Blessings!

Today, I was reminded again of how amazing God is and how He blesses us in so many different ways such as creation, seasons, His Word, His son, friendships and so much more. God may not reveal to us what His plans are for our lives when we want to know, but He does promise us that He has walked before us. He has put His sheep before. He has gone before. He is ahead of the sheep. He is down in the front.

As I read in my devotional two nights ago, this really struck me.

"This is the blessed life - not anxious to see far in front, nor careful about the next step, not eager to choose the path, nor weighted with the heave responsibilities of the future, but quietly following behind the Shepherd, one step at a time. "

John 10: 1-18

What a blessing!

What is CSO and why did Jenny move ?

As I begin posting on this blog, I will take you on a journey through what is going on currently in my life and will lay a foundation to why I moved to Charlotte for those who have no idea why I am even here.

Two men, Bob Schindler and Bob Dyar, are the main guys I work with at CSO in Charlotte, NC. Bob Dyar founded CSO in 1996, which has undergone some name changes over the past 11 years. Bob Dyar also works for Joe Gibbs Racing in Huntersville, NC as their chaplain for the racing teams crew. Bob Schindler came on board in 2003 as the director of leadership development. He is the one who teaches classes at the Leadership Center I am involved with as well as finding internships in local churches for people like myself, provides a time for mentoring for interns, and does many other ministry details for CSO. I have learned a great deal from the both of them, but have more interaction with Bob Schindler. CSO started a one-of-a-kind Leadership Center in January of 2005. They were just starting the classes when I found CSO on the internet in the spring of 2005.

After talking with Bob and visiting CSO in April of 2005, I quickly found my way to Charlotte, NC in June. I had no idea what I was going to be doing long term, but had a church in Rock Hill, SC that needed help with their sports camps that summer. They were also in need of some summer staff after-school counselors. I also wanted to do something with sports and ministry, but just didn't know how the two fit together. I soon learned that CSO's thinking of sports outreach ministry is more focused on using sports as a vehicle to build relationships with people.

CSO's Mission is "To mobilize the local church in the United States to build bridges to its community through the language of sports."

CSO's Vision is " CSO USA desires to assist every evangelical church in the USA toward involvement with Sports Outreach through long-term partnerships, coaching relationships, and a leading edge Resource Center. "

How awesome is that! For me over the last 1 1/2, this has really been eye opening and has now made perfect sense. We are to be apart of the local church and what better way to serve Christ than using sports as a tool to build the bridge for His GLORY!

So I packed up my car and headed south with what it could hold since I was going to be staying in a bedroom at this couple's home that one of the guys from the classes knew from church. This couple lives in a suburb of Charlotte called Matthews. The couple opened up their home to me not knowing who I was and how long I would be there. I ended up staying there for 4 1/2 months before moving in with a girl on the other side of Charlotte that I am living with currently.

So this is the start in my journey in Charlotte, NC with CSO and where God was going to place me in the local church using sports.

Here are the Mission and Vision statements of CSO's Leadership Center. Just one part of CSO.

The Mission of the Leadership Center is "to mobilize a new generation of Sports Outreach Leaders who can lead local churches toward building bridges to their communities through the language of sports."

The Vision of the Leadership Center is "to provide a Leadership Center in Charlotte, NC, that would equip Sports Outreach Leaders in character, skill and knowledge through the cooperative efforts of CSO Staff, CSO Partner Churches, local seminaries, and CSO Partner Ministries. Our desire is to see these efforts fuel a movement of revitalization among local churches both nationally and internationally that would touch thousands of communities for Christ."

CSO has 4 main areas it is comprised of : CSO USA, CSO Leadership Center, CSO Chaplains, and CSO International

I will go more in detail in another post, but wanted to cover a few basics. To find out more about CSO, go to our website at www.csosports.org. Thanks for reading this long blog!

OSU game with the Schnee's

Courtney, Mike and Noah showing OSU is #1


Jenny and Courtney


Noah raising a smile for the Buckeyes!


Gottcha mom!


FYI : Courtney and Mike moved down here from Ohio 1 week after I did in June of 2005. I didn't know her prior to moving, but she is also apart of CSO through the Leadership Center and was an intern as well. She now works part-time at Westminister Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill, SC. They have a son Noah who is 10 months old.

Even though the Buckeyes didn't have much of a showing this Monday night, I'm still confident that they will be a force to reckon with in the future. I was in a coffee shop early that day in Ballanytne - where I live in Charlotte - a girl that was taking my order said that they were going to play the game in the movie theater that was located a few floors up. She attended OSU a few years ago and said they have played Carolina Panthers games this year in there. I thought you can't get much of a bigger screen then that to watch the game. So I called up Courtney to see if they wanted to watch the game there. We got there early anticipating a huge crowd since there are a lot of OSU fans down here. Well, we were the only ones in the theater the whole night! It was a lot of fun except for the part that OSU didn't win the game. In all, I had a great time.

Picture of Anna

I just wanted to post a picture of Anna and I during Christmas 2005 so you know who I am talking about when I refer to her in the future. Love you girl!

Trip to New Hampshire

Well, I decided to use my free airline ticket this past November that I had from last New Year's Day. I received a free round trip ticket from Airtran when I was flying back from Boston. I was visiting two amazing women, Caitlin from New Hampshire and Anna from Pennsylvania whom I met the summer of 2002 at Streamside Camp in PA. Caitlin and I were co-counselors. Anna was a counselor too and we had a lot in common and so became friends quickly that summer.

The first picture of Caitlin and I were along a coastline in Maine the day I was heading back to NC. It was a little chilly and rainy that day, but we both wanted to see the ocean one more time before winter! I was more than blessed the four days that I was able to spend with her and her family. They are amazing people with such big hearts. Thanks for always making me feel welcomed. Love you Cait!

The second picture is of Caitlin's yard. You might be wondering why I took this picture, but imagine it now with a ton of forks in it! Yes, that is correct. She got forked! The day I flew in her yard was completely covered in forks. I wanted to get a picture of it, but didn't get a chance to before it was picked up. A few friends from church decided it would be funny to get her yard!

Oh, the good ol' days of T-ping and forkin!