From Pastor Amanda to Miss Apanda: 2016
How I pictured my day happening:
Wake up, exercise, take a shower. Then I'd sit down on the couch with a bottle of Martinelli's and a nice breakfast while I leisurely read my journal from the year and reflected on my 28th year of life. I'd then write a funny but insightful blog post, go hang out with some friends and be happy and satisfied with my day. I'd get some planning in for my classes and be ahead of the game.
What really happened:
Woke up, exercised, then did NOT take a shower. Yup. Still in my running clothes. Went to open my bottle of Martinelli's and poured me a glass. My family called (Thanks for the socks Aunt Zannie and Mama!) (<-- in case you missed it, that was your shout-out you asked for on the phone earlier, Mama. ;)) to talk and I enjoyed spending time talking to them and delayed my day a little. No stress, I'd have plenty of time to finish everything.
Then I got my AT&T bill. Again. The second one in 2 days. On hold with the second rep I got ahold of two and half hours later, I decided to put the cap on my bottle and put it in the fridge so it didn't lose its bubbles. It's now noon and I haven't even cracked open my journal, I've only eaten a bowl of cereal, and am getting a headache.
Finally, I sat down to start my reflection and started nodding off. SERIOUSLY?? Aw well. I went and took an hour and a half nap. Woke up rather refreshed and decided to finish my reflections with my Martinelli's! Went to the fridge and it was half gone. No, not sleep drinking, but I had to put it in on its side because our fridge is full. The top popped off (???!!??) and it was just chillin' there (literally) half empty. Or was it half full? With the day I've had, I'm gonna say half full. Because I need positivity in my life. Here I am now, at 6:11 PM with the sun down finally done reading my journal and listening to John Mayer and drinking chocolate almond milk instead. I wouldn't say I "gave up" but rather I just... adapted.
And now I'm ready to let you know what happened this year and what I've learned! I'll even throw in a few of my resolutions for 2017. For the sake of my sanity this post will not have pictures. Because life. And see above. If you want to see pictures from my year my Instagram account is amanda.christinme and the profile is public. If you have a chance to like the most recent picture, I'm currently staring at the fact that there are 99 likes on it. It's a selfie so I'm struggling with the moral implications of liking it myself to put it over that 100-like threshold myself. But that would be my very first picture that's gotten over 100 likes! Decisions... I'll just wait till the morning and see if it happens on its own. Back to the real reason you're reading:
January:
The student-led week of prayer at UCA was a highlight in my time spent there. Unfortunately I got REALLY sick right before we went on the retreat to prep for it. While this stunk, it gave me time to think about whether or not I would come back to UCA the next school year. I really struggled with that decision. I could tell by the countless times I'd re-think and re-analyze this decision the rest of the year in my journal. But reading through it, I can see that God was definitely leading me to where I am right now. Even though that journey was so confusing and turbulent, I'm grateful for where He's led me.
During that weekend I found in several places in my house the verse Isaiah 42:16. God was promising to lead me in a way I had not known. There was no job offer in August to pull me away from the school so God was really helping me to trust Him in that decision. SUPER interesting was this entry in particular:
"I feel like I don't have a set "Mission" in life. What is my mission? I enjoy mentoring young people. I want to guide them towards healing in this world that's so full of hurt and pain." Hold onto that thought. Book mark it. Mark it with an orange marker. I'll get back to that in August.
This month I also decided to get an iPhone again and ditch the flip-phone. I'm on track to do the flip phone again for a few months. I just want to simplify again for a while...
February:
Valentine's day!!! I went on a date. By myself. :) And I enjoyed it! I also decided that I was going to cut up my credit cards and go completely to cash. To spoil that story -- I ended up re-ordering one of my cards in May. But as of a month ago I've been free of credit cards again in my life.
I'm learning that change takes time. It takes a while to change your habits. Don't get discouraged if you fail at first. That year of frustration and feeling like you failed, eventually won't be but a blip in your lifetime of freedom from that habit. Keep pushing. :)
March:
Melina and I had been helping each other throughout the new year with eating healthier and exercising. It was such a blessing. I don't know if I would have had such happy months there if she hadn't been such a big part of my life.
Once again over spring break I got the opportunity to travel the world! I went to Guatemala this year and it was incredible. I met new friends, deepened bonds with old friends, and re-discovered a joy in service.
