Part 10 of 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

10. You start to shut down after you’ve been active for too long.

Yes!  And it takes me a while to bounce back.

Being around people and being “on” for the folks around me is tiring, but only if I’m subjected to it for a good, solid day.  I really hate being the center of attention, but there are times when it is necessary.

There are times, during the holidays especially, where we are almost in a non-stop social groove.  Parties, game nights, dinners, etc.  Once January hits, I can’t socialize anymore for a while.  I’m just tuckered out from all the interaction – even interaction with my best friends.

My husband and I are planning our 15th anniversary wedding renewal.  I can hardly wait, but I’m also hesitant about the actual little ceremony because all eyes will be on us – on purpose.  My wedding day was awesome, but it was much larger than this little soiree will be.  And, yes, only those closest to us will be in attendance, so what’s the big deal, right?

I’m trying to keep my focus on all the other details so the ceremony won’t be a sticking point on my subconscious.  Music has helped tremendously!  I’ll jot down new songs while listening to my Pandora stations – ah, Pandora!  How I love you!

Extroverts out there, don’t be offended when your introvert pals disappear for a while.  They’ll be back…they need to rest up for the next round! 😉

Image Credit: Honusapian.com

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Part 7 of 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

7. Downtime doesn’t feel unproductive to you.

Hear that?  It’s absolutely nothing!  Mondays are often my recharge day.

Weekends are busy with family, shopping, church work, and/or church socializing – and for me, that’s draining.  I’m fortunate to work a part-time job so I most often end up catching up on ME on Mondays.  I’m sure my husband doesn’t really like hearing that…sorry, hon!

Today was gorgeous outside, but I just stayed in until I had to run an errand or two before picking the kids up from school.  The dog, as always, was my lazy companion.  He’s a Pug, so it’s just in his nature.

There are some days where being unproductive is frustrating.  Usually it’s those days where I have a clear goal in mind for the day and just about anything and everything pops up just to spite me and my plans.

Lazy days I am perfectly fine with doing nothing.  And by doing nothing I mean no real goals.  I’ll work on laundry a bit, take the dog out, prep supper, make sure the dishes are done – I’m not a complete waste! 🙂

After a busy couple of days, I need to recharge in silence and at my own pace.

Image Credit: ImgBuddy.com

Part 5 of 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert

Apparently you have to actually do something in order for people to visit your blog.  Ha!  A couple big goose eggs with the stats over the last two days.

That’s OK…when life calls, you have to jump into action, and it’s been a busy couple of days.  So, where was I?

5. You’ve been called “too intense.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been called “intense” to my face.  People may think it, I don’t know.  Myself?  I think I can get intense with knowledge – but not just arbitrarily.

If I pick up an interest or an activity I think I can excel in, I research the crap out of it.  New pets?  I become the new expert.  A music group?  I could host my own “Behind the Music” show on the artist or group.

All this comes into play because it helps me speak intelligently about said subject.  I feel like a heel when I have no idea what someone is talking about.  I’m left out of the conversation and that makes me squirm.

I enjoy educating people with what I know (and not in a snooty kind of way, in a helpful way) because it helps me connect with them.  I love giving what I think is solid advice if someone comes up to me with a problem.  I go above and beyond for my friends when I can…if I don’t have the answer, I can find it or find someone who can find it.

I could talk for hours about the intricacies of The Walking Dead storyline, the latest news about my favorite band’s upcoming tour, or what viewpoint I just discovered in my last Bible study class.  I just love deep conversation about things I can participate in.

So, when you find someone who you think is “obsessed” “passionate” about oddball things, don’t label them as someone who’s a little too hardcore or extreme.  Think about the things YOU love and what YOU love to talk about and how it makes YOU feel.

Those things may be the very things that fuels the introvert’s energy.  We may be nerds, geeks, eccentrics – but it’s what we need to make us feel a part of something – a part of anything.

Image Credit: Pinterest.com

I Survived the 30-Hour Famine!

OK, OK, OK! I was no where near dying, but after a decent night sleep after more than 24 hours with your youth group – that’s how I feel!

What a remarkable time – and to think, 112,000 other people were right there along with us around the world. At least 14 countries participated in the 30-Hour Famine this weekend.

As exhausting as it is, and while it’ll take me and my partner in crime in the Christian Ed department at least a week to get our bearings and regroup with the calendar, I can’t wait to see how we can make it even bigger next time.

The goal for me is MORE ADULTS! This is eye-opening, not only for the kids, but for the adults who get swept away in life-taken-for-granted.

Pray for us – we Christian Ed leaders and our group of kids, our church, all the others around the world who voluntarily went hungry for a while to gain some knowledge, and especially for all – past, present, and future – who have suffered hunger and were burdened with not knowing when or if there would ever be a next meal.

This problem is not God’s doing. This is why we NEED God.

Can I get an AMEN? 🙂

30-Hour Famine…25 hours in

Still feeling pretty great, aside from being very tired.  Body’s kind of sore from a lot of walking around, standing around, blah, blah, blah.

