Leaving on a Jet Plane

I have completely neglected this poor blog over the last 10 days due to my intense preparation for my upcoming vacation.  I am off to the airport in the next 30 minutes to go to Glacier National Park.  I have my suitcase packed and my loose ends are tied.  Assuming that there is internet, you can expect to see a daily dump of beautiful pictures.  If there is no internet...Peace Out!

Preparing to be Amazed

Today, I had the day off.  It was so great!  We have been building up for one of the most important weekends in the history of our church.  As I head into the weekend, I feel so prepared knowing that I spent this day off accomplishing the little things that are necessary for normal functioning.

I got my oil changed, went to the bank, stopped at the post office, cleaned out my car, picked up some groceries, bought a few fall jackets (not necessary, but still fun), ate real/homemade food, cleaned, did laundry, read a little, laughed with my roommate, turned down babysitting in favor of a night in, watched a movie, painted my nails, prepped my teaching for the weekend, prayed boldly for God's hand in all that happens this weekend at all of our campuses, listened to worship music, enjoyed the sun, took a nap and talked on the phone.  

I feel so prepared for this weekend!  I cannot wait to experience all that God has in store for us as hundreds of people are walk through the doors of a high school in Woodbury into our FIFTH campus for the very first time, new families are welcomed to our campuses across the Twin Cities for the first time, precious Kid-Os experience their first time in a worship service created just for them, faithful volunteers experience God's faithfulness and lives are transformed.  This will be a weekend to remember.  I am preparing to be amazed.

23

Today is my 23rd birthday.  This past year has been the most memorable year of my life.  This year, I went from student to graduate, intern to employee, Hoosier to full-fledged Minnesotan, AND (in my opinion) half-adult to full-adult.

All of these things and the moments in between have shaped my heart, mind, goals and perspective.  I am not the same person that I was 365 days ago, and for that I am incredibly grateful. God has worked in my life in unimaginable ways over the last year and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

As I head into the next year, I am excited to see how God will continue to work in and through me.

Is this real life?

Tonight, my thoughts are simple. I love that I get to do what I love as my job. I am living the dream. I have an amazing boss, incredible co-workers and responsibilities that I am excited to tackle each day. I am so blessed and amazed that God has chosen to use me in this way. He is so good.

Unplug

I challenged myself to post on this blog daily, but half way through the challenge, I realized that unplugging from time to time is more important than the challenge.  I am fully intent on picking back up starting today, but this weekend I realized that the time that I spent "unplugged" was really great.  I strengthened relationships, regained some sanity, spent some time alone in nature, played with my new camera, talked on the phone, cleaned and organized and overall enjoyed the extra weekend day.  I have been busy enough over the last few weeks to build up a decent level of stress and a few days of being "unplugged" was just what I needed.  I now place a high value on finding a day to "unplug" every once in a while.

From My Kitchen...Lemon Blueberry Almond Cookies

I have decided that I will be occasionally posting some yummy recipes to share with you all.  This week, we have Lemon Blueberry Almond Cookies.  Enjoy!

They are twice as good as they look...and they look pretty good:)

Too Short.

Yesterday, I had a highly-anticipated haircut with my favorite Minnesotan stylist.  When I arrived, I was ready to have my locks trimmed and shaped into my typical style.  Because of the way that my hair grows, it gets thicker and heavier at the shoulder area which causes it to be the most annoying thing on the face of the earth when I am overdue for a trim.  It refuses to stay styled.  It flips out when it should be flipping in.  It gets strange bumps in strange places.  Overall, it gets to be a constant source of frustration.

So, walking into the salon yesterday, I was so ready for a wonderful trim.  Jen welcomed me, put my cape thing on and walked me over to the washing area.  She began washing my hair and mid-scalp massage, she had to go pick her sick daughter up from the babysitter.  I was left laying back in the chair with wet hair and no stylist.  So, one of her co-workers offered to finish my appointment.  I reluctantly accepted her offer considering I had driven 25 minutes and had soaking wet hair. 