A lesson to learn: Live in such a way that you don't have regrets. Case in point: ever had that moment during a two week trip where you actually get to know the person you were intimidated by for the first half of the trip? And you realize, "We're so similar!!! Why didn't we get to know each other SOONER!" Well, this trip I didn't want that to happen. So as soon as we got off the plane in Belize (we took a bus from there to Guatemala) I met the other adults going on the trip. Frank, his girlfriend Kristie, and Michael. On the bus I decided I was going to talk to Kristie and explain to her that we were going to be friends on this trip. Frank, by default, must then too become my friend. Same speech with Michael.
Let. Me. Tell. You. I love these people so much and our trip was even more incredible as a result of our bond as the staff. Truthfully, I can't imagine my life without these special people being a piece of it. Frank proposed to Kristie in May and they got married in October. Can't wait to find time and money to go visit them!
April:
I started my academic journey with Western Governor's University. In 6 months I was able to complete 37 competency units bringing me to my half-way point of finishing my degree.
This month was filled with seeing old friends! I went to Walla Walla and saw Rohini (she even went camping with me last minute!) and Greg who was visiting from Cali. Another good friend, Ryan, lives in Walla Walla and I spent the whole day with him catching up and touring the town with the best tour guide ever. Looking back, I'm pretty sure this was the month I really fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. I could live there again.
Later on in the month I got to take my entire Senior Evangelism class to the Your Best Pathway to Health event in Los Angeles!! So exciting! I was part of the team in charge of registration for the even and we had the privilege to serve over 8,000 members of the community with free dental, vision, and medical services. Polly and Bethany got to experience the big city of LA (and hated it, honestly) and meet a TON of my friends! It was bittersweet to see everyone after being so isolated for a year at UCA. I had missed that social interaction with those people, and now I miss my friends from the PNW. Lesson learned: You can make new friends. You won't ever be 100% happy with everything in your life but you can be content and enjoy what God has placed in your path.
May:
This was the month I made my final decision to leave Washington for good. I had a few offers to stay in the area, but I made the decision to leave. I also made an internal decision to start pursuing a career in a health related area.
June:
One of the biggest highlights of my entire year was the end of year staff picnic. My love language is primarily words of affirmation and this going away get together was soul-feeding and yet ripped my heart out. The friends I made while at this special school are such an important part of my life and journey. I miss them terribly and wish I could be in 5 places at once. This planted even more doubts about my leaving but I clung to that promise God gave me in January that He would lead me in paths that I have not known and make darkness light before me.
So I loaded up my hatchback with my stuff and moved to Southern California to stay with my best friend and her husband for the summer to work with them and work on my degree. On the way down though I HAD to stop and see Ruth and Bryan and the boys in Sacramento! And Kathy and Tony were at NEWSTART at Weimar just up the hill so I had to say bye to them too (they live near UCA and were gone when I was saying bye).
After 2 years of being gone from Weimar it was weird going back on campus. But it was a nice visit.
July:
July was full of school work, floating for SCC Youth Rush, and hanging out with my bestie. Heidi, Andrew, and I went on top of the roof and sang patriotic songs while watching the city blow up with smog on the 4th of July! It was fantastic.
August:
It was August 6. I had talked to 3 other places about possible job opportunities and turned them down. I decided I wasn't going to go somewhere if I didn't think I'd enjoy my job. At least for now.
But my phone lit up with a text from RD asking what I was doing for the year. Haven't talked to the brother in like a year but whatever. The principal ended up calling me the next day offering me a job at Weimar Academy. I initially wanted to decline, but after a day of working out the details, I decided to say yes.
Back to that orange marker back in January. I JUST realized this while reading my journal. Weimar Institute's motto is "To Heal a Hurting World". I don't think that sentence in my journal was written on accident. God wanted me to know that He was actively leading me to this position all along. Weimar Academy was never on my radar as a possibility.
Another highlight was visiting my brother and sister-in-law and their three boys before I headed to Northern California for the year. The boys are getting bigger and I still can't believe that my brother is a DAD. It's a little surreal that he's even old enough to be a dad. But then I think that my parents had 3 kids by my age and I remember that I'm old enough to be a mom. Hallelujah I'm not!! I love the single life too much.
