It's All Because of Jesus...

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

I think I can identify with the psalmist here. God has been doing great things, and I am overwhelmed with joy!

Some of the great things He's been doing with my family...

I've had some SWEET times with my siblings lately... discipleship/learning moments, times of prayer, times of encouragement, and just plain fun. I'm so cherishing my time at home with them!

• Zac is camp counseling in California now and absolutely LOVING it! I'm excited about the opportunities he has there. It sounds like an incredible atmosphere that fits his talents so well (he's GREAT with kids).
  
• Josh continues to get sweeter and sweeter each day. He now has his driver's license and gets up early most mornings to take me to work (sometimes before 7 a.m.!). He is so thoughtful and has an incredible love for the Lord.
  
• Caleb and I have been enjoying Jr. High youth group together. God has blessed him with some sweet leadership qualities and opportunities on his baseball team.
• Emma is becoming such a beautiful young woman of the Lord. It is exciting to hear her talk about Jesus as her best friend... and to share that joy with the neighborhood girls.

This past week, we went running together, had a dessert night together, played hide & seek at the Mary Frank Elementary School playground, went on a kind-of-sort-of photo scavenger hunt, enjoyed Emma's first cake, found a bunch of my old books in the basement and had a book party, worked on budgets, made cupcakes, visited my mom at CFA, had a LOVELY breakfast with my grandparents, and had a little "encouragement fest."

It is SO sweet to see my siblings growing in their love for the Lord. All I can say is... my brothers are going to make excellent husbands someday... and Emma sure is turning into a lovely young lady.

Some of the great things He's been doing with my job [ministry location]...

I could probably dedicate an entire post to everything that has been going on at work. However, I will just say that God is SO at work!

A couple of my coworkers have agreed to go through the Experiencing God study with me, which is so exciting and encouraging! It's also amazing how God just guides our conversations at work. Although the location is not exactly what I had in mind for the summer, I am thankful that God has provided this job for me... and am overwhelmed with the opportunities to shine as a light.

There is also definite opposition from other sources, but that often seems to be the case when God is at work. I can totally see how my time in Va Beach last summer working at McDonald's was good prep. for this.

Some of the great things He's been doing... that are just random and sweet and encouraging to my heart...

• Learning to abide in Him... John 15... and Andrew Murray's book on prayer = intensely challenging and amazing!
• Finished reading Live Life on Purpose by Claude Hickman. If I could, I would have every Christian read this book! Perhaps a book review will be on it's way soon.
• My TESOL classes are going well. I'm approximately 35% finished with the course (Unit 7 of 20). I'd like to be further, but am working when I can.
  
• Provided insurance for me through Meijer beginning on July 1st - the same day my other insurance runs out! He is so faithful!
  
• Megs and I had a Taco Salad date Friday night and had a great time of fellowship and encouragement.
  
• This weekend, Jana Alexis came to visit me and we had a LOVELY time together. Strawberry chicken poppyseed salad (Panera wannabe), vegetable omelettes, late night brownies, good coffee at Bella Vita, lots of talking and laughing... it was wonderful. This afternoon, we met Megs & Nora for a "picnic" lunch and went to Barnes & Noble for coffee afterward (the weather wasn't all that cooperative).

Reunions. Wedding. Graduation. Funeral.

That pretty much sums up the past week.

Reunions
This week, I was beyond blessed with reminders of amazing friendships God has placed in my life.

Three of my four roommates from VA Beach (Summer 2007) came to visit me. I was so delighted to have them come and almost felt as if I was living a dream. Although that may sound somewhat melodramatic, it really was refreshing for my heart. We hadn't seen each other for six months... and had so very much to catch up on!!! We definitely had NO trouble finding conversation topics. It was exciting to share what God has done and is doing in our lives... and was also good to reflect on some of our best memories from our summer project with Campus Crusade. I am still in awe of the sovereignty of God... how He placed each one of us (though INCREDIBLY different) together last summer. Our reunion time consisted of pizza night at my house (compliments of my amazing mother), sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa's, a delightful brunch (compliments of my amazing Grandma), a 2 hr. visit to Bethel's Shiloh Prayer Chapel, and a lovely afternoon at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe. Rachael ended up staying an extra night because of the tornadoes in Ohio.

On Thursday evening, I had the privilege of finally catching up with my dear Jana Alexis. It was lovely and I am looking forward to seeing her hopefully in the near future.

