End of August 2011 Update

It would sound charming for me to say that I am writing this at my favorite cozy coffee shop with a perfectly crafted cappuccino from Compass or Paper Tiger. Plus, that is where people expect me to be. But what’s the fun in fulfilling people’s stereotypes and expectations of you? Okay, so maybe if I am honest I would say I do wish I was writing in my favorite coffee shop. The truth however is that I am in a loud, chaotic, my hometowns very own children’s dream land…Kids Club.

Oh yes, I can barely hear myself think over the little two year old girl in a flowery pink shirt and pig tails crying because her mother said it is time to go. Or the constant interruption every 10 minutes from my own little bundles of energy racing over to tell me some story in super sonic speed that I cannot follow at all—since they both are talking at the same time. I smile and nod my head enthusiastically and pretend that I understand every word and when they finally stop talking tell them “oohhh…that sounds like too much fun.” This is my default response to long stories from Luke and Jack, my three and eight year old boys I am watching this summer. 

Kids Club is a child’s dream a massive jungle gym equipped with plastic ball pool and cannons, big spiral slides, an indoor pool with its own water slide, a gym with a foam pit and other stuff for kids taking gymnastic classes, and a tiny food shack filled with all the garbage food that kids love but has absolutely no nutritious value. This is only the second time I have taken my boys here all summer. To say they are excited is an understatement. They know that Miss Heidi is not too fond of Kids Club. They know that a drum starts to pound really loud inside her head and she has to take two of these small red pills that make the pain go away (Ibuprofen) and then make a stop at Peets for coffee.

I am ranting on about this because I just finished Blue like Jazz today. Mr. Don Miller is a brilliant writer and thinker. I am desperately in love with the way he speaks his mind and the way he writes about Jesus. He ends his book thanking all the coffee shops He wrote his book at. As I am hear writing away I am imagining myself at one of the coffee shops he wrote about; Common Ground. I have always wanted to go to that coffee shop the one onHawthorneit just never has worked out for me to go. So as I am typing away in the loud kid zoo, I am pretending I am at Common Ground instead.

Don Miller seems like an authentic person, true to himself, I think I could be friends with Don. If I ever meet him (I only 15 minutes away from Portland) I will just walk up to him and say that I like him. Since apparently he likes to know that people like him. I would also make him buy me coffee because Blue Like Jazz alone sold over a million copies and is a best seller. And I am a young aspiring writer, speaker, and worship leader going to one of the most expensive colleges inWashington. However, I do like Solid Rock better than Imago Dei. And stand firm on my opinion that Compass Coffee is way better Stumptown. But I think we could look past those differences. Simply put, after reading Blue Like Jazz I feel like Don Miller and I are dear friends. It’s one of those types of books; you will have to go read the book to find out for yourself.

(10 hours later)

Well Luke came up to me in the middle of typing away on my laptop (I was on a roll) and demanded that I feed him. By the time he finished lunch, Jack was ready to go home. The next moment of down time I could fine to restart up my laptop and beginning writing again wasn’t until I scooped myself some chocolate ice cream at 12:29am and got cozy in my bed. That is an everyday occurrence of my life as a full time nanny this summer. Early mornings and late nights. I love it though. And after skyping my friend who left for college last week it will help prepare me for college. Every moment of this summer has been perfect, not easy, but worth it. I cannot wait to be a mother someday but I also know that I have a lot of things I want to accomplish before then.

I leave for Seattle Pacific University in 23 days. I cannot wait. I am so ready and feel prepared for this next step, this new season, this next chapter, this new adventure in my life. Only by the grace of God. Tomorrow is my last day hanging out with Jack and Luke all day long. They start school on Wednesday. I cannot believe this day is here already. Time sure does fly by. Now I need to begin the task of cleaning out my room, organizing what I need to take to college, throw away, donate or leave here. I need to make sure all my ducks are in a row with financial aid stuff and print out the list of “Things to Bring”. AND I need to start working on the cute DIY projects to decorate my dorm room. I could keep going on and on but as I sit here tonight…well actually this early morning…I realize there is a lot to do in 23 days. But I will not let myself get stressed or worried. God is good and everything will get done. It always does. God has proved Himself faithful in this area of my life over and over and over again. I want to enjoy this time. To have fun with my friends and family and treasure every moment in my heart because I know it will never be this way again.

Well this is my end of August update! I have been reading through Romans this month and I will leave you with one of my favorite passages…

God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir-not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to God and Father of our Master Jesus ~Romans 15:4-6 MSG