I have been processing and contemplating numerous things these past few weeks. Jesus-Love. Dangerous living. Sacrifice. Right and wrong religion. Justice. Love. Heartache. Social norms and expectations. Coffee. (OK, maybe not coffee, but because I'm sipping coffee at this moment, I figured I'd throw it in there.)
Since my announcement to close the doors on my company I've felt free. Free to pursue what I feel is the absolute passion that lies in the deepest part of my soul. My direction and efforts no longer feel like a means to an end. I haven't been able to fall asleep at night because my mind is racing excitedly about the adventure that lies ahead. I think about advocacy, and justice, and Jesus, and love, and what in the world should love look like? What does God want those things to look like (in my life, in the church)? Who is the real Jesus? I'm talking about the one in the bible, not the one the recent culture of the American "church" has made Him out to be (because for the most part we've done a terrible job at knowing Him and following His example).
Last week I listened to this sermon (entitled: Love as Dogma, November 22, 2009 - um, as well as the week prior by Ed Underwood, amazing), and I simply burned with passion. Tears flowed uncontrollably out of my eyes because we, the church, have lost sight of the beauty of Jesus and His humble example for us. We don't know who He is anymore. We don't know how to follow Him anymore because tradition and our own desires and comfort have gotten in the way. That breaks my heart; I walk around with a nearly consuming sadness inside of me because of that. Really, there are no words to describe it to you properly. I challenge you to take the time and listen to that message.
"Love as Dogma" was yet another defining moment in my pursuit of justice and how I will be able to make an impact in this world for the glory of God. I realized that my life may not consist of being a full time missionary overseas. I still envision my life being dangerous. I still envision going to the places that nobody else wants to go. I still long to meet and love on and provide for those that most everybody else has forgotten about. I want to ask the hard questions in search for the difficult answers. And most importantly, I want to carry their voices to the place that they are scarcely heard: to the United States. That is my passion. I beg you to seek for yours if you haven't found it already.
My heart longs for us to take Jesus for who He actually is and to live love and justice. I want us to question why it is we go to church every day in order that we may actually be the buzz word of our generation: authentic. I want us to question the hurt in this world and to not be overwhelmed at the answer: that we are a part of the problem, and that we can also be a part of the solution. I want us to not be overwhelmed and to simply realize that we, each and every one of us, are created to do something related to biblical justice: whether it is in our immediate sphere of influence and our community, or if it is a radical life comparable to of one of the greats that went before us (Locke, Gandhi, Mandela...).
Let us take courage. Let us ask the hard questions. Let us follow our passions with great fervor. Let us live like we believe our convictions, and let us live that in real love, in Jesus-love.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Oh so sweet :)
I don't know if it is completely nerd-like of me to be stoked about this or not...but a friend of mine was sweet enough to pass on a little bloggy award! Thanks for the love, Lindsay!
Here are the rules that come with the Superior Scribbler award....
1. Each Superior Scribbler that I name today must pass the award on to 5 most-deserving bloggy friends.
2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author and the name of the blog from whom she/he has received the award.
3. Each Superior Scribbler must display the award on her blog, and link to this post, which explains the award.
4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit This Post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.
To those that inspire me with their hearts and words, and consistently give me goosebumps (which, by the way, is a good thing!):
Kelly's Blog (I'll link it once I receive permission!)
http://girlfullyalive.blogspot.com/
http://whereherfeetland.blogspot.com/
http://diamondsonhersoles.blogspot.com/
http://relevantdisciple.blogspot.com/ (<-- way to be, Pratt, for being the only dude I know who keeps a blog!)
My thought of the day:
Ponder for a moment how you might fight fatigue in doing good. For instance, maybe we're really nice or helpful to others for a time, and sooner or later we tire of it and continue on about our lives. Does that make sense? Makes your head hurt a little bit, huh? Then maybe, just maybe, it's something you should be thinking about more often. Maybe we should continually strive to do good in this world with authentic acts of kindness and love WITHOUT ulterior motives of any kind...can you even fathom what this world would look like? Yeah, me neither. But we can try to do good. How about you and me, right here, right now, make an effort for our fellow man. Whatever your gifting is, whatever you are good at, use that to help someone or improve their day. Don't try to do something because so-and-so did and that made a difference. We're created unique for a reason (I'll let you ponder my underlying meaning in that and maybe someday soon I'll blog about that, too).
