Revealing Grace

I am an extrovert, 100%. I love people, being with people, doing nothing with people, anything but being alone. So one aspect of my weekend on the Apache rez that was so fulfilling was the many interactions with people. By the end of the weekend I thought my heart might explode. I received so much encouragement from students, co-volunteers, and staff members that by the end of my time I felt filled up to overflowing. Here is a recap of why the weekend was so great:  Relationships with inspiration: The first stand out interaction was that with one of my students from the summer. This girl is my inspiration. When I met her she was pregnant, and just a few months before the baby was to be born her boyfriend/the father killed himself. It was unexpected and devastating. But she held strong, clinging to the sweet life of the baby that was to come. This weekend I got to hold her sweet baby and spend some time with her at her house. Here she gave me some ridiculously awesome news......

Guys. What a weekend . Seriously. I don't think I can imagine it being any better and lovelier than it was. Ok, well, actually the first part could have been better. Perhaps my readers were not flexing their prayer muscles quite yet because the first four things that happened were as follows: 1. My plane was delayed 2 hours. (Not fun. But I did get hit on by an attractive guy which was, in fact, kind of fun and a total ego boost.) 2. I hardcore slipped in the shower. 3. I broke my friend's car she let me borrow. First thing. Just sat down, pulled the seat lever, and tore it right off. Who knew I had such strength!? 4. I had to listen to the Luke Bryan cd on repeat for two hours b/c there were no radio stations. Bad. So so bad. So the beginning was rocky. But it got so much better. The first stop was the rez where I got to hang out with the kids at The Kennel after school and then go to The Rising (the youth group meeting thing) that night. I was thoroughly satis...

Guys, isn't the new and improved Revealing Grace so pretty? I have to thank my friend Mica for taking the time to patiently listen to me (and believe me, it took patience. Finals week made me tired and brain dead), for helping me form my vision for the blog, and for creating such a wonderfully girly, oh-so-me header. He is definitely the bomb. In other news, I am going back to the reservation today!!! Yay!! I fly out tonight and will drive the 3 hours to the White Mountain Apache reservation in the morning. I am so excited to take a break from SoCal Fuller life and get back to the nitty gritty. I will be spending 6 days hanging out with my students from this past summer, laughing with my Apache family and fellow staff members, and having so much fun at their spring retreat. Can you tell I'm excited? At the same time we all remember how tough the summer was for me as I worked with my students through their struggles and hardships (see here  if you just tuned in). So I woul...

You know those weeks where you eat whole pints of ice cream in one sitting and make multiple visits to frozen yogurt joints? (Yes, I tend to bathe my woes in cream and sugar. Don’t judge.) Well, last week was definitely one of those weeks. I have a pretty fabulous life so I normally don’t have more than a few hours of “bad” but last week was just plain rotten. Like when you accidentally leave old food in a tupperware container for 2 weeks and then open it. Gross. (Yes, that happens every now and then. I live alone and I forget things. Again, don’t judge). But I have good news for you, and me, well mostly me because you don’t have to deal with me when I get all bad moody. Unless I leave you voicemails with a quick succession of all the things I hate before going to my group meeting (sorry Jess). If you are Jess then this is good news for you too.  Today I feel like I have finally freed myself from the bad week monster that was hanging on my back. It has been a combination of ...

1. When using the bathroom do not compliment the other person washing their hands on their outfit and its fabulous colors. Perhaps because of the show we are going to she will look at you weirdly and most likely think you are hitting on her. 2. Do not then tell your friends and fellow Ellen Show goers about said encounter. They will proceed to stare at the lady in the colorful outfit and she will become sure that you love her. 3. While waiting to be let in the studio do not stick your finger in the holes of the bench. While your friends are talking about weddings your finger will be seriously stuck due to your rather large knuckles. You will frantically try to pull at it, wondering why you act like a 4 year old child, and have a brief moment of panic. 4. If you happen to get your finger stuck, finally pull it loose, and then look up, you will most likely find the tourist on the other bench staring at you. She will kindly say something generic about "hating when that happens...