i got this in a fortune cookie about a week before we began our loveeachone tour....

i recently found this photo on my cell phone so i thought i would share :)

ging

hey! welcome to our blog :)

thanks for still checking us out even though we're no longer traveling... it really means a lot to us!

its me, ginger..... down in FL :)

this is FL love !

I have officially been home for 9 days now.... it feels like an eternity!

and i don't mean that in a bad way! its just that after moving moving moving all the time its kind of weird feeling to stay in one place.

sometimes i think that our tour was just a blur... like it didn't actually happen... but every single day i think about something that i learned over the period of 7 weeks we were traveling. there's no way it was a dream because i see the world in such a different way...... sometimes i'm tempted to ignore everything around me and just do what i wanna do (and honestly... there have been times already that i have) but i know i know I KNOW that is no way to live. People are the important part of life.

showing love definitely looks different here.... i've spent the last 9 days applying for jobs within biking distance of my apartment for next year, reading books, and being home with my family. it can be hard to love them sometimes.... there aren't a lot of places to go and be alone around here.... but they are really important! i've been thinking about how each person has a love language... a certain way that they receive love the most naturally.... it can be through touch, gifts, time, words.... i really want to discover the love languages of the people closest to me so that i can be loving them in a way that they best understand.

i've also been thinking about how being positive is so important. and believe me, i know this is not always easy.... but when we keep a positive and encouraging attitude even when those around us are not we show so much love! also..... patience.

sometimes.... i'm almost positive that love = patience. the end. you know?

so, thats what i'm doing... putting a positive attitude into practice... along with speaking encouraging words and being patient (no matter what).

and believing i will get a job no matter what the economy looks like!

<3ging

for the soldiers 5:26 PM

Because of You. celebrating the difference you make. 1:28 PM

Does one person matter? Do the countless little things you do each day -listening, caring, reaching out- really make a difference? The truth is, there are no little things. Every act of kindness, contribution or example quietly touches one heart, that in turn touches another. And when you care, people notice.

This book celebrates the difference you make, not just to those who know you best, but to the world around you. It's true. Because of you, our world is a better place.

- the introduction to the book "Because of You", where we've been finding many of our quotes :)

loving Love. 10:04 PM

A great life is the sum total of all the worthwhile things you've been doing one by one. -Richard Bach

I'm sorry it's taken so long for another post. The last leg of the trip has been fast paced and jam packed with things. After leaving New Jersey we shot down to Charlotte, NC - my home :) it was really wonderful being able to see my family. This last part of the trip I've been thinking a lot about how I show love to my family.

While we were here we wanted to conclude the packages for the soldiers that we started earlier. We went off to Wal-Mart believing it would be a quick trip that would basically take care of all the packages and were quickly proven wrong. A friend from school met us there and we suddenly realized that Wal-Mart doesn't always carry 30 sticks of Gillette Clinical Strength deodorant, 60 packs of clean wipes, and 30 packages of beef jerky. Which I have to say did surprise me. So while we were here we stopped by a few different stores, currently we only need a few more deodorants and some clean wipes (yayyy! :)

After we left NC we went straight down to spend the night in Orlando at our friend's, Annie, house :) Her family was lots of fun to stay with and it was fun to hear all their family stories and experiences they've had in Columbia (which is where her mom is from).

The following day we drove to Sarasota to drop off Ginger at her home. It was strange to be back in Sarasota (which is where our school is) and to suddenly see our school friends. It's strange to think that they've been on summer vacation for these last seven and a half weeks. I feel like everyone we left should have still been in school while we were traveling.

I don't know how to explain those last hours of driving together with Ginger and Jason. I just kept thinking... this is the end. Not the end of seeking after love, or encouraging others to love. But just the end of traveling all together. The conclusion of the Love Each One tour 2010. The last time we would all be together for awhile. The end of a season.

We left Gingy with her family and thanked them for a very yummy dinner. Then we headed back to Miami, to end where we started. We stayed at Stan's home for a day and where able to go back to 'His House', the orphanage we volunteered at our first day of Love Each One :) they had asked us to fix up a few old childrens chairs and table. We were only in Miami for a day so we didn't have the time to fix them, so we really wanted to figure something out for them. Once again, Jason and I were only in Miami for the day to get my car fixed up and we weren't sure if we could fix up the ol chairs before six. So we visited a few different stores until we were able to find some really cute childrens chairs at Toys R Us. We were able to find our way back to 'His House' to say hello to our old friend Carmen and drop off the chairs/tables. It was really great being able to see her and share with her (and her family/friends that were with her) all the amazing things that have happened while on the trip and all the things we've been able to learn :)

One thing we prayed before going on this trip and during it was that we would always be in the right place at the right time talking to the right people. I cannot express to you how faithful God has been. Everything has worked out perfectly. Absolutely everything. And we've made some wonderful new friends. And run into some amazing strangers. Everyone we've been able to come in contact with, from our waitress in Las Vegas, to the homeless man in New York City, I believe they were exactly who we needed to talk to.

