~ How Far is Your Reach~

"You don't have to be a "person of influence" to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me."

Scott Adams (Dilbert)

Don't assume that just because you have short arms you have a short reach . Not to long ago I wrote here about my desire to leave a impression on this world . I also took a moment to encourage others to search themselves for a way that they may leave a finger print and give back . Whether it was through volunteering , philanthropy , writing , photo's or even blogging every one can make an impact . I think that with the popularity of blogging it has become an underestimated medium . I know I've mentioned many times through out my blogging how therapeutic it has been to me and how at times God has used the writings to reveal things to me just as much as He has anyone else . I'm grateful for this public yet private venue to share , encourage , be encouraged , etc .

 

Many of you know by now that my former ministry was that of a RD on a college campus . I wrote here and in several other entries bits and pieces of that time in my life . I have probably mostly written of my exhaustion . Almost 2 years after leaving and I still find myself exhausted from the experience . But a good kind of exhausted . A poured and spilled out for His glory kind of exhausted . As I move further and further away from that time in my life I still work at keeping up with my former RA's as best I can . Many of them are on FB so we have the ability to peak in on one anothers worlds ever so often and comment on a photo or what not . There are a few that I get to actually see and spend time with every now and then as well . I shared in this entry about the pride I felt after getting to see one of my former RA's coach . And today I want to share my pride about a few of my other girls . Now , don't get me wrong all my girls are doing amazing things these days . Everything from serving in the ministry through RD life , missions , teaching , being mommies , getting their masters , getting married , and the list goes on and on . I must admit the pride I felt when a few of them mentioned they're gonna be RD's was pretty outstanding . My co-RD and I were as transparent as possible when living the RD life . With the bags we carried under our eyes from lack of sleep it was hard not to be transparent . LOL! To know that they saw all it's good and bad and still felt called to it makes me a proud momma ! I pray I left them with a good example and a belief that they can do far better than I ever did .

Cindy & I - Homecoming 2009 RD's/ Friends for Life

(to this day we love a fire drill)

Cindy is a former RA & RD

A few of my girls have even begun blogs . Look at that , "my girls" , I mean......I think in my heart they will always be my babies . To this day if I'm in a store and hear someone say "mom" I tend to turn around or say "what" in reply out of habit . Most of my girls started calling me mom somewhere along the journey and I must say I loved it . I felt like a momma bear protecting her cubs for all of my dorm girls . I still do at times . I care so much about what the Lord is doing in their lives and am so proud of the friendships that have come from that time . It isn't the easiest thing to go from our roles as RD/RA or RD/student and transition out into a real friendship based not on our work , ministry , or responsibilities, but soul on who we are as individuals and having a true desire to be genuine friends . Luckily I made it from RD to friend with several of my girls . I'd like to brag on just a few of them now and share their blog sites with you so that you can follow them as well .

"Who can measure the influence of simple,
sacred words of testimony?"

Susan L. Warner

Myself and Telisha 2009 Fall

@ Swingfest in the Park Jazz festival

Telisha is a former SLD & RA

 

Telisha's Blog is called Life in a Suitcase . She hopes to share not only her crafts , recipes , etc. but also about her future travels and life adventures . With a heart like Telisha's I'm confident she will have many adventures in front of her . She is currently serving as a full time nanny to two sweet lil' ones while working on her Masters in Psych . Telisha and I don't get to hang out as often as we'd like, but we keep up very well via text message . Once again I say PTL for technology!!

Proverbs 27:17 ESV

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another"

Melly and I @ her Wedding ! 2011 Summer

(melly's real name is Kelly, but I don't even know

who calls her that LOL)

Mellys blog is called The Story of a Girl Like Me . She is sharing about her life as a newly wed , her DIY magic , and varied other wonderful things . Every time I go to her blog or see the link I start singing the song , "this is the story of a girl...." you know the sweet 90's tune ?! Anyway, Melly is nearing her 2nd year anniversary of marriage and is serving in Florida as a university volley ball coach. I had the chance to spend time with her and her team this past Fall . I seriously teared up at the game . Overwhelmed by pride . It was awesome to see her with her own set of girls that she is now leading .

