obviously, i'm a little behind with the 30til30. our weekend was much busier than we anticipated and michael and i are both still exhausted (i took a three-hour nap today and still feel worn out). i intend to post days 21 and 22, just not tonight. you can look for them over the next week. but, don't miss them, especially if your name is lisa.
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 20: karate
i was nine-years-old when my dad came home with a surprise for me: i had “won” three free karate lessons as a studio not far from home. unknown to me, he had entered me in a “contest” (in which every kid won). i was ecstatic. for years, i had watched teenage mutant ninja turtles (heros in a half-shell) and daniel-san and dreamed of being able to do the tricks they did.
of course, there was a catch.
i had to run three-miles without stopping.
i accomplished the task with minimal training, which is a story unto itself.
i don’t know if karate was something i immediately excelled at – my parents didn’t push me, so i only attended class once or twice a week. but, i do know that over time, it was something i got to be good at. very good, in fact. my sensei saw potential in me and asked my dad if i could compete.
when i was 13, i went to my first national tournament. at 14, in addition to a knocked-up jaw, i took home a bronze medal from nationals. i won my age division the next three years. competing is fun, it’s in my blood. and i loved this sport.
when i was 14, i began teaching classes as an assistant. shortly after that, i took over the 4- and 5-year-olds. as a 16-year-old, my friend john, my boss’s son, and i ran our studio for a time. i quit a prestigious job at chick-fil-a asking, do you want fries with that? in order to pick up more hours teaching each week.
and i trained hard. during competition season, our team would give up saturday afternoons for training, in addition to regular training during the week. i remember once coming home with an ugly fist-sized bruise on my upper left arm. my dad wasn’t impressed and told me i couldn’t go back if it happened again. and so, i learned not to get beat.
i learned a lot at the studio. during some rough teenage years, it was a place i could belong. teaching karate lessons was something none of my friends could do and so it gave me something to be proud of. teaching lessons was my first lesson in managing people. my first lessons in genuine leadership happened at the studio, too, as i watch my instructor and followed his footsteps as i taught my own classes.
the biggest thing i gained from karate is discipline. that probably sounds rather cliché, but it’s entirely true. though we trained as a team, karate is not a team sport. though my sensei could coach me from the sideline, he couldn’t land my kicks or make my blocks effective. if i wasn’t disciplined in my training, i wouldn’t succeed.
running those three miles as a nine-year-old was a great introduction to what would be the next eight years of my life. and it was worth every step.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query 30til30. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query 30til30. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
30til30: day 17, barb h.
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 17: barb h.
i was 16 when we started attending grace church. it had been a rough couple years for me, as far as looking for a place to belong and figuring out my relationship with my parents. i had been burned by christians and needed to see genuine love within the church. and, as i wrote about earlier, i found that at grace evangelical church.
part of the change for me was being completely accepted by my peers, friends who didn’t focus on outward appearances and material possessions. it was refreshing and life-changing.
the other, perhaps more vital, part of the change for me was having adults aside from my parents strongly involved in my life. barb was one of those women who deeply impacted me.
i remember singing in the “choir” with barb. she encouraged me as i first learned to cultivate my relationship with Christ. she and her husband ken were the first adults to challenge me to memorize scripture as a teenager. and, she helped me work through a lot of the difficulties i thought i faced at home.
i still remember one of those conversations. actually, i don’t remember what we discussed, but i clearly remember barb taking time to sit on the steps outside with me after the church service and talk through my teenage angst. whatever she said, i left with a better grasp of how to honor and respect my parents – an area where i still had a lot of room to grow.
the grace evangelical church family played a huge role in bringing me up in the Lord. as she casually discipled and mentored me, God allowed barb to play a large role in my growth as a young follower of Christ.
day 17: barb h.
i was 16 when we started attending grace church. it had been a rough couple years for me, as far as looking for a place to belong and figuring out my relationship with my parents. i had been burned by christians and needed to see genuine love within the church. and, as i wrote about earlier, i found that at grace evangelical church.
part of the change for me was being completely accepted by my peers, friends who didn’t focus on outward appearances and material possessions. it was refreshing and life-changing.
the other, perhaps more vital, part of the change for me was having adults aside from my parents strongly involved in my life. barb was one of those women who deeply impacted me.
i remember singing in the “choir” with barb. she encouraged me as i first learned to cultivate my relationship with Christ. she and her husband ken were the first adults to challenge me to memorize scripture as a teenager. and, she helped me work through a lot of the difficulties i thought i faced at home.
i still remember one of those conversations. actually, i don’t remember what we discussed, but i clearly remember barb taking time to sit on the steps outside with me after the church service and talk through my teenage angst. whatever she said, i left with a better grasp of how to honor and respect my parents – an area where i still had a lot of room to grow.
the grace evangelical church family played a huge role in bringing me up in the Lord. as she casually discipled and mentored me, God allowed barb to play a large role in my growth as a young follower of Christ.
Monday, May 18, 2009
30til30: day 14, serving as a CARES team
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 14: serving as a CARES team
michael and i (and luke) got home about 45 minutes ago from hosting a cook-out (or affectionately and creatively, a chill & grill) for our neighbors. all 224 are invited. this time, about 50 came. that’s a lot of people in two hours. more accurately, that’s 42 hamburgers, 8 hotdogs and 20 sausages.
in august, we’ll celebrate our fourth year of planning events and being the hub of community for our neighbors in our apartments. it’s been a lot of fun. very challenging. but also extremely rewarding.
in exchange for a free two bedroom/two bath apartment, we commit to serving our neighbors (through event planning and other avenues) for 70 hours a month (total, not each). there are certainly times that we don’t want to plan an event, but have to. there are days that we’re tired of interacting with people, but can’t become hermits. it’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.
it’s worth it because we’re teaching luke that life isn’t only about him, that it’s worth the sacrifice to make an intentional effort to serve others and impact their lives.
it’s worth it because last week we got to buy a can-opener and kroger gift card for moe, a neighbor struggling financially, and connect her to the food bank at our church.
it’s worth it because we get to see our neighbors create new categories for christians who genuinely love them but disagree with the lifestyles they’ve chosen and the choices they’re making.
it’s worth it because we daily get to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we live our lives here.
we’ve learned a lot: how to throw an event together, without killing each other (we’ve had some serious arguments over the thickness of pancake batter; don't knock it until you've been there); what it looks like to serve together; what each other’s strengths are as we reach out to the people around us.
it has been a fun ride. when michael gets a job, it will be over for us. as much as i won’t miss the daily grind of community building, i will miss our neighbors and the staff we work with. being CARES team has changed my life and changed the way i see people. it’s definitely changed the way i live my life as i seek to intentionally be a follower of Christ.
day 14: serving as a CARES team
michael and i (and luke) got home about 45 minutes ago from hosting a cook-out (or affectionately and creatively, a chill & grill) for our neighbors. all 224 are invited. this time, about 50 came. that’s a lot of people in two hours. more accurately, that’s 42 hamburgers, 8 hotdogs and 20 sausages.
in august, we’ll celebrate our fourth year of planning events and being the hub of community for our neighbors in our apartments. it’s been a lot of fun. very challenging. but also extremely rewarding.
in exchange for a free two bedroom/two bath apartment, we commit to serving our neighbors (through event planning and other avenues) for 70 hours a month (total, not each). there are certainly times that we don’t want to plan an event, but have to. there are days that we’re tired of interacting with people, but can’t become hermits. it’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.
it’s worth it because we’re teaching luke that life isn’t only about him, that it’s worth the sacrifice to make an intentional effort to serve others and impact their lives.
it’s worth it because last week we got to buy a can-opener and kroger gift card for moe, a neighbor struggling financially, and connect her to the food bank at our church.
it’s worth it because we get to see our neighbors create new categories for christians who genuinely love them but disagree with the lifestyles they’ve chosen and the choices they’re making.
it’s worth it because we daily get to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we live our lives here.
we’ve learned a lot: how to throw an event together, without killing each other (we’ve had some serious arguments over the thickness of pancake batter; don't knock it until you've been there); what it looks like to serve together; what each other’s strengths are as we reach out to the people around us.
it has been a fun ride. when michael gets a job, it will be over for us. as much as i won’t miss the daily grind of community building, i will miss our neighbors and the staff we work with. being CARES team has changed my life and changed the way i see people. it’s definitely changed the way i live my life as i seek to intentionally be a follower of Christ.
Monday, May 04, 2009
30til30: day 28, apartment life
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 28: apartment life
when michael and i first moved to dallas almost four years ago, we were homeless and jobless. friendless. churchless. we didn’t have a clue where to shop for groceries. everything that goes with moving to a new city – that was us.
while michael prepared for classes, buying books and reading syllabi, i hunted for a job. i’d already declined an administrative job at a local church because the job wasn’t a good fit for me and the salary wasn’t a good fit for a one-income seminary family. but we needed money coming in and so i diligently searched job ads and went on a couple interviews. as anyone who’s searched for a job knows, job-hunting is tiring work.
the day we moved here, i heard that apartment life was hiring an area director. i was interested in anything that would pay bills. but for some reason, i never did anything about the job. i don’t remember why. it just wasn’t a job i could see myself doing.
michael and i got to know jeff, the area director who worked with us at our apartments. he encouraged me to send in my resume. we interacted with kiley and sarah at the day-long orientation for cares. the people who worked for apartment life were cool people. but still, i didn’t apply.
until jeff called one morning.
he was sitting at starbucks, he said, and was screening a few applicants for the role while his supervisor tina was out-of-town. would i meet him with a copy of my resume so he could “interview” me? thirty minutes later, i was sitting across from him at the porch of a nearby starbucks, talking through my experience and what it was like to work for apartment life. i had no idea what jeff was thinking or what would happen next. but, i was getting excited about the job.
jeff closed the interview by saying something i’ll never forget: we’re all christians. if you don’t hear back from us, just give it to Jesus.
but i did hear back. a week or so later, i met tina at another starbucks for a two-plus hour “interview” that never felt like an interview. at this point, i was really excited about the job and wanted to work for apartment life. michael later told me that while i was gone, he thought through what we required to make ends meet. he didn’t think a non-profit would be able to pay enough and wondered how low we could go.
but, tina offered me the job and told me about the compensation package. i was floored. God was providing for us and blessing us in ways we never imagined.
working for apartment life has shaped me greatly. i’ve learned to work with christians who think very differently from me, but who i know love the Lord. i’ve been part of a team of different personalities and gifts and offered my piece. i’ve come to be able to better work through conflict with those i manage, communicating trust and grace in love. i’ve developed friendships that will impact my life for years to come.
i've been reminded that God can provide above all we ask or imagine. in ways that astound us, even four years later.
apartment life has been a breath of fresh air to me. i’ve been loved and cared for and nurtured and challenged. and always free, free to be me and free to move on to something else when God calls me.
it’s that freedom that makes apartment life such a great place to work.
day 28: apartment life
when michael and i first moved to dallas almost four years ago, we were homeless and jobless. friendless. churchless. we didn’t have a clue where to shop for groceries. everything that goes with moving to a new city – that was us.
while michael prepared for classes, buying books and reading syllabi, i hunted for a job. i’d already declined an administrative job at a local church because the job wasn’t a good fit for me and the salary wasn’t a good fit for a one-income seminary family. but we needed money coming in and so i diligently searched job ads and went on a couple interviews. as anyone who’s searched for a job knows, job-hunting is tiring work.
the day we moved here, i heard that apartment life was hiring an area director. i was interested in anything that would pay bills. but for some reason, i never did anything about the job. i don’t remember why. it just wasn’t a job i could see myself doing.
michael and i got to know jeff, the area director who worked with us at our apartments. he encouraged me to send in my resume. we interacted with kiley and sarah at the day-long orientation for cares. the people who worked for apartment life were cool people. but still, i didn’t apply.
until jeff called one morning.
he was sitting at starbucks, he said, and was screening a few applicants for the role while his supervisor tina was out-of-town. would i meet him with a copy of my resume so he could “interview” me? thirty minutes later, i was sitting across from him at the porch of a nearby starbucks, talking through my experience and what it was like to work for apartment life. i had no idea what jeff was thinking or what would happen next. but, i was getting excited about the job.
jeff closed the interview by saying something i’ll never forget: we’re all christians. if you don’t hear back from us, just give it to Jesus.
but i did hear back. a week or so later, i met tina at another starbucks for a two-plus hour “interview” that never felt like an interview. at this point, i was really excited about the job and wanted to work for apartment life. michael later told me that while i was gone, he thought through what we required to make ends meet. he didn’t think a non-profit would be able to pay enough and wondered how low we could go.
but, tina offered me the job and told me about the compensation package. i was floored. God was providing for us and blessing us in ways we never imagined.
working for apartment life has shaped me greatly. i’ve learned to work with christians who think very differently from me, but who i know love the Lord. i’ve been part of a team of different personalities and gifts and offered my piece. i’ve come to be able to better work through conflict with those i manage, communicating trust and grace in love. i’ve developed friendships that will impact my life for years to come.
i've been reminded that God can provide above all we ask or imagine. in ways that astound us, even four years later.
apartment life has been a breath of fresh air to me. i’ve been loved and cared for and nurtured and challenged. and always free, free to be me and free to move on to something else when God calls me.
it’s that freedom that makes apartment life such a great place to work.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
30til30: day 16, diane k.
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 16: diane k.
i have wonderful parents who did many things right. but, until i got married and started thinking of beginning our own family, i didn’t think much about how they parented. and, at that point, it was difficult to look back and remember exactly the ways my parents did things.
and, being so far removed from the raising-young-children gig, they don’t always remember how they did things, either.
which is why i’m so grateful for diane. along with reed and marian, gary and diane are the mentoring couples for our young married sunday school class. together, diane and marian lead a bible study for the women in our class.
last summer, we focused on parenting.
i have learned tons from diane and might not be as intentional with our children as i am without her influence. our bible study last summer gave michael and me a foundation to begin to discuss ideas and paradigms we’d never before discussed. and, as we have now entered toddlerhood, i’m so thankful that he and i are on the same page!
mostly, diane has influenced the way i choose to intentionally discipline our children. she’s given me words to use, concepts to employ and the boldness to begin now.
i appreciate diane because she’s honest and real. she doesn’t try to lead us to believe she’s done everything “right.” she shares with us the times she should have done things differently. and, she’s available. just the other week, she and i had a long discussion about luke’s eating habits and how to encourage him to eat a larger variety of food -- without getting into a power-struggle.
because our parents are so far away and aren’t daily involved in our lives, it’s encouraging to have older friends, one or two or three steps ahead of us, who do see us more regularly and can affirm that we’re doing okay with this parenting deal. diane has been one of those friends for me.
day 16: diane k.
i have wonderful parents who did many things right. but, until i got married and started thinking of beginning our own family, i didn’t think much about how they parented. and, at that point, it was difficult to look back and remember exactly the ways my parents did things.
and, being so far removed from the raising-young-children gig, they don’t always remember how they did things, either.
which is why i’m so grateful for diane. along with reed and marian, gary and diane are the mentoring couples for our young married sunday school class. together, diane and marian lead a bible study for the women in our class.
last summer, we focused on parenting.
i have learned tons from diane and might not be as intentional with our children as i am without her influence. our bible study last summer gave michael and me a foundation to begin to discuss ideas and paradigms we’d never before discussed. and, as we have now entered toddlerhood, i’m so thankful that he and i are on the same page!
mostly, diane has influenced the way i choose to intentionally discipline our children. she’s given me words to use, concepts to employ and the boldness to begin now.
i appreciate diane because she’s honest and real. she doesn’t try to lead us to believe she’s done everything “right.” she shares with us the times she should have done things differently. and, she’s available. just the other week, she and i had a long discussion about luke’s eating habits and how to encourage him to eat a larger variety of food -- without getting into a power-struggle.
because our parents are so far away and aren’t daily involved in our lives, it’s encouraging to have older friends, one or two or three steps ahead of us, who do see us more regularly and can affirm that we’re doing okay with this parenting deal. diane has been one of those friends for me.
