The Woman Behind The Womanhood Project

I have this amazing friend. Well I have a few amazing friends... but this one in particular always leaves my jaw hanging. Sarah is an an innovator, a feminine fireball of energy and life and joy. I guess that's why her middle name is JOY.

I first met Sarah when I was working for Nancy Ortberg. Sarah called Nancy up and asked if she could travel up from LA to SF to shadow Nancy for a day or two. Nance said of course and along came Sarah. We connected instantly. I gave her a tour of Menlo Park Pres then I remember we decided to ditch the tour and hang out in the church library and chat. I felt such a girl chemistry... she got me. I got her. It just worked. Since then we've kept in touch via social media, texting and hand written notes. Sarah is a huge source of encouragement and inspiration in my life.

A while back she was on an airplane and this thought occurred to her: "What if I had 20 of the most influential women in my life write a short essay about womanhood?" It's just like her to have brilliant ideas in the most random places. I'm sure she was flying somewhere exciting and glamorous... maybe for the style network or for a speaking engagement. It's important to note that ideas like this are a natural extension of the creative person she happens to be - so natural, that she thinks she's normal - she's not. She's extraordinary. So after thinking up this idea, in true Sarah Joy style, she made it happen. Calling, texting, emailing the closest women in her life - women of all ages, faiths and stages of life. She presented the project, set a deadline, and watched the essays trickle in.

The book comes out this Spring.

It's been a complete honor and blessing to be one of Sarah J's 20 women who participated in this writing project. I can't wait to hold the book in my hands!

You're not going to want to miss this: http://thewomanhoodproject.tumblr.com/

Sarah Jaggard (pictured bottom right) has lived and worked in Southern California her whole life. She loves hiking, going to concerts and watching Modern Family. Sarah has worked in vocational ministry at Mosaic Christian Community, as well as Disney, the Gallup Organization, and the Style Network. Currently, Sarah works in Student Affairs at Pepperdine University, while teaching courses on public speaking at both Biola and Pepperdine.

Atlanta Fun

This weekend Judy, Jennifer and I drove from Indianapolis down to Atlanta, Georgia to visit Passion City Church. On the way down we passed through Louisville, Kentucky (where we saw the Amish at McDonalds... see photo below of their sweet ride). We also passed through Nashville, Tennessee - which was energizing... then onto Georgia, the peach tree state.

My parents actually lived in Atlanta, Georgia when my mom was pregnant with me and my dad played baseball in the minor leagues, so I've always wanted to visit. I enjoyed it more than I anticipated. It's a beautiful city of diversity, hospitality, great food and a unique energy. My only complaint is that it's difficult to navigate, but let's be honest, I get lost anywhere I go... so maybe it's just me.

But let's start at the beginning... we basically went to Passion City Church out of curiosity, to see how they "do church" - wow, was it amazing. Very different than any church I've attended. It meets in a large white, unmarked warehouse... with concrete floors and no signage on the walls. Very simple and clean. No bulletin, no announcements... just the basics. It was jam packed with young people eager to worship and learn more about God. The worship leaders are somewhat well known in the Christian world but you wouldn't know it by watching them up front... they were a natural part of the church... just like the rest of us. A highlight for me was worshiping with Christy Nockels, a worship leader who God has used to write lyrics that have moved my soul and deeply spoken to me through various seasons of my life. Christy's new cd will come out April 3, learn more about it here. Also, we were at Passion the night they released their new worship cd, White Flag... so we were able to take home a copy and worship all the way home. It was great.

We stayed at the home of Linda Puffer, one of the double mint twins (and met her sister Lisa, the other twin). Linda has a deep heart for the Lord and for the networking of women in the Atlanta area. She talked with us about her ministry ideas and she opened up her home to us. I felt like a queen the way Linda treated us while we stayed with her. Home cooked meals, endless supply of coffee and such a warmth in her home - oh and I fell in love with her pup Coco. It was the first time I experienced southern hospitality and it drew me in. After we rested at Linda's house we went into Marietta Square to have lunch at Sugar Cakes, the cutest little bakery shop - we had the salmon BLT... who would have thought? It was delicious, in fact all the food we had in Atlanta was delish. Have I mentioned that I love the south?!? We also stopped by David, Linda's husband's antique store Flourish - an amazing little store with some great decor, my favorites were the sparkling crystal chandeliers. Then we visited the cemetery (per my request) and took photos, walked around and read the graves... Amazing. Such history and legacy of men and women who served our country and died for our freedom. It was humbling.

During our stay in the Atlanta area we also stopped off at Jan Smith Studios, to see Jan, or "Mama J" as her clients call her. She gave us the full tour of her studio and talked to us about her musical life. She's the vocal coach for Rob Thomas, Bieber, Usher, The Band Perry and many more. What a beautiful woman living a beautiful testimony of God's redemptive power. You can read her book to learn more, it's called Run the Other Way... and it's good. She also recently created a video to intro her story, watch it here. Mama J took all of us girls out for dinner Sunday night and we shared our life stories and then ate chocolate and laughed until our stomachs hurt. It was refreshing. What a beautiful weekend spent with friends and meeting new ones.

Southern Indiana Tornado Destruction

On our drive to the south we stopped off in Henryville, Indiana (about two hours south of Indianapolis), to see the damage caused by the March 2, EF-4 Tornado. 

My heart hurts for those impacted by the storm and my jaw dropped to see that the damage was far worse than I had ever imagined. If you'd like to offer support during this time please see our church website for more information.