Being home these last few days has been wonderful. I love my family and I really feel like I've grown in how I love people, from strangers to those close to me. I can't wait to keep learning about love. To keep giving it to people.

I know love is a decision. I know it isn't always comfortable. And I know the power of love. The strength that love carries with it when used sincerely. The ability it has to break down barriers. To overcome fear, to eliminate anger. To reach out to a stranger. To make someone's day better. To change the course of someone's life.

Love holds an amazing power.

Love never fails.

nyc 11:58 PM

very belated, i know. and i'm sorry.

friday afternoon we took a train from Princeton, NJ into New York City with our friend Meg. It emptied us out into the center of everything - it felt like there were billions of people and they were all going somewhere. my first reaction is, "ah! crowded, crazy, confusion, too much!"

after getting mildly lost we found our way to 1st and 20th and met up with one of Meg's fiends, Nick. He was a really cool guy, very genuine and accepting. He took us on a mini tour of the area and showed us a cool pizza place for lunch and a dessert bar later for something sweet. There are so many things in nyc; so many places to shop, to eat, to chill, to work.

he took us to his favorite park, Union Square. This is where i really started to appreciate nyc. Here i began to see it as more than just a mass of people. There were people lounging on blankets in the grass, strolling through the farmers market, playing with their dogs and/or kids, reading books, enjoying the company of friends, strumming guitars. People watching was so much fun, i thought about all of my friends who love sketching and about how much fun they would have here. I looked at people and really saw them as individuals and thought about how they have hopes and dreams too and i enjoyed imagining what those might be.

we stopped to look at this big clock/countdown thing on the side of a large building and a man asked us if we knew what it was, we said we didn't and so he began telling us about it. We told him we weren't from around there and explained what we were doing with Love Each One and everything. we asked him if we could video tape him and ask him a question and he quickly agreed. His name was Ron, he was a tall slim black man who was very friendly and polite and he had a kind smile. He was originally from Charlotte, NC. he had fun talking to Emily about that. He said that love is a choice. Its a decision to respond in loving way when people are treating you badly. He said that he used to live a tit for tat lifestyle but now he's learned how important it is to turn the other cheek, to respond in love despite the circumstances.

As we walked away from him, Emily and i were approached by two girls who wanted to tell us about a salon that was offering this amazing deal for a haircut, manicure, massage, and more and after expressing how much we wished we could take part we told them we were only there for the day and explained what we were doing and asked if they would mind sharing their thoughts on love with us really quick. They both said that love is in the small things - like holding the door open for someone or smiling at the people you pass by. They said that in a city as big as new york those are the things that really stand out, just acknowledging people is love.

As we continued through the park we happened upon a performance by a group of very fit black guys who were break dancing and bringing in quite the crowd. The leader of the group, who was wearing a leopard print do-rag, started yelling for people to gather closer, he said, " heeey! whiiite people! come clooooser! we will noooot hurt youuu. there are toooo many of youuu!" he was funny. he jumped over 6 girls who were kneeling in a row. once the act was over we ran over to meet him and see if he would answer our question. He said that love is in the breath. as long as we're breathing we're loving.

We also got to ask Nick what he thought love was and after he talked about his lovely girlfriend Justine, he said that we were the best example of love he had seen in awhile. He talked about how he walks down all the same streets everyday and see's all those people that we had talked with but he just walks by without engaging. He said that we really inspired him to go about his daily life differently.

i feel like a big thing we were hearing in nyc was just to live love; to breath love, respond in love, see love in simple acts. its cool because i feel like that fits new york city. its a crowded extravagant place and so the love light that really shines is a small, daily love. love that is enduring and constant.

it feels like a perfect reminder for the end of this tour. we dont want everything we've learned to just fade away, we still want to focus on loving each person we encounter, only now it will be a much more simple, daily sort of love.

currently we are in Matthews, NC staying with emily's family. we've been working on the packages for the soldiers, yes, we were supposed to have done those a month ago... but we're doing them now. we also got to hang out with a friend from school and one of his good friends and talk to them about love. they introduced us to a lovely place called Amelies french bakery. emily will tell you more about all things charlotte/matthews tomorrow (hopefully!) though.

goodnight for now! :)

tomorrow we drive to orlando!

~ ginger

listening 12:43 AM

Deep breath. Hmmm. I am currently sitting in the waiting room at the ferry dock, we are waiting to board and head back to the mainland. I have so many thoughts and my fingers feel almost frozen on the keys because of mind overload. There are so many things to say I can’t think of just where to start or how to start it.

