UPDATE!!!!!! Amycoxmusic.com

Hey Friends!  I thought it only fitting and fair that if www.amygoesmidwest.com was going to go officially inactive, that I should also mark it over here.  I've spent the last ten months settling into Fort Wayne, Indiana, making friends around town, and loving on the people at Saint Joseph. NONE of that is changing, but I am adding in some new elements of recording an EP, and booking some local coffeehouse gigs and house concerts.  To that end...all info, blog posts, ramblings and schedules can be found over at my new home www.amycoxmusic.com.  I'm excited to share what I've been working hard on, it's incredible the ways that I see God moving in and around me and my church these days.  Keep in touch!

Finishing Well

This morning I am cuddled up with a mocha in hand, sitting in a comfy, christmasy living room in Troy, Ohio...home to new friends Abby and Lucas. The past year and a half has led to now...full-time employment as a Worship Pastor. Operation Westward Expansion took me to Colorado and brought me back to Virginia and is now launching me into the midwest state of Indiana. This is a move of permanence....and it feels good and right and exciting, if not mildly terrifying.

This summer, a friend spoke on the idea of "finishing well." When you know you are going to be leaving a place, you do everything you can to end on a strong and positive note. He was motivating us to keep pushing through the endless details of packing up summer camp, making the smoothest transition for the next summer, but that idea of a strong finish has stayed with me.

And so these past few weeks have been just that. I subbed a week and a half straight, finishing up the majority of prearrangement jobs that I had, spending time at both schools that have been such a support for me this fall.  I continued leading at New Season UMC in Fredericksburg, which sadly enough, has decided to close at the end of the year.  And I had dinner and coffee with numerous friends.  This past weekend was time with my family...to go on a caroling hayride, to make gingerbread houses, and to eat family dinners with four generations. I'm glad these last weeks were full of people and stories, and that I leave at a time when my family's chapter in Springfield officially closed.  Even not being home for Christmas hasn't been a disappoint, new traditions will be made as the family figures out what holidays look like in Colonial Beach!

As with all endings come new beginnings, and while my story is far from over, the "Amy Goes West" saga is. But that just means you can continue following the adventure over at  Amy Goes Midwest or amygoesmidwest.blogspot.com. After a couple of weeks to settle in, I am sure that I will have it all decked out in blogging finery.

Friends, thank you for all of your love and support and encouragement. Thank you for continually reminding me of who I am and how God wired me.  I love you all!

Fort Wayne here I come!

Big News....I'm Moving to Indiana!

Friends, I am quite the excited gal this week.  I flew out to Indiana the few days before Thanksgiving to interview with a couple of awesome churches.  It was a whirlwind trip with airplanes, rental cars, pouring rain, and many, many new faces.  I drove through roundabouts, stayed in host homes and hotels, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure of it all.

But the biggest news, is that I have accepted a position as Worship Pastor at Saint Joseph United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana! It's a terrific church with five weekend services, some traditional, some contemporary, and I am excited to join the staff there.  I'll be overseeing the contemporary services, the multiple worship teams already in place, leading weekly, diving into the people of St. Joe and learning their stories....seriously, how cool?

So in a couple of weeks I'll be midwest bound, the green bullet accompanying me on yet another adventure.  It's looking like I'll head out, look for a place to live, get started in the job, and Mitch will join in on the fun in January.

Maybe there's more to share in this whole new venture, but I am filled to the brim with the excitement and anticipation that comes from participating in what God is unveiling and knitting together.  Be watching for a new blog to roll out as time permits... I'm thinking...

Amy Goes Midwest: I've been East. I've been West. Let's meet in the middle.

I mean, it's pretty awesome, don't you think?

Guess It's Time for an Update?

Wow....blogging has taken a backseat to the craziness of life these days, days full of people and odd jobs and the ever pressing in to what's next....not so many days of eclectic festivals and exploration.  Compared to all my crazy adventures of last year, this fall has been tame and restful...somewhat....:o)

We did spend a day in Fredericksburg last week, I'll have to post those. And Halloween was a fab time with family and friends. Trick or treating with toddlers is pretty entertaining.

