My Purse

Lately my purse has been an unruly jungle of receipts and coupons; straw wrappers and sticky notes to the point I could not even find my lip gloss! It probably did not help that there were 2 books, a brush, a cell phone, a wallet and a pair of dirty socks in there taking up space in there also.

I cleaned out my purse the other night, but left the dirty socks in there. They’re bright pink, from my Mom’s sock drawer which is a collection of socks the rest of us are too self-conscious to wear. They’re dirty from going bowling while at home a couple weeks back.

I had such a fantastic time at home! I slept and played games, went bowling and to the movies, painted pumpkins and star gazed, watched fireworks and drank a lot of frozen cokes. :) It was just the balm to my body and soul that I needed. I wish Chicago and home could be closer to each other.

Coming back to Chicago, I am very much more rested and in general in a more sane place. Coming back to Chicago, I am also feeling vulnerable.I had hoped that Memphis could undo the burdens of the inner city, but it wasn’t quite that powerful. I am so small and insignificant here. While I know there are those who care about me here, everyone seems to have to rush on to the next something. Emotionally and spiritually I need someone to sit with me awhile and be persistent. I know that’s a bit needy…but whatever mess is being worked out in my heart and mind is taking its dear, sweet time and I can’t seem to help that.

Baby, baby, baby, oooooooo!

 All I can say is.... there's gonna be one less lonely girl!

In case you can't make it out, it's a toothbrush that plays

2 of the Biebs best tunes....

Ridiculous Information

This somehow made it on my list of things to share and yet it doesn’t really fit with anything else/is not really important at all. Since it is on the list though, it MUST be shared.

I just wanted to say that I signed up for the free month of HuluPlus with a .edu email so that I could watch the finale of Masterchef because they bogus-ly did not release that to the public. So then I watched a bunch of old Pysch episodes too. It turned out to be such a bonus though because I was able to watch the premiere of “New Girl” and “Parenthood” a week early. Huzzah!

The end. (I am embarrassed that this post exists.)

High School hair and other things I am learning about growing up

It’s hard to believe but most of the junior highers have become freshman now! How and when did that happen? Even though we had talked about it all summer, the transformation seemed to happen in a weeks time and take me by surprise.

The Wednesday after Labor Day all the girls came looking about 10 years older with beautiful new weaves and styles. The girls seemed to indicate it was a rite of passage of sorts- they now have “high school hair.”  (In my head at one point, I may have imagined us all in old world clothing standing around a Sabbath table singing Sunrise, Sunset- thankfully just in my head!)

They seem to be adjusting well though. I’m proud of them for jumping in to a new place with boldness. I know that there are even more voices now vying for their attention and I pray God’s protection over their hearts and minds. Sometimes I forget how much is coming with them to Bible Study- a full day of the world’s pressures and lies; a whole weeks worth of observing violence and trying to stand up for themselves.  It really is a miracle and gift that their hearts are tender and open to God’s Word by His Spirit.

High school is the hardest time because you are young enough to think that your decisions don’t matter that much- “you’re just a kid!” In reality though, those high school years are so formative in terms of the direction you go for the future. I had a little heart to heart with the girls about that last week…I probably sounded like a Mom to them, but I hope regardless of how relevant they thought I was or wasn’t, that they saw how much I love them.

Truly, I cannot explain what a love I have in my heart for these girls and for the Westside of Chicago. It is supernatural and I think this might be my mission field for a while.   

Introducing….

My new upstairs neighbors:
Malissa, Nate, Elliot and Aldyn (plus Nelson)

They moved here from Arizona because Malissa received a scholarship at UIC to do doctoral studies in urban planning. Hopefully they will be around a while because I pretty much love them already. (When Nate quoted Arrested Development it sealed the deal!)

Malissa and I have gone for coffee and studying at the Knock Box a couple times. We like to eat and play games together like Monopoly Deal. It’s fun to hear the pitter patter of feet upstairs (especially in the morning when I need motivation to get up). Sometimes I play “Guess the Sound” with other things that go bump on the floor. I love to have conversations about urban ministry and their life experiences. They are pretty involved at their church even though they are new. Malissa gets to wear a stellar orange vest because she is the parking attendant! Elliot and Aldyn are totally creative and fun kids. I love hearing about their day or overhearing them playing in the backyard. They have a cute dog named Nelson who had a stroke so his tongue hangs out one side of his mouth- it’s pretty endearing. We also had 2 ‘adorable’ brown mice living in the building, but they have recently moved on. Bottom line, I’m so thankful that they are my new “roommates”.

My new roommate, Judith:

The Lord provided Judith from what I thought was a magical land because I had never heard of it before. She was born in the Faroe Islands (owned by Denmark) and cam to the states for college. She graduated from John Brown University this year and did an internship this summer in Chicago. After so much anxiety about who I would find to replace Aubrey on short notice, she moved in on September 1st and left me totally humbled at God’s providing hand. She is clean and likes to play games and loves pumpernickel bread and has great style and a cool boyfriend, Josh. She and Josh introduced me to 2 new games- Blockus and Sequence. I am no good at either… yet! So excited to get to know her more in the coming months. God is good to me- all the time!

A Man in a Mexican Wrestling Mask Walks Into a Game Stop…

 

It reads just like the beginning a fantastic joke, but at the time it was so not funny. Jodecai and Zyleke went to Game Stop in Cicero last week so they could exchange some games for a new one. I had never even been to Game Stop so I was already getting quite an education about how these sorts of things work.

A man walks by the window. With a  Mexican wrestling mask on…

I pause and ponder how strange that is.

The same man walks back by the window and into the store- still wearing his mask.

I inch toward the door motioning for the boys to come with me because my imagination has gone into overdrive about this man robbing the store, holding us hostage and my Mom hearing about it all on the evening news. The boys are too absorbed in their game selection to notice my subtle movement.

The employees tell the man that in order to shop there he has to take off the mask.

The man grunts and growls and aggressively shakes a shelf of games.

I walk back toward the boys envisioning myself heroically shielding them from bullets with my body….

The man walks out of Game Works.

Me and the boys go to Taco Bell.

Overheard

1. A sweet 19 year old Moody male student in the plaza:
“My grandma is a blessing to me!”

2. A confused and mentally disturbed man on the el at 7am:
”Oh shit! I’m on the pink line? I got on the girly line? Oh Shit! How did I get on the girly line? I can’t believe I’m riding the pink girly line! Shit!”

3. Yakira in the van on the way to Bible Study:
”Rachel treats us like we are her own kids.”

4. The neighbor girl (8 years old) on the back porch through my bedroom window:  “Insert the words of a praise and worship song she was making up without knowing anyone was listening” (This is BY FAR the sweetest way to wake up on a week day!)

5. Zyleke at his baptism on Sunday:
“I know that when I mess up Jesus is always with me and will forgive me.”

6. A Moody Student headed to her dorm room:
“Going to watch Korean Dramas… I am obsessed and have to find out what happened.”

7. A text from my neighbor after telling her I would bring the pot (of Chili) upstairs for dinner:
“Bring the chili too, we might get the munchies!”

8. Me (a bit to loud) to a friend in a public area at work recounting the story of unexpectedly saying goodbye late at night to a friend moving out of state:
“I wish I was wearing more clothes right now.”