Go, Go, Go Week!

Hello, dear friends. It's another Tuesday and another blog but definitely NOT just another week here in Tallahassee. It's GO WEEK! Therefore, this blog will be short and sweet because I need to get to bed before chaos breaks out on campus tomorrow morning.

Last Wednesday, Katie and I drove to Orlando to meet up with the campus ministers from the University of Central Florida. We got there around 4:30 PM and they immediately took us out on a tour of their campus, which is basically a city in itself. UCF has 60,000 students, and the Lutheran campus ministry there (LiveUCF, unless you're an official university employee, in which case it's referred to as "Live@UCF") just had some great news. They're officially a recognized student organization and they even have their own room on campus to hold their events! Woohoo! We really enjoyed getting to know the ministry leaders there (Billy, Laura, Megan, Tyler) and sharing some ideas with them. UCF is unique in that there are no churches within walking distance, so LiveUCF is going to hold church services on campus on Wednesday nights, complete with communion, which is a somewhat controversial practice due to the use of alcohol. They had to get special permission from the school to serve communion.

Although it was a work trip, they decided to let us have some fun as well... so they surprised us with a trip to Disney World! It was quite delightful. Thanks, everyone, for that wonderful surprise!

Friday I managed to get into a very minor car accident in Orlando. No worries, no one was hurt and my car is fine, but it was a little stressful. After we drove back to Tallahassee, it was time to relax for the weekend. I did my best to avoid work because I know Go Week is going to wear me out like nothing else ever has. I made some smoothies, read some books, went for a few walks, went to Liz's super fun baby shower, and generally just chilled. I did do a few work-y things, like writing my newsletter and reading the first part of the newest book we're going through, but other than that, I purposely did nothing.

On Monday, I went to the Children's Home Society again. This time, I was calling parents whose children have received services through the center to take a survey on those services. This is important because it can help improve the services offered to families through the center. Per the usual of calling people, as I have discovered previously with the cold calls to churches, I got a lot of voicemails and a few disconnected numbers. However, I did have the opportunity to conduct three surveys, and I hope that what I discovered will help CHS in the long run.

I also got to Skype with my best friend Jessie from back home in good ol' Iowa. I will admit I've been feeling a little homesick recently, but talking to her made me feel better. She's pretty good at that.

From the moment I got up today, there was no relaxing to be had. It started off with devotions with Pastor Jay and a meeting to discuss the craziness of this week. I then made edits to my newsletter and wrote out a list of people to send the newsletter to. Pastor Jay and I went to Sam's Club and got an obnoxious amount of food. University Lutheran is in charge of food for Go Week, and we expect to feed at least 250 people each meal for the next 3 days. As PJ says, it really gives you a perspective on the feeding of the 5,000. If we need two full flatbed carts at Sam's to feed 250, how much would you need for 5,000, plus women and children?

I had a short break after we unloaded Pastor Jay's truck bed full of food supplies, and then we headed out for the kick-off to Go Week at First Baptist Church downtown. First on the agenda was a leaders' meeting. Katie and I enjoyed meeting the other campus ministry leaders; I particularly enjoyed meeting Ria, a Chi Alpha International leader who happens to hail from Perry, Iowa. We bonded. Enough said.

We then had a catered meal from Chik Fil A as students volunteering for Go Week filed in. I was the "guardian of the salads" because they were only for those with food allergies or who are vegetarian, so we wanted to make sure no one else took them. After dinner, we had an inspiring worship service that really got us pepped up and ready to go. It was emphasized, as it should be, that Go Week is not about us. We're not on campus just to hang out. We're there to share the love of Christ and to be His hands and feet. We'll do that in many different ways -- helping students move in, showing them around the school, feeding them, playing games with them, partying with them at the FSU Luau Friday night -- but those ways all lead to the same goal: Jesus. It's important that we don't lose sight of our goal when we're weeping inside because it's 137 degrees out and we're carrying a bean bag chair up 3 flights of stairs. There is no complaining allowed, because this is not about us, it's about Him. (Although if it's 137 degrees outside, please drink some water before you die.)

After the worship service, we filed up to the front for a group picture, and then we went our separate ways, eager to see each other bright and early tomorrow morning to start spreading the love of Jesus. And this is where I'm going to go my separate way from you so I can get some sleep before that happens! (Looking at this post, I'm thinking I have a strange idea of "short and sweet." Hm.)

