GoG 66: The Possibilities

My job at the writing center is gonna end at the end of next month .... and I don't know what second part-time (or even full-time job outside of youth group) I'm gonna find. I don't wanna sit behind a desk all day or grade SAT tests or something lame like that. I want to work with kids and youth! At the least - interact with people on a fairly intimate level ... no "how are you's?" and "how can I help you's" over the phone. Blah. Give me some people, yo!!!! :D

Several weeks ago, I found a summer camp at Ben Davis Christian Church. It's a Monday through Friday gig .... and I'd get to hang out with kids all day everyday! And be outside too! Sounds amazing, I know! ..... Well, Monday I found another summer camp job at the Avon park. I am applying for both!!!!! We'll see if I get accepted to one. But oh, the possibilities! And those possibilities are my grace for last Monday. God gives us things to hope for. God gives us opportunities to look forward to. God fulfills our dreams and desires and hopes!!!! Now, that's grace!

GoG 65: The Shelley Phone Call

Sunday night after youth group I called Shelley in Poplar Bluff. I called to get t-shirt sizes for the family ... but all in all, we had a great conversation.

We talked about ...

- Youth ministry

- Guys

- Singleness

- Difficult times in youth ministry

- Icees (ya know, the slushy kind of drinks)

- Good times in ministry

- Being CALLED to ministry

- Our youth

Good stuff.

And it was so good to hear her voice ... even better that I get to see her 2 weeks from Friday!!!

GoG 64: The 23rd Birthday :)

Last Saturday was my birthday ... March 6, 2010 made for my 23rd birthday.

My birthday, by itself, is God's grace in action because I made it to another birthday.

But also .... it was a good day.

- Lunch with Hannah and Los Rancheros (our favorite spot)

- Travel plans were attempted (Hannah and I want to travel the U.S.)

- Sweet tea was drunk (oh, my favorite!)

- Games were played

- Friends were fellowshipped

- "Happy birthdays" were given

Good times were had by all. :)

GoG 63: The Writing Center That Changed My Life!

Last Friday, after I got done working in the writing center, I stayed after an unusually long time. Yes, my last session went longer than it was supposed to ... but I got to talkin' with some really cool ladies I work with. Tere, the director of the writing center ... and Lynn, one of our faculty tutors. Both of them are awesome professors at IUPUI and amazing tutors in our stinkin' awesome writing center. They have both been a great encouragement to me over the past three years. They both believed in me from the start, when I was sooooo nervous I didn't think I could withstand the training seminar class, much less be a tutor .... and they have constantly encouraged me since then.

We got to talking about all kinds of things ... but in the middle of our conversation ... Tere turns around from the computer she was facing and blurts out, "Mical, you have grown so much ... I was listening to little snipets of your sessions this afternoon, and you have come so far ... you are so confident." And Lynn chimed in with, "I agree. You are so much more confident." .... And I was so blessed to hear those compliments because the writing center really has changed my life. My work in the writing center has had one of the most profound influences on my life out of anything I've ever done. Seriously. I have grown in confidence as a writer, as a READER .... but most importantly, as a person!!!! I have learned skills that will help me all throughout life. I have grown up and come out of my shell quite a bit. I have really grown ... as an individual. And working in the writing center has been such a gift in my life. So it was great to hear such compliments and reminders! God's grace! That He allows us to grow and prosper!

GoG 62: The Little Brother

Last Thursday, my brother came home to get my dad's car. He was driving down to Florida with some of his buddies the next day. So I got to see him for a whole 3 hours before he left. Wahoo. Ha! .... Well, I took what I could get.

I bought him some things to take on the trip (since it was our birthday on Saturday and all ... yes, we share the same birthday ... and he's two years younger than I am ... weird, I know ... but fun).

- A beach towel taller than he is

- A travel pillow (to which he texted me Saturday morning telling me "This pillow is money" ... in Wes language, that means he really likes it!) Yay!

- A frisbee

- And mixed nuts ... yeah, he's a health nut, so I thought it fit him well. ;)

He was pretty excited.

And I fixed him breakfast the next morning before he left for the trip ... to which he said ... "Thanks, Mike!"

We also laughed together quite a bit ... we do that when he comes home. :)

A night with the little brother. I have a little brother. Thank you, God. Oh, your grace is so sweet!

GoG 61: The Scribbly Lines

Last week, I helped little Hannah with her homework while we were after school. It was one of the most perfect homework help sessions yet. .... She's a fairly distracted little 7-year-old. What 7-year-old isn't? ;) .... She was working on writing some sentences about "The Impatient Turtle" ... and I was a little distracted myself, seeing as she didn't need too much help with her sentences ... so I started coloring a picture. She had a hard time focusing on her turtle sentences ... so we ended up coloring a little together. We took a break from time to time so that I could try to steer her towards her sentences again.

