Norah the Explorer

This past weekend was our Fall Break at Southwestern (it couldn't have come at a better time, btw). So, for break, Kyle and I and some of our friends went to visit Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. The trip was great -- Asbury is a wonderful community and place to be. Kyle and I are looking forward to going there (most likely) after summer. Anyways, one of my least favorite parts about road trips is driving. When I left for college, my parents invested in a GPS for me. I l-o-v-e my GPS. I call her Norah -- Norah the Explorer. Norah and I have been many places together. From Chicago to Dallas to Kentucky, Norah is my girl. Over time, I have gotten to know her and I have learned her tricks. I hope these are helpful to you.

1. Norah is a genius, she remembers all of our trips and can ultimately take me back to that Forever 21 in Dallas if I just look in my "Recently found" category.

2. Norah tells me the actual speed I am going and seems to one-up by odometer often.

3. Norah does not respond well to road construction and detours --in this case, you MUST follow the actual detour, not her. I know, she's so sneaky.

4. When Norah tells you to "keep left" what she actually means is "don't go right." You don't have to go over to the farthest left lane, she just doesn't want you to go right. This is one of the best tips I could give when GPS-ing.

5. Norah is a good sport, she doesn't care how many times you yell "Shut up!" at her -- she never gets mad or raises her voice.

6. With that said, she also will not shut up. So if you want her to be quiet while you are disobeying her, you must turn her off.

7. Turn her off to keep your own sanity. No worries, she will come back on.

8. Norah's greatest companion is Google maps.

9. Norah can sometimes be stuck her ways. If you don't update her, don't expect her to have the latest map knowledge.

10. Norah can avoid toll roads if you want her to, but a forewarning, you probably don't want her to.

11. Norah will predict every step of your whole trip before you even begin. Look through her itinerary before you leave or she might pull a fast one on you.

12. Sometimes it's best to only reveal parts of your trip to her at a time. Break your trips into 1/3's. "Hey, Norah, we are going to Kansas City first, not Joplin." It keeps her on her toes.

13. Just because Norah says that you are going to get there at 11:18 doesn't mean that you will actually get there at that time. There is no need in submitting your schedule to hers. Show her who is boss.

Now that you've gotten to know Norah a little better, I hope your GPS life becomes a little bit easier. 3 Cheers for Norah.

Gobs of Jobs

Today the world has lost an excellent business man and a creative thinker. If you haven't heard by now, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, passed away. Even in his death, this man is trending on Twitter and is already a pre-search option on Google. As one tweeter put it, he is "the 'apple' of everyone's technological eye." As I was sitting here watching Twitter blow up with over 40 new tweets about Steve Jobs every 30 seconds, I got to thinking. Seriously -- what a loss our world is experiencing. The co-founder of Apple a.k.a. - MacBooks, Ipods, Ipads, Iphones is dead. But, he leaves with a legacy. Everyone one Twitter is #Isad.

I only have one desire, one hope. Steve Jobs, you better have trained leaders up to take your place. What good is our creative thinking and ingenuity if those who follow us cannot function after we are gone? We need gobs of Jobs. We need our followers to become as great of leaders. And, as leaders, that should be our number one priority while we are here, doing our day-to-day.

It Started with Matilda

Currently I am sitting, proctoring a test at Southwestern College. It's a statistics test -- Lord knows I abhor math. However, there is something about getting to be a teacher that intrigues me. All my life I wanted to be a teacher. It started with the movie, Matilda, when I was seven. I came to college with the idea that I would be majoring in elementary education. I wanted to be an awesome elementary teacher! However, when I felt the call to ministry, I switched my major and have been a Philosophy and Religion major ever since. Now, I am planning on going to seminary in the fall of 2012. Whoa, things have changed a bit. However, I still really want to be a teacher. Campus ministry feels like my calling right now (and I am sure that will develop more as I go along) but do I ever want to be a professor! I have had, what I like to call, the "professor thought" many times. I would love to teach practical ministry classes at a college. I have even thought these through:

Imagine this: REL 242: Worship Arts and Design. In this class, we would talk about worship planning and would do some hands-on Art and worship design (from altars, to power point backgrounds, etc.). Or, imagine this: Rel 321: Shaping your Christian Beliefs. Because this is a 300 level course, some philosophy, theology and other courses would be required prior to this. However, I would love to lead students through shaping their beliefs, section by section and have them develop a creed throughout the class.

So what's the hold up? Ph.D. Oh man. My fiance/soon-to-be hubby would love that! School for the rest of my life.

Dr. Molly Komlofske-Just. It could be cool. Ahhh the dreamy thoughts Matilda causes. I have had some GREAT teachers and professors. I want to be one of those...

