Entering 2012 … Looking Back on 2011.

I am not a person who has a list of New Year’s resolutions before the brilliantly lit ball drops at midnight. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was serious about a resolution. I mean, who really achieves their goals?But after conversations with friends, I realized it was wise to make some goals for this upcoming year (which leads me to blogging again), and I thought I would share them.

In 2012 I want to:

Become an official Georgia resident. This includes registering to vote here, change my driver’s license…deep breath….giving up my Oregon’s license is a really big deal….don’t know if I’ll ever be ready, and switching my license plates.

Save up some money, and travel to a place I’ve never been to. Now that I live in the South, there are so many places to explore….do I travel to Savannah, Georgia? Explore Hogwarts? Meet up with a friend and explore the Northern States, or visit good friends in the Midwest? Oh, a grand adventure awaits!

Stay in better contact with family and friends from back home. I want to be more intentional with this area of my life, whether it’s by blogging more consistently, creating space to write letters again, and phone calls. I have so many wonderful people in my life. It’s a true blessing.

2011

I completed Mission Year, a program that has changed my outlook on life. This year instilled new values and convictions. My life isn’t as comfortable or easy as it once was, but my heart is full, and I’ve seen God move in my life unlike before.

I decided to say goodbye to a state I love, full of people dear to my heart. I moved back to Atlanta with no job lined up, or place to live. I was able to witness the sweet ways God provided for me right when I needed it.

I lived the majority of this year in Atlanta. This is where my life is, and I believe whole-heartedly that this is a start of a new beginning. I wait in hopeful expectation for 2012.

Changed

We sang this song in church this morning, and the following words arose with my heart.

I have been blessed - now I want to be a blessing

I have been loved - now I want to bring love

I've been invited - I want to share the invitation

I have been changed - to bring change, to bring change.

While at my friend's house this evening we came across this youtube video based on this song. Enjoy, and allow the words to sink in.

How to Build Community.

During my Mission Year, I read a postcard I bought titled how to build community for a fundraiser. Afterwards, a friend of mine asked me if I would make him a collage based on this reading. I finished it earlier this week, and officially have my art hanging up in another person's home! Selling an art piece has been on my bucket list, and it felt great to cross it off! Below is a photo:

Along the edge of the canvas I wrote the different ways we can build community where we are at. They are: *Turn off your T.V. *Leave your house * Know your neighbors * Look up when you are walking *Greet people *Sit on your stoop *Plant flowers *Use your library *Play together *Buy from local merchants *Share what you have *Help a lost dog *Take children to the park *Garden together *Support neighborhood schools *Fix it, even if you didn't break it *Have Potlucks *Honor elders *Pick up litter *Read stories aloud *Dance in the Street *Talk to the Mail Carrier *Listen to the birds *Put up a swing *Help carry something heavy *Barter for your goods *Start a tradition *Ask a question *Hire young people for odd jobs *Organize a block party *Bake extra and share it *Ask for help when you need it *Open your shades *Sing together *Share your skills *Take back the night *Turn up the music *Turn down the music *Listen before you react to anger *Mediate a conflict *Seek to understand *Learn from new and uncomfortable angles *Know that no one is silent, though many are not heard. Work to change this.

I believe these ideas speak a lot of truth to the ways we can build community around us. While living in Atlanta, I have baked extra and shared it, danced in the street, learned from new and uncomfortable angles, and gardened with neighbors to name a few. Join with me, and find a way to build community with those who surround you. Living in community is a beautiful way to experience life.

A BEGINNING.

"AAHHH!!!"

"What am I doing?!?"

"I am crazy, absolutely crazy"

"God, you need to show up, because I took a giant leap of trust by getting on this plane!"

Welcome to the moment of panic I experienced as my friends Katie and Curtis picked me up from the airport on Thursday, September 1. This is an important date. It marks the day I moved back to Atlanta, GA to start a new beginning in my life. I have no job, and no house to call my own (but I am deeply grateful for Pastor Tim and Andrea who are allowing me to live with them until our house is ready to move into).

Although many aspects of my life are up in the air, I call this place home. As cheesy as it may sound, this is where my heart is. I love, and am richly blessed by my neighborhood, church family, and friends. People give generously with sincere hearts. I receive this as Pastor Tim and Andrea welcome me into their family. I have a spot around the dinner table and a comfortable bedroom, and they expect nothing in return. Laura, a dear friend of mine gives me her car to use while she is out of town. This is God providing for me. My needs are met, and I am grateful.

And I've been able to give my time in return, which I love to do (and I have a lot of it while I job search). I have:

• Visited Ms. Barbara at her hospice care. To sit with her was hard for me emotionally, but I was able to love her, and share life with her yet again.
• Squealed with delight as I saw Ameria. Stood and talked with Charles by his gate. Two meaningful relationships I built last year. It's so good to spend time with them again!
• Tutored at S.A.Y. Yes! It has been great to be with the kids again. But I was quickly reminded of my frustrations with the education system as I worked with a 1st grader who didn't know his letters.
• I got to drive Walter and Michael back to Tennessee. It was a beautiful and fun drive with two sweet boys. (Plus I saw the Great Smoky Mountains for the first time!)

Ah, sweet life. You meet me here. Here is to a new beginning full of unknowns. An adventure awaits, a beautiful, full, and scary adventure. One thing I know, I can't do this on my own. So I thank God for leading and guiding me through the motions of life, and for calling back to me when I stray.

Reflections of the Heart

Since Mission Year has ended, I have spent time processing this last year. So much has happened in the last 11 months, and it is difficult to express everything I have learned, grown through, and experienced. Today as I sat in Rembrandt, a favorite coffee house in Eagle, I wrote a prayer in my journal. One I want to share, because I think it simply shares lessons I have learned.

Your movement is everywhere

Your face is illuminated through everyone

Your hope lies in every community

Your love surrounds us

Strip us of the selfishness that consumes us

so we may see your face Lord,

so we may see the need of our neighbor

Give us teachable and willing hearts

so we can live the life you desire for us.

May we praise the work of your hands

And trust in your loving faithfulness.

Amen.

Ameria Prays for my Cooking

I have had a couple of mishaps in the kitchen this last week. First a batch of cookies I made for a community dinner did not turn out, and then I accidentally burnt banana muffins in the oven.

As Ameria and I were waiting for the banana muffins to cook (which should have only been twenty minutes or so instead of an hour -- oops!) she discovered Photo Booth. Her creation? A video and a prayer for my cooking skills. I hope you enjoy the glimpse into the life of sweet Ameria.

Hopes for a Community

Last Saturday while I was walking through the neighborhood I came across a hidden fence on an empty lot. It was painted with the hopes people before me have for our neighborhood. I was encouraged by the beauty that surrounded me. These hopes for our neighborhood are the same hopes my church, team, and I have.

We want the violence to stop. We want the children to stay off the streets and to be involved in educational and sport related activities. We want the drugs off our streets. We want the children to dream big and to believe in their gifts as they become our future generation.

These hopes were painted on the fence (there are more than I pictured). I don't know who it was painted by. It could have been a previous Mission Year team, an organization that came in to beautify our neighborhood, a school, or by youth/adults who live in my neighborhood.

These are hopes that are living strong, and I believe they will continue to. I am committed to live a lifestyle that can bring these hopes to fruition.