Christmas is about presence. Sometimes it involves someone taking your Christmas Card picture at a McDonald's drive-thru.

It's true. The guy at the McDonald's drive-thru took this year's Christmas card picture. Needless to say we got more than a meal - we made a memory. A weird random chicken strips and french fry one.

Merry Christmas from a random McDonald's drive-thru 

 After eating our chicken, we decided to frolic amongst the Christmas trees in an adjacent parking lot and sing Christmas carols. The girls said they had never been to a christmas tree lot and had only seen one in the movies. So, I suggested we make a Blockbuster Christmas film, pretend it was snowing and weave among the trees. 

                                              Christmas Card Movie and Card to you :-)

Something my neighbors are teaching me is that the most precious gifts we give each other are not contained in a a box. They are: Jesus, our time and ourselves.  That was the reason I bought my little Bri-Bri (neighbor and girl I tutor)  I love Jesus stickers and a friendship bracelet as they symbolize our prayers and friendship as what I treasure most. They point to the greater gifts. 

Christmas is all about a God who gave time, presence and his very self to be with us and save us. Jesus, our Emmanuel. Savor the gift of his presence the whole year through. 

A heartfelt Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Jenny and the Casa Crew

 

  

Jesus said to the disciples "Come have breakfast". So we do. Sometimes it involves bacon.

Charity is giving food from your table, Justice is giving someone a seat at your table.
In many cultures, eating at the kitchen table  represents something significant about a relationship; it is more than merely sharing a meal. I tend to agree based on memories of 6th grade during lunch at Middle School. Where you sat and who you ate with said something about your identity, social standing and status.

On Sunday mornings at Casa del Sol, we like to make room for the new kid and if you show up at the right time bacon may also factor into the equation.

Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord.

John 21:12

It is official. Breakfast is in the bible. Jesus ate breakfast and called his disciples to eat with him. This is one passage of scripture I have been able to seriously apply to my own life - I love breakfast.  However, today it involved an english muffin and coffee, not grilled fish.
Come to think of it, a lot of what Jesus did ministry wise happened during a meal, out of a decision to share a meal with others, or the significance of a meal such as the Last Supper. This makes sense as meals are every day ways of sharing life with others and ministry often happens during the times you choose to just show up and sit beside someone.
In heaven, scriptures indicates we will have a large supper of some kind and secretly I hope this involves breakfast food. Maybe bacon.

Never Underestimate the Power of a Sharpie....Doodling in Jesus name

Sharpies have transformed my Sunday mornings. 

You see, Pinterest, Lizzie Casey and the marker loving kids in my neighborhood inspired me to "get my art on" and doodle during sermon time. So I did. Then we all did.

Creatively expressing spiritual truths helps things both come alive and stick to my brain. And as a visual learner, let's be honest...it keep my mind from wandering and the temptation to jot my to do list in the margin during the sermon. It is becoming the latest trend and so all the cool kids are doing it.   

Sharing our drawings one Sunday Morning

   

Eating Watermelon One Bite at a Time and Glitter, Apologizing with Flare

Eating Watermelon one Bite at a Time

Below is a video of the Watermelon show, a highly entertaining infomercial which explains the proper way to devour a melon produced by three spunky girls.

Glitter, Apologizing with Flare

One. Maybe two if they are little.
That is how many people fit in the papason chair.
When my bookshelf suffered a lethal blow due to the instability of the overflowing chair, a rule had to be made. To be fair, I am partly to blame. Caught up in my exuberance I invited 8 children and 3 adults to my one bedroom apartment after church to watch a movie. Out of this experience I have learned two valuable lessons:

1. If there are more than 4 children in my home, they will try to steal barbecue sauce from my fridge, scare my cat and things will go south. For the love of all that is good in this world, remember the number 4.

2. Go to the park after sitting in church. Set the children free.

After breaking my flimsy $30 dollar bookshelf, several hours later the girls responsible left a peace offering at my stoop. So...how do you say, "I am sorry I broke your bookshelf?". A card?
Nope.
A random abandoned piece of wood covered in nail polish and glitter sparkles.
Yes.

In a way, their quirky present reminds me of the gospel. Unexpected beauty emerging out of brokenness. Jesus, full of glory, who died for us on a rugged wooden cross.

       

Making things right in the World one Mason Jar at a time. P.S. Miss Jenny, I want to be a pastor

At dusk I caught the kids playing in the parking lot as I arrived home. Some of the kids pretended to be drunk people trying to catch the scattered bunch. The girl who thought up this version of tag said, "We need to learn how to get away from bad people." Unfortunately, I think this version may be based on true circumstances for some of them.

This seemed so wrong. 

So, in my southern way to make things right in the world I grabbed a mason jar from my closet and helped the kids collect fireflies under the shadows of the street lights. One girl, who relocated from Mexico several months ago, had never caught them. We got three. Apparently they were all girls according to Briana.
As a side note, we had 9 kids show up for breakfast last Sunday. One of them is Chris. This 3rd grader sticks out because he arrives 30 min early, always wears a suit, and has slicked back gel covered hair. Apparently, he wakes up early to come to church but is late for school. Recently, he began to make his parents say grace before their meals. His parents told me this when we visited their home. Attached is a video of Chris confessing to me that he wants to be a pastor. He is definitely making his mark on the world as last week he invited his two cousins to come with us to church. He is pretty much adorable. 

Will you twitter me?

"Jenny, will you twitter me?" inquired the random kid in my neighborhood.
To which I replied, "Um, you mean tutor you?"
"Yeah, tutor me. I need help with my homework," she quipped.

In my community, this is a common question I am asked by kids and parents alike, which speaks to the need. Fortunately, just as one twitter or tutoring program lost funding, Community Hope, an academic mentoring program through the YMCA,  offered to help out my neighborhood. It is through this program I met Briana.

Briana, is a spunky Kindergartner I mentored twice a week this year,  who is also my neighbor who's home I can see from my porch. She is addicted to Takis, knows most of the words to the Taylor Swift song Blank Space, wears high heels and carries around my cat. During mentoring we pray together, share snacks and had a spontaneous dance party in the hallway when she read her first book.

Though this program has greatly helped kids academically, the reality is there is a constant wait list of students who are yet to receive the help they need.

Attached is a few pictures of Briana along with a short video from the end of the year banquet for Community Hope featuring some awesome dance moves.

It takes a village to raise a child...or pick strawberries

11 kids + 6 friends + 2 moms from my apartment complex + a couple of prayers =
                                                                                tearing up a berry field one bite basket at a time

                                                    Short clip from our strawberry picking

The strawberry picking crew :-)