project 365: day oo6.

day oo6: stacy

so today i went to my favorite adopted sisters' soccer game, Miss Hailey and Miss Hannah Havelind. although i think their family would claim i'm the adopted one. anyway, there i am sitting on the bleachers wondering who i could meet. there's a lady sitting by herself next to me and i feel it on my heart that she's the one (not like "the one" like my soulmate but my one for the day, but you got that). so time keeps passing by and im watching the game and i keep letting the minutes roll on. i start to think to myself "well im going somewhere later so maybe she's not the person." so i keep watching the game. but then i decide "no, she's it." so i wait 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then after the half...

...then my phone goes off and i get this text from a friend:

"procrastination is like masturbation. at first it feels good, but in the end you're only screwing yourself."

wow! it was like a text message straight from God! (more or less) but man it's what i needed. i turned straight to her and started talking about the game and learned her daughter plays on the team and her son is touring the country and canada playing hockey and some other cool stuff.

as time goes by i see that there is no shortage of people on God's part but only a shortage of courage on mine. those few seconds before i turn to someone to start the conversation i feel as if i wanna throw up and die. but with each word that comes out, fear leaves the body. i see this stage of my project as preparation for the next. with time it will get easier to take those first steps and my courage will become bolder. and im learning i won't die!

project 365: day oo5.

day oo5: corrine

every day i go to school i walk about 15 minutes to get to my car. a lot of other students do too in order to avoid parking fees. its a straight shot to school. along the way dozens of other students pass me by or dawdle behind. well today there was a girl a few steps behind me and i felt as if she and i were walking at a good in-sync pace (you know, not so fast that you look like youre trying to get to the bathroom but not slow enough where you look like youre fighting an invisible person just to take the next step. i guess fast enough to get where youre trying to go.) anyway, i turned around and asked her if she would like to walk to school together.

luckily she said yes and we exchanged names. i walked with corrine and talked to her for about 10 minutes. we talked about school mostly and plans for the future (although neither one of us knows what we wanna do when we "grow up") which i guess is what i learned from my project today.

i can honestly say right now i dont have a clue what i wanna be in the future. the only thing i know for sure is who i wanna be.

someone who can be honest even when the truth is hard to get out.

someone you can call at anytime knowing they'd do whatever it took to help you.

someone who can talk to anyone no matter what the circumstance. (im still learning)

and most importantly someone who just kicks ass at life trying to change the world, put a smile on someone's face and live each day in the glory of God's love.

project 365: day oo4.

day oo4: elaine

have you ever known someone for years but one day get the feeling that youre meeting them for the first time? well thats what happened to me today...

...with my dental hygienist.

so there i am sitting in the chair waiting to have my teeth worked on. and i decide this is it, this will be my person for the day. as elaine prepared the tools i sat there and asked her about her thanksgiving and other things. it became rather difficult when the numbing paste started to kick in and drool started falling down the side of my mouth, but i was committed to the conversation. well when i asked her her name and introduced myself i felt kinda retarded when she said "ya, youve been coming here since you were a little girl."

and again, that's the reason for all of this. because sometimes you never take enough time to know the people who've known you for years. the people you've seen countless times. the people who've seen the inside of your mouth.

project 365: day oo3.

day oo3: maria

so once again i woke faced with the challenge. my favorite time of the week is here. the mornings i get to serve in the two-year-old room at church. i honestly wish i could put into words the joy i feel when i get to see their beautiful faces sunday mornings. through the tantrums and screams God still continues to give me love for them and show me his love in return.

during service i learned my pastor was diagnosed with leukemia. listening to his family speak of his illness and his vision through his sickness made me realize how much his message has touched my life. pastor dave has always spoke of leading an authentic life. its not about the works or the sins, its about building relationships to bring people to know freedom through Christ.

thats where i was at today. i knew this journey would be tough but i have a vision to get me through the pain of transformation. i want to lead the most authentic non-bullshit life i can.

so, my person for the day. i honestly can say i would have never met them if it werent for the help of my best friend Karissa. we were on a mission. at times it felt like this was never gonna happen but prayer and perseverance got us through. we met up at 9pm hoping to meet someone at RA. then its 10pm and it seems the only people out are couples. its 10:30pm and we go to yardhouse. again with the couples. so we decide to go for coffee. unfortunately nothings open. except....7/11. we go to 7/11 to get coffee but the machine seems to be getting worked on and we decide to try am pm. theres a lady working and finally i say screw it and strike up conversation with her. and sure enough...it was hard and awkward. we talked to maria about where she lived and her son and what he wanted to do after high school. pretty much awkward small talk, but at this point ill take it.

but you know what, sometimes you just gotta sit in that awkwardness to get somewhere. i know this will get easier and im learning people will start to open up if you truly care.

right now the thing getting me through this all is faith. faith that im being prepared for something much greater. faith that this journey will have a much bigger outcome than i could have ever imagined. and faith that God will ignite a fire in me that will give me the courage to step out each day knowing his will is being done.