The reunion spirit continued throughout the weekend as I spent the night last night with Miss Kate Criswell. After KatieO's "girls party," we grabbed some dinner at Steak 'N Shake before heading back to Kate's for some much-needed sleep. We definitely had lovely times at Steak 'N Shake... confusing our waitress, switching our booths a few times (the air was cold and we were trying to avoid it!), reminiscing about previous memories at S 'N S. It was definitely a time to cherish.

It was also neat to see KatieO (now Wright) and her family... which brings me to my next subtitle...

Wedding
Today I attended the wedding of David & Katie Wright. It was a nice ceremony and I enjoyed seeing Katie's family again. I am truly happy for both Katie and David. It's hard to believe how quickly the years fly by. I remember dreaming with Katie when we were in high school about weddings, marriage, and our future spouses. It is exciting to see her dream come true. It is also exciting to be perfectly content with this lovely season of life that I am enjoying completely unattached.

Graduation
Upon returning from the wedding, I went directly to my cousin Nathan's graduation party. He just graduated from Penn High School. It was a nice party and it was SOOO good to see my extended family members. These family times are truly times to cherish, particularly since they will be very few and far between over the next year(s).

Funeral
Unfortunately, my sister informed me of some very sad news (with tears in her eyes) when I got back into town. Her dear friend and companion, Chester the Hamster is now in Hamster Heaven (no, I do not have any particular theology on animals and heaven... just like the alliteration). It's been a hard day for her, which is understandable. She loved Chester dearly. We've had lots of tears today, particularly when she was cleaning out his cage for the last time. We sat down for some "sister time" over hot chocolate and reflected upon Emma's pleasant memories of Mr. Chester. She seems to be doing fairly well, but it's definitely been a hard day for her. I believe our family will be making funeral arrangements tomorrow at some point [This will be our first family funeral for a pet... I'm not exactly sure what to expect].

Misc.
I hate to end on such a sad note... so perhaps some of my readers will be delighted to hear that I will soon be "going Verizon." I think my plan will change in about 30 days and I will have unlimited texting. I am welcoming the change, after several complications and frustrations with Centennial.

It was nice to have Megs over for a visit this evening. She went to Caleb's baseball game, which turned out to be rather exciting at the end.

EXHAUSTED

I know it's been a long time since I've updated... it's been crazy. Work is going better. This week has been a hard week. I'm really tired. Every day after work this week (Tuesday - Saturday), I've had something going on that has caused me to rush home, change, and jump back in the car:

Memorial Day weekend - surprisingly quiet actually... and a little lonely until Monday. Family spent most of the time at baseball (nothing out of the ordinary). Cleaned around the house quite a bit. Made a fruit salad and brownies for visits at my grandparents houses.

Tuesday - Sweet time with Sara in the morning (running, whole wheat pancakes, encouraging prayer time). Work 11-5. Caleb had baseball practice and I had the honor of dropping him off, picking him up, and going to an impromptu baseball pizza party/trophy presentation. In between practice, I had a wonderful visit with Miss Emily Vegh.

Wednesday - Much-needed journaling time. Work 11-5. Junior high youth group - good times.

Thursday - Work 9:30 - 5. Emma's play, Geppeto & Son (a.k.a. Pinocchio). It was Emma's debut on the stage and she did an excellent job. I was so proud (yeah, I actually almost cried because I was so proud. I wonder what it will be like when I'm a Mom... thankfully, I won't have to find out for hopefully a LONG time!). After Emma's play, I worked on my TESOL Unit 1 lesson, had a surprise and MUCH-NEEDED phone date/prayer time with the lovely Kate Criswell, then finished my TESOL, going to bed a little after midnight

Friday - Breakfast at CFA with Desiree... then a visit with my Mom. Work 11-5. Youth event - the "Cereal Life." It was what I would assume to be a typical youth event with craziness, fun, and a few splotches of drama.

Saturday - that's today. Thankfully, I don't have a whole lot planned now. There are many things I need to catch up... rest, thank you notes, TESOL units, South Korea documents, finishing my room in the basement, updating my budget, phone dates, etc.

It's been a busy week. It's been a hard week... emotionally and physically exhausting. In the midst of the chaos, I have had some delightful visitors at Meijer Starbucks, which I have appreciated. Perhaps the highlight was having my Grandpa visit (I think that was yesterday... but the days are kind of fuzzy in my head). Since we weren't busy (as usual), I got to sit down and visit with him for awhile. I'm thankful for him...


