Tamara's Blog

In Case You Missed the Memo...about Semper Vita

We now have an official website up for the Semper Vita organization. Actually, it's more of a super-sized blog - or a blog "on steroids" as I like to refer to it.

The homepage is the Semper Vita blog, but there are also pages about the vision and mission, the experience (volunteering, connecting and training), the leadership team, FAQs, and partner opportunities.

Click here or on the banner below and check the site out. And don't forget to subscribe to the RSS feed or, if you prefer, sign up for email updates so that you always know the latest on what's happening in the Semper Vita network.

 

Blowing the Dust Off This Blog (cough, cough)

Hello again! It's been awhile - actually a long while - since you last heard from me. The last time we chatted, I asked you all to participate in a survey for a school paper - and WOW! - the response was tremendous. THANK YOU! I'll post the results from the survey later this week so you can see for yourself. Interesting stuff.

Much has transpired in the last few months, so in the spirit of pithy headlines and snappy descriptions, here's the Top 10 headlines in my life:

1. I went Mac.

   And will never go back. Yup, I bought a 24" iMac for personal use and I love it! I still have my Dell laptop, which I'm using right now to write this post. Seems that Microsoft Windows Live Writer (the best blogging tool out there!) doesn't work on a Mac...whaddup?!

2. Noetix no more.

   In April, I said an emotional goodbye to my employer of 7 years (actually 17 years if you add in its parent company). It was weird leaving the "family nest," but my friends and colleagues sent me off with a suitcase full of hugs and well wishes.

3. New job, same roots.

   I've returned to my roots working for a consulting company, but I'm not a consultant. Check out the press release on Forbes.com to see what I'm doing now. It's really kewl.

4. School's in session.

   I took last quarter off to ramp up on my new job, work on Semper Vita (see #5), and give my eyes a break (that's a story for another day). My break is now officially over. I start class again. Today. The doors open at 8:00 AM. I love summer school...I love summer school...I love summer school...

5. Semper Vita is in its 9th month.

   If you've talked to me in the last two years, you've probably heard me mutter something about "Semper Vita." Well, next week, the interim website for Semper Vita is rolling out, so now you'll be able to learn what all the fuss has been about. Stay tuned for more.

6. My Seattle Mariners, my oh my!

   The team really sucks this year. We're in last place in MLB. They just "let go" of all the top dogs who've allowed us to fall into this deep hole. There's still ~90 games left - plenty of time for a worthy comeback. Go Mariners go!

7. Another blog on ConversantLife.com.

   I have been invited to be a contributing blogger on ConversantLife.com - a site devoted to connecting faith to news and culture. I'll be approaching the conversation from a technology perspective. Stay tuned for that announcement too.

8. Jeannie releases her first book.

   My good friend, Jeannie Keneley, released her first book this month. It's called Beyond My Yesterdays: A Woman's Journey from Darkness to Light. Go check it out on Amazon.com. Congratulations Jeannie!

9. I'm changing my picture. Finally.

   I got a slough of pictures taken recently, so I can finally switch out my "peephole" picture in the banner of my blog. You will soon see that I really do have hair - actually, it's pretty long now. I'll switch it out this week.

10. Coming up.

    This week, watch for: survey results for the Eli Stone paper (mentioned earlier), a video on how to say Thank You to our troops (it's great!), a recent report on the current vision of the American Dream (times have changed), and a link to a visual diagram that explains why Barack Obama is able to decline participation in the public financing system. If you like pictures like I do, you won't want to miss this one.

Announcing a New Organization and a New Domain

As if having a full-time job (that I'm loving) and going to graduate school (that I'm also loving) wasn't enough...

New Organization: Semper Vita

For over a year, Semper Vita has been in the air. You may have seen the phrase in my blog's banner - "A Semper Vita Blog" - or in my blog address - http://sempervita.typepad.com/tamara - or in my friend Henriët's blog address - www.sempervita.org. That has been by design.

So what is Semper Vita? Semper Vita means "always life," and in the past couple of weeks, Semper Vita has taken on a new life of its own. It is now an official non-profit ministry organization with a vision for everyone to experience Jesus Christ through the love and service of others.

Who's behind it? Henriët Schapelhouman is the president and founder, and I am the executive vice president. We have an exceptional core team of Christian business leaders who is bringing their strengths, talents and "free" time to the table to build the infrastructure. There is much work to be done to publicly launch Semper Vita this year, and we hope to launch the Web site by this summer.

Of particular interest is the timing of all this. About the same time that our team was talking about taking Semper Vita to the next level, Henriët learned that she was being laid off from her role as pastor. In spite of this perceived setback, Henriët is absolutely thrilled and grateful that she can now go and do what God has called her to do (Semper Vita) on a full-time basis. Click here to read Henriët's recent announcement about her new beginning and new life.

Connecting the dots. If you've been following my blog, and you're still wondering why I am going to graduate school, Semper Vita is the primary reason why. At Fuller, I have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest Christian thinkers in the areas of leadership, culture and missional living. It is my prayer that this learning will actually stick and help me serve this new organization well.

New Domain: www.tamaradull.com

I have my own domain address now, which will serve as the permanent address for my personal blog from hereon out. The URL I have been using - http://sempervita.typepad.com/tamara - still exists and will continue to function as before. This new URL is in preparation for the upcoming Semper Vita Web site.

Please feel free to reply to this post or send me an email if you're interested in hearing more about this new adventure. Otherwise, stay tuned as the story unfolds. I, for one, am anxiously awaiting to see what God has in store next.