I'll share with you my little bits that I've tried this week:
1. I like to smile. A LOT. So of course I began genuinely smiling at strangers. I'm talking at least two seconds of eye contact and a "hello" or "good afternoon". Ok, that sounds so frickin' cheesy it's not even funny. But it makes you feel good. And sometimes you get a funny response like I did yesterday, this lady just looked at me like I was nuts for the first second of eye contact, and then broke out of her "zone" and smiled back, genuinely. I hope it brightened her day.
2. Writing meaningful letters or emails to friends and family to encourage them.
I don't tell you these things because I want to toot my horn. Not at all. I'm just expressing my belief that even the tiniest acts of kindness matter. You may not be in war zones saving lives (thank you, Veterans) or a missionary in a jungle working as a doctor, or fighting injustice in our legal system...but leading an authentic life of love and kindness is a beautiful thing. And that in and of itself will leave a lasting mark on this earth.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Exhale of Joy
Do you ever wake up from a night of silent, dreamless sleep, and there's nothing you can do except smile as you prepare for the day? You feel an overwhelming sense of peace, a rightness in the world that scarcely makes itself known, a silent rhythm of perseverance.
I had that morning. It lingers. I am exhaling joy.
Granted, there is a story behind this that begs telling.
Justice has been served. In a world teeming with corruption and malice where horrific acts take place more often than we care to ponder; one case of injustice will be set right, at least in the eyes of the law. Words can scarcely make an appeal to my elation. A little girl and her brother will (hopefully) never again be molested. They now have the chance to heal, to make a clean break, and I pray to God that they are given the fullness of that opportunity. Innocence was ripped away without permission and smothered as if it didn't matter. It was concealed and denied. And now the oppressor faces his due punishment, for that I am thankful.
So much is affected by injustice. There is so much to consider. Injustice is not only an act, it is not only a series of: injustice, investigation, justice served. Injustice lingers. It follows lives to their end like a black cloud and sometimes lingers over the following generation of those originally affected. This breaks my heart more than I can elude to on a blog. I simply cannot begin to try.
And when I cannot find the words to speak, to tell a story, I will pen a poem in hopes that some expression will come from my heart that sends the message I intend.
Magnificent is the beat of the heart of Justice
Riding in stronger than the armies of old
Wielding a sharper sword and farther reaching weapons
Than any injustice could imagine
As they creep and hide and commit their crimes
Denying and conspiring that Justice is not great enough
In the darkest corners it ruins and smothers and sabotages
Innocence and rights are laid waste
and left to suffer silently, endlessly, without hope
Until Justice makes a fool of its powerless enemy
By lighting the concealed atrocities and
Ripping apart the haughty enemy
To give due diligence and freedom
healing and hope
to the victims and to the wounded
To sound the song of victory
Making known the all-consuming power
of Justice at its best
A foretelling that injustice will never have the last word
And this time injustice has not seen impunity
It will not be the last
For Justice rides on in triumph
I had that morning. It lingers. I am exhaling joy.
Granted, there is a story behind this that begs telling.
Justice has been served. In a world teeming with corruption and malice where horrific acts take place more often than we care to ponder; one case of injustice will be set right, at least in the eyes of the law. Words can scarcely make an appeal to my elation. A little girl and her brother will (hopefully) never again be molested. They now have the chance to heal, to make a clean break, and I pray to God that they are given the fullness of that opportunity. Innocence was ripped away without permission and smothered as if it didn't matter. It was concealed and denied. And now the oppressor faces his due punishment, for that I am thankful.
So much is affected by injustice. There is so much to consider. Injustice is not only an act, it is not only a series of: injustice, investigation, justice served. Injustice lingers. It follows lives to their end like a black cloud and sometimes lingers over the following generation of those originally affected. This breaks my heart more than I can elude to on a blog. I simply cannot begin to try.
And when I cannot find the words to speak, to tell a story, I will pen a poem in hopes that some expression will come from my heart that sends the message I intend.
