Reminder

Life has been weird lately.
I haven't exactly felt like myself for one reason or another, and I'm pretty complacent about it these days. I am kind of okay with this fading into the background of life, this feeling of apathy.
It's a sort of numbness, to be honest.
And then God, using my friend Alex, who by the way is not a believer, wakes me up.
He does it subtly. He hasn't yelled at me through Alex. He has just said, "Hey. Remember me? I made you. I have loved you. I died for you. And I have redeemed you.
Remember me."

I don't usually like talking about God in such conversational ways or putting words like that in his mouth, because he is so much greater than just a "hey, remember me?" But something that he has graciously brought to my mind this summer is that I am his daughter. I am a part of God's family, adopted into his church, a co-heir with Christ. So while he is my Lord and King, completely sovereign, Creator of the world....he is also my Father. My friend. My strength and my refuge. My portion, deliverer.
But ultimately he's my Savior.
And oh how I need a Savior!

He is faithful and good.
What a beautiful life we have in Christ!

Friendship is the Perfect Blendship

I'm home. In Raleigh (Rah-lie-juh, according to Rayn).
But first, let me back up a little. My mom, dad, and Josh all came up to Boston for graduation from TBB which was awesome. I am so grateful for each of them, and I'm glad they were able to come. But let me just tell you how blessed I am with amazing friends--Sarah Beth Moore, Kristin Martin, and Annetta Kinton all flew up to Boston to be with me during graduation weekend....WHAT! Kristin still had exams!! They are so incredible, and I'm really in awe of how fortunate I am to have them as friends. And the cool thing is, I know had other friends at home who would have come to Boston if they could--so THANK YOU for loving me enough to even consider that!

Here's the whole group--except Josh I guess. But even Todd Moore came out! He's awesome. We always enjoy time with Todd. :)

Sisterhood of the Tracelong Pants (long story haha) :)

Me and the J-Man (who is now OBSESSED with my dear friend Jon Rosenthal haha)

Anyway. So Boston was a fun weekend. It went by so fast, and I was so conflicted when it ended! Even now, I am torn: I was so relieved, from the moment I drove away with my family to the airport, but at the same time I miss my friends....SO much! And of course I am glad to be home--incredibly glad. Still, I find myself wishing I could go to the farmer's market with Rachel, Mary, and Honi. I wish I could make balloon animals with Eirann, and sing with Kasha and Mckinley. I want to snuggle with Rayn, listen to Rosie's impressions, and watch LOST with Connor. (I really have missed that!) I want to laugh with Luisa and talk with Maddie. I want to go to Monticello with Faith (aka TJ). I'd like to listen to Alex plan her entire life out. I want to reflect and deflect with Lorena, write with Jessie, and be sarcastic with Scott.

This is most of the group--(L to R) Alex, me, Rosie (Jon), Mckinley, Kasha, Rachel, Luisa, Connor, Rayn, Maddie. Silly friends. :)

With the boys!

Girl Band--Rach, me, Kasha (our awesome manager/agent/photographer), Mary, and Mckinley. We're SUPER talented. And gorgeous, of course.

Such awesome girls. I love them to pieces.

And these boys. Oh they are wonderful and I love them dearly. :)

I miss these things. And don't get me wrong--I am so grateful to be back with my friends here at home. The fellowship I am enjoying with the believers in my community is amazing, and I will not take it for granted. I am so blessed.
But after spending 8 months with these people, I obviously miss them. It is interesting to see how each person on my trip taught me something or several things. I love that the Lord uses all sorts of people, believers and non-believers alike, to teach us. It reminds me that we are all made in His image, all precious to Him, all loved by our Creator. We all feel and love and laugh and cry and yell. What a beautiful thing that we are all connected in that way--through the image of a perfect and loving God! He is so good.
So. Those are my feelings right now. I am in a place where processing what I learned isn't coming naturally to me. I'm going to have sit down and force myself to think about things. Typically, I'd write about those things, but today when I sat down to write about being home, this is what came out. I wrote about my friends. They are great people, and I know that they will change the world. I can't wait to hear all their names and use all the blackmail I have on them. :) I love and miss ya'll!
PS--Helloooo mah deauh. Veryyy tireddd todayyy. Sorrrryy mah deauh, I wish I could see you todayyy. Maybe we could listen to Whitney Houston, nay??? :)
I couldn't resist.
PSS--Thanks Cole Porter (and my mother) for the title idea.
PSSS--Jaron Moore, what was the last PS/PSS/PSSS you wrote??

