Psalm 73

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.

They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.

This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth.

Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.

When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. 

(verses:1-5, 12-14, 16-17, and 23-28)

Waiting for Superman

One of my friends who will be TFA-ing beginning in the fall in Baton Rouge, LA sent me this video! Just a great reminder.

The corps members arrived today--650 new faces!  We're all really excited that they're finally here, after preparing (relentlessly) for the past 9 days, unpacking boxes, putting up perfectly placed signage, cutting out letters, arranging kits, etc.  We are interested to see how our world will be changed when you add all these new people.  We've had all of the 1300 residence hall to ourselves, the staff to ourselves, the dining hall to ourselves, and now... not so much, haha! Marquita, who is quite possibly one of my FAVORITE people ever, threatened to lock the doors to keep the CMs from coming in, but Lindsay, one of the awesome staff members, reminded M that we had done all this work FOR them, since the probability of any of us using the resource room (full of books, crafts, teacher tools, etc.) is slim, and plus then we'd have a whole ton of kids sitting alone in classrooms.  Oops.  I guess we need them. :)

(PS to all of my CM friends--I love you.  I promise.  And I am unbelievably pumped to meet all of the new CMs and watch them turn from mostly recent college grads to America's newest, most prepared teachers.)

We finally had some down time last night and after another stellar meal at the dining hall, most of the OC's went out in Philly.  We. had. a. blast!! It was probably one of the most interesting nights of my LIFE.  My roommates and three other OCs had stayed and gone to the dining hall while a group of about ten or so went to a Mexican restaraunt in another part of Philly.  The seven of us decided to take the subway from Temple Univ, where we're staying, to Cristina's apartment, which is near Penn's campus.  Easy, right? Um, no.

Unfortunately for you, that story will just have to wait.  I am absolutely, 100%, entirely exhausted, so I'm going to curl up with some Monsters, Inc., and go to sleeeeep.

happy day.

Institute by Numbers

I am absolutely, positively, 100% in LOVE with the other OC's (interns) and our OD's (bosses).  

Institute by numbers:

1.            19 interns

2.            9 Operations Directors

3.            7 million boxes unpacked, organized, and moved.

4.            7,000 manilla folders distributed.

5.            10 SOM kits

6.            56 Core Member Adviser kits

7.            180 Core Member kits assembled and distributed

8.            400 post-its disappeared

9.            1 "social gathering"

10.        1 special lunch

11.        19 bamboo stalks

12.        80 hours of work

13.        1 free meal at Qdoba

14.        Too little sleep

15.        4 runs through Philly

16.        2 subway rides

17.        6 hours of dance parties

18.        8 days of laughing

Many more to come.

The Mighty Masai

Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising then to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors. “Kasserian ingera, “ one would always say to another. It means, “and how are the children?”

It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their children’s’ well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer. “All the children are well.” Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless are in place, that Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. “All the children are well” means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles of existence, even among a poor people, do not preclude proper caring for its young.

I wonder how it might affect our consciousness of our own children’s’ welfare if in our culture we took to greeting each other with this same daily question: “And how are the children?” I wonder if we heard that question and passed it along to each other a dozen times a day, if it would begin to make a difference in the reality of how children are thought of or cared for in this country?

I wonder if every adult among us, parent and non-parent alike, felt an equal weight for the daily care and protection of all the children in our town, in our state, in our country...I wonder if we could truly say without any hesitation, “the children are well, yes, all the children are well.”

What would it be like...if the President began every press conference, every public appearance, by answering the question, “And how are the children, Mr. President?” If every governor of every state had to answer the same question at every press conference: “And how are the children, Governor? Are they all well?” Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear their answers?

Written by Rev. Dr. Patrick T. O'Neill, Senior Minister of First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, Delaware. Written in 1991 as a sermon for the First Parish in Framingham, MA.

I'll admit it...

I'm probably the worst blogger EVER.  But I am having a wonderful time here at Institute, and loving Teach For America more and more as the days go by!  Just a few quick updates (more later, I promise!)

• For those of you who don't know, I'm working as an Operations Coordinator for Teach For America.  It's their intern position--this year, there are 19 Operations Coordinators, mostly rising college seniors, but a few rising sophomores and juniors.  It's really an incredible group of people and I've absolutely LOVED getting to know everyone.  We're responsible for making sure Institute runs smoothly--we've transformed the 1300 dorm of Temple University into Teach For America land.  From the ground up.  Literally, we've unpacked more boxes than I've ever seen in my LIFE! But it's been a lot of fun!
• Specifically, I'm the Supplies System Coordinator on the Office Operations team.  AKA, I'm in charge of ALLLLLL the supplies for Institute! I LOVE school supplies and I get to spend my day organizing them and passing them out. Besides a few missing gluesticks, it's been pretty good.  We're definitely moving all day, which is lots and lots of fun!
• Philly is great. Loooove it.

Alright, y'all, we're off to Wendy's for a late night snack, looove y'all!

Life Lessons by Regina Brett

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch!
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion.Today is special.
22. Over-prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

me.

Last year, I took two classes as part of a leadership certificate.  The first semester, our major project was a portfolio in which we explored every facet of our personality, our core being.  This included countless writing assignments, personality assessments, interviews with those closest to us, etc.  Mine ended up being 50+ pages long.  I LOVED writing this thing. 

This May, six months after finishing this project, I pulled out my book once again, and revisited many of the exercises.  I looked again at my core values, my personal statement, my vision.  While I don't think I've strayed from my values (although I have definitely made mistakes), I think don't always make decisions or begin the day with these values in mind.  As I think about where I want to go in life, the impression I want to make on those around me, I recognize again the importance of not only KNOWING my core values, but also keeping them in the forefront of my mind.

