Best Moments from our trip to Maui

Aloha, friends! I am back from Maui quite a few shades darker (seriously, I am so tan). Hawaii was incredible. The weather was perfect (minus a minor hurricane glitch), the landscape was so beautiful that it looked fake, and the people were incredibly laid back. I don't think I've ever felt quite so disconnected from the world while on a trip before. It was a perfect nine days of just relaxing, being with family, and trying not to get too sunburnt.

Here's a quick recap of our trip, in the format of a list of bests!

Best Adventure: Biking down the side of a volcano! More details to come on this tomorrow.

Best Meal: Crab Mac & Cheese at Honu on our very last night. Oh my goshhhh. I would go back to Maui just to eat this again.

Best View:

Drinking: Iced White Mocha
Reading: The Paper Magician

Just kidding. Here's Ka'anapali Beach without anything blocking your view! That island in the distance is Molokai.

Best Sunset:

The sunset in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

Best Loss of "What are the Odds": "What are the Odds" is a game where you challenge someone to do something. You ask them, "what are the odds you'll eat an entire pizza?" and they answer saying something like, "1 in 10." After counting to three, the challenger and the challengee say a number in that range. If they say the same number, they have to do it. If they say a different number, they do not have to complete the challenge. At the end of the beach, there's a giant black rock that juts out into the ocean. If you swim out far enough, you can climb up 20ft and jump in. Tommy is not a fan of doing things like this. Steph, Joey, & I all jumped, and we wanted Tommy to join in the fun. After making all sorts of offers (like endless baked goods, Joey being nice to him forever), Tommy lost What are the Odds and had to jump. It ended up being a great experience, and we were all glad he did it!

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Best Ocean Experience: Snorkling right next to a sea turtle off the coast of Maui! Amazing.

Best Hawaiian Moment: Either surfing, or attending the Luau! Surfing is hard, but super fun! And the Luau was a sweet way to try traditional Hawaiian foods while watching hula!

#nailedit

Best Book Read: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This book was so enchanting, I could hardly put it down. It's the story of two opponents, competing to show who is better skilled at magic. The two main characters have been bound together their whole lives, and the story is about how they overlap and how the magic that they create is a gift to others. I highly recommend it.

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Best Parents in the World: MINE. Huge shoutout to my generous parents for taking us on this trip!

Aren't they so cute!?

But the best part of the whole trip was being able to spend 9 days of carefree timelessness with my family.

Aloha, Hawaii! Can't wait to see you again.

7QTs on Jim Gaffigan at SEEK & NST

--- 1 ---

So, this was announced on Tuesday:

People were pretty excited. Heck, our whole team is pretty excited! I think my favorite reaction was this:

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.

We had like 10 people sign up within three hours of the announcement. Which is so great! We're bringing Gaffigan so more people will come. You should probably come, too.

--- 2 ---

Also, when you search the #SEEK2015 hashtag on twitter, it seems that people who are not in college really want to come to SEEK, and think that they can't.

Good news, people. You do not have to be a college student to come to SEEK. It's for everyone! If you want to know more about the Catholic faith, want to deepen your faith, and are at least a senior in high school, SEEK is for you. Registration is open at www.seek2015.com, so go check it out. And register now, because there are some legit contests going on.

--- 3 ---

Jen's book, Something Other Than God (or SOTG), came out on Tuesday! Hooray! You can buy it on amazon & enter in her amazing contests. I need to remember to buy my copy!!

UPDATE one minute after publishing - I just bought my copy! 

--- 4 ---

Remember how I gave up TV for let? It was a really good life choice...except now I want to watch everything nonstop so I can get caught up. Ugh.

--- 5 ---

The theme of my week at work has been CARNIVAL!! We're having a welcome carnival to kick off summer training and it is going to be SO FUN. A few of the FOCUS execs have agreed to sit in a dunk tank for a bit. It is going to be legit. The main thing I have learned from this carnival endeavor is that photo booths are expensive. 

--- 6 ---

Last week 4/5 of my team finished reading Divergent. In the back of the book, there is a quiz that you can take that will place you into your faction. Christine & I made everyone take it at the Fort Myers Airport, even if they didn't read the book. We declared our layover in Indianapolis "Choosing Day." Hilarious. Christine & Christina have now both watched the movie as well, and they engaged in quite the passionate discussion about the differences between the two this morning. Christina just said, "I don't want to work! I want to talk about Divergent! Yes, we are all working adults and we are obsessed with this YA book. #notashamed

I just got my hands on Insurgent and Allegiant, so I'm looking forward to some quality reading time this weekend.

--- 7 ---

We are 22 days out from week 0 of NST, and I am 28 out from heading down to Ave for a month. The worst part of NST is packing for it. How do you even pack business casual for a whole month!? I know I did this the past two summers, but the task seems so daunting. I think I need to start planning my packing strategy now so I don't go insane.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Little Happies [2]

In the spirit of practicing gratitude, I am back this week with some little happies!

--one--

It's Holy Week, so obviously that's a happy! Michelle (my roommate) & I are going to try to get up early every morning to say morning prayer. Lent has been challenging for me, so I'm excited about this opportunity sprint to the finish line this week.

--two--

While it was nice to have a month long break from traveling, I am excited for what the week ahead holds. I'll be hitting up Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Florida. I love the anticipation of seeing old teammates and students, fellow missionary friends, and spending a lot of time with my team. Hopefully I will return refreshed from Easter and even more excited for SEEK and NST!

--three--

Last week I read an entire trilogy in a few days. Whoops. Matched had beed on my list for awhile now, so I was really excited when I got the email that it was finally available for download onto my Kindle.

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It was an easy read, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the main character Cassia. Probably because I would have picked her to be with a different guy, but whatever. It also really reminded me of the Delirium series.

What I did love was the love of words and poetry the characters have, how the author explored the different types of love, and how she showed that even the revolutions against oppressive systems can be corrupt. It was fun reading the books and escaping into the world of The Society for a bit. 

--four--

Speaking of reading, Megan & I have quasi started a long distance book club. It's really informal, we read a book and then text about it, but it has been really fun. I highly recommend it as a way to stay in touch with a friend and to keep yourself accountable to reading. BONUS: I get to see Megan this week since she lives in KC. 

--five--

I have been about to burst at the seems with passion for youth ministry these past two weeks. So I took sometime this weekend to pray specifically for my girls and set some goals for the summer. I am excited to talk with Megan about making some of these dreams a reality. 

Look at how much fun youth ministry (camp) is!!!

For more happies, check out Blessed to Be!

The Practice of the Presence of God: A book review

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So, I downloaded this book way back in August, but I only got about half way through. Now after rereading it I know why. This book is incredible and every sentence requires a holy hour of meditation after you finish reading it. It's intense, yet simple. Profound, yet full of incredible common sense.

Br. Lawrence was a religious brother who lived in the 1600's. He had an incredible closeness to Jesus and was able to actively live that out every day. 

What I admire most about Br. Lawrence and this book is his profound self-awareness and dedication to his resolutions. He says over and over that he decided he would give himself wholly to God, so that's what he did. And when he lost sense of Gods presence or sinned, he simply turned his heart back to Jesus and started over. 

How beautiful this way of life is. It exemplifies everything I hope to be. I admire his will and love how simple he views the spiritual life. He understands that he is a sinner and without God he can do nothing. How often so we get mad at ourselves for failing or turning from God? I get angry about this on a weekly (daily) basis. And then I feel like I can't talk to God because I haven't behaved perfectly. But, I don't think that's what Jesus wants. I think this practice of the presence of God pleases him greatly and makes him smile. He just wants to be with us, and this practice does that in a beautiful and humble way. 

So I'm trying to take a page from Br. Lawrence and trying to consciously find Jesus with me at all times. And when I forget or mess up, I will simply ask Jesus to help me to continue on.

PS - It's free on Amazon.

Some favorite quotes:

Make immediately a holy and firm resolution never more willfully to forget Him, and to spend the rest of your days in His sacred presence.

The least little remembrance will always be acceptable to Him. You need not cry very loud; He is nearer to us than we are aware of.

That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times.

It was nearly impossible to stop at three quotes. I think I highlighted 99% of the book.