Magnificent is the beat of the heart of Justice
Riding in stronger than the armies of old
Wielding a sharper sword and farther reaching weapons
Than any injustice could imagine
As they creep and hide and commit their crimes
Denying and conspiring that Justice is not great enough
In the darkest corners it ruins and smothers and sabotages
Innocence and rights are laid waste
and left to suffer silently, endlessly, without hope
Until Justice makes a fool of its powerless enemy
By lighting the concealed atrocities and
Ripping apart the haughty enemy
To give due diligence and freedom
healing and hope
to the victims and to the wounded
To sound the song of victory
Making known the all-consuming power
of Justice at its best
A foretelling that injustice will never have the last word
And this time injustice has not seen impunity
It will not be the last
For Justice rides on in triumph
Friday, October 30, 2009
Expressions of passion
I often find myself going through artistic phases: I draw, I sew, I turn old things into new, and sometimes, but more often than not I find myself writing. I have a countless number of journals, four of which I write in consistently (each journal has its very own purpose, of course). The pen to paper is to me romantic, whimsical, meaningful, beautiful and almost forgotten in this era.
I have found myself falling deeper into a love affair with written (even, spoken) expression. To my mom that is no shocker. For as long as I can remember, she’s loved reading my papers in school, the blogs that I now write and everything else that fell in between. For me, I never really noticed how much I loved writing. It is simply a part of who I am. And then I realized it’s a part of who I am. It seems the realization was something I desperately needed.
Admittedly, I am not a very practiced writer, nor do I feel I always have something important to say. There are many times where words are not necessary; the silence, a soft touch or a look might be all the communication that is needed in a moment. However, I have found that there are many, many words that need to be said. There are millions of people every day who do not get to say or write or express what needs to be communicated. Their voices are smothered and silenced. These are the voices of the oppressed. The enslaved. The persecuted. The tortured. The forgotten. I’ve discovered that more important to me than any silk, any beautiful design, any poem is this raging passion to speak for those who do not have the chance.
In order to cultivate this passion (seeing as “cultivate” is the buzzword on this blog) I am headed back to school. This is kind of a hand in hand announcement, I suppose, because this also means I’ll be closing up shop. That’s right, I’m bidding adieu to Ania Designs (and silk, and marketing, and business, and lace…). I have come to realize that when you take time to discover your passion, what truly makes your heart beat, what really sends the blood coursing through your veins, you must take time to cultivate and follow that passion.
Here is a poem I wrote a few weeks ago. I was having a stunning conversation with a friend of mine about love and risk, and even though that was the subject matter in mind when writing, somehow it seems this string of words may fit a number of scenarios. I hope you enjoy.
Life seems to be shades of grey
Seemingly imperfect visions of
What is or is to come
The warmest sun
The coldest wind
Are reminders of truth and reality
Amidst the confusion
As life gives nothing we expect
But all that we hope for
It’s all greyscale
And struggling to find the eye
In the ever pressing storm
The yes and the no
And into the water are only my toes
When deep inside my heart
It screams I should simply jump in
To the dark, the depths, the unknown
That I might explore and taste
Only the most beautiful adventure to be had
A complete surrender and lack of fear
To immerse my life in love and sacrifice
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Oh Honesty...
Honesty is the best policy. Tell me you haven't heard that before and I won't believe you. :) It's practically the grade school motto in this country. Somewhere deep inside me I find that it's more than just needing to hear the real truth from someone, more than just being a good citizen, more than just a phrase, more than just honesty and communication in relationships... I find that honesty in the fullness of life is an important thing.
This is why I blog. This is why I drink countless cups of coffee with friends and strangers (who, in turn, become new friends, of course!). This is why I share my heart and beg of others to do the same. I replied to someone's comment on one of my poems a while back with this:
"I see the heart as useless if we do not share it and give others the opportunity to experience who we really are. And by that, experience Christ through us."
This is why I don't cut corners of truth when I'm writing. I feel if you don't see all sides of me (even the far-out-left-field sarcasm and humor I tend to spew out without warning, the moments of ugly and sadness, or the confusion I might be in...) you won't see a real person. You'd see this ridiculously happy, always content and smiling, fake person who "really loves God". And you would despise me.
I don't want fake. I want real. I desire to be real. So when I say what I'm about to, well, you'll know that I'm not lacing my writing with falsehood. And maybe, just maybe, you'll see a little bit of God shining through. Let's see what happens, shall we?
