A Charleston Week in Review

Howdy, family! Here's a week in the life of a gal living in Charleston...
Last week was week two at both my Journeying with Jesus women's Bible study on Monday night, and Divorce Care on Tuesday. I am learning significantly through each of these studies - both from the network of individuals whose spiritual journeys and willingness to be so transparent offer depth, as well as the scriptures we study. I will continue with each of these through mid-December and am looking forward to the weeks ahead.

Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to the domestic violence shelter at which I volunteer, My Sister's House. Wednesday was their annual meeting, where they celebrated 20 years serving women and children who are victims of domestic violence in the Charleston area. I'm excited to also be part of a group at Blackbaud which will take on a nonprofit each quarter to put our internal skills to use by building/redesigning and teaching them to maintain, their organization's website. The first one we're piloting is My Sister's House! My director was so excited when I approached her to see if she would be interested - it will be an interesting project, but I'm hopeful we can pull it off!

Work is keeping me on my toes. My design team is rapidly growing and my challenge in the coming months will be to continue to evangelize and enforce user-centered practices. One of the ways we are reaching out to usability practioners outside of Blackbaud is by chartering a local chapter of the international UPA organization. Today I was elected president of our local chapter - scary! You can read up on our latest here or here until we get our website up and running.

Friday, I welcomed Matt to town for another weekend visit with homemade chicken tandoori, orange-cilantro rice, and grilled white corn on the cob. If you're interested, I'll post the recipes - just let me know! Saturday, we made brunch and headed out to the Ravenel for a jog from Patriots Point to downtown Charleston. We took a break mid-way for some photo ops! That evening, we enjoyed a date night by giving me a Tex-Mex fix at On the Border! A girl can only go so long without some chips and queso. I take after my mother, we need our Mexican food every once in a while. We proceeded on to the movie theater, where Matt was a good sport, and sat through Nights in Rodanthe! Rodanthe is in North Carolina (Kenny, you probably know since Wilmington is not far!) so it was neat to see very familiar beach settings.
Sunday was brunch at Hominy Grill, where I took Amy a week prior. Are we seeing a trend here? Yes it's that good. They feature homemade breads like the delectable pumpkin ginger spice in case you needed another incentive to come visit! Afterward, we ventured out to try a new beach just west of downtown. Folly Beach was fun because we saw a different side of Charleston - the more tourist type of town. If it were Spring Break we would have, no doubt, been caught in a mob of college kids! We enjoyed a walk along the shoreline amidst a mosaic of seashells, some of which I brought home. At any rate, I dare you to ask someone who doesn't believe in God to take a walk down the beach and be able to proclaim that statement again at the end of the walk - such beauty that only God could paint. Here is a hermit crab, two seagulls (one with only one leg!), and Matt standing amidst various patterns of the shoreline...
After watching the Cowboys lose, we met friends Brian and Shannon at Blackbaud Stadium to round out the weekend with a trip to the Charleston Battery playoff game against Rochester - which incidentally was their last game of the season, but still fun to watch.
Yes, the sunsets are that gorgeous on a nightly basis! And so ends one week and begins another.

As evidenced by a glimpse into our visits, Matt and I continue to grow, despite the separation. We are working hard spiritually, individually, and jointly to allow God's guidance during this time. Please pray for us as we let others lead us in our weekly studies. Matt is enjoying an intense months-long study at his church, called Disciple. We hope to continue to encourage and strengthen each other and see where that leads us.

Love to everyone from the East Coast,
Shannon and Luther