Currently, I'm back house sitting in Chantilly with my two fav doggie pals, Aspen and Vermont.  It's fun to spend some time in a stylish townhome complete with internet, cable, and a very comfy couch.

I have been blessed with substitute teaching this fall. After September there have only been a few days I haven't worked, and those were more by choice than a lack of jobs.  I enjoy the constant change and challenge that comes with different groups of students. Tomorrow I'll be spending the day with my favorite class by far, a really cool 6th grade class. We have an understanding: they behave, and I look like an amazing substitute.

There may be a move in my near future. Nothing is even close to being definite, but prayer for discernment is my heart's desire.

This weekend is my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. 60 YEARS! After a hard spring and summer we are grateful as a family to have both my grandfather and grandmother healthy and ready to celebrate! Then I have a very quick jaunt to the great state of Indiana and back for Thanksgiving ready to see what December holds..... we'll just see!

Parades and Pumpkins

I love fall. There is something invigorating and awakening as the trees shift their colors, the temperatures drop, and we leave behind the nasty humidity and mosquitos of summer. I deeply missed autumn colors last year...not even the beauty of aspen trees with their united yellow front of sunshine could do for me what the vibrant hues of red, orange, and brown leaves blend and weave among one another.

And I love fall for its festivities.  The family recently went to the King George Fall Festival with the LONGEST parade ever that thankfully ended well with the Redskins Marching Band bringing up the rear. And just today since everyone was up in Springfield for various appointments, we hit up Nalls Produce and Pumpkin Patch..... I cannot wait to carve a pumpkin in the next couple of weeks....did I mention that I love fall?

But life is nonetheless a whirlwind these days. I'm been job applying, and substitute teaching, and taking the weekends with family and Mitch and spending a lot of time with a very special Vietnamese family whose daughter has been diagnosed with leukemia. They have introduced me to quail eggs, fish sauce, and chopsticks and I have in turn showed up to the hospital with my ukulele in hand...pretty sure I have the sweeter end of the deal!

These periods of waiting are always hard for me...I am inclined to have a plan, be working towards something even if it isn't for the longterm.  But for now, I'll just enjoy the colors and parades and pumpkins.

How 'bout them apples?

This past weekend brought a sweet, delightfully sunny afternoon of apple picking in Winchester, VA with family.  We had been tempted to cancel based on discouraging weather reports of rain and more rain, but we took the gamble and it paid off! We went to Marker-Miller Orchards, the land of apples trees, wagon rides, and playground equipment. There was even some sort of festival going on so there was face painting, booths of kettle corn and barbecue and a bluegrass band set up playing.

Nate was all about getting the best apples, although it took both hands and a leaning-back-pull for him to get them. Turns out apple picking with a toddler becomes a gigantic photo-op...so fun!

We spent all afternoon among the trees, taking the wagon ride around the farm, and running around the playground trying out all the different pieces of equipment: a pirate ship, a castle, a small train, among some swings and a sand box.

I did end up riding the kiddie cow-train with Nate, there were two cars big enough to fit an adult and kid....although it was a bit of a tight fit! The second time Nate sat in his own car, but since there weren't enough kids to fill up the train, I rode along too. As I settled in for my second go round, the nine year old sitting in the cow in front of me looked back and said, "I feel too old for this."....I had no response.

We left with a solid two bags of apples....my plan is to attempt a homemade apple pie sometime this week....I'm sure there will be pictures of that to come!

Quantico National Cemetery

We said goodbye to my Grandpa back in March.  We held a small funeral for family and friends in an outdoor pavilion at Quantico National Cemetery.  Headstones take up to five weeks to come in after ordering and as of yet, I had not had a chance to go back and see where Grandpa had been buried.  So with another day of waiting for a job to come in, I decided on taking a quest, mainly to visit Grandpa's grave.