Let's start with the positive, because that's just who I am when it comes down to it. I am stoked out of my mind to start school. I'm so freaking excited I can barely wait until Christmas is over. That's creepy, seeing as that's wishing away a good 3-4 weeks of ski season and because I hate how fast the holidays go every year. I know this little turn of events is something God has been directing me toward, and it excites me to have direction and a long-term commitment ahead of me. (To me, commitment is terrifying at best - so this "four year thing" is a big challenge!) I've spent the past two years unsure of what God wanted of my life, but I have been seeking it as passionately as possible fighting the urge to run at almost every turn. And now I have school to help me continue on a more specific direction toward purpose. It's rather thrilling.
HOWEVER...
I was sipping coffee and reading a blog of a lovely sister/stranger/acquaintance who happens to be serving in Africa this very moment and...well...I cried. Admittedly, her most recent post was tragic and deeply sad, however I felt this other kind of hole inside of my heart. This feeling of, "UGH, WHY THE HECK AM I NOT IN AFRICA?!" I wanted to beat my fists on the floor and let the hot tears take over. I wished and wished I could simply transport myself into the heart of Africa and stay there forever to serve and give my life away and forget about anything our own society tells us is important. My heart is racing because I'm upset. I'm sad that I cannot go right now. I actually mourn the fact that God wants me to do something else right now, even though that something else is exciting to me.
I suppose the only thing I have left to do is wait. I need to allow God to work through what I feel is this funneling of my entire being into something more exquisite than I can imagine. I can only suspect that if you love God, He does that to you, too. It's what my pastor said to me about a week ago: it's a period of delayed gratification. That if only I trust God and believe He is doing what He says He will do, it will be more astounding and fulfilling than I can ever hope. Those are some high stakes, folks. I simply have to wait and hope and trust in Him. And that is what I'm hoping and praying to actually make it through without trying to manipulate things and take control to do it the way I want. Because in the end, I want to glorify God. I want Him to use my life in a way that reflects Him and brings Him praise. No matter if I like it or not at the time (or both of those, in this particular case).
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name,
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
for Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever, amen.
This is why I blog. This is why I drink countless cups of coffee with friends and strangers (who, in turn, become new friends, of course!). This is why I share my heart and beg of others to do the same. I replied to someone's comment on one of my poems a while back with this:
"I see the heart as useless if we do not share it and give others the opportunity to experience who we really are. And by that, experience Christ through us."
This is why I don't cut corners of truth when I'm writing. I feel if you don't see all sides of me (even the far-out-left-field sarcasm and humor I tend to spew out without warning, the moments of ugly and sadness, or the confusion I might be in...) you won't see a real person. You'd see this ridiculously happy, always content and smiling, fake person who "really loves God". And you would despise me.
I don't want fake. I want real. I desire to be real. So when I say what I'm about to, well, you'll know that I'm not lacing my writing with falsehood. And maybe, just maybe, you'll see a little bit of God shining through. Let's see what happens, shall we?
Let's start with the positive, because that's just who I am when it comes down to it. I am stoked out of my mind to start school. I'm so freaking excited I can barely wait until Christmas is over. That's creepy, seeing as that's wishing away a good 3-4 weeks of ski season and because I hate how fast the holidays go every year. I know this little turn of events is something God has been directing me toward, and it excites me to have direction and a long-term commitment ahead of me. (To me, commitment is terrifying at best - so this "four year thing" is a big challenge!) I've spent the past two years unsure of what God wanted of my life, but I have been seeking it as passionately as possible fighting the urge to run at almost every turn. And now I have school to help me continue on a more specific direction toward purpose. It's rather thrilling.
HOWEVER...
I was sipping coffee and reading a blog of a lovely sister/stranger/acquaintance who happens to be serving in Africa this very moment and...well...I cried. Admittedly, her most recent post was tragic and deeply sad, however I felt this other kind of hole inside of my heart. This feeling of, "UGH, WHY THE HECK AM I NOT IN AFRICA?!" I wanted to beat my fists on the floor and let the hot tears take over. I wished and wished I could simply transport myself into the heart of Africa and stay there forever to serve and give my life away and forget about anything our own society tells us is important. My heart is racing because I'm upset. I'm sad that I cannot go right now. I actually mourn the fact that God wants me to do something else right now, even though that something else is exciting to me.
