since we last spoke

i embarked on a delightful little road trip with my guy and our dear friends caleb & ashley. it was mighty adventurous to say the least. a six hour drive in a almost hilariously tiny kia rio and a total of 24 hours of train rides made for various muscle cramps, spasms, and an array of body parts falling asleep. still, the view from the window and a constant intake of junk food maintained equilibrium until we finally made it to blissful bend, oregon. we were privileged to attend an utterly convicting and inspiring justice conference. we stayed with some of my favorite people, ate the most delicious food made with locally grown ingredients, drank kombucha, and made life-long memories. our trip came to a close with some valentines day bargain hunting and a last meal around the reynolds table with a classic game of 'freeze'.

only 70 days until i make that sweet little place my home.

also...

we made a pit stop in san fran, saw a banksy original gasp, ate at boudin, and walked about 45 blocks.

busy little bee.

that is what ive been for the past two weeks.

week number one consisted of me saying 'see ya later' to bend, oregon.

it was so incredibly bittersweet.

week number two, this past week, has been busy and full of blessings.

i flew home saturday, spent time with my favorite guy and family, shopped for some essentials on sunday, and moved back into my on-campus apartment on monday. holy moly. talk about rushed, but i wouldnt have had it any other way. training has been challenging but so fun. i LOVE love love my staff and cant wait to start this new school year.

also...

here is a parade of pictures from our internship farewell banquet at a swanky restaurant on the rooftop of a building downtown.

on my heart.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Psalm 139:23-24

my mind and my heart are full. the reality is, i have a lot to process through and with that comes the tendency to become anxious. i trust my God, and these next two weeks are going to require intentional time of being still & getting on my knees to pray.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Galatians 6:9-10

verse 9 has been something i've meditated on and kept close to my heart since last fall. it was encouragement and motivation through a time where i felt overwhelmed and weary. even though this season im in now is entirely different, i can still find rest in the promise of this scripture. these last two weeks of my internship i am choosing to really dig into verse 10. i am surrounded by incredible people who belong to the family of believers and with my big summer project done, what an awesome opportunity i have to put this into action.

also...

this is what i got to do on 'option day'

sparks lake. bend, oregon.

ten days later.

and ten days closer to being back in california.

i only have seventeen days left with the beautiful city of bend, oregon.

i have never experienced something that better epitomizes the word bittersweet.

i have fallen in love with bend: the people who know the true meaning of community, the church that has shown me what a functioning body of Christ looks like and inspired me to focus on and utilize my God given strengths to glorify my creator, and the incredible display of Gods creation that is everywhere. in my eyes, everything about this place is desirable. except, of course, for the fact that it is missing everything i love about california.

this may very well be the most difficult and trying change ive ever encountered in my twenty-one years of life. this is big and quite a large piece of my heart is here in bend, with these people, this church and this place. with the friends i've made, projects ive devoted myself to like [this], and adventures ive embarked on, how could i expect it to be any different.

i know the Lord has a plan for my life, and it is far greater than i could even hope or imagine for myself. im excited to see how things unfold over this next year or so. and in the mean time, i can't wait to get back to the things i love.

i am positively ecstatic to return home to:

a family who supports me

friends who encourage me

a incredibly handsome guy who has more than exceeded every one of my expectations

a school year full of unique ministry opportunities

living in an apartment with three lovely ladies

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

59 degrees.

these blue skies sure are deceiving

its way too cold for a boating day (plan one)

and not even warm enough for a day by the pool (plan two)

however, its perfect weather for a movie and a late lunch

(can you say happy hour price mediterranean plateee. YUM!)

im currently sitting outside with what seem like permanent goosebumps.

so worth it when it means i get to soak up time with these crazy kiddos.

i am completely exhausted today. my goodness. nothing a chai wont fix. tonight i get to hang out with the fam, eat yummy dinner, do some laundry, and sleep in my very own bed.

wednesday is proving to be a nice mid week refresher.

also...

i sent out some mail today.

its been more than a week since ive had time to devote to this little guy. not to say that i havent had any time at all, as a matter of fact i've had nothing BUT time. my moments have been filled with wonderful things, such as investing in new friendships, having spontaneous garage sale hunts, playing with some pretty cool kiddos, posing for a little photo shoot, and pouring into my summer project.

since being here in bend, ive heard a term that describes perfectly where i am at in life

sweet spot: being at a place in life where you are perfectly content, in who you are, what youre doing, where you're going, and what you have. all of these through and by the grace of God.

ladies and gentlemen, i am in my sweet spot.

i dont know of a time in my life where i have been so completely and wonderfully in awe of who my God is and the things He is doing in my life. He has given me life and love in abundant measures.

