Mmm. I love you :)

Here's a little video I made about Virginia. Richmond is beautiful, and last week was beyond amazing. Can't even describe it!

TeenPact VA from Whitney on Vimeo.

I've talked about Valentine's day before.

I love love.

I do!

See the thing is, lots of people get so sad about Valentine's day

because they feel as though there is no one to share it with.

This is where I disagree.

Read this amazing post on Valentine's day:

will you be my valentine?

Find someone you love.

Your mom, dad, sister, brother, cousin, aunt, uncle, boyfriends, girlfriend,

fiance, husband, wife, friend...etc.

Find someone that means a lot to you and show them some love.

And I mean true love...as in charity.

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

-1 Corinthians 13:13

Happy day of love!

And I'm off....carrying a 50,000 ton suitcase...

So I'm going here next week:

I'll be walking around in my new Clarks (my super uncomfortable heels just weren't gonna cut it, honey), mid-calf length skirts, and a blazer. Of course, that's only what I'll be wearing...what I'll be DOING is walking around with a group of kids (kids a little younger than me, but possibly older) and teaching them about the Virginia Legislature, the Virginia Judicial process, critical thinking, deciphering media for yourself, how a bill becomes a law...and a bunch of other stuff (and really that's just the government part of this amazing ministry. We focus on Christian leadership the most.). But see, I'm not the only one doing that.

This spring, I'm part of a team about 150 people strong. State staffers, traveling staffers (me!), Interns, Program Directors, and then the actual office staff: the people who make it allllll happen. I cannot describe to you how awesome it is to be on this team. I played soccer for one year a loooong time ago. But that's the only sport I've played. Besides that, I haven't really been on a team. But, this team is way better than any sports team. These are the people that not only HOPE the best for you, your life, and your state class but they pray for you. They write you encouraging notes, texts, e-mails. They let you know they have complete faith in you. Returning staffers, the interns, program directors, and the office staff are all willing to help you out if you're stuck on something while preparing for a class. And these people are not only intelligent but they are constantly growing in their relationship with Christ. They encourage everyone around them. It's humbling to actually be included in a group like this! CRAZY!

And I can't believe I get to be a part of that (not the AMAZING part, just the group of people). I get to work closely with these people, and together we get to do our best to 'change lives to change the world' (TeenPact's vision statement...thought I'd sneak it in there).

I get to be a part of this:

AH! and it's so exciting!

Now, the 50,000 ton suitcase:

Packing.

Whitney and Packing.

Yeah.

I like packing...and I'm good at getting stuff in a suitcase.

However, I'm not so good at packing small amounts of clothing.

When I went to TX for staff training, I had to do use the expanding zipper. And then it weighed 54 pounds and I had to take out a pair of boots (apparently I didn't need two pairs of brown lace up boots. whatever.) and a pillow.

Well now I have to do that again. This time I'm packing more clothes (capitol clothes for everyday, and then an extra set for the evening) and I'm going to have to PLAN my outfits! I HATE planning outfits ahead of time. Now, my capitol clothes I plan ahead of time because, well, that makes sense. But casual clothes? I always just throw a bunch of clothes in and make it up as I go! I'm a mood dresser. So how am I supposed to get dressed in something that I don't feel like wearing (I'm not really joking...it's just hard for me okay, y'all? Don't laugh at me). Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. We'll see how I figure this out!

{Also. I'd to note that I'm trying to cut down on my ellipses. I LOVE using that tri-dot little punctuation, but I use it a LOT. I'm going back in my posts and erasing them. I'll keep some because I just love them, but I'm cutting back.}

I'll be out for the next week. Pray for me if you want to, it would be greatly appreciated. I'll try and take some pictures and maybe a video (if I say that on my blog maybe I'll do it and try to figure out this darned iMovie! It ninja chops my brain every time I try to use it!).

Staff Training

Whoa.

All I have to say is whoa.

To say that TeenPact is counter cultural is an understatement. But I love it. Our society doesn't expect much of our teenagers, not only that but our society has come to EXPECT nothing but low standards for our teenagers. She fights with her mom? Eh, she'a teenager. He's doing drugs? Eh, he's a teenager. The list goes on and on. The sad thing is this: what you expect...you get. So we expect nothing of our young adults, ok, now we get nothing from our young adults. That expectation has become the rule and an excuse for all teens to do absolutely nothing. We've become a generation stuck in bed. We do nothing.

TeenPact teaches Christian leadership. So as staff, much is expected of these teens (some as young as 14). Not only are we held to high standards, but these standards are expected to be met, if not exceeded. To me, it's extremely humbling to be put in such a position. It reveals all the areas in my life that I need to grow and improve. So when I say counter cultural...I mean it. We are held to a high standard and are taught to hold our peers to a high standard, as well as ourselves.

And that is just one aspect of TeenPact.

Staff training was eye-opening on so many levels. We were taught practical skills; we were challenged in our relationship with Christ. We're taught the importance of friendships: we're supposed to encourage each other constantly and keep each other accountable. And y'all, I was pushed...shoved...forced out of my comfort zone on so many occasions. It was good for me!

There's so much more, and if I were a very good writer...I would write for hours about TeenPact and it's mission:

The mission of TeenPact is to train youth to understand the political process, value their liberty, defend the Christian faith, and engage in the culture at a time in their lives when typically, they do not care about such things.

(that was from memory! if it's wrong...correct me. if any of my grammar is wrong...correct me. BUT I HAVE IT MEMORIZED! WOOHOOOO!!!!)

I actually did not take many pictures because we were just that busy. But here are a few: