we are family

At my high school graduation our salutatorian gave a speech on family. He talked about the family that we are a part of biologically or otherwise, and then the family we choose. I went to a small high school (130 kids) and we def. considered ourselves a family. Well I sent out my weekly report yesterday over the list-serv and I got all of these wonderful e-mails from my coworkers saying "welcome to the NSP family" which really gave me this warm fuzzy feeling. Just hearing the way that both Alex ans Shawn talk about the organization makes me excited because they are very closeknit, there is a lot of support and it is very much a family feel.

Then when I got home I got a couple phone calls from the other part of my family, the biological one. It's always great to hear from them (thank you guys). Every since my mom got sick I've had to learn to let people care. Both my aunt and uncle kept saying how they knew things were hard but they would get better. My instant reaction is too always say that I'm perfectly fine which I've learned has always thrown people off. But I do believe I'm fine. Maybe not in this moment but overall I see ahead and I know that this moment is only a part of a larger moment. They are working together for some great good. I trust the process and I trust God and I know that things will work out well (Jeremiah 29:11). I don't worry, I'm fine.

For me worry is indicative of a self-abosrbed attitude. Maybe not for others but when I find myself getting worried or anxious that's when I know I'm spending too much time focusing on myself. I'm focusing on what I can do or what I can't without ultimately realizing that most things are out of my control. I can do what I can and then I must just be patient and have faith.

Jamie, a great counselor and in many ways a great friend, reminded me months ago that I have to learn to listen and trust my inner voice and truth. And from that I've learned that when I focus on my inner voice and truth I am constantly at peace because that inner truth knows that nothing, good or bad, can last forever. That "all things work together for good" and I am in really good hands.

So I am very happy to be a part of this new family and the adventures we will have together. Here's a link to some pictures taken at the NSP Jubilee to honor the AmeriCorps site coordinators this past June. Some of them we'll be leaving, but I'll meet some of them at our training at the end of the month. The pictures were taken at the Lodal Ranch which is this gorgeous place where I get to do part of my training and have other fun. http://tbrunswick.smugmug.com/gallery/5318130_oG4nt#324747583_4pmYn
Enjoy, Happy Fourth!

Song: Hands by Jewel

Quote: I look at the Augustem, and I think that perhaps my life hs not actually been so chaotic, after all. It is merely this world that is chaotic, bringing changes to us all that nobody could have anticipated. The Augusteum warns me not to get attached to any obsolete ideas about who I am, what I repersent, whom I belong to, or what function I may have once intended to serve. Yesterday I might have been a glarious monument to somebody, true enough-but tomorrow I could be a fireworks depository. Even in the Eternal City, says the silent Augusteum, one must always be prepared for riotous and endless waves of transformation. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert