My life should be a movie...

This week has been a very interesting week! It started off with my birthday which was a lot of fun, but there have been some happenings throughout the week that are so absurd!  I was planning on converting my NY license to a DC license on Monday, but once I got to the DMV I realized it was closed.  On Wednesday we photo copied my license at work for record purposes and the next day when I went to leave for the DMV I realized that I had lost my license.  No joke...I really have no idea where it is! I retraced my steps and had everyone I ran into praying, but it didn't turn up!  Being the optimistic person that I am I decided to go back to the DMV with the photocopy of my license and the other paperwork I had.  Once I got there I took one look at the lady behind the counter and realized that I was not going to be able to get a license that easily! Not only did she say they don't accept photocopied license's, she informed me that while the website said otherwise I need my birth certificate or my passport in order to get a new license.  Well...funny thing is that I lost my passport in the move from NY to DC and my birth certificate is MIA!!! So, I decided that I would just file for a new passport and then use that to get my license, but you need a birth certificate to do that!  This is where the story could either frustrate me or make me laugh...I am choosing to laugh because although it is more difficult for me to get a new license now, it is not impossible and there are greater problems in the world!  If there is one thing I have learned here it is that!  I ordered a driving abstract from NY, filed a report about my lost license, filed a report about my lost passport and then found out that my parents found a copy of a certificate of my birth which will surely help me get my passport or an identification card!  The clincher is that I am coming home on a plane in less than a month and I'm pretty sure ID is required for that!

You're probably thinking that's the end of my story, but it's not!  Thursday night after the DMV extravaganza I worked until close at Ebenezers!  After work I went to eat with a friend and we decided to go to Good Stuff Eatery.  I wasn't aware of this, but Spike from Top Chef owns the restaurant and it is pretty much a block away from my house!  Spike was there Thursday night, Spike talked to us Thursday night, Spike took a picture with us Thursday night!  The picture was taken on my friend's camera and the next day she could not find it anywhere (I'm not kidding).  While I was walking home yesterday I stopped back into Good Stuff Eatery and Spike was there again! He remembered me and searched all over for her camera! When he couldn't find it he took a new picture with me and gave me his card...

Want another reason why I feel like my life is a movie? Take one look at this picture and think about the fact that I walk past it everyday and I think you'll understand....

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

a year older

I had a great 21st birthday and it's not a blur like some 21st birthday experiences! I had a lot of fun at work...we went to the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute's Ripley Center. It was great to walk around and learn more about his life, his work and his outlook!  I also received a delivery of cupcakes to my desk from my family and that was a great surprise and they tasted so good.  The funny thing is that they sent the cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake and I went there on Monday with a friend, but they weren't open so I wasn't sure when I was going to get a chance to taste the famous cupcakes!  What a great birthday treat!  

After work my roommates took me out for dinner at a great restaurant and we had a lot of fun! The waitress was very nice and she was enjoying the fact that it was my 21st! The food was good and it was great to be there with my roommates!  After that I went out with some people from work and ended the night enjoying Irish music at The Dubliner...and the man sang Happy Birthday to me!  It was a lot of fun!! I will always remember my 21st birthday! Although I missed being with my family it was great to spend it with my new DC family!!!

last minutes being 20

So, it is almost September 16th and that means that I am almost one year older! It's kind of crazy because I remember turning 20 almost a year ago and I never thought that a year later I would be sitting on my pink and blue plaid bed in a house on E St. SE in Washington, DC, but here I am!  Today was another great day in the life of Erin Holahan! I worked from 8-2 at Ebenezers and then went to Georgetown with a friend from work!  Our goal was to go to the DMV to renew my license and switch it to a DC license, but we found out that the DMV is closed on Mondays! Our original mission was not accomplished, but we had good food and a great time together! Then I took the metro to Pentagon City (by myself) and met Crissa (one of my roommates) at the mall! We shopped around for awhile and when our feet grew tired and we accomplished all we wanted to accomplish (and more) we decided to head home.  We got home to the rest of our roommates cooking in the kitchen and we enjoyed each other for awhile, chatting and making food.  It was nice to have everyone together...that doesn't happen often! Crissa and I are waiting until midnight to open a bottle of wine and welcome in the beginning of my 21st year of life (and what a life it has been)!

Birthdays are a great way to remember and reflect on the past and I have to say that I feel so blessed! I have the greatest gifts anyone can ask for and they cannot be bought...I have family and friends who love me and a God who continues to astound me!  There were so many cards and packages waiting for me today when I got home and I am just truly touched by everyone who I have had the chance to "do life" with (as Pastor Mark always says) these 21 lovely years!

Praise God! I love birthdays because I can't help but feel an overwhelming gratitude to God for life, my heart just feels more full and aware of the love that is around me!

Love to all! Cheers!

no homework?