Friday, May 08, 2009
30til30: day 24, grace evangelical church
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 24: grace evangelical church
i grew up going to church every sunday – we never missed, even when we were traveling (do you know how awkward it is as a kid to go into a sunday school class where you don’t know anyone?). and, i loved the church we were going to when i was in seventh grade. even as a little 12-year-old, the older kids in the youth group loved me and welcomed me, allowing me to hang out with them and taking me home from youth group events.
but, for reasons i didn’t understand at the time, we left that church at the end of seventh grade. the church we started attending was large. and the youth group was clique-ish. and i had a tough time finding a place to belong. several times i felt shunned. and rejected. those are tough emotions anytime, but especially as a teen.
before long, i didn’t want anything to do with church. or God. i faked being sick so i didn’t have to go to youth group. my parents never forced me to go (that i remember). but, it was a rough three years.
when we finally left that church at the end of my sophomore year (because i wasn’t doing well, among other things), we began attending grace evangelical church. from the moment we walked through the double doors of the church built into the hill, i felt loved. jennifer greeted me as though we’d known each other for years. i was immediately adopted into the small youth group. i found adults like jo and barb and bryan who loved me and poured into me.
it was at grace that jennifer taught me to pray, by “making” me pray out loud. it was at grace that i began to realize that a relationship with Christ was more than just understanding and knowing bible storied. it was at grace that i first found true love and acceptance outside of my family.
and, it was at grace three years later that i finally began to notice a skinny runner sitting in the back of the room.
day 24: grace evangelical church
i grew up going to church every sunday – we never missed, even when we were traveling (do you know how awkward it is as a kid to go into a sunday school class where you don’t know anyone?). and, i loved the church we were going to when i was in seventh grade. even as a little 12-year-old, the older kids in the youth group loved me and welcomed me, allowing me to hang out with them and taking me home from youth group events.
but, for reasons i didn’t understand at the time, we left that church at the end of seventh grade. the church we started attending was large. and the youth group was clique-ish. and i had a tough time finding a place to belong. several times i felt shunned. and rejected. those are tough emotions anytime, but especially as a teen.
before long, i didn’t want anything to do with church. or God. i faked being sick so i didn’t have to go to youth group. my parents never forced me to go (that i remember). but, it was a rough three years.
when we finally left that church at the end of my sophomore year (because i wasn’t doing well, among other things), we began attending grace evangelical church. from the moment we walked through the double doors of the church built into the hill, i felt loved. jennifer greeted me as though we’d known each other for years. i was immediately adopted into the small youth group. i found adults like jo and barb and bryan who loved me and poured into me.
it was at grace that jennifer taught me to pray, by “making” me pray out loud. it was at grace that i began to realize that a relationship with Christ was more than just understanding and knowing bible storied. it was at grace that i first found true love and acceptance outside of my family.
and, it was at grace three years later that i finally began to notice a skinny runner sitting in the back of the room.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
30til30: day 9, papa rick and momma c
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me.
this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 9: papa rick and momma c
i know that i cannot fully comprehend the blessing it is in my life that my in-laws are on this list in a positive way.
since i knew michael for so long before we got married, i have known his family for a long time, too. anyone who knows his parents will know this is crazy, but his mom used to intimidate me. i mean, when you’re starting to date a guy, who wouldn’t be intimidated by his mother, regardless of how sweet and kind and non-threatening she is?
papa rick and momma c did a phenomenal job raising michael and his sister. they instilled within him many of the values and convictions i also treasure and that we want to instill within our children. they parented with firmness and love, much the way we want to parent.
they have impacted me greatly as well. they encourage us and cheer us on, telling us we’re doing well raising luke. they pray for us.
and, even before luke was born, they adopted me as their own.
i will never forget our first christmas together married. we were about to celebrate our first anniversary. when we got to the christmas tree to open gifts, i was floored that i was being treated just like julie, like one of their children. i knew my parents had done the same for michael, but it blew my mind to be treated in the same way. in that moment, i felt more loved and accepted than i had the entire previous year.
momma c and papa rick have done a great job freeing us to be our own family. they don’t intrude or place expectations on us. which just might be the greatest gift they could give us.
papa rick and momma c, thanks for immediately adopting me as your own. i love you both.
this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 9: papa rick and momma c
i know that i cannot fully comprehend the blessing it is in my life that my in-laws are on this list in a positive way.
since i knew michael for so long before we got married, i have known his family for a long time, too. anyone who knows his parents will know this is crazy, but his mom used to intimidate me. i mean, when you’re starting to date a guy, who wouldn’t be intimidated by his mother, regardless of how sweet and kind and non-threatening she is?
papa rick and momma c did a phenomenal job raising michael and his sister. they instilled within him many of the values and convictions i also treasure and that we want to instill within our children. they parented with firmness and love, much the way we want to parent.
they have impacted me greatly as well. they encourage us and cheer us on, telling us we’re doing well raising luke. they pray for us.
and, even before luke was born, they adopted me as their own.
i will never forget our first christmas together married. we were about to celebrate our first anniversary. when we got to the christmas tree to open gifts, i was floored that i was being treated just like julie, like one of their children. i knew my parents had done the same for michael, but it blew my mind to be treated in the same way. in that moment, i felt more loved and accepted than i had the entire previous year.
momma c and papa rick have done a great job freeing us to be our own family. they don’t intrude or place expectations on us. which just might be the greatest gift they could give us.
papa rick and momma c, thanks for immediately adopting me as your own. i love you both.
Friday, May 01, 2009
30til30
tomorrow, i begin a series of 30 posts leading up to my 30th birthday on june 1 (hint, hint). i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30 and even more challenging to do justice to the way God has used these people and situations in my life. i hope it inspires you as it has me.
i also hope you'll join me these next 30 days as i celebrate God's work in my life to continue to mold and shape me into the image of Christ.
what a wild ride it is!
i also hope you'll join me these next 30 days as i celebrate God's work in my life to continue to mold and shape me into the image of Christ.
what a wild ride it is!