September:
After a week of working at the academy, some interesting events occurred and I agreed to teach two science classes. All throughout the year in my journal I was asking God to give me a challenge and boy, did He deliver or what?!
October:
Apparently, I have a gift. To be bossy and lovable is literally what my name means. Amanda: Worthy of love, lovable Goad: to prod or provoke verbally or with a pointed stick.
This gift landed me the privilege of being the coordinator for not one, but TWO weddings in October! Melina, someone I got very close to in my time at UCA and Vince, a friend I've had for a decade decided to tie the knot! So I flew up to Washington and enjoyed a beautiful wedding and catching up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. I loved it.
Two weeks later, my friend Julie whom I share so many periods of my life with (SOULS West as students, Summer program leading together, and working at SOULS as staff together) decided to marry this stranger. Not to her, stranger to me. Kevin, however, has since been adopted into my circle of friends! Such a great guy! So it was south to Loma Linda for the weekend to help coordinate their cute country wedding! I got to catch up with Lindsey over the weekend and that was so refreshing!! I loved hearing about her life and goals and aspirations! I don't think I'd seen her for... 2 or 3 years! Or more. I forgot what we had decided.
November:
Well, one evening during this month I went to sleep thinking Hillary Clinton would be our next President and woke up shocked that it was actually Trump as the President Elect. Let's be honest though, I wouldn't have been happy with either option.
Choir tour happened this month. 15 vomiting kids later... I'm pretty sure I'll do just fine as a nurse.
Later that month I ran a 10K with my friends Chad, Melinda, and Tara on Thanksgiving Morning. 6.2 miles later we stopped at a donut shop. Because that's how we roll I guess. Exercise so we can eat donuts. :)
From the donut shop I drop a couple hours towards the coast and spent Thanksgiving Day with Lakshmi. For our activity for the day we set the timer for 6 minutes and tried to name as many US states as we could (FRIENDS). I forgot about 12 or 15 of them. Lakshmi had similar results. You judge. I know. But you try it on the clock with no hints or helps. Then let me know how perfectly you did.
December:
I was roped into a last minute relay marathon at the beginning of the month. I. Loved. It!!! Thanks Janell for getting sick and thinking of me to take your slot!! The entire day was a blast!
Then there was the Christmas Party at the academy that was super cozy and fun.
Tara, Becky, and I went for pedicures and sushi after school was out! Mostly to celebrate making it through the crazy semester.
Unfortunately it costs a lot to travel during the holidays so I stayed here over the entire break. It was a really fun Christmas though! Once again it started with running with Chad, Melinda, Tara, and this time Adie and Gus joined us. (2 year old and dog) Then it was presents and breakfast at the Bernard's. That afternoon the Bernard's (All 9 of them that were present), the Gallant's (all 6 that were present), Tara, and I got together for a Christmas dinner and games. I love games. I love hanging out with friends and laughing. I really love this new staff family that I've bonded with so deeply over the last 4 months.
And the month ended with my birthday! I spent it hanging out with Melinda and Adie (The rest of the gang is still at GYC) and eating lots of sugar.
You already know how my morning went.
But overall I had a great year. I learned, I grew, I laughed, I cried, and I appreciated each and every moment.
For the new year, here are some of my resolutions:
1. I want to consistently health coach someone for the year. Natalie has graciously volunteered to be my subject!
2. I want to finish my BS in Business this year.
3. I want to be out of debt by the end of the year.
4. I will be reading 12 books this year that are non-fiction. I could read 12 books of fiction in less than a week if I were on break. But I struggle with the more edifying stuff. So I'm going to read one book a month that isn't a novel.
5. I'm going to finish 3 of the 4 nursing school pre-requisites.
Here's to 2017 and becoming an even better version of myself! My prayer is that the Lord comes quickly and we're ready for it. This world is getting to be too much to understand anymore and I long for the day that we don't have to say goodbye, we have a permanent home, we have peace from temptation and trials, and can rest in the very presence of the One who died to save us.
Blessings to you all!
