My mind fills as if there is a wealth of knowledge and new ideas, advice, and wisdom flowing around it. These past two days I have had a great opportunity to do some professional development and it came in the best form. Through questions and conversations with (new to me) colleagues from a city a few hours away. My mind is literally swirling with all the words and new info I have and people that I met. I feel quite fortunate to have had this chance to socialize and learn from others. I’ve had a chance to hear their journeys to their present day moment and learn of their experiences,…

Sometimes, more often than not, I spend time dreaming about the future and what is to come and what will be. I believe it is necessary for me to be thinking and having something that I can move forward to, however it is valid sometimes to pause and take stock of what I do have here in the present moment. It is easy to get caught up in the future and the things that you seemingly don’t have yet in the present but what about how much you do have right now right here? If I think about it, I am beyond blessed and have accomplished things that I didn’t…

I think “Free-write Sundays” will become a tradition moving forward. It’s Sunday, which is an interesting day, some consider it the end of their week, while others the kickstart of the week. For me it is a little both and. At this time of the week, I’ve typically experienced a lot these past 6 days and need time to process and reflect. While at the same time, tomorrow is Monday which is the typical start of the work week and so I have to refocus my mind and calendar for what is coming. On days like this it is good for me to just write it out and kind of…

Yesterday, something different happened… I can’t tell you yet if it is good or bad but at the moment it feels good. In the midst of going after your dreams, part of what you are trying to do is get out of the same old routine. So when something different happens, it feels like you are onto something new. I hope to keep you posted on what is to come of this quest to achieve my dreams. In the meantime, I would love to hear what dream are you seeking to achieve. Until next time, I’m CiggyG Post 63 out of 100 #the100dayproject

So in thinking about this blog and my niche I am still working on narrowing that down. However, I do have a blog with very few posts on it at the moment about a specific part of my world: Reslife or residence life for those not familiar with the slang. If you have yet to subscribe, then here is a spoiler alert: Ciggy is Rena. Rena is Ciggy…shocking to a few, I bet.  Subscribe to this blog to learn the story of how Rena became Ciggy! So for the past decade I have been in working in residence life in some capacity: as an undergraduate, graduate student, intern, and now…

If you are just joining in today, please make sure to check out the posts from July 2nd and July 3rd to follow along. Is there purposeful time each day for something you love that fills you and refuels your spirit? I need to be a bit more intentional in my planning to create the space and environment to do them. As of now, there are things that I may do daily that I enjoy or love and if I give them the proper time it would refuel me but as of now it is just something to check off a personal to do list. At one point I thought…

Hi there readers, As mentioned yesterday I decided to take a moment to do some journal prompts and today is part 1 of 3 so here goes… What moments in your day make you feel stuck? It’s the small moments that I can’t seem to control that make me feel stuck. Or the silly things that you think you should be able to fix in a quick minute or two that take 20 to 45 minutes and it trips you up. Instead of rushing through monotonous moments, how can you lean in and create space for working, creating and serving in communion with God? Honestly, I think it is taking…