The family I am staying with has been such an encouragement in so many unique ways. Their family dynamics are an amazing example of what a family growing together and seeking the Lord should look like. Almost every night they share how they showed love that day and what they loved most about life. It is something I've now begun to share daily with someone whom I care about deeply, and I hope to continue the tradition.

also...

im really thankful for my dear friend whitney. she is part of my mentorship small group, shares a shift with me at the kilns, and has such sweet and genuine spirit. we have the opportunity to house/babysit this week. last night we watercolored until 1am. it was lovely and incredibly inspirational.

speaking of inspiration. i stumble upon some wonderful things every now and again. like this.

tumalo falls.

saturday morning i met a couple of lovely ladies downtown. we decided to be spontaneous and have a picnic at a waterfall, thank you oregon. it was such a wonderful reminder of how amazing our God is, and how blessed we are that he made such a beautiful place for us to live.

personality muscles.

last week i took the strengths finder 2.0 test. now this wasnt my first encounter with strengths finder, but it had been a while.

the first semester of my freshman year at cbu i took a version of the test.

my top five strengths in fall of 2007 were:

woo-woo stands for winning others over. you enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you

command-command leads you to take charge. unlike some people you feel no discomfort imposing your views upon others

positivity-you are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation

empathy-you can sense the emotions of those around you. you can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own.

communication-you like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write.

a week ago i took the test again, but this time the 2.0 version (im assuming it must be more accurate) and my top five strengths are now:

woo-woo stands for winning others over. you enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you

communication-you like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write.

activator-you are impatient for action. you believe that action is the best device for learning.

positivity-you are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation

ideation-you are fascinated by ideas. you are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface of an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are.

these sorts of tests or so interesting to me. i can definitely see why my number one hasnt changed. but its fascinating how the next four have shifted or changed.

being able to share and discuss these with other interns was so eye opening. it helped me learn why i work the way i do, and why others may not function identically.

thank you strengths finder, thank you very much.

also...

i had the most amaaazzzing experience as i walked to my car after babysitting at one this morning. STARS. like i had never ever experienced them before. i will be star gazing more often this summer.

where to begin.

lets start with the fact that i slept in until noon today. blah, so awful. i hate oversleeping normally, but this was a special circumstance. my body has been fighting off an icky cough for about a month and a half now, so i suppose my immune system jumped at the chance to get those 14 hours of sleep. so, youre welcome.

now for business, sort of. so far my time here in bend hasnt seemed like typical work at all. despite the fact that i am always doing something and have several sweet yet time consuming projects to tackle in these 9 weeks, there is such joy and satisfaction in every moment.

my family. my bend family to be a bit more specific. im staying with brandon and karie. they have been so gracious and wonderful to open up their home to me. brandon's joy and energy are so contagious and encouraging and karie is such an awesome example of what a godly wife and mother looks like. they have already blessed me tremendously. their four kids are undeniably adorable. they have me laughing continuously and constantly keep me on my toes. im sure once we all discover photobooth together i will have plenty of pictures to post.

my job. well to put it simply, my job rocks. i get to work with an incredible staff, a super sweet leadership team, and the coolest group of fellow interns i could have imagined. whether we are all working separately on projects or walking to the old mill for lunch its nice to have them around. my ministry focus being in children's ministry means that i get to do something that is so close to my heart. im working on a project called mission kids, which i will be dedicating a post to soon. linda is my ministry focus leader and when the two of us get together we become an unstoppable and sometimes overwhelming duo of energy, motivation, and giggles. im dabbling a bit in music while im up here, of course, and i get to work on the creation of the antioch church choir. i am so excited for this opportunity, i do have my fair share of choir experience.

other. i honestly and truly believe that i've made some life long friends. i love that im paired up with a super wonderful mentor and two equally lovely group members. im in a ping pong tournament that im sure to lose in the first round. i drive the 'cranberry cruiser' or more fondly known as the 'hubby hunter' which is a dark reddish purpley mini-van. i love it up here, and am praying about moving back after graduation, yikes! i could find a new yummy place to eat lunch at every day. coffee shops/tea houses are my new favorite place to go get work done. monday night craft nights are going to teach me so many new things. i love my new-found love for the outdoors; rock climbing, scaling, hiking, biking, running, river floating, river rafting, kayaking, and monday morning boot camp.

it is such a lovely blessing to have wonderfully talented photographers like marianne here.

smith rock.

my headband from craft night #1

more from smith rock.

more of the beautiful view.

i know im leaving out half of the cool things about this place, these people, and my last two weeks. but this is all i've got for now.

also...

im praying for some wisdom over this next week. so thankful that my God is faithful.

man, oh man.

things have been absolutely crazy. like the good, wonderful, beautiful, makes you want to dance, kind of crazy.

tomorrow is a semi free day, so fingers crossed, i'll be blogging about my first two weeks in lovely bend, oregon.

ive been so encouraged by every aspect of my surroundings these past two weeks, and i cant wait to share.

but for now here are some things i love most about downtown bend.

mc menamins

converted school house turned to a restaurant, pub, music venue, hotel, three dollar theater (complete with happy hour tots), and a turkish soaking pool.

thump coffee

who could pass up free wifi while sipping a spicy mayan gold mocha or tasty direct trade coffee, not me!

townshend's tea house

i love having a teapot of yummy chai on the table being warmed by a tea light underneath or grabbing a bubble tea, since they aren't easy to come by up here.

also...

ive decided to cleanse from social networking for a week. im not sure if blogging counts yet, we shall see.

meditating on ephesians 5:8-21.