... I just realized it's 7:20 PM and all I've eaten today is toast, cereal, half a bottle of Martinelli's and a glass of chocolate almond milk. I'mma go eat now. You go look at my pictures on Instagram and like all of them. Please. Thank you. Happy New Year. :)
Wake up, exercise, take a shower. Then I'd sit down on the couch with a bottle of Martinelli's and a nice breakfast while I leisurely read my journal from the year and reflected on my 28th year of life. I'd then write a funny but insightful blog post, go hang out with some friends and be happy and satisfied with my day. I'd get some planning in for my classes and be ahead of the game.
What really happened:
Woke up, exercised, then did NOT take a shower. Yup. Still in my running clothes. Went to open my bottle of Martinelli's and poured me a glass. My family called (Thanks for the socks Aunt Zannie and Mama!) (<-- in case you missed it, that was your shout-out you asked for on the phone earlier, Mama. ;)) to talk and I enjoyed spending time talking to them and delayed my day a little. No stress, I'd have plenty of time to finish everything.
Then I got my AT&T bill. Again. The second one in 2 days. On hold with the second rep I got ahold of two and half hours later, I decided to put the cap on my bottle and put it in the fridge so it didn't lose its bubbles. It's now noon and I haven't even cracked open my journal, I've only eaten a bowl of cereal, and am getting a headache.
Finally, I sat down to start my reflection and started nodding off. SERIOUSLY?? Aw well. I went and took an hour and a half nap. Woke up rather refreshed and decided to finish my reflections with my Martinelli's! Went to the fridge and it was half gone. No, not sleep drinking, but I had to put it in on its side because our fridge is full. The top popped off (???!!??) and it was just chillin' there (literally) half empty. Or was it half full? With the day I've had, I'm gonna say half full. Because I need positivity in my life. Here I am now, at 6:11 PM with the sun down finally done reading my journal and listening to John Mayer and drinking chocolate almond milk instead. I wouldn't say I "gave up" but rather I just... adapted.
And now I'm ready to let you know what happened this year and what I've learned! I'll even throw in a few of my resolutions for 2017. For the sake of my sanity this post will not have pictures. Because life. And see above. If you want to see pictures from my year my Instagram account is amanda.christinme and the profile is public. If you have a chance to like the most recent picture, I'm currently staring at the fact that there are 99 likes on it. It's a selfie so I'm struggling with the moral implications of liking it myself to put it over that 100-like threshold myself. But that would be my very first picture that's gotten over 100 likes! Decisions... I'll just wait till the morning and see if it happens on its own. Back to the real reason you're reading:
January:
The student-led week of prayer at UCA was a highlight in my time spent there. Unfortunately I got REALLY sick right before we went on the retreat to prep for it. While this stunk, it gave me time to think about whether or not I would come back to UCA the next school year. I really struggled with that decision. I could tell by the countless times I'd re-think and re-analyze this decision the rest of the year in my journal. But reading through it, I can see that God was definitely leading me to where I am right now. Even though that journey was so confusing and turbulent, I'm grateful for where He's led me.
During that weekend I found in several places in my house the verse Isaiah 42:16. God was promising to lead me in a way I had not known. There was no job offer in August to pull me away from the school so God was really helping me to trust Him in that decision. SUPER interesting was this entry in particular:
"I feel like I don't have a set "Mission" in life. What is my mission? I enjoy mentoring young people. I want to guide them towards healing in this world that's so full of hurt and pain." Hold onto that thought. Book mark it. Mark it with an orange marker. I'll get back to that in August.
This month I also decided to get an iPhone again and ditch the flip-phone. I'm on track to do the flip phone again for a few months. I just want to simplify again for a while...
February:
Valentine's day!!! I went on a date. By myself. :) And I enjoyed it! I also decided that I was going to cut up my credit cards and go completely to cash. To spoil that story -- I ended up re-ordering one of my cards in May. But as of a month ago I've been free of credit cards again in my life.
I'm learning that change takes time. It takes a while to change your habits. Don't get discouraged if you fail at first. That year of frustration and feeling like you failed, eventually won't be but a blip in your lifetime of freedom from that habit. Keep pushing. :)
March:
Melina and I had been helping each other throughout the new year with eating healthier and exercising. It was such a blessing. I don't know if I would have had such happy months there if she hadn't been such a big part of my life.
Once again over spring break I got the opportunity to travel the world! I went to Guatemala this year and it was incredible. I met new friends, deepened bonds with old friends, and re-discovered a joy in service.
