The Best Way to Start My Morning

I often go back and forth in my mind: "What really is the best way to start my morning?" If I work out first, I'll be more alert when reading and praying for my day. If I put those things first, which seems ideal in order to make sure they actually happen, I might spend most of my time fighting to stay awake. It's still a battle, but while on a different 'summer' schedule, I opt for exercise first. Mainly because Ben gets up early to work out, so it's motivating to do the same and be able to do it with him, and then sit out on the porch to read before staff meetings start.

This morning I had a new experience. One of the girls out here that I've wanted to get to know better said she was going to run 5 miles, and I wanted to run with her to spend time with her so I decided to join her. I wouldn't call myself an experienced runner, but I can push myself to go for a long time. We started in the middle of the 2.5 mile long boardwalk and I quickly figured out that my pace is not very fast! I fought to keep up with Erin and Emily, who was also with us, so I could talk with them as we ran. It was hard but worth it because it kept my mind off of the running. The boardwalk is so lively even at 8am! It's divided into sections for pedestrians, bikes, runners, and surreys (none of which are usually out that early). It was fun to see families biking together and jogging couples spurring each other on. And it was HOT, which I really liked. Emily cut out after 2.5 miles, but I wanted to see if I could finish the 5. I told Erin I would follow her, but I wouldn't be able to keep her pace. Thankfully I had my ipod (thanks for the birthday present, family!) so I turned it on for the last leg of the jog. It was so hard, but such a great feeling to finish. I did have to hurry to get ready before everyone showed up for staff meeting, but I would say running on the boardwalk has been the best way to start my morning so far this summer. I'm hoping for many more to come!

East Coast Summer

One of the beauties of our job is that we get to travel...a lot. About a week ago we began our road trip to Ocean City, NJ, and life has not slowed down since we got here. We drove with Brandon and Amy, good friends of ours that we spent last summer with. After stopping at Notre Dame in Indiana (Ben and Brandon in front of 'touchdown Jesus), and spending our first night somewhere outside of Toledo in a not-so-worth-the-low-price-hotel, we headed for Gettysburg, PA. Pennsylvania is by far the best state I've ever driven through. It's so beautiful! The mountains are an enjoyable drive, even in the dark, which makes it a little more adventurous.

We toured Gettysburg in the rain, imagining what it must have been like to experience the whole thing. I wish I would have appreciated history more and paid attention in school, but Brandon acted as our encyclopedia, recalling dates and events from the civil war.

Despite our best efforts to arrive in Ocean City 'early', we showed up at 9pm to get our keys and unpack our cars. Our house has the biggest living area, so we were deemed the hosts of all staff meetings. It's a mixed blessing, but the positives have far outweighed the negatives. It's fun to have everyone over, and we never have to worry about being late! Our week has been full of staff meetings with training and a time for everyone to share their story of beginning a relationship with God. It's the best way to get to know 40 different people in a single week. I have been blown away at some of the lives in the room that God has shaped and is now using for His purposes. So many have experienced death of loved ones, and just really hard things that I can't relate with. But their hope in Christ exceeds the difficult things they have seen and known, and they are willing to be used to bring the truth of the gospel to others so they too can find hope. What an exciting summer we have ahead of us! We have the names of our students and we can't wait to meet them this week. We will each be working with four from around the country. There are also a few students from Iowa that are coming so it will be fun to see them.

Tomorrow we have the day off before students show up on Tuesday, so Ben and I are going to explore the local shops and eateries and walk along the boardwalk. I'm going to try to keep my mind off of my job, which is House Manager, along with another staff member. We have a lot of responsibilities in this first week as we will be leading our work day at The Ambassador's Inn-an old boarding house that was bought for our project 46 years ago and needs a good Spring cleaning this time of year, as it's not used for anything else. The Ambassador houses 80 students and the rest stay in a house down the street that's affectionately called "The Mansion". (We live down the street in a rented house).

Well this is long enough. It's late so it was more factual than anything, but hopefully it was fun to read. Here's a view from The Ambassador. The streets are lined with these huge beach houses for miles and miles. I apologize for the choppy text and randomly placed pictures-I'll master these layout skills some day!