Sunday, May 03, 2009
30til30: day 29, living in manila, philippines
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 29: living in manila, philippines with the navigators
the decision to move to manila with the navigators collegiate ministry for what i thought would be two years was an easy decision. i knew what i was holding onto and i knew what God was calling me to be willing to let go of. whether i made it to the philippines was his call; from me, he simply required obedience.
when we left for manila, my passport had only one stamp, from a “mission” trip i’d gone on in college to athens. manila is a city of 14 million people, which compared to new york city’s eight million is enormous. i’d never been to a third world country and had no idea what awaited me.
you can’t travel to a city like manila and not be struck by the poverty. we lived in a city of metro-manila called quezon city, across from a prestigious university where wealthy countrymen send their children. in the half-mile walk to campus, we passed squatters villages and street children and more poverty than i had seen in my entire life.
for the first time in my life, i understood the term street kid. the children around us played in the street because they had no where else to play. they greeted us daily with shouts of ate! ate! (or, auntie, a term of endearment for any woman older than the speaker). as best as we could, we built friendships with the children around us.
i also had a chance to build a friendship with a poor squatter named carmen and her husband rodolpo. the corner by our house was a depot for tricycles and rodolpo and carmen sold snacks (including friend quail eggs and bottled soft drinks) to passengers and drivers. as i’d wait for a trike, i’d make conversation with carmen, and through my broken tagalog and her minimal english, a friendship was born.
easily in her fifties, though poverty ages a person and guessing her age was difficult, carmen had two daughters and several young grandchildren. the entire family lived a short walk from rodolpo’s merienda stand. one afternoon, my new friend invited me to walk to her home. she led me down a familiar street and quickly ducked into an alley i’d never noticed. we wound through the tiny slum and eventually stopped outside her home.
a home which could easily fit inside my current bedroom and housed at least six adults and even more children.
but carmen was proud of what she had. she bought me a coke and showed me her tv. i sat on the one chair while she sat on a mattress. i was stunned at her generosity and hospitality to share the little she had with her rich american friend.
manila changed me. as i daily saw children who lived without parents, God grew within me a heart for adoption. as i walked carefully beside trash heaps, i determined to take better care of the earth God has entrusted to me. as i saw people without, i strived to live a life of simplicity. as i experienced life in another culture, i learned that God is bigger than my american box.
eight years later, i haven’t forgotten those lessons. and i still invite God to blow the top off my box.
day 29: living in manila, philippines with the navigators
the decision to move to manila with the navigators collegiate ministry for what i thought would be two years was an easy decision. i knew what i was holding onto and i knew what God was calling me to be willing to let go of. whether i made it to the philippines was his call; from me, he simply required obedience.
when we left for manila, my passport had only one stamp, from a “mission” trip i’d gone on in college to athens. manila is a city of 14 million people, which compared to new york city’s eight million is enormous. i’d never been to a third world country and had no idea what awaited me.
you can’t travel to a city like manila and not be struck by the poverty. we lived in a city of metro-manila called quezon city, across from a prestigious university where wealthy countrymen send their children. in the half-mile walk to campus, we passed squatters villages and street children and more poverty than i had seen in my entire life.
for the first time in my life, i understood the term street kid. the children around us played in the street because they had no where else to play. they greeted us daily with shouts of ate! ate! (or, auntie, a term of endearment for any woman older than the speaker). as best as we could, we built friendships with the children around us.
i also had a chance to build a friendship with a poor squatter named carmen and her husband rodolpo. the corner by our house was a depot for tricycles and rodolpo and carmen sold snacks (including friend quail eggs and bottled soft drinks) to passengers and drivers. as i’d wait for a trike, i’d make conversation with carmen, and through my broken tagalog and her minimal english, a friendship was born.
easily in her fifties, though poverty ages a person and guessing her age was difficult, carmen had two daughters and several young grandchildren. the entire family lived a short walk from rodolpo’s merienda stand. one afternoon, my new friend invited me to walk to her home. she led me down a familiar street and quickly ducked into an alley i’d never noticed. we wound through the tiny slum and eventually stopped outside her home.
a home which could easily fit inside my current bedroom and housed at least six adults and even more children.
but carmen was proud of what she had. she bought me a coke and showed me her tv. i sat on the one chair while she sat on a mattress. i was stunned at her generosity and hospitality to share the little she had with her rich american friend.
manila changed me. as i daily saw children who lived without parents, God grew within me a heart for adoption. as i walked carefully beside trash heaps, i determined to take better care of the earth God has entrusted to me. as i saw people without, i strived to live a life of simplicity. as i experienced life in another culture, i learned that God is bigger than my american box.
eight years later, i haven’t forgotten those lessons. and i still invite God to blow the top off my box.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
30til30: day 11, purdue nav ladies, sarah, michelle and amanda
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 11: purdue nav ladies, sarah, michelle and amanda
when i was at purdue, i got to spend a lot of intentional time with three of the student women: sarah, michelle and amanda. i led bible studies with each of them and got to watch as God grew them in leadership and Christ-likeness. our relationships were one of the highlights of my time at purdue.
as a result of our friendships, i grew a lot as well. i’d never led an investigative bible study before. one semester, michelle invited several of her friends to come discover who Jesus was, particularly as he related with women, and to bring their questions about Christianity. it was so fun to see michelle’s boldness – and the time with the women served to sharpen me, as well, as i relate with and reach out to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ.
amanda and i connected and grew together as we walked through a lot of difficult stuff with her relationship with her boyfriend-now-husband. i had been where she was and could relate to her pain. we also had a lot of fun together as we led a bible study for upper class -women. i have lots of fun memories from that group – and their crazy antics.
i met weekly with sarah for an entire year and we also led a bible study together. when we first started meeting, sarah didn’t think she could lead a bible study. as we studied together and as we memorized verses together, it was so neat to watch the word of God transform her. as michael and i moved at the end of the school year, sarah was planning to lead another bible study in the fall…and train a younger woman to do the same.
the way i mentor, the way i lead is different because i got to spend time with these women. they are a huge part of the memories i treasure when i think about purdue.
day 11: purdue nav ladies, sarah, michelle and amanda
when i was at purdue, i got to spend a lot of intentional time with three of the student women: sarah, michelle and amanda. i led bible studies with each of them and got to watch as God grew them in leadership and Christ-likeness. our relationships were one of the highlights of my time at purdue.
as a result of our friendships, i grew a lot as well. i’d never led an investigative bible study before. one semester, michelle invited several of her friends to come discover who Jesus was, particularly as he related with women, and to bring their questions about Christianity. it was so fun to see michelle’s boldness – and the time with the women served to sharpen me, as well, as i relate with and reach out to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ.
amanda and i connected and grew together as we walked through a lot of difficult stuff with her relationship with her boyfriend-now-husband. i had been where she was and could relate to her pain. we also had a lot of fun together as we led a bible study for upper class -women. i have lots of fun memories from that group – and their crazy antics.
i met weekly with sarah for an entire year and we also led a bible study together. when we first started meeting, sarah didn’t think she could lead a bible study. as we studied together and as we memorized verses together, it was so neat to watch the word of God transform her. as michael and i moved at the end of the school year, sarah was planning to lead another bible study in the fall…and train a younger woman to do the same.
the way i mentor, the way i lead is different because i got to spend time with these women. they are a huge part of the memories i treasure when i think about purdue.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
30til30: day 26, elisabeth elliot and five aspects of woman
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 26: elisabeth elliot and five aspects of woman bible study
i was young and single, though seriously dating michael, and had yet to form my convictions about many things. specifically, my conviction on how a relationship between a husband and wife should look. i knew i eventually wanted to be a wife and mom, but aside from that, hadn’t given much thought to what i wanted my marriage to be.
michael had given the issue thought. a great deal of it, in fact. and his views differed greatly from those of one of my good friends.
she didn’t think michael and i should continue our relationship, going as far to tell me that i was naïve in some of my thinking. she thought i was setting myself up for heartache. and, that i should break up with michael.
at the same time, i worked through a bible study called the five aspects of woman. the study is an in-depth look at femininity in the bible and how God designed women. it was encouraging and, at a very pivotal point in my life, helped me to establish convictions about a very sensitive subject.
the same semester, i also read a book by elisabeth elliot, let me be a woman, a book she wrote to her daughter as her daughter was about to be married. many of the things she wrote to her daughter gave me the freedom to live as i believed God had created me to live, despite the hostility my friend showed.
our culture sends us a multitude of messages regarding femininity. if it hadn’t been for elisabeth and the five aspects bible study, it would have been much more difficult to have settled myself into the role i believe God has called me.
day 26: elisabeth elliot and five aspects of woman bible study
i was young and single, though seriously dating michael, and had yet to form my convictions about many things. specifically, my conviction on how a relationship between a husband and wife should look. i knew i eventually wanted to be a wife and mom, but aside from that, hadn’t given much thought to what i wanted my marriage to be.
michael had given the issue thought. a great deal of it, in fact. and his views differed greatly from those of one of my good friends.
she didn’t think michael and i should continue our relationship, going as far to tell me that i was naïve in some of my thinking. she thought i was setting myself up for heartache. and, that i should break up with michael.
at the same time, i worked through a bible study called the five aspects of woman. the study is an in-depth look at femininity in the bible and how God designed women. it was encouraging and, at a very pivotal point in my life, helped me to establish convictions about a very sensitive subject.
the same semester, i also read a book by elisabeth elliot, let me be a woman, a book she wrote to her daughter as her daughter was about to be married. many of the things she wrote to her daughter gave me the freedom to live as i believed God had created me to live, despite the hostility my friend showed.
our culture sends us a multitude of messages regarding femininity. if it hadn’t been for elisabeth and the five aspects bible study, it would have been much more difficult to have settled myself into the role i believe God has called me.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
30til30: day 13, marrying my love
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 13: marrying my love
day 13: marrying my love
there have been a small handful of specific days over the last 30 years that have changed my life. one day that i wouldn’t trade for the world has been marrying my love and best friend, michael.
we got married on a beautiful december day five years ago. for a midwest winter day, the weather was perfect: sunny and in the 50s. we were young and didn’t understand enough to know that we didn’t yet love each other. not really, anyway. but it was the single happiest day of my life.
the day is somewhat a blur. i got ready at the church with my sisters and bride’s maids. i didn’t see michael until my dad walked me down the aisle. and then, all i saw was him. our pastor spoke about finding fulfillment first in Christ so that we could love and serve each other. we said some vows. lit a candle. kissed.
and then the party began.
michael and i often talk about how much fun we had at our reception. how every wedding we've attended since has paled in comparison to the fun we had at our wedding. it wasn’t anything fancy, but we were surrounded by all the people we loved most. and we knew everyone there. everyone, all 200-something-odd people, were promising to love and support us and help us as we figured out this new relationship.
we’ve certainly not been without struggles or disagreements. but, marrying this man has been the second best decision i’ve ever made (stay tuned for the best decision…). he challenges me. he sharpens me. he loves me. he is more than i ever dreamed possible in a husband.
i am blessed to be his.
i love you, babe.
Friday, May 15, 2009
30til30: day 18, noah's ark
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 18: noah’s ark
as a sophomore in college, i was an r.a. in the freshmen women’s dorm. though i lived across campus from the majority of my friends, i loved the energy and enthusiasm of the women who lived on my floor. that year, three of the women had attended high school together. when they arrived on campus, they were still excited about the senior trip they had taken that summer to noah’s ark, an outdoor adventure company in colorado.
it wasn’t the first time i’d hear of noah’s ark. my roommate had friends who’d worked there and her mother had recommended i look into working there as well. at the time, i wasn’t interested. but as i heard more from lori, rachael and leanne, i decided it was something i wanted to do.
when i arrived at noah’s ark at the end of may, i had never before been whitewater rafting. the first time i rode in a canoe at age five, i cried throughout the entire trip, much to my parents’ chagrin. and here i was, thinking i could brave the rapids every day to safely deliver risk-seekers to their destinations. i remember standing by the river for the first time, looking out across the expanse of water, wondering, what was i thinking?
i had a lot of fun at noah’s. rafting was hard work – i used muscles i didn’t know i had. it was also humbling for me. as guides, we had to train for at least 60 hours on the river (noah’s guides trained for closer to 100 hours) and pass a “solo” guide test before we were allowed to take regular paying passengers. i was the last of our class to pass my solo guide.
but by God’s grace, i learned to conquer my apprehensions and fears and have fun on the river. i mastered some of the hardest rapids we ran and had a lot of fun pushing myself. and, there’s nothing like suffering hypothermia and facing death with someone to knit you closely together. our guide class had a blast challenging each other and learning together.
in addition to rafting, we also backpacked and rock climbed. leading groups of teenagers, without cellphones, computers or watches, into the colorado backcountry was thrilling to me each time i went. climbing 14-thousdand foot mountains and sliding down glaciers was exciting. spending five day stretches playing in God’s creation gave this mid-western kid a love for the beauty of the earth i’d not developed.
at noah’s, i learned the difference between being a thrill seeker and an adventure taker. i am the latter. i love adventure, but do not seek out thrill, like many of my coworkers did. i continued to grow as a leader as i made choices that affected people who relied on me for safety and security. and i had fun experiencing God in the depth of the colorado rockies.
day 18: noah’s ark
as a sophomore in college, i was an r.a. in the freshmen women’s dorm. though i lived across campus from the majority of my friends, i loved the energy and enthusiasm of the women who lived on my floor. that year, three of the women had attended high school together. when they arrived on campus, they were still excited about the senior trip they had taken that summer to noah’s ark, an outdoor adventure company in colorado.
it wasn’t the first time i’d hear of noah’s ark. my roommate had friends who’d worked there and her mother had recommended i look into working there as well. at the time, i wasn’t interested. but as i heard more from lori, rachael and leanne, i decided it was something i wanted to do.
when i arrived at noah’s ark at the end of may, i had never before been whitewater rafting. the first time i rode in a canoe at age five, i cried throughout the entire trip, much to my parents’ chagrin. and here i was, thinking i could brave the rapids every day to safely deliver risk-seekers to their destinations. i remember standing by the river for the first time, looking out across the expanse of water, wondering, what was i thinking?
i had a lot of fun at noah’s. rafting was hard work – i used muscles i didn’t know i had. it was also humbling for me. as guides, we had to train for at least 60 hours on the river (noah’s guides trained for closer to 100 hours) and pass a “solo” guide test before we were allowed to take regular paying passengers. i was the last of our class to pass my solo guide.
but by God’s grace, i learned to conquer my apprehensions and fears and have fun on the river. i mastered some of the hardest rapids we ran and had a lot of fun pushing myself. and, there’s nothing like suffering hypothermia and facing death with someone to knit you closely together. our guide class had a blast challenging each other and learning together.
in addition to rafting, we also backpacked and rock climbed. leading groups of teenagers, without cellphones, computers or watches, into the colorado backcountry was thrilling to me each time i went. climbing 14-thousdand foot mountains and sliding down glaciers was exciting. spending five day stretches playing in God’s creation gave this mid-western kid a love for the beauty of the earth i’d not developed.
at noah’s, i learned the difference between being a thrill seeker and an adventure taker. i am the latter. i love adventure, but do not seek out thrill, like many of my coworkers did. i continued to grow as a leader as i made choices that affected people who relied on me for safety and security. and i had fun experiencing God in the depth of the colorado rockies.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
30til30: day 1, bobby joiner and indiana winter camp
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 1: bobby joiner and indiana winter camp
i told my parents when i was five that i wanted to trust Christ for salvation (i’m sure those were my exact words…). i had a vague understanding that i had done bad things and that Jesus could save me from being forever separated from God that through his death on the cross. i didn’t experience a radical transformation and i didn’t learn much, if anything, about what it meant to have a relationship with Christ.
that all changed when we began attending grace church.
my family began to attend grace evangelical church when i was 16, at the end of my sophomore year of high school. i began realizing that my friends were different from me – sure, we all knew the sunday school answers to questions asked of us, but they seemed to have something i didn’t. i slowly began to realize that was a relationship with Christ.
it was tradition at our church to go to a week long camp over the new year, indiana winter camp – like summer youth camp, but in the middle of the midwest winter. while it was certainly geared toward high school kids, it was a “family camp,” so a lot of families with children and adults came as well.
since i never missed an opportunity to be with my new friends, i signed up for camp immediately.
that year, bobby joiner came to camp as our guest speaker.
i don’t remember what bobby looks like. i honestly don’t remember a lot of what he talked about that night. but i do remember being at a point that i didn’t know how to make my rebellious relationship with my parents better. i remember bobby talking about his own relationship with his dad – and the struggles he’d had. i also clearly remember thinking, if his life isn’t perfect, but he knows God the way he does, maybe i too can have a relationship with God like that – before i “clean up” my life.
i remember it being a very emotional moment for me. i cried a lot, but couldn’t explain what was happening in my heart. however, as i look back, that was certainly the point where i surrendered my life to what Christ would have for me…and allowed him to take the reins – in my relationships at school, with my parents, with my future.
that cold evening, in a small chapel in the middle of the woods, changed my life more than any moment before or since. i wouldn’t have made many of the decisions i’ve made if it hadn’t been for that night. this list would be filled with very different things if God hadn’t captured my attention through bobby. i most likely wouldn’t be married to the best man to ever come into my life if it hadn’t been for bobby’s commitment to speak the Truth.
i am forever grateful for the faithfulness of a man whose face i don’t even remember.
day 1: bobby joiner and indiana winter camp
i told my parents when i was five that i wanted to trust Christ for salvation (i’m sure those were my exact words…). i had a vague understanding that i had done bad things and that Jesus could save me from being forever separated from God that through his death on the cross. i didn’t experience a radical transformation and i didn’t learn much, if anything, about what it meant to have a relationship with Christ.
that all changed when we began attending grace church.
my family began to attend grace evangelical church when i was 16, at the end of my sophomore year of high school. i began realizing that my friends were different from me – sure, we all knew the sunday school answers to questions asked of us, but they seemed to have something i didn’t. i slowly began to realize that was a relationship with Christ.
it was tradition at our church to go to a week long camp over the new year, indiana winter camp – like summer youth camp, but in the middle of the midwest winter. while it was certainly geared toward high school kids, it was a “family camp,” so a lot of families with children and adults came as well.
since i never missed an opportunity to be with my new friends, i signed up for camp immediately.
that year, bobby joiner came to camp as our guest speaker.
i don’t remember what bobby looks like. i honestly don’t remember a lot of what he talked about that night. but i do remember being at a point that i didn’t know how to make my rebellious relationship with my parents better. i remember bobby talking about his own relationship with his dad – and the struggles he’d had. i also clearly remember thinking, if his life isn’t perfect, but he knows God the way he does, maybe i too can have a relationship with God like that – before i “clean up” my life.
i remember it being a very emotional moment for me. i cried a lot, but couldn’t explain what was happening in my heart. however, as i look back, that was certainly the point where i surrendered my life to what Christ would have for me…and allowed him to take the reins – in my relationships at school, with my parents, with my future.
that cold evening, in a small chapel in the middle of the woods, changed my life more than any moment before or since. i wouldn’t have made many of the decisions i’ve made if it hadn’t been for that night. this list would be filled with very different things if God hadn’t captured my attention through bobby. i most likely wouldn’t be married to the best man to ever come into my life if it hadn’t been for bobby’s commitment to speak the Truth.
i am forever grateful for the faithfulness of a man whose face i don’t even remember.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
30til30: day 25, grandma helen
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 25: grandma helen
as i was growing up, my mom’s parents lived a 10-hour drive away, so we only saw them a couple times a year. my g’andy passed away when i was five and my grandmother when i was 14. because of the distance, i didn’t get to know either of them well and have only vague memories of g’andy.
though we lived near to where my dad grew up, both of his parents died before i was born, both of un-natural causes. my grandfather was killed by a drunk driver when my parents had been married only a couple years. his girlfriend at the time, helen, was also in the accident and hospitalized for nine months. because my mom was new to the family, she felt out of place helping to coordinate the details of my grandfather’s funeral and grieving with the family; instead, mom spent hours upon hours at the hospital with helen. over the months, my parents adopted helen. after i was born, she became my “grandma.”
grandma helen wasn’t a christian when my grandfather died. my parents invited her to church and were with her the evening she decided to trust Christ as savior. in fact, my mom was able to tell that God was working in her heart and asked if she wanted to talk with the pastor. before she died, grandma helen told me the story of her choosing to trust Christ and how much my mom had meant to her.
grandma helen was never married and didn’t have children of her own. because of my parents’ relationship with her, i can’t remember a birthday or christmas celebration without grandma helen (as i got older, i realized that she only did this for my sisters and me, not for my cousins). every year for christmas, she gave me a can of olives because she knew i loved them (and she gave my dad tube socks every year, even though he didn’t love those). even if she couldn’t be with me on my birthday, she’d call just to sing to me.
as a little kid, grandma helen babysat me often. she allowed me to jump on her bed and play with her cat. no jumping on the bed, she’d say with a mischievous smile.
when i was in second grade, our family again began attending church with grandma helen. at this church, she was known as the worm lady because she gave gummy worms to all the kids after church. i loved knowing that my grandma was the lady all the kids loved.
easter of my senior year of college, my dad’s family celebrated at my cousin sharon’s house. while the men were out in the living room, the women sat in the kitchen, telling stories and laughing more than i ever remember laughing with my cousins. grandma helen was the life of the party! as i drove back to school that afternoon, i had the vivid thought, it will never be like this again.
shortly after that, grandma helen was diagnosed with cancer. by the summer, she was living in a nursing home. i spent a lot of time sitting on the edge of her bed, playing my guitar and singing. she told me about the grandfather i never knew. and we shared often shared strawberry shakes from steak ‘n shake.
and always, as i was leaving, i’d turn and say, remember, no jumping on the bed.
grandma helen passed away while i was living in the philippines. for a child who grew up without real grandparents, grandma helen filled a void in my life i didn’t realize was there until i came home. she was a wonderful grandma and offered love intentionally and without limit.
i wonder if she’s in heaven tonight, jumping on the bed.
day 25: grandma helen
as i was growing up, my mom’s parents lived a 10-hour drive away, so we only saw them a couple times a year. my g’andy passed away when i was five and my grandmother when i was 14. because of the distance, i didn’t get to know either of them well and have only vague memories of g’andy.
though we lived near to where my dad grew up, both of his parents died before i was born, both of un-natural causes. my grandfather was killed by a drunk driver when my parents had been married only a couple years. his girlfriend at the time, helen, was also in the accident and hospitalized for nine months. because my mom was new to the family, she felt out of place helping to coordinate the details of my grandfather’s funeral and grieving with the family; instead, mom spent hours upon hours at the hospital with helen. over the months, my parents adopted helen. after i was born, she became my “grandma.”
grandma helen wasn’t a christian when my grandfather died. my parents invited her to church and were with her the evening she decided to trust Christ as savior. in fact, my mom was able to tell that God was working in her heart and asked if she wanted to talk with the pastor. before she died, grandma helen told me the story of her choosing to trust Christ and how much my mom had meant to her.
grandma helen was never married and didn’t have children of her own. because of my parents’ relationship with her, i can’t remember a birthday or christmas celebration without grandma helen (as i got older, i realized that she only did this for my sisters and me, not for my cousins). every year for christmas, she gave me a can of olives because she knew i loved them (and she gave my dad tube socks every year, even though he didn’t love those). even if she couldn’t be with me on my birthday, she’d call just to sing to me.
as a little kid, grandma helen babysat me often. she allowed me to jump on her bed and play with her cat. no jumping on the bed, she’d say with a mischievous smile.
when i was in second grade, our family again began attending church with grandma helen. at this church, she was known as the worm lady because she gave gummy worms to all the kids after church. i loved knowing that my grandma was the lady all the kids loved.
easter of my senior year of college, my dad’s family celebrated at my cousin sharon’s house. while the men were out in the living room, the women sat in the kitchen, telling stories and laughing more than i ever remember laughing with my cousins. grandma helen was the life of the party! as i drove back to school that afternoon, i had the vivid thought, it will never be like this again.
shortly after that, grandma helen was diagnosed with cancer. by the summer, she was living in a nursing home. i spent a lot of time sitting on the edge of her bed, playing my guitar and singing. she told me about the grandfather i never knew. and we shared often shared strawberry shakes from steak ‘n shake.
and always, as i was leaving, i’d turn and say, remember, no jumping on the bed.
grandma helen passed away while i was living in the philippines. for a child who grew up without real grandparents, grandma helen filled a void in my life i didn’t realize was there until i came home. she was a wonderful grandma and offered love intentionally and without limit.
i wonder if she’s in heaven tonight, jumping on the bed.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
30til30: day 30, editing the andersonian
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 30: editing the andersonian, our weekly college newspaper
i was a lowly freshman when i saw an ad in the weekly newspaper for an associate editor. inspired, i applied and later that week experienced by first late night (early morning?) editing the paper with kyle. though i had edited our high school newspaper, this was obviously a different ballgame and i learned a lot from kyle, specifically about writing and about our campus.
as the end of the semester, kyle quit. that left only me to edit the paper. our supervisor hired a co-editor for me, but it was a long and difficult semester for us both. neither of us was a journalism student nor did we truly knew what we were doing. our slogan for the semester was, it aint easy being green.
i entirely surprised myself when i met with our supervisor at the end of the fall semester my senior year to tell him i was interested in editing again. this time around, i alone was responsible for all the staff writers, including practicum writers whom i graded, the photographer and editorial staff. we had a blast in our office in the little communications department house just off campus. lots of late nights and pizza runs. lots of laughter and stress and creating.
it was an experience i wouldn’t have traded for the world.
from it, i became a better writer. a better editor. a better leader. i learned to communicate more clearly with those around me, verbally and through writing. as a leader, to share in the glory of a job well done and to shoulder the blame when i allowed mistakes. to genuinely take pride in my work and what we were able to create. to see that i could be responsible for something far larger than myself.
my last semester editing the andersonian planted a deep seed within my heart to be a writer. it’s a seed that has slowly germinated and, at this point in my life, i’m not sure where it will take me. but, it might not be there at all if it weren’t for that semester of writing and dreaming and creating.
day 30: editing the andersonian, our weekly college newspaper
i was a lowly freshman when i saw an ad in the weekly newspaper for an associate editor. inspired, i applied and later that week experienced by first late night (early morning?) editing the paper with kyle. though i had edited our high school newspaper, this was obviously a different ballgame and i learned a lot from kyle, specifically about writing and about our campus.
as the end of the semester, kyle quit. that left only me to edit the paper. our supervisor hired a co-editor for me, but it was a long and difficult semester for us both. neither of us was a journalism student nor did we truly knew what we were doing. our slogan for the semester was, it aint easy being green.
i entirely surprised myself when i met with our supervisor at the end of the fall semester my senior year to tell him i was interested in editing again. this time around, i alone was responsible for all the staff writers, including practicum writers whom i graded, the photographer and editorial staff. we had a blast in our office in the little communications department house just off campus. lots of late nights and pizza runs. lots of laughter and stress and creating.
it was an experience i wouldn’t have traded for the world.
from it, i became a better writer. a better editor. a better leader. i learned to communicate more clearly with those around me, verbally and through writing. as a leader, to share in the glory of a job well done and to shoulder the blame when i allowed mistakes. to genuinely take pride in my work and what we were able to create. to see that i could be responsible for something far larger than myself.
my last semester editing the andersonian planted a deep seed within my heart to be a writer. it’s a seed that has slowly germinated and, at this point in my life, i’m not sure where it will take me. but, it might not be there at all if it weren’t for that semester of writing and dreaming and creating.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
30til30: day 8, sherwin and julie
so, we took a great memorial day getaway to cloudcroft new mexico (more on that soon) with several of our friends. i tried to get ahead with this series and it just didn’t happened, so now i’m playing catch-up. i do plan to have it all wrapped up by monday (june 1!), i’m just not sure how all that is going to work out. but regardless, this was the post planned for sunday, may 24.
********
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 8: sherwin and julie
when i married michael, i was blessed to gain a sister. julie and i have never shared clothes, but we’re sisters nonetheless. and, just over two years ago when she married sherwin, i got my first brother (which, by the way, sherwin, i always wanted growing up…).
julie and sherwin add a lot of spice to michael’s and my life. we laugh together. play boggle together. cry together. eat cheesecake together. shop together. they are definitely a blessing to us. it’s nice to not be the only young woman when we’re with michael’s family.
it has been so fun to watch julie be an aunt to luke. even though we live over 1000 miles apart, she is an amazing aunt. when we’re together, she dotes on my son (note to adults without children: the single fastest way to the hearts of your friends with kids is to dote on their children). when we’re apart, she begs for photos of him. she just might brag about him more than i do. and i love it. i cannot wait until we get to watch her and sherwin be parents. someday in the future, that is…
julie was such an integral part of michael’s life while they were growing up – and as a result, a major part of my life. their childhood and friendship shaped much of who my husband is. and, it is a joy to be part of that now.
********
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 8: sherwin and julie
when i married michael, i was blessed to gain a sister. julie and i have never shared clothes, but we’re sisters nonetheless. and, just over two years ago when she married sherwin, i got my first brother (which, by the way, sherwin, i always wanted growing up…).
julie and sherwin add a lot of spice to michael’s and my life. we laugh together. play boggle together. cry together. eat cheesecake together. shop together. they are definitely a blessing to us. it’s nice to not be the only young woman when we’re with michael’s family.
it has been so fun to watch julie be an aunt to luke. even though we live over 1000 miles apart, she is an amazing aunt. when we’re together, she dotes on my son (note to adults without children: the single fastest way to the hearts of your friends with kids is to dote on their children). when we’re apart, she begs for photos of him. she just might brag about him more than i do. and i love it. i cannot wait until we get to watch her and sherwin be parents. someday in the future, that is…
julie was such an integral part of michael’s life while they were growing up – and as a result, a major part of my life. their childhood and friendship shaped much of who my husband is. and, it is a joy to be part of that now.
Monday, May 25, 2009
30til30: day 7, caden chastain
so, we took a great memorial day getaway to cloudcroft new mexico with several of our friends. i tried to get ahead and it just didn’t happened, so now i’m playing catch-up. i do plan to have this series wrapped up by monday (june 1!), i’m just not sure how all that is going to work out. but regardless, this was the post planned for monday, may 25.
*********
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 7: caden chastain
with all my heart, i wish this wasn’t one of my 30 things.
last fall, our dear friends lost their precious baby girl. though i haven’t written much here, in many ways, i’m still processing caden’s short life and the impact her death has had on me. michael and i still have moments of grief, made fewer only by the fact that we are somewhat disconnected from our friends in indianapolis.
here are a few ways my life has changed as a result of caden’s life:
*********
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 7: caden chastain
with all my heart, i wish this wasn’t one of my 30 things.
last fall, our dear friends lost their precious baby girl. though i haven’t written much here, in many ways, i’m still processing caden’s short life and the impact her death has had on me. michael and i still have moments of grief, made fewer only by the fact that we are somewhat disconnected from our friends in indianapolis.
here are a few ways my life has changed as a result of caden’s life:
- i hold my own little boy tighter at night when i rock him
- i don’t cling to his life or the life of his sibling in utero
- i’m more easily moved by others walking through grief and i’m more likely to shoulder part of that grief
- i am often reminded that this life is not all there is; reality is coming!
because i really don’t feel i can do justice to something that so profoundly marked my life such a short time ago, here are the words to a song we sang at our palm sunday service at church. i cried throughout the entire song, and especially the last two verses, as i thought, this is every christian parent’s prayer for their child and it’s wholly true for caden.
my Jesus, i love Thee, i know Thou art mine;
for Thee all the follies of sin i resign.
my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
if ever i loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
i love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
i love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
if ever i loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
i’ll love Thee in life, i will love Thee in death,
and praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
and say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
if ever i loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
in mansions of glory and endless delight,
i’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
i’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever i loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
~william r. featherston
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
30til30: day 12, reed and marian
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in no particular order.
day 12: reed and marian
as i’ve written about earlier, our church and our sunday school class has played a major role in our lives since moving to dallas. a huge part of that has been reed and marian.
reed and marian are the ages of our parents (roughly) and have children our age (their catherine is just several weeks older than me). they have been actively mentoring young couples for years. reed is the primary teacher of our sunday school class and marian leads our bi-monthly women’s bible study.
they have both had a profound impact on our lives. in many ways, they have been our parents in dallas. they have encouraged us and supported us and allowed us to learn from their years of marriage and parenting. they have honestly shared their lives with us – both the good and the bad – and been a great example of what it means to walk with the Lord for decades.
reed is the best motivator i know. this year, he and marian have established a reward system for those in our class who memorize scripture. for every 20-30 verses we each memorize, they will pay $500 per person toward a $2500 cruise we’ll all take at the end of the year. michael and i are so excited about going – and eagerly learning our verses.
but, there has been one specific way in which they have really ministered to us this last year.
about 25 years ago, reed and marian lost their daughter wendy in an automobile accident. though i know it must still be painful at times to talk about and we still see tears in their eyes on occasion, they have openly discussed the tragic circumstances and how it impacted their lives.
when we found out that our dear friends andy and cari lost their daughter caden last fall, reed was the first person michael called. reed doesn’t even know andy and cari but he cried on the phone with michael as my husband shared the news. his father’s heart broke with michael’s and remembered the pain that our friends were facing. over the weeks and months, reed and marian have spoken with us about what walking through grief was like for them and how we can support our friends, even from a distance.
keep praying, marian once said. that’s when it will get hard – when people stop praying.
i really believe that every young couple needs a reed and marian. they have deeply impacted our dallas-lives and the last four years wouldn’t have been the same without them.
day 12: reed and marian
as i’ve written about earlier, our church and our sunday school class has played a major role in our lives since moving to dallas. a huge part of that has been reed and marian.
reed and marian are the ages of our parents (roughly) and have children our age (their catherine is just several weeks older than me). they have been actively mentoring young couples for years. reed is the primary teacher of our sunday school class and marian leads our bi-monthly women’s bible study.
they have both had a profound impact on our lives. in many ways, they have been our parents in dallas. they have encouraged us and supported us and allowed us to learn from their years of marriage and parenting. they have honestly shared their lives with us – both the good and the bad – and been a great example of what it means to walk with the Lord for decades.
reed is the best motivator i know. this year, he and marian have established a reward system for those in our class who memorize scripture. for every 20-30 verses we each memorize, they will pay $500 per person toward a $2500 cruise we’ll all take at the end of the year. michael and i are so excited about going – and eagerly learning our verses.
but, there has been one specific way in which they have really ministered to us this last year.
about 25 years ago, reed and marian lost their daughter wendy in an automobile accident. though i know it must still be painful at times to talk about and we still see tears in their eyes on occasion, they have openly discussed the tragic circumstances and how it impacted their lives.
when we found out that our dear friends andy and cari lost their daughter caden last fall, reed was the first person michael called. reed doesn’t even know andy and cari but he cried on the phone with michael as my husband shared the news. his father’s heart broke with michael’s and remembered the pain that our friends were facing. over the weeks and months, reed and marian have spoken with us about what walking through grief was like for them and how we can support our friends, even from a distance.
keep praying, marian once said. that’s when it will get hard – when people stop praying.
i really believe that every young couple needs a reed and marian. they have deeply impacted our dallas-lives and the last four years wouldn’t have been the same without them.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
30til30:day 5, suzanne michelle
so, we took a great memorial day getaway to cloudcroft, new mexico with several of our friends. i tried to get ahead and it just didn’t happened, so now i’m playing catch-up. i do plan to have this series wrapped up by monday (june 1!), i’m just not sure how all that is going to work out. but regardless, this was the post planned for wednesday, may 27.
*********
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 5: suzanne michelle
the addition of suzanne to our family was traumatic for me. i was a verbal 29 months when she was born. and, i wasn’t happy to give up my ownship of our parents. my very first memory surrounds her birth. and, competing for our mom’s attention began a cycle that took 20 years to break.
for years, we competed over everything. because we were less than three years apart, we had many of the same friends (who were often siblings themselves). we took piano lessons together – and suzanne was better than me. we had many of the same teachers in school – and suzanne made straight A’s.
though we played together as children, once i got to be a teenager, we didn’t spend much time together. suzanne has a very acute sense of justice and didn’t like that our parents occasionally treated us differently – especially if she felt i got the better end of a deal. but that, in fact, is what finally brought us together.
i had just graduated college and was about to spend the summer living at home before i moved to the philippines. i don’t remember what happened, but we blew up at each other over something that suzanne didn’t think was fair. for the first time, mom made us genuinely work out the conflict.
and we’ve been fast friends ever since.
suzanne challenges me. we are very different, both in how we look and how we act – most people don’t even think we’re related. she sees things different from me. i appreciate that she wants to live honestly and authentically. she's willing to deal with difficult situations and conversations and doesn’t easily back down from what she believes to be true.
i admire suzanne and her relationship with Christ. her willingness to walk with others inspires me.
*********
i have 30 days until i celebrate my 30th year of life. i thought i would share with you 30 people, events and situations that have shaped my life and who i want to be. it has been very challenging to come up with 30…i hope it inspires you as it has me. this part of the list is in a specific order.
day 5: suzanne michelle
the addition of suzanne to our family was traumatic for me. i was a verbal 29 months when she was born. and, i wasn’t happy to give up my ownship of our parents. my very first memory surrounds her birth. and, competing for our mom’s attention began a cycle that took 20 years to break.
for years, we competed over everything. because we were less than three years apart, we had many of the same friends (who were often siblings themselves). we took piano lessons together – and suzanne was better than me. we had many of the same teachers in school – and suzanne made straight A’s.
though we played together as children, once i got to be a teenager, we didn’t spend much time together. suzanne has a very acute sense of justice and didn’t like that our parents occasionally treated us differently – especially if she felt i got the better end of a deal. but that, in fact, is what finally brought us together.
i had just graduated college and was about to spend the summer living at home before i moved to the philippines. i don’t remember what happened, but we blew up at each other over something that suzanne didn’t think was fair. for the first time, mom made us genuinely work out the conflict.
and we’ve been fast friends ever since.
suzanne challenges me. we are very different, both in how we look and how we act – most people don’t even think we’re related. she sees things different from me. i appreciate that she wants to live honestly and authentically. she's willing to deal with difficult situations and conversations and doesn’t easily back down from what she believes to be true.
i admire suzanne and her relationship with Christ. her willingness to walk with others inspires me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
