Look What the Mailman Brought Me



My sweet parents sent me a surprise! Thanks! (The picture frame says, "Know What? God's not the only one who loves you!"

The amazing thing is that it actually arrived here in 3 business day!

Food for Thought

Here's a story for today... (I didn't write it)
The meaning of living in fedelity to the present moment is wonderfully illustrated by a zen story about a monk being pursued by a ferocious tiger. The monk reaced to the edge of a cliff, glanced back, and saw the growling tiger about to spring. The monk spotted a rope dangling over the edge of the cliff. He grabbed it and began shinnying down the side of the cliff out of the clutches of the tiger. Whew! Narrow escape. The monk then looked down and saw a quarry of jagged rocks five hundred feet below. he looked up and saw the tiger poised atop the cliff with bared claws. Just then, two mice began to nibble at the rope. What to do?

The monk saw a strawberry within arm's reach growing out of the face of the cliff. he plucked it, ate it, and exclaimed, "Yum! That's the best strawberry I've ever tasted in my entire life." If He had been preoccupied with the rock below (the future) or the tiger above (the past). He would have missed the strawberry God was giving him in the present moment.

The above story came from this book. It was a good reminder for me today.

My First Year in Pics

One Down, One to Go

Wednesday marked my one year anniversary. I have officially reached the halfway point of my term, and I have survived! :) Now, in less than a year (okay only 2 days less than a year) I will be returning home. For me, this was a really big milestone in my life, and this day meant a lot to me.

I had the privilege of spending the day with friends who were also celebrating their 1 year anniversary. We had what we call an American day. We went to a neighboring city and went and saw the movie Click. (I wasn't terribly impressed). Then we went to Papa Johns's. This may not sound that exciting, but it was a big deal. This is the first Papa John's in India and is quite the talk of the town! (at least among the Americans anyway :) It was just a good day to relax with friends. Thanks to J,K,L, and A for a fun day! I wrapped up my 1 year anniversary day by watching 9 straight episodes of Alias Season 5. Yes, I had a slight addiction, but it is over now. I finished watching the season today and it was the final season. I enjoyed it though... Good times.

It is crazy to think that it has already been one year since I left for Virginia and this journey of mine began. I feel like I just got here in alot of ways. Then again, except for my short stay at home in October, I haven't seem most of my family and friends in almost a year. Some days, that definately seems like an eternity. I have been blessed though. Although, sometimes I feel like I am, I know that I am not alone here. I have been blessed with family and friends here, who I am incredibly grateful for. However, I do miss connecting with the people I love back in the States. In less than a year, I'll come home, but I am not naive enough to think that all things will be the same. Things change, people change, and I know that I am not an exception to that. Change is definatly not a bad thing. It just makes it difficult sometimes, when you are not around the people as they are changing. However, that is life...

This week I had some good down-time and had a chance to reflect upon my last year. This would probably be an appropriate time to share the lessons I've learned this past year. However, the thought of trying to put that in a comprehendable blog entry makes my head hurt. The foremost reason being that I don't even understand all that I've learned this past year - about me, my King, the world, etc. My mind is fast-forwarding through this past year even as I am typing this. I don't know where to begin. Its been a year of good-byes, and a year of literally 100's of hellos. Its been a year of searching and discovery. Its been a year of laughter and of tears. Its been a year of breaking and of remolding....

More than anything its been a time to learn a little more about myself. Yeah, it may sound a little strange, because I should know myself pretty well by now. But then again, you really start to see things, including yourself, a little different once you are removed from everything you have ever known or loved. However, even more so, I think you really start to learn more about yourself when you start learning more about the One who created you. That has definately been true for me this past year. Let me just tell you though, it has been quite the humbling experience.

Beginning this journey I thought I had a pretty decent grasp on things - life, the world, God, etc. Now I realize that all those things are so much larger than I thought possible. Most importantly, I've learned that the God that we serve is so much larger than we can ever imagine, comprehend, or understand. I thought I had at least a decent handle on understanding who God was. The problem was that I was placing Him in this easy to understand box created from my own western Christianity mindset, and I carried my box around with pride. However, this past year He has shown me that He doesn't fit into our little boxes of preconcieved notions, ideas, or formulas. He blows all those way out of the water. He in incontainable and uncomprehendable, which is exactly what makes Him the amazing King that He is. If He was any less than that, He wouldn't be God. I am definately not saying that I now have everything figured out. I am just beginning to let God define himself, instead of me trying to do the job for Him.

When you take away our Christian sub-culture and it comes down to just me and God, who is God to me? That is the question that would best define my year. Of course, that is not an easy question to answer, but I plan on spending the rest of my life figuring it out :)

To my dear sweet family, thanks for the flowers and for making my day special! I love you all!

As a sidenote: This pic is the flowers I recieved. My mom order a bouquet of roses. Instead, this is what came. It has the slight resemblance of a coffin arrangement. :) You just never know what you are going to get in India. lol. I love it though!

Comments - One of My Simple Joys

Recently, people have mentioned that at times the process of commenting on blogs may be a little confusing. I thought it would be helpful if I just explained a little bit.

1. At the end of each blog entry you find the word "comment." Click on the word "comment." This will take you to another screen.
2. On this screen you will see comments from others on the left-hand side. On the right-hand side there will be an empty text box the says "Leave Your Comment." Type your comment in this box.
3. Below the text box there will be a multiple choice for "Choose Your Identity." You will see the following choices: Blogger, Other, or Anonymous. Click on "Other."
4. A new yellow text box will appear that says "Name." Type your name here.
5. Once you have typed the comment and entered your name, click on "Publish Your Comment."

Follow these steps and you will successfully place a comment on my blog and you will make my day! Have I mentioned how much I love it when people comment on my blog? Hint, Hint... It doesn't have to even be related to the blog. lol. I just love hearing from people! :)

My City

The past few weeks I've had several opportunities to see even more parts of my city. The city is full of history and culture and I hope to learn more about it. Especially, this fall, I hope to do alot more sightseeing just in my city. Anyway, I just wanted to share just a few pictures of some of our recent excurions.

This a view of my city from the top of a minaret on the largest mosque in India. It was quite a narrow climb, but worth it!

This is the largest mosque in India.

This was just a random spot at the mosque. I just liked the picture :) For some reason I like taking pictures of interesting doors or entry ways. Yeah, I realize that is sort of weird.

This is a view of the crazy traffic in "Old Town." "Old Town" is one my favorite parts of the city because it is like stepping back in time. You are immediately immersed in India in every way - sights, sounds, smells, etc.

A colorful saree shop in "Old Town."

In direct contrast to "Old Town," here is "New Town." This is a popular tourist spot near the President's home.

India Gate (a war memorial) is a popular hang out spot for Indians and tourists alike.

This passed us on the street the other day. I've never seen a mobile library before! I am curious how that whole system works.

This is one of my favorite little Indians - Ericka. She is only 4, but she is super smart. She is fluent in English and Hindi. I asked her to teach me the numbers in Hindi one night. She then proceeded to "teach" me. With my limited Hindi skills, I soon realized that she was deliberatly teaching me the wrong words. It was really funny.

These are some friends at my favorite bookstores in the city. It is always a special treat when I go.

Anita's New House

This past week, Anita, our helper, (see past blogs June 2006 Universal Language) invited us to her house for dinner. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that she and her family of 7 had moved into a larger home. It was still only one room, but it was considerably larger (although smaller than a dorm room). She was obviously proud of her new home. We also felt honored because she had a picture of us framed on her wall. This time we were welcomed with hugs from all of her children who were immediately calling out our names. This was direct contrast to our first visit, where none of them would even enter the room for the first hour and a half we were there. They were definitely not shy this time. Anita immediately began cooking so the kids were left to entertain us. They asked us to go up to the roof because it was cooler – which meant us climbing us this bamboo ladder to their roof that overlooked the low-income area they lived in. They spread out a sheet and began performing for us Bollywood songs and dances. Of course they gave us our chance to perform also. We taught them Jesus Loves You and the Electric Slide (not together of course. Lol). They were a lot of fun! We ate dinner, and then we noticed that Anita had changed into a fancy saree, which could only mean one thing – she was ready for her picture (see past blog). We of course were happy to agree, and the photo shoot began again. However, something really funny happened. I won’t tell you, but just will see if you can pick up the similarities. For a little background of the situation: Alicia recently went home for her best friend’s wedding. She has shown Anita the wedding pictures and this particular picture is the background on Alicia’s computer, which Anita sees often. Do you notice any similarities?