It turns out that I had the most scissor-happy stylist in the salon.  She brushed it down, allowed me to talk through what I wanted, discussed my crazy part, etc.  Then, she clipped up the top and brushed out the back.  Then...snip snip.  I felt the cold scissors on my neck, and I instantly regretted accepting her offer to fill in for Jen.

With some patience, we were able to figure it out...but it is safe to say that the back of my hair is shorter than expected.  I have acutal hairs on my head that are less than an inch long.  Eek.  Luckily, they are all the way in the back.  I am quite certain that this haircut is only shocking to me.  You know how you can feel it even when you only get a 1/2 inch taken off?  Well, this is way more than that.

So, basically I ended up with an inverted haircut that is quite a bit longer in the front than the back.  I will have to learn to deal with it because I can't put the hair back.

Here are a few crappy iPhone front camera/Instagram pics of the new 'do.  Here's to shorter-than-expected hair!

A Day to Reflect- September 1st.

THIS IS MY 100th BLOG POST!  I feel like this is some sort of landmark in the blog-world.  I am excited to continue adding to this number in the months and years to come:)

In other news, I am feeling reflective and nostalgic today. One year ago today, I walked into the Eagle Brook office building for my first day as an intern.  I was so nervously excited that I was almost in shock.  I don't know what it was about that first day that really got me, but I felt like I was simultaneously out of my element and right where I belonged.  Such a strange feeling.  I left that first day with a level excitement and anticipation for the future that I had never experienced before.  I began friendships that I treasure.  I took a giant leap on the path that God has been preparing for me.  One year ago today, I was "Jamie, the Early Childhood Intern."  I loved my title. I loved my mentors.  I was absolutely convinced that I had the best internship known to man.  I was so excited for the journey that God had planned for me.

If only I had known how incredible the year would be.  I would have been overwhelmed with emotions.  I would have been filled with joy, excitement, anticipation, significance, independence, a hint of anxiety, stress, love, shock and wonder.  The last 365 days have been the most transformational days of my life.  Every single day brought a new lesson to be learned, new relationships to form, goals to accomplish, challenges to conquer and victories to be celebrated.

God has lead me from "Jamie, the Early Childhood Intern" to "Jamie, the temporary Elementary Program Developer" to "Jamie, Early Childhood Pastor."  He used every single step along the way to prepare me for the destination.  I could not be more excited to find out how He grows, develops, leads and prepares me in the coming year.  I look forward to looking back on this day next year.

September 1st will always have a special place in my heart.

Meow.

I want a cat.

Until I can get one, I will just have to admire the pictures that I recently took of my parents' cute kitties.

Jake--he is more photogenic (aka- dumb.  he holds still longer)  Also, his little face is just so precious.

Bailey is not a fan of the camera, but he is cute despite his fear.

Whoa.

In the last few weeks, I am really realizing that I am a full-fledged, legitimate adult.  It hit me for real when I submitted paperwork for enrollment in my retirement plan.  whoa.  I am still intimidated by the fact that I am an adult with a full-time job, health insurance, bills, student loan payments,  paid vacation (yay), a retirement plan and meetings.  Last time I checked, I was leaving for college.

Despite how intimidating this new reality might be, I am finding that I am loving every second.  Of all the things, I am finding that God gave me the best job ever!  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Minnesotan Love: White Bear Lake

I am slowly falling in love with this state that I call "home"

I have a new favorite part of the city...White Bear Lake.  Prepare to see a handful of posts as my time at White Bear Lake continues into the fall.  It is gorgeous place with a great walking path:)

Photo Bomb: Cutie Cousin Edition

I recently purchased a fancy-pants new camera and I am really enjoying getting familiar with it and learning more.  In my weekend trip to Indiana, I took the opportunity to have a photo shoot with my camera-loving cutie of a cousin...

This one is my absolute favorite!!!  Love this little girly so much:)

photoshop fun

Her face...the cuteness.

She kind of loves the camera.

Case and Point.

Toothless laughter:)

HAHAHA--this is what you get you ask her to open her eyes a little wider.  (I told her she looks like a howler monkey.  She agrees.)

The Downside

There are certain things about moving to a new city, starting a new job, making new friends and essentially starting a new life that can be categorized as the downside.  I could not be more happy and blessed to be where God has placed me, but I can tell you that it's not all roses and rainbows.

I now call Minnesota home.  I love it here.  I love my job. friends. church. I love the Cities. the weather (mostly). the lakes. the skylines. the surplus of Target stores. the people.  Minnesota is a wonderful place, but there is always the downside.

With Minnesota as my new home, the people that I love are hundreds of miles away.  When I am "home" I forfeit the opportunity to be there for family fun times, the toothless smiles on the first day of 3rd grade, the packing up of my childhood home, the search for a new house that will be the place I come to visit, hugs from friends, random trips to Asian nail salons, shopping sprees to Sam's Club for cat litter and Cheerios, watching kids become teenagers, snuggles with cute cats, porch sitting with my grandparents, late night Scrabble domination and the smell of dad's coffee in the morning.  I miss these things.

In every wonderful opportunity, there is a great deal of sacrifice.  I realized this last weekend that I am sacrificing the joy and experiences of being around the ones that I love.  I can't say that it is easy, but it is worth it.  God is working in amazing ways in Minnesota.  Even though my heart hurts to be missing out on the memories, He is using me in ways that I couldn't have ever imagined.  Knowing that there are people hundreds of miles away who love me and are proud of how God is using me makes it easier to hear stories on the phone and cherish the long weekends that I spend with them.

God has blessed me with an amazing job that I absolutely love--a job that is flexible and offers generous vacation time. And He has given an amazing boss who encourages me to take time to visit with the ones that I love.  God is providing a way to give me the best of both worlds.  He is so faithful.

Oops

I am really sucking at this blog thing lately.  Tomorrow, that will change.  Tomorrow, I will be back in action and committed to blogging every day for 2 weeks.  Challenging myself is the best way for me to consistently post.  I have also found, that reading old posts is a great thing for me.  It's kind of like an online journal.  So, tomorrow, I will be back!  and there will be pictures.  lots of pictures.

20 reasons why my new job is awesome

This poor blog has been neglected.  I have been too busy LOVING MY NEW JOB!  The last two weeks have been exhilarating and challenging. Sometimes, I feel like this life that I am living is just a dream.  Then, I realize that this is reality.  I am totally convinced that I have the best job in the world.  I can't tell you that this job is without stress, worry, heartbreak and overtime.  BUT, I can tell you that it is filled with these wonderful things:

1. hugs, high fives and smiles from hundreds of precious preschoolers.
2. an incredible boss
3. amazing co-workers
4. amazing volunteers
5. new friendships
6. FUN!
7. laughter.  lots of laughter.
8. bonding
9. learning
10. growing
11. lots of time in coffee shops
12. summer picnics with the most amazing volunteer leaders ever
13. stories of life-change
14. dreaming big
15. strategic thinking
16. spending time with God
17. reading books about how to lead well
18. prayer
19. moments at the grocery store when little kids whisper to their parents because they know that I am their pastor.  then turning strangers into familiar faces. (I feel famous sometimes)
20. seeing God equip and prepare me for things I never thought I would be able to do

So, in a nutshell...my job is awesome.

I Dabble in Photography

I recently bought a new Canon DSLR camera.  I love it.  

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take some pictures of my friend Rachel's beautiful creations.  Rachel has an Etsy shop where she sells gorgeous accessories and home decor items. 

You can find her Etsy shop here: TwoOtters on Etsy

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday afternoon--  You can find all of these products on her shop:)