The ever classic Jeremiah 29:11 plug

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".
                                          - Jeremiah 29:11

With my recent realization of how amazingly perfect Gods timing is (I know, I'm a little slow sometimes!) I am feeling prompted to share these words....

It is a given that life does not always go the way we had hoped. There will be times we may even find ourselves questioning God about a season we are going through. As humans we want to be in control. When we cannot control a situation or circumstance we usually don't handle it very well.

There will be a moment when you choose to accept your circumstance. Whether you chose to love it or hate it, you will learn to embrace it and run with it. The Father has a plan for you and a purpose for bringing you through this particular trial. You can own it and fall in love with it and make the absolute best of it. Smiling all the while and learning all that God has planned to teach you through the experience. You can have hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel and when you look back you will see God's beautiful fingerprints all over it.

OR you can be miserable, rejecting the less than ideal reality you've found yourself in. You can kick and scream and pout because your life isn't where you thought it would be according to your plan. You can throw your fist in the air and have an adult tantrum directed towards God, in some sad attempt to get Him to see why your way is a better plan. All the while, completely missing the point. You could potentially miss the purpose for this time of your life, and the blessing He has planned for you during this season.

Either way this is your reality and you are going to go thru it. This season of your life will play out. It is up to you how you will wade through it. Will you trust God and cling to him? Will you rejoice in the blessings he has in store for you knowing that he is preparing you for something great? Will you embrace the uncomfortable and allow yourself to be stretched?

OR will you stick your lower lip out, sit in the corner and pout, and let the opportunity to grow pass you by?

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***By the way...I changed the settings so anyone should be able to comment now! Sorry about that!

Week 3

My apologies for not getting this out last week! Please forgive me, I was at the mercy of my dentist (2 root canals, how's that for a good time, ick!).

Anyway, I was only at the Day Center for a few hours last week, (because of my dental dilemma) but I took part in a conversation that I will probably remember for the rest of my life. I was sitting in my office and one of the youth was in line to use the shower. He looked through my window and asked me how I was doing and I did the standard "I'm doing great, how about you?" His answer is what caught me, "I'm doing alright, but I'm really tired, it's hard to get a good night sleep when you're sleeping on rocks". I told him I was sorry and asked if he was able to catch some sleep in the meditation room (this is the "spirituality room" at the Day Center; they let youth catch some extra sleep in there for reasons just like this). He said he wasn't able to, but was hoping he could find a blanket for the night. Not a blanket to cover up with, but to lie on top of the rocks so he could at least get a good nights sleep.

The conversation continued on for a minute and I put him in touch with the right person so he could get a blanket to sleep on. He was over the top grateful for this saying it wasn't a big deal and we didn't need to go out of our way. I was blown away at how polite and how sweet natured this boy was, especially in light of his circumstances! I was also forced to think about his reality, he sleeps outside. Not only does he sleep outside, but he sleeps on top of rocks. Wherever it is that he has found to lay his head down at night is on top of rocks!! No wonder he isn't getting a lot of sleep.

Lets play a little game....imagine a night when you have gotten next to no sleep because you've been super stressed or worried and you wake up every few minutes. This is his (and countless others) reality, every day. Now imagine that you aren't waking up in a safe snuggly bed under your safe snuggly roof. You are outside, and not only are you exhausted, but you're hungry. So you, in your half awake/sleep state have to go find food. You also have some other things on your agenda, like finding a place to take a shower, hopefully a shelter to sleep in, and if it is a really good day you may have time to look for a job....

All too often I have heard negative comments about our homeless neighbors like; "Why don't they just get a job", or "They're just lazy". I think sometimes we forget that essentials (food, taking a shower and getting a good nights sleep) are not easily accessible for someone who has no home. A large part of their day could be spent just trying to find these things, and all after a night of sleeping on rocks.

Week 2

Alright, now I think I'm all up to speed, finally! Okay, today was pretty sweet. I got the keys to my office (well, I share it with the other intern) at DC. I did some work on facebook, and got our twitter account up and running. And yes, I am shamelessly a tweeter now. It's fun, I like it, and that's that :) Rest assured though, I did not spend my entire day online social networking. I did start my day in a meeting going over an upcoming special event, which I'm pretty excited about (details to come). After that I shadowed Rachel on a volunteer orientation. I think I'm pretty comfortable with this process, one more shadow and I'll be ready to lead the way.