We got a good laugh out of this!

My Latest Kick

For those of you who know me, you know that there are times that I get on random kicks or interests. In the past its been various musical instruments, certain books, movies, learning about random subjects etc. My newest interest…art. These past few weeks we’ve had several volunteer teams with us. On one team, there was an artist named Janice who taught art to children in the slum schools. I got to work with her and see her teach these children, many of which may have never painted. It was a great learning experience, to see her communicate amazing Truth using art. She was incredibly talented, as well as the kids and it made me want to do the same thing. I’ve actually have been talking about trying to paint for months, but still just never have done it. To be honest, I’ve never really tried. I may not be any good at it at all, but there just seems to be something theraupeutic about creating art. So we will see. Thanks to Janice, I have already painted my first piece. On day she taught me how to do Sumi-e Chinese painting. It is a special type of painting using black ink. Surprisingly, it was not hard at all and just required a special brush and a little explanation of technique by Janice. Granted, its nothing spectacular, but it felt really good to do something that I created from scratch. I think it is important take time to do something for yourself, whether its paint, read, sing, play, etc. I enjoy all the other ones, so I know I hope to try something new.

This is my sumi-e Chinese painting. I am open to any offers! lol.

Under the Overpass

A few weeks ago, my friend Mary Elizabeth sent me a package (a really big one actually - thanks M.E.). Along with some food, cds, and various things, she sent me a book called Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski. I remembered her talking about it awhile back. Just by reading the backcover, I automatically knew it would be one of those really convicting books - the type that would make my life much easier if I just didn't read it. :) Then I wouldn't have to deal with the questions and thoughts that I have now. However, I did read it, and I was right in my assumption.

The premise of the book is this: These two guys, Mike and Sam, spent 5 months traveling as homeless men. This was not a project or anything. "He just needed to know if his faith in God was real-if he could actually be the Christian he said he was apart from the comforts he'd always known." The book tells of their 5-month journey and their encounters along the way. In the end, they made it through their entire journey and saw their faith in a different way. In Mike's words, "By God's grace we did what we set out to do, and learned alot along the way. For example: that faith is much more than just an "amen" at the end of the sermon on Sunday mornings, that the comfort and security we strive so hard to create for ourselves doesn't even come close to the 'life in full' that Christ promises; and that God is faithful and good, even when we're not." That statement says a whole lot, and I am stuck still stuck on it.

The shocking part of the book was the response of believers to the guys as they were living on the street as beggars. There were a few people who reached out to them, but there was also a huge majority of people and churches who completely turned them away or ignored them, just because of their appearance. To be honest, it made me mad, and thought "How hypocritical!" However, I soon realized that I was the guilty one. How many people have I steered clear of just because they were different from me. I'm not just referring to homeless people either. We are all guilty of it. We pick and choose into whom we invest our time. Of course, most the time, we choose the people like us - the people we have stuff in common with. That is not a bad thing of course, but it just leaves us with a pretty limited interaction with the world. I am beginning to think it also leaves us with somewhat of a limited interaction with God. What does it truly mean to follow God? That is not a difficult question to answer if you are just using words (all those Sunday School answers would work). But to answer that question using our lives, makes it a much tougher question. What does truly following God look like in our everyday lives? I think it looks alot different than I often portray it. I also think it involves loving and investing in the very people we try to steer clear of. I am just going to leave you with some of the closing comments of the book. These are the things I've been pondering.

• "Who are the people God has placed in your life that He is calling you to notice, to reach out to, to share His love with?"

