So I blogged today, and some of you may have seen it, but I was thinking about it all morning and didn't like it.
And by all morning, I mean the last hour.
So I deleted it and I'm starting over. There's not really any rules to this, except that I'm a perfectionist, and I wasn't happy with what I had, so here it goes.
Take 2, everyone.
Two weeks down. Two whole weeks.
I have a new catch phrase (as Caleb Dawson would say), and its "Baby steps." Now, I may not have Richard Dreyfuss as my psychiatrist, and I'm not wearing my pet goldfish on a string around my neck (yet), but I will keep telling myself "Baby steps, baby steps…."
Every day at work is completely different from the last. I'm beginning to see the trend, and by trend, I mean lack of trend. Sans trend. Trend? "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."
Week one included orientation, strategic planning meetings, recruiting volunteers, and my first ever 40 hour work week. Week two has included interviewing applicants to be my coordinator, hiring said coordinator, corresponding with contacts for ministry opportunities, meetings with my coworker--who is actually my employee (so weird!)--more recruitment meetings, individual interviews with possible volunteers, and analyzing and rewriting the curriculum I will be using this year.
I am so glad God has blessed women with the ability to multi-task, otherwise my brain would have exploded by now.
Did I mention how much I'm enjoying all of it though? Don't get me wrong, whenever it wants to slow down, it certainly can. Having today off has been such a blessing. But when I'm at work, it just…makes sense. I'm doing things I never thought I could do, but have somehow acquired the skill to be able to do it. Its like I'm meant to be here or something.
However, if I get ahead of myself and think of everything that has to be done within the next month, that is when the freak outs occur. So, baby steps.
Baby steps and grace.
God's grace in each and every moment getting me through each and every moment.
I can't predict what those moments look like, I can't even comprehend the entirety of what I'm actually doing. If I attempt it, I will end up having to crawl into my closet, bury myself under a pile of clothes, and never come out.
I'm trying to avoid that, so for now, its all about baby steps.
Did I ever actually explain the other cool part of my job now? I am directing a second ministry, called Worth Waiting For. It is a peer drama team that travels to different schools, giving a presentation on abstinence. What they have done in the past is use skits and parody's to connect with the students in the audience, but I want to shake things up a little. I want to use the reputation of this program to reach thousands of students through a presentation that will incorporate testimonies and students' real life experiences. WWF (and no, not this WWF) has a relationship with our local christian high school, and I will be teaching a J-term in the winter. This is where we recruit the students that will be part of the peer drama team, and I want those students to be able to share their stories and their experiences with the students of Southwest Ohio to show them the truth about something that culture says is "no big deal."
So yeah, thats what I get to do here. Its pretty awesome.
But speaking of Southwest Ohio, let me tell you what I got to experience this weekend.
Cedarfest.
What? You've never heard of it? Well, let me explain it to you.
Apparently, the founder of Labor Day was born right here in Cedarville, and the townsfolk are pretty dang proud of that. Thus, Cedarfest was created. This is a fair they have every year to celebrate Labor Day and their very own contribution to another of America's under-appreciated bank holidays. It is very much appreciated here though, don't you worry.
So who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to celebrate Labor Day the right way? I wouldn't dare. And I am so glad I went.
*Side note* Thank goodness for other New Jerseyans living here in Ohio with me, otherwise I would go a little crazy. Shout out to Brendan and Diane.
So Brendan and I ventured across town to take part in the festivities, and can you say small town americana?? We walked through the "attractions," which consisted of a few food trucks, some big-blow-up-jumpy-things, a few vendors selling various items (my favorite begging a hat with "JESUSAVES" across the front, highlighting the USA within the phrase….can I get a " 'Merica!"?), a dance floor with tunes ranging from "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and "Get Low" (censored, thank the Lord), and a whole lot a' people. The entire town was out for the event. Kettle corn and lemonade were flowing, and people were celebrating. After all, it was Cedarfest.
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| Feast your eyes on Cedarfest. Thats the dance floor to the left, and you can see some of the attractions in the back. Also, take note of the couple in the foreground. Their shirts read "Together since 1992." So cute! |
One of the big attractions of the evening was going to be a firework show. Now, I had just spent 4th of July in Philly, so my expectations for a fireworks show were sky high (Hah, get it? Sky high? Fireworks? I crack myself up…). And as small-town-corny as this whole event was, I have to give them credit where credit is due. That was one of the best fireworks shows I have ever seen. Pictures never really do a firework show justice, but I got a few, just to prove it really happened:
And just in case you were wondering, they take their firework safety very seriously in Cedarville. We were told multiple times to move further away. At one point, we were told to move 10 feet to the right. Not further away, just ten feet to the right. Man, I'm glad they had my best interest in mind. Good thing the whole town was at the fair, too, because so were all the policeman, all the firetrucks, and all the ambulances. If anyone had any kind of emergency, well they were just going to have to wait until Cedarfest was over.
I think I'm falling in love with my small town, though. I visited the library this weekend and got a card. I have visited all the coffee shops in town, and I spent the afternoon walking through one of our many parks. Sometimes I can't tell if my fellow townsfolk are being creepy and stalking me, or just trying to be nice and make conversation. Right now, my solution is to run away from anyone who looks twice at me. Hopefully discernment will come so I can stop being the weird girl who keeps running away from everyone. I also hope that was a humorous visual for you.
It was a bit of a rough week at some points, and calling people is the last thing I want to do when I get really upset (it tends to just make it worse), but I'm doing okay now. I'm just going to keep taking those baby steps, knowing God has me right where he wants me.
Remember that time I was blogging and a group of about 40 motorcyclists drove by, all wearing bandanas instead of helmets? Oh Cedarville….
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