A day with my mom

Today is the last day I get to spend with my mom before I leave for Germany.  She's sleeping right now because she works nights, but when she gets up we're gonna go eat and watch the new Madea movie.  Yes, the new Madea movie.  We find her very hilarious.

It's going to be enormously bittersweet as we both recognize the fact that I, her youngest child, am going off into the world to explore, find my independent side,  be with family, and see what God has for me outside of the US.  She has been a mother longer than she hasn't (over33 years to be exact), so this whole not having anyone living under her roof anymore thing will be devastating at first.  But then she'll soon come to realize that it's kind of great that out of eight children, none will still be home.  They'll all be living somewhere else, being independent in some sort of way.  She always says parenting doesn't end just because they don't live with her anymore, because they tend to call pretty often.  But other than the occasional few phone calls a week, she won't have anyone left to tell them to "text me when you get there," or "love you.  Be safe and drive CAREFULLY!"  It'll be the first time in a while that she finally has a chance to focus on herself and see what she needs rather than what her kids need.

Please pray that the transition into this new life of having no children left at home goes smoothly.  I'm not mom but I can see and she's told me many times that she loves doing what she does, being a mother to "eight great kids."  I mean, if you know my mom, then you know that she would be a mom forever if she could.  Even though she hasn't been perfect in her profession, she's pretty dang close.  She has the best motherly, gentle touch around and guess what?  My mom could beat your mom any day! hahahaha :)

Saying goodbye to North Shore

Tonight is my last chance to hang out with my awesome youth group from North Shore Fellowship.  We're going to watch Batman Begins, but I'm probably going to be talking and cherishing the time I have with my group instead of actually watching the movie. :)

When I first moved to North GA/Chattanooga, I was so stoked to get out of small town Dublin, GA where everyone knew all my older siblings and called me "little shoup."  I couldn't wait to start my own legacy and make my own story.  It's a good thing that going to new churches and meeting new people is kinda my thing because that's what I had to do a lot of when I first got here.  I experimented with several different churches and youth groups to see which one was the best fit for me.  My mom and I finally settled on North Shore Fellowship in Chattanooga mainly because one of her best friends went there and enjoyed it.  I soon began to love the church.  The pastors were incredible teachers and we made lots of new friends.  The youth group was bigger than my old one so it took a little getting used to.  I found myself still trying to fit in to the group as a whole as the year progressed, but soon enough I connected with a few friends that are very dear to my heart.

This year the new youth pastor, Ben, has been incredible.  One look at him and you can tell that he adores adventure, having a good laugh, God's love and life in general.  Being the new youth pastor is, I'm sure, not the easiest thing to do.  It involves getting to know the families of the youth members and the church period.  But he made it look so easy.  He always made Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights so exciting and interesting.  I think that my new found love for the youth group at NSF has a lot to do with Ben and with our recent mission trip to Belize.

Belize was an incredible time of bonding through sweating more than we thought was possible, playing with kids for hours on end, painting, and roofing.  We had a blast the entire time and as the week progressed, we found ourselves wanting to stay and not go home.  Belize is a country of people who smile just because they're alive.  And when they have Jesus in their hearts, it gives them an even brighter, bigger, more infectious smile.  Our team of 11 high schoolers and 3 leaders was the perfect mix of laughter, compassion, and hard work.  Each one of my teammates had a unique way of connecting to the kids and families they met.  I was pleasantly surprised at how we all united together and stepped up to the plate to go where help was needed. Everyone chipped in and didn't complain despite the extreme heat and humidity and desire to just rest sometimes.

This trip to Belize taught us all that busy schedules, social networking sites, and how many times we get invited to get togethers and parties, in the end, doesn't matter one bit.  What does matter is appreciating all of the simple things in life like playing soccer with kids we haven't met until a day ago, or visiting a class of 8th graders in a different country and sharing a little about our lives in the US, or worshiping Jesus Christ despite the fact that we have no idea what everyone else is singing because we don't speak Spanish.  That's what we learned.

I think everyone could use a visit to a third world country at least once in their lives.  It definitely puts things in perspective and teaches you that nothing in the world is more important than having a relationship with Jesus.  Not how many Facebook notifications you have, not the size of house you live in, not the brand of clothes you wear.  Jesus just wants you to know Him as intimately as He knows you, and He could care less about all that fluff that you think is so important.

I'm truly going to miss my group, especially as I've actually gotten to know them so recently and wish that I could have more time to get to know them better.  But God has opened up an opportunity for me to get to know other people in other parts of the world, not just the Americas.  I hope I get some visitors from NSF over the next year so I can show them what real chocolate tastes like :)

Nervous, scared, excited and joyous all wrapped into one.

Well today I finally realized that I have less than three days until I leave the country for a year, the longest I've not been in the US.  I've always wanted to travel and see the world outside of my protected, southern home.  And now that I finally have that opportunity just days away, it's finally hitting me.  It's time to say goodbye to the comforting touch of my mom I have always been able to count on when I feel like crap, a short drive to Chick Fil A to get a chicken cool wrap with ranch, and people that I can go talk to whenever I need to.  But the good thing is that I'll be living with Talya, my oldest sibling who has been more like a mother to me ever since I can remember.  Without her I don't think my family would've gotten through my mom's cancer.  I've always been able to talk to her about anything and she is always up for making a chocolate cake at the most random time of the day.  I'm also very excited to spend more time with her three children, Reagan, Gideon, and Jesse.  When they moved to Germany I was devastated because my family had always been just minutes away from their house and so we could see them pretty much whenever.  But since they made Europe their home, that all changed.  So now that I'm taking the not-so-common road out of high school, I'll be able to spend more time with my niece and nephews and that makes me very happy.

Going to Germany doesn't mean just packing up and doing something to occupy my time for the first year out of school.  It means so much more to me.  It means spending time with these gorgeous kids and making up for lost time in watching them grow into strong, people that take joy in the simple things.  I can't wait to see them for the first time in over a year.  I also can't wait to see their mommy who has done an incredible job of raising them...well, at least so far ;)  The dynamic duo of Shoup child #1 and #8 is BACK, people! :)