• "What if following Him is hard? What if along the way He asks you to accomplish difficult tasks or to overcome intimidating obstacles? What if it requires more of you than you have to give? Listen, that's the way its' supposed to be. Those places of need are where you and I discover ourselves, our faith, and - best of all - our God. Its there in our wekaness, that He shows himslef true, faithful, powerful, gracious, and loving."

• "God probably isn't calling you to live on the streets like He did Sam and me, but He is calling you - like He does each of His children - to take important risks of faith that are unique to you and your opportunities. I doubt those risks will have to do with putting on a Christian acronym bracelet or a cross T-shirt. More likely, your journey will lead you toward utter dependence on the King of Kings and a resolution to follow Him wherever He may ask you to go. That might be to the streets, to your friends and family, to your neighbor, or to a stranger you haven't even met yet?"

• Ask yourself this question: "What would I do during my day or in my life for God if I wasn't concerned with what I wear, what I eat, where I sleep, what I own, what people think of me, or what discomforts I face?"

• "This Jesus we follow is the Redeemer of the world. This God we serve is the Rock on whom we stand. He's sure, steadfast and worthy of our trust. He's calling us to live this life abandoned to Him, encouraged at all points by His Spirit, and His Word and His people, looking to Him for all we need. There's only this left to do: Walk off the edge with Him."

Simple Joys

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend and she was telling me a story. In the story she mentioned something about lightening bugs. As soon as she mentioned them, she paused and said, "Their one of my simple joys." Something about that phrase really struck me. I said, "I really like that." It started me to think. What are my simple joys? What are the little things in life that make me smile, whether they be, an object, action, or memory? Too often its easy to overlook the little things. I know that I get caught up in the big things and overlook the simple joys that surround me everyday. Somedays I just need a reminder, and somedays I just need something to make me smile. I've decided to start a list. This list is not complete, but just a starting point. Here are just a few of my simple joys:

1. family and friends of course!
2. laughing
3. quotes (the more random the better)
4. sunsets
5. post-it notes
6. my bathrobe
7. my iPod
8. monkey bread
9. new books
10. old books
11. a big comfy chair to curl up in
12. Aunt Maudie's play dough
13. garage sales
14. fall nights
15. L & L Superstore
16. flying
17. Subway systems
18. comfortable shoes
19. hugs
20. reading greeting cards in the store
21. hammocks
22. gingerbread cookies
23. McDonalds' 7 Rupee ice cream cone
24. a big glass of iced sweet tea
25. dinner on the ground at church
26. the camp
27. shopping at outdoor markets in foreign countries
28. using maps
29. girl scout cookies
30. being on the beach
31. black and white photography
32. the "college kids"
33. lamps
34. walking barefoot in grass (I got to do this the other day for the first time in forever. It was amazing!)
35. dancing
36. hearing little kids pray
37. emails (especially ones that are not just replys to ones I've sent - but I love those too)
38. voicemails
39. planning trips
40. shopping for others
41. t-shirts made from that cerain type of cotton that never wrinkles
42. inside jokes
43. holidays with family
44. Pork Momo's (a type of chinese that is my favorite)
45. Christmas lights
46. singing around a piano or guitar, or just listening to them
47. cold weather
48. wearing jackets
49. having someone play with my hair
50. fireplaces
51. porches with a swing
52. bookstores
53. rainbows
54. cinnamon toast in the middle of the night
55. logic puzzles
56. re-runs of shows from the 90's (Fresh Prince, Saved by the Bell, Boys Meets World)
57. Trivia games
58. terms of endearment (Sug, Sissy, Honey, Sweetie, etc.)
59. card games
60. a good Disney movie
61. getting the newest Time or Newsweek magazine (My link to the rest of the world)
62. flowers
63. home-made CD's
64. "ILUBB"
65. snail mail
66. when people comment on my blog

This is just the beginning of my list. If you start thinking about it, there really are simple joys around us or within us everyday. It is just up to us if we stop to see or think about them. So, now its your chance. What are some of your simple joys? This is a great time for you who are reading this to comment. (I want my blog to become a little more interactive). At the end of this post, there will be a word that says comments. Just click on it and you can leave your own comments. Comments are definately one of my simple joys, so please comment :)