The Animals of Orlando

Ok, so Orlando is a big city right? I mean it's not as big as New York, LA, or Las Vegas....but it's a fairly big city. So I live in the Downtown area of Orlando. You'd expect large buildings, buses, stores, etc. Well, I have been very surprised by the amount of animals I have run into in Orlando!

Here's a turtle I found in the church parking lot! I named him Timmy. However, I did make Shan pick him up and put him in our church retention pond so he wouldn't get run over by a car.


So I'm at the Super Target near the mall of Mellnia and I'm loading some stuff in my car. As I look down, there is a giant white duck by my foot! It totally freaked me out! So I turned around and there was whole family of white ducks just walking around in the parking lot....is this normal? We're in the middle of the city people. You know you're big time when there is an IKEA down the street!


Also this surprized me the most! Peacocks! Yes they are everywhere here! I've almost hit two already with my car because they just walk out into the road. I thought you could only see peacocks at the zoo!



Last but not least, we have black swans! I thought they only came in white, it was a delightful discovery.

A Season of Change

Ok, I haven't actually written anything meaningful on here in a while! Life has been crazy over the last 8 months. I feel like I just moved to Orlando yesterday. This is just a really weird time in my life. I'm starting to feel more like a "grown-up" but yet I still act like I'm 12 :o) It's been hard leaving all the people in Jacksonville and adjusting to my new life in Orlando. But I'm loving it.

It's totally different then I thought it was going to be, I'm learning a lot about myself and a lot about ministry. I'm feeling like this is my first year of ministry ever and I'm making so many mistakes. It's weird going from a team of three elementary directors, a family ministry staff of ten, full cleaning crew, tons of volunteers, and a large staff to being the Children's Minister at a small church. Although I really feel like God has me right were He wants me.

I spoke at a retreat in October and the whole theme was "The Harvest is ready." The first night, I talked about how we gather the harvest in the fall which is the season of change and how we need change in our lives. If we never go through change then we're never growing. Change may hurt but it shapes and molds us into who we are and builds our character.

Right now, I'm in my season of change. I can feel God humbling me, molding me, and shaping me into the person He wants me to be. I feel like the last year has been trial and error. I've learned a ton of lessons over the past 12 months. I've learned not to do everything by myself. I need to depend on God more. I've learned that I love living by myself - I was so afraid. I love cities. I love meeting new people. I love watching God take my messes and use them for His glory. I've learned I need to work less and serve more. I've also learned not to live life playing defence but to now take the lead and go offensive!

I'm changing and God is shaping me and I can't wait to see what this next season holds!

Can you Believe this?

Happy Father's Day!

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I Love My Volunteers!

Hey! So we're doing a six week Wednesday Night Program called Summer Camp! It's so fun and so messy! I'll post more on that later. But some of my volunteers were having so much fun they decided to do a little dance :o)

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The joys of working at an old church!

Wow! It has been forever sense I posted! I've been really busy and having lots of fun! And being really stressed out because I started and planned to much stuff :o) But it's awesome. As I've been doing some cleaning around the church property and organizing stuff, I've found some really amazing things! Things worthy of taking pictures because no one will believe me!

One of the first rooms I decided to clean out was the Resource Room. Here are some pictures of what it looked like before:













And after I have all my new bins organized and label I'll show you my progress pictures.

But here are some of the things I've found!

This is a box of old Bible stories with record soundtracks....I don't even remember the last time I saw a record! Let alone listen to one. This is just a Sunday School classic!


Um, I didn't realize that Jesus had a tv through which He taught HIs disciples?


I also found this Bible story Album! It's great! If you look closely at the cover of the album you can see the Bible School Teacher teaching the little children about Jesus and they sit in awe!!!! I don't think I've ever seen a projector that takes old film like this. I feel like I've been digging around in some old movie theather and I've found some lost film!

Hey look you can see the pictures!


And I totally forgot about Peaches music store! Do these still exist? I loved that store!


And this tape was copyrighted the year I was Born!


If anything ever says "As Seen on TV" it's probably not a good idea....


