Mr. Sunshine Smiles

Christmas Eve is literally tomorrow.

TOMORROW.

As in like Tuesday…the day that comes after today, which is Monday.

It’s a sentence that I’ve been saying for like weeks, but it is now finally holding true.

HOLY WREATHS OF HOLLY AND MISTLETOE.

A traditional Christmas Eve service complete with candlelight, the Christmas story, and the singing of my favorite hymns has always been a tradition that I’ve enjoyed immensely since as long as I can remember.

There is just something about the service that gets me right in the heart and fills my soul with an emotion of feeling unlike anything else in this world.

I’m telling you…there is nothing quite like singing the words to Silent Night while witnessing a church full of candlelight, in the dark, and the voices sing out the lyrics of the beloved hymn.

Goosebumps.

And for those of who know me, I start planning the Christmas Eve service early in the year…like Valentine’s Day.

Real talk.

Christmas Eve in Penryn is no joke.

And this year is going to be even more special and meaningful because of the vote our congregation took back on December 8th to become a Reconciling in Christ church.

The first Lutheran Church in Lancaster County to do so.

This Christmas Eve night will be even more special than the ones in year’s past and I’m excited for the opportunity to share that experience with everyone who decides to walk through the doors of our little church that night.

The lyrics that we will sing to our favorite Christmas hymns are going to have even more meaning for me this year.

The candles we will light together will be even more symbolic.

We will be the light.

Together.

We will be the light for this world and anyone feeling darkness in their lives.

Together.

So, please join our church family tomorrow at 6:30pm for our Christmas Eve service.

It is a tradition that welcomes ALL people regardless of their social status, physical ability, religion, ethnicity, race, or sexual identity.

Together, we will discover the light of Christmas.

I hope to see you there.

All. Are. Welcome.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!

The wind is howling it’s brisk, chilly air among the neighborhood homes as the scarf around my neck whisps up into my face and hits my cheeks that are red like cherries.

The steps my feet are taking on the cracked sidewalks start to become faster strides in hopes of getting my body to the warmth of my home.

There are leaves collected on the small patch of grass outside my front door, evident of the time that I do not put into lawn care.

I walk up the steps quickly to unlock the front door that greets visitors and passer-bys with a decadence of forest green color.

I quickly unlock the door against the violent wind and swiftly step inside and shut the door behind me.

The living room greets me with dust on the floor, boxes and boxes of Christmas gifts yet to be organized and wrapped in the corner, and several picture frames that have probably been laying on the ground for more than half a year.

And, if that isn’t bad enough, after traveling up the staircase of creaky steaps, you will find several rooms filled with “stuff”–clutter. This of course includes, but is not limited to a collection of CD’s from my childhood, coloring books, markers, crayons, books, picture frames, and both closets and drawers filled to the brim with clothes–some of which I don’t even wear anymore.

Or, from the back room of the house you can look out the window to the backyard that is once again evidence of all the time that I do not put into lawn care beauty and organization.

Each time I walk into one of these rooms or look outside at the nature elements of my home, my anxiety starts to rise just a bit as the minimalist part of my personality starts to scream a little.

And, then I realize that 2020 is right around the corner and that it will be a true year of renewal for me.

The walls and roof that enclose my casa are not perfect, but they do keep me warm and safe.

My life is not perfect. I don’t try to act like it is nor do I try to pretend that it is.

It isn’t.

Period.

In 30 days, I will be saying goodbye to the Mr. Sunshine social media persona for a little bit of time. While I’m not certain how long of a period I will be gone from the worlds of Facebook and Instagram, I know in my heart that it is something I need to do in order to better myself and push forward in personal growth.

I will continue to blog and release new posts on Monday, so those of you that follow me will hopefully continue to do so as I embark on this journey of self-management and improvement.

Is this goodbye? I don’t know.

What I do know is that I need to take time where I put myself first for once, which is something that I have rarely done in my 32 years on this Earth.

2020 will be the year that changes that.

T minus 20 days until Mr. Sunshine goes into the sunset.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!

 

 

 

 

December 8, 2019 will be a day that will go down in the history books for the congregation of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Penryn, PA.

While I know that church and religion is not everyone’s thing this day in age, I sincerely hope that you will continue to read this post because I’m incredibly excited to share what made yesterday such a monumental moment.

I’ve been a member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Penryn since 1995…which is crazy. That is 24 years. It is quite amazing how quick the time flies.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve been the Music Director since 2009; however, don’t quote me on that because I’m not very good with dates. I might need my Mama Welliver to officially fact check that for me!

