It has not been uncommon this summer to be asked if I was pregnant. In fact, I can distinctly remember being asked six times. Most of the time the questions come from the kids in CHAT but sometimes the questions come from the parents as well. For me to be 21, single, and not have a child or two in this area is extremely unlikely. My response of “no, I am not married” does not seem to suffice. The children are slowly learning though that there is not a baby on the way and that once I am married, they can ask me again. Today though I had a different question asked to me.

King David in the Bible is referred to numerous times as a man after God’s own heart. David was specifically chosen by God to serve Him and grow in his ways. That is exactly what David did. He fell madly in love with God, sought out His truth, and served God with his life. His major detail with Bathsheba still did not take him out of the favor God had placed on him. While I am not a king or a man, I still want to be a believer after God’s own heart.

As a college intern working for CHAT this summer, I have been assigned a high school intern who is also hired by CHAT. While they do not raise their financial support individually, their salary comes from the CHAT budget as well. They are required to meet with the college interns on a regular basis, do one hour of school work a day, complete a bible study, attend life skills classes that we teach, assist with the tutoring program, and pretty much just be our sidekicks for the summer. Imani Clark is my high school intern partner.

Growing up in a relatively small town, the ride to church on Sunday mornings only took three to five minutes at the most, including parking. It was not that far away from my house distance wise, but it was in fact, closer to the other side of town. I could not walk to my church and there was not even a church in walking distance of our home. This is the case for many church goers. In our third book for the summer, To Live in Peace, Mark R. Gornik points out an interesting phenomenon that is unfortunately occurring in America.

It finally hit me. It being the fact that from now on, I will be forever expected to live out the gospel. Serving the poor and representing Jesus in the way I solve race relations in my area, use my money, and interact with each person is now forever changed. With new knowledge comes new responsibility. I remember when this happened with the transforming power of the gospel during college. Coming into college I called myself a Christian.

“I see everyone the same. In fact, everyone should just be purple in my eyes.” Yes, those were words that have come out of my mouth. Growing up in a racially divided yet diverse area seeing everyone “the same,” was given a hand clap and seen as the greatest form of acceptance and love of Christ. However, as my journey of racial reconciliation continues and my study of sociology grows, I am quickly being humbled by God that “seeing everyone the same” is not, in fact, at all how God sees each of his children.

It’s Thursday night which means that it is my night to cook. I love trying recipes that my mother has always cooked. Perfectly cooked string beans, grilled chicken, and chicken casserole make me think of my mom in the kitchen and give me a sense of great accomplishment when I make something without burning it or confusing the baking power for baking soda. I always wish I could take pictures with my camera and send them via email to my mom for approval that I am on my way to being a mother like she is.

During our City Vision Group meeting today, Cory focused on the city. He entitled it “An Urban Journey from the Broken City to the New City.” Since these meetings are mostly geared towards people who live outside of Richmond city limits, I was interested to see how this discussion was going to go. By starting the study with the idea of the broken city, we looked at the very first city; Enoch was started by Cain, a murderer. The second city Babel tried to build a tower so high that they could reach heaven to make a name for itself.

Like any good summer day in the south, there was a torrential downpour right in the middle of Friday afternoon as we were heading to NC for the camping trip. With four children in my car, I became nervous for their safety since I could not see the road in front of me. I became sad as well because this was their first camping trip and I did not have a plan B if it rained. The kids could tell I was getting nervous when I asked Imani to turn off the radio and for everyone to be quiet. Sweet Cha’deshia from the back seat asked, Taylor, What can we do? Are you OK?

What do you get when you combine a 93 degree June day, 28 kids, enough gas to make it to NC, and lots of trail mix?