And I'm pretty sure this is the hymnal book the disciples used!

And these are the orginal communion cups the church used when it first started!!!! They would put the grape juice in the silver pitcher thing and then I guess they would pass the cups around to the congregation? Sean like the call them the "Holy Grail."





Lol, I've had a lot of fun finding all this old stuff and really learning the history of FCCO. I may make fun of it, but I do think it's important to remember where you came from. These are the people that have built the foundation of FCCO and withouth them we'd have nothing--even if they did drink out of the holy grail! God is good!

Thank you God for projectors, old film slides, silver cups, and dust! You are so good and we know that through you all things are possible! That we don't have to have the latest and greatest technology, we just need to put you first and watch the ordinary become extraordinary!

Believe!

So this is one of the posts, I should have posted a really long time ago, but because I couldn't download pictures I never did. On March 28th and 29th I went with Christ's Church to Believe. It was kinda weird because I had already started my new job and on my first weekend, I was going with my old church to a conference as a sponsor. But it was great! It was good to have closur on a great experince and say goodbye to some people I really love.

Here's a picture of me and some of the sponsors. TO the right of me is Nicole Benscoter. I love and miss her so much! We were 10th grade small group leaders together and she is seriously the best person I have ever met! She is so real and she loves God so much.


And here's a picture of my group and another group sitting on the bulls outside of our convention center.


Also we had Civil War Reenactors at our hotel! So of course we had to take pictures with them! This is a once in a lifetime expereince!


It was really a great time! It was a great time to say goodbye and to start my new adventure. It also reminded me of the importance of pouring into someone else and doing life together. We're not meant to be on our own little islands. We're made to live in community and to CONNECT (theme of Believe) not only to each other but to God.

God is so good! Thank you GOd for Friends, Family, Community, and Civil War Reenactments!

Postcard, Friends, and Noah's Ark

Ok, I have a ton of blogs to post. However, I keep leaving my camera cable at home and so I can't put up any pictures. So much stuff has happened. I'm still working at FCCO and I'm still living with Becca. But everything else just feels like a whirlwind (more explanation later).

So I made my very first postcard! It's for a parent meeting I'm hosting next weekend. It took me forever to make because I don't have Illustrator on my computer and I had to make it in Publisher...which I now hate. Anyway, I got most of the graphics off of istock.com, which my lovely friend Crystal introduced me to. Here's the front:



And here's the back:



I'm going to Jacksonville today to watch the Office with Terry and Tammy, and then I'm going to get a bunch of stuff done on my car tomorrow. I really miss all my friends in Jacksonville. And I really miss The Well. I miss just acting like myself and being surrounded by people I knew. The people in Orlando are great but I don't really feel like I can act like myself yet, and I don't know anyone's name! It's just different right now.

So I've already made someone mad :o/ I was cleaning out the church resource room and apparently I throw away an Ark that someone had made. And the measurements were to scale. It didn't look like an ark. It looked like a paper organizer or mail sorter. Someone else thought it was a paper organizer also...because there were paper's in it. Anyway it made the lady really mad and Shan had to clam her down. And he's having someone make another one for her. So fun times....

I'll post more later!

My Second Day On the Job

So I've offically been on staff at FCCO for a whole two days now! I'm totally loving it and I'm so excited to see what God is going to do! I'm having so fun but I really haven't done anything yet. On Monday, I pretty much unloaded my car and set up my office and had my first offical "staff meeting." On Tuesday I finished setting up my office and had a couple of meetings and walked through the building and classrooms.

Here are some pictures of my adventure!



This is our staff in the conference room/ Dorothy's office. We're kinda in the middle of renovating the backside of the offices. So my office, the conference room, and Dorothy's office are in one big room -- it's work in progess. But anyway, every Tuesday is Firehouse Tuesday and we eat Firehouse subs together. So this is us eatting our lunch. On the left is Trisha, she's the church secetary. I love her to death! She's loud, Itailian, and has a ton of energy -- we're going to be best friends. Nest to her is Dorothy. Dorothy is our Senior Adults Minister. She lived In Guahna for 38 years. She is full of energy and totally has a heart for God! It's funny because she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet but she's not afraid to tell you when you're being stupid or selfish. Next to her is Shan. He's the preacher and he knows how to kill a person in 25 different ways. Next to him is Sean. he's the Youth Minister, a huge Miami Hurricanes fan, Star Wars Fan, and Lord of the Rings Fan. And then there's me.