Even in the 24 years I’ve been a member, I’ve seen the church go through a lot of change–mostly different Pastors and leaders that caused some difficulty for stability and growth.

And through these changes, there were even discussions of closing our doors–something that had every member of the congregation feeling emotional.

Then, in September of 2017, we had the opportunity to be the guinea pig congregation for something new that the Synod was “trial and erroring” and were paired up with a seminary student, Angie Hammer.

It was our saving grace–the answer to our prayers. The stability that we had been looking for to help with our growth and showing others in the community that we are here and ready to share our God given talents with everyone. And as we move forward in our convenant agreement with Angie that will occur over the next 3 years, the excitement inside my soul only grows.

Angie has challenged us to look inside ourselves and to really think about how we can each use our talents to encourage growth, love, and kindness within our church family and all people that visit to share in our worship experience.

And amongst all that has been happening in these past two years with Angie, one of the conversations that our congregation started to explore was something that we call “Reconciling in Christ.”

The Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Program is for congregations, synods, colleges, seminaries, and other Lutheran organizations and ministry communities who have made a public commitment to welcome, include an celebrate people of all walks of live regardless of sexuality orientation and identity, mental ability, social status, religion, or ethnicity.

Today, December 8, 2019, our faithful church in the small town of Penryn was moved by the Holy Spirit and did something amazing.

The following is the public declaration that we made as the faith community of St. Paul:

“As a Reconciled in Christ Congregation, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Penryn, welcomes ALL God’s people, embracing differences of age, race, ethnicity, physical or mental abilities, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or economic status. We recognize that we are all children of God, whose differences are Reconciled in Christ.”

While this may sound like a simple sentence, it is so much more than that. It is something that makes me so emotional inside with unwavering faith and joy.

As the congregation prepared their ballots for voting, I sat in the front pew with baited breath waiting for the results and praying that this congregation would be prepared to move forward.

And when Glenn walked to the microphone to announce that 92% had voted in favor of becoming a Reconciling in Christ church, I cried. I sat there in the front pew and cried like a baby. There were lots of tears shed and hugs. I’ve never seen Vicar Angie cry…but today I witnessed those tears.

We are welcoming to ALL.

We are welcoming to ALL regardless of what they are going through in their lives.

We are welcoming to ALL regardless of the darkness that they may be experiencing in their lives.

We, at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Penryn, are welcoming to ALL.

As you read this, I realize that it might not seem like a lot to you; however, it is a HUGE monumental moment for our church and the community around us.

There are no ELCA Lutheran churches in Lancaster County that are Reconciling in Christ. The closest one is Middletown.

So, here’s to new possibilities and a future full of love, kindness, and open arms to everyone.

If you are someone or know someone who is struggling and is looking for a church home to worship freely and feel the spirit and be welcome with open arms, come to St. Paul, Penryn.

ALL. ARE. WELCOME.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!

 

 

Happy Monday, all!

I hope that everyone was able to have an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday with both family and friends and that the cravings of cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, turkey, and mashed potatoes were satisfied to the max.

I don’t know about you; however, it is quite near impossible for me to believe that it is the second day of the last month of 2019!

Like seriously, though. Where in the name of Mike has the time gone this year?!

It is absolutely insane to think that we will be celebrating one of the biggest holidays in just a few weeks and shortly after that welcoming in 2020.

And speaking of the new year, that brings me to this week’s post.

The new year always brings about the entity that we call “resolutions.” It always seems to be the standard when we begin “anew” and try to welcome in a brand new year with the idea of wanting to improve both ourselves and our lives.

In fact, when you Google the term “New Year’s Resolution” (or at least when I Googled it tonight), I got the below definition:

-A person who vows to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life.

And this year, I’m getting all my ducks in a row with my resolutions way before 2020 shows its face.

Want the full debrief? Well, read on!

Here are just a few of my personal 2020 resolutions that will help to re-discover Mr. Sunshine!

1. De-activate social media–This is one that I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time; however, I’ve never fully followed through with it. This will occur shortly after the beginning of the year for at least a 3-6 month period. I often find this form of media distracting to me along with being a breeding ground for feelings of jealousy and quite frankly, I don’t need that crap surrounding me and in order to move on and learn more about myself, I need to get rid of the distraction. I’ll be back at some point in 2020…just not sure when.