A Bieber Impression

Yes, I will get it out on the table right now, Justin Bieber impressed me. I became a Bieber fan last year during PT – my kids at Walnut Hill LOVED him. We listened to him during arts and crafts, made up dances to his songs, quoted his songs at lunch, sang them again at recess, etc. Like any teeny bopper pop star, he was all over, and I was ok with that. This summer, a month or so ago, I heard his song “Pray.” The chorus quotes, “I close my eyes, and I can see a better day, I close my eyes and pray.” You can google the whole song, if the Bieber fan inside you is itching. However, on with the story – the other day, I was at Elmwood, in arts and crafts with the kids, and we were listening to music. Our high school seek and serve, Emily, made a play list for the kids, and on the list was the song “Pray.” As the kids were sitting there, innocently making their arts and crafts and singing along, I was thrust into a much more deeper moment. Watching them in that moment, experiencing innocent joy, I realized that PT helps many of them close their eyes and see better days. Some of our kids come from hard backgrounds, and PT is a safe place for them to come. Others have great home lives and come to PT to learn and dream. I really cherish both circumstances and acknowledge that I am around them. Children really are powerful people – no matter where they are in their lives, they can close their eyes to see better things. I have been blessed to be a part of that for the last two summers.

At our family fun night last Thursday, I was talking with one of our fifth graders, Nahomi. She was telling me how most of the time she is really joyful, but lately she had been crying because she knows that PT is going to end soon. We were carrying on a long conversation about the summer and all things PT when I decided to ask her what she would like to be when she grew up. So, I asked the question, she thought diligently for a few moments and her eyes lit up as she said, “I want to be a PT intern, just like you!”

Ahh, I close my eyes and see better days. Better things – when Nahomi is an intern at Project Transformation. This is really what it's about, ya?

A Royal Affair

Last week at Project Transformation, international week was a hit! I think our kids really enjoyed all of the activities. They did so many things -- they went on a virtual gondola ride when we studied Italy and got to make some garlic bread. When we studied Egypt, they learned about mummies and made their own headdresses. When we studied Japan they made their own watercolors, learned how to write some words in Japanese, learned about Japanese table etiquette and ate some peanut butter and jelly "sushi," and they also made origami. Then, on Thursday, the buzz was all about the Royal Wedding! The kids were so excited and so many of them came dressed up for the affair, or brought dresses and suits to wear! Throughout the week, the girls worked on fascinators during recess and the boys made bow ties. Thursday brought all of their efforts and excitement together. Some of the elementary girls and boys were flower girls and ring bearers and some of the youth were bridesmaids, groomsmen and ushers. PT staff and alumni even dropped by for awhile. We had so much fun! Check out the pictures from Elmwood's royal affair this past week and enjoy! *Please know I wish I could include pictures of the kids -- but due to safety and PT policy I cannot. But, trust me, they were adorable!*

Elmwood turned Abbey?

Time has flown by this summer at Project Transformation (as always), but I feel as if this year has been even faster than last year! God has blessed me with a wonderful, cooperative and fun-loving team and a wonderful site-coordinator this summer at Elmwood, the site I am serving with. I can't believe we are currently on week 6 out of 8. Have you ever watched a bathtub drain? Then, towards the end, the tornado/vortex looking thing starts spiraling around? I feel like I am about to head into that vortex...time is really draining fast! It's crazy, fun, happy and sad all at the same time. Nevertheless, time ticks.

These past few weeks at Elmwood, we have talked about many different things. We've had a superhero week, neighborhood week, space week, medieval week, girls/boys week, and this week we have gone international! We are studying different, select countries from around the world. Monday, we took a look at Italy, today we talked about Egypt, tomorrow we are hitting up Japan and Thursday, yes, Thursday...we are headed to England! When planning for England, we decided to be pioneer our way through PT history and do something that no site has ever done before -- we are throwing a royal wedding! It will be complete with flowers, British flags, accents, fancy hats, dressed up children, and even Prince William, Princess Kate, Pippa, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and many others. Now isn't that the perfect cup of tea? Enjoy the inspirational picture for now and look back in a few days for pictures from Elmwood's Royal Wedding, which will take place at.....Elmwood Abbey, duh!

Chills

I was at the Village church this morning in Dallas and one of the pastors said something really profound. He said, "We are all called to a ministry of presence." It was not something that was the climax of his talk or sermon. He was actually just making announcements and was talking about helping one of their partner churches in Sudan. Partaking in the "ministry of presence" was something he actually mentioned in passing. It was so natural, so good, and it stopped me in my tracks.

We are called to be present. In all things. How many days do I wish would pass by quicker? Alot. I am doing Project Transformation again this summer and I don't know how many times during training week I wished I would have had a clicker with a fast-forward button. But whoa, people need us to be present. The children I work with every day need all of me to be present -- body, mind, spirit, soul.

I can be in ministry, just by being fully present. Mmm, it gives me chills.