Time to Begin Again

Wow, it has been a long time since I have last blogged. There is so much that has happened in life, but for some reason I have had a lack of wanting to share. I have been loving life, but have desperately not wanted to sit and blog. I really don't know why it has seemed like such a chore to me, but nonetheless it has been something that I have avoided like the plague. So I sit here wondering if I need to recount what has happened in life over the last few months, detailing events and trips, people and relationships. I think that there could be some benefit in that, but at the same time I am more excited about the future, so I have come to the conclusion that I will start from the here and now. I will start from the new crazy, amazing, scary and exciting stage in my life that I am in. I have met the man of my dreams and am getting married in 36 days I will be Mrs. Anthony Ronhaar. I am so excited, yet with so much to do and so many people to please I want to run away and hide. So from this point on I am going to share about my life and what is happening in this, one of the biggest transitions in my life.

The Places Jesus has never visited

At the beginning of April we took a group of students to Southern California for a mission trip to Skid Row in LA. While on this trip we decided to being Jesus (a picture of him) with us and allow him to visit some of the sites with us. While on this excursion we thought that we would introduce Jesus to places that he has never been allowed to visit before. Here is a little video documenting this trip. Stuart will take you and Jesus on a tour of the places Jesus has never visited. Oh and just a side note. Please know that this may be a little sarcastic and cynical so please don't take offense or if you do...I'm sorry.

The small joys

So last night I flew back into Seattle from San Francisco after a two day, one night trip to check out the city and learn about our mission trip that we are taking there this summer. When we landed in Seattle and I turned my phone back on i received a text from one of my students that just filled me with joy. It made my heart leap and brought a smile to my face. The text was from one of our girls that I love dearly. It read

"So I felt like informing you that at Ventus I learned that God is my interior designer and he is getting rid of my tacky wallpaper and replacing it with designer."

I know that this may sound a little odd to you, but for me it was God opening a door into the heart of a student I have been praying for for a long time. It was God working in the life of a student who has been so overwhelmed with the world and looking good and having the the things that she thinks will make her happy. It was God showing Himself to one of the most high maintenance girls I have ever met. It was and is truly amazing. I am so excited to see where this goes and how God moves. I have to admit that I was a little sad that I missed the Ventus service and wasn't a part of the conversation, but I can say that I am excited to be a part of this process and it is exciting how God can move in ways we would never think about. I mean seriously who would think that interior designing would be the way to a students heart.
Thank you Lord for how you move, thank you for how you show yourself and thank you for being absolutely majestic.

Blah

So, I haven't really wanted to blog lately. There has been so much happening and I just have felt overwhelmed with where to start or what to blog about. I don't really know what is interesting to the people who are reading my blog. I don't know what you want to know about. Is it daily life? Or ministry? Is it my thoughts on church? What should I be writing about? What do you want to hear? Please help me by giving me something, anything to help me want to write and share again. I'm stuck and need your assistance.

Interviews

Thursday night was our annual fundraising banquet. For this year's banquet Stuart put together some interviews of some of our girls and how they have been impacted. Please take the time to watch this video and see how God is impacting the lives of students here in Arlington.



If you would like to know more about what is happening here in Arlington check out our website at http://www.yd.org/communities/arlington/
Also, if you would like to be a part of what is happening here in Arlington please consider joining my monthly support team by going to http://www.yd.org/communities/arlington/staff/jessica_maher/239/ . Please consider helping me stay here in Arlington to live life with these amazing students.

Tonight is the Night

Tonight is our big night. It is our annual fundraising banquet. This year we have having some awesome dessert catered by Christie Kroeze. Please be in prayer for this event as we are striving to raise money to send kinds on trips, support the local ministry here in Arlington and support ourselves. Please pray that God's hand will be on this event, that lives will be touched and that people will see the value and need for Youth Dynamics. Here is a link to our article in the local paper.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/north_sound/arl/lifestyle/38915839.html

What are the consequences?

This picture of olympic superstar Michael Phelps came about this week in a Tabloid magazine. He posted this statement

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in a statement released by Octagon, his management firm, and posted on his Facebook site. "I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public - it will not happen again."

So what are your thoughts? What do you think needs to happen? I know that being a swim and water polo coach for many years I had many high school students that I worked with that looked up to Michael Phelps and many the high school girls with crushes on Michael Phelps...so what is it? Do we accepts it as a mistake? He is young and we all make mistakes. Should be be punished for something dumb?

Emotions

Today, I am feeling a little emotional. There are an array of feelings, thoughts, desires, and decisions that are traveling through my head at amazing rates of speed. It is hard to even pin down exactly what I am feeling because of the vastness of what is going through my head. I am feeling a little lonely wishing for that time and place to have someone to sit and talk to, to share frustrations, joys and life with. I am feeling excited for the up coming season with trips and students, training and planning. I am burdened with the thought of taking a semester off of school to save money and keep myself out of more debt. I am hopeful for the future and the joy that seems to hold on even when it doesn't make sense. And this is where I sit this morning. Excited for the next few days with other staff, hoping for some time of reflection, rest and refreshment; stressed over the next week and getting ready for the banquet; hopeful that conversations will lead to relationships; frustrated in people not making sense and thankful that I am able to feel, hope, think, cry and love. Thank you Lord for feelings and emotions. Thank you for the life you have provided and continue to provide. Thank you for the opportunities you have placed in my life and the people I have been blessed with knowing. Thank you.

HotDoggin 09

This last weekend was HotDoggin 09, Youth Dynamics first annual Westside snow retreat. One aspect of this retreat was the nightly game of Hotdog Vs. Mustard. In this game two of our students dressed up as Hotdog and Mustard. Here is the theme song and opening video of this event.

Lack of enthusiasm

Alright, so I am here to apologize once again for my lack of blogging. I always seems to have fantastic intentions that somehow die because of my lack of enthusiasm. I seem to sit down many days to write and find myself not wanting to or thinking that what I would write about would really be of no interest to anyone, but myself. (I think that I need to get over that) So, once again I am going to try to enter into the blog world. I am going to work on blogging more regularly about what is happening in life and in ministry. Alot has happened since Christmas and I will write about all of that as soon as I get back from this long weekend of snow, games and hotdogs. At 7pm tonight students will arrive at Arlington United Church to spend the night and tomorrow morning at 8:30 am we will leave Arlington for our first annual Hotdoggin event. There will be 80 students, some adults, lots of hotdogs and a good time. I will let you know all about it when we get back. Please be praying for us and the 10 students that we are taking with us as well as the other Youth Dynamics areas that will be bringing students. Please pray that they will have a good time, that they will experience God and that everyone is safe. Alright, well I am off for a crazy weekend.