For Colleen

Anybody have that one person who keeps them focused and alert to what's happening? It could be at work, home, church, or school- but that one person who just knows everything? (And NOT in the annoying 'let me tell you cause I'm smarter than you' way). Well my person is @ work, and her name is Colleen- she happens to be the office coordinator @ CE- Mid Atlantic, and someone with whom I've had the priviledge of working with over the past 2.5 months. Colleen literally knows everything & ANYTHING I would need to, and she is my contact person for when I need instant access to whatever project I happen to be working on next. Colleen has helped me learn the complicated (NOT) phones @ the office, find numerous documents within the work server, and cuts out newspaper articles and cartoons ('funnies') and leaves them on my desk. She is NOT a morning person (but remains cheerful without caffeine!!) so my job as Intern does not include fetching coffee, but if you ever need anything, I'm sure a Grape Soda would work well, too. :)

I am getting married this weekend, & from then until the end of my Internship w/ CE, I will be working from home- as the commute of over 1 hour would probably cause me to physically harm someone on the road (not to mention hurt my wallet!), so I won't get to be just a few flights of stairs away from Colleen like I've been. So I thought I'd post a youtube clip that she loves in honor of how GREAT CE's awesome office woman is!!



Who'se the person in your life that keeps you on task?

Book Review Friday!

Good morning, everyone! Today I am proud to present Christian Endeavor - Mid Atlantic's FIRST EVER book review! Today's feature is Matthew Paul Turner's newest (&in my opinion, his most profoundly beautiful) release, Churched. I am so pleased to be able to not only review this hilarious tale, but also to suggest that you GET UP and get your own copy- it's that good, my friends.

As I read this book (ahem... devoured it in less than two days is more like it!), it not only reinforced my beliefs (and doubts) as a Christian, but by reading this, I feel less alone in 'growing up Christian.' While I did NOT grow up Baptist, I was (and still am) part of a similarly fundamental church. At times, in my younger years, it has been hard to eloquently express my exact feelings on Christianity, as it's been all but handed to me. Forming your own opinions outside of the church can be hard, and many of us choose to leave the church for some time, as we spread our wings & rebel. I did that for awhile, and upon realizing I couldn't do it anymore, found myself again on the fringe of church, religion, and faith. Finding where I stood, and the continual search for meaning within religion, culture, and where Jesus wants me to be, can be an all-consuming life. But taken in increments every day, it is the breath of life that keeps me going- I'm a learner, and I enjoy these new things, no matter how hard the struggle may be @ times.

This book was absolutely hilarious. Structured into a series of vignettes, Turner is able to give brief glimpses, snapshots even, into his life and what he has been taught. Many of us will be able to laugh with knowledge at the almost extreme ways young people were taught about Jesus, heaven, hell, and salvation- a la burning Barbies.

My favorite part of Matthew's book was the end. There is nothing preachy about Matthew's writing style--no 'prayer' at the end to pray, no epiphany--and yet his final sentence just solidifies why Matthew is an excellent writer. He leaves questions, thoughts, and time for the reader to ponder exactly what is happening, and form their own conclusion. I like that about him- he clearly has learned from his 'turn or burn' younger years, and chooses to create stylistic rhetoric for engaged reading.

If you are looking for a book--whether you are 15 or 50--I highly recommend this book. You will laugh, heck you might cry, and you definitely will be touched. I know I was.

Make sure you take some time to check out Matthew's blog, and of course, hop on over to Amazon and order your copy now.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

The 'bait & switch'

This article really resonated with me today.

Sometimes it's hard for me to find perspective, whether it be in my regular Christian life, or within ministry here at work. It's always nice when I find it, somehow.

How do you find perspective?

Website Wednesday

Like most nonprofits, much of the work done @ the office & on site would be IMPOSSIBLE to get done in a days/week/month/throughout the YEAR without volunteers. The help of volunteers, whether it is cooking @ a work camp, helping with phone-a-thon, or simply stuffing envelopes for direct mailings, frees the hands of staff members to complete other tasks. Like last week, when the Youth Today's arrived, and needed to be in the mail by the end of last week.

This is Garnet. Not only is she a dear friend, but she's pretty talented with direct mailings.

