Birthdays are GREAT! Especially when you have a moment to breathe and truly enjoy them. That happened for me on Monday. Thank you Ted Oswald and many friends for making my day so special.

(click for a full view)

Top row, left to right: Friends at Han Dynasty for dinner; the amazing apple-raspberry pie they brought me;  beautiful stationary and candle holder I bought with giftcards from friends! Plus, amazing chocolate from my housemate Janira; church in Chestnut Hill, the neighborhood where Ted and I spent the day;
Bottom row, left to right: Valley Green Inn, a special lunch spot in the woods!; french pastries for breakfast; Bible study love on Wednesday, with games and a strawberry pie made by Wendy!; Chestnut Hill library, where Ted & I found some good reads; inside Valley Green Inn, right by the fireplace, with some mulled apple cider to boot! An amazing 19th c. spot! 

Drexel Law's spring break project

A few pictures from CLCP's week with the Drexel Law's alternative spring break group:

A slideshow design by Smilebox

Also, take a few minutes to skim the blog they produced that week, to hear about what they did. Reading their posts seriously gave me chills, as they describe what some of their interactions from the week meant to them.

Yet again, please be in prayer for this week's BIG EVENTS: the Pro Deo Conference '13. This is CLCP's 2nd Annual conference designed to gather Christian law students and lawyers to discuss the possibilities of working in the legal field to advance God's Kingdom. This is another one of Ted's projects he has been very enthusiastic about. Check out the details for it here.

Details: for Friday's prayer request

Presenter Keith does a role play 
with our host Jonerik

"That was great! I wish more people could hear about this." 

This came from an enthusiastic participant, Jeane, at the close of CLCP's community legal education workshop today. Keith Brown, Esq gave an excellent presentation on wills, estate planning, and trusts. Responses like Jeane's are just what you want to hear after the inaugural workshop of a four-part legal education series to be rolled out this year. We'll be offering the same four-part series at partner sites throughout the city. Many thanks to our host, Cornerstone Community Church in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, for promoting and providing the hospitable space for this special event.

Next up in our Community Legal Education series: Two presentations this Thursday on custody and support, and landlord/tenant law in the North and Northeast sections of Philadelphia.

Flier for Thursday's workshop
in Northeast Philly @ OCCCDA

What a week. And it's not over! Ted will be co-leading Drexel Law's Alternative Spring Break trip at our South Philly legal clinic site, the Aquinas Center, during the afternoons and evenings. CLCP and the Aquinas Center are their official hosts! Ted and Daniel Colbert (pictured left) have been working hard to prepare an educational, practical, and hopefully inspirational week for this group of students.

The Drexel group at their first meeting in South Philly tonight!
Click here to read the blog they'll be creating.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

Please pray for our legal clinic

This month, we have two special programs we are launching: community legal education seminars and the Drexel spring break trip. We also have our regular, bi-weekly clinics, one "tour" of our ministry, and the second annual Pro Deo Conference. Pray that the clinic (CLCP) will be a place where Christ continually abides, where we will lean on Him, and take joy in the many ways we see His hand at work. More details to come this week!

A year in review

It's pretty amazing for me to look back at this last year of blog posts. One year ago, I was posting about my application for the Reconciliation conference at Duke Divinity School, the dinners we hosted for the legal clinic team, and plans for CLCP's first Pro Deo Conference.

Today, Ted is typing away to promote our second annual Pro Deo Conference, I am trying to decide on drinks and appetizers for our clinic team "debrief" this Thursday, and the themes from the Duke Reconciliation conference still weave their way into my reflections on my life and faith - many of which will be picked up at this weekend's much talked about Justice Conference in downtown Philadelphia.

In between these markers, it's been quite a year. One month after registering for the Reconciliation conference, I witnessed a shooting on our block, while nannying for my neighbor's baby. That sent me on a several month journey that included seeing a counselor and going away more regularly for a day or two at a time to help handle the trauma (Wayne, Glenside, California, Maryland and even a long weekend in Orlando in December.) The Duke conference was thought-provoking and allowed me to hear some key messages from God. It was also great for getting away to a beautiful space, but on the deepest level I found myself wondering, "what does this all mean for me?"

The day I returned from the conference, God blessed us with a housemate, Janira, who is still living with us. Two months later, I decided to quit my nanny job and started to dig into my new part-time job as director of development at CLCP. I continued working Wednesday and Thursday morning's at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church. As a part of my processing journey, I've been asking for awhile what God is shaping me for and what plans He has for me. I am excited for the women's retreat coming up at my church in April, which will center on the theme: "finding our identity in Christ." This syncs with another layer of what God has been teaching me, that who I am is founded in Him; it will never be defined by my work, by others, or outside circumstances.

"Because I live, you also will live." - John 14:19

On that note, I'll close ;)

(Is there something you'd like to hear more about? Say it in the "comments" section below, and I'll write more about it.)

Living well in Orlando

In early December, Ted and I spent a few precious days in Orlando. This came in response to the longstanding invitation of our friends, the Wilcoxes, who made the move from California to Florida about five years ago. I hadn't seen them in that long! This long weekend 'getaway' was also the capstone in a series of mini-retreats that I needed in the wake of the stressers of last April.

God provided the makings for our trip (airmiles + generous invitation from friends + 2 vacation days.) We landed in Orlando on a Friday night, and the rejuvenating time began!

Not only was the time peaceful and quiet (Mike and Joan live in a beautiful, newly developed neighborhood in Orlando, with a papaya tree out back!), but we also saw many amazing sites along the way:

the annual fair at Fort Christmas, 

the town of St. Augustine 

the gorgeous sun at Cocoa Beach,

and real live manatees! 

(Note: the one I'm dancing with is obviously fake. The real ones were in the spring, pictured left.)

 


Intersperse this with some competitive but friendly card games, a moving church service and tour of Pioneers mission headquarters (where Mike and Joan serve), and you have a tiny glimpse of this great weekend for us.

Perhaps most meaningful for me were the times to reflect, enjoy the quiet, and to be ministered to by conversation and the Saturday evening church service we attended. As I went forward to receive communion, Mike extended the cup to me and said, "A painful love gift, given for you." Wow. In that moment, I heard the good news and it swept over me in a fresh way, as if I was hearing it for the first time. I was astounded and moved. I can see even more clearly now how the Spirit was doing an important work in my heart in that time.

Thank you, Mike and Joan!