Author: Caroline

When I'm not riding in the backseat of my Grandpa's restored vintage car "Mable," I'm doing other things like... rising to most adventure occasions my husband proposes / chasing our toddler around Brooklyn / enjoying neighbors, strangers, and friends / making countless trips to the laundromat / writing for various publications and for personal reflection / loving and serving our local church / cleaning the bathroom / hosting small and big crowds in our home / meeting up with a friend for coffee / thinking Vocation is my strange frenemy. Though I have worked and existed in many stations/places, I am convinced that each day has good work to be done and that I am equipped and prepared to do that good work. This blog explores the tension and the intersection of a constant vocational call - to good work, neighbor love, and living in the kingdom come. My favorite things are coffee and creating and laughing (preferably with company). I love to listen to sermons and read biographies and make tea before going to bed.

first day of sun

Well, today marked the first day of sunshine in a very long time! I know – it seems strange. You might think that, being in central america, it would always be sunny here. That is simply not the case! I have been bundled in several layers, drinking hot tea and decaf coffee for several weeks straight it seems as the winds and rains whip at my window.

But, as I said, today there was sunshine! We went down into the city to get groceries and the temperature difference was between 12-14 degrees! On the way back up the mountain it felt as if we were entering a different climate completely.

In any case, after we got re-acclimated (and I bought some fresh fall-color flowers on the way), we joined other students and staff in the 24-7 prayer room to hear a short concert and testimony from Benny Prasad. I can’t tell you what a treat it was to hear how the Lord has blessed this man with an amazing ministry that he takes all over the world. Check out his website to read more!

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Penny for my thoughts…

I just read Caroline’s line-up for this week (Uh, yeah, I’m that behind. It’s been a crazy week!,) and I saw that she is requesting my thoughts. At the exact moment of reading the line-up. So, I will (somewhat happily) oblige.

My thoughts…

I’m tired. We just successfully completed an outreach event at our church that had a volunteer and guest count of over 5200 people. And it was a two-day event! Yikes!

I’m happy to be alone in my house this weekend, yet it feels very quiet here.

I’m feeling a little weird about how much I like to hang out with married people. I feel like I should hang out with single people more, but I really don’t like “singles groups,” they kind of give me the heebie jeebies.

I’m sad that no-one is on facebook chat to hang out with a little bit before I head to bed. Usually I don’t really use it, so I don’t know why I’m wanting to chat it up right now. Probably the roommate gone thing.

I’m feeling glad that I borrowed a few books from my boss to try and read this weekend. Nothing, I mean nothing, relaxes me and takes me to my “happy place” than reading stimulating books over the weekend. Whoo hoo!

And I think that’s about it! A few dollars worth, surely!

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Cool Compassion

“It’s become “cool” for evangelical Christians to distinguish themselves by insisting that they’re not one of those close-minded fundies who base their vote primarily on a candidate’s position on abortion and gay marriage.”

These are the first two lines from an article over at Boundless (Focus On the Family).

The article is called Cool Compassion, and I think it’s a must-read before the election coming up. When did being passionate against abortion become the one issue it’s uncool to care about? When did environmentalism climb up the ladder of importance to something that should be weighed the same as life?

Check out the article. Then pray about making a decision about who you’re going to vote for.

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24-7 prayer

Please, join me in prayer this week! Today marks the first day of a week my school is dedicating to 24-7 prayer. Championed by my friend (and asst. spiritual life director) Tiffany, this week is to be set apart for our bold commitment to be in constant communion for one week. We are praying in the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) and God has already been moving and shaking in our hearts.

The idea is new to the school – and very foreign to the students – but we really believe God will use this time for His purpose and glory! Join us this week in purposeful prayer. Here are a few things we are praying for:

PRAISES
-‘for the faith of a few’… God is calling Christian students at Pinares to rise up and act!
-for God’s daily guidance and providence
-for safety amidst treacherous weather

PRAYERS
-more teachers (we still are struggling without a full staff in the high school and in the elementary)
-sickness (many staff have been seriously ill)
-the state of the country… with heavy flooding and mudslides, many families are struggling
-classrooms… that God’s presence would be known in each classroom and His truth seen

These are just a few. Thank you, mighty prayer warriors!

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Musical Stylings of Josh Garrels

In the current age of the internet, mediocre musicians have an easy time gaining a substantial following. The media only encourages their mediocre melodies because shallow is much easier to sell.

Josh Garrels is about as far from shallow and conventional as you can get. Born in the midwestern United States to a musical family, Garrels never really attempted anything conventionally. His first formal musical venture was with a group of interns in a missionary house in Muncie, Indiana.

His father a music teacher, Garrels grew up around all types of instruments and spent hours experimenting with different sounds influenced by rock, acoustic, funk, hip-hop, and folk. Possibly for this reason, his own music refuses to be pinned down to any certain genre.

The song “Freedom” describes his own journey out of a youth of drugs and alcohol into a transformational relationship with Christ. “…time to start livin’ and get a reason for the rhyme/I don’t wanna be dead wrong on the deadline/standing on the dark side and all out of time/like a blind pantamimes fantasized/climb up his own ladder to the sunshine/nothing’s mine that has been given/and no one’s alive now that ain’t been risen.”