I had hoped vainly that I would remember the general location within the cemetery, but the simplicity and beauty of Quantico is in its uniformity of graves....everything has a way of looking the same. And so I headed into the information/admin building where a kiosk is set up to help visitors locate gravesites. When the computer didn't work, I had to flip through a binder alphabetically listing the basic information for each person and grave location. My second time driving through the cemetery successfully landed me in the right section.

This past summer in Christiansburg was difficult, I saw my grandpa everywhere: in the mountains, the houses we were working on, the bass players of bluegrass groups. Grief is a hard friend to adjust to. It sneaks up and hits when you least expect, a kick in the stomach taking one's breath.

And so I stood in that quiet, peaceful cemetery and I said all the things my heart needed to get out. There was a sense of closure, of freedom and forgiveness.  I loved that foolish man, who held parts of himself back, and I will always carry his love for music deep in my bones.

It is fitting where my Grandpa is buried. He was always popular with the ladies, and it just so happens that he is surrounded by ladies on either side. :o)

Settling In....

It's my third week here in Springfield, finally easing into a constantly moving routine of catching sub jobs as they come, catching up with old friends, and pressing in to this crazy process of job searching and discernment.  As I was driving home from dinner with a sweet couple I met before Colorado, my heart felt full. Nothing looks like it did when I last resided here, the community that I do have is scattered and disconnected, and I have no idea what is happening even as soon as next week.... but I am sharing my story multiple times a day and I've found a semblance of family in some unique places..... it all adds to the adventure!

And on days like today, when things are quieter, I hang out with a couple of cool gals.... they are good company.

Poured Out Worship- New Blog!

I started a new blog! www.pouredoutworship.blogspot.com. More to chronicle my thoughts, dreams, and heart for worship. Amygoeswest will be getting an overhaul one of these days, hopefully when I know what direction I'm headed next. Right now I am pressing in a bunch of different directions and I hope when a door opens, I'm ready.

I tried to get my own domain name, but the most logical one, amycox.com is currently owned by some Jeffrey or other in Canada.... and with tight budget constraints...well, it looks like it will stay his. So pouredoutworship.blogspot.com will be it for now, a place with contact info, availability, and what I'm currently doing....interspersed with what I've learned so far and resources I've come across...so exciting! Check it out here

I am thankful for days of rain, but even more thankful that the sun came back out yesterday and the sky turned blue... back to the dreaming and scheming board....

10 Years Later

Ten years ago today, I was a senior sitting in Spanish class. A phone call about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center prompted my teacher to turn on the television. We watched as the second plane exploded into the second tower.  And then we went back to spanish adverbs and adjectives. When the next call came about the pentagon, we abandoned our futile tries at learning, and took turns on the phone calling parents who worked at the Pentagon.

Over the years, I've spoken with people about their experiences on Sept 11, an event we have all been changed and affected by. I've always tried to explain the terror of that day for those of us on the east coast, how normal it is for me to often reflect on the possibility of another terrorist attack.  The pentagon is only 10 miles from my home....it is an easy fifteen minute drive.  Several parents from my school and community were lost that day.  I remember a man from church, was saved by having been out of his office at the time, another twenty feet closer and he too would have been gone.

There are so many vivid snapshots from that day. Asking fellow students if they had heard from their parents. Praying in the hallway with friends and being told to "keep it contained." Holding hands with my dad as he picked us up from school and clinging to his strength. The irony of such a beautiful, cloudless day.  I remember calling my estranged older brother, hoping against hope that he would come home to be with us. Yes, he had seen the fire of the pentagon from his work, and no, he still wasn't coming home.

And yet, September 11 is also a day of hope. Life continues, and we remember those lost and support those who continue to keep this country safe.  It's a time to reflect, to see that we are not defined by one terrible act of violence.  We have grown, loved, and lived over the last decade and will keep on doing so. A moment of silence, of honor, and a thankful prayer that God has not forgotten, He is bigger than all these things.

Oh Virginia, I Still Love You

I used to say that Virginia was awesome for a girl like me because it was best known for its mild weather and limited natural disasters. Since I've been back in NOVA, we've had an earthquake, a hurricane, and now flooding..... just wanted to share what's been going on this past week with friends in the west.....enjoy. :o)

I'm holding out hope that things will calm down and the weather will rest easy.... at least driving in the rain doesn't grip me with panic anymore, thanks to lots of practice!

