Shower hair clog-0 Andrea-1
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Streetlight Update-It's All About Attitude to Change Your Way of Thinking...
I was instructed by a friend ::ahem...Rachel...:: to give an update on Streetlight and what all is happening with that venture. Here goes (for you Rachel, and for all other blog readers :o)
This summer I started volunteering with whatever Streetlight needed. So far I've done paperwork, organizing and some financial planning. Financial planning? What do you mean Andrea? I'll explain. Streetlight is set up on the model that pays only a very small group of head staff members and the rest either volunteer or are community supported. Community supported staff are just what they sound like: people who work and are supported by the community. Right now there is not yet a system set up for those who need to raise funds (aka fundraising...but I'm going to stay away from that word because of the negative connotation). I'm putting together a very rough draft of a system that could be used for community supported staff. It sounds easy, but is very thought provoking and time intensive. First of all, being a faith based organization, biblical reference must be the basis for the system. In other words, everything we do needs to come back to the idea that its what God says about finances, not because we think it's a good idea. (Like our ideas could be better thought out than God's anyway!) Secondly, attitude is a huge factor in finding donors. I could write for days on what I just learned from these DVDs I watched about donors that contribute to non-profits. The basis is this: you're not paying me, you're giving what God has given you through me so that I can work for the cause we both believe in. In the interest of time I'll give a short example. So let's say you work for a homeless organization, and you talk to someone who is really catching the vision of this organization. They feel a burden on their heart to give to this cause. They're giving to a specific person so that person can do the work for this organization. But it's a partnership, it's not give me your money and pray for me. Instead it's a specific person who is called to that specific field, and another who contributes to it, but both share together in the growth, need and happenings of the organization. It's a huge shift of thinking for me personally in a great direction. No more Little Rascals, "People! We need your money!"
God will provide for you abundantly, and use people in the process. But he's really interested in relationship. And this partnership makes way more sense than what's been done in the past. Please don't misunderstand, I did the very same thing before my attitude was changed. I just didn't see any other way.
But wait, here's the best part! Before I thought, "here is my ministry...I'm going to help people A." Now my thought process is, "here is my ministry...I'm going to help people A, AND people that have partnered with me are going to be apart of this as well, AND lived a transformed life through giving!" I know, I'll give you some time to let it sink in. So really all people are benefiting from the interaction that's going on. Remarkable idea God, I couldn't have thought of it better myself :o)
Can you tell I'm excited about this!?! So that's what I've been doing lately regarding Streetlight. My next item of business is to put my creative awareness ideas to work.
I cannot find words to describe the joy I feel in my own growth through this transformation. I have left the norm (my norm) and I'm gearing up to work in the unknown, the darkness, the brokenness. This is what I was called to. Praise God that he shines the brightest light in the darkness! I have already had moments of panic, moments of fear, and it's not to say everything is roses-but I hold on to a God that never fails. If eternal joy could be in a single person, it is in me. I guess it was always there, I just needed to let it go and let God.
Check these websites to find out more about the growing problem of child sex-slavery here in Phoenix.
This summer I started volunteering with whatever Streetlight needed. So far I've done paperwork, organizing and some financial planning. Financial planning? What do you mean Andrea? I'll explain. Streetlight is set up on the model that pays only a very small group of head staff members and the rest either volunteer or are community supported. Community supported staff are just what they sound like: people who work and are supported by the community. Right now there is not yet a system set up for those who need to raise funds (aka fundraising...but I'm going to stay away from that word because of the negative connotation). I'm putting together a very rough draft of a system that could be used for community supported staff. It sounds easy, but is very thought provoking and time intensive. First of all, being a faith based organization, biblical reference must be the basis for the system. In other words, everything we do needs to come back to the idea that its what God says about finances, not because we think it's a good idea. (Like our ideas could be better thought out than God's anyway!) Secondly, attitude is a huge factor in finding donors. I could write for days on what I just learned from these DVDs I watched about donors that contribute to non-profits. The basis is this: you're not paying me, you're giving what God has given you through me so that I can work for the cause we both believe in. In the interest of time I'll give a short example. So let's say you work for a homeless organization, and you talk to someone who is really catching the vision of this organization. They feel a burden on their heart to give to this cause. They're giving to a specific person so that person can do the work for this organization. But it's a partnership, it's not give me your money and pray for me. Instead it's a specific person who is called to that specific field, and another who contributes to it, but both share together in the growth, need and happenings of the organization. It's a huge shift of thinking for me personally in a great direction. No more Little Rascals, "People! We need your money!"