We had a fantastic time with our service projects today.  The first  was heading out to a rather busy intersection near the church with our “Honk for Hunger” signs and counted how many cars honked at us…over 200 for the day!  Last year it was around 120.

Then we came back to make simple sack lunches.  The kids made 27 lunches and we headed downtown to Central Park and handed them ALL out to 27 people who took us up on our offer.  We had so many people request we give the lunch to someone who needs one – the kids were discouraged, but soon realized how refreshing that honesty was from complete strangers.  We felt that all the people who took lunches truly needed something to eat and were very appreciative.  I think we all learned a lesson today.

We just finished up with a bit of downtime.  Now for the last game of the famine, some discussion and devotion, praise songs and then we’re off to break our fast (yay!) with some pizza and bowling!

I made it another year…and even more excited for the next 30-Hour Famine!

Image Credit: TheWellnessChoiceCenter.com

30-Hour Famine…17 hours in

It’s 7:00 AM.  We went to sleep somewhere around 1:00 AM.  I didn’t sleep much, if at all.  It was too quiet for this brain.  Not feeling all that hungry.  I only missed supper, which isn’t the first time.  I was able to skip home for a bit to shower and hydrate with the water necessary to take the meds I forgot to bring with me.  Doh!

The kids must have been super tired because once the lights were out, it was quiet (although, I did threaten their morning cracker if they weren’t!).  I’ll prefer to think they were just tuckered out.

It was a full evening – games, PowerPoint presentation, videos.  Lots of information thrown at these kids and they respond!  We have a great group of kids in this church and community; I’m so proud of them.

We have more games, a few service projects around the church and community, and what we’re all looking forward to – breaking the fast with a pizza party at our local bowling alley.

The harsh reality is, those who suffer from hunger can’t just break their fast.  This church does a great job collecting food for local food pantries year round.  My department, in particular, collected over 1,000 pounds of non-perishable items in a few months last year.  It’s an important mission to not forget those in our own communities who we would never imagine are hungry.  Our own school districts have homeless and un-/under-employed just a paycheck away from poverty.

Here are some facts we shared with the kids last night (straight from World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine):

Hunger Facts

The number of hungry people in the world may shock you. In fact, it should.

Fact #1

In 2012, more than 18,000 children younger than 5 died every day — most from preventable causes. It’s estimated that nearly 8,000 of these deaths were tied to hunger. That’s about one every 10 seconds.

Most of these kids died not from starvation, but from malnutrition — meaning too long without the right kind of food. Eating just enough to stay alive weakened their bodies so much that disease could strike the final blow.

*Based on the most current United Nations data available during creation of 2015 Famine materials
**Based on an average bus capacity of 85 people

Fact #2

Worldwide, 842 million people — about 1 in 8 — are hungry.
That’s over 2.5 times the population of the United States.

Many families depend entirely on what they can grow, so they’re never more than one natural or manmade disaster away from hunger.

Fact #3

Nearly 1 in 5 people survive on less than $1.25 a day. And the poor spend most of their money (up to 80 percent of it) on food. How do you pay for shelter, school, healthcare, and clothes with what’s left? You don’t.

Related:
Just how big is this Famine army of hunger-fighting students?
What does extreme hunger actually do to your body?
So what is malnutrition, anyway? (This activity will bring it to life.)
Where do most hungry people live?
How the funds your group raises actually fight hunger.
People like you helped make big headway against hunger in 2014.

So, the next time you see Sally Struthers on TV, take her out of the equation and focus on what’s really important – making fun of her or making it a mission to help those she made the trip to see?  Do something – give to your food banks, donate money world-wide, take a mission trip and make a difference first hand.

SOMETHING is better than NOTHING.  AMEN!

30-Hour Famine…9 hours in

We’re almost 9 hours into the famine.  No one is really complaining (they didn’t last year), however, we’re down to one cracker every few hours after the special games.  We hydrate with about 6 oz of water or juice every few hours, too.

I’m more tired than anything, as I’ve been on the go since 6:30 am. *yawn*

We have our signs prepped for our walk along a pretty busy neighborhood street – we’ll be in two groups and we’ll see which groups gets the most honks!  Fun, huh? 😉

I’m looking forward to some shut-eye…I’m quite exhausted.

Image Credit:  Me!  Don’t take my signs! 🙂

It’s 30-Hour Famine Day!

This year, my partner in crime (friend and Assistant Director of Christian Education), and I are hosting our second annual 30-Hour Famine at our church.

Last year we had about 8 kids and this year we are expecting about 12!

Our church has done this many times before, but we revived it last year after a year hiatus and we’re so blessed it’s continuing to grow.

I’ll be posting live updates via the church’s Facebook page and will try to share on here, as well.  If you’d like to read up on just what the 30-Hour Famine is, visit the World Vision website now.

Stay tuned for more – the fast begins at 2 PM EST, but the fun begins at 6:30 PM EST!

Image Credit: HopeChapel.net