Meanderings on the beach...

6:20pm:
Looking out through the rain, the sun shines through the clouds and onto one spot of the distant ocean. The fish beneath the surface, unaware of the storm surrounding them, keep swimming; oblivious.
The body around suffers. There is rain, thunder, lightning = storms. Clouds abundant. One ray peering through, untouched by the storm. God's peace. In the midst of everything, the soul is calm. No fear. No worry. His Grace is more than enough. Amazing love. So good. There is nothing like it. Life storms around, but the eye of the hurricane is perfectly calm. Nothing can shake a center anchored by God. Isn't that what they say? is it achievable? A reminder on the ocean this evening to be at peace. To strive for contentment. God is good.

7:27pm:
Writing in a ten rupee book. A cafe on the beach. Fresh fish on the stand, brought in after a days work. Thunder in the distance, a flash of lightning. The power that surrounds us. Red dresses, orange saris. Black hair, blonde hair, and some crazy green hair. All these people coming together in the unlikeliest of places. We are on an adventure, destined to cross paths and become a sentence in another story. A shared cup of tea, war stories and battle scars. A few laughs and we part ways, joyful for the momentary eclipse of our paths. When the sun's light is seen again, it brings a new view of the world, a fresh perspective. New light shining on a new journey.


That, among other things was this weekend. The train ride back included three kids who were just too cute that I got to share biscuits with. I did not know any of their language, but bonding over sweets is something every kid is good at in any corner of the world. It was a good weekend. Refreshing. What I needed to keep going strong for the remainder of the semester.

Here we go!

Some quotes...

"Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray"

"There are more than 2 billion professing 'believers' in the world today. Think about that, two thousand million people who say they follow Jesus Christ! So why then are there so many needy countries and areas of spiritual darkness in the world today? The problem lies in the kind of Christianity practiced by the majority of believers today... Instead millions of Christians are asleep snoring away while they wait for the Lord to return." ~ Brother Yun

Can you really think about that?! That means that if every professing talked to and discipled two people, the entire world would be saved! I mean, please, really think about that, and then ponder why on earth there are still non-believers in the world!!!!

In a world without God...

... there is much to be hoped for.

Today, there was a lot of discussion among people about the health care bill (or lack there of?). Many people came to me to ask my opinion as I am a citizen of that great country. I explained that I am not for it. While I think there is reform that needs to happen, I do not think the government stepping in is the solution.

But what do I really think is going on? I think that there is a lack of God in our lives. I feel this is what is going on throughout the world, in small communities and big communities. I feel that a lack of God's guidance in our school influenced the situation that took place two weeks ago. A lack of God's guidance has influenced the turn America has taken. A lack of God's guidance has caused so many things that were once great to fall by the wayside and deteriorate.

God needs to come back into our lives, our homes, our communities, our schools, our courts, and our leaders. I pray for my home country tonight in this time of turmoil. I pray for everyone I know who is moving back there in the next few months. I pray for everyone who is going to be penalized under this new bill. I pray for everyone who will no longer have freedom over their own care. I pray for everyone who will deal with the negative consequences that Pelosi and Obama and the rest of the Democrats are forgetting to tell us about.

I pray for all of you still over there, whether you were for it or against it, that God comes back and shows you that He is still in control and wants what's best for us.

<3

'It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters... Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious pr...inciple.' - George Washington - September 19th, 1796

Transient Life

There are many ideas for blogs running through my head at the moment, but I have settled on this one for today: Transient Life.

Life is about stages and about changing and growing. Part of that changing and growing will be discussed in my next entry, but today is about how moving changes things.

I spent my afternoon with a group of people that is spectacular. Three sets of parents, a single mom and then myself... the kids were there as well... when it comes down to it, I think that there were seven kids there. After lunch, somehow the women ended up in the living room having discussions about family, family units, and home. We were discussing how some people are chameleons, with no "home" to go to. There is not one place they think of that is home. And others, their whole family lives on one compound together and cousins are like brothers and sisters.

There is something to be said for having lived around the world. It is an amazing experience, and you can't learn many of these lessons in any other way. But there is also something lost when you are away, or when a family is separated. When I lived up north, my family was all pretty much living on one street. There was always somewhere to go, someone's house to walk into uninvited, and a dinner to be shared. When we moved south, there was no longer family around. When we visited, things were different. We visited often, but it was not the same as it was before.