There isn't much going on that is new, but I guess that's probably because I'm getting used to the area and my responsibilities so the "new" stuff isn't so "new" anymore! That's a good thing because it means that I am settling into this new life! Tonight I am heading over to another Protege's house for dinner with the rest of the protege's and that should be a lot of fun!  I'm looking forward to just getting to know everyone better and spend some time with them! One thing that is still weird for me is that I don't have any homework when I come home from work.  It is really relaxing to come home after work and be DONE...I don't bring it with me!  I have had some great time to just enjoy my house and rejuvenate after work! I love to be at work, but when I can come home and do nothing it feels really good!   Sorry to all of you that are still in school...just wait til you know how it feels to not have any homework! I guess I never realized how much of a burden it was to have homework, but now that I don't have any to do it feels like I have so much more time!

Well, that's about it for now! Happy Friday! :)

directed steps

"In his heart a man plans his course,

 but the Lord determines his steps."

     ~Proverbs 16: 9

I have thought about this verse in various contexts and clung to its meaning, but the beginning of this chapter is something that just struck me while reading through this passage once again:

"To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.  All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.  Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.  The Lord works out everything for his own ends."

 

These verses can be relevant in many circumstances, but today I feel that they are particularly coming alive in a new way in my life.  The plans that we can make seem innocent because they are only plans that we are not positive will ever come to fruition, but those plans succeed in the hands of God.  Today was an example of my own man made plans and dreams succeeding because I committed them to the Lord.  Today was my first day as a Protege of NCC and I am absolutely overwhelmed, not by information or work, but by joy and excitement!  I am so pumped to be a part of such an amazing team that loves one another with the heart of God. There are some great things happening at NCC and one thing that Pastor Mark said today is that he doesn't want to ever get comfortable because God can do so much more! The church grows in order to give and I just agree so much with the vision and purpose of NCC that I feel so blessed to be a part of what God is doing through them and in each person!

Praise God for a great first day! I go to bed again tonight with the overwhelming feeling that I have to remember every moment and every emotion of every day because I am living in a dream, God is directing my steps...it feels like this experience is a response to the cry of my heart and I can't keep from smiling and thanking! 

seeing God with new eyes

"New places open us up to new experiences.  They get us out of our routine and help us see God with new eyes."

This is an excerpt from Mark Batterson's newest book Wild Goose Chase.  I have been reading this in my spare time...which has not been much, but I have been blessed and this sentence stuck out to me.  Washington, DC has helped me see God with new eyes!  I haven't blogged in awhile purely because I have been non-stop busy!  I arrived a little over a week ago and it already feels like I've been here for an eternity because a million dreams are coming true before my eyes. The weird thing is that as things happen it feels like a dream I never dreamt is coming true, if that makes any sense.  What I am involved in and experiencing here speaks to the depths of my heart and grips me in a way that prompts gratitude and awe.  I find myself laying in bed at night saying "Thank you, God...Thank you, God..." until I fall asleep! That is a great feeling!

 There are so many things to write about, but I guess I'll address the major ones!

1. My roommates are amazing! We had a house meeting tonight and we started in prayer (enough said).  The girl I share the second floor with is great and we have a lot in common...one thing being coffee.  We just put a coffee pot between our bedrooms so that we don't have to walk downstairs to get coffee in the morning!

2.  National Community Church is great and everyone is so welcoming! I start the protege program tomorrow, but I've already had so much fun hanging out and getting to know people!

3.  Ebenezers puts a huge smile on my face!  I have spent a lot of time working at and sitting at Ebz and it is so amazing! I feel home when I'm there and I can't believe I just started a week ago, it's crazy! My mentor is the manager and she is so sweet and helpful!

4. The metro is something that is growing on me and I am taking steps to feeling confident on it!

5. I can walk just about EVERYWHERE!

6. Convoy of Hope was amazing despite the postponement due to Hurricane Hanna.  

Speaking of Convoy, I was so blessed to be a part of such a huge outreach event, joining with so many other churches and organizations to touch the lives and bring hope to those that don't have much at all!  It was so great to see people smiling and enjoying themselves and it really opened my eyes to see God in a different way.  I so enjoyed watching people interact and smile and it was such a mixture of ethnicities and backgrounds that I can't help but think that God smiles whenever he sees boundaries between people deteriorate in His name!  Praise God for the 10,000 + people who waited in line to enjoy the various parts of the Convoy and praise God for the 1,000 ish volunteers who got sweaty and dirty to bless others and were blessed in return! It opened my eyes to see the pain of others and to see the struggles that other people face!  Someone said that the only difference between those in poverty and those that are wealthy is that the pain of those in poverty is visible to everyone else while the wealthy can afford to hide the same pain.  It takes a day like Sunday to remember that there aren't any differences, just perspectives and attitudes.  I walk down the streets more aware of the suffering around me and my passion to help others was only magnified through this event!  It was way bigger than myself or anyone else and that is why it was so amazing because it was all to the glory of God!

Even hurricanes don't stop God's plans...in fact, God uses hurricanes to accomplish His perfect plan!  I'm amazed and overwhelmed with happiness!  I have so much more to write, but that will have to wait until next time (which I promise will be soon) because I need to sleep!  BIG day tomorrow!