5 Weekly Graces Vol. 5

Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone!

I hope all of your weeks and weekends were filled with joy and love. Below are a few highlights from mine.

But before that, can we just talk about the gnome shoes that Facebook suggested I might like? While I am thoroughly amused by them (I mean they're hilarious), I am mildly concerned that these are what search engines think I will buy... Too funny.

Here are my graces from this past week (other than the smile brought by the shoe recommendation).

1) Beauty.

I'm fairly certain I won't stay in California after graduating, but sunsets like these definitely cause me to think otherwise... (#nofilter)

2) Laughter.

The main focus of my job is to prepare our student leaders to guide their groups of peers on the different immersion trips that our office runs throughout the school year. We have weekly meetings to help cultivate their ability to lead and talk about specific issues of social justice and how it applies to our immersions.

Normally, at the end of each quarter we take the group out for a dinner to promote group bonding. This time, my boss asked us to look into something a little more fun. And so, my coworker and I decided we would take the students to an indoor trampoline park! It was a ton of fun and the students loved it. There's nothing quite like a group of young adults playing a competitive game of trampoline dodge ball, or diving into a giant foam pit. If there is a trampoline park near you, go! You won't regret it.

Also, those foam blocks are the hardest thing to get out of. I think the majority of our workout that night came from the laughter while we watched one another struggle to clime out of the pit. Hilarious.

3) Song.

My roommate's birthday was on Thursday, so on Friday night we had dinner and another karaoke party at our apartment. I love the joy and friendship that shamelessly singing to songs can bring about. At one point in the night, Whitney Houston's Dance With Somebody came on and the whole room got up and danced together. So much fun.

4) Food and Friends.

Apparently I have a lot of friends with November birthdays, because after the birthday party for my roommate on Friday, Saturday I went to a birthday dinner for another friend. There was great food, meaningful conversation and lots of love poured out that night.

I'm just so grateful for the beautiful community I have found during my time in California. It's hard to believe that my time in grad school is coming to an end.

5) Prayer.

And last on my list of graces for the week is that I have found a new spiritual director who I will start meeting with next month. In the interest of continuing to grow in my faith and spirituality, I have found a desire to seek out a new director and am very excited that the woman I was interested in directing me has some availability this year- she's normally booked solid and much sought after. Spiritual direction is something that I am still trying to get more comfortable with and I greatly look forward to growing toward Christ with a little extra love and guidance.

How were you graced this past week?

Peace,
Sarah

***PS This week I am linking up with Emily from Ember Grey in her Grateful Heart series.