The past few weeks...

So much has been happening lately! And every time I think that I should post a blog about something, I get distracted by something NEW! So I thought I would give a brief overview of my life as of the last few weeks.

Lets see, where was I? Well, since I last posted, I was given two FREE tickets to the CMA Festival (Country Music Heaven!) by my wonderful roommate! It was crazy to see how huge the event was, and I even got to see Brooks and Dunn and then Reba perform before it got rained out. So that was awesome!

Things at Mercy have been really busy. Although I don’t do much planning type of stuff, I get to sit in on the planning meetings, which has been so cool. I definitely feel like I am gaining some insight on event planning. There is a 5k coming up in October that will benefit the Nashville home… I’m really trying to make it back up so that I can run in it! Check out this link to see a picture of the planning committee… These women are amazing! http://twitpic.com/7sv34

This last weekend there was a HUGE charity softball event, hosted by Jeff Fischer, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He and the Titans are long time supporters of Mercy… they donate $10,000 per win! So everyone at Mercy really loves the Titans! The event was a huge success, with a much larger turn out than in years past. Since Mercy was one of the beneficiaries, I got to go and man the booth! It was reeeeaally hot. Although I’m sure that those of you in Florida feel no pity for me! Check out a picture (and Nancy Alcorn’s Blog) of the event here at http://nancyalcorn.blogspot.com/ I’m in a picture in the slide show… go ahead and laugh at how short I am! I know, I’m tiny!

As of today, I have some exciting news… I got a haircut. I feel so Nashville.

(Ok Lindsay, you called it, I just had to blog about it!)

And tonight was awesome. After work Lindsay, Stacie and I went to a Songwriter showcase with her parents at the Rutledge in downtown Nashville. As I’m sure you can all imagine, I was psyched to be checking out the music scene! Not only did I get to hear some awesome music (Audrey Assad, check her out, this girl’s got some pipes http://www.myspace.com/audreyassadsings !!) I also ran into a friend from my small group in Tallahassee that is interning in Nashville for the summer, too. Too weird! I mean, what are the chances?? Anyway… Things are going great. I really do love it here. And everyday is an adventure!

Danas-Double-Take

The fireflies were out tonight. They reminded me of a rafting trip I went on when I was in middle school. That was the first time I had been to Tennessee. I remember being astonished that the sun didn’t set until nine, and that a subtle coolness moved in with the evening air. And the fireflies were pretty great too. They floated a couple feet above the ground, clumsily bobbing up and down, here and there; disappearing after every flash of light. Now, just like then, they capture my wandering attention.

Nostalgia runs pretty thick this time of dusk. I can’t seem hold myself in this moment for long. I keep thinking about what’s next. I don’t want to go home. Mostly because I can’t figure out where home is. I feel again the aching of uncertainty. All at once I’m fifteen again. Moving cities; Missing friends; Lost in the middle of everything changing. I remember exactly what it felt like then.

I remember the pain of moving as a teenager, lost in my own little world. One day after moving to Tampa, my mom gave me a CD and a card. The CD was Shane and Shane ‘Upstairs’. I still love the Shanes, even though I lost the CD a while back. I remember feeling understood and comforted. A spark of hope. A small encouragement. It means a lot to be understood.

I know I can’t hold on to the past. I can barely get a grip on now. And yet, every time I think about what the future holds, I am torn between chasing every possibility, leaping towards the adventure I want for myself, and wanting to curl up in bed and hide from whatever ‘next step’ I need to take.

Tonight I was trying to understand myself. Why can’t I just pick something to want and chase it? Where ever I go, I know I’m going to feel homesick. For people, for places, for just the warm-blanket feeling of Home.

Tonight as the sun went down behind the big tree in the yard, the birds stopped chirping for a moment and let the crickets take full stage. ‘Maybe this feels like home.’ I thought.

After thinking all of this through, I stood up and walked back inside. Connie was standing in the kitchen. She had brought me a something from her work. At WorldVision, they have artists support their ministry by encouraging their fans to sponsor children. And Shane and Shane happen to be one of their best supporters.

‘I thought you might like this CD,’ She said.

It was Shane and Shane ‘Upstairs’. When I saw it, my eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t believe it was the same CD. I remembered the compassion that my mom had shown me as a teenager, and the peace I had felt knowing that in my confusion, God would be glorified. Connie's act of kindness reminded me of that. And in this season, I have that same confidence.

Last night, Point of Grace performed a private concert for those that raised the most money through the Run For Mercy (www.runformercy.com) event in April. Staff (and luckily for me, Interns) were invited to come enjoy the concert as well! I have never been a huge fan of Point of Grace, but I first heard about Mercy at one of their concerts, so I was excited to go and see it.

The girls were awesome! They have had an amazing career so far and it just comes from the fact that they are such talented women! Check out the link to see them on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ny6CelLPlM This is their new single!

Dana-Down-Town

I have not begun compiling a list of reasons that Franklin is a great area to live, but if I had, this picture would make the top of the list.