2. Hit desired weight–The removal of social media from my life will help me to really focus on this goal for myself. Fitness is something that has become a staple and passion of mine for the past couple of years and 2020 will be the year to finally hit my desired weight with my fitness goal. So, when I return to social media, you might not even recognize Mr. Sunshine. Say what?!

3. Try a vegan diet for at least 30 days–This is definitely something that will prove to be a challenge for me, especially because I’m a huge fan of every food that is bad for me. A huge thank you to my friend, Taylor who has given me a full guide on brands and items that I can find in local grocery stores to assist with this personal challenge for myself.

4. Work on tithing–Personally, this is not something that I’ve ever been good at, so 2020 is the year to finally hold myself accountable.

5. Organize the entire house and minimalize–It’s time for me to officially Marie Kondo my entire house…room by room…inch by inch. Quite the task and while I’m sure it will take several months, I’m excited for the potential positive energy that will result from finally making it happen.

6. Get a tatoo–Ever since turning 32, this was something that I’ve had on my mind. As I work to re-discover Mr. Sunshine and really define my core values and passions, a symbol of what that means for me is something that I would like to get on my body. Suggestions of where to get this accomplished once I make that decision are certainly welcome!

7. Mr. Sunshine surprise #1–You didn’t think I would leave you hanging without a surprise reveal in the new year did you?! The first one will come shortly after the year (as long as everything works out with it), so stay tuned and keep an eye out for more details!

8. Mr. Sunshine surprise #2–That’s right…not one, but two! While details of this one are also still in the making, it is something that my heart is incredibly excited and while thinking about how to change the world in 2020, it was something that just fell into my lap. So, that also means stay tuned for more details!

Well, there you have it.

The 2020 year for Mr. Sunshine in a nutshell.

Well a couple of nutshells.

A year of excitement, mystery, re-discovering, re-imagining, evolving, and surprises!

2019 has been an incredible year…but it’s time for me to refocus on myself for a bit of time before I work to continue on changing the world just a wee little bit at a time.

So, stay alert and on guard because the re-discovery of Mr. Sunshine takes full swing in just a few, short weeks!

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!

 

Well, happy Monday folks!

I hope everyone was able to survive the many flakes of snow that Mother Nature decided to drop on us yesterday. Who else woke up and looked outside with a jaw dropping emotion?!

And if the craziness of the snow wasn’t enough, how about the fact that Thanksgiving is this week?! Like, what the heck?!

But like, give me all the mashed potatoes.

Seriously though.

ALL THE MASHED POTATOES.

Okay, and Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce…

…and pumpkin pie.

So, basically, everything.

Anyhoo, I digress.

My post this week will be short and sweet, so enjoy!

With this being the week with the holiday the celebrates the action of giving thanks, I wanted to take a quick step back to talk about a very special part of my life that I’m extremely thankful, blessed, and grateful for.

On January 2, I embarked on a journey unlike anything that I’ve ever done before in my life.

A year long journey of running 1000 miles and working to raise both funds and awareness to a cause that has been close to my heart since my time at Penn State.

At the time of this writing, I have run a total of 900 miles and raised a total of $13,590! This means I’m only 100 miles away from my running goal and $2,410 away from my $16,000 goal.

16,000 kids are diagnosed every single year with some form of cancer. That’s two classrooms of children every single day.

With this journey that has just one week left in Month 11 and one final month to raise money and run miles, I’m so extremely thankful for so many people, which I will list below.

I’m so incredibly thankful for my parents who have taught me from the beginning to follow my heart and passions. They have been by my side and have seen my passion for pediatric cancer research grow throughout my time in college and also since graduating. I love you guys with my whole heart and are so thankful that you are there to offer guidance, support, and above all, undying love every step of the way.

I’m thankful for Hank Angus and the members of The Hope Express who helped me to dig deeper throughout two years of running adventures and pushing me to give 110% with every single mile and to not let the fire burning inside my soul burn out. They helped me to recognize ways to set out and change the world.

I want to thank ALL of the people who have supported me on this journey whether it be through words of encouragement, spreading the word about this cause, or monetary donations. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of the love and support. Words can’t really truly begin to express how thankful and grateful I am for each and every one of you.

I’m extremely thankful for all of the people who I’ve had the honor of being able to run in memory for over the years with both the The Hope Express, my 500 Miles of Love, Hope, and Kindness three month campaign in 2016, and now my current 1K For 10K campaign. Their stories of courage are incredible and while I didn’t have opportunity to meet every single one of them, I feel that their spirits are ones that move me on the days that I want to give up.

