Love in LoCo

Victoria and I, cold but having fun! What a week it’s been…and it’s only Wednesday!  It started out on Monday with our annual Loudoun FCA Golf Tournament at Raspberry Falls Golf Course.  We had over sixty golfers come out to participate in the tournament on what felt like one of the first real fall days we’ve had.  Despite the chill, I think the guys still had fun golfing and I know my fellow women’s ministry rep, Noelle, and one of our faithful volunteers, Victoria, and I had a blast riding around in the golf cart taking pictures!  Thank you so much to everyone who came out and made donations to make this event possible! Figuring out the course map! 2016 Tournament Champs! NOVA/DC Director Derrick Ellison delivering our Jersey Mike's donated lunches   This morning, I attended See You at the Pole, a national day of prayer for schools, at Potomac Falls High School, my old stomping grounds.  The turnout was amazing and it has been so encoura...

On June 15, 2016, I walked out of Potomac Falls High School as a teacher for the last time.  That building had been my home away from home for the last eight years.  In reality, between September and June, I probably spent more waking hours there than in my own home.  I learned how to be a teacher there.  I learned how to teach everything from solving equations in Algebra 1, Part 1, to limits in Precalculus.  I learned how to care for students and how to listen to them about matters from boyfriend/girlfriend drama, to choosing a college, to truly horrendous situations going on at home.  I learned how to navigate the alphabet soup that is the public education system (IEPs, 504s, BIPs, and everything in between).  Thankfully, I had some amazing co-workers to guide me, support me, encourage me, and listen to me vent when I was having a bad day.  In those eight years, I had three different head principals, eight different assistant principals, and a ...

Sorry, couldn’t resist the Bon Jovi reference :) .  But in all seriousness, I’m officially halfway to my support raising goal to be able to join the Loudoun FCA staff full time!  I’m so incredibly grateful to those who have supported me, both prayerfully and financially, in this process.  By the numbers, Progress made over the past 5 months: Phone Calls & Emails: 242 Appointments: 68 Special Gifts: $9874 of approximately $20,000*. Monthly Commitments: $2520 of approximately $5000*. I am continually being humbled and reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness as my family, friends, church, and members of the Panther community have embraced this ministry journey with me.  Please continue to pray for partners to join me in reaching Loudoun students and coaches and, if you haven’t had a chance to do so already, please consider becoming a partner by visiting www.loudounFCA.org/donate and clicking on my page.  Also, if you think of someone who has a...

Kids today are growing up in the generation of viral videos and getting their 15 minutes or, in the case of the popular social media app Vine, 6 seconds of fame. I see it all the time with students, that they constantly feel they have to do crazy and ridiculous things to stand out.  Even among my own generation I see all the time how people, including myself, find themselves discontented with their own lives when they see the fabulous things their friends are posting about (because no one ever posts about a quiet evening in watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix).  I’ve come to realize, though, that following Jesus often means serving Him in the ordinary, whether that’s encouraging a coworker who’s going through a rough time or changing your baby’s 10 th dirty diaper of that day.  We're not all going to be extraordinary by the world’s standards. Let's be real...many people these days who stand out in the social media/pop culture realm are not exactly known for how they’re...

Over the past eight years, I found that I developed little catch phrases in the classroom.  I would say these things so often that by the end of the year, it would inevitably become somewhat of a joke with the students.  For example, whenever I would have a student complaining about some concept or another being too difficult I would quip back, “You can do it, so-and-so.  I have faith in you!” in my wry, sarcastic tone.  The students would often think it was funny, but to be fair, I did genuinely believe they were capable of doing well…you know, once they put their phones down! Another such catch phrase I often used when a student was sleeping or looking particularly zoned out was, “Look alive there, so-and-so, look alive!”.  Recently, I’ve come to wonder how often the Lord was saying this to me the past few years.  I get so distracted by my daily to-do list sometimes.  When I was still teaching, I always tried to make sure to spend time with the ...