New Find Mania!!!

I love tshirts. It's true. At heart, I am a blue jeans and tshirt kind of girl; this is how I have spend the majority of my college career and will be spending the majority of my weekend time as a professional. However, now that I am about to graduate, no longer are tshirts and jeans acceptable attire for work. What is a girl to do?

Finally, a practical and fun solution for all of my tshirts...I plan on making one of these to commerate my 5 years at dear ol' Stritch. :) Because, I have far too many tshirts to even wear, and I can show all of them off this way. Several websites take old tshirts and makes them into a quilt. It may seem like an expensive purchase, but it is a memory that will last a lifetime...and is manpower that I do not have to exert!

Plus, perusing this website allows me to indulge my ever-growing crafty side...revamping old things into new things is a sustainable habit that I am working on improving: revamping tshirts has been one of my fun summer hobbies. You go, tshirt quilting websites...kudos.

Some of these sites include: www.toocooltshirtquilts.com, www.campusquilt.com, www.tshirtquilt.com, and www.nanasquilting.com are ones that actually quilt the shirts. Expensive, but worth it! :)

(photo courtesy of www.toocooltshirtquilts.com)

Many Blessings

For the past couple of days this week, I've had the pleasure of going back to one of my favorite places ever, Lutherdale, to work as a volunteer with campers with special needs. Oh, Lordy LORDY have I missed this place!

Here's a list of the things that I was able to do the past couple of days, and a few of the blessings that I have gotten as well: dance to retro music, receive countless hugs, sit in socially awkward situations and smile because it happened, be fake hog-tied during a variety show, dance to today's greatest hits, talk about Jesus and God, see old friends, both campers and staff, do a bit o' creeping, LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH, see an example of just how important it is to be understood, play a few pranks, hold in many "that's what she said" statements, sing camp songs, eat at a dinner table with other people, dance to no music other than the rhythm of my soul, experience a whirlwind of emotions in short span of time (frustration, exasperation, total and complete happiness, paralyzing fear and tears, surprise and shock, and the best one of all, LOVE), and live, at least for a little bit, as a part of a Christian community.

I can think of something special about each and every camper that I came into contact with. There's the camper that needs physical contact so much that even when there's a full couch to choose to sit, she'll sit RIGHT next to you, the camper who introduced me to all of the campers and staff as they came in, the camper who put on a very unexpected dance routine at the variety show, and the camper with a very bad speech impediment whose biggest frustration is not being understood. These are only a few examples of the many special campers I have come into contact with again the past couple of days, and does not include the very special summer staff who is lucky enough to be working at camp on a regular basis.

Going back to camp has brought up so much in me. What a mission based, ministry organization can do for both the participants and employees is amazing. It provides a place where you can make a difference and see signs of that difference every day. It provides a place where staff can come together and pull pranks and talk about deep theological questions in the same night. It provides a community for those who might not have one elsewhere.

One of my favorite campers was also one with whom I struggled on my second day at camp. For the sake of privacy and respect, we'll call him KG. I'm not sure of the specifics of KG's needs, and I don't need to know those specifics in order to do my job. Here are some things that I have observed: KG desperately wants to be heard and understood. KG has a speech impediment that makes it difficult to understand him at first. KG has a wicked sense of humor. KG knows the system and can play it for all it's worth. KG is NOT to be underestimated. After our various struggles that day, KG and I had a really good conversation at the end of it. In it, he said that you just need to forgive and forget, and not to let anger get you down. After all, that's the way Jesus wants it. Where else, and from whom else would you get such simple and sound advice?

I would have worked at camp again had my schedule allowed for it. However, another summer at the best place ever wasn't what God had in store for me; instead, he me move onto other things. I find myself missing camp so much that it hurts. But whenever God closes a door, he always opens a window; I just need to stop looking backward and find where it is that God needs me now. I need to discern just exactly where that is...

Please speak Lord...I'm listening and ready now...

My Obituary

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have just ended a wonderful holiday weekend and am now back to the ol' grindstone at work. Meaning, that everyone is getting caught up from the holiday, leaving me some time before others have a task for me to complete. So, a new blog update is in order...

I read a piece of advice on the internet this morning which suggested an activity which seems pretty morbid; write your own obituary. Not later, but today. I have no ambition to die today, or tomorrow, or anytime soon, but writing an obituary states a person's legacy, WHAT THEIR LIFE STOOD FOR while here on Earth. At the end, what do you want your legacy to be?

This follows advice I have received in my coursework to become a teacher as well - begin with the end in mind. As I prepare for my last year of college, and start on my track as a professional woman, what kind of legacy do I want to create? It is with this goal in mind that I have written my own obituary - not necessarily things I have done, but what I hope to do and the person I hope to be for myself and others. Feel free to read on, and then perhaps take on the task yourself. Need help? Start with these 2 questions: what do you want your life to represent? how would you like to be remembered?

Michelle Lynn Streed, of Milwaukee, WI, passed away peacefully today after living a long and fulfilling life of service. She passed in the presence of family and friends at her home.

Michelle was born in Minnesota on January 3, 1988 and grew up in Greendale, WI with her sister, Beth, and her mother, Maureen. Michelle is a graduate of Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI, and credited both her homelife as a child and her experiences at Stritch for instilling in her the powerful desire to serve those most in need through education, which she started upon graduation. Michelle served in the Peace Corps for 2 years as an English teacher abroad, looking to promote understanding of Americans and other cultures here and abroad. After her time in the Corps, Michelle moved back to Wisconsin and resumed teaching. Michelle taught middle and high school students in Wisconsin for years and was very passionate about her teaching.

Being immersed in the community in which she worked was very important to Michelle. In addition to her teaching, Michelle spend her weekends volunteering at different locations in Wisconsin, serving those in need. Michelle believed in leading and preaching the gospel through the person that she was, and this service was very important to her. Michelle was also an active member of her Catholic church, where she volunteered her time for years in the CCD and RCIA programs.

Michelle married in her 30s her wonderful husband and was blessed to have a wonderful family, which was very important to her. Michelle enjoyed laughing, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and serving. She is survived by her husband, children, nieces, nephews, friends, and her beloved pet cat. She will be remembered for her servant leadership, her infectious laugh, and her love of life, people, and the world in which she lived.

Now, I don't know if I will accomplish any or all of these things, but I think it's something to strive for. I want to be the kind of person people can come to and depend on. I want to be deeply involved in all aspects of my community. I want to use the gifts that God has given me to actively serve in the world which he created. Finally, I want to be able to look back on my life with no regrets. It is my hope that writing this obituary, morbid though it may be, helps me to keep my focus and not get distracted from my purpose. If my writing comes true, I'll say that's a pretty good bet. :)