Here is the jackpot of pictures from the last 7 days. Disney, baby shower, flatbed cart and truck bed full of food. See you all later! Don't have high hopes if you need to contact me in the next few days!

A Tuesday Blog... What's Going On?!

Hello, friends! I know, I know, you're thinking, "Mary, it's Tuesday. What are you doing posting a blog today instead of Wednesday?" Rest assured, friends, the world is not going to chaos. I have an excellent reason for blogging a day early. Tomorrow, Katie and I are leaving for a three-day work trip to Orlando. We're meeting up with Pastor Billy Brath and exchanging campus ministry ideas... and having some fun in the process! So I'm putting this up a day early so that it won't be late. Isn't that nice?

(Fair warning, this will happen next week too... more on that later!)

There is much to talk about from this week. Here we go!

LCI/Church Business:

• Katie and I have begun work on a campus ministry presentation. Once we have it to our (and Pastor Jay's) satisfaction, we will start reaching out to area churches and asking if they'd be interested in hearing about campus ministry. We're having a lot of fun exchanging ideas and working together on this project!
• We are also in the beginning stages of our newsletters. I had hoped to have mine out by the first week of August, but unfortunately, we're a tad behind. However, you can look forward to some fancy pictures Katie and I took together! Thanks for your help with that, Austin!
• This Sunday marked the first time I've done the readings during a worship service, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. On Saturday, I set aside some time to look over the passages. Not only did I read them through out loud several times, I also made sure I understood what they were saying, so I could communicate them accurately.
• I'm continuing to work on the Flood Relief buckets project. We've made quite a bit of headway already, and I am so excited to see how it all comes together! We hope to have all 10 buckets filled and ready to send out by the end of August.
• Tonight, there was a really delightful LWML event at University Lutheran. The wonderful Donna Pyle (author of "Quenched: Christ's Living Water for a Thirsty Soul") came to have dinner and share the Word with us. It was an evening of delicious food (courtesy of our lovely LWML ladies), enlightening and inspiring conversation, and pure fun.
• My blog will be early again next week because next Wednesday marks the beginning of "Go Week" here at Florida State! All the students start moving in, and 11 different campus ministries band together to help them move in and get acquainted to campus -- and to us! There will be thousands of pancakes served and, hopefully, thousands of students who get connected to campus ministry. I anticipate being busy from 8 AM  to midnight Wednesday through Friday, and I'm so excited! Bring on the students!

 I've also managed to have fun in and amongst all that work (although my work is usually fun). For example, this past Thursday, Katie and I went out to Food Truck Thursday. We had what's called a "stuffed snowball," which is apparently shaved ice with soft serve ice cream in the middle. Delicious! I also met up with a new friend, Ashley, on Monday night. We bonded over our mutual love of card and board games and fantasy books. She taught me how to play cribbage and gave me the names of some new books to try!

Last but certainly not least, I went to the Children's Home Society yesterday and helped volunteer coordinator Meg organize an incredible amount of school supplies. I say certainly not least because I've never seen so many school supplies in my life. Oh, my goodness! I'll include a picture at the end, but it doesn't do the amount justice. I'm so glad I got connected to CHS; I'm volunteering for a great cause and enjoying myself at the same time!

That's all from the Iowa Girls Meets World today. I'm looking forward to our trip tomorrow, Go Week starting next Wednesday, and also to a very special baby shower that's occurring this Saturday! :) Pictures this week include my fancy Flood Relief buckets poster, me posing with my signed copy of "Quenched," the school supplies I helped organize at CHS, and Katie and I enjoying our snowballs.

Bears, Buckets, and BBQs

Hello, friends! It's been a busy week here in Tallahassee, partly because of my Lutheran Campus Initiative work and partly because of some other fun things I've been up to.

However, before I go any further, I feel that I have to mention the theology of Bear-a-cuda. Yes, you read that correctly, Bear-a-cuda. Bear is Pastor Jay's absolutely adorable dog, and she gets really excited about thanking the Lord! You see, Pastor Jay and Liz always end their meals at home with a prayer from Psalm 136:1 -- "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever." Bear has figured out that this means the meal is over and she can get some table scraps, so whenever she hears this, she barks along with them and wags her tail like crazy. Our devotion this morning was based off of Psalm 136, so Pastor Jay told this story and pointed out that we should have this reaction too. It is really exciting that God's steadfast love endures forever, and we should joyfully give thanks! (But if you start barking and wagging your tail, you might want to get that checked out.)

