Multicultural Day at 3302

Never in my life have I been the minority in my friend group. Anna, my roommate, loves to point out when I am. Like when we went to the ballet the other night, it was Anna who is Nigerian-American, Stephanie who is Haitian-American, Monica who is Chinese-American, and Renee who is Thai-American. Oh yeah and there is me, the only white kid. Sometimes they make the world seem just a bit smaller after all.

This Saturday Anna's parents came in town and her mom "taught" us how to cook Nigerian-style. I use "taught" loosely because she was so fast we could barely keep up. Monica's mom also came with all of her Chinese ingredients in tow. And this was Multicultural Cooking Day at 3302:

Nigerian Stew and Chinese Pan-Fried Noodles

Left-side: Monica's mom and Monica, Back: Stephanie, my little Haitian delight, Right: Anna's mom and Anna

KIDS TABLE!!!
Left: Mimi, originally from Zambia and me, Right: Elen, whose papa is from Eritrea and Reebs

After our delicious meal, we were all super stuffed and super tired. The results are below:

I am so thankful for my friends who teach me so much about the world outside of my view and who show me Jesus daily. Yay for multicultural day! 

the joy in being small

what I love most about the seasons is that they change, but my favorite season is the one that is beginning. i love the way it smells. i love the hwb's, which stands for "hot winter beverages" in my house. i love the colors. i love crocheting. i love the way the breeze can sometimes take your breath away. i love anything related to pumpkin. i love getting to wear layers. and i love good hammocking weather. come on, what's not to love about fall?

for some reason with the changes in season, my mind (or satan) likes to play tricks on me. i remember that i am entering another season alone. i remember that i have no children to care for. i remember that i won't be graduating with any new degree or specialty. i remember that i will be at the same job during this season. all of these things make my heartache and invoke envy that everyone around me is changing, as the seasons do, but i remain at a stand still.

as these thoughts encroached, i began to doubt the promises of the Lord for His children. he surely has forgotten me. no husband. no children. really? at 24, i am practically a grandma. for a good two days, i had convinced myself that maybe this thing isn't worth it. maybe i can marry a wonderful unbeliever who would make me very happy in this life and forget this whole God thing. yep, i though it and believed it for a few days. and then i remembered...

i remembered what and how the Lord has changed and shaped me. i remembered that my Father knows what is best for me. i remembered that He finds joy in loving me even when i think that He isn't sufficient. i remembered that this life is so much bigger than me. i remembered the pain of my brothers and sisters in comparison to my finite complaints. i remembered that i wasn't created for the purpose of marriage or bearing children. i was created in His image to be loved and to love. when i remembered the big story, the story that makes me seem so small, i am overcome with joy. i can laugh aloud at myself for my silliness in ever thinking that He is not enough. i can smile that He is so much sweeter than all this life can bring. i exchange the lie for the truth and peace flows in abundantly. 

so as the seasons change again and i remain the same, i rest in the amazing promise that my life will fulfill a greater purpose than i will ever know...

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

and if all else fails, i could always be a cat lady... who wears cut-offs. :)

the harvest is plenty

 

A side shot of the small garden which has turned into a beast.

For my birthday this year, I asked my parents if they would give me a garden. So in April, because of course I was waaay too impatient to wait until my actual birthday, they helped me plant two small raised beds. It actually was a super fun process because a couple of my friends came over to help and we made it an afternoon event. My favorite part was digging up earth worms to put in the raised beds. Sounds gross but I found it really exciting!!

My friend, Kitty, from work gave me seedlings for spaghetti squash, coosa summer squash, eight different kinds of tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, banana pepper, zucchini, ground cherries, and eggplant. My mom had a kit for gardening that had seeds for cucumber, string beans, snap peas, yellow summer squash, tomatoes, and tri-colored peppers. Although some doubted that I would be successful, including my 60-year-old neighbor Jim, the garden that I have labored over for months is out of control with fruit!

Here are a few pictures of the crop:

spaghetti squash, yellow squash, and zucchini

chocolate cherry tomatoes, sun sugar tomatoes, and string beans

spaghetti squash growing wild

I was also able to make some yummy refrigerator pickles with my cucumber and fresh dill sprigs from my herb garden. 