This is Shan going to "talk" to one of our neighbors. They guy was trimming his bushes and then throwing the scrap pieces over the fence on to our property. Trisha and I watched and laughed from my office window.





This is my temporary office space.




And these are all my boxes and trash from the move.



And this is what I get to wear to work everyday! Jeans and Flip Flops!!! This is the best job ever! Man I need to get a pedicure!

Amazing Video!

This is Stranton's Story:

I heart Target

I love shopping at Target. As a matter of fact, if I have some time to kill, I'll stop at Target and walk around admiring all the pretty things that I should not buy. The stores are always so clean and the quality is really nice and trendy. One more fun fact, they keep their coolers colder then most stores. So when I buy a mountain dew to go, I can feel the icy goodness running down my throat (I'm getting thirty just thinking about it)!

Although, many times I'm in a hurry and I'll run to target to buy an item and try to get out as soon as possible. One trick I have is to park in the garden section. I always get a parking spot in the front, I can run in without talking or looking at anyone, and then there is never a line at the check out. I've been doing this for a while and the old man who works in the garden section has come to recognize me. He is always very polite, friendly, and making jokes. Many times, I smile and nod at him to be polite but I'm really thinking "Hello! I parked in the garden section and I'm not even buying any plants. Can't you tell I'm one of those people who like to get in and get out. I don't want to have a conversation. I know you're paid to be nice to people, but I'll let you off the hook, can't you please just ring me up and print off that nice red and white receipt-- in all Christian love."

This weekend, I had to buy some last minute Easter Candy on Saturday. Which is a horrible idea, you have to give up your first born just to get a look at some pink marshmellow peeps. But, I parked in the garden section and I was on a mission. As I was checking out I noticed my nice old man. He was wearing bunny ears and welcoming everyone. There was also a mom in the garden section who has also figured out my trick. She had a cart full of supplies and stoped to look at some plants. I guess she was a regular too because this guy knew the names of all her kids. And my cash register guy explained that "nice old man" always occupied the kids while mom shoped around in this section. They loved "cleaning" off all the lawn furniture and chairs to help nice old man with his job. I say "cleaning" because that was the opposite of what they were doing, instead they were getting their figure prints all over everything and smudging dirt everywhere. But they loved it. And nice old man loved it.

I left target that day in a great mood and with a smile on my face. Suddenly my mission wasn't as important as I thought it was. I realized that nice old man was going appove and beyond and it was affecting others in a positive way.

What if we all decided to go above and beyond and totally make a strangers day. I think the world would be a better place. Thanks nice old man. Thanks Target.

A New Season

I've finally made a decision. The process of finding a new job has taken forever! About 8 months ago I really felt like God was calling me to change jobs. I didn't know what that would look like. I've gone from every extreme imaginable! Some of my options were 1.) move to Cincinnati, work in a restaurant, help with a homeless ministry, and just have fun with friends for a while. 2.) Be an elementary school teacher in Jacksonville or Atlanta. 3.) Work in corporate America, make lots of money, pay off debt, and then work at a church or help with a church plant. 4.) Live at home, and be more involved in actually doing Family Ministry.

This was the hardest decision I've ever made. I've had so many sleepless nights and I feel like my stomach has been hurting sense October. I love the people at Christ's Church and I have made friendships here that will last a life time. I am closer to people in Jacksonville then I am to my own family and people here that I would die for. But I really felt like God was calling me to go.

