Welcome to Tactical Team

Monday: not too much to report on Monday, everyone was working, so I just went out and worked on my narrative, cleaning grades, and such at a coffee shop. For dinner, Emily and I made some BOMB Caesar salad. Dinner was small on this day, but the conversation was still light and fun. After dinner, some of the C10 students from other houses came over and studied for their final in the living room! A very productive way to end the day.

Tuesday: upon returning from work Tuesday afternoon, I found that Carter drive was blocked off. High five to Shannon for being on top of communication and helping my girls and I find an alternate route to the gray house while that was sorted out. My girls were really flexible and there was no complaint! At all team, a few of us got to connect with Sage and meet her campers, which was awesome! She’s doing a great job. That evening, Savannah spoke about her practicum. It was amazing! She’s so wise and had so many profound thoughts to share. I, in particular, was really impacted by her words on perfectionism and how it can actually be a hindrance to humility and learning.

Wednesday: Before class, Brighten and I went and got coffee at the drip and yapped until 7:50 (but don’t worry, she wasn’t late for Bible)! It was so nice catching up with her. She told me that she’ll be going to Delaware with Emily Gampp for July break. I’m excited for her! She definitely misses home, so this will be a nice reprieve. We also talked about friendship and the dynamic within her room, which was all pretty positive! In the evening, we had the talent show rehearsal and that went well! Alyssa and I got to practice our song (defying gravity) together! Another huge high five to Shannon for coordinating all of that!

Thursday: speaking of the talent show, it went so well! The night was full of so many fun acts! And Nicole and Emily were amazing hosts! Before the talent show though, I had a very real and honest conversation with one of my girls. I won’t get into the details, but it went well and she was very open and honest with me, which I appreciated. Nicole and Shannon were also great support! After all team, I met with my roommates to address the clutter in the attic and that conversation also went well!

Friday/weekend: I ate lunch with the C10 girls before leaving for the weekend to be with my family in VA. Over the weekend, Hope hosted the Dust and Denim dance! There were also a lot of fun movies and hang outs within the home over the weekend.

Lord, over the next few months, may there be more spontaneity, fun, and lightness within the home. Please help me to find new ways to encourage communication and initiative from the girls. Help me to be patient as I continue to set a healthy culture within the home.

This week was a bit different because leaving for the weekend caused me to miss three days within the home. But there are a few notable instances that I will never forget! The first was, on Tuesday, it was so refreshing to hear Savannah share her personal journey with conflict, confrontation, and creativity. I noticed that some of girls were very inspired by her words and put at ease concerning art being grounded in who God made you to be vs who people want you to be.

On Wednesday, I worked 10 hours at Ridgecrest! During that time I got to work with Margaret and she was so encouraging throughout the whole day! I knew we were both tired but I could tell that she refused to give into complacency or half hearted work, and that meant a lot to her coworkers! After work, I was looking for people to hang out with, but most everyone was gone. However, I found Anna folding laundry in the living room while watching Little House on the Prairie. I asked if I could join and we just enjoyed watching something nostalgic and discussing ideas of teenagers as a social construct and liberty without responsibility (at that time, you were either a child or an adult)! Anna is someone who the Lord has given the characteristics of capability and dependency on the him, so it was fun to talk to her about those things! She’s also been helping me personalize my room, so that it doesn’t look like a dungeon and feels more homey, welcoming and like me.

Thursday was primarily wrapped around the talent show. I had the honor of collaborating with Caydance in creating and performing her song. “Metamorphosis” was very personal to Caydance’s heart, concerning jubilee, freedom, and the finished work of the cross. In practicing, Caydance and I both leaned into being unafraid to chase after excellence when it’s for the glory of God, versus ourselves.

On Friday, class was very touching and restful, because it was on the topic of generosity. This was one of the days that I’ve seen my class open up more personality, which made the class time, without a doubt, more fruitful! Speaking of generosity, Margaret grabbed me a boxed lunch from Ridgecrest on this day. I hadn’t had much time to meal prep because of my packed schedule, so her generosity in providing me lunch was greatly appreciated. It also was amazing to experience generosity from my peers, professors, and managers at Ridgecrest so that I could finally see my newborn niece!

For perseverance with communication and collaboration with my home

For overall relationships to grow stronger

For my upcoming practicum to start well

For rest

For more of the four virtues with our home

I succeeded in taking notes throughout the week!

On Monday, house dinner was really sweet. The ladies all shared their high-low-buffalos. We ended up sticking around for an hour after the start of dinner, just hearing about each other's days.

Tuesday was Savannah Lafferty's practicum All Team! It was really inspiring to hear about her practicum, and how God brought her a job that she was really passionate about.

Wednesday for house dinner, we had 10 women, and dinner was burger tacos, which is always a hit! We chatted a bit, but not as long as Monday.

Thursday was the long-anticipated talent show! We were super proud of the women from our house who performed! Felicity sang, while Logan played piano. And Caydance sang a hymn that she wrote, while Hannah played piano. They did a really beautiful and amazing job!

Friday was the Physics Exam for C10, so they were studying and preparing for that.

Over the weekend, a lot of them were busy working, having some movie nights, and completing their cleaning tasks.

• Sleep
• Connection
• Small Team

Admittedly, the cleanliness standard this week has been not well upheld. This is only largely to do with the shifted focus on community and connection. With the new leadership at freedom house, the cohort has already seen a large improvement on isolation and boredom. Noah and I have already hosted several events to invite the men into, and they have revived it well and with encouraging energy.

Pray for the unity of our hearts, may we be readily servants to one another. May we sacrifice our own lives to build up the strength of another. Amen.

Overall, last week was pretty routine from my and Owen's perspectives. The guys who do have a practicum seem to be adjusting to the new season well. The guys who do not have a practicum are actively looking for something.

Help us Lord, to follow you into the abundant Life.

The house is doing very well! Micah and I had our first joint house meeting and just explained to the guys our heart behind our plan this summer and why we're pushing for a lot of togetherness. The guys seemed to receive it well, and we've even already had a few outings with as many guys as we can round up. Everyone who's participated so far has really enjoyed themselves. I'm super excited for our larger trips, and I hope we can get as much participation as possible.

Lord, I pray over the men in this house. I pray for a deep connection, not just with the men in this house, but also with the men of Blue House. I pray for participation and a desire to get to know their brothers on a deeper, more intimate level.