Alright, on to part 2 of my day, TLP. I pulled up around 4:24 and by 4:28 was told I would be teaching a life skills class @ 4:30. Did I mention that curriculum for that class was handed to me as they were telling me I was teaching a class? I don't know if you've met me, but teaching is not my thing. Luckily, I didn't even have time worry about that :) By the way, I fully support the idea that there should be a sarcastic font! Anyway, I actually did get lucky and the life skill was "finding an apartment". This subject is definitely something I know very well, so I'd say all in all the class went pretty well.

Alright, so that recaps the highlights of my day. I guess I'd like to close this one out with some thoughts/ideas/revelations/what nots. I think the kids at TLP are slowly starting to warm up to me. There has been a big turnover in the past week. Usually TLP houses 25 people, right now they are down to 18 or so. They've lost 5 people since last week, and will be losing another soon, as he is joining the national guard. I'm told this is normal and that the turnover changes with the seasons. So come next week there will be some new faces at TLP. I'm excited for the newbies and for those who have completed the program and moved on to independent living. If you remember, can you please pray for all of these kids? They become a family since they live, eat, and hang out together. When that family dynamic changes it can be hard on them, as well as the newbies coming in.

I also have to take this time to say that I had a revelation on my way home tonight. I have to preface this by saying that I am someone who tends to feel unsettled more often than not. I'm always working towards this ideal picture of how I think/hope my life will be. I think a lot of us feel that way. Well, today I realized that God has blessed me far beyond anything I could imagine or ever deserve. I was thinking about my life and came to the realization that I am finally right where I have always wanted to be. My life looks exactly like I have always dreamt it would (give or take a few details, haha). Its pretty surreal. I'm not saying this to boast, actually, its the exact opposite. I am humbled by the realization that after years of pursuing something on my own, I still could not attain it. Yet God, in his ever astounding grace, love and mercy, gave it to me when I least expected in, and when I finally stopped pursuing it and started pursuing him.

I'm not sure if this makes any sense. And I'm not sure if I'm even doing justice to this revelation. What I am sure of is that this revelation will change my life. I can promise you that :)

Week 1

Sooo...my first day went pretty well. I showed up at the Day Center (DC from here on out) and Rachel (my boss) introduced me to everyone. On Tuesdays the Phoenix Children's Hospital runs a free clinic upstairs, so I met a LOT of PCH staff as well. I got a chance to sit down with Rachel and we went over what types of responsibilities I'll have, and I'm not gonna lie, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure the title of intern would automatically grant me the luxury of starbucks runs, making copies, filing, answering phones, and all that super exciting stuff. The reality is that I'll be helping out with a ton of stuff, that I'll actually like! woo hoo!! I'll get to help with special events, volunteer recruitment, and lots of other stuff that I'm actually interested in. My personal favorite though...updating/maintaining facebook and twitter for HB. Um, you want me to play on facebook and tweet as part of my job? Um...yes please :). Obviously, that's not what I'll spend my entire day doing....I'm just saying :)

Alright, so part two of my day, we headed on over to TLP (DC & TLP are about 3 miles from each other). I get there and the staff wasn't expecting me. Apparently their boss went on vacation and forgot to let them know about the two interns that would be starting this week...oopsies! Needless to say they didn't really have a lot for me to do....but don't you worry, they provided me with entertainment..... One of the girls came in and had found a bag of pills that belonged to one of her roommates (the rooms are dorm style, 4 bedroom areas and a common area). Well, obviously this is cause for concern since drugs/alcohol aren't exactly on the list of "approved" items you can have in your room. So this sparked a full on room inspection, causing all the residents to freak out. All in all, it was quite entertaining, and I must report that the search did no disappoint. "Contraband" was found in one of the rooms. None of it worth expelling someone from TLP, but enough to embarrass the resident, and teach them to follow the rules :)

After all the excitement it was time for me to go home, and I was good and ready! The day went fabulously, but I hadn't been this tired in a looong time.

The Details

So, I failed to start this last week (did I mention I'm working on my procrastinating?) so I'll catch you up to speed. I am interning with an organization that serves homeless youth, ages 18-21. The organization "HB" has a day center and a shelter (named the transitional living program, which will call TLP from here on out). During my internship I'll be spending half my time at the Day Center, helping the volunteer/development coordinator. The other half of my time will be spent at TLP where I'll have more interaction with the youth. I'm not gonna lie, I was very nervous about it all, but excited at the same time!

Internship!!

So, I've had some requests for a blog that tracks my internship experience.....ask and you shall receive ;) This blog was originally a requirement for a class....but that's not very exciting...so, on to the next!