                     

Lately, the drought has been taking a toll on the garden especially my baby watermelon that just began to grow, but today a miracle happened. We had a huge rainstorm come through! I was outside picking tomatoes and my Lebanese, 15+ cat-lady neighbor was taming her incredibly overgrown backyard, and the bottom dropped out. She looked up at me and threw her hands in the air pumping her fists with joy and I responded with a hallelujah and threw my arms in the air to praise God for the much needed rain as well. It was a special moment between the two of us and our love for plants and the outdoors. It still makes me smile thinking about it........

I feel very blessed to have such a plentiful harvest because I am able to give so much to others including sweet cat-lady neighbor. This garden has brought me much joy and continues to due so. :) 

Community

my church. chad, a previous tattoo artist, used to do graffiti illegally.
as the cops drove by he felt odd that he was using his gift to beautify his church.

I don't think I knew the real definition of community until I moved to Nashville. Now this is what I know to be community:

throwing a huge party every few months for the community

seeing a 60-year-old woman get baptized for the first time after a life of hardship

pooling money to pay for daycare for a friend

having tornado parties in our basement 

meeting over coffee for conversations focused on Him 

showering women from the mission with love on valentine's day

having a small family that I have earth shattering conversations with every tuesday

making coffee and setting up communion every week for my family

nine people baptized on one sunday

your pastor weeping with joy and unable to speak after witnessing baptism 

having a child write math problems in sharpy all over your backseat and then taking him to the preds game the next week

sobbing in front of your pastor and his wife during a moment of darkness 

having random guests show up to our house daily 

seeing a precious baby grow up when you held her in the hospital

showing up unannounced to your pastor's house and staying for hours

looking around you and seeing people from all walks of life

meeting with a pregnant mom to help her with her gestational diabetes meal planning

having boy friends come over to watch jane austen movies

feeling like you could say anything and they would love you anyway

seeing the young reach out to the old and the old to the young

knowing the deepest secrets of your brothers and sisters and seeing them as Jesus does

being asked if you want to be prayed for by a stranger

investment and intentionality in relationships

being comfortable to be yourself around these people more than anyone

fighting in prayer for each others family

the poor wrecking the perception of the rich

doing life, not just sundays with an amazing God-fearing group

...and talking about the Lord all the way through

These thoughts are brought to you by sitting at my community group outside tonight and tears welling up in my eyes knowing that I have found a picture of heaven on earth. This is community:

faith like a child

at my work, there aren't many men. out of about thirty people, there are two men. but these men are absolutely precious. one is an older Indian(dot not feather) man and Ed, a 24-year-old man with aspergers, a mild form of autism. I tell you this background to preface my story...

everyday, sweet Ed comes into my office, shakes my hand, and asks me how my day is going. somedays I will shamefully admit, I get annoyed with him. other days, he makes my heart leap. today was one of those days.

Ed walks into my office trying to sell me some candy that another co-worker but him up to for her child's school fundraiser-he is an amazing salesman. :) we did our usual shpea. he asked me how my day was. I asked him how his new job was(he was recently moved from a front clerk position to an outreach job entering shot records into our computer database.

today his answer to my question about his new position was a bit different. he said, "well, lauren, have you seen the movies facing the giants?" I said yes. he said, "well I never would have learned this had it not been for that movie." I said learned what? he proceeded to tell me that he learned that no matter what job you are doing that you should give it your all and do your best. then, he said, "and if I fail, I will praise him, and if I succeed, I will praise him. But, no matter what, I will give it my all." He repeated himself once more by saying, "I never would have known this without seeing facing the giants." my reply was something about how great I thought that outlook on work was.

but wait, there is more. then, sweet Ed sees the book I am reading on my desk. he says the title of the book out loud, "have a little faith." then he says, "you know lauren, that book is right. did you know that with just a little faith you can ask a mountain to move out of your way and it will?" I  said you are so right Ed. he said, "Yep, you can wipe that mountain down to the sea with just a little faith."