Garrels’ poetry calls out to others still lost as he was. The rhymes weave unique stories through the fabric of complicated musical masterpieces. In his most recent work, Jacaranda, he does not stray from his truly original style. Although, this time his originality is attracting a few more ears.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1611489&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
“Freedom” – Josh Garrels from Josh Garrels on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1620865&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
“Restless Ones” – Josh Garrels from Josh Garrels on Vimeo.

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Growing Pains

Found this over at (www.batikbatiknakariktan.blogspot.com)

So, last week I experienced breakdown number one.

Before I came down here, I thought I was alright – you know? I was confident in myself and my abilities and the way that God made me. Hm. God has a funny way of reminding us that no matter how He has gifted us, He’s still in charge.

Last week, standing in front of my class of 10th graders I literally felt powerless. College conversations flashed through my mind where my friends in the Ed. department spoke of rubrics and management and lesson plans. And as my vision blurred when I spoke the words, “Seriously, for the last time I need your attention up here,” I wondered at my calling to this place. I finally sat down in the front of the class, with 10 minutes left, and just stopped teaching. A few students noticed my frustration, but at the end of the day I was more frustrated with myself than the students or the situation.

“Why don’t I have the tools to make this work?”
“How come I didn’t take a few of those education courses?”
“Why does it seem like I’m doing the very thing that I can’t do, that I’m not good at?”

These are a few of the questions I picked through. The strange thing is, last Wednesday (two days before my breakdown), I joined my co-worker to pray through the school. As I prayed through the halls, I kept saying, “It’s about souls.” Because it’s so easy to think that my post here is about my growth or about the students learning or about creating new guidance systems or (insert another). But, then the Lord showed me as I prayed more that even thinking it’s about souls is a detour from life true purpose. It’s about the LORD.

It’s about the LORD.

“The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever.”
-Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 1

I walked away Wednesday night with wet cheeks and a humble heart. And then Thursday and Friday happened.

Last week now seems miles away, but over the weekend I was reminded that the battle for our effectiveness is waged in our weaknesses. Satan tries here to get a foothold while the Lord offers to be Strength. And my weakness is where I am least comfortable.

And so it is with growing pains. Well, I hope it’s growing I’m doing.

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Weekly Lineup

I know, I know – the lineup is supposed to come out at the beginning of the week to let you know what is coming up. Well, my apologies – it just didn’t happen. But, let’s move on.

This is a very critical time for both the country I live in presently and the country I most naturally call home. This week we will (and have) talk a bit about the US election on Nov. 4 and also the growing concerns for the flood-ridden Honduran countryside.

We – Christina and I – have been busy this past week, but then I guess this is a busy time of year. For that matter, our lives always seem quite full. I know we are no different than the 6 billion other people moving about the earth, in various states of frenzy. But, we like to give snapshots of our frenzy (and even sometimes when we slow down) and we suppose that since you’re here you don’t mind reading them. Enjoy this week, as it’s already well underway!

VOTE schmote
This week we may be posting little segments that have to do with the election. It seems much confusion shrouds the ballots this year – maybe more so than at other times in history. Regardless of the outcome of the election, we can say for certain the world is changing.

growing pains
Last week my posts were haphazard and tired. I am learning much in this journey and little of it right now is ‘self-esteem’ building. The painful process of being refined is never really something we stay up late dreaming about, but it will surely come if you are seeking the Lord.

Life of the Party
This is a follow up from last week. After the excitement of the fall party, I lost steam mid-week and wasn’t quite in the mood to be amusing. But, now I’ve got another anecdote to add (our apartment hip-hop dance class) which should just add to the laughter.

a penny for your thoughts
So, when Christina and I swap thoughts, we are regularly amused at how differently our minds work. Since I’m writing this lineup, I’m going to ask Christina to just share (at this exact moment) what’s on her mind. I’m not quite sure how this’ll work out, but hopefully she’ll be clever and witty (naturally).

Grab Bag
As always, look for things out of the ordinary!

ALSO – if anyone else is interested in an interview, let us know! We want to get to know our readers and we want people to get to know you! So, comment on this post and we’ll contact you. Be careful, we may just hunt you down if we think you’ve got something that needs sharing!!

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Recovering from Retreating

So, the annual (first to me!) High School Ministries Fall Retreat was last weekend, (Is that a mouthful or what? Whew!)and it was a blast.

We ate, hung out, talked, played Rock Band, played soccer, volleyball, football, stayed up way too late, had great sessions that challenged us in our faith, and generally had an amazing time. Some kids that we had to practically knock down their doors were saying by the end of the weekend how incredibly glad they were that they decided to come. What a blessing! Of course, there were challenges… like how I got kicked (pretty hard) in the shin while playing doubles soccer, how I spent the weekend trying to figure out how cool I need to be to really relate to these kids, how I wrestled with how late to stay up and tried to keep my eyes open later than the 5 months pregnant youth pastor’s wife, and how I kept my eyes peeled through the entire drive back on the bus for teenager boy/girl cuddliness.

But on Monday we had the day off and I spent great time with the Lord- thanking him for all the amazing relationships that were started or grew on the trip. Retreats like this can serve as relational incubators- and it sure did this past weekend! Here are some pics from the weekend…


this is us chilling at the retreat!

Here’s some hard-core paintballers before the battle…

and here is my boss and one of the youth kids, who both dressed up as “stay-at-home-moms” for “what-I-wanted-to-be-when-I-grew-up” party.
Ah, youth leaders 🙂

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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