As I grew up, neither place was 'home'. I would go up north for vacations and say I was going 'home', and then I would leave after the holiday was over and go 'home'. I hadn't been out of the US yes, but was already what is considered a "third culture kid". At 20, I moved to New Zealand for a while, and learned so many things there and eventually left huge parts of my heart there. Relationship-wise, that has been a huge 'home' in my life. I think fondly of that place and the people I met there. I miss them often as much as I miss my own biological family.

I moved back to the states at 21, only to leave when I was 22 to a foreign land. This split my life up quite nicely. I spent about 11.5 years in NY and then 11 years in NC with a six month stint in NZ. Now I've been here for almost two years. My life is split up pretty neatly. But it has left me with an altered sense of 'home'.

There is a Kyle Matthews song that has a line that says: "My heart knows where home is". I may have written about this song before, but increasingly, it is a song that means a lot to me. While some people might consider it a burden to not know where 'home' is, I consider is a blessing. I ascribe to the burden idea at certain times, but it truly is a blessing. I have two towns that I could fly back to right now and have open arms and homes waiting for me. I could fly to New Zealand tomorrow and have dear friends to stay with. And of course, there is here. I have friends in all corners of this country. I have been blessed with people all over the world that I love.

And then I come back to a word that H* said during our conversation this afternoon: chameleon. Chameleons can blend in wherever they are. In a way, that is a huge blessing in itself. People able to adapt to the different cultures and surroundings is a huge benefit. ESPECIALLY if God is calling the people that were in that room to work overseas. Having that ability really changes how you adapt and grow in a new place. It has allowed me to be really comfortable in a society that many people find stifling.

What about you? Are you a chameleon or are you "set in your ways" as far as life goes? Did how you grow up influence the way your life is structured now?

It's over?

So, I sent out an e-mail with the details of what was going on, but thankfully, today seemed to be back to normal. Students were back in classes. Meetings took place. And it seems we are moving forward. The semester is officially half over and it's all down hill from here really.

I'm getting really excited about long weekend. I am getting off the hill with some awesome people and it should be really good. I don't know yet where we're staying, but I'm hoping for a really relaxing weekend and good times with friends.

Bible study is going really well. I enjoy the group we have and the discussions we have. Of the five that were there tonight, only two will be here next year (myself and one other person), and I hope that maybe this summer I will be able to have another study brought from the states so that we can start one again next semester. I would love to see it continue.

Slowly but surely, one step at a time.

It's already Wednesday...

I can't believe that another week is already half over. Tomorrow is the last day of the quarter, and that makes it even more unbelievable.

I'm working on being thankful. As many of you read in my e-mail update, I haven't been well, but I am still thankful. Every morning, I wake up, have hot water (most days), food to eat, clothes to put on, a job to go to, and people that put a smile on my face. My life is truly blessed and even among the hardships that needs to be remembered. I've been updating my house a bit, putting posters up, pictures, etc. Trying to make it more "mine" and less a place I go to after school.

I made the decision (that unless something dramatically changes before summer), that I'm not heading state-side this vacation... so now, I am making plans for travelling around this area. I am thinking a trip to some ruins, and up to the big mountain range up north, and then, maybe to some more ruins on the east coast.

I like having the option. New things to do, and new places to see.

But this also means I need to make my wishlist of what I want from the states so I can get them here with people who are coming through our town.

So what do I miss?

A Day in the Life

This blog generally doesn't involve the day to day that I encounter, so to give you guys an idea of life, I'm just going to give you a "A Day in the Life" of me...

6:15a: Wake up, turn on the geyser, spend some time in the Word and prayer...
6:45a: Shower time!
Breakfast
7:45a: Off to school I go
7:55a: Check the e-mail, organize my stuff for the day...
8am-12p: TEACHING
12p: Lunch (or, sometimes, nap time)
1:35: 7th period starts, so sometimes, I am teaching, but other days I have the afternoon off... I'm back and forth between the department office and my personal office. Responding to e-mails. Having meetings... etc...
4:30p: School is over... tea time...

And at the current time, my evenings are pretty free... I spend time getting things done until about 5 or 530 usually, have some dinner and then relax with friends or go home for the night... Monday nights are our study. But other nights are pretty free. It's wonderful.

Right now it's the weekend and today is my friend's birthday. We had a sleepover last night and it was a lot of fun. Tonight, we're going out to eat (something I actually do quite rarely this semester), and then I'll come home and have some time to myself.

Life is looking up at the moment. With field trip over, I have time to focus on myself and it's been really good.

We might cut my hair some time this weekend... and we're talking short. You'll have to wait and see what happens!