Hmm, ok. Well, we have exactly one week left on this adventure. I feel like when we arrived in ohio half a week ago I was just wishing that it was over right then… seeing Jason around his family made me miss mine a lot and I also was missing having time to myself. But as we’ve been learning love is a lot about choosing others over yourself and though it can be uncomfortable, it is worth it. We have had such great conversations.

One of jason’s relatives shared a story of how she paid for someone’s meal at subway the other day and a friends family in Pennsylvania talked about how they had volunteered at a drug rehab home in philly. As we travel people are always asking us to share our stories and so its really nice to hear from others as well.

Stopping in Connecticut to surprise our friend Adam was lots of fun.

We got to meet a good friend of his, Karen, who shared stories of her past 4 months in Italy. Something that she was saying really stood out to her there was that the people did not multitask. If you were conversing with them they were totally focused on talking with and listening to you. Not half listening while doing a million other things like we have a tendency to do. I thought that was really cool. That’s something that always stands out to me; good listeners are almost like sparkling lights. I know, I talk about sparkly lights a lot :)

(that yellow speck is a firefly in adam's front yard btw....)

Anyways, from Connecticut we left with a number of love notes to share at our show and started making our way to the island of Nantucket.

It is an interesting place, very quaint and historic looking. During the summer months it is bustling with tourists and people who have summer homes here.

It’s a wealthy community and at first I felt like, “what are we doing here? These people don’t need any help.” But I quickly remembered that its not about financial or physical need, its about heart need. I say, “not here” pointing to my head, my mind, “but here” pointing to my heart.

We decided to rent a car and we met a somewhat cynical guy at the car and bike rental shop who didn’t seem to like us much and didn’t think we should be helping out in a place were so many people are not “in need” and we talked to him about why that’s not the point and though it was hard to tell if he received any of that I think explaining it all to him helped reaffirm it in our own hearts.

Next we headed over to a nursing home and as Emily said they were very eager to let us help right there on the spot. When I walked in the door I automatically felt nervous and kind of uncomfortable and honestly I didn’t really want to be there… there’s a lot of sadness in those places. But I know that love is a decision, so I pushed down my feelings and I ended up sitting with an older gentleman named Sam. He shared story after story with me; how his niece and her daughter had come by just the other day to plant flowers with him; how he had worked making boats with his dad when he was younger; he had also worked in a galley kitchen and waited tables on a big boat; he once snuck a little duckling into the nursing home inside his jacket because he wanted to give his friend some food and water.

he loves painting and drawing pictures for people and encouraging and helping people… he’s younger than many of the residents and so a bit more capable.

My job was to sit and attentively listen. It was fun and so much easier than I thought and he was a really neat guy, I know he had even more stories to share. We ended up having dinner with him there and so Em and Jason were able to hear some of his stories. Even though the place is uncomfortable and full of strangers they need to receive and give love just as much as anyone else. Sam has so much courage and hope and he is such a positive influence on the place, I’m thankful that we could help brighten his day as he brightens the days of so many of the residents.

After we left there we went to see a friend from school, Michelle, and meet some of her friends. It was really great!

They were so excited to talk to us about love and so we got a lot of video responses and some songs and promises of artwork to be sent to us. Her friends were made up of local Nantucket islanders, a bunch of kids who were born and raised on the island and come from all walks of life. They were very open and accepting of us and eager to listen to our stories as they shared their own. Something that one guy, James, said that stood out to me was that love comes in the little things. The things all around us like butterflies. Everyday pieces of life.

Later that night we went to our hostel to get some sleep, because we had been up since 5am, and we ended up staying up late talking with two of the managers of the place, Jamie and David. I feel like we frequently end up staying up much too late simply because we meet so many cool people. They were excited to hear our stories and said they would mention us on their facebook page and send us their love notes. I think David may even write a best selling book on his thoughts on love.

They also let us write the question “What is Love?” on their chalkboard and the next morning we had a few cool responses.

I am so excited about our show and sharing everything we’ve gathered with all of you! We also would like to have a live feed from our show on here so if you can’t make it you can at least check it out from wherever you are… we’ll get all that kind of stuff figured out eventually.

Well anyways, those are some thoughts from the past couple days….. sorry for the length! I guess to sum everything up…. I’ve been learning that love is a decision: sometimes I don’t feel like it, sometimes I would rather go sit in a coffee shop by myself and read or journal than help someone or listen to them (and alone time is good too! Don’t get me wrong!) but people need love and we can all give it, a lot of times its as simple as providing a listening ear and our full attention.

As i post this we have arrived in Jackson, New Jersey where we are staying with ou friend Meg :) tomorrow we will be spending the day in new york city. we'll post again soon!

Have a wonderful wonderful last weekend of june!

<3ginger

ps. we found annie!

(sounds like a band right? :) )