At one point, she showed me how to draw a pictures by scribbling lines. And here's what we came up with - together. :)

And this picture, by itself, is God's grace in action in my life because it is tangible proof that I am living out my calling to love on kids. :) What a gift!

GoG 60: The BBF Phone Call

A week ago Tuesday, EmilyWem called me on the phone. It was our first long-distance BBF phone call. We talked for 56 minutes and 59 seconds!

And it was such a dear blessing to hear her voice. It was almost as if she were right next to me. And it reminded me that no matter how far apart we are, we will always be intimate friends ... bosom friends, to be exact. And bosomness is God's grace in action ... because I don't deserve such an amazing friend ... such a perfect match ... such my other half .... as Emily Nicole MacDonald. :)

GoG 59: The Stranger's Prayer

The very last session of the youth pastor's conference was held a week ago Monday. It was the last talk about leaving a legacy for our youth group kids. The speaker asked us to find a partner and talk about several things ... but the part that stuck out the most was when we were asked to share what we want more than anything in the world.

Somehow, I was able to get real honest with my partner. Her name was Kim. ... I shared with her that I want to marry a youth pastor ... that I don't want to be the one "in charge" forever ... that I want to work alongside someone, namely, my husband ... not have others work alongside me.

And she was surprised.

And I was surprised that she was surprised.

I have always dreamed this .... ever since I got into youth ministry, I've wanted to MARRY a youth pastor, not BE a youth pastor. ..... Now, God is good at conforming our desires to His ... so thankfully, I am in love with my position at Calvary. I LOVE being with my kids, loving on them, teaching them, encouraging them, just simply spending time with them. And I am confident that God has me where He wants me. But I still have an ache deep down ... an ache to work alongside my husband in ministry.

But to say all of that, I spilled some of this to Kim at the last session ..... and she prayed for me. And it meant so much to me that she prayed for me. A total stranger listened empathetically and prayed for me ... and I felt God moving in her prayer. .... I think it was one of the greatest blessings of the weekend.

GoG 58: The Q & A with TobyMac

So ... at the youth pastor's conference, I got to meet TobyMac!!!!! .... Well, I didn't formally meet him and shake his hand. But after his concert, he went back to this huge room for a Q & A with all of us youth pastors.

I found out that Mr. TobyMac is an incredibly humble, down to earth, fun guy who really loves the Lord. He shared all kinds of stuff with us about life on the road, his family, his time with DC Talk, his time with this new band, Diverse City ... which is his current band. Wow. He also shared his testimony, which was incredibly encouraging to me. He shared that a youth pastor led him to Christ ... it was because of someone just like me that he came to Christ!!!! .... Yes, I shouldn't boast. And I don't mean to. I just mean that the work God has called me to is MIGHTY! Just like that youth pastor who led TobyMac to Christ, I can help point my kids to Christ as well. God is and will continue to use me in the lives of my kids. And that is incredible!

The other big thing I took away from the Q & A was TobyMac's testimony about a specific prayer he's been praying for years. He said, "I've only committed to praying a few specific prayers in my life." And one of those prayers was that God would bring him godly people to walk with him, push him, call him out when he needs it, be like a family to him. And that's what his band has been to him. Diverse City is his family. And they are all godly people whom God brought alongside TobyMac. I was so encouraged because I've been desiring the same thing, but moreso than praying, I've been demanding, telling God what I need, and TobyMac's testimony helped me see how wrong I've been to do that. I was reminded that I just need to pray for God to bring the right people and trust that He will (and He already has ... and will continue to).

I was amazed at how listening to a rapper, hip-hopper guy would be sooo encouraging. It was one of the best parts of the weekend. :)

GoG 57: The Deep-Dish Pizza

I don't think I'm ever gonna get this blog 365 days thing right. At least not one per day. Ha!

Waaayyy back when .... a week ago Saturday, I believe ... my glimpse of grace came in the form of strangers asking me out to lunch. :) At the youth pastor's conference, I met a couple from Jesus the Messiah church in Indianapolis. Ha! It was funny because they know Pastor Roger (my pastor). We were awed by how small the world is. They knew I was at the conference alone and invited me to deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza for lunch the next day.

It was such a blessing because I was feeling rather alone a lot of the weekend because I didn't know anyone. .... So I got deep-dish pizza ... they paid for it. And it was such an encouragement to me. Thank you, Lord.