7QTs on Camping, Reading, and Spontaneous Piercings

--- 1 ---

Tomorrow, I will have been back in Colorado for a whole week for the first time in what feels like forever. And I'm not leaving the state until April 17. A whole month of stability. I forgot what this feels like. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself now that I'm not traveling. Maybe I can finally get unpacked from all these travels and moving.

--- 2 ---

On Tuesday, Carol & I were spontaneous. Well, as spontaneous as you can be when you sent an outlook calendar invite the day before. We told Christina of our adventures the next day & she sent out this email to our team:

"Let's play two truths and a lie...

1. Michelle got her eyebrow pierced.

2. Michelle got her ear's triple pierced.

3. Carol got her cartilage pierced."

Christine guessed #2 was the lie, Zach tweeted "THIS IS TOO HARD," and Brenda guessed that someone actually got a giant tattoo. Any guesses?!

--- 3 ---

My team is about to start reading this book and I cannot wait.

I'm also really scared of it. I feel like it is going to kick me in the pants, nonstop. When we read 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Person, it transformed the way we plan our weeks and interact with our work. I'm interested to see how this next book will change the way we interact with each other.

--- 4 ---

I have another cross-country adventure coming up in a month. Part of being an event planner means going on site visits. Which I think is just so fun! You get to see the space, meet the staff, and start to visualize what your next event is actually going to look like. So our team is doing two site visits in one week. First we're headed to Nashville to check out the Gaylord Opry. I'm excited to stop visualizing the Hyatt Regency in Dallas and actually learn the names of the ballrooms at the Gaylord! Then we're headed to Ave Maria, Florida with all of the committee heads to rev up for summer training! Site visits with the team are so fun, and I can't wait for SO MUCH QUALITY TIME.

--- 5 ---

Speaking of adventure, I want to go camping so bad right now. Seriously. Hurry up and turn into spring, Colorado so I can sleep outside. For some reason my team has been talking a lot about tents and camping this week, and we recently learned that Christina has never actually been camping. When she was a girl scout, they set up tents with persian rugs. What!? It reminded Carol and me of this:

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--- 6 ---

Answer to two truths and a lie: I did NOT get my eyebrow pierced! I'm mainly confused as to why Christina and Christine thought this would be something that I would do. I'd appreciate the insight. haha.

--- 7 ---

Next week is the saddest week of my entire time on the events team. Carol is moving back to Illinois so she can get married (dumb). I will be protesting this move every step of the way.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Little Happies [1]

One of the best parts of camp every day? Highs and lows. It gives us a chance to reflect on the blessings God has given us throughout our days. I don't usually have this habit outside of that camp world. So when I saw this link up, I wanted to join in. I'm excited to be along for the ride this week! Check out Blessed To Be for more happies.

--one--

Is it weird to talk about your own birthday on your blog? Well, I'm going to do it! It's my birthday, and that is fun. Carol and I took a little time to chat and catch up this morning. Then my family sent me these:

--two--

I am grateful for my vacation with my mom and my sister. I will write more on this later, but right now, just look at that water! So beautiful, so grateful.

--three--

Last night was the first night I was able to get together with my discipleship girls in a while. They are just so fun and always brighten my day. They put up with my craziness and desire for adventure (we ordered a pizza, just because) and are getting more and more willing to share. 

--four--

Giving up TV for lent has created so much time for reading and it is so great. I read 4 books on vacation last week. Right now, I am half way through the second book of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I remember reading the first book in the 8th grade and loving it, so I decided that I wanted to read to whole trilogy. I love the imagery in these books - the characters often enter into other worlds called realms, so it is fun to get lost in the world of magic and the magic that comes from the 1890's in London.

--five--

When I got home from Mexico, I had a package. Inside were two beautiful scarves for my project to help get scarves for Dana's bible study. This leaves me with 4 in hand, and two on their way! I'm going to deliver the scarves this weekend. I love that others have jumped on board for this little last minute project. Maybe next year it can be something bigger. 

5 Favorites: On Reading [1]

I'm a sucker for a good linkup (even though I'm out of the country and probably won't actually be able to link up), especially listy ones, so I figured I'd give this a try. I'm excited to be along for the ride this week!

So, my 24th birthday is on March 17th. My parent's gave me my present early so I could use it on vacation this week. I got a kindle and I LOVE IT. 