This task, that took the better part of a week, would have been impossible to get out on time if not for the help of people like Garnet, Verdella, and the many people who have offered their time and services to Christian Endeavor - Mid Atlantic. We cannot thank them enough for the hours they have given in service to the needs of youth & young adults throughout the Mid Atlantic region; even if you didn't know it, volunteers are the lifeblood within this place, & we want to make sure we ALWAYS show you how great they are, and how much we appreciate their help.

There are numerous ways that you can help out CE - Mid Atlantic. Often, it could be as much as making some phone calls to new churches, telling them about CE's activities. We think word of mouth is the most important way YOU can tell others about CE. So if you had to tell people about Christian Endeavor... what would you say? Leave a comment & let me know.

In other news, I'm going to shamelessly promote CE today (ahem.. like always, you might say!) and direct you to a great website you might not have ever stopped at: OUR OWN. We're in the midst of a HUGE redesign campaign, complete with new logos, graphics, and an updated website- and we want YOUR input! What else would you want to see on CE's website? What can we do better with? We consider ourselves on the peak of a great change around here- God has blessed the hard work of the past year, and is about to push CE into a new threshold of ways we can help youth & young adult become strong & faithful leaders for Christ. That doesn't happen unless we have your support.

Support comes in four different ways: prayers, presence, gifts, & service. In which way will you be motivated to help us in 2009?

They're Baaaaack!

CE- Mid Atlantic's 2008 Fall Work Camp participants are back and pumped up from an exciting long weekend in Laurelville, PA. From the looks of things, it seems as there was a lot of demolition & roof climbing this year...




This video, and TONS more--from this past weekend's events to Summer Assembly & Life Builders Work Camps--can be found on Christian Endeavor- Mid Atlantic's youtube site. You can find us by searching youtube.com/ceinpa. (Seriously? I JUST found out that CE-Mid Atlantic has a youtube site. Now that I know? You better believe I'm going to be posting on THAT too!) You can also find pictures from this weekend by going to the website - or simply click here & it'll take you directly to where the pics are.

Today has been one of those 'miss my mouth and spill my coffee' kind of days- must be the fog. I'll be back later with some other fun stuff. How was everyone's weekend?

Somebody's got a case of the Monday's...

It's Monday... I'm out of the office running errands, but had to post this because it has made me laugh alllllll weekend. If you're having a hard time jumping back into work today, take a look at this and hang in there, folks. Four more days & it's the weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DmtmmFEVo

Coming this week: CE-Mid Atlantic's FIRST EVER book review, more website reviews than you can possibly handle, pictures from around the office & a staff meeting, plus a chance to win blogger/writer Matthew Paul Turner's newest book, 'Churched.' Stay tuned for an exciting week!

Website... Thursday!

I almost just said oops, I did it again... until I realized how teen pop star that would sound. (Thanks, Britney, for ruining what used to be an acceptable catch phrase!) Anyway, yesterday my mind went completely blank in remembering that it was supposed to be WEBSITE WEDNESDAY, so this week, again, it's happening on a Thursday. Today's website is courtesy of Colleen, who reminded me of this missionary-to-be couple.

I do not know B.J. & Rachel Whitaker, but for those of you who do, you might remember that B.J. was the featured speaker at one of the weeks CE was in Findley, Ohio, this past June. (He even gave us a shout out this summer!) Their blog, appropriately titled "The Whitaker Wire," has been chronicling their adventures in raising money and support as they prepare for the missions field in Spain. A quick peek through their blog shows a list of where they will be speaking/appearing next, how much support they have raised so far (92%- awesome!) and other general information about where they are headed. I know the staff was so thankful for B.J.'s willingness to speak this past summer, and I'd like to encourage everyone reading this to add their blog to your blogroll's NOW, so you can stay up-to-date on this young couple and their desire to serve God OUT on the missions field. Of course, I'll add a link to the right side of this blog, so you can always access them from here- I for one LOVE when I find an exciting blog to keep watch on- join me in prayer for the Whitaker's as they continue serving God, here and abroad.