GoG 56: The Overflow of the Heart

Ha! So on Friday morning, I was driving the last 45 minutes to an hour to get to my hotel in Chicago where the conference was being held. There was lots of traffic, several toll road stops, and mapquest directions that I had to pay attention to ... all of these things stress me out, so I was thankful I left my hotel early. .... All was going well .... when I pulled out of my toll road stop, which was right before an exit (the one I was supposed to take), and I was disoriented because of the daggone toll road stop .... so I missed the exit. ...... Now, I am awful with directions ... I couldn't tell you which way was north, south, east, or west if my life depended on it .... and I'm actually a bit of an airhead when it comes to following directions. Sometimes, I think "there could be another exit that is called 'River Rd.'" So I'll wait until I pass it only to realize there is no other exit called "River Rd." Duh. .... Yeah ... airhead, I know.

So I miss the exit ... and I'm not familiar with this area at all. It's Chicago for crying out loud! Stressful, busy, crowded city. So after passing the exit I should have taken, I start freaking out. I may have been "alone" in the car that morning, but God definitely saw (and heard) everything. ..... I was an absolute idiot! I was so angry that I missed the exit ... I was worried I was not gonna be able to find my way back and I was gonna be late to this conference I had been looking forward to forever ... and I was mad that I didn't follow what the directions said even though they were right there in front of me!!! ..... I started yelling in my car. I started hitting the steering wheel with my hands, saying "I can't believe I didn't turn there!" "I can't believe I didn't turn there!" "What am I gonna do?!" "Aaaahhhhhh!!!!" And so on and so forth. I was really mad, like I said, and I said some things I am not proud of. ..... I ended up having to take the airport road, so it took me through the airport and really far out of my way. All the while, I was so angry, spouting off stupid things, yelling, turning red in the face ... freaking out completely. And all the while (again), I was saying, "Lord, I know you've been teaching me about being content in ALL circumstances, but I am NOT content, Lord." Again, so on and so forth. Freaking out. Acting ridiculous. Being a jerk. And an idiot. ..... And probably 10 minutes after I passed the exit I should have taken, I am back to that exit ... I pull in, and after taking another wrong turn, I make it to the Hyatt in Rosemont, Illinois - my destination. Whew!

But before I even made it to the hotel, I started repenting. I knew I was being an idiot WHILE I was being an idiot! But that didn't stop me. .... I felt stupid the rest of the morning ... and I am shamed when I think back to how ridiculous I was. .... But I took the whole experience as God's grace. Another humbling incident as God's grace? When will it end??? Ha ha! How 'bout never. ;) ...... My idiocy was God's grace because He really convicted me in the process. Some not so nice things came out when I was "alone" in that car .... some attitudes and even words that I would not want ANYONE to see or hear. And God really let me have it. He reminded me that my character was a little lacking (to say the VERY least!). Character is the stuff that comes out when no one is looking. And my "stuff" was not good stuff. Thankfully, I repented, and God forgave me. But at the same time, I am reminded that I MUST fill my spirit with good stuff, so that when the pressure's on, good stuff will come out. Good stuff is the the stuff that honors God. :) Think about Philippians 4:8 if you're not getting my drift. ;)

"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Matthew 12:34b (NASB)

And what was coming out of my mouth that day was not pretty ... what does that say about my heart? .... Whew!!! Now, that's a doozy!!!

GoG 55: The Conference

Well, I'm behind again. Are we surprised? ;) .... I was gone for 4 days over the weekend .... so that's my excuse for now.

This past weekend I went to SYMC (Simply Youth Ministry Conference). It was held in Chicago, Illinois, and it was incredible! Going to that conference is God's grace in my life ... but I'm using it at my GoG for last Thursday. Thursday night after after school, I left for Chicago. I traveled to Merrilville, Indiana and stayed in a Motel 6 for the night ... first hotel experience by myself. It was great! I took advantage of the night alone to spend some extra time with the Lord ... and it was good. :)

The entire weekend was amazing! The speakers were great - passionate and full of truth to share with us ... as well as challenges to push us in our walk with Christ and in our ministry. The sessions were full of great ideas. And I wrestled with several questions about my specific calling, my ministry at Calvary, being a woman in ministry, being single, living and ministering with abandon to Christ ... and so forth. I met cool people ... I laughed ... I cried ... I worshiped ... I wrestled in prayer and in pondering with the Lord ... it was an incredible weekend! And I got to go for free!!!! Wow ... God's grace. What a privilege to go to a conference like this. Thank you, Lord. :)