At first I wanted to just run away and have fun! I'm young, single, and have nothing holding me down. And then I wanted to find a job and make lots of money. But all of those were ideas I was just juggling in my head. However, as circumstances arose and decisions had to be made, reality began to sink in. This is really going to happen. And as I began to act on my ideas, my true passions and true goals came into light. I realized that I can't just work a normal job. The thought of working 8-5 with no purpose and no meaning became my biggest fear. There is so much more to life then just existing and paying bills. I also realized my desire to be deeply involved in a church. I realized that these were things that defined me and drove me everyday -- to remove them would throw me into a whirlwind. As I was praying about what God wanted me to do, some of my friends began to call me about ministry opportunities at their churches. I talked to so many churches! Some were huge and some were small. Some had women elders and some were 20 hours away. As job offers were coming and flight plans were being made, I realized I needed to put some things into perspective.

I was comparing alot of jobs by the pay check, church size, and proximity of my parents. Um, shouldn't it be about where does God want me to go? I could have gone to a church that had thousands of people, was about to build a huge children's building, and give me a nice paycheck. But that's not what it's about. It's about God and how I can impact others for Him. I didn't want to go to a church that was in the Bible Bell and had good Christian churches on every other street corner. Where was I needed and where could I make the biggest impact.

First Christian Church of Orlando contacted me about a year ago with a job opportunity. I turned it down and never thought twice about it. It was a small church and I wasn't keen on the idea of living in Orlando again. However, it kept coming up. And the Youth Minister called me several times through the year. I know the Youth Minister and the Senior Minister pretty well. They are both amazing men that strive to serve God in everything they do. I finally decided to send them a resume, just to say I gave them a chance. However, as I talked to them and the elders on the phone, everything was seeming to click. I visited the church a couple times and I really felt like I was home and could see myself doing ministry there. It was weird, because when you put all the pros and the cons on a sheet of paper, FCCO was not the place for me. But my God is way bigger then pros and cons. Eventually it all came down to impact. The opportunity for ministry and growth in downtown Orlando is huge! There are so many hurting people there that are looking for answers. There are so many venues to meet nonchristians and invite them to church. And at FCCO there was a need. Many of the churches I interviewed at could hire anyone. If I said no, they'd be on to the next candidate. And they were all easy. They'd be easy jobs, where I'd have to do is sit in an office, plan the curriculum, recruit volunteers, and fill out paperwork for approval. I need a challenge. I need a drive and I need a goal to strive for. I want to get people excited about serving Christ and telling others about Him.

So lets go! Here I am Lord, Send me. Send me wherever you want me to go. I'll go to a shack in Haiti or I'll go to a church of 20,000. I'm yours Lord, everything I've got, everything I am, everything I'm not. I'm completely yours.

So, I'm packing up my office and I'm going to First Christian Church Orlando. This is definitely not a good "career" move, but this is a great ministry move!

In trying to figure out God's will for your life Andy Stanley says, "The problem is not God's unwillingness to communicate, the problem is our unwillingness to follow through. Because there is a tendancey on our part to say 'God I want you to show me what to do, so I can consider it and put it in my basket of options....' God does not give us direction for consideration....God waits until we're at a point in our lives where we say 'God, I don't care what you say or what the answer is. The answer from my perspective is YES, YES, YES! Now what do you want me to do.' When you get to that point personally, you're going to hear from God loud and clear. Because God loves to give direction to his children, but he does not give out information for contemplation and consideration, He gives it out for participation!"

Break it Down Now

So it's my last week at Christ's Church :o( However, we decided to lighten the mood a little bit and have one last jam session before I'm gone.

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Happy St.Patrick's Day!

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I Hate Decisions!

The past six months have felt like a whirlwind! Between one of my best friends moving to the other side of the world, my dad getting sick, totalling my car, moving three times, finally making the decision to quit my job, going on interviews, deciding what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, all of my friends having babies, and watching major changes in the direction of my church -- I feel like I can't even breath.

I hate change, I know it's necessary and I know it can be a good thing. But I like being complacent, and I like being safe. And I hate being the one to make change. It's just so much easier to go through the motions, to get tasks done, and just not feel anything. Wake up. Eat. Work. Balance checkbook. Watch TV. And then do it all over again. But that's not what God made us to do! And that is not safe, it's exactly what Satan wants us to think!