I'm also going to plug another website today- it's is beautiful outside and I'm just loving life and feeling super generous this week, I suppose. The other website I'm talking about is one that used to be on my radar SO MUCH as a high school student. Relevant Magazine is a great resource for ANY person- high school, young adult, or the young @ heart- I'm continally pleased with their coverage of both Christian & 'secular' events. They have three main categories that you can search within- God, Life, & Progressive Culture, but there's also TONS of other multimedia things you can see. Not to mention BLOGS galore! (love em', can't help it!)

So check out these sites, mark em', keep em' & read em'- and have a great day!

New Changes!

Well, today I am teaching myself something new. Exciting, right? Yes and no! I always find it exciting to learn something that I previously didn't know how to do, but it's always scary to me to enter into uncharted territory, so to speak. Probably because I don't normally deal with change very well. I'm learning to accept (even embrace!) change in my life, because yes, obviously, life doesn't stop for those who cannot accept change. But sometimes, when forced to accept I DON'T KNOW SOMETHING (very rare, I assure you.. :) ha!) it can be as swift as a punch in the gut. Like the wind getting sucked out of your breath, I often react like whiplash to change- eyes bulging, throat closing, and with some mild anxiety. (I'm also totally dramatic, if you hadn't noticed by now.)

But then afterwards? When you look back on all that hard work and see how far God brought you through that 'something new' and made you stronger, and ultimately more confident? THAT is what I like about change. I like the follow through- the calm AFTER the storm, or sometimes, how inevitablely great your life can change when you just know something new. Sometimes your life changes and enters into even MORE of a whirlwind- because that change you just experienced makes you now even MORE experienced to tackle something new. And all of a sudden, NEW THINGS are flying in front of you, over and over!

Today I'm teaching myself how to write grants. One of the (many) beautiful things about working for a non-profit is that somewhere, somehow, SOMEONE is always looking to give out money. Non-profits work for the people and are supported by the people, and often, this can be detrimental to specific causes these organizations are trying to implement. It can be so limiting to know you want to do SO MUCH GOOD, but you are limited by money. I've been learning recently that if you look in tiny corners of small private organizations or large openings at bigger companies, that there are TONS of opportunities for organizations like Christian Endeavor - Mid Atlantic to benefit from someone's generosity.

I have never written a grant in my life. Sitting down to tackle this task is GINORMOUS, and actually, kinda scary. Knowing that the end result of what I produce is going to be read by people who dictate where good, generous money goes is daunting. So this morning, I did have a minor panic attack. (Probably didn't help that I had about three too many cups of coffee...) Because I felt unqualified.

Then I reminded myself that I'm NOT unqualified. While I might not have any direct experience in writing grants, I KNOW Christian Endeavor. I know the passion that you can just FEEL when you walk into the office doors- literally, you can just feel the excitement that everyone who works here has for teenagers and young adults learning to be leaders for Christ. And if I can portray even an iota of that feeling?

We're going places, and I'm excited you've jumped on for the ride. Tell me: what have you done recently that you didn't think you could do?

Fall into Christian Endeavor

Hey there! I'm currently hanging out at my college's library, trying to get some work done as I wait for 5pm, when I have to go to an Etiquette Dinner for my 'Almost a professional but not quite' class. Supposedly, this is a great event that everyone loves; I'm just frustrated I have to rearrange my schedule! Anyone else get into a groove & then get frustrated when it's messed up? I'm a total schedule-nerd, so I always do. (Plus, House is on tonight..) :)

Anyway, onto a little housecleaning..

Anybody looking for a job? CE is currently looking to 'hire' some outspoken people to make some phone calls for us. Remember how I said we made calls the other week @ Dave's church in Ephrata to followup on some postcards we sent out? Well, between the five of us, we made about 500 calls that day. TOTAL, we have about 7,000 calls to make- needless to say, we are in need of some callers! Basically, we need interested people to make phone calls for us during daytime normal work hours- anytime between 8-2pm is when you're likely to 'catch' a pastor at the desk. (Although we ARE calling many youth pastors, whose hours tend to gravitate later & later!) CE will pay $0.50 if you leave a message on an answering machine or leave a message with a secretary, and $0.75 if you talk to a real person (yes, i know, as opposed to a fake person..). If you are interested in making some phone calls out (& earning some extra cash), send me an email @ lstauffer (at) pachristianendeavor (dot) org. Or you can call me at the office- 610 369 0207.