Today, Stacie and Lindsay (New Mercy Intern/Friend) and I met up in down town Franklin for some cupcakes and window shopping. Such a cute area! If I ever get to open up a bakery, I'd want it to look and feel and TASTE a lot like this place!

http://www.franklinmercantile.com/

There is a Starbucks, antique book store, several ice cream shops, and cute little boutiques with over priced clothing, cook ware and accessories. Everything a picturesque down town needs!


Note: In other news, I have resorted to taking pictures of things on my phone and sending them to my email. Actually, its working out fine... its just a little odd.

Dana-And-The-Boss

Yesterday, Nancy was speaking at the girls’ home and let the staff know that all were invited to sit in, if they had time to spare. Being that I’m an intern without too many pressing responsibilities (and all I really HAVE is time), I got to go. I was really excited to hear Nancy speak.

Nancy is in and out of town all the time. She travels a lot, speaking at different conferences and checking up on different Mercy Homes around the world. What a crazy lifestyle!

I was wondering, kind of hopefully, if she would recognize me. I have been interning at Mercy for over a month and have only even seen Nancy one other time. Needless to say, she didn’t see me. Although I expected for a repeat of the last time she saw me, I knew that Coach Sue (FSU’s women’s basketball coach and Nancy’s BFF4L) was in town, too. Since Sue was the reason I even got the internship at Mercy, I was thinking that my chance of being acknowledged by one or both of these awesome ladies was better than average.

As soon as I walked over to the home (I intern at the corporate office next door), I was greeted by the house manager. I introduced myself and stepped inside, feeling pretty awkward, unsure of where I should stand and who I should talk to. I took a couple steps into the foyer and a girl introduced herself to me as a new summer intern at the home! I was really excited to meet her and know that I wasn’t the only newby.

We made our way into the conference-room-area and sat down. Not long after, Nancy appeared in the door way along with Coach Sue and two girls from the FSU basketball team.

Haha, at this point I was trying to pretend like I didn’t care that Nancy and Sue were there when I just really wanted to jump up and say, “Hey!! Hey! Remember me?! Remember when we met that one time?!!” Did I mention how intimidating this woman is?

I was playing it cool. Haha! THEN… Nancy said, “Is Dana Crow in here?”

“I’m right here,” I said. I was sitting, literally, right next to where she was standing.

“Oh! Hi, I didn’t recognize you!” She gave me a hug and then reintroduced me to Sue and the basketball girls. They were there checking out Mercy to see if they would want to intern next summer. I was so excited that Nancy acknowledged me. And that definitely would have been enough. But theeenn….

Nancy walked to the front of the room. There were about 40 residents, plus ten or fifteen of the staff present. She began by telling the crazy God-story of how Nancy and I met on FSU’s campus.* It was cool to hear Nancy’s side of the story. THEN, she asked my director, Whitney to come up and tell a little about what I do as an intern. I was sitting there thinking that it was crazy that Nancy was spending so much time talking about me, when all of a sudden, Whitney said, “Dana, would you like to come up and say something?’

Uuuhh. Seriously? Hah!

I wasn’t sure if Whitney was just trying to be polite or find an easy way to end this little segment about me, or if she really wanted me to come up there.

“Do you want me to?” I said.

“If you want to.” She said. Oh my gosh. So, I decided to go up front and say… something. I guess that it’s usually better to take your chances in this sort of situation than to not say anything just because you’re scared.

So Whitney handed me the mic. (I think the microphone made me more nervous than anything. I mean, really? It seems a little unnecessary, but I guess there is a recording somewhere of this whole event.) She whispered. “Just tell where you’re from and what year you are in school and stuff.” So, I did. I also added some about how this summer was really an adventure for me, and that God had really opened doors for me to just be here this summer. Sue and Nancy then started asking me questions about what I planned to do after graduation, suggesting graduate schools and stuff.

I was really glad to sit down. I was also really glad that I had gotten to reconnect with Sue and Nancy. Those are definitely two connections that I want to maintain. What awesome ladies! And what a crazy morning! All this before lunch!

* There may be some people reading my blog who don’t know the story of how I met Nancy and this internship thing worked out. So I thought I would put a short summary of how that all happened. One Thursday, I was at Edge. Edge is the weekly lunch for a dollar held at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry on campus at FSU. There is usually a speaker… someone from campus or the community who just talks for five or ten minutes. About a year and a half ago, Coach Sue was speaking. Little did I know that her best friend is Nancy Alcorn, Founder and president of Mercy Ministries. And little did I know that Nancy would be there that day, visiting her friend and chilling in the back of the room on a couch.
I had read a bunch of Nancy’s books because she had spoken at a conference I went to FIVE years ago. (God’s pretty faithful, huh?) I was still interested in Mercy and actually had recently been looking into trying to intern there, but wasn’t really figuring out how to get started in the process. So, after Sue was done speaking, I went up to Nancy and basically said, “OhmygoshyoureNancyAlcorncanIcomeinternforyouplease?” And the rest in history.