Anyway, back to LCI. The BBQ on Sunday night was a grand old time. Three grad students made an appearance, along with Katie, Pastor Jay, Liz, and me. We had barbeque chicken pizza, watermelon sangria, and good conversation! It was great to socialize with some students and get to know them better. After the students left, the four of us realized that Katie had brought up her cornhole game, but we hadn't gotten around to playing it, so of course we ended the night with a fierce competition. And when I say fierce competition, I mean none of us were very good. Sadly, despite a valiant effort at the end, Katie and I lost to Pastor Jay and Liz.

Also this week, we have been discussing the second part of Permanent Revolution, which focuses on the importance of apostolic ministry. Apostles are those who break new ground and plant churches. They create the environment in which the other ministries can emerge. There are two different types of apostles seen in the Bible: the Pauline and Petrine. Pauline apostles are cross-cultural, while Petrine apostles are intracultural. Pastor Jay, being our high A, leans towards the Petrine side. It was interesting to discuss how the five ministry types play into each other. It really is necessary for them all to be present in order for effective ministry to happen.

Another item on our agenda for the week has been discussing Vespers, our Wednesday night dinner/Bible study. It's still in the works, but we have some great ideas and we can't wait to implement them! Stay tuned for updates in the weeks to come. :)

Finally, I've been working on a district-wide initiative for each congregation to fill ten Flood Relief Buckets. These buckets are to be filled with cleaning supplies and sent to a central location; they will be deployed in the case of a flood-related disaster, so clean-up can be quicker and smoother. I went out and got the buckets on Friday so I could have them in the sanctuary on Sunday. I wanted to raise interest in the buckets, so I made a pyramid out of them! It really got people curious and talking, so they were interested to hear my announcement after the service. On Tuesday, I went around to some local businesses to see if they might be able to donate some items... and got shut down. However, I have faith in the University Lutheran community! We will fill the buckets by the end of August and they will be sent off to the district. Some people have already signed up to bring items, and I feel confident more will this coming week as well.

That's it in terms of LCI business... but I wanted to mention some fun things I've done in the past week!

• Food Truck Thursday -- basically, a bunch of food trucks gather at Lake Ella, along with a band. Sarah and I met up and had a great time!
• First Friday Gallery Hop -- there are several art galleries and shops at Railroad Square, and they all open their doors on the first Friday of the month. Also, more food trucks. Once again, Sarah and I went together and really enjoyed our random finds! My favorite was a Doctor Seuss dictionary.
• Children's Home Society -- there are actually two events in one here. I'm going to start volunteering at CHS once a week. They do a lot with foster homes, adoptions, and counseling. Monday was my first volunteer day, and I really enjoyed all the people I met! And tonight, I brought some school supplies to Madison Social for their school supply drive. I enjoyed a free glass of wine while talking with Sarah and others from CHS.
• Museum of Florida History -- I've been there before while my mom was here, but on Monday I was able to get a personalized tour. Thanks, Gary!

All in all, a pretty successful week. I haven't heard back for sure yet about my part-time job, but they assured me they're just waiting to hear back from the owner about hiring me. In the meantime, here are some pictures, as promised last week! The first is my pyramid of orange buckets; the second is during our cornhole game Sunday night; and the third is the brilliantly designed school supply drive box. Have a good week, everyone! Don't forget to give thanks to the Lord! :)

Drawn Into Narnia

Hello, friends! I'm in a bit of a Chronicles of Narnia mood this evening, as you might have guessed from the title of this post. Earlier this afternoon I read through a book called "Finding God in the Land of Narnia," and one section really spoke to me. In many of the Narnia books, the children accidentally enter the mysterious land -- through a wardrobe, or a painting. "Prince Caspian," however, tells a different tale. In this book, the four Pevensie children are sitting at a train station minding their own business when they are suddenly "drawn to Narnia" by the inexplicable force of Susan's horn.