Happy Tuesday :)

Blind leading the Blind

Ever do something that afterwards you want to smack your head in (a) embarassment or (b) horror that you actually did what you did? I tend to do this often; I fly by the seat of my pants in most of my life experiences, and usually suffer the embarassing consequences. And then to make matters worse, I normally go and tell people what happened. (I KNOW I KNOW- WHY would I do such a thing?)

So yesterday Mark was at the home office, preparing some Life Builders materials with Sam. We decided to grab some lunch out, and proceeded to hit the local Chinese Buffet. The food was okay (I'd much prefer Mexican, but beggers can't be choosers, eh?) and certainly didn't help my 'eat healthy life attitude.. or until I get married' mantra I've been following for the past couple months, but the conversation was nice, as was the company. During lunch, I was snapping pictures with my phone so I could document what we were doing. I know most of the team thinks it's unneccessary the amount of pictures I take during 'just' downtime, but to me, I like chronicling things. I'm a packrat, a picture junkie, and candids are my favorite. :)

Anyway, during this picture-taking adventure, I tried to snap one of Mark eating. Mark had just finished describing the 'way to eat @ buffets' (eat the most expensive items, skip the carbs- cheap to make- all in all, the way to GET YOUR MONIES WORTH AT BUFFETS. If I didn't know better, Mark would be PA Dutch to me...) and I was zooming in on Mark's face. As I snapped the picture, all of a sudden MARK'S EYE is right at the camera. I had forgotten, but the flash on my Blackberry is like a thousand Christmas lights going off. AT ONCE. As Mark screamed in pain (and Colleen, Sam, and I doubled over with laughter) I sputteringly described the Blackberry's powerful flash. Mark begin to describe himself as blind.. ushering in a plethora of jokes and stories.

I then proceeded to tell mine. (Which, btw, I can't believe I didn't mention on here. Probably because it's SO DANG EMBARASSING). The other day @ school, I was walking to my Spanish class--most likely texting and walking, totally dangerous, don't let anyone fool you!--and I noticed a female student walking with a cane, who appeared to be blind. I moved out of her way, as she looked like she was trying to figure out where she was going, and was extremely surprised when she put her cane IN FRONT of my feet and proceeded to ask me where the Early Learning Center was. For the life of me, I HAD NO IDEA what she was talking about, because as I commute to school I try to learn only the absolute tiniest about the campus- where I need to go for class, books, computers, and coffee, thankyouverymuch. :)

I apologized as I told her that, and turned to walk away, when she grabbed my arm and asked me if I could walk her towards the library. AND THEN IT HAPPENED. I then took hold of this woman's hand, turned her to her left, and said "Oh, it's right here- if you LOOK about fifty feet in front of you, you'll see it." YEP THAT'S RIGHT- I told a BLIND PERSON to LOOK. The woman started laughing at me as I began to profusely start apologizing, and she reassured me that it was fine. I told her that while I had NO idea where she wanted to go, we could walk togetherto find it.

Eventually, we found the building (it was right next to my classroom's building, coincidentally), and I walked this woman to the door. NOT BEFORE I forgot to mention that WATCH OUT, new blind friend, there's a giant grate on the pavement that you could trip over! (I need to take a class about disabilities, I KNOW I KNOW). It was so mortifying to realize I could be unknowing about a person who has a disability. Definitely speaks to how much I have to learn about culture/people that are not like me.

So tell me: what was your most recent embarassing moment?

Website Review

Well yesterday's website review is now today- I should be more mindful of keeping Website Wednesday actually on Wednesday, but well, life is life. REGARDLESS today's website is actually more of an IDEA- there are tons of websites that deal with the issue I'm just going to briefly talk about today, but I did manage to find one that's non-partisan (non-political). What I'm going to talk about? Is voting, and how IMPORTANT it is!

I know everyone that reads this is not old enough to vote, but for the people who end up on this blog and are, I just want to let you know how important I think you should take this election. This blog is in no way a political platform for me, or Christian Endeavor, or anyone I work with- really it's more for ME to let YOU know about what I've been working or thinking/talking with other people about. That's why there is the ability for me to jump from such topics as Free Workshops, and fall & apples, and Work Camp to (what can be) such a touchy subject like voting.