God will provide for you abundantly, and use people in the process. But he's really interested in relationship. And this partnership makes way more sense than what's been done in the past. Please don't misunderstand, I did the very same thing before my attitude was changed. I just didn't see any other way. But wait, here's the best part! Before I thought, "here is my ministry...I'm going to help people A." Now my thought process is, "here is my ministry...I'm going to help people A, AND people that have partnered with me are going to be apart of this as well, AND lived a transformed life through giving!" I know, I'll give you some time to let it sink in. So really all people are benefiting from the interaction that's going on. Remarkable idea God, I couldn't have thought of it better myself :o)
Can you tell I'm excited about this!?! So that's what I've been doing lately regarding Streetlight. My next item of business is to put my creative awareness ideas to work.
I cannot find words to describe the joy I feel in my own growth through this transformation. I have left the norm (my norm) and I'm gearing up to work in the unknown, the darkness, the brokenness. This is what I was called to. Praise God that he shines the brightest light in the darkness! I have already had moments of panic, moments of fear, and it's not to say everything is roses-but I hold on to a God that never fails. If eternal joy could be in a single person, it is in me. I guess it was always there, I just needed to let it go and let God.
Check these websites to find out more about the growing problem of child sex-slavery here in Phoenix.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Mission: Possible
Today I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission to find furniture I need for little cost. And I'm expecting to restore it. Wait, maybe I should finish the one piece I've started :o)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
New and Improved!
We've spent many hours fixing up our backyard to make it our own...and here it is!
The hard work pays off in the end. Almost every morning the dogs wake me up early and we go play catch outside, or eat breakfast together in the shade (don't worry they have dog food and I have granola :o) I love my backyard!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A New Direction
A new direction...
It's not always easy to go a different direction than you thought you were supposed to go. But when God is orchestrating the change, there's no way to ignore what's going on-trust me.
This past school year I've wrestled with a lot of things. Faith for one. Not that I don't have faith, but rather the continual growth of what I trust God with. My "plans" is another one. I've always been a planner. My mom would tease me and my organization because everything had to be just so. Even when something appeared to be messy, I still knew where everything was. I planned out my life from an early age. I figured around 25 I would get married, before that I would become a choir teacher, and around 27-28 start having a family. NO I'M NOT PREGNANT. Everyone always asks that. My point is, I plan...and generally I've pretty much stuck to my plan (although I did get married at 22). I did become a choir teacher, as I'd always dreamed I would be. I knew in junior high I wanted to be a choir teacher, and while some people in college still try to find a major, that was something I never had to deal with.
Well recently I've felt a great unrest in my soul about my career. I prayed on my knees so many times for the Lord to give me some direction and my answer was always, "Just wait, there's something big around the corner." Well, I waited (and probably could have been more patient) but I found that something big.
Beginning almost immediately I will be working for a non-profit ministry called Streetlight. Their purpose is to eradicate child rape for profit here in AZ. I bet you didn't know Phoenix had a huge problem with child human trafficking. The statistics are nauseating, but instead of sticking my head in the sand I decided to do something about it.
After learning about this industry that is polluting our state I couldn't stop thinking about this company. I mean, eat, sleep, work-the whole two weeks this place was on my mind. So I prayed and prayed and finally sent off a volunteer/missionary application not really expecting anything to come of it. God thought otherwise. Turns out one of my college roommates works there, and I've already begun the training process. God moves in some pretty miraculous ways.
So what now? Well, I'm going to finish up my school year at Mesa. There's only one more week left of school, and I will cherish the memories. Then, as I told Patrick, "I'm going to spend the next two days being a bum and sleeping in to catch up on the past year. But after that I have work to do!" This summer I will begin volunteering at Streetlight, and by the time they get up and running (hopefully around August...fingers crossed) I will be a community supported staff member. Talk about faith. Yes, that means people will be supporting me financially to provide my income. A little scary at first, but really when you think about it...God would never give me the dream and then say, "Peace out, good luck!" I know he will provide for all my needs! And after the details of this story have unfolded before my eyes, I can't wait to see what else he has in store.
So this is the new direction I'm headed. In this water I can't see to the bottom, but that's been a part of my own growth-pretty cool huh? So there goes my plan. Not out the door, but rather into the arms of the one who knows where I should be. And I haven't been stripped of my planning nature. Already I've smelled a quick breeze of the future a handful of years from now in L.A. God knows I like to have vision and organization; after all, he made me this way!
Make sure to like Streetlight on Facebook! And check out their awareness campaign company Branded.