Room 506

I was lost. First of all, the hospital was quite large with signs everywhere pointing in different directions for all the color coded elevators and wings. And second, well, it was more on a whim than a planned decision that led to my walk through the twisted corridors. I made it to the fifth floor of the pediatric wing, but one set of double doors was all it took to make me question where I was. I slipped into a family waiting room and dialed the operator, "Room 506, please." After a few rings, L*'s voice filled the phone, "Hello?" "Hey, L*! It's Amy. What if I told you I was on the floor of your hospital, popping in to visit, and I'm lost?" And so began a fifteen minute dialogue while her younger sister paced the halls in hopes of discovering where I was.

L*, only a senior in high school, has been diagnosed with Leukemia.  She has begun the chemo treatments and knows that the next six months will be the most difficult as her body responds to the drugs and she remains isolated at home or at the hospital.  It had been a long time since I had seen L*, but a mutual friend had kept me updated, and moving back to Springfield left no reason to not pop by the hospital and see if she was there.

Silly me, I was holed up in the waiting room right next to her room, and so only after a little confusion I was sitting with them, catching up and learning about the complexity and yet hopefulness of a leukemia patient's journey.  L* is a beautifully open and honest young lady and early in the conversation turned things serious. "People ask me if this has affected my faith, and I don't know the answer to that question.  I mean, I don't want to just pray because I'm weak and need God's help, but it's then I need to pray the most...you know?" L* was specifically referring to the days where her body's reaction to chemo are devastating and violent, days where her body lashes out and nothing stays down.  A hard day like that is what brought her back to the hospital before I came to see her.

We talked about L*'s father, who died of cancer eleven some years ago, how her mother and sister basically live at the hospital when she is admitted, and the strain of being sick she knows will inevitably affect her other relationships. But what I love about L*, is her heart for God, for those around her, and for the future.  We talked about our faiths, how God is bigger than the hard things of life, and about dreams beyond this season....college, marriage, and jobs.

I don't know how much else I'll be able to do for L* while I am here this fall, but I've been praying for her ever since.  For her healing, her health, her spirits. For her honest conversations with God. He's bigger than pain, doubts, questions.  He's bigger than leukemia and chemo. I see that in L*'s eyes and I hear it in her words. God is bigger.

Practicum Video!

Finally had enough time and gumption to play around with my practicum video from the School of Worship! Here's a snippet that I uploaded to youtube...if you want to see the whole thing, check it out on vimeo here. 

Almost four months later and most of us from the school have scattered and find ourselves in various places around the world in grad schools, internships, job searches.... beautiful.

Oh Irene!

First of all, shout out to fox news, whose ability to play scary music under their hurricane segments last week really helped viewers maintain an underlying sense of panic. Second of all, I heard a woman talking to a friend in Target today about how people had over reacted to Irene's impact, in her opinion, people only lost power for a few hours, and we only had some rain. I hope she was only talking about the area close to Springfield, because my family in Colonial Beach lost power from Saturday night through Tuesday night and had a bit of a rough patch with heavy rains and winds.

I have just returned to Springfield from a quick jaunt to Colonial Beach the past couple of days. You wouldn't even know the hurricane had hit except for the massive amount of leaves and branches covering every yard. Oh and except for this.... 

If you can't tell, there is in fact a house underneath that tree.  Scary thing is, it's only a few lots down from my parent's house.... I talked to neighbor Robert today, who told me that the owner was home at the time, for the sake of the story we will call him Willy. Willy, well along in years, had decided to make himself a sandwich. He had just put it all together when a knock came to the door...a neighbor checking on him. He quickly put the neighbor at ease that he was fine and that he had a sandwich to get back to. The neighbor left and Will went back to the kitchen located along the back of the house. And crack!... the tree falls on the porch and front part of the house where Willy and the neighbor had been conversing only moments before.  