I'm reading a book by Erwin McManus titled "Chasing Daylight." Oddly enough the chapter I am read right now is about Choices. He challenges us to abandon the monotony of life and to begin an adventure. And you'll be stuck in the mundane if you refuse to risk all that you have for all that could be. And the life that God calls us to live is nothing less than an adventure. We were born to live a great adventure; we were created with a divine destiny; we were called to fulfill a great mission. We were designed for a unique purpose. Now we're called to live it out!

I could have decided to keep my job, and I could have decided to live in Jacksonville for the rest of my life. But that would be safe and I would just be going through the motions. I have some decisions to make and I just wish that God would speak audibly to me and tell me what to do. As I said before, I hate making decisions. I literally made myself sick when I had to buy a new car, let alone deciding what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. But, this is all part of the adventure! God didn't make us puppets. He created us to live life, to be molded and shaped, to learn, and to make an impact on this world!

Shame on me for getting so caught up in my own life that I forgot to live and to love others.

"Moments are as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands in the sea, and any of them could prove to be your most significant divine moments. Within those moments, a handful will become the defining moments in your life. However, mundane a moment may appear, the miraculous may wait to be unwrapped within it. You rarely know up front the eternal significance of a moment. When a moment is missed, you have a glimpse at an opportunity lost. When you dream, you look to a moment still to come. The moment that you begin to imagine all the moments you are responsible for, it can become overwhelming. Yet moments are not independent, isolated, or disconnected. What you do with this moment affects every moment to come. This is your moment. The biblical imagery for a moment is the wink of an eye. In other words, don't blink or you'll miss it." -ErwinMcManus

"God will bless your good decisions and redeem your bad ones." -Terry Davis' friend, I can't remember his name.

I'm a blog stealer!

I totally stole this blog from Arron Chambers, but I couldn't help it. It's titled "Brittany is my Hero." Brittany Fluharty is one of my new closest friends. I love her dearly and I'm really sad that I'm about to move away from her. She has a huge heart for God and I envy her passion for people. I'll let you read what Arron wrote:

"About eight months ago I delivered a message at The Well in which I presented my heart for victims of HIV and AIDS and my desire that we do more.

Sometimes we preachers don't know if the message is getting through.

Well, one of the people in the audience that night was a young woman named Britney Fluharty. Britney told me later that she knew that she had to do something, so she did.

She prayed, she got informed, she mobilized volunteers, and even formed her own non-profit organization to minister to people living with HIV and AIDS.

She's my hero!

I'm so amazed at what God is already doing through this courageous young woman.

Last fall Britney contacted a local clinic that provides care for people who are infected with HIV to find out what we could do to help them. Based on that conversation Britney organized a drive to collect clothing and baby supplies for The University of Florida Rainbow Center at Shands Jacksonville. The Rainbow Center is a family-centered, comprehensive health care provider for HIV-infected or exposed infants, children, adolescents, women and their families, including their partners. Affiliated with the UF Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, the center provides a full array of patient care services, including screening, counseling, medical care, medical case management, health education, nutrition and dietary evaluation, pharmacist assistance and social services.

The mission of the Rainbow Center is to enhance the quality of life of children, adolescents and families affected by HIV by providing compassionate, comprehensive care. In addition, the center strives to increase awareness and understanding of HIV through leadership, service and education, with the ultimate goal of decreasing the transmission of HIV.

Yesterday we delivered the first batch of gifts and we were so blessed by the reception we received from the staff at the Rainbow Center. They are wonderful people and we are so excited to be partnering with them.



Here are some pictures from our visit yesterday (in the group shot Britney is kneeling in the front row wearing a brown shirt) during which we delivered about 10 hampers full of baby supplies and many bags full of baby clothes. We have a ton of stuff collected and ready for the Center, but they didn't have room for all of it, so we just delivered a portion:



I'm so grateful for Britney. She has already made a big impact at the Rainbow Center, but she's just getting started. God has given her a heart--and vision--for a dynamic ministry to the people living with HIV and AIDS in Jacksonville and I can't wait to see what God does next through my hero.

Christ's Church Kids

So this weekend our Senior Minister is going to be preaching on Families. My lovely friend, Sara Manny put this video together to showcase our programs. She only had a weekend to put it together but she really did a great job!

AIDS

The problem with AIDS has really been weighing on my heart this year. I've been reading a lot of books by Donald Miller and Shane Clairborne and have really been convicted about what I do as a Christian. So many times we talk about God's love but we never show God's love especially to the people that need it the most. It's so easy to love and be kind to Christians in the chruch but how many of us actually are the church? And how many of us actually take the church outside of these four walls! It's so easy to get caught up in our own lives and never see the hurting people around us.

The Well (the alternative service at Christ's Church) has recently decided to start an organization to help people with AIDS and we are also going to sponsor an AIDS walk! My friend Brittany has played a tremendous role and I am so proud of her! She also sent me this video featuring Kay Warren. I was completely convicted....I want to live in three worlds!

New Resume

Ok, I think I may have completed my Resume. Everytime I think I'm done, i noticed something is off center, I misspelled a word or typed something twice....this is a headache. But here it is, drumroll please..........Tah Dah!

StoryTime and FITS

StoryTime and FITS are two programs I am in charge of. They are both outreach programs to stay at home moms with Preschoolers.

We have Storytime the first three Wednesdays of the month from 10-11am. We'll read stories and have activities for the first 30 minutes and then we have a craft and snack time. We always have a theme and the snack and craft go with the theme.



Fun In The Sun (FITS) is a cookout we have once a month (on the fourth wednesday) at a local park.

Church Video

Here's a video that our Executive Minister put together for a Sermon Series entitled "I AM Christ's Church." It's kinda cheesey, but it gives a good overview of what happens at our church. They happened to catch me leading worship in Rooftop, I'm the one in the black shirt and Khaki's.

Rooftop

Here's some pictures of when we did the Scooby Doo skit in Rooftop. Rooftop is our large Group for K-4th Graders. We use the 252 Basics as our Curriculum which is based out of Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta, Georiga. If you've ever gone to the GrowUp Conference or seen KidStuf, that's what we do on a much smaller scale. But we have live drama, singing, lots of media, lights, and fun!

Jingle Jam

JINGLE JAM 2007! Jingle was an event we held on November 30th in our Worship Center. The Curriculum we use, 252Basics, is now writting these programs for churches that they can put on four times a year. We used the Jingle Jam program to kick off our December virtue of PEACE and to showcase or Mainstreet and Rooftop Elementary Program. Mainstreet is what we call our small group hour and Rooftop is what we call our large group hour.

All in all, Jingle Jam was a great event! We had over 2,300 people there! And 25% of our attenders did not have a church home, We used "Frosty" as our hook and we paraded him all over our church, community events, and even on a local news station. My favorite aspect of Jingle Jam was "The Little Drummer Boy." It's the picture on the bottom left. We had a soloist sing the first verse of the song, and it was really slow and beautiful. Then we had one of our middle school boys, dressed in an old drummer boy costume, come walking up the middle aisle playing a drum. By the time he reached the stage we had the mandarin high drumline dressed as STOMP playing trashcans, and then we ended on a really powerful note with the music, trashcans, and our drummerboy all at once! It was amazing. We actually stole the idea from my old church Calvary Chapel (don't worry I called and asked permission). You can look up the orginial on youtube if you just type little drummer boy and Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale.

Resumes

Ok, I've offically decided that I hate writting resumes. So many people give you so many suggestions and I just feel lost. I've never had to write a resume before. I've always gotten hired because I knew someone or from a previous job performance. I've made my best attempt at writting a resume and here they are. I really wanted a creative looking resume because I want it to show my personality a little. But I also realize that a lot of people don't like that, so this is what I got. I'm probably going to make several more. I wasn't able to fit all my past job experience and references on one page :o(

Here's the more creative one: