So, the funny thing about being gone from home this long is the wear and tear it has on your things. My shoes are wearing thinner each day. My jeans are the saddest for me to look at. All of my jeans have holes in them and they didn't before I left. There are also a few more stains, either from paint or charcoal from our wood stoves. I am a pro at lighting fires now because I am always cold here. It is just funny to see how a small wardrobe is affected by life.
It is not something I have ever had to think about before. At home I usually have a closet and dresser full of choices, though I tended to stick to jeans and a t-shirt. Sidenote: My friends here have my outfits memorized. Now, I am not complaining by any means and am well looked after, blessed beyond much of the world and richer than more than half of the human race. That's all on a missionary budget too, which is also known as faith. Hear me, I am exercising faith in God with money in a way I never have had to before, not that I have more faith than you or the person sitting to my left. I do hope to earn some money in the North Island when I move there next week for 3 months. That shall be a feat in itself, so if you think of me, shout out a little something to the Father ( Who is the provider...I say that mostly for myself). I like that Paul was a tentmaker. He worked with his hands and also let others invest in him and what Jesus did using him.
Here is a tangent thought, one of my favorite things in life is when I am introduced to a neat coffee shop (like I was today). To qualify as neat to me: they must have free Internet, have an atmosphere that allows me to sit for a long while, is furnished with old, but loved things, and has a good vanilla latte with baristas that know what's up. After I judge it worthy, I enjoy sitting with a friend, drinking said vanilla latte and journaling/blogging or people watching, while listening to a good playlist. If I were stateside I would get the Coldplay or Norah Jones Pandora radio station going. My coffee shop playlist is good enough here in New Zealand.
What is something that gets you thinking about life? Either reflecting or dreaming?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Chris Guillebeau's recent blog post...
Below is a post from an author's blog that challenges and encourages me. Enjoy! To see the article on his blog click on THIS.
Every Sunday morning that I’m in town, I head out for a long run. Two weekends ago at the waterfront, the weather was glorious. The whole city of Portland took up jogging or cycling.
Last weekend at the waterfront, the weather was more to our usual end-of-Spring form… rainy and gloomy. The whole city of Portland stayed indoors.
On the sunny day, joggers and cyclists smiled at each other with a mutual appreciation of our good fortune. The implied message was, “It’s good to be alive!”
But on the rainy day, a much smaller crowd of amateur athletes nodded at each other with mutual pride. The implied message was, “Nice job. Glad to see you made it out while other people are sleeping in.”
If I don’t feel like running one weekend, I go anyway. It’s not just out of duty—nine times out of ten, I’m glad I went. The days I feel bad about my writing aren’t the days when I’ve written poorly. It’s the days where I’ve done everything but write—those days are killer.
If you base your workout schedule on the weather, you’ll never build a habit of exercise. The same is true for writing or any other creative practice: base it on anything outside your control, and good luck getting anything done.
In a creative practice, waiting for “inspiration” is the worst. I follow the Somerset Maugham school of inspiration: “I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
It might not be every morning at nine o’clock sharp for you, but the point is that inspiration shows up when you have a deadline to meet. If you don’t have a real deadline, better make one up.
***
I always like to hear about other people’s goals and projects. One interesting way to find out what motivates someone is to ask:
“Why do you get out of bed in the mornings?”
Sometimes the answer is “school” or “a job,” and that’s fine—I don’t think everyone should walk away from schools and jobs without a plan. But the obvious follow-up is, what if you didn’t have the obligation; what would you get out of bed in the mornings for if it was completely up to you?
I get up to run on Sundays, rain or shine. I’d rather it be shining, but regardless, the shoes are by the door the night before. The other six days of the week, I get up to write. I’m working toward something; I’ll put the miles in.
How about you—why do you get out of bed in the mornings?
Every Sunday morning that I’m in town, I head out for a long run. Two weekends ago at the waterfront, the weather was glorious. The whole city of Portland took up jogging or cycling.
Last weekend at the waterfront, the weather was more to our usual end-of-Spring form… rainy and gloomy. The whole city of Portland stayed indoors.
On the sunny day, joggers and cyclists smiled at each other with a mutual appreciation of our good fortune. The implied message was, “It’s good to be alive!”
But on the rainy day, a much smaller crowd of amateur athletes nodded at each other with mutual pride. The implied message was, “Nice job. Glad to see you made it out while other people are sleeping in.”
If I don’t feel like running one weekend, I go anyway. It’s not just out of duty—nine times out of ten, I’m glad I went. The days I feel bad about my writing aren’t the days when I’ve written poorly. It’s the days where I’ve done everything but write—those days are killer.
If you base your workout schedule on the weather, you’ll never build a habit of exercise. The same is true for writing or any other creative practice: base it on anything outside your control, and good luck getting anything done.
In a creative practice, waiting for “inspiration” is the worst. I follow the Somerset Maugham school of inspiration: “I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
It might not be every morning at nine o’clock sharp for you, but the point is that inspiration shows up when you have a deadline to meet. If you don’t have a real deadline, better make one up.
***
I always like to hear about other people’s goals and projects. One interesting way to find out what motivates someone is to ask:
“Why do you get out of bed in the mornings?”
Sometimes the answer is “school” or “a job,” and that’s fine—I don’t think everyone should walk away from schools and jobs without a plan. But the obvious follow-up is, what if you didn’t have the obligation; what would you get out of bed in the mornings for if it was completely up to you?
I get up to run on Sundays, rain or shine. I’d rather it be shining, but regardless, the shoes are by the door the night before. The other six days of the week, I get up to write. I’m working toward something; I’ll put the miles in.
How about you—why do you get out of bed in the mornings?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Say Goodbye.
Our YWAM base has different DTS's running year round. The one I staff happens to be in the Spring (or Fall in the States), but we just said goodbye to the school called Around the World in 80 days. The students buy Around the World tickets and head out to experience the lives of missionaries in different parts of the world. Let's see, there are five teams, they are headed to Africa, S.E. Asia, Africa-Asia, Turkey-Asia, and South America. The teams will meet together in Israel for their graduation on the Mt. of Olives. Pretty sweet! For those of us that stay here, we will not see them again, unless they decide to finish their around the world ticket here. Oh and after they graduate they backpack the Middle East and Europe; then home. It is such a cool deal. If I had $13,000, I would think about doing that school. Money well spent, eh?
So to my new friends I say, “May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”
What's next for me? Sealing my time here and off to the North Island of New Zealand to a town by the beach, where the water is warm, the coffee plentiful and the surf is good. Oh life.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A picture
New Zealand is stunningly beautiful. It never fails to impress.
Hope you all have an awesome Mother's Day! I send my love.
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