My Core Values

1.     Faith—believing wholeheartedly, against all odds, in God, His sovereignty, His love, and His plan for me.

2.     Love—looking for the best in people, finding the beauty in people, essentially 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 : “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

3.     Passion—you can’t live life half-way.  One of my favorite quotes is “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” (Howard Thurman).  Life is a gift and should be lived to the fullest.

4.     Joy—this is a value my mother instilled in me very early on.  It’s essentially the same paradigm/belief that you can’t always change your surroundings or your circumstances, but you can change how you look at them.  Instead of problems, I see opportunities to grow and learn.

5.     Integrity—firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values; to be true to oneself, to be real and not multisided

Holy Hilariousness

Y'all.  Puh-lease watch this and tell me you did not laugh out loud.  I laugh even thinking about it. Ha. Ha. Ha. (Told ya so...)




Also, just as a little PSA... it's almost 7pm.  It's still freaking 95 degrees here in Johns Creek.  Holy heatwave.

Diet Coke.

We are in a national state of emergency here.

I come home from ATH (aka the love of my life, keeper of my HEART) last night, open the fridge and we are OUT.  100% devoid of the elixir of life, joy, and all things good  DIET COKE.

We don't mess around in our house.  Seriously.  We have RULES about this magical liquid drink.  You MAY NOT, no matter who the heck you are or how important you think you might be to my mother (even her perfect, unbelievably wonderful first born daughter) take either of the last TWO Diet Cokes.  Consequences? Death.

My mother and I are probably about 80% Diet Coke.  Yes, I know, I am rotting my insides.  But ya know what, Dr. Oz? I.don't.really.care.that.much. (Or at least right now).  I run (a lot), (usually) eat healthy, AND I'M A VEGETARIAN (Plus 10 years!! Wooo!!) so I'm going to drink a few (or a lot) of Diet Cokes every. single. day.

First, let me tell you all of the many, many appropriate times for Diet Coke.

1.  That awkward time before dinner when you're absolutely starving and need something to save you before you turn into an ugly green monster but don't want to ruin your appetite or waste precious calories when you're about to go to a wonderful restaraunt.  Cure? Diet Coke.  My mother and I often split one ON THE WAY to the restaraunt so we can last.

2.  When you have a cold.  Seriously? I craveeee fountain diet coke from Chick fil A when I'm sick.  I would pay good money to anyone to drive me to Chick fil A when I have a fever/chills/stuffy nose to get Diet Coke.  It's worth it. Don't argue.

3.  After a long night.  Case in point? Saturday night I had a BLAST and stayed out entirely too late.  Thanks to jetlag, I still woke up at 7am, about three hours after I had fallen asleep.  Thanks to the 7 gallons of Diet Coke I drank, however, I wasn't tired.  AT ALL.  If that isn't magic, I don't know what is.

4. Before a long night.  Studying till 4am? Diet Coke.  About to celebrate a certain very important birthday complete with dance parties till 5am? Diet Coke.  Any questions? That's what I thought.

HOWEVER.  Not all diet-cola-drinks are made equal.  Here they are, in order of wonderfull-ness. Now, in an emergency (LIKE RIGHT NOW!) I will drink ANY of them.

1. Diet Coke with Lime.  Who thought of this? Pure genius.

2. Coke Zero

3. Coke Zero Cherry

4. Diet Coke

5. Diet Pepsi, and any of its alter-egos

6. Big-K Diet Cola

7. Big-K's version of Coke Zero

And, only in the state of TRUE EMERGENCY will I drink...

ANY SODA WITH SPLENDA.  I'm sorry.  I know we were trying to make it healthier, but for real.  This does NOT taste good.  Sorry.  Try again.

If you have any doubts as to the absolute IMPORTANCE of Diet Coke after this post, please feel free to reach out to me.  I'll be happy to show you the error of your ways. Or, if, seeing the importance of Diet Coke, you would like to save me from my Diet Coke-less state, please just come find me.  I'll be your BFF FOREVER!! kthanks.

UPDATE: I.FOUND.THE.DIET.COKE. It was hiding.  In the garage.  All is well again.

BOOKS!

So far this summer I have read...

The Friday Night Knitting Club
A NYTimes best-seller, it was good, but not quite as good as...


The Help
This book was INCREDIBLE.  Seriously, if you don't read it... I might not be your friend. Oops.


The Lost Symbol
Another great book--very fast paced, kept me interested the whole time.


Forgotten God
Still reading this one, but it's a great reminder of the Holy Spirit and the things He can do in our lives.  It's a great book to read/perspective to gain before doing something like going on a mission trip/volunteer trip or starting a new job or a new class or anything.


Love the One You're With
NERD ALERT: I actually listened to this one on CD while driving back and forth between Athens, and I LOVED it.  Emily Giffin has a great voice.  At first I really wasn't sure about it because the main character cheats on her husband, but it really does have a great message and you fall in love with the characters.


Winter Garden (In Progress...)
I'll let ya know! I chose this because I LOVED LOVED LOVED Firefly Lane--You've GOTTA read that if you haven't!

UPDATE:

I've also read...

Committed
This is by Elizabeth Gilmore, who wrote Eat, Pray, Love.  If you haven't read EPL, PLEASE read it. Now.  All women should read this and then subsequently become jealous of her ability to basically take a year off of real life to travel and ask all the questions we shove to the back of our minds right before we fall asleep because we're afraid of the answers.  Because we can't all do that, live vicariously through Liz.  You won't be disappointed, I promise.

Committed was good, too, but considering I'm not going to engaged/married/etc., I couldn't exactly connect.  BUT it did deal with a lot of life questions, like EPL, and was still good.  Read EPL, Firefly Lane, The Help, and of course, the TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE before you read this.