I suppose the only thing I have left to do is wait. I need to allow God to work through what I feel is this funneling of my entire being into something more exquisite than I can imagine. I can only suspect that if you love God, He does that to you, too. It's what my pastor said to me about a week ago: it's a period of delayed gratification. That if only I trust God and believe He is doing what He says He will do, it will be more astounding and fulfilling than I can ever hope. Those are some high stakes, folks. I simply have to wait and hope and trust in Him. And that is what I'm hoping and praying to actually make it through without trying to manipulate things and take control to do it the way I want. Because in the end, I want to glorify God. I want Him to use my life in a way that reflects Him and brings Him praise. No matter if I like it or not at the time (or both of those, in this particular case).
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name,
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
for Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever, amen.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A Bad Word
Obedience.
You know what I mean. It's not a bad word, but it definitely evokes this feeling inside of you...that gritting-of-the-teeth kind of feeling. I have been thinking about this word a ton lately. In fact, I've been over thinking what obedience is and looks like and should look like... which led me to some peaceful conclusions, but I was left looking at a lot of the small stuff and missing a part of the big picture.
If you've been following my blog you'll know that things haven't exactly played out as I had planned, or even as I thought God had planned for me. And over the last year I've really tried hard to obey the voice of God in my life. More than anything I wanted to be close to Him, and I knew obedience to do some crazy things (like go serve in Africa) would get me there. But when my accident happened I had to rethink some things and examine my motives again. Again. Ugh.
A part of my heart was devoted to Jesus, but I think more of it was devoted to the cause He started. Oswald Chambers said this, "The moment you realize God's purpose, which is to get you rightly related to Himself and then to your fellow men, He will tax the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road." I hope against hope I'm solidifying this in the foundation of my faith that will help me be more and more obedient to God as the days pass.
I was studying and praying this week to prepare to teach on Thursday night. Teaching is not my thing, let's just get that out there. So instead I decided to share my story about what I've been learning about obedience this year. The gist of it being that it's not about what I do, but it's about how much and whether or not I'm being obedient to God. Because obedience is more a state of being that one single action, when you really think about it (or, when you look it up on dictionary.com, as I did and actually learned that's what it meant).
Obedience to God is not about following a kazillion rules to avoid being sent to hell. Obedience is about choosing God always. It's about fully surrendering. It's about finding God's strength to obey when you feel you can't possibly. It's about loving God. And as a result of our obedience we will find our fullness in God because we will trust that His joy is what will make us complete. And His joy is to be glorified. Thus, our lives are to glorify Him no matter what that feels like to us; whether it is joy or sorrow, happiness or mourning, easy or difficult.
I read yet another Chambers devotional and he talked about the fact that we are not in a relationship with God for God to make a success of our lives. Our obedience to God is not the means to an end or means to a successful life. "It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God."
That, friends, is my aim. Deuteronomy 7:9-11
You know what I mean. It's not a bad word, but it definitely evokes this feeling inside of you...that gritting-of-the-teeth kind of feeling. I have been thinking about this word a ton lately. In fact, I've been over thinking what obedience is and looks like and should look like... which led me to some peaceful conclusions, but I was left looking at a lot of the small stuff and missing a part of the big picture.
If you've been following my blog you'll know that things haven't exactly played out as I had planned, or even as I thought God had planned for me. And over the last year I've really tried hard to obey the voice of God in my life. More than anything I wanted to be close to Him, and I knew obedience to do some crazy things (like go serve in Africa) would get me there. But when my accident happened I had to rethink some things and examine my motives again. Again. Ugh.
A part of my heart was devoted to Jesus, but I think more of it was devoted to the cause He started. Oswald Chambers said this, "The moment you realize God's purpose, which is to get you rightly related to Himself and then to your fellow men, He will tax the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road." I hope against hope I'm solidifying this in the foundation of my faith that will help me be more and more obedient to God as the days pass.
I was studying and praying this week to prepare to teach on Thursday night. Teaching is not my thing, let's just get that out there. So instead I decided to share my story about what I've been learning about obedience this year. The gist of it being that it's not about what I do, but it's about how much and whether or not I'm being obedient to God. Because obedience is more a state of being that one single action, when you really think about it (or, when you look it up on dictionary.com, as I did and actually learned that's what it meant).
