RE:NEW and Life

So that I can update all of you in one go...

Been working for Presence as the Project Manger of RE:NEW since July of this year and been working full-time since the start of November. It's been quite the journey...

Cool things I've been able to do so far:

1. Meet some crazy awesome people!
2. Do ministry with some of my closest friends xD (a dream come true!)
3. Learn what it takes to put a magazine together @.@
4. Refine my nonexistent photoshop skills in an attempt to alleviate the burden of other team members ><'
5. Spend countless hours researching how to drive traffic to a website (ugh! - but secretly proud of my effort) 
6. Work at home! In my bed! In my pj's! Till 4am...
7. Take off whenever I want and make up the hours later (I've honestly got the most flexible and baller schedule in the world! >:D) 
8. Get paid to network with and research Christian organizations and companies
9. Vision casting (the sky's the limit!)
10. Gather a team together and try my best to foster an environment and group dynamic that allows everyone to reach their full potential
11. Connect with my dad a lot more now and earn my mommy's respect

Things that have not been so cool:

1. Commuting for two hours to get to the work place whenever I have to go in
2. Losing my partner (in crime)
3. Feeling a sense of impending doom and/or completely overwhelmed at the scope of things at least once every few days
4. Waiting for people to give me stuff to work with
5. Volunteers that go MIA or networking emails that are ignored

Things God has been teaching me:

1. To love the youth. My heart and passion has been for college ministry for the past couple of years, but God has really been growing in me a passion to see teens mobilized and really living life to the full. 
2. To stay true to the gifts He's given me and the way He made me. I discovered that I was really into Leadership Development/Spiritual Formation earlier on during my senior year in college, but until recently I had kind of forgotten all about it. But after seeing people make a few judgement calls and decisions recently, I felt God really nudging me to take more initiative in speaking up and helping people to find their niche in ministry (discovering unique ministry areas based on passion and calling rather than "need"). 
3. My team is my responsibility. And our ministry begins first and foremost with our team. Just recognizing that when push comes to shove, my volunteers come first. Even if the ministry is falling apart and the website is failing, the people behind it always need to come first. It's not the labor that God considers, but the laborers that He loves and considers above all else. 

Things I would like prayer for:

1. That our website (http://www.renewtheresponse.org/) would magically show up in Google searches
2. Wisdom and discernment in planning for the upcoming year
3. That I would somehow finish writing my book on time on top of everything else I have to do

That's all for now! Thanks!

Anakin Skywalker

So kiddo. I've settled on a pseudonym for you. Like it? I think it's rather suiting. After all, just like Anakin, your potential and capability for growth is off the charts. The only question is...can I handle it?

In recent months, you have become by far my biggest responsibility and potentially quite possibly my greatest investment for the future. And yet, even after saying that, the number of hours I actually spend on you is rather limited. And that worries me. 

How are you doing really? What am I supposed to do kiddo? I refuse to fail, but even your name implies that I will. I don't deserve you, and I'm pretty sure I can't handle you. You will surpass me in but a few short years...and then where will you go? White or black? Light or dark?

And yet I am confident that He won't let you go. That no matter the extent of my failings and your failings, He will not release His hold on you. And you will forever remain His beloved child.