ahhh, the sweetness of friendship

FRIENDSHIP.

what a blessing friendship is. true, beautiful friendship. oooo, I just love it!

I've been thinking a lot about friendship recently. Maybe it's because most of my best friends are over 2,000 miles away from me. Maybe it's because I get to see one of my besties in just a couple weeks for her bridal shower. And, maybe, it's just because.

Anyway about it, true friendship melts my heart. Since I'm sort of the philosophical sort, I thought I'd write out what makes a good friend and a good friendship.

        

One of my favorite things about my best friend loves is that when with these wonderful people, I have no fear being truly myself. They accept me and love me for me--and this of course is reciprocated :)

 Perhaps most of all, we give each other the benefit of the doubt.

 Whether it is laughter or tears, or tears from laughter, simply being together is better than being apart.

 Distance apart and time between visits doesn't matter, we are important to each other.

And of course, we love each other.

Just writing about friendship makes me smile :) What does friendship mean to you?

Tabitha Shelter

Hi Everyone! I hope you are doing well :) It has been a while since I've posted anything, sorry about that! Today, I want to tell you all about a really wonderful organization called Tabitha Ministries!

One part of Tabithat Ministries is the Tabitha Shelter. This is a volunteer-run women's shelter organized by Bethany Community Church. It is an incredible organization that gives shelter and protection to women Tuesday through Friday night each week. Tabitha Shelter partners with Noel House, which has paid staff positions and offers a more extensive range of resources. This ministry at Bethany Community Church is coordinated through five different types of volunteers--those who comprise the nutrition team, the hospitality team, the prayer team, the transportation team and the overnight team. Each one of these positions makes the ministry successful. Guests at Tabitha have told me that they truly feel at home and safe when they stay with Tabitha.

Check out this video for some more insight into this organization!

Tabitha Ministries is not solely the shelter. Tabitha also has a food bank to provide food for those who are in need. It also includes a monthly community meal which connects people from different walks of life. The Bethany Community Church website says it well, "The Community Dinner is not simply providing a meal, however; it is creating a space where connect on can happen between the church and the community. It’s about welcoming people into our church home and caring for them. "


I first felt led to volunteer with this ministry last fall. During church one sunday, an informational video was presented, and I just felt like God was tapping on my shoulder and saying this was where I needed to serve. More and more, I have felt that I need to live out my faith in concrete and daily ways. I have long done community service and volunteer work. However, it has been some years since my service has been directly correlated with a Christian organization. This does not mean that my service and my Christian faith are not related, they very much are and I will discuss this in an upcoming blog, it simply means that others don't always know this relationship exists. It also means that during my service, I am not given the opportunity to share how I feel Jesus fits into the picture, offering true hope and true transformation. With all of this on my heart, I felt that the next step in living out my faith was to not only serve with Tabitha, but to serve as an overnight volunteer--the position which had the most need for volunteers.

An overnight volunteer arrives shortly before the guests arrive and spends the night along side them. The next morning the overnight volunteer puts out breakfast and helps the women stack up their mattresses and get ready for the bus. I have been an overnight volunteer twice so far. Each time, truthfully, I enter the situation with a bit of apprehension. However, the experience is lovely. It is so refreshing to and such a blessing to me to get to interact with these women and have all my stereotypes of homelessness constantly challenged. Some of these women have full time jobs, work in retail, have military husbands, have been homeless for years or just days. There is a whole range of women and a whole range of personalities. And, it is wonderful.

If you have the opportunity to do so, I challenge you to find a place in your community where you can create relationships with people that you otherwise would likely not come into contact with. Give where you have surplus. For me, I don't have much extra money to give, so money isn't what I give. I do however, have the ability to give up one night a month to sleep along side these women at Tabitha, and what a privilege it is do so.

Thankful Thursday: freshman year

Hi Everyone!
I thought I'd do Thankful Thursday a bit different this week, with a photo flashback to a wonderful phase of my life.
My freshman year at Gettysburg College was WONDERFUL! I made some really great friendships with people I now call my very best friends, I grew enormously in my relationship with Jesus, I found out more of who I could be outside of the confines of high school, and I just really came into myself. Needless to say, I am so thankful for how I grew during my first year of college, and how the people and experiences shaped my life (and continue to do so).

Here are some photos that document the journey. I hope you laugh and enjoy :)

Happy reminiscing!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I know there are a lot of people who don't much care for Valentine's Day, whether it is because it demonstrates the commercialism/consumerism that drives our country or it is because they are single or something else, but I have to say, I am a BIG fan, and always have been.

I love love and I love celebrating love. Valentine's Day is just this wonderful excuse to send people cards and tell them that you love them :) I'm a romantic, can you tell??

beautiful flowers from JT :)

This year my sweetheart and I are on opposite sides of the country, so there was no typical Valentine's Day date night. However, let me say, we made the most of it! Via skype we had a really lovely dinner date, where we had wonderful conversation and really just enjoyed each other's presence (thank you, technology!). While we were talking, the doorbell rang and... to my wonderful surprise a beautiful bouquet of flowers was dropped off for me, with a sweet little note from my love. Flowers are a sure way to my heart :) It was so great getting to feel so much closer than 3,000 miles away. I got to see the expression on his face when he opened his gifts, one of which was an "edge brownie pan." To me, little things like that are priceless!

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At New Futures we celebrated Valentine's Day by decorating hearts with the Colorful Hands kiddos. Once again, I was impressed--they have such creativity! I also did a similar activity with the kiddos I take care of during the ELL class and also with the wonderful little girl I babysit. Can you tell I love hearts??

by ELL Child Care Kiddos

Audrey's workbench!

Colorful Hands Kiddos working hard!

Hearts by CH Kiddos!

All their beautiful work is pretty precious, huh!?

Wherever this finds you, I hope that you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day celebrating with a lovey, a good friend, your family or just some delicious chocolate and a glass of wine.
Wishing you all the love in the world!