This reminds me of how I ended up in Tallahassee. In a way, I was drawn here by an inexplicable force. My first choice of a job would have been doing youth ministry at a church in the Midwest, and yet here I am in Florida engaged in campus ministry. As the "Finding God in the Land of Narnia" book describes, it is "an adventure undertaken in response to an irresistible summons or call." I don't entirely understand why I have been drawn here, but I like the way the book explains the life of faith:

"We enter upon this adventure only because, like the Pevensies, we are specially chosen and called, because we are hooked, caught, and reeled in by the irresistible power of the Savior's love. Out of that foundational truth flows the strength to accept the challenge, the energy to accomplish the mission, and the endurance to reach the journey's end in triumph and joy."

Let me tell you a bit about my adventure this week!

Friday and yesterday I spent time being "present" on campus. I noticed a distinct difference between the two days. There were significantly fewer students around on Tuesday than Friday, and they generally looked more stressed out. I saw several who were dressed up and reading through notes as they walked. It's finals week, so say a prayer for a student today!

One big task this week is to plan for Sunday's Young Adult/Grad Student BBQ. Katie and I have definitely learned some lessons about event planning. For example, we ended up scaling down the budget by about $100. We had to decide what would stay and what would go, which was a good experience for us. I've particularly enjoyed one aspect of the planning: the invitations. Last week, I sent a lot of Facebook messages to students and got few replies. Yesterday, I sent an additional message to all of the grad students on my list, inviting them to the BBQ. I got a few more replies from people who hadn't replied to my original message! I had been doubting that Facebook was going to get me anywhere, but now I have renewed hope that God has a plan for everything. One message didn't work for everyone, but for some, a specific invitation was enough.

This morning, we discussed the first part of "Permanent Revolution." As I mentioned in my last blog, this book describes the different attributes of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. I am primarily a shepherd/teacher mix. (That sounds like a dog breed. At least I'm not labeled a retriever!) Katie ranks high in the prophet category, while Pastor Jay is an apostle. If anyone takes the FiveFold survey and is an evangelist, please join our little group and we will conquer the world. (Just kidding... mostly.) It's great that we all have different gifts to share. My results didn't surprise me, but I think one important lesson I can take from examining the different gifts is that all are important, and I need to learn how to work with each one.

Tonight, of course, was our Vespers-that-isn't-Vespers. We had a delicious Midwestern-style meal of pork chops and mashed potatoes and studied the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew 14. I really loved all of the different aspects of the story that were brought out in our discussion. We examined the event from all different points of view, from a bread seller in a nearby village to the people in the crowd to the disciples and finally to Jesus. I couldn't help feeling bad for Jesus. His cousin had just been beheaded, but he couldn't get away from the crowds to mourn. Instead of calling it a night when his disciples suggested the crowds leave, he showed his true compassion, despite his grief. He put his emotions aside and performed one of the more spectacular miracles of his ministry.

That's all for me, folks. I haven't heard back about my part-time job yet, but I have high hopes that I will have news by my next blog post. Sadly, I have no pictures this week; look forward to some BBQ pictures next week! I hope all is well with you, friends, wherever you may be.

A Blog for Everyone

Hi, FRIENDS! Please excuse the all-caps. I'm not yelling at you, promise. This week I'm just missing my home congregation, Messiah Lutheran Church, where a multitude of secret agents have infiltrated the building. That's right -- it's VBS week! I miss the kids and leaders at the FRIENDS midweek program. I hope it's been an excellent week at the International Spy Academy.

Meanwhile, in non-spy-land, I've been busy and loving it. Last week I had the opportunity to take a mini-vacation to Orlando to see my old college roommate Lindsey. We went to Universal Studios and had a great time being Harry Potter nerds together. I took a bus to and from Orlando, and the bus driver tried to convince me that I was too old for Harry Potter. People everywhere, you are never too old for Harry Potter.

Putting my nerdiness aside, I have also been doing campus ministry, promise. This last week has been particularly busy. For example, I've read the first part of "Permanent Revolution", contacted about 100 students via Facebook, and called about 100 churches in Florida. Let me give you some more details!

"Permanent Revolution" is an excellent book, albeit a difficult read for me. I really appreciate its commentary on Ephesians 4:1-16, focusing on verses 11-12. "He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Authors Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim point out that Ephesians is not intended to be read only by clergy; it is meant for laity. It is a book for everyone. They use the acronym "APEST" (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher) to explain that everyone has particular gifts that God intends to use for the expansion of his kingdom. If you're interested in this, you can check out the website FiveFoldSurvey.com and find out what your base gift is. Surprisingly, according to the survey, I have two base gifts: Shepherd and Teacher.