Oh... I am planning to do a post about the earthquake stuff in Chengdu... and what I've been learning about abiding in Christ. I'll have to save that for later, though.

Summer Plans

This weekend Caleb had a baseball tournament in Indy, which was fun. Megs came with us and we got to spend the night at Kate's for one night. It was so good to catch up. I also really enjoyed the time with my mom, Emma, Caleb, and Megs. Everyone else had other obligations for the weekend.

So, I decided to outline my summer plans/goals:

FAMILY
I only have four months to spend at home, so I'm really excited about being home and being able to spend some time with ma familia, especially since I know my time with them is limited. I love them a lot.

YOUTH GROUP
I'm so excited about helping out with the junior high youth group at New Life Baptist this summer. I went to youth group for the first time last Wednesday and had a great time. I'm particularly looking forward to youth camp. Already, I feel quite at home at New Life.

STARBUCKS/MEIJER
Although this is not exactly the summer job I had envisioned, I am already learning a lot. The good news is, I am going to get the hours I want and my boss is pretty flexible with availability. She said it would be no problem for me to go to youth camp. I think working at McDonalds last summer in VA Beach was good preparation for this. Already there is a lot of spiritual stuff that I've noticed that I am praying about. Your prayers would be appreciated... and visits are always welcomed! :)

TESOL/Prep. for South Korea
I'm planning to take a 100 hr. online TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course to give me some preparation for teaching English in South Korea in the fall. There are also several arrangements that need to be made for South Korea (paperwork, reading, etc.). I'm excited about all of this. I just finished reading a book today called Teaching More than English - an excellent resource which I plan to spend some time processing through this next week.

I also plan to do a decent amount of reading, running, flossing (yes, this is an actual goal of mine), studying Galatians, keeping up-to-date with the New York Times Daily Headlines, eating healthy, and having random friend/catching up time... and whatever else the Lord decides to put into my summer. I think it will be good... so far it has been good.

An Absolutely Wonderful Day...

Today was one of those making-lots-of-memories types of days. Started out with Zac and I going to visit my mom for breakfast at CFA. We hung out with her for awhile and then I went to meet my great-Uncle Joe and great-Uncle Tony for lunch. (But before I went, I had to stop and get gas at Martin's and Zac followed me in Dad's truck all the way to the pump to make sure that I didn't get stranded - a very sweet brother).

Uncle Joe and Uncle Tony took me to Roc's for lunch. We had a lovely time - catching up about my trip and talking about different life stuff. We also got to see my mom's cousin, Rocco and my Uncle Rocco (definitely Italian names). :) When we finished with lunch, I went back to Uncle Tony and Uncle Joe's house and hung out and just talked for a long time about life, lessons, and the amazing family we are both blessed to be a part of. It was one of those good heart to heart conversations that I think I'll remember for a long time.

We probably would have talked longer, but I had to leave to pick my mom up from work and Emma up from school. (Today was a special day for Emma - she was chosen out of all the fifth graders at her school to carry the Horizon Elementary Olympic Torch... quite an honor. I'm such a proud big sister.)

After dropping the ladies off at home, I went to Meijer for my Starbucks interview. Good news to report... I am officially a Starbucks employee at Meijer! I'm actually really excited about this job for the summer. My boss seems SO nice and super-sweet. I told her I didn't want to work Sundays or Wednesday nights and she said "no problem!" She also told me they would be giving me 30-40 hours each week, fitting into my hours of availability (mornings and afternoons). I'm excited about working there this summer... I met one of my coworkers and she seems very friendly. I think she's going to be training me. I start orientation on Monday afternoon...

Upon my return from Meijer, I came home to a bustling house. Everyone was helping to get ready for my small graduation party tonight. We decided to invite my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins over for a family celebration over pizza and chocolate cake with white icing (my favorite combination). It was so nice to have everyone over. The pizza was delicious. Conversations wonderful. Family amazing.

My Grandma surprised me with a "Biblical" quilt that she made for me. It is SOOO beautiful... and queen-size, which was also exciting. Each square corresponds with a Bible story/verse. I'm looking forward to learning more about it. She gave me a booklet that explains everything and we attempted to identify each square tonight corresponding with the stories. So fun. My aunt and uncle also surprised me with a Vera Bradley backpack and travel organizer. So next time I travel, I won't leave my passport in the South Bend airport (yes... I actually did that when I got home from Pac Rim - craziness, I know). I also received several cards from my family members with monetary gifts.