There is just 1 month and 1 week left in this year-long journey and as I sit here and write these words, I’m just overwhelmed with emotion. I would’ve never thought that I would’ve hit the $10,000 goal so early in that I would be increasing that goal by another $6,000.

So, here’s to the final legs of the journey. Here’s to hitting the 1000 mile mark and $16,000 threshold.

Here’s to keeping my passion alive for this cause, spreading awareness to everyone I meet, and allowing the fire inside my soul to ignite some continued positive change in the world.

Thankful. Blessed. Grateful.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!

This past Wednesday, we were able to celebrate World Kindness Day. And as Mr. Sunshine and one who tries to live out a life of optimism to lift up others with positive energy, this is a day that is incredibly meaningful to me.

Well…in all reality…world kindness day should be every day.

As Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

Sometimes, I am scared by the world and the violence and hatred that is found in it. And one of the ways I work to combat that fear is with love and kindness.

It is something that costs nothing and something that each and every one of us could afford to share more of as we go about our daily lives.

I got to celebrate in the best possible way this year by sharing some stories with the local daycare kids at The Webstaurantstore Learning Center and discussing both thankfulness and gratitude.

I got to interact with kids from ages 2-5 among three different classrooms by reading two different stories–Bear Says Thanks and Being Thankful. 

With the younger kids, I got to engage the kids with a story called Bear Says Thanks, which talked about the main character, Bear, having bare cupboards and nothing to share with his furry friends from the forest.

But, amongst it all, the multitude of friends stop by Bear’s home with all kinds of delectable tasty treats to share, and in the end, they all join with each other on a quilt provided by Bear and sharing in their friendships together with the fellowship of stories that Bear shares.

The best part of sharing this story was getting the opportunity to re-enact it with all the young kids. Each child got an item to bring to the picnic and we all got to share in each other’s company. And, at the end of it all, we got to share in this special “thank you” poem/saying that I hope everyone takes a moment to learn:

After enjoying the company of the younger kids in the classroom, I got the chance to be with the older kids where I read, Being Thankful, which was part of the Little Critter series. It talked about Little Critter not being satisfied with anything in his life and always wanting more…wanting the latest and greatest.

In the end, Grandma and Grandpa show Little Critter to be happy with what he has and give him a thankful rock to remind him to step back for a few moments and remember that there is so much in this life to be thankful for, which included his family, friends, and home.

All the older kids got to make their very own thankful rocks to take home and keep in a safe spot to help them remember to always be thankful. We also got to go around the classroom and share with each other things that we were thankful for.

It was an uplifting experience. One that was needed and welcomed after a few draining weeks.

These kids are the future of our world and teaching them to be kind and share love wherever possible is such an important lesson to be learned and it was an awesome experience getting to show them just a small piece of these aspects through reading and activities on World Kindness Day.

There are days when I both wake up and go to bed scared because of the amount of violence and hate that is in our world and our community. It seems to be thrown in our faces on the daily.

We need to share love and kindness more…

…And with everyone.

We need to be more intentional about it and make every effort to have it become a part of our daily routine with every person with interact with.

Smile at the stranger. Share your appreciation with someone in life that means a lot to you. Buy the order for the person behind you in the drive-thru line.

The possibilities are endless.

Everyone is deserving of kindness regardless of sexual orientation, religion, ethnitcity, skin color, or social status.

Fill your heart with joy and share it with others.

Lao Tzu says it best…

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates LOVE.”

Go. Do.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!

Well, hello there folks! We made it through to another week!

I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to believe that we are one week closer to Thanksgiving.

Not only that, but I feel like I’ve started to see people decorating for Christmas AND hearing tunes of the season playing on the radio.

Can’t I just have a few moments to enjoy my turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes?

Like…seriously…I need to be able to enjoy my mashed potatoes before I shift the gears of my mind over to the holiday season.

You think I’m kidding. But I LOVE my mashed potatoes.

LOVE.

But I digress.

Anyhoo, this week I’m going to discuss the journey I’ve been on the past three years in regards to saying “mmmbyeee” to the skinny minny Mr. Sunshine.

What’s really ironic is that I’m currently feasting on a bag of Sour Patch Kids as I write this…

Didn’t you know that they are part of the food pyramid?!

Well…they are part of the Mr. Sunshine food pyramid…shh…don’t tell my trainer!