Each year, University Lutheran is given a list of Florida State students who self-designate themselves as "Lutheran" on their application forms. We recently acquired this list for the students taking summer classes, and Katie and I got right to work. We went through the students on the list one-by-one and did our best to find them on Facebook and send them a simple message in an attempt to connect them with University Lutheran's campus ministry.

In addition to University Lutheran contacting students directly, there is another way for students to get connected. LCMS-U attempts to help students connect with campus ministries near them wherever they go to school. One of my jobs this week has been to call Florida churches (because if Katie and I were expected to call all the churches in all the states, we would go mad) and tell them about the LCMS-U website, lcms.org/lcmsu. If they have students going to college in the fall, they can enter their information on the website and it will be sent to the campus ministry nearest them. It's an easy way for students to get connected. Connecting with the churches has proved to be not so easy; I've left a lot of voicemails and a lot of messages with secretaries! However, there have been those few exciting times when I've actually talked to the church's youth leader or pastor and led them through the process on the website. It's a great feeling to know that I may have contributed to a college student retaining his or her faith in college.

That's all I've got this week, friends! I hope you enjoyed reading about my random escapades. I've included a few pictures from Universal Studios.

A Wednesday in the Life

Hello, my friends! For my blog today I'd like to give you a look at what a day in the life of a campus missionary is like (at least, what it will be like until the fall semester starts and all hell breaks loose). So here we go!

Morning:

• Wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc.
• Meet with Pastor Jay and Katie for our morning devotion; this morning, based on Psalm 65
• Discuss ministry matters with PJ and Katie
• Work on ministry matters; for example, this week Katie and I have cooperatively written an article for Ignite, a LCMS youth ministry publication
• Eat lunch -- best done with someone; last week I was able to have lunch with another Florida State campus minister, and he gave me some good advice

Afternoon:

• Work on more ministry matters; today, I made an hour of cold calls to Florida churches to help them connect their recent high school graduates to campus ministries near their new schools
• Be "present" on campus; this entails picking a spot on the Florida State campus and simply being present, to take notice of the students who walk by (we will soon expand this to the Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M University campuses)
• Do desk-type work; this week we are assigned to plan our budget and read the first section of "Permanent Revolution" by Alan Hirsch & Tim Catchim

Evening:

• Eat dinner -- or, if it's Wednesday, attend Vespers! Tonight we had a tasty pot roast and purple (yes, purple) potatoes, and we studied Romans 8
• Relax -- or, if it's Wednesday, blog about my week! After Vespers seems to be a good time to sit down, chill, and reflect on the past 7 days
• Do something fun; for example, watch some TV, read a book, play some Pokemon
• Read and reflect on the Bible for my evening devotions
• Go to bed and wake up refreshed for another day!

There you go, a typical day in my life this summer. I didn't include mundane things such as applying sunscreen at least once a day or carrying an umbrella in case of very sudden and frequent rainstorms. Things will definitely change up soon enough, once students come back and I acquire a part-time job. (No news on that yet, although Katie has one at the Sweet Shop near church.) But for now, it's nice to have a routine. Funny, I say that and then plan to immediately break my routine by taking a mini-vacation to Orlando the next couple of days to see my old roommate Lindsey. Harry Potter for the win!

I've included some pictures again: the first is of my fancy new Florida State University official campus ministry ID! (Ignore my photo, it's very sad.) The second is my spare bed where I typically do my devotions in the evening. It looks much nicer now that I've added blankets, pillows, and my beloved stuffed animals. The third includes several items I use on a day-to-day basis, like my Bible, the book we're reading, a binder full of "Missionary Notes", the notebook in which I write everything, my folder of random things, and my daily agenda. That's all for me, folks. May God bless your day!

"I've been installed!" "Did it hurt?"

Hello, dear friends! Welcome to my second ever blog post. A lot has happened since last Monday; brace yourselves, it'll be an exciting ride! I'm joking, I'm not actually that exciting. But I am excited to tell you all about what has happened in Tally in the last week.

After another day of my solo explorations, Katie arrived on Wednesday. It was great to meet my fellow campus missionary! (If you'd like to meet her too, check out her blog: http://keboltwood.wordpress.com/) I can already tell we are going to work wonderfully together. We are opposites in many ways, but we both love Jesus, and that's the important thing! We can't wait to get into our ministry endeavors. We already got to eat lunch with our new friend Caroline on Thursday. She gave us all the insider details on FSU.

Both Katie's grandma ("Omi") and my mom were here this past weekend. We spent some time getting to know each other, Katie and Omi painted her room and got it all set up, and then there was the Fourth of July. My mom and I had the opportunity to eat lunch at the house of someone in the University Lutheran congregation, and we had such fun. We stayed for a couple of hours afterwards just chatting. Later that evening, Katie, Omi, my mom and I, plus Pastor Jay & Liz, went out to Tom Brown Park. It was a lovely celebration of our country's independence, with tasty food, good conversation, some fun bands, and fireworks. There were also pony rides, but sadly, my mother said no to riding a pony.

On Saturday, my mom and I did some tourist-y things. In the morning we went to the Downtown Marketplace, which is a quaint farmer's market-style event in downtown Tallahassee. I had the most delicious popsicle made out of fresh strawberries. Then we traveled to Thomasville, GA (about 40 minutes away). It has a downtown area with unique shops and art galleries. We bought some prints from a gallery and I found some cute gifts for friends at some of the shops. After Thomasville came Havana, FL (about 20 minutes out of Tally). Havana is famous for antiques, which are always interesting. It's also a historic site.

Sunday, of course, was Installation Day for Katie and me! It was a very meaningful experience. We said "I will, and I ask God to help me" a lot. The questions were good too, but the answer we gave- it really brings into perspective that this isn't about us or our qualifications or strengths, it's about what God will do through us.

After a delightful lunch at a place called Newk's, my mom and I settled into one of our favorite activities... watching NCIS. We were exhausted after being in the heat on Saturday. That evening we went to see a movie with Katie and Omi.

On Monday, before my mom had to fly back to Iowa, we got in some more tourist-y stuff. We visited the Florida State Capitol, which is like no capitol you've ever seen. I associate capitols with domes, but here, only the old capitol building has a dome. The new capitol looks like a big skyscraper. At first we thought that was odd, but when we went to the top floor, we began to wish there was something like this in Iowa. The view was incredible. I'll include a picture at the end. We also visited the Florida History Museum.

I drove my mom to the airport, and by the time I got back, Omi had left as well. Katie and I were sad, but we were also eager to start our work, which began straightaway Tuesday morning. We had a devotion with Pastor Jay and then a meeting about this year in general. It was an overload of information: dates, times, places, quarters, goals. Katie and I were a bit overwhelmed, but it was great to see an overview of what this year will be like. We were also given our first assignment: to apply for part-time jobs. It's considered a part of our ministry to get a part-time job in a student-rich environment in order to build relationships. We have both applied to a few places and are waiting to hear back. Hopefully I'll have news by my next blog!

To prepare for our missionary year, both Katie and I had to read the "Strengthsfinder" book by Tom Rath and take the survey associated with it. The survey details your five strengths. Mine are: Connectedness (I see the links between all things), Belief (I have certain unchanging values that give me purpose), Input (I have a craving to know more -- and I like to read, sound familiar, anyone?), Futuristic (I am inspired by the future and what could be), and Learner (I have a great desire to learn and to constantly improve). We discussed our strengths at our meeting, and I discovered that Pastor Jay and I share some strengths, while Katie and I are completely different. We should all complement each other quite nicely.

This morning, we once again started out with a devotion, and then Pastor Jay gave us our second assignment: to people-watch on campus to get a feel for what Tallahassee, and especially its students, are like. It was interesting to say the least, although I didn't have nearly as cool of an experience as Katie. She was able to have a half-hour conversation with someone and witness to them about Christ! I was so excited to hear about it afterwards. We are already making a difference here.

This evening was Vespers, which, as Pastor Jay says, is not actually Vespers. It starts out with a dinner and turns into a casual Bible study. Tonight we took a look at Psalm 145:1-10, which is a passage I really enjoy. You should all check it out! Afterwards, Katie, Caroline and I did a Dollar Tree run, and now I'm here, writing this post. Shocker, right? I've included some pictures at the end again. The first is from Sunday's installation (and no, Dad, it did not hurt.) The second is me with a beautiful Crape Myrtle tree grabbing the Spanish Moss that hangs off of every single tree that exists in Tallahassee, I'm fairly certain. The third is me with the view from the top of the Capitol. Incredible, isn't it? That's all for me. I hope you are all blessed on this day the Lord has made!