Yes, it's been a lovely day. I do feel so very blessed. This time that I have with my family over the next four months is so very special to me. I plan to treasure it as much as possible.

Overwhelmed once again by the amazingness of our Lord,
~Holly Nicole

Substituting, Seoul, and Starbucks

I'm very tired, so this may be a short post... but I've been composing a blog post in my head over the last day or two (I find myself doing that often, isn't that kind of silly?).

So, substitute teaching for elementary students is very fun and very tiring. I had my first day of substituting yesterday and absolutely loved it... then came home and crashed on the couch, completely exhausted. I had a wonderful 3rd grade classroom at Horizon Elementary. The teachers and staff were all so welcoming and friendly toward me. I also lucked out... it was Teacher Appreciation Week, so we got free breakfast (and coffee) and free lunch. It was definitely a lovely day... and kind of confirmed even more in my heart that teaching is what I'm supposed to be doing - at least for the next year or two. I realize that teaching in a very American suburban middle-class elementary school is quite different from teaching English to a bunch of Korean-speaking high school students in a huge city like Seoul. However... I think the experiences I have had up to this point are experiences that God is using to prepare me for teaching in Seoul.

Speaking of Seoul... I had another phone interview on Tuesday night with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE). Note: Usually Seoul does not hire teachers without a TESOL certification or education degree. However, they seem to think that I have enough extracurricular experience to do just fine in the classroom. Once again, I am amazed by the opportunities the Lord has provided to me... even in the past year to prepare me for this! He is so good. On Wednesday night, I received a phone call informing me that the SMOE decided to offer me a contract! So, it is official... and will be really official when I sign the contract, fax it in, and start tackling a long list of paperwork requirements. I'm excited about it though!

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be having an interview at Starbucks for a summer job. I'm excited... I think that job will fit me well for the summer. I'll let you all know how it goes...

By the way, I've been continuing with my running since I've been back in the States (although I've not been quite as faithful as I was in Beijing). I am both shocked and happy to report that I ran for a total of 45 minutes this morning! It was at my slow pace, but towards the end, I was able to push myself a little more, which was good. David Crowder definitely has some good songs that help motivate me...

I really am loving this season of being home with my family... last night my mom, Megs and I went grocery shopping. We were out for almost two hours, but just had a lot of fun. I've had a lot more opportunities to be "domestic" since I've been home, which I've enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Good night.

Girls & Clothes

Last night, I attended the Mother/Daughter Banquet with my mom (surprise, surprise...), Emma, my Grandma, Aunt Michelle, and my Nana. It was a lovely girls night. Mom, Emma and I have been having some sweet times together. I'm excited about spending the summer at home with them. I realized a couple of weeks ago that this will actually be the first summer I've spent at home since high school. That's kind of hard to believe.

Since I'm back at home for the summer, I've been putting together my own little room in the basement. Even though it is unfinished, I think it will end up turning out kind of fun. My Dad did the framing several months ago, but hasn't had a whole lot of time to put up drywall, insulation, and light fixtures. But, he did bring down a piece of carpet from one of our old houses and put a rod in my closet for clothes. My brothers brought down the furniture I will need for the summer, which was very helpful. So now, I'm just unpacking, organizing and hanging up blankets to serve as walls. It's definitely a unique project, but I've really been enjoying it. It's nice just to have a place of my own. Maybe I will come up with a name for my little creative corner in the basement....

As I've been unpacking boxes and putting things away, I've been realizing that I have a ridiculous surplus of clothing. I think I have unpacked five boxes since I've been home! After spending an entire semester with only enough clothes to last 1-2 weeks, I feel like a glutton. So, I'm trying to purge my wardrobe. I still have way too many clothes I think, but have managed to fill up at least two boxes with things to get rid of. Some of my sweaters that were packed away will go back into storage. As I'm preparing for South Korea, it's a little easier to let go of some of the clothes I've been holding onto for years, thinking I'll maybe wear them sometime. I know that I'll have a limited wardrobe when I go abroad again, so I'm trying to keep that in mind as I sort through things. :)

I actually have a substitute job tomorrow morning and a Starbucks interview in the afternoon... so I should probably get to bed.