Read the Bible in a Year

Hey y'all! You should probably go check out the Fourth Church Youth's YouTube page. We are uploading a 90-second reflection video everyday. We have been doing this since January 1st, but I just haven't gotten around to posting about it yet.

Although it creates more work for us, I do love this idea. Though I am not sure how many of the kids are watching the videos daily. If you have some time to spare- go check out the videos! My favorites are the ones that the kids make.

The video above is the one we made on the Elevation Winter Retreat a few weeks ago. The videos follow the same passages for reflection as the "Reading the Bible in a Year" devotions. If you want more information on those, check out the Fourth Presbyterian Church's page for more information.

I know this sounds like an advertisement for Fourth...and maybe it is...but I just think it is a great resource that should be spread beyond the Fourth Church congregation. :)

Seminary Update: I am visiting McCormick Seminary on the 21st. I am really excited for my visit!! A lot of the people I work with are graduates of McCormick and absolutely loved it. There is a grant available to allow YAVs to visit Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and I have emailed Admissions to try and set up a visit. 

What I Did Today + Room Pictures!

Today I reorganized my room. And I think I like it now...before I was sharing it with another person. But now I moved some stuff around, and it feels more comfortable to me! I will put up some pictures. My room is a little messy though, so no judging! Haha :)

Today we didn't really have a lesson during Elevation. I had planned to talk to the kids about Cain & Abel, but there were only 6 kids. We normally have 30- 35 kids, so I decided that it would be best to wait until the majority of the class was there. Instead we played Never-Have-I-Ever. It was a lot of fun to get to know the 6 kids that were there better. After Elevation, I stayed for the Young Adult gathering, which was a really interesting discussion. We talked about Jesus' crucifixion. Realistically, that isn't a topic that I have spent much time thinking about. I feel like most of the things that we talk about during the Young Adult gatherings are topics that I have never really put a lot of thought into. I definitely think that between the gatherings and the discussions that my house gets into, my beliefs and views are going to be challenged a lot in the coming months.

After the gathering, I wandered around the city. I didn't really go anywhere specific, I just walked around the Loop. The Loop is the area of downtown that is contained within the loop of train tracks that the El makes. There are so many beautiful buildings in Chicago! It was a perfect day outside today, and so I took advantage of the warm weather to just wander and explore.

The Chicago Marathon was today. When I was walking around the city I saw a bunch of people with their medals on. It was really funny because most of them wanted to take off the medal because they felt weird wearing it, but their friends and family members that were with them wanted them to leave the medal on. I could definitely picture me and Rebecca in that situation--me forcing Rebecca to leave the medal on. I congratulated a lot of them, which I like to think made them happy. Running 26.2 miles is no small feat. I don't know that I would go so far as to say that I want to run a marathon one day, but I definitely think I want to run a half-marathon! My only problem is finding the motivation to get to the gym. It is especially hard right now because I keep putting off finding a gym! I know that once winter hits I won't be able to run outside, so I had better get a move on!

Ok, here are some pictures of my room! I will try and upload some more tomorrow morning because I am sure they will turn out better in the natural light.

Week's Goal: Find a gym!!

Book Sales and First Day of Sunday School!

I went a little overboard this weekend at book sales. I got 21 books this weekend. Whoops! BUT I only spent $8!! I don't really know when I am going to have the time to read 21 books, but they were such good deals and I really want to read all of them!

On Friday afternoon 2 of my roommates (Erin and Stephanie) and I went to the Brown Elephant which is a thrift store. They have a huge book selection and each book is only $0.50! (I can't seem to find the cents symbol anywhere...) So I got 6 books there, for a grand total of $3! Which would normally be a mighty fine deal, but then we went to a "$5 Bag of Books" book sale on Saturday at After-words. I was talking to the owner of After-words (I love when I get to say that because I really enjoy small, privately owned bookstores!!) and she explained the logic of the $5 bag of books. When the store buys books  from customers, sometimes they end up with books they don't want/books that were donated. The owner decided a few years ago that they should hold a book sale to benefit charity. So they charge $5 and let you go downstairs into the basement and fill up a bag of books! I went on Saturday with a couple of my housemates and came back with 15 books! I got a bunch of fiction books, but I also picked up some random business books and sociology books. Random, I know!

First Day at Fourth Presbyterian Church

I had my first day of work at Fourth Presbyterian Church yesterday! The church is huge and has so many people on staff! I didn’t know until today that Fourth Pres is the 2^nd largest Presbyterian Church (USA) in the US. That’s pretty amazing! The church building is beautiful and covered in ivy right now. They just broke ground this summer on a new building for Sunday School classes and offices, among other things, so we are kind of scattered among a few different buildings. For instance, my office is in the mance, but on Sundays we will meet on the 19th floor of one of the office buildings nearby. 


I am working with the “Elevation” group (6^th and 7^th graders) on Sunday mornings and whenever they have retreats/lock-ins and fellowship. I am pretty much planning everything for the year, but I have some templates to start with. And I have Sunday School curriculum to use as well, which is nice. We are covering the Old Testament this year…they alternate Old and New Testament lessons each year so that by the time the kids get to the Confirmation Class in 8^th grade they have a good understanding of the Bible. I am really excited to be working with everyone here—they are all really nice! My office is SUPER COLD but that’s ok…I was advised to bring in an extra blanket or old sweater for the office because it is usually pretty cold. My office is in the old mance and overlooks the courtyard area. It is really nice! I share the space with 3 other people, but I have my own desk and it isn’t crowded at all.