Thursday Thoughts

It is soo gorgeous outside! Why am I inside writing, you wonder? I don't really know either, other than I still feel kind of crummy from being sick this weekend. I'm gearing myself up to go work on a project but I got distracted by email and blogging, which means Emeril Lagasse is droning away in the other room without me... I hope someone else I like better comes on by the time I make my way in there.

I got to leave after lunch at work (internship, technically) today since there wasn't anything for me to do this afternoon after my supervisor left. AND I get tomorrow totally free, since the site I was planning to observe wanted to reschedule for a different day! I really think I need this little break; as much as I am enjoying my internship, it's a wee bit overwhelming at times, and I'm pretty tired by the end of the week.
This afternoon we're going to watch my brother Sam's baseball game, and I'm pretty excited. He usually plays catcher, since he's a really good catcher (especially considering he's only 11!) and I love watching him jump up and knock off his catcher's helmet to chase after a foul or bad pitch. He's pretty cute and special to me.

We had folks from Bible study over until almost 11 last night - Bible study starts at 7, but it's a common thing for people to stay a really long time, which we love. It was a goal of ours to make our house into a haven and welcome place for friends to come and feel comfortable staying as long as they wanted, and I feel like we've succeeded in making it so. It was a really great discussion last night; it was a particularly good and convicting chapter in Blue Like Jazz about stepping out in the community in faith, so we actually talked about a lot of really practical ways to live out our faith and be lights in the community. So far, we've talked about starting with a free car wash (no donations accepted), a free BBQ, and doing neighborhood walks where we ask if we can do yardwork for people. I was excited to see people get excited about acting out together rather than just meeting together. This time since January/February, when we started meeting, has been really good for creating strong bonds of fellowship and love within the group, but I am excited to see the outward display of these bonds as we start to serve our community together and love others in the name of Christ. I was well-pleased with Bible study, as I always am. It's amazing what God is doing in our little group of 10 or so - first, He's grown us from about 4-5 up to consistently having at least 8-9 each week. Additionally, he's answered so many prayers that we've shared with each other and prayed for - already! It's so wonderful and encouraging to see God at work in the lives of young people in our church and community. I just pray that we continue to grow together as a group in size and depth.