The End Is Near....

Of TBB that is.
On Friday, April 1st we arrived in New York where we met Robin and Andrea. We all piled onto a bus with our loads of crap, and we started the drive from JFK to the hotel which was holding our parents.
That makes it sound like they were being forcibly held, which is not the case at all.
Anyway. It was a bizarre hour or so being in the bus, driving through New York. It was wet and cold, and frankly, pretty bland and dreary. It was just...a weird experience. And it was strange that we were at that point in the trip.
Anyway, we FINALLY got to the hotel on the Upper West Side (my sister tells me it's the best place to buy drugs. Thanks C.), and suddenly parents came STREAMING out of the doors. People were squealing (okay, GIRLS were squealing) and pointing out family members. I saw my parents come out and then I saw my brother--wearing his red sweatshirt and holding the video camera....typical. :) Anyway Josh and I had an awesome reunion where he ran and jumped into my arms--all while holding the video camera. Then he started yelling, "I'LL NEVER LET GO."
He's pretty cool. :)
I hugged my parents and got my bags and headed inside to see Caitlin, Carson, and my sweet niece--she is precious. I am the luckiest aunt in the world.
Anyway, my family was in New York til Sunday afternoon. We mostly hung out, ate good food, and saw How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying--with DANIEL RADCLIFFE. IT WAS SO COOL. And he was fantastic. Such a fun and funny show.
We're now in DC, and today Robin (a co-founder of TBB. he's with us for the week!) talked to us about POLs and graduation...and I realized that we essentially have three weeks left on TBB.
WHAT?! I mean, it feels like a really long time, and I honestly can't believe I've done this trip...it's surreal.
But really, we're almost done??? It's just bizarre.
That's all I really wanted to say for now. Be praying for us as we process and work on our POLs for the next two weeks, and as we continue to adjust to American culture. It is overwhelming.
Also--I hope no one is offended by this, but here is one of the media projects from South Africa. It is a sort of PSA/commercial. My friends Mary, Luisa, Mckinley, and Alex made it. It's funny and it explains the way HIV works. When we showed it to our careworkers from PlettAid, they thought it as SO funny. Enjoy it, and feel free to pass it along! We would all love for it to become really popular! :)
More to come on the blog, by the way--but probably not until after I'm home. Love ya'll, and thanks for the prayers!

What Does Food Mean to You?

**I've been asking myself a lot of questions about food since I've been here. One of them being, "What does food mean to me?" These are just some thoughts I've had.**

Family dinners are common in my house. Granted, the past 3 years have been insanely and unfortunately busy, so they have become a little less frequent. However, I am lucky to have a family where it is important to eat dinner together. We sit down all together at the kitchen table, maybe turn on some music, and eat.
And I've realized from shoveling cow poop every day (and I suppose from our seminars as well...) (okay mainly from our seminars, but still!) that food is somewhat essential in bringing us together. Dinner is where I have some of my favorite memories growing up. Dinner is where I learned how to think for myself. Dinner is where my family and I learn about what's going on in each person's life. And dinner is where we share food together.
It's a food culture, you see. And I think it's very important in the US.  At least in my circle of friends at home, when there's a party or social gathering, there's typically some sort of food involved, whether it's a meal or snacks or dessert. When you want to get to know someone or catch up with them, you invite them to dinner or lunch. On birthdays, we look forward to cake. During the holidays, there are certain foods we can't wait to eat.
This is just one part of our food culture in the US, but it's one that I really appreciate. Food is a way to bring people together. It's a bond we share. That's what food means to me.
So I'd like to ask you too: what does food mean to YOU?
Just thinking out loud. :)