I'm definitely not here to tell you what you should think. Because seriously? I'm pretty certain that everyone reading this blog is already made up of individual thought. That's the beauty of intelligent conversation- the ability for us all to come together with ideas and feelings; while we don't necessarily always agree, it's cool to hear different things. Do I think you should believe what I believe? No way, jose- because sometimes, when it comes to politics, don't you just reach that point where YOU don't even know what you believe? Especially now, in this climate of uncertainty before the election in November- while I think it's so important for everyone to GET OUT AND VOTE, I certainly understand if you're feeling apathetic- I know I am. (STOP with the commericals and fake phone calls, candidates: I'm not going to vote for you anymore than I normally would, just because you won't go away!).

So I'd like to challenge you: whether you are a McCainnonite or you've jumped on the Obamabus (or perhaps you prefer to stay more Independant), get out and vote. Tell your friends to get out and vote. Make sure your parents are voting. Talk with you coworkers about the importance of voting. Because if YOU don't stand up and have a voice? I don't want to hear you complaining for the next four years.

Check out presidentalelection.com. From this site it will take you to any state's statistics on voting- when your last day to register to vote is, how to register to vote, etc. If you're rooting for one specific candidate, there's places where you can go online for that too- since I'm keepin' it non-partisian, I'd suggest doing a GoodSearch search for places to register with a specific party. (But make sure you have PA Christian Endeavor in the 'search for' box!).

Happy voting!

Hello, my friends. Happy first day of October! I realize the 'offical' first day of fall was the other day, but Autumn always seems more real once it is October First. Currently, I am in apple-overload- I just can't get enough apple-y goodness. I've been eating macintosh apples for breakfast lunch & dinner it seems, eating apple cider (warmed up with ginger snaps? YUM) & if I get a chance this weekend, I'd like to make some apple dumplings. I'm that PA Dutch girl at heart, and right now if it combines apples + whatever, I'm into it. What's your favorite fall thing? I stopped at a roadside stand on my way to last night's workshop and picked up a few mum's for my soon-to-be house; WOW- those flowers brighten up any doorstep! Flowers and apples... could be worse for me, I suppose.

Speaking of last night, if you weren't able to make it out to Ephrata- WOW, you missed out big time, my friends! Dave's Workshop ("The Five Youth Ministry Trends that are Killing the Church") was phenomenal, and I am happy to say that I can say that for a fact- I'm not just endorsing because I work here, I'm speaking from been there done that, friends. The information presented last night was organized in such a way that it is easy to feel discouraged in the midst of hearing sad statistics- statistics that describe failing families, unmotivated youth, and falling-apart youth groups. The great thing about this workshop is that there is NO WAY you can leave NOT feeling motivated- Dave's examples, the ability for people to network and communicate with peers & fellow leaders, and take-away resources gleaned from the whole night just scream ways that your youth ministry can begin to grow, thrive, and STOP killing the church as you become an integral PART of the church. It was so great for me to hear this- after doing some research for Dave, it was awesome to hear the presentation delivered as a whole, and I know that everyone there was really receptive to the ideas presented.

If you are not signed up for the FINAL presentation of this calendar year, mark your datebooks now for OCTOBER 7 in GLASSBORO, NEW JERSEY. (Check the web to signup!). Also, it has just been announced that this same workshop will be presented in the Spring 2009- I'll be sure to let you know dates, times, and places as soon as I find that info out.

Yesterday Colleen, Sam, & I emptied out the Work Camp trailer. Let me tell you this much- I work out almost daily, and even still- WOW are my arms sore this morning! After unloading, we organized & took inventory as we prepared for the upcoming Fall & Spring Workcamps. We are so excited for these events- will you pray with us as we expand our young adult-focused work camps? Even better- will you join us for a week/end?

In other news, applications will soon be available to young adults to apply for the Life Builders Work Camp Internships. We are looking to expand this area from 1 to SIX interns this summer- check the web, and of course here, for news on when these application packets will be come available.

Have a good day!