Not Alone Series: Back in the swing!

Hello hello hellooooo! Welcome to another year of the Not Alone Series! I'm so happy to be back to regular posting and I'm hoping this will kickstart some more blogging ;) If you're new here, click here to get a sense of what this is all about :) Jen and I are so excited to get started again!

We are back! As we get into the swing of things with NAS, what other ways can we be more involved at church or in our communities? Is there a parish ministry you have been wanting to help with or start up? What about that after school program for homeless kids? Has something been preventing you from getting involved? How do you think this will help you personally, spiritually, and emotionally?

The summer is always really crazy for me with work, which causes me to appreciate the normal craziness of the school year months. It's also a great time for me to look forward to some semblance of normalcy and the potential for getting involved in certain parish ministries!

Last year, I dipped my toes in the CCD world and this year I am jumping off the high dive! Something kept telling me last year (the Holy Spirit, duh) while I was subbing or aiding: "You could be doing this. You would be GOOD at this."

So, I talked to the DRE (one of my best friends from college!) and committed to teaching 7th grade CCD this year. It sounded great at the time, and while I'm still excited about it, I'm slightly freaking out. Classes start this Sunday (AHH!) and I'm really nervous. This is serious, y'all! Confirmation happens early in 8th grade, so a lot of 7th grade is Confirmation prep. EEK!

I think this is going to be really good, though. Being able to take part in the catechesis of the youth of my parish is such an honor and responsibility. And, I'm kind of proud of myself for stepping up to teach in a ministry where young people are usually lacking. It was cool going to the catechist's meeting last week and realizing that 6th grade is being taught by our DRE's fiance, and 8th grade is being taught by young newlyweds. The other teachers were really excited about all of our young faces. I think this gives them hope that the Church is young and vibrant.

Other than that, I'm continuing to build on my community here in town. I'm so so so so soooo sad knowing that a few of my favorites will move away in the next couple of months, but we've already met a few new great people and brought them into the fold. New friends are awesome.

But, one of the biggest things I'm striving for in the coming months is better self awareness.

Too often do I get burned out because I go go go go go. I do this in work, in service, in socializing. I hate declining an invitation, but I've realized that this is something I need to be better at. In order to give my best and be my best, I need to take care of myself. So if that means I have opportunities to hang out with friends Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday for brunch, maybe I need to choose Friday OR Saturday night. (Before you laugh, this is seriously the extrovert's nightmare...but necessary for me. For your reference, my MBTI is ENFP)

So, I guess in these next months, I'm seeking to expand the breadth of my parish and community involvement while defining and sticking to my boundaries.

How about you? The fall always feels like a fresh-start kind of time to me, how are you going to grow in your community?

Write a post on this week's topic, be sure to include a link back to this post and Jen's, and link up your post below!! If you haven't joined our Not Alone Series Facebook group, please do so!!!

As a reminder, Jen and I are going to Boston! Next week! AH! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and get ready to tweet tweet tweet with us in the days leading up!!!

For your convenience, we will be sharing the next four NAS topics each week! See below for the fun to come! We've got some great topics lined up!

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Next week's topic:

Oh, so chivalrous!

Chivalry should not become a lost art and we, as women, ought to step up to the plate a bit more and encourage men to treat us as women, thereby respecting them as men. Do you have tips, ideas, or stories to encourage men to be... men?! Open doors for us, initiate dates, honor us as women, etc? Let's chat! (Thanks to Sarah Thérèse!)

9/16: Online Dating Dos & Don'ts

Not all of us have jumped into the world of online dating, but many of us have! What are those things that we should AND shouldn't do?! If someone you know is considering online dating, how would you encourage him/her? What advice do you have?

9/23: Courtship vs. Dating

It might be easy to say that the pursuit of marriage is the purpose of dating (aka courtship). But, that's not how our culture views dating. Does viewing the person you're dating as a potential spouse add unnecessary pressure on the relationship? In your opinion, is there a difference between dating and courtship? If so, what are those differences?

9/30: Our Makeup Routines

What are your thoughts on wearing make up? Do you see a tension between a pressure from society and a God-given desire to be and make life beautiful? Is your use of make up compatible with the idea that God sees you as naturally beautiful? (Thanks to Bek!)