Ed. he is a beautiful picture of the child-like faith and simplicity that I so desire, but allow the worries of the world to cloud. the Lord uses the most basic conversations to remind me of Him. of the purpose. of faith. of trust.

today I am thankful for Ed and his sweet spirit that is completely sold out, without a shadow of a doubt on His creator and sustainer. I know he could move any mountain.

never a dull moment

soo, my job. everyday I am guaranteed: to have a surprise, to practice spanglish, to use my arms in an "ape-like" fashion to signify too much weight gain, to be attacked as I exit my office by someone saying, "excuse me, ma'am," to counsel a minimum of three different ethnic groups. there is really not a dull moment.

lately, I have been rocking some of my parents' worlds by offering simple advice. we sometimes take for granted things that seem like common sense to "most" people. let me offer you some examples: you should brush your teeth daily, it is bad for your teeth if you eat candy and drink soda everyday, it is not appropriate for your two-year-old to stay up until 3:00 am on the computer, you should not chew food up in your mouth and then feed it to your child, you are the parent and your child should not tell you what to do and my personal favorite-it is okay if your child cries when you don't give them exactly what they want (the response to this one, "oh no ma'am. it is bad for him to cry. he will get sick.")

it blows my mind the response to my advice. it is usually something like, "I had no idea. thank you so much doctor." yep, that's right. in case you didn't know, I am now a doctor.

all of these examples make my job look a bit like a joke but these are just the ones that make me laugh. there are many instances when I feel the Lord is telling me this is exactly where he wants me. like today when I talked to a mom for an hour about her child that was failure to thrive. these are my favorite moments. the moments when i realize why i went to school. why i am where i am.

i would be lying if I said that I am completely content with my job every second of every day. i have a pretty incredible case of wander lust most of the time. always waiting for the next thing. place to move. people to meet. what i am learning now is: our God is not a circumstantial God. whether here or there. married or single. alone or surrounded. clothed or naked. content or discontent. beneath shelter or in the pouring rain. He is in me and using me exactly where i am. this is where i find rest in the moments when my heart wanders to what will be.

"the Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." Habakkuk 3:19

ps i got to see this lady last weekend and it was incredible. she needs to make like a bird and head south.

some things change

It is absolutely incredible to look back over the past year and see how drastically different life looks. Some changes were good. Some changes broke my heart. Some changes made me stronger. Some I still don't understand and may never will. But, I can always find comfort in the fact that whatever the change, I know His greater plan is being fulfilled and all these things will work for the good of those who love Him.

I haven't posted in a while, as my sister notified me yesterday so here is an update on my changes:

a. i have a big girl job

2. i am slowly becoming fluent in Spanglish

d. i won the Christmas door decorating contest at work - yes, my door was phenomenal

5. i found out that i am going to get my lactation certification in February (i was randomly picked as one of the dietitians to attend) I can only contribute this to the Lord. Obviously, he thinks I would be the bomb at teaching women to breastfeed. :)

8. one of my bestest friends, lacey, moved out and went home to NC

e. one of my bestest friends, elizabeth, moved in her place

b. i have taken up crocheting and i might not be too terrible at it

4. i have the most awesomest friends and family ever but maybe you already knew that

c. i love Jesus more today than I did yesterday

I think that just about covers it for big changes. No marriage. No babies. No moving. Just sitting back and watching the world change around me and attempting to stay faithful to the changes the Lord has for me. 

Panty hose optional?

September was a loooonnggg month where I really couldn't find joy in much. That doesn't mean that it wasn't there. My eyes were just closed to it. October has been good for my restless heart. He is so faithful to provide in our dark hours-people, prayer, hope. So, that is my summary for not writing for the past month and a half. :)

However, much has happened over the past month. One huge thing was that I died. Okay, I didn't really die but it felt like it. I left my job as a hostess, and I never knew how much people loved me until I was leaving. Sometimes they wouldn't let me go to the bathroom. They always enjoyed food from the kitchen while I stood at the front usually starving. Occasionally, they forgot to let me go to lunch. Overall, I really wasn't sure they cared too much about me at all until the week I was leaving. I thought to myself, "Is this what it is like when people die?" They told me that they were going to miss me so much and that I was the best hostess they ever had (big hairy deal...I know). Leaving is bitter sweet. I will miss the people, but definitely not the hostessing.

The best news is that I started my new job yesterday, and I L-O-V-E it. I have never experienced such a positive work atmosphere that truly cared about their employees. I have my own office with a door AND a lucite door box-for those of you who are confused:

I thank my internship director for teaching me the correct term.

I get to help people all day long. I get an hour for lunch. I get holidays off....all of them. I have an amazing supervisor. I can leave early any day I want as long as I flex my time on other days. But most importantly: 

Can you read that?? Yes, that says "hose are optional."

I have been wearing those puppies for one year and three months now, and I hate them so much! No more panty hose for me! You might be thinking, "Lauren, what are you going to do with all of your old pairs?" Well I have some ideas: make those pets that my Gran use to make using knee highs and googly  eyes, use them as katie and I use to when we wanted to act like robbers and smoosh our faces, sift flour?, strain just about anything....I feel like the possibilities are endless. So, if you were looking to hook me up with some panty hose for Christmas, Mom, maybe you should try underwear instead? 

My very simple joy: no more panty hose. oh and maybe my eyes being opened again. :)

Cupcake and Marriage

When I go into work, I park in a parking garage and walk a couple of blocks to get to the hotel. On my walk, I feel like the same things happen to me every morning. I speed walk across the middle of the streets paying no attention to the nearby crosswalks. I walk over a vent that blows my hair and my skirt up...I still haven't learned. I admire the large painted mural on the side of a building. AND I say hello to two of my precious homeless friends. Usually, I just get a "Good morning sweetheart, how are you?" but today was exceptionally sweet!

Today as I walked past my friend who is sitting on the same bench every morning and every afternoon with his backpack and sleeping bag covered in bird droppings from the trees he is sitting under, he greets me with, "Good morning cupcake, hope you have a good day!" I smiled ear to ear from the time he said that all the way into work. It is weird how simple words can make your day. He called me cupcake! For the past two months I have worked there, he has never called me cupcake!

Then, as I was leaving work today, I passed my other homeless friend, who harassed me for days last month until I  brought him some cheerios and milk. He came walking up to me and followed me halfway to the parking deck trying to convince me to marry him. He made me give him one good reason why I wouldn't marry him. My answer: "Because I don't want to get married." Good answer...I know. He finally turned around after he asked, "Well, can we at least be friends?" I said, "Absolutely." His response was to that, "Okay sweetheart, see you tomorrow morning."

Some tell me to be careful. Some tell me not to talk to them. Some tell me not to give them breakfast. But at the end of the day, these are the people that truly know how to brighten my day. How can I ignore them? I can't.

My simple joy for the day: being loved and cared for by homeless strangers. 

Napping

I am finally no longer a student and I am not quite sure what to do with myself. The list is limitless....

sewing, reading, spending time with people I love,

watching movies, knitting, crafting, running,

playing ultimate frisbee, spending more time with the Lord,

going for walks, cleaning my house, cooking, and let's not forget

NAPPING!

So this picture is from high school....just wanted you to get a visual of me sleeping. :)

Today was the first time in what feels like nearly five years that I took a nap and didn't wake up with my heart racing. I was never able to take naps because every time I did I would wake up with an anxiety that I needed to be somewhere, needed to do something, or that I just didn't deserve a nap. That might seem silly, but it happened to me a lot. I was told that this was a sign of anxiety and obviously it wasn't natural. I would just never give myself grace or cut myself a break. Do you know the saying, "I'm my own worst enemy?" Well, I really am.

I am excited about what this new life looks like for me. More naps. Less anxiety. And more grace for myself.

My simple joy for the day: a nap free from worry.

My People

A close friend of mine from Auburn got married this weekend. It was a great excuse for us to all be together again, and it was amazing community. I was able to spend so much quality time with "my people." I am not sure if that makes sense to anyone but me, but "my people" are those that I don't have to try around. Sometimes it gets exhausting meeting new people and trying so hard to show them who you are, but with these specific people, I can be completely myself without holding anything back.

The Crew

We can:

laugh about very inappropriate things, talk about bodily functions,

cry because another one is married, have our hair played with,

drink too much wine, dance like fools and then,

do a choreographed dance for the all wedding guests,

wrestle a wedding dress in order for someone to go to the restroom,

draw numbers to see who will get married next, talk about our

dreams,

talk about our fears, speak of the Lord often, and

hold tight to memories that made us who we are

And at the end of the night (3:00am), we all know that no matter where we go or who we become we will always have a special place in each others hearts.

O and Liz managed to sneakily make is on my camera

My simple joy for the weekend: my people

Jim Hartman

I moved into a new house this Tuesday and I absolutely LOVE it! It was a bit of a risk signing the lease back in July because the house reeked of cig smoke and looked a little rough. But, we had faith(and vision) and decided to sign!

The house turned out beautifully!!! Not only do I live in an awesome house, I also live with three amazing ladies who I love, annnnd I can talk to from the basement through the ventilation system! :)

Yesterday, we heard a knock on our front door. When we opened the door, there was a sweet man holding a huge bouquet of hydrangeas! It was our sweet neighbor Mr. Jim Hartman, ~60 years of age and retired, welcoming us to the neighborhood with flowers from his garden.

We decided to display our flowers in our Christmas tree window.

And the winner of my simple joy for the day is Mr. Jim Hartman!

A Sweet Question

My best friend since kindergarten, Lauren, got engaged on the 4th of July. I was so excited for her when I got a text message of a hand with a beautiful ring on it telling me that my "La" was engaged. Although I had been asking and expecting it for months now, it totally took me by surprise. And it made me remember all of the times we shared together....

tying our identical (put different colored) coats together in recess.

making up dance routines to "come on ride the train" in mamaw's front yard.

twirling batons together on livingston hill.

making up absurd videos including "candy and katrina's workout video".

riding four wheelers by the carpet shack.

getting sunburned and watching the fireworks at MacFarland on the 4th of July.

getting smashies for/with mamaw.

making pallets on the floor every night with the turtle quilt.

eating pancakes on sunday mornings.

putting water balloons in our bathing suits and jumping on the trampoline.

sliding down the stairs into my basement and putting a whole in the wall.

being co-captains of the majorette squad.

listening to sweetness in starlight and crying as we knew we were leaving for college.

living a few doors down our freshman year of college.

being there for the heart break when the boyfriends were gone-thank goodness.

being there when the husband was found.

So naturally, I might have cried when La handed me this today:

My simple joy for the day: being asked to be the maid of honor in my best la's wedding. Love you, la!

A Blessing in Disguise

I was very bummed because I was suppose to go to Fair Hope this weekend to spend time with Michelle and her family, but I couldn't go because of financial constraints. :(

Well, my dear friend Lacey reminded my on Friday about the Jamboree, a National Championship for Country Musician Beginners in Smithville, TN complete with an evening fiddle-off. So, Saturday night we set off on our adventure to the sweet, country town of Smithville. It was a little over an hour away but totally worth the trip.

I didn't realize that not only would there be music but dancing too. There was square dancing, clogging, buck dancing, and my person favorite, the old-fashioned flat foot. Here is a sneak peak of the winner of the flat foot dancing competition:
...and he just might have been the oldest flat footer too!

The Jamboree including all of the yummy foods that you could possibly think of. We had bbq sandwiches, homemade peach ice cream, and......

...the best combination of sweet and salty - kettle corn.

The end of the evening consisted of a fiddle-off between the senior fiddle champion and junior fiddle champion. The junior fiddler won! He was so talented! Here is a sneak peak of his final number:

Then came the wonderful starry night trip back to Nashville. We rode with the windows down and I sat in the back seat curled up in a large quilt looking at the stars. It was beautiful.

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." Psalm 33:6

My simple joy for the day: a precious flat footer, good food, and music that warms my heart.

Sobbing to Jesus

I worked at sifat this past week as a special project for the last week of my internship. It was definitely crazy but awesome! I only went to worship one night and while the campers broke off into small groups after worship, I just laid down in the q-hut to have a minute with the Lord. I asked one of my new sweet friends/the worship leader this summer to play a good song while we waited for the campers to get finished and this is what she chose:

As I laid there thinking about this song, I just thought about how truly beautiful Jesus is and how differently I look from Him. Tears rolled down my face as I listened to the words of this song.

"I know that Your eyes are like flames of fire.

I know that Your head is white as wool.

And I know that your voice, it sounds like waters.

Jesus, You're beautiful."

On my way home, I listened to this song in my car (I might have asked her to burn me a cd before I left camp). I am sure the people driving around me thought I was a complete lunatic because I was literally sobbing/jamming out to this song at the top of my lungs. Man, He is so beautiful.

My simple joy for the day: being saved by such a beautiful Jesus.

Summer Sunday Lunch

I am a little late with this post, but I really wanted to share. :)

(O, I'm wearing the dress you gave me, but rest assured that I

only took my sweater off when I got home)

Sunday afternoons with my family at home are second to none. They mean good food, time spent together, and usually, quite a bit of laughter (Gran said, "I am losing my........and then lost her train of thought which gave Dad an insert here moment. He whispered to me "hearing"). Well this Sunday was one of my favorite family traditions of sitting on the back porch to eat lunch.

Originally mom asked me to check if it was too hot to eat outside, but quickly changed her mind to ask dad because she knew no matter what I would say it felt perfect. We decided to eat outside because even though it was a bit warm, it felt good in the shade under the umbrella.

Looks like I was a big hungry and yes that is watermelon. :)

My simple joy for Sunday: time with family, yummy food, and laughter.

The Things Kids Say

Today I ate lunch with about 30 kindergarteners at a local elementary school. I sat by my new, little 5-year-old friend Katherine.

After asking me where I was from four times, she finally told me she was from Honduras. When I asked her where in Honduras and started offering the names of the cities I knew, she asked me why I was talking like that. Apparently, I am not too good at pronouncing the names of Honduran cities.

Then, she told me she had a cousin from Vietnam and her cousin was teaching her to speak Vietnam. Next, she told me she had a cousin from China. Naturally, I am a bit skeptical at this point.

And then came the best cousin of all. She apparently also had a cousin from Barackobama. Yes, it came out of her mouth as one word "Barackobama." I am really not sure where that country is, and I had to turn my head and giggle after asking her to repeat what she said twice.

My simple joy for the day: learning about new countries from new friends.

Time with Him

I don't really like to exercise alone, but sometimes that is just what my heart needs...if I do it right. Today this is what my exercising looked liked:

1. Making a "Time with Him" playlist on my ipod (I did this because my mind tends to wander on things not of Him when I am walking alone.)

2. Found a beautiful trail outside

3. Forgot everything I was leaving behind, including the ever worrisome thought of, "What am I doing with my life?"

4. Listened to the water running in the creek or the guy playing guitar by himself by the creek

5. Took in the amazing scent of these along the way...

6. Picked a flower

7. Stopped to watch the sun going down

8. Found the Lord in it all

My simple joy for the day: taking time to spend with Him and stopping to take in the beauty along the way.

Sweet Baby Girl

This is Elsie Grace Rose. She is one of my dear friends' baby and also happens to be my pastor's daughter. She is their forth child and just as awesome as the other three.

I got to hold her for a long time tonight at community group while she slept. I have never watched a pregnancy as close as I watched Jill's, and this sweet baby girl reminds me of the pure, perfect miracles sent from above. I love her so much!

(My hair is courtesy of Bethany, their 6-year-old daughter.)

My simple joy for the day: getting to experience a miracle happen before my eyes and snuggling with her.

Don't let anyone tell you that you are too old.

If you look really closely, you can see a sweet 80-year-oldish looking man standing on the railing with a fishing pole hanging into the very small creek running below (I felt like a creeper taking this picture).

This is the second time I have seen this sweet little guy. The last time I saw him he was doing the exact same thing, and I asked him if he had any catches. He had actually caught four very small fish that day. I asked him if he was going to eat them and he looked at me like I was nuts. He said he was going to feed them to his cat. That is one lucky cat! He made me smile again today and I thought I would share.

My simple joy for the day: never being too old to climb on a bridge and dangle your fishing pole into a creek.