What I Did This Week

This week was crazy. It was Vacation Bible School time, and the day before VBS I got sick. Some nasty summer cold/sinus infection thing that left me with no voice for the second half of the week. And of course, because I was in my Busiest Week of the Year, I didn't take care of myself as I should have, so I am still sick.

Hence the lack of blogging this week. And the lack of productivity beyond VBS. So, here's a little glimpse into my week:

I got a little teeny-tiny bit addicted to Kiera Cass's Selection. Like, stay-up-reading-til-3am-the-night-before-VBS-prep-day addicted. I read both books in the series, the bonus e-book, the deleted scenes, and many many tumblr posts in three days. All while VBS was happening. So, yeah, I might be addicted.

What is The Selection, you ask? It's a YA novel series that is basically Hunger Games meets The Bachelor meets Princess Academy. It's awesome. And after internet stalking researching Kiera Cass, she's now on my list of Famous People I Wanna Be Best Friends With. If you decide to get into it, just be warned that the next book in the series isn't out until May 2014, and Kiera likes cliffhangers. She's like the Moffat of YA romantic fiction.

As I think I mentioned, it was VBS week here in Ashley Land! We did Group's Kingdom Rock and it was so much fun! Plus, I got to wear my princess dress, so that's always fun :) It was our eighth year of VBS, and we had 80 kids-our largest year to date! Almost everything about the way we run VBS changed this year, and it went surprisingly well! No major issues and everyone left knowing how to STAND STRONG! The Bible lessons and activities were all so engaging and exciting, even to teach!

Our decorations were pretty awesome, too. See that drawbridge I'm standing on? It actually goes up and down. How awesome is that?! (Thanks Durands!) I love having people who can make my wacky VBS plans and ideas come true. And kudos to those people for not acting like it's weird when I say things like "how do I build a working drawbridge?" or "Can we have a life-size pyramid that the kids can walk through?" or "I'm going to turn this giant wall into a spaceship." or "will this be secure if I hang a bowling ball off it and swing it towards one of my staff's heads?" Anything can happen at VBS!

VBS is a ton of work, but so fun and so worth it. Thank you soooo much to all the staff who helped make this year such a success! It was a pleasure working with all of you!

July's Adventure: Stand Up Paddleboarding!

Guys. I went SUPing. I'm a SUPer...ish. Okay, maybe I'm not a SUPer, but I did it and didn't fall off! Also, I'm not actually sure if SUPer and SUPing are real words....but I'm using them anyways.

What is SUPing, you ask? Stand Up Paddleboarding! And let me tell you, So. Much. Fun!

We went to Nashoba Paddler's in Groton, MA. They only have four boards right now, because they're testing to see how well they do. If others have as much fun as we did, they will definitely be getting more boards! They had great prices, and the staff was super friendly and helpful. Tiny little place, but I would definitely go back.

I hate watersports. I hate and fear jumping or falling into water. I like swimming, but that's about it. So I didn't expect to like SUPing. I didn't expect to be able to stand up. I expected to fall several times. I expected to have some horrifically hilarious mishap and come home bruised and bleeding. But none of that happened!

That's me on the right!

Yes, it took me a little while to work up the courage to actually stand up on the board. Yes, I freaked out a few times. But then...I did it! I even survived and kept my balance when a giant bug attacked me. By the end I was even getting adventurous and trying tricks. In case you were wondering, yes. Yes, I can do front squats on a SUP.

So if you have the chance, I highly recommend Stand Up Paddleboarding. It was a blast!

Start Experiment

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(Guys, I have a .gif in my post. I feel all special and stuff!)

But seriously, I'm going on an adventure with Jon Acuff! And I'm not even leaving my house! A few weeks ago, Jon posted a short-lived invitation looking for people to go on a 24 day adventure, no questions asked. Of course, I applied, and thought I wasn't chosen until I got my email yesterday inviting me to the super secret Facebook group for our adventure. 

Over 2,500 of us answered the call for adventurers and will be spending 24 days encouraging and challenging each other as we each risk something. That something will be unique to each of us, something that will help us get closer to our dreams. 

I had a hard time deciding what to pick. Originally I had decided "kick butt at the gym and in the kitchen", but since I've already been doing that, it felt pretty lame to make that my risk. But after journalling and praying a little bit, I found my risk. The details are a secret for right now, but suffice it to say that I will risk by taking time out of my busiest month of the year to work on a HUGE project that I'm really excited about. It combines two of my biggest passions seamlessly and is something bigger than me. I may will need some of you to help me make it happen. 

But I'm excited. Most of you know how much I love Jon Acuff's stuff, and to be a part of this experiment is super awesome. Even though I know I will be exhausted this month anyways, I am determined to spend some time on this project to see what God does in and through me with it.

Also, I may be in need of a white board.

Do you have any adventures and risk on the horizon? Please share!