Not Alone Series: Back In the Saddle Again

{Not that I didn't love Labor Day's three-day-weekend, but did missing Monday throw off anyone else's game? Whew! Sorry to be late, ladies!}

We are back! As we get back into the swing of things with NAS, what other ways can we be more involved at church or in our communities? Is there a parish ministry you have been wanting to help with or start up? What about that after school program for homeless kids? Has something been preventing you from getting involved? How do you think this will help you personally, spiritually, and emotionally?

First off, I am so excited that NAS is back! Ladies, I've missed you each week! The FB page is wonderful, but these prompts and the unity that comes from the weekly topics... mmmm, nothing like it! So glad we're all back!

The past year has seen some severe ups and downs to my church. LOTS of changes have been made, and while not all of them have been easy, they've all been for the better, I think. As it frequently happens, changes in structure resulted in changes of population. My church family has shrunk a bit, and while I'm still in community with people, the number of "legs on the ground" part of church ministry has dramatically decreased.

While I serve in the church's nursery, what I really want to do is continue to host Jesus Feminist Book Club meetings. We met twice over the summer {the first time was when my neighbor caught his car on fire}, and both times the conversation has been so, so rich and good. The atmosphere at my church is changing, and I want to continue to be a part of the change, both with Book Club and in other conversations.

The "supplement" church, my other church body, has several great ministry opportunities, and while I can't be as involved as I'd like {thank you, rush hour traffic}, I'm looking for ways to join with them. This church has a fantastic Post-College & Early Career group, and I'm excited to start participating as I'm able.

Outside of my church body, I'm volunteering every week at CareNet Pregnancy and Family Services. I love my center! The ladies who work/volunteer there are awesome. Our little community is fantastic.

This Sunday, I will start volunteering as a baby cuddler in the NICU. I'm really excited about this, because even though I started the training process in April, the NICU cuddling only started September 1st. I'm looking forward to serving families who are going through a rough time, and of course I'm excited to hold babies!

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Thanks for joining! Be sure to visit Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe for the link-up and for future prompts. 

Thursday = Volunteer Day

Some of you know this already, but in case you don't, here's the scoop.

On Thursdays, I volunteer at a crisis pregnancy clinic. So far I'm still in training, but it's still one of my favorite parts of the week. The atmosphere in the clinic is so peaceful and welcoming; each time I arrive I think of the hours and hours of prayer and preparation that went into opening this new-to-the-area clinic. The grounds have been soaked in prayers of preparation, and it is evident even in the parking lot.

Last week, I got to shadow the director with a client for the very first time. It was a surreal experience for me, partly because I've been volunteering since April and hadn't seen a client yet, and partly because seeing a client is what I've been praying and preparing and training for since last September {I did my Care Net training before my internship in the Frozen Tundra}.

And it was also surreal because this was the first time I encountered someone facing a crisis pregnancy. We hear about these women all the time {or at least, I do because that's what I'm interested in}, but last week put a face to my prayers. This girl was not an example in my training manual; she was not even someone my director or fellow volunteers had met. This was a girl sitting on the couch a foot away from me, considering her options.

Because of privacy laws, I can't tell you more than that. But I can ask you for your prayers, for this girl and her situation as well as for me. I cannot fully describe to you how it is both intimidating and peaceful in the counseling room. There is pressure to say the right things, respond the right way, make your face look calm but involved, concerned but not freaked out, neutral but caring. But there is such peace, because Jesus is in the room too, and He is so, so faithful to prompt the right words and responses, and His heart shines out through our faces.

Psalm 27:13 ~ 

"I believe that 

I shall look upon

 the goodness of the Lord

 in the land of the living!" 

{ESV} 

Sunday's Ponderings

First of all, sorry for the one post last week. Sometimes two posts feels overwhelming, which is bad, because it shouldn't be. But it was a busy week, and we're going for flexibility, and if you have a problem with that, then you should probably find a different blog to read.

Yep, it's going to be one of those nights.

As you know, I'm looking for a condo or townhouse to buy so my bestie and I can feel like real grown-ups. I went to two open houses this weekend, and while there are some great places out there, so much depends on my budget, which right now is limiting.

So I'm contemplating ways to make some extra dough, and I'm also considering what my dad told me: people who are really successful do things that other people don't consider doing or aren't willing to do. He gave the example that the garbage man is usually the richest man in town because he does what no one else wants to do. So he encouraged me to find something that I'm passionate about and make that into my job. Do something that others won't do or aren't willing to do so that I can live in a way that others can't.

It makes sense. Dad bought a gas station when he was two years younger than I am. Dad is a risk-taker and a man of reason and faith, and he calls it like it is. He's very black and white. I am too, but probably not to the same degree. So I feel stuck, because I want to do something unusual and out there and something that I'm passionate about and that I can make a living off of and that I can pursue and all that, but I don't know what that something is.

I want to work more with people than with a computer.
I want to work with a purpose.
I want to use my gifts and talents that God has given me.
I want to do something that hopefully I could continue once I have kids.
I want to tangibly advance the Kingdom of God.

Any ideas?

Work

My BFF just posted her amazing and brilliant thoughts. Read her and then check out my response. This started as a comment, and then I realized that I was finally articulate what I was trying to say in the second half of this previous post, so please enjoy my fuller articulation here.

My thoughts tend towards "what am i actually accomplishing with my life? why am i going work doing something that i'm not very passionate about when i could be, oh i don't know, living in Africa feeding children, or volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center, or building relationships with people. "Work" seems so pointless when it just involves email!

But then I realize, this is why I'm in Business Leadership School right now- work has eternal value, God is a worker, and THIS place is my ministry! It doesn't feel like it right now when I have one co-worker who is a strong Christian, but it is, and it will be, and i know that God has great plans for me and they start HERE, in the office, in my inbox, in my heart.

I realized that there is was dualism in my heart, that I was separating in my mind the work done in a business and the work done blatantly and openly as a ministry. WRONG! God's ministry is wherever He has placed you, and how stupid of me for not recognizing my own feelings of frustrations and applying the teachings that I'm hearing. Duh, Bek!

So there. I think that I've said enough. What do you say?