From everything I heard, no one was hurt.  But the trees are quite large and it only takes one huge branch to do some damage. There were other houses that suffered damage...luckily the family is fine and the power came back on so I could visit Mitch and get my car repacked.... next stop, a fall of substitute teaching and job applying!

Teeth, Money, and a God Who Provides

not my actual mouth pictured here.....:o)

It was three weeks ago that I walked out of Dr. Tebbencamp’s office with a dental treatment plan that would cost just under a grand to complete. “And that’s if the one tooth doesn’t turn out to be a root canal,” he explained. I appreciated his forthrightness and no nonsense attitude, but still wished the prognosis had been slightly easier to take as well as the dollar amount expected as payment.

A week later I sat in the chair, braced for the root canal that was to come. “I’m going to ask you to hold on to the arms of your chair,” he said as he prepped the tortuous devices behind me, conveniently out of my line of sight, “Some people feel this and it surprises them.” My reply was to shift uncomfortably in the seat, grunt in disapproval, and shut my eyes, praying that I wouldn’t feel a thing. Luckily, there was no surprise of pain, and only moments later I heard, “well, that went well…want to see what a nerve looks like?” By the shake of my head I declined looking at the remains of my decayed tooth and within twenty minutes I was scheduling my follow up appointment, trying to talk through the numbness and stiffness radiating from the right side of my jaw.

Providentially, I had enough money in my account to pay the enormous fee of the morning, but my heart sank at the thought of more appointments and payments to come. We had only accomplished half of the "plan" and the root canal threw everything off. I worried about the deadline of my upcoming appointments, and with no upcoming employment....


But two weeks later...and I can pay it! Now obviously some other unforeseen wrench can get thrown in the plans, but as for now, as I go in to finish this root canal... the money is there. It came in such unique ways, a gift, a week of housesitting, an honorarium...it wasn't till I sat down with the numbers that I saw what was happening. God provided, in His way, and in His time.


Matthew 6 says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" I read this passage the other day, resting in its promise. God loves us, wants the best for us, and it doesn't simplify all of life into some sort of easy road where everything gets taken care of and we don't have to do anything. We are assured that in life there will be trouble, but that God will be right beside us. And so as I spend two days back in that painful chair with a dentist I haven't decided whether I actually like yet, I'm holding on to the greater plan, the greater timing....and hopefully will come out on the other side just above broke, with healthy teeth... :o)

Back to Springfield!!!

As officially as it gets in my life, as of this weekend, I will once again be a resident of Springfield, VA. This is by no means the long term plan, but to regroup, make some money, and start applying for jobs....of the more full time persuasion.  I'll be staying with friends of the family, back in the neighborhood I grew up in, and I hope to dig in with people I've known and met over the years.

The past couple of weeks have been constant movement and shifting with natural disasters, house sitting, my first ever worship seminar (I mean, I actually led it!) and tying up loose ends in Christiansburg (i.e. finishing a root canal!). I did have a chance to play in the old neighborhood in Roanoke where I lived back in 2007, staying with my longtime camp buddy Rebekah and her dog, Geronimo.  Wednesday I'll be headed back to Colonial Beach (but only if they have gotten their power back on!) and Friday I'll be making the drive to Springfield to settle in....

I'm excited that there are way more questions than answers, that I have no idea what even a week from now looks like... I'm prone to becoming independent and thinking I have it all figured out, but the way this summer is ending, I'm keeping a tight hold on the One who guides us all.... and this currently humble and grateful heart wants it no other way!

The Nomadic Life

I am very happy to say that the more often I move from place to place and pack/unpack my car, the more efficient and simplified I am getting.  Eighty percent of everything that I own or have fits in the green bullet, and what hasn't fit, is only because I've been holding onto a bed, dishes, scrapbooks, and a couple of pieces of furniture in hopes that one day I will once again have my own home to put them back into.  But for now my bed is being borrowed by my sister, and my few apartment accessories either grace the shed at Colonial Beach, or are boxed up in the attic there...at least I'm not paying for storage somewhere. :o)

Some interesting tidbits I've learned in the last week:

If you are housesitting and you need to iron something (well, I didn't NEED to iron anything, but I had some fabric and had gotten really inspired by this japanese quilting book and just HAD to try cutting up some pieces for patchwork) and you happen to break the ironing board...it's best just to leave it out in the open and declare it the only casualty of the week.... I mean, next to the dogs being alive and happy and the house still standing despite earthquakes, it looks like nothing went wrong....

If you also happen to be doing your first seminar ever and you have the brilliant idea to do a handout....but the printer you have been carrying in your trunk is on the fritz and won't connect to the computer unless both are online, you may have to go down to someplace where you have connections, like the neighborhood museum, to print your initial copy and then head over to Staples to make copies for the seminar.... got to love Franconia!

And if your parents happen to be in the process of selling the family home, try to spend as little time there as possible... your dinner may be delayed an hour and a half as your dad chats with some gutter estimate man about local sports.....and sounds will echo with the empty rooms and sooner or later it will hit you that you no longer have that home to come back to...bittersweet.

Maybe sometime I'll take this topic more seriously and post about how I keep my life organized in the green bullet...but that is saying that I am actually organized.....

NLSW Graduation

Recently I received the pictures from the graduation ceremony for the New Life School of Worship. Heart pangs for those faces I miss so dearly, but such sweetness in the reminder of just how far God brought me, to Colorado and back.

The graduating class of 2011!

My Team- the Humblebees...bzzzzz

My First Earthquake!!!

I love Virginia for its moderate weather. There is the occasional tornado, the yearly big snow, sometimes rainy weather or the weakened state of a hurricane coming up the coast. So an earthquake, certainly a 5.8, felt from North Carolina up to New England and Toronto, comes as a bit of a surprise.

I myself was sitting with my mom and grandmother, eating a lovely lunch of subway before Nana went to her hair appointment down the block. It's not uncommon for a building in Springfield to shake with the passing of a large truck, and that particular shopping center backs up to the highway.  So my own reaction was definitely delayed. It was only the continued strength and length of the shaking that gave the first hint. The second hint was the three employees of Subway running from behind the counter to get out of the building. It was then that my mom said, "we need to go outside," as my grandmother said, "let me just get my purse." I walked out holding my sandwich (I mean, why stop eating?) as we gathered with strangers in the parking lot watching other buildings empty and people mill around.  And then came the full blown realization that we had indeed, in safe and moderate Virginia, felt the ground shift and move beneath our feet.... we went back into Subway and kept eating.

And as we ate, we did our part to jam up the cell lines and periodically called family to check in. It was when I called Becky that the scope of the quake came into focus, she and Nate were woken up from napping by the house in Colonial Beach shaking.  She gave us the initial news report she had just watched...that the epicenter was from Mineral, VA, close to Fredericksburg.

As exciting as the afternoon was, it was highly entertaining to listen to the radio broadcasters on my slow chug back to Chantilly to check on the dogs I'm caring for. The normal 40 minute drive crept into almost two and a half hours as most people left work with buildings closed for the afternoon.  People called in and gave reports on the traffic and damage where they were, and the radio guys kept up a good banter. "The tweet that the Washington Monument is leaning is unconfirmed...I repeat, nothing has been reported as wrong with the Washington Monument." All in all, we each have stories to tell, and the damage was minimal....let's call it a good earthquake? 

I mean, it was the largest earthquake in Virginia since 1897!

My Little Family for the Week

Aspen

 I have the distinct pleasure of hanging out with the lovely Aspen and Vermont, two labradoodles of a friend who is on vacation this week.  I like having two shadows, definitely a change from Mitch.... these guys are certainly bigger!

Vermont

They are doing their best to be sad that their family is gone, even trying to remain strong and united on a hunger strike...too bad a little sour cream got both of them to eat their dinner last night and I heard Vermont crunching away this morning when I wasn't looking.... :o) And apparently their rawhide chew treats don't count under the constraints of the strike either..... maybe I'll be brave and try walking them later on.... wish me luck!