John 15:13 NIV
"Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down

 his life for his friends."

 

Vee and I @ 80's skate - 2009 Spring

(yes, my eyes are eternally closed in pictures. I can't even help it.)

Vee is a former RA

 

Vee's blog is called Fun Luvin Vee and she shares many good recipes . She is also nearing her 3rd wedding anniversary and is a momma to 2 of the cutest lil' munchkins you'll ever see . The pic from above is a night of 80's themed roller skating . Vee and I laughed so hard that night I'm unsure we got anything else done . I choose to believe my eyes are swollen shut in this photo from all the laughter . It's memories like these that I keep in the forefront of my mind when the enemy tries to take me down .

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up"

 

Ashley , Myself & Stephanie

@ our night of haunted houses

We seriously went to about 5 in one night !

(it was AWESOME) 2010 Fall

Ash is a former PL, SLD, RA and is currently serving as co-RD.

 

Ashley's blog is called Crowned by Forgiveness and while she just posted her first entry yesterday I can already tell she is going to have some wonderful things to share with the world . Ash is one of those friends that will always have a smile on her face and a funny thing to say to help you have one on your face as well . She truly makes me proud when I think of her journey with the Lord and how far He has brought her . Ash is a AMAZING example of you can either be a victim or a survivor of the events in your life . She is a survivor and gives God the glory . When she told me she was gonna do RD work this year at the university I nearly bubbled over with pride . The pic above is from two Octobers past when we went on a Haunted House Crawl (you know, instead of a pub crawl) anyway, we legit went to nearly 5 in one night . I'm not sure any of us had a voice after, but it was so much fun . It's a memory I'm likely to never forget .  Ash is currently working on her nursing degree and planning her wedding along with her RD duties . 

 

Proverbs 17:17
^"A friend loves at all times..."

 

Ash, CC and I - A little shopping fun .

 

Cindys blog is called So The Cook Said , she shares a variety of things from Bible studies , recipes , to arts and crafts projects and much DIY goodness . Cindy and I co-RD'd for 3 years and our other friend in the pic Ashlee and I co-RD'd for the 2 years before that while Cindy was a RA . It's kinda cool when you get to see how things work out and have a small glimpse of Gods planning and timing . It's reassuring that He is indeed involved with our lives .  We are all still good friends and text ALLLLL the time . Every chance I get to go to chatt I visit with both Ash and CC . They're next door neighbors , like literally next door neighbors , and that makes it super easy to get to spend time with them both . Ashlee is a momma of 3 and wife of a CSI . Her babies are my sunshine and when in Chatt spending time with them is always on my "to-do list" . CC is a wife to a police man (who also ministered as a RD, we apparently only hang with leadership, don't hate) and is a new momma to a almost 2 month old little boy . The birth of her son is quiet a story and you can read about it here .

 

2009-2010 RD's RA's Team Shirts

Everyone had a nick name based on their job, floor , or personality .

 

These are just a few stories of my girls . The one's that I know blog anyway . I could write pages about each one including the ones that don't blog , but I hope that one of the things you pull away from this entry is that you never know exactly how far your reach is or how long it will last . I'd love to think that the fact Cindy and I both blog has something to do with our girls wanting to get into it . But I'm not so vain as to believe that . But to dream that our love for them and desire of God's best for them still reaches each one of them as they need it even now is a wonderful feeling . While we may not still be a "team" persay these ladies will forever be apart of my heart and ministry . I hope to always be there for them if they need me and I pray to be able to encourage and guide them in the future as/if they need . I'm unsure any of them will ever realize the reach of their influence on my life . I'm so grateful for each girl , the role they played in my professional/ministry life , and the friendships that came from it . I am excited to see how the Lord uses this new form of ministry in their lives . I know the reach will be greater than they expected . I hope to update this as time goes on with other girls that join the world of blogging .

 

"The influence of each human being on others

in this life is a kind of immortality."

Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)