It's not always easy to go a different direction than you thought you were supposed to go. But when God is orchestrating the change, there's no way to ignore what's going on-trust me.
This past school year I've wrestled with a lot of things. Faith for one. Not that I don't have faith, but rather the continual growth of what I trust God with. My "plans" is another one. I've always been a planner. My mom would tease me and my organization because everything had to be just so. Even when something appeared to be messy, I still knew where everything was. I planned out my life from an early age. I figured around 25 I would get married, before that I would become a choir teacher, and around 27-28 start having a family. NO I'M NOT PREGNANT. Everyone always asks that. My point is, I plan...and generally I've pretty much stuck to my plan (although I did get married at 22). I did become a choir teacher, as I'd always dreamed I would be. I knew in junior high I wanted to be a choir teacher, and while some people in college still try to find a major, that was something I never had to deal with.
Well recently I've felt a great unrest in my soul about my career. I prayed on my knees so many times for the Lord to give me some direction and my answer was always, "Just wait, there's something big around the corner." Well, I waited (and probably could have been more patient) but I found that something big.
Beginning almost immediately I will be working for a non-profit ministry called Streetlight. Their purpose is to eradicate child rape for profit here in AZ. I bet you didn't know Phoenix had a huge problem with child human trafficking. The statistics are nauseating, but instead of sticking my head in the sand I decided to do something about it.
After learning about this industry that is polluting our state I couldn't stop thinking about this company. I mean, eat, sleep, work-the whole two weeks this place was on my mind. So I prayed and prayed and finally sent off a volunteer/missionary application not really expecting anything to come of it. God thought otherwise. Turns out one of my college roommates works there, and I've already begun the training process. God moves in some pretty miraculous ways.
So what now? Well, I'm going to finish up my school year at Mesa. There's only one more week left of school, and I will cherish the memories. Then, as I told Patrick, "I'm going to spend the next two days being a bum and sleeping in to catch up on the past year. But after that I have work to do!" This summer I will begin volunteering at Streetlight, and by the time they get up and running (hopefully around August...fingers crossed) I will be a community supported staff member. Talk about faith. Yes, that means people will be supporting me financially to provide my income. A little scary at first, but really when you think about it...God would never give me the dream and then say, "Peace out, good luck!" I know he will provide for all my needs! And after the details of this story have unfolded before my eyes, I can't wait to see what else he has in store.
So this is the new direction I'm headed. In this water I can't see to the bottom, but that's been a part of my own growth-pretty cool huh? So there goes my plan. Not out the door, but rather into the arms of the one who knows where I should be. And I haven't been stripped of my planning nature. Already I've smelled a quick breeze of the future a handful of years from now in L.A. God knows I like to have vision and organization; after all, he made me this way!
Make sure to like Streetlight on Facebook! And check out their awareness campaign company Branded.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hiking
Everything was going really well, so we let the dogs off leash a few times and when people were nearby we would put them back on leash. They would never hurt anyone, but some people are afraid of dogs and we try to be kind pet owners. So we came to the side of the mountain and there wasn't anyone around so we let them run around a little bit. They would go just a little to far for comfort, then we'd call them back and they would come back. Suddenly, a poor unsuspecting lizard crossed the dirt path in front of my dogs and they darted after it. Patrick and I always laugh a little because let's face it, it's funny. But this time when Kiri came back she had two cholla cactus arms attached to her. Right away she tried to lick it and got several needles in her tongue. So Patrick and I spent the next few minutes trying to get these needles out of her. It was really difficult because they weren't single needles like most cacti. Instead, there were clusters of needles attached to one another. So it's not like you can just pull one out. You must strategically decide where you're going to place your fingers on the cluster so you don't get poked, and at the same time try to make your dog hold still. We got most of it out, and even got a large needle out of her tongue. The rest we couldn't get without tweezers, plus she seemed fine so we kept walking the rest of the hike. When we got to where our car was parked we noticed the rest of the needles fell off, thank goodness. Everyone piled in the car and Kiri was panting like crazy. I found 3 more needles in a cluster attached to her tongue. I know it sounds terrible, but really, you wouldn't have known they were there-it didn't even bother her. So I deneedled her tongue and we headed back home. Gotta love big dogs :o) We had a great time!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
How Men are different than women part 2
How women eat Creme Brulee...
How men eat Creme Brulee...
Better yet, here's the environment in which they eat Creme Brulee (notice what's on TV?)
How men eat Creme Brulee...
Better yet, here's the environment in which they eat Creme Brulee (notice what's on TV?)
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