I used to be an avid reader, before I took AP English Jr. year of high school and Netflix, but since then my reading has dwindled. Part of cutting out TV for lent involves an increase of reading, so here are my 5 Favorites in regards to reading.

1. Okay, so my kindle makes the list. For so many reasons! It's light, it's small, it's easy to read on. You can borrow free books from amazon. When you buy something, it syncs automatically. It saves what you highlight in your books. This was the best birthday present, ever.

2.  THE LIBRARY. Guys, the library is the most underrated thing in the world. You can walk in there, pick out whatever books or magazines or movies or CDs you like, and then just TAKE THEM HOME WITH YOU! Seriously, what is this madness? Why did I ever stop going to the library? It's even better now because I can borrow ebooks and they just show up on my kindle.

3. I love young adult literature. In college, I was able to take a YA Lit class and it was seriously the best ever. So, I've been loving Katie's blog, YA Book Love. She reads books and then reviews them on her blog. Simple, straight forward, and really fun.

check out Katie's blog!

4. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this when I started, but I love audible.com. I'm currently using it at a first time users discounted rate, but it's pretty great. Basically, you pay a monthly membership fee and then based on your plan can download an audio book a month. To keep. Audiobooks are expensive, so the monthly rate allows you to save, a lot. I can't decide if I'll keep it when my three months are up, but I've loved listening to books when I'm driving, getting ready in the morning, and unpacking/cleaning my room.

BONUS: If you don't like a book you can return it for ANY REASON and get a new book. Isn't that so nice of them?

5. The Dynamic Catholic book program. I think this is one of the greatest things ever. Basically, at a very low rate (of like $2/book), you can buy awesome, well written engaging books in bulk. The parish book program is meant to give away books that will evangelize parishioners at the big Mass days (Christmas & Easter), in faith that the book will stir the hearts of the reader. I love that these Catholic authors have sacrificed large profits on their books for the sake of the kingdom.

7 Quick Takes on Anything Other than SLS14 [11]

--- 1 ---

SLS IS OVER. WHAT. HOW.

Okay, I know, I know, this post promised no SLS quick takes. That's because there will be some pretty sweet SLS posts next week. But I think one QT on SLS is fine, right!?

 I got home from Dallas Wednesday evening and took yesterday off. It's back to work today to start wrapping up. SLS went so incredibly well. I loved every second of it and I had SO MUCH FUN. Check back next week for some highlights and posts on SLS. I can't believe it's over! But I do not miss having a walkie talkie stuck in my ear.

--- 2 ---

My life these next two months is seriously CRAZY. I think I have one open weekend...I'm going to have to be intentional about seeing Colorado people and doing things here. But I am so excited to see missionaries at the Greek Getaway's, Emily when she comes to visit, KC friends at home, Nebraskans, and maybe even Jess if I get to go to Cali. Hopefully when March hits I can start to get back into a normal daily life routine.

--- 3 ---

The coolest thing ever happened to me Monday night, someone recognized me from this blog! My first thought was, "people actually read this!?" It was fun to chat. So shout out to Katie from Northwestern and thanks for reading! And thanks for saying hi!

--- 4 ---

I can't think of anything else that doesn't have to do with SLS...so enjoy this picture of the Blessed Mother.

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--- 5 ---

I am obsessed with Salvation History. So much that I am doing the Bible Timeline with my freshman girls AND basing my cirrocumuli for my kindergartners on it. Maybe I'm over ambitious with the 5 year olds...but they do a pretty good job of remembering it. So I've decided to educate myself as well and actually read Curtis Martin and Dr. Sri's The Real Story. 

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I think it will be a good start to my 2014 mantra: More Jesus, Less Stuff. Starting with the "more Jesus" part seems like a good choice to me.

--- 6 ---

Speaking of my freshmen girls, on Dec. 30 we volunteered at a homeless shelter together. I was so impressed with them and how they stepped up to help out without being asked. The best part was they had so much fun and they want to do it again every month. I hope we can do that and I hope I can find as much joy in serving as these girls do.

--- 7 ---

I bought Flannery O'Conner's prayer journal yesterday and I am so excited to read it! My friend Elizabeth and I decided to host a brunch for time with friends and to read the journal aloud together. I can't wait.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!