New blog recommendations.

Hey friends,

I wanted to recommend a couple of new blogs on the market:

• ruminations

• love letters

Instead of describing them here, I will let you go & see...

Enjoy!

Kansas City weekend.

Some of my BFFs and I had a wonderful weekend in Kansas City. We went out to visit Jensie, and to meet her new little baby Marlo. We also got the added bonus of meeting Natalie's boyfriend, Dave, and Meredith's friend Michelle. There were actually quite a few first time meetings throughout the weekend & I am praising God for all these connections among great people.

A good day in Chicago.

A good day in Chicago yesterday:

• Hung out with Lois; always edifying conversations.
• Met up with my big brother @ L'Appetito, just a few blocks east of the agency.  He was feeling a little sick, but it was great to see him.
  
• A casting for a German sportswear catalog.  I haven't been into Elite in a while, so it was really good to see some of the other models & agents.
• Lois & I went up to Wicker Park to see Stacy, the girl I worked with at the Bridal show.  We walked Stacy to work, then stopped by Cafe de Luca for soup & coffee.
  
• Fun time on Amtrak hanging out with the crew in the Cafe Car.
• A happy birthday phone talk with my big sister.

L.xo

Running Cafe Aroma.

Hey friends,

Cafe Aroma, where I'm working, is run by The Vineyard church, and the pastor right now is kind of the general manager. However, he has a lot going on, and he has started talking to me about taking on more of the manager role, so he wouldn't have to be concerned with the day-to-day business of it. I told him that I couldn't do it without Cathy, the amazing woman I work with (we complement each other well & make a great team), so plans are now brewing (pun intended) for Cathy & I to try our hand at running the cafe next semester.

L. xo

P.S. Brandon, thank you for your letter in the mail. I really liked it, and it helped me think through some of my blogging issues. I love old-fashioned mail.

News.

Hello friends,

You are my audience. My friends & family who want to know what is going on with me. And please, if you read what I write, and are glad to have read it, leave me comments. I think when this becomes what feels like a one-sided conversation it's discouraging. Thanks!

Some news items:

• We moved to a new apartment through Keith's resident manager job, and it is wonderful. It's a two-bedroom that's over twice the size of our place at Lamoine Village. It really feels like I am a woman with a home. We are still just praising God for it. He taught us so much about contentment in our last two tiny places, and we are so thankful for that. Now it feels like our territory has been expanded.
• Keith is the new worship leader at the Vineyard church here in Macomb. They lost their former worship leader a few months ago, so one Sunday Keith and I guest-led worship there. To make a long story short, they loved us & created a paid position for Keith as the Sunday morning worship leader. It was hard to leave the Crossing, but the guys there commissioned us with all the best wishes; praise God.
  
• We first got to know the folks at the Vineyard when I started working at Cafe Aroma a few months ago. I was in the market for a local coffeehouse job and some good friends of mine had worked there in the past. So when they needed some help, I volunteered & it was a great fit. Cafe Aroma is run by the Vineyard church. I've had a vision for coffeehouse ministry for probably close to ten years, so this was a neat opportunity for me. Right now I'm working Tuesday through Friday 11a to 2p, and we often play music there on Friday nights for Open Mic. So come by & visit sometime.
• Speaking of Cafe Aroma, Nate & Mere's band Leaving the Boats came & played an amazing show there on October 24th.
  
• I was in this movie with Shia LaBeouf.
  
• I got myself a new Moleskine journal & I love it.
  

Love,
L. xo