integrity and the kids will come to another session in May. This time the talk was focused on Honesty. As interns, we were able to help develop group activities as well as group discussion questions. In between sessions, we each led a small group of about 10 students. I loved getting to interact with these next generation leaders and hearing their thoughts! The kids were great and I’m so excited that they were able to take a day to spend time learning about such an important character trait. I felt a little at home in the “event planning” area too. I love seeing everything come together and that deep breath after everyone is seated and everything is going well!
As of 8:32 a.m., I officially signed and faxed my commitment letters. Well, to be more accurate, I signed them last night, but you get the picture. Commitment letters for what, you say? Well, the big news that I have been blogging about and Twittering about is finally official, finally happening. I’m going to South Africa for a year from January 19th to December 6th. I will be participating in the 1-Year Internship program through Thrive Africa. I praise God for all of the ways that He has been at work already in allowing this opportunity to come about and how He will continue to be with me through the preparation and the following year. I have a lot to prepare! But, I am pumped! More than anything, I am excited to see God through this process. My head swirls with all sorts of details and thoughts, but ever since this morning I wanted to blog about this! There you have it. The big news. More to come as I continue to prepare and process and get there. For now, please pray for my family as they adjust to this drastic change, pray for me as I prepare and as I raise money and get all the details together.
Snapshot of some of the things I’ll get to do this next year:
I wanted to let you all know that the interview this morning went REALLY well and I am so thankful for all the prayers and thoughts. I’ll know more details in a couple of days, but I anticipate some exciting and “rock my world” kind of announcements soon!
Nothing…had my biking clothes on but went to target and cleaned house with the roomies instead. We organized the entire kitchen and finally talked about things. Yay for roomies!! 🙂
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Ran/walk: 25 minutes
Good intentions again, but I was busy running around to church, bbq, church plant, and setting up wireless internet finally!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Run/walk: 25 minutes
Biggest Loser Power Sculpt Week 1/2
Biking: 7.2 miles at 30:56 minutes
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Biggest Loser Cardio Max Week 1/2
Rollerblading…about an hour and 10 minutes? maybe something around there.
–Yay for friends who rollerblade and sweet new trails. I will say I am finding the whole continuing to do Biggest Loser and doing all the other things I love hard–too time consuming–hence why I did week 1/2.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Biggest Loser Power Sculpt: Week 2/3
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Bike: 4 miles…
Decided to take the day off working out due to the little “car accident” on the bike.
Friday, June 13, 2008
40 minutes of Baron Baptiste’s Power Vinyasa Yoga
Thoughts: Interesting week and I’ve realized that I don’t like having to try to do all of the Biggest Loser Workouts and all the other fun things I like such as biking, running, kayaking, ect. Too much and I don’t want to be inside when it’s nice outside. I would rather supplement my workouts with Biggest Loser on rainy days or at night. So, we’re scrapping that and focusing in on the triathlon and the pants. So this next week will be all about the running, biking, and eating well.
Also, I would like to say thank you for all the comments and encouragement! I love it! I like reading other Ragamuffintop stories too so keep yours coming and keep working toward your goal 🙂
If you haven’t joined in, now is a great time–go here to look at other bloggers and get some inspiration!
p.s. Like how my computer is reflected in my sunglasses in the video? Yeah…I like my macbook!
I want to go on a motorcycle ride really bad. This is totally unlike me. I’m normally very against motorcycles and reiterate how dangerous they can be, but lately they look like fun… I think maybe Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (=awesome book) finally sank into my head.
Along with that thought….you make my heart go bang bang boom! Name that ridiculous song 🙂 (boom rhymes with zoom…that’s all I got)
Those two thoughts are completely unrelated, but that’s kind of how things seem in my life lately.
Wow, I feel like my head has been turned upside down and is ready to burst with all the thoughts I have running through it. Thank-you Carrie. Yikes. I have so many blog topics that I want to run with and embrace but now I’m overwhelmed to the point where I don’t know how to pick! So, I’m going to give you a snapshot and then decide later (aka tomorrow or later this week) which topics I want to pursue further with the written word 😉
Me: “How do I live a life with purpose, with meaning, with passion? Does this mean that I have to change jobs? What if I have to move? Will I give up the comforts I’ve embraced to chase after Jesus? Wait a minute…do I even know how to follow Him, yet alone where He’s leading me!?”