A lesson to learn: Live in such a way that you don't have regrets. Case in point: ever had that moment during a two week trip where you actually get to know the person you were intimidated by for the first half of the trip? And you realize, "We're so similar!!! Why didn't we get to know each other SOONER!" Well, this trip I didn't want that to happen. So as soon as we got off the plane in Belize (we took a bus from there to Guatemala) I met the other adults going on the trip. Frank, his girlfriend Kristie, and Michael. On the bus I decided I was going to talk to Kristie and explain to her that we were going to be friends on this trip. Frank, by default, must then too become my friend. Same speech with Michael.
Let. Me. Tell. You. I love these people so much and our trip was even more incredible as a result of our bond as the staff. Truthfully, I can't imagine my life without these special people being a piece of it. Frank proposed to Kristie in May and they got married in October. Can't wait to find time and money to go visit them!
April:
I started my academic journey with Western Governor's University. In 6 months I was able to complete 37 competency units bringing me to my half-way point of finishing my degree.
This month was filled with seeing old friends! I went to Walla Walla and saw Rohini (she even went camping with me last minute!) and Greg who was visiting from Cali. Another good friend, Ryan, lives in Walla Walla and I spent the whole day with him catching up and touring the town with the best tour guide ever. Looking back, I'm pretty sure this was the month I really fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. I could live there again.
Later on in the month I got to take my entire Senior Evangelism class to the Your Best Pathway to Health event in Los Angeles!! So exciting! I was part of the team in charge of registration for the even and we had the privilege to serve over 8,000 members of the community with free dental, vision, and medical services. Polly and Bethany got to experience the big city of LA (and hated it, honestly) and meet a TON of my friends! It was bittersweet to see everyone after being so isolated for a year at UCA. I had missed that social interaction with those people, and now I miss my friends from the PNW. Lesson learned: You can make new friends. You won't ever be 100% happy with everything in your life but you can be content and enjoy what God has placed in your path.
May:
This was the month I made my final decision to leave Washington for good. I had a few offers to stay in the area, but I made the decision to leave. I also made an internal decision to start pursuing a career in a health related area.
June:
One of the biggest highlights of my entire year was the end of year staff picnic. My love language is primarily words of affirmation and this going away get together was soul-feeding and yet ripped my heart out. The friends I made while at this special school are such an important part of my life and journey. I miss them terribly and wish I could be in 5 places at once. This planted even more doubts about my leaving but I clung to that promise God gave me in January that He would lead me in paths that I have not known and make darkness light before me.
So I loaded up my hatchback with my stuff and moved to Southern California to stay with my best friend and her husband for the summer to work with them and work on my degree. On the way down though I HAD to stop and see Ruth and Bryan and the boys in Sacramento! And Kathy and Tony were at NEWSTART at Weimar just up the hill so I had to say bye to them too (they live near UCA and were gone when I was saying bye).
After 2 years of being gone from Weimar it was weird going back on campus. But it was a nice visit.
July:
July was full of school work, floating for SCC Youth Rush, and hanging out with my bestie. Heidi, Andrew, and I went on top of the roof and sang patriotic songs while watching the city blow up with smog on the 4th of July! It was fantastic.
August:
It was August 6. I had talked to 3 other places about possible job opportunities and turned them down. I decided I wasn't going to go somewhere if I didn't think I'd enjoy my job. At least for now.
But my phone lit up with a text from RD asking what I was doing for the year. Haven't talked to the brother in like a year but whatever. The principal ended up calling me the next day offering me a job at Weimar Academy. I initially wanted to decline, but after a day of working out the details, I decided to say yes.
Back to that orange marker back in January. I JUST realized this while reading my journal. Weimar Institute's motto is "To Heal a Hurting World". I don't think that sentence in my journal was written on accident. God wanted me to know that He was actively leading me to this position all along. Weimar Academy was never on my radar as a possibility.
Another highlight was visiting my brother and sister-in-law and their three boys before I headed to Northern California for the year. The boys are getting bigger and I still can't believe that my brother is a DAD. It's a little surreal that he's even old enough to be a dad. But then I think that my parents had 3 kids by my age and I remember that I'm old enough to be a mom. Hallelujah I'm not!! I love the single life too much.
