Thankful Thursday: August 16th

Another week with much to be thankful for! Here’s this weeks top 5:

1. Ministry Partners. I am humbled and amazed at the faithful encouragement, prayer, generosity and love that comes from the group of people I get to do ministry with! So thankful for each one, and the beautiful joy they are in my life!

2. Co-workers. Love the people in the regional office. It has been a privilege and a blessing to work together with them the past 2.5 years! They are so fun, genuine, lovable, fantastic and gracious. If you are called to work at an office, I suggest working at this one. It’s pretty great, and I am going to miss all of these people a lot.

Great Lakes Regional Office co-workers! Love all of you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Practical Jokes. I pulled one off today on Greg, one of the guys at my office. It went better than I could have dreamed. Perfect way to end my last day working here. All I will say is that it involved all of my old prosthetic eyes, a jewelry box, and a note to let him know I would be keeping my “eye” on him after I leave. Epic. #winning!

4. Wendy’s. My fridge is getting woefully empty (which is good), and I was so tired tonight after packing and spackling and working. Thankful for close, delicious, not-good-for-you food. And time with Jenni. Love.

5. Family Vacation!! Heading home tomorrow and then down to Charleston for the week. So. Excited. Favorite city in the US, here I come! And time with the family for a whole week is a pretty sweet deal on top of that. Fantastic!

Thankful Thursday: August 9th

So much to be thankful for today! But, the top 5, in no particular order, are:

1. 5 years on staff with Cru! A certificate of appreciation came in the mail the other day, and although hard to believe it has been 5 years already, I am so thankful for each one of them. The Lord has grown and sanctified me so much through being on staff with this organization, and I love being a part of it. As my time with Cru comes to a close, I am thankful for the joys, the trials and the amazing experience this has been.

5 years on staff with Cru!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. My dad! Today is his birthday, and I am so thankful for him! He is my hero, and I love him. He models so well for me and others what it looks like to love the Lord first, to lead our family well, to love others, to sacrifice his time, and is one of the most supportive and encouraging people I know. Happy Birthday dad!

3. Craig’s List. As I am downsizing my apartment and getting rid of many, many things, this site has been so helpful! Love how easy it is to use.

4. Cortland. He’s my hairdresser, and he is awesome. I’m thankful for him as I go today for my final haircut before moving!

5. Winston. He’s my car, and I am thankful to have a reliable, safe, fun vehicle to get me to various points. We’ve had many an adventure together, and at over 130,000 miles, he is still going strong!

In Berlin

We made it! Our team arrived in Berlin on Wednesday morning at 9:30am. No lost people, luggage or time – we made all of our flights, even with only having 20 minutes in Frankfurt to go through Passport control and get to our new gate. Our first few days have been filled with lots of time getting to know the city and the history of Berlin. On Wednesday afternoon (in hopes of keeping everyone awake all day to help adjust to our new time zone), small groups set out on an Amazing Race – Berlin style. The groups were tasked with learning the transportation system and finding some of the major landmarks of the city. Each group did the race in record time, and for the most part everyone managed to stay awake!

We have been learning a lot more about the German culture and history of the city, and the students are starting to get excited to start on campus on Monday. Today we visited the Freie University, and it was like coming home. Well, my whole experience has been like coming home. Everything is so familiar and comfortable, and in many ways it feels like I never left! Looking forward to the summer, but for now bed is calling my name!! Thanks for your prayers!

I’m Famous!

Well, not really.

But, Doug and I were asked to join WIBC 93.1FM Radio here in Indy tomorrow from 2-2:30 to record a session for a program called “Spotlight Indianapolis”! We will be sharing about Campus Crusade for Christ, Conferences and Events, as well as our ministry in the Great Lakes region and on campuses in Indiana. We were sent a list of potential questions to be ready to answer, so we are prepping today and tomorrow morning!

The only bummer is that the show is set to air on Sunday morning…at 5:30. Yep, 5:30AM. So, we will be famous to the three people awake and on the road, and desperate for something to keep them awake.

We need to be appropriately funny, to keep that 5:30 am crowd awake and engaged, but not act like we are trying to hard. Haha. J/K.

But really, maybe one of them has never heard about Jesus, and this will be their opportunity to hear the gospel! Hooray! So, for that one potential person, it is worth it.

Pray that we speak well, and represent the organization rightly, and have fun in the process!

A Mid-Winter’s Night Tea

I survived a tea party wearing sweat pants.

You know me, I love all things tea. Tea parties? Totally my sweet spot. I love it all – the dainty cups, the pretty food, the tea, being 100% girly, wearing cute clothes, you name it.

Well, last Wednesday the Butler Cru girls did a tea party outreach, and each table was hosted by a different group. The Athletes in Action girls decided to host a table, which was awesomeeeee. They decided to make their table theme “athlete casual”, so all the table decor was paper/plastic, and the girls all wore sweats/comfy clothes. I was invited to join the fun, and had a delightful time. Even in my sweats. I love these women so much, and it was totally worth breaking out of my normal comfort zone to spend time with them!

For over half of the 95 ladies who attended, this was their first Cru event (including 4 ladies at our table!). The speaker did a great job sharing the gospel, and our prayer is that this will open many more conversations with the Cru women who invited them!

The AIA table...they did a great job color-coordinating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit blurry, but I enjoyed hanging out with these girls for the evening!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erika and Claire, two of the ladies involved in AIA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate covered Strawberries are essential to a tea party...and these were delicious!