Obedience to God is not about following a kazillion rules to avoid being sent to hell. Obedience is about choosing God always. It's about fully surrendering. It's about finding God's strength to obey when you feel you can't possibly. It's about loving God. And as a result of our obedience we will find our fullness in God because we will trust that His joy is what will make us complete. And His joy is to be glorified. Thus, our lives are to glorify Him no matter what that feels like to us; whether it is joy or sorrow, happiness or mourning, easy or difficult.
I read yet another Chambers devotional and he talked about the fact that we are not in a relationship with God for God to make a success of our lives. Our obedience to God is not the means to an end or means to a successful life. "It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God."
That, friends, is my aim. Deuteronomy 7:9-11
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Lions and Tigers and...Back to School? Oh my!
WHAT? Yeah. That's what I keep saying in my head to myself every time I think of it. Back to school. A handful of memories hit my gut when I think about what that actually means. Midterms. Finals. Labs. All nighters. Writing. More coffee than my system can actually handle. Financial aid. Grants. Deadlines. Procrastination. Study groups. Labs. Paperwork. The list goes on.
But it's not just about these things. It's the education, the process of learning that is what excites me. It's so important, not just in college, but every day beyond to continually educate oneself. And there is one word that comes to mind when I think about education: becoming.
I have spent the last six years as a single woman (single for the most part, anyway). I've learned about God and people. I've learned about myself. I have experienced a very full and rewarding life with a couple of different careers. It's all been a part of my becoming process. I'm becoming more and more the woman that God intends me to be. He's turned my heart to be passionate about His children. He's turned my heart to seek justice. And throughout this time, though I've been on a leave of absence from school, I found that I do not like idleness of any kind. I've made it a purpose to learn and grow as a person.
And now, this woman has found what her passion is (for the most part) and it's time to sink back into formal education, only this time with purpose and meaning. This time there will be passion and direction guiding the knowledge that will pour into my mind.
I'm taking my first class since 2005 in just a couple of weeks. It's a class on the history of human rights (shocked? Didn't think so). And then in the spring I'll be taking on more general ed, and next fall begins the fun stuff: the journey to a degree in Intercultural Communications through Oregon State. SWEET.
I'm no Superwoman, but at least when I am out in this world the education I have will propel me to work smarter, harder and more effectively for God's kingdom.
PS. I'm still planning on Africa. As a team, my attorney and I decided it's probably best for me to stick around until this settlement process is over. But guess what? As soon as it is, this girl is crossing the ocean for a year(ish). It'll be a different kind of education, but it will be a beautiful addition to the path of life God has me on.
But it's not just about these things. It's the education, the process of learning that is what excites me. It's so important, not just in college, but every day beyond to continually educate oneself. And there is one word that comes to mind when I think about education: becoming.
I have spent the last six years as a single woman (single for the most part, anyway). I've learned about God and people. I've learned about myself. I have experienced a very full and rewarding life with a couple of different careers. It's all been a part of my becoming process. I'm becoming more and more the woman that God intends me to be. He's turned my heart to be passionate about His children. He's turned my heart to seek justice. And throughout this time, though I've been on a leave of absence from school, I found that I do not like idleness of any kind. I've made it a purpose to learn and grow as a person.
And now, this woman has found what her passion is (for the most part) and it's time to sink back into formal education, only this time with purpose and meaning. This time there will be passion and direction guiding the knowledge that will pour into my mind.
I'm taking my first class since 2005 in just a couple of weeks. It's a class on the history of human rights (shocked? Didn't think so). And then in the spring I'll be taking on more general ed, and next fall begins the fun stuff: the journey to a degree in Intercultural Communications through Oregon State. SWEET.
I'm no Superwoman, but at least when I am out in this world the education I have will propel me to work smarter, harder and more effectively for God's kingdom.
PS. I'm still planning on Africa. As a team, my attorney and I decided it's probably best for me to stick around until this settlement process is over. But guess what? As soon as it is, this girl is crossing the ocean for a year(ish). It'll be a different kind of education, but it will be a beautiful addition to the path of life God has me on.
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