“Big ideas…am I thinking too small?”
“Am I an F or a T? Who knows…but personality types sure are interesting”
“I love the deep, searching talks yet so often I leave wondering where to begin and what I need to do. I want to change so many things and figure out things, but…”
“Alright, life…what are we waiting for? I don’t want to live in a ‘when this happens’ life begins kind of state. I want to live life now and embrace my current situation-the good, the bad, all of it. Help me let go of the ‘when I get married or when I have money’ ideas.”
“I’m waiting for someone with passion. I’m not settling.”
“I screwed up. I’m sorry. I sinned and now what am I going to do about it?”
“I got hurt. So what? Jesus was betrayed–he didn’t throw a pity party so neither should I.”
If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll have noticed that I love baking especially for other people or for events. Due to this love, I’ve discovered the world of food blogs. So exciting. The only problem is that I tend to veer toward the desserts and be less ecstatic about the real meals. The real meal recipes are those that I really need! Since I usually go to a coffee shop on Mondays before going to my ceramics class, I’ve decided to start a little series of recipe posts on Mondays. I’ll feature a recipe and the source and any thoughts. Maybe in the future I’ll plan ahead and take pictures of the recipes I try! These posts might seep into the other days too, but for sure on Mondays!
2 tbsp. peanut butter (preferably smooth)
2 slices sandwich bread
1 small ripe banana, mashed with a fork (about 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp. butter
1. Spread peanut butter evenly on 1 slice of bread, then spread mashed banana on other slice, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge. Close sandwich, gently pressing bread slices together.
2. Heat butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then fry sandwich, turning over once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes total.
3. Eat immediately with a knife and fork
–I don’t think you’d have to put the sandwich in a skillet. You could probably toast the bread just as easily 🙂 I’m excited to try this soon because I love bananas and peanut and I love them together and well I’m a bread junkie too!
I love when other blogs discuss things that I have been thinking about recently. Seth Godin hit on two of my thoughts today. He blogged about blogging audiences and whether he is blogging to the “first-timer” or the “regular.” Go check it out!
His second blog discussed how too often we expect things to be “given” rather than us taking initiative to “take.” I find this to be especially true in school settings. Often, students expect teachers to “give” the information rather than students “taking” and going after the best they can get. Taking responsibility and initiative rather than waiting for a boss or teacher to give these things.
I want to be a “taker”! I want to strive to do more, serve more, learn more, and not be complacent in life! For sure, there are times to wait and there are times to go. I just don’t want to be immobilized by an assumption that people are obligated to “give” me things and that I need to wait for them to before pursuing and striving to “take.”
I like writing and expressing myself through words.
I love having a written record of events, thoughts and random things even if I only look back on it once or never do.
I enjoy seeing how many people visit my blog and sometimes leave comments
I hope that my words sometimes encourage, provide hope, invoke thinking, provide insight, are “real” and relatable to the people that read my blog
I like reading some blogs myself and I have been impacted by their words–even if I’m only a “lurker” and don’t always comment
Cons
I don’t know my audience
I don’t know how to engage authentic, open discussion and comments without knowing my audience
I’m not sure if blogging is a wise use of my time
Sometimes I look at the “stats” too often or want more comments…then I wonder why am I blogging.
EDIT: I realized that these two thoughts were not supposed to really flow together. I meant this more of a “I don’t want to blog for the stats. I want to blog for other reasons. I want to have reasons for why I am blogging.” I did NOT intend it to come across as “If I don’t get high enough stats then why am I even blogging.” Not sure if this is any clearer, but oh well.
I don’t really have a “purpose” to blog or a theme
The closest I have to a purpose is the hope that someone, somewhere might be positively affected by my words
I see value in the personal, honest posts yet I don’t want my blog to be a place to “vent” or “gossip” or anything related
I fear that I may have hurt or will hurt others who read my blog with my words–I don’t want to have a hidden agenda or use this space in an unkind way
b'ahava 