But I digress…again.

For as long as I can remember, I was always skinny. Growing up, I was always the one that had no meat on their bones. I was always the one that was made fun of in elementary school, middle school, and high school because there was just nothing to me.

Literally…nothing.

There were even times that people would ask if I ate because I was that skinny.

Fitness was never something that really interested me. In all honesty, it was something that I would often think about–I would think about going to the gym, I would think about getting toned muscles–I would think about looking like those picture perfect Instagram models that have chiseled everything–but I would never actually execute and move forward with it.

I was always the person that would try to find the latest and greatest fitness fad during the month of December and tell myself that I was going to become physically fit once the calendar switched to January 1st.

You know…those infamous New Year’s resolutions that we all make for ourselves that last like a week before we fall off the bandwagon?!

Yeah…that was me…like every year once I graduated college.

I would join the local gym at the beginning of the year and after a good week or two of “working out,” I would stop. The excuse was usually that I was too busy…but we all know that I just didn’t feel like putting in the work.

I didn’t have the motivation.

I was even crazy enough (or should we say INSANE) to buy the Insanity fitness DVD’s to try and get fit that way. My former roommate Elyse can attest to this because she was more consistent than me. I fell off the bandwagon after like a month because I got lazy and once again, was too busy.

Toward the end of 2016, I told myself that I needed to buckle up and get serious about getting in shape, so I started to do some research into personal trainers. I knew that if I made a financial investment into bettering myself for the future, I would stick with it. I’m also the type of person who needs someone motivating me and pushing me to be great.

I knew a theater friend who I worked with and reached out about the gym that she was working for at the time. After receiving very positive feedback, I decided to reach out to the trainer and make an appointment to talk about my goals.

The rest is history.

I’ve been working with Zach Musser at Z Fitness on Columbia Avenue in Lancaster since January of 2017 and I can’t even begin to describe how much my life has changed for the better because of it. I’ve gotten stronger in body, mind, and spirit and two times a week for one hour, Zach pushes me to be better and makes me do things that I would’ve never been able to do 3 years ago.

Squatting with 60 pound dumbbells in each hand?!

Yeah…skinny minny Mr. Sunshine could’ve never done that!

Zach is a great motivator and even though he makes me do push-ups and pull ups (which I DISLIKE SO MUCH), I still can’t even begin to thank him for the changes he has helped me make in my life. Working out has become a habit in my life that I love and when I miss a training session, I don’t feel complete. It is now a part of me that I don’t want to give up in life. I only have hunger to become stronger.

In January of 2017, I started at a weight of 135lbs.

Three years later, after lots of hard work, I weigh right around 156lbs and feel great. I can’t even wait to see what the future holds as my fitness journey continues with Zach over the years.

One of the hardest struggles for me in the fitness journey is food. Everyone knows that I LOVE to cook (TOTAL SARCASM). I don’t like to cook and finding time to do it is something that just doesn’t exist for me. I live a busy lifestyle and most of the time I get food because it is convenient and cost-effective.

Trust me…if you saw my eating habits, you would fall over in your chair.

Sugar, coffee, fast food, sugar, ice cream…I mean…I eat vegetables and cheese too.

This is the aspect of my life that is a constant struggle and one that will be an over-arching goal for me in 2020 as I continue my fitness journey.

More meal prepping, intentional grocery shopping with lists of actual recipes and foods that are healthier, less fast food and coffee intake, and trying to eat less…

…drum roll please…

SUGAR.

Yes, you did just read that last sentence correctly.

Mr. Sunshine needs to lower his sugar intake in 2020.

YIKES! Do they have a support group for that?

I actually do have a pretty awesome online coach who checks in weekly to make sure that I’m getting my calories in and doing due diligence to get those gains!

His name is Daniel Buckley and we connected through social media on Instagram. And like my personal trainer Zach, he is a pretty awesome motivator that I’m extremely thankful for. He is such a huge supporter and his guidance is welcome, honest, and genuine.

Fitness is a journey that looks different for everyone. Finding the path for me that suited my ability took some time and now that I’m on that path, I have the opportunity to continue evolving into something greater.

Fitness takes discipline. It takes dedication.

You have to make the choice. Don’t give up. Take the leap of faith to be healthier, better, stronger.

I’m a firm believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind to with hard work and determination.

Skinny minny Mr. Sunshine will soon be a thing of the past.

And, I for one, can’t wait.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!