September:
After a week of working at the academy, some interesting events occurred and I agreed to teach two science classes. All throughout the year in my journal I was asking God to give me a challenge and boy, did He deliver or what?!
October:
Apparently, I have a gift. To be bossy and lovable is literally what my name means. Amanda: Worthy of love, lovable Goad: to prod or provoke verbally or with a pointed stick.
This gift landed me the privilege of being the coordinator for not one, but TWO weddings in October! Melina, someone I got very close to in my time at UCA and Vince, a friend I've had for a decade decided to tie the knot! So I flew up to Washington and enjoyed a beautiful wedding and catching up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. I loved it.
Two weeks later, my friend Julie whom I share so many periods of my life with (SOULS West as students, Summer program leading together, and working at SOULS as staff together) decided to marry this stranger. Not to her, stranger to me. Kevin, however, has since been adopted into my circle of friends! Such a great guy! So it was south to Loma Linda for the weekend to help coordinate their cute country wedding! I got to catch up with Lindsey over the weekend and that was so refreshing!! I loved hearing about her life and goals and aspirations! I don't think I'd seen her for... 2 or 3 years! Or more. I forgot what we had decided.
November:
Well, one evening during this month I went to sleep thinking Hillary Clinton would be our next President and woke up shocked that it was actually Trump as the President Elect. Let's be honest though, I wouldn't have been happy with either option.
Choir tour happened this month. 15 vomiting kids later... I'm pretty sure I'll do just fine as a nurse.
Later that month I ran a 10K with my friends Chad, Melinda, and Tara on Thanksgiving Morning. 6.2 miles later we stopped at a donut shop. Because that's how we roll I guess. Exercise so we can eat donuts. :)
From the donut shop I drop a couple hours towards the coast and spent Thanksgiving Day with Lakshmi. For our activity for the day we set the timer for 6 minutes and tried to name as many US states as we could (FRIENDS). I forgot about 12 or 15 of them. Lakshmi had similar results. You judge. I know. But you try it on the clock with no hints or helps. Then let me know how perfectly you did.
December:
I was roped into a last minute relay marathon at the beginning of the month. I. Loved. It!!! Thanks Janell for getting sick and thinking of me to take your slot!! The entire day was a blast!
Then there was the Christmas Party at the academy that was super cozy and fun.
Tara, Becky, and I went for pedicures and sushi after school was out! Mostly to celebrate making it through the crazy semester.
Unfortunately it costs a lot to travel during the holidays so I stayed here over the entire break. It was a really fun Christmas though! Once again it started with running with Chad, Melinda, Tara, and this time Adie and Gus joined us. (2 year old and dog) Then it was presents and breakfast at the Bernard's. That afternoon the Bernard's (All 9 of them that were present), the Gallant's (all 6 that were present), Tara, and I got together for a Christmas dinner and games. I love games. I love hanging out with friends and laughing. I really love this new staff family that I've bonded with so deeply over the last 4 months.
And the month ended with my birthday! I spent it hanging out with Melinda and Adie (The rest of the gang is still at GYC) and eating lots of sugar.
You already know how my morning went.
But overall I had a great year. I learned, I grew, I laughed, I cried, and I appreciated each and every moment.
For the new year, here are some of my resolutions:
1. I want to consistently health coach someone for the year. Natalie has graciously volunteered to be my subject!
2. I want to finish my BS in Business this year.
3. I want to be out of debt by the end of the year.
4. I will be reading 12 books this year that are non-fiction. I could read 12 books of fiction in less than a week if I were on break. But I struggle with the more edifying stuff. So I'm going to read one book a month that isn't a novel.
5. I'm going to finish 3 of the 4 nursing school pre-requisites.
Here's to 2017 and becoming an even better version of myself! My prayer is that the Lord comes quickly and we're ready for it. This world is getting to be too much to understand anymore and I long for the day that we don't have to say goodbye, we have a permanent home, we have peace from temptation and trials, and can rest in the very presence of the One who died to save us.
Blessings to you all!
... I just realized it's 7:20 PM and all I've eaten today is toast, cereal, half a bottle of Martinelli's and a glass of chocolate almond milk. I'mma go eat now. You go look at my pictures on Instagram and like all of them. Please. Thank you. Happy New Year. :)
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