"may God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that we may live from deep within our hearts."

project 365: day oo2.

oo2: connor.

so today i woke up at 9 am wondering how i was going to meet someone new. then i went back to sleep. i woke up at 12 pm had the same thought...then went back to sleep. i woke up at 3 pm had the same thought, yep....and took a shower. i sat in the house all day thinking about (and partially avoiding) my commitment. saturdays are gonna be tough. but as saturday nights usually go i went out with some friends. i think i met like five new people today. but one in particular that i got to have a conversation with (since thats what the plan is). i met a guy named connor who grew up in my same city and even went to the same high school.

it got me thinking about how people can grow up in the same house their whole life and not know their neighbor down the street...or even right next door. with this i kind of realized how there is now no way i could not possibly meet a new person everyday. im not sure how to approach my neighbors without sounding like a door-to-door salesperson (or crazy person) but im sure it'll come to that one day. and what an awkward day it will be!

project 365: day oo1.

oo1: mary lou.

So today i woke up thinking "oh great...here we go." all i had planned today was christmas decorating with my family. and i thought again "where am i going to meet a new person?"

well i got up threw on some sweats and went out the house makeup-free thinking i would find someone later tonight. well when i get in my car i realize the gas light's on (not that thats unusual but its been like that for three days). so i go to the gas station and as im pumping gas i see an older lady with another woman walking around looking for bottles in the trash cans. i remember i had a few bottles in my car and i think "ok maybe this is my chance" so i grab the bottles and walk up to the lady and hand them to her. she says thank you and i say have a nice day.

that was a conversation right?

thats what i tried to tell God, thinking i could convince him that i had met my person for the day. well knowing that wasn't good enough, i look in my trunk and find another bottle and an extra bag. so i walk up to the lady again and i hand her the bag and bottle. and ill tell you...that lady was so thankful for the extra bag and bottle she started telling me how she lived by herself and had three children and that the girl with her was her disabled daughter who she has to drive to a care facility cause shes 74 and cant take care of her on her own and how her other children didnt even wish her a happy thanksgiving and how shes collecting bottles to pay to fix her car.

i stood there just listening to her story and let her tell me anything and everything she wanted to. and im realizing how much the hand of God was working in that moment. i asked for her name and she said Mary Lou. as i stuck out my hand to introduce myself she grabbed me and pulled me in for a hug and kiss on the cheek. this lady who i talked to for maybe 3 minutes filled me with so much gratefulness and love. she was so thankful for me giving her 3 bottles and a plastic bag and here i am thinking just how thankful i was to have met her.

this morning i woke up thinking "shit, i posted that stupid blog last night telling people about this project...maybe no one read it." but God never ceases to show me he's present in my life and can provide strength beyond measure.

365 project.

"Nope. No way. Nah-uh. Sorry God. That’s not me."

This is the conversation I had driving today. After realizing a hopefully fleeting idea was actually the voice of God.

One person. Everyday. For one year.

Meet a stranger and have a conversation everyday for 365 days. That seemed like a cool idea…for someone else. As quickly as the idea entered my head, God slapped me across the face with reality. So hard in fact I could only cry out of fear. So there I sat, crying with the task at hand. Saying, “No not me, that was just an idea.” But an idea became a calling that is now a responsibility. But more than a responsibility, an opportunity. A chance to meet real people. A chance to stretch myself and my limits. A chance for others to stretch their limits.

You see at first this was all about me. “God where am I going to meet a new person everyday? Some days I sit inside and eat peanut butter straight from the jar. What if they don’t want to talk to me? What if I don’t know what to say?”

Then I stopped myself and realized my needs were at the center of each question. Or at least I thought I knew what my needs were. But when I put that aside and turned the focus to others, I knew any need of mine would be met through God’s strength and plan for my life.

So. Here I am. Writing this now. Asking for strength. I am taking this opportunity and meeting someone new everyday for the next year. I expect some funny, sketchy, heartbreaking, life changing but nonetheless interesting stories to come from this plan of action. I am committed to meet a new person and have a conversation with them everyday. Now, I’m not sure what that looks like yet and I’m sure it won’t get off to a smooth start but I’ll learn along the way. And I’m committed to writing about each person I meet and our conversation everyday as well.

I’m not gonna lie…I’m scared shitless right now. But I can only take each day as it comes and pray to God I don’t die.

-Ericka Ashley

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”