I know, I know....bad Jen....

Ok so it's been like a week since I last updated you on my life here in Colorado. It's just been such a good, but crazy week I haven't had a moment to think, let alone type a blog post. ;) So here I am, 3 weeks in to my 6 weeks stay....man it's gone fast!! Last week we had the SPECIAL which is literally one of the most amazing events to watch. SPECIAL stands for Spiritual Principles + Exhaustion = Confidence in Almighty Lord. Self-explanatory right? Ok maybe not. So essentially from 6 pm on Friday to around 1 pm on Saturday the athletes on the Colorado Project compete in different athletic events, with only short breaks for transition periods or for Gospel presentations and prayer. I say this is an amazing event because in no other arena in my life at least have I been able to witness God working and moving in such a powerful way in so many peoples lives at the same time. This is the 3rd SPECIAL I've "worked" and while it was very different from the past 2 years, it was still amazing. Students really learned what it means to rely on God for thier strength in a very practicle way and many met Him in a new and different way.

Here are some pics....

Nothing like men who pray....

2010 Colorado Project Staff Team

Golgotha.....

Cross Country team relay

Pull up station.....The worst stop on the obstacle course!!!

Our Awesome 2010 Students

sharing life

Since I have now been in Fort Collins, CO for almost 2 full weeks I thought it was about time to share some pictures to give you an idea of where I've been living and working since May 26th...

This is my house! It was originally an AXO sorority house, but now it is a Christian living house. AIA rents it for the summer just for Project. We currently have 17 girls, 9 boys, and 10 single staff/interns living in the house. The first floor is all general living space...living room, meeting room, kitchen, dining room. 2nd floor is for the girls, 3rd is for the boys, and the basement is our staff meeting room, game room, prayer room, laundry room, and bike storage.

The picture on the Left is our meeting room.

The picture on the Right is that same room during an impromptu dance party with our students.

This is a bit of the prayer room...

And this is the Prayer and Praise Grafitti Wall I built in the Prayer Room.....

So those are just a few pictures of the house to hoepfully give you an idea of what it's like. I promise I'll post more pics from the labs and SPECIAL this week...but probably not until next week.

Taking a Break

If you know me at all you probably know that I require lots of alone time to just sit and process...or to just be alone. There's not a lot of that in the Project house and there will be even less of that now that the students arrive today. Colby, our project director, is great at reminding us to take some time for ourselves to do quiet times and recharge our batteries...problem is I'm not great at taking that time, even though I know I need it. In the moment I usually think I'm fine...it's not until a day or two later that I start to get irritable because I haven't been able to escape at all. I need to be more assertive at laying claim to my alone time, and not feel bad about doing something that I need and that makes me a nicer person when I do "go back to reality."

So that's actually what I'm doing right now. All my actual jobs are done for today and we are in the middle of "git'er done time" which is basically just free time to finish up last minute things before students arrive. I did what I needed to do and now I'm sitting here, ALONE, sharing my thoughts with you people and just chilling out. I love just sitting and listening to music, being still. I'm still working on taking the contentment I have in those moments and carrying them over into my actual quiet times with God...instead of making my times of study and prayer just check marks on my days. Practice makes perfect right.

For those of you that are following my current career...path, leap, confusion...here's a brief update. I am not moving to Ohio. I had thought for sure for about a month that God was leading me to move up that way and take a job at a Christan school that is very near AIA head quarters...but in the end He shut that door. (BTW..something I'm working on this summer is to stop trying to predict God's plan for me!). So , that was a pretty significant let down. Not that I was especially thrilled to move to somewhere sooooo cold, but I was going to go if that's where God wanted me. I got the call on Tuesday that they filled that position..which made Tuesday a rough day. On Wednesday I got a call from another school I'd applied to and basically had a great, impromptu 40 minute phone interview. They called my references on Thursday, and called me again yesterday to talk about scheduling a time to fly me out to Tennessee for an on campus interview! I'm pretty excited about the opportunity, but I'm trying to remind myself not to get too overly invested and psyched until I figure out if the position is a fit and if that's actually where God wants me. Please keep me in prayer as I'm trying to seek God's will for me. So far He's made it pretty clear that my next season wont be in West Palm, Pensacola, or Ohio...so the search is still on and I'm still trusting in God's provision and guidanve!! :)

Ah, I feel better...yay, alone time!!! Maybe I can go play nice with others now! ;)

Rough Stuff...

Yesterday was a difficult day in my world. We are in the middle of staff prep week, which means that it's time to start discussing and processing some of our junk with each other. So on top of being tired from staying up late into the evenings working on "atmosphere" stuff for the house, and sitting in the staff room for hours on end discussing ministry tools, plans for Project, etc...we got to sit down and work through our EQi's (emotional intelligence). Not as fun as it sounds. haha. Add to that emotional unpacking, yesterday I got a call that I did not get a job I thought I was perfect for and that was going to be perfect me...I didn't even get a formal interview. Needless to say I was incredibly frustrated. I was upset and that made me even more vulnerable...awesome... I definitely cried in my peer group EQi time because I was talking about the things I need to work on (assertiveness and self regard). Both those issues are the result of years and years of deep seated insecurities and having to go through all of those emotions in front of women I don't know super well...very difficult. But I survived and, aside from being tired after all the upheaval of yesterday, I am feeling pretty good. I'm looking forward to getting through staff prep week and the student's arrival on Saturday. Next week will be crazy and intense, but we have tomorrow off which is awesome. I think I'm going to waste some money on a pedicure because that makes me feel good...then I'll probably grab a book and go to City Park to just lay in the sun and relax..heavenly!!