when i grow up...

careers/fields i've considered throughout the years:

• marine biologist
• health care
• journalism
• publishing
• teaching
• summer camp owner/director
• librarian

careers/fields that i have been told i would be good at by family, friends, bosses, and random strangers:

• nursing
• physician's assistant
• teaching
• lawyer
• counseling
• writer
• life coach
• psychologist
  
• student activities director
• dentist

oh goodness...

time has been passing swiftly by, bringing me all the more closer to the confusion that lies ahead for december. summer weather is quickly turning to fall and that is more than okay. fall has always been the time when resolutions seem most pertinent to me. i finally wrote some down and striving towards achieving those resolutions is giving me some sense of purpose.

days have been either too full or too empty recently, but sunday was pretty much the perfect way to celebrate the winding down of summer. the morning was spent co-tutoring book 1 for the junior youth followed by a cook-out with the community. hot dogs were roasted by the little ones and enjoyed in the comfort of the playground. we got just enough mosquito bites to make it feel like a southern summer day without it becoming unbearable. the afternoon was spent going door-to-door teaching as part of our cluster's 9th cycle of growth and a handful of my junior youth showed up.

victories have been plentiful, especially when viewed in the right light.

on feeling it...

it's always interesting to see how the same event plays itself out each year. to see what changes and what stays the same. how each year the format is the same and yet the feel is different. how each year the numbers have grown stronger until we have officially outgrown our usual conference center. watching new friendships made and old friendships strengthened.

i love tennessee. i love the people, the mountains. i love that for the last five years, tennessee has allowed me to meet some amazing people and to strengthen my friendships with them.

this year was different. i am grateful for the subtle, gentle reminders. i am grateful for finally seeing where i need to be come june. and i am grateful that i am finally starting to understand detachment.

my long weekend was spent teaching nine to eleven year olds about devotional gatherings. i think they taught me as much as i taught them. it was so heart-warming to see this group of 16 kids so eager to say prayer after prayer and to fall in love with their little quirks. sunday afternoon was the highlight of my weekend. watching them consult with one another to plan our evening presentation and then going outside to play and being attacked into a group hug. priceless.

i am thankful for sunday night: children's class presentations. a soul-stirring concert. dancing for hours without inhibitions in a crowded, sweaty room of beautiful spirits. gathering 40 youth in waffle house at 1 am. chatting till 3 am with three of my favorites.

i am making every effort to 'feel it' on a regular basis.