Challenging American Individualism

We evaluate people on how independent they are. Do they take charge of their own life? Do they care what others think about them?

Whatever problem you face or life situation you’re in, you will be recommended to “Take charge–it’s your life.” “Be the hero of your own story.” “Stop caring what other people think, just be yourself.” And being yourself often means leaving any expectation that anyone else has of you and going off to “find your true self.”

But what if your true self is some how entangled in the expectations of others? We tend to value teamwork when eventually it leads to choosing a hero, when it benefits us, for some, certain, few goals. But the fact is when we work in teams we all know everyone has their own agenda, everyone is still trying to live their own personal version of the American Dream.

That in, and of itself has formed you and I as mainstream Americans in the way we view ourselves, the way we find ourselves, and the way that we think. It is the framework by which we live our individual, set-apart, independent lives.

I want to challenge this way of thinking. Bare with me, you have striven your whole life to live this way, and the fact is that most of us end up feeling lonely, disconnected, and unfulfilled… so you might as well hear me out.

As Americans we are trying to fit life into a certain kind of mold that life doesn’t fit into. The Western world has become increasingly more independent and individualistic, but if you travel very far outside that you’ll find that most people don’t think  about themselves the way we think about ourselves. I don’t think that it is totally unique to the United States of America, but in a way, it does set us apart. Our history as a nation has made us somewhat special in the way that we view independence.

We want something with no strings attached. Jobs without commitment, relationships that begin and end when we decide, families without expectations. Somehow this all leads us to decide that living your own life, regardless of how it affects other people is not only okay, but it marks you as an adult, it makes you an independent thinker, and gives you some amount of happiness. I don’t think this is a good thing.

Life has strings attached. 

The choices we make affect other people and we should consider those effects. We want to all be the star of our own movie. But life doesn’t work like a movie and if it did there are simply a lot more supporting roles than there are lead parts. And when you quit being a supporter you end up in a movie like Cast-Away. It’s you as Tom Hanks and your own personal Wilson Volleyball as the supporting role. When everyone wants to be their own movie star in their own life movie we are literally making the same movie over and over again. Divorce is high. Familial satisfaction is low.

We want God without strings attached. We want love when we can walk away at anytime. We want lives where we dream our own dreams regardless of the cost.

That may be all well and good for a while, but think about where it’s gotten us. As a nation we are not united. Our families are broken. Our government shuts down. We have no harmony. We haven’t worked for the good of everyone, we’ve only worked for our own personal dreams… something we’ve given ourselves right to.

Yes, you have the right to be your own person. But it will cost you very, very dearly. Independence doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness… or our people would be exuberant with life. We are rich in wealth as a country, but we are lonely.

In America, we want a winner. In China, they value compromises that benefit everyone. What if instead of everyone living their own life with their own plot and being their own hero, people decided we could all make a movie together, with a plot that benefited everyone?

Love and life never are “no strings attached.” There is no such thing as a free lunch, as the sayings go. If you want to make the most out of your life and your relationships you need to acknowledge the strands of other’s lives. Not only do our lives intersect like roads, but they are like a pile of spaghetti or when all the necklaces or little chains and strings in your jewelry all become entangled with one another.

Perhaps the tapestry is the best analogy. You aren’t a picture alone. Yes you’re loved and wanted as an individual. But as an individual you are just a string. Together we make a picture.

If you’re a Christian, and even if you aren’t, I think that God wants us to realize that we are so much better as a collective. God wants us to lose our me-first attitude.

Friends, American Christians, God loves us unconditionally, but I really don’t think that if you accept the gospel with no strings attached that you will ever live the life God is calling you to. Accepting Christ means accepting a covenant. You accept his mission. You accept his way. You accept that you are no longer a lead in your own movie. You play a role in a movie that everyone can be part of. In a plot that will result in Heaven.

And remember Heaven has nothing to do with your personal paradise. Revelation says that all of the nations will be present. And Heaven won’t be about you.

Life isn’t about you. It’s not about your personal story. And when we live like it is when end up lonely, exiled, hurt, bitter, victimized and divided.

Life is about that complicated web of situations and people around you. And I don’t think that accepting a desire for group harmony, group goals, and togetherness means ignoring who you are. But maybe who you are is a part of a bigger picture and a person who truly cares about supporting the other people in your life.

Life isn’t about leaving expectations of others to find our true selves, life is more about finding out how to love despite disappointment, accepting a supporting role, and journeying together as people.

There’s my brainstorm, hopefully something less vague to come.

 

What my favorite Christmas song & Dreamworks “The Prince of Egypt” have to do with why our battle is so much bigger than “keeping Christ in Christmas”

Christmas is a season that holds a lot of emotions for many of us. Not so recently, it’s politically charged. Still  some how it’s all wrapped in this desire to finally feel childlike faith again. We watch ELF for the millionth time, It’s a Wonderful Life (actually… I’ve never seen it), a Charlie Brown Christmas, pick your cup of hot chocolate.  Honestly, I could stand to watch “The Prince of Egypt.” If you’re unfamiliar with the movie it’s the some what hollywoodified animated cartoon of the Biblical account of Moses and the Exodus. This doesn’t sound very much like Christmas at all. But on a tribute to the comment made last night about my favorite Christmas song “O Come Emmanuel” I just have to tie everything back to freeing the slaves. And in the beginning the slaves sing “Deliver us! Remember us!” Very similar to my favorite Christmas song:

“O come, o come Emmanuel,

Ransom captive Israel,

Who mourns in lonely exile here,

Until the Son of God appears.”

The word Emmanuel is commonly translated as God be with us. I think it means “the God who is near.” In this song and the Bible there are parallels between the story of the Exodus and the story of Jesus.

So the first line cries out to the God who is near. Saying “where is the God who was once near to us?” “Where is the God who came close and was with us?”

For 400 years the Israelites were seemingly abandoned by God. The song is so perfectly written about the gap period, a period of silence from God. This gap is shown in that single page in your Bible between the last chapter the Old Testament book of Malachi and the first Gospel book of Matthew.  But this isn’t the first mention of nearly 400 years of silence. The first book of the Bible (Genesis) ends with the clan of Israel (whose name was Jacob) settled fruitfully in Egypt. Some years later we’re told that a new pharaoh came to reign and did not like the Israelites, they were forced into slavery and their labor was made difficult. The 12 tribes of the nation Israel were held captive in slavery for nearly 400 years. Until something happened. Until God spoke. And he spoke to one man–one man to change the course of history.

In Exodus 3:7 the Lord says to Moses: “I have indeed seen the misery o my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”

This becomes the first great rescue of God’s people. God rescues his people time and time again. And after another 400 years of silence God sends another rescuer–Jesus Christ.

The magnitude of God in the flesh, a God we can see, a God that we longed for coming and rescuing his people once again has become trivialized. Yet Christianity in America seems to fight this battle in a very simple, yet ineffective way.  We do it by refusing to say “Happy Holidays.” We do it by forcefully and stubbornly ignoring political correctness. But we’ve made a mistake. We seem to think this is a battle of the church fighting political correctness, that somehow political correctness is a threat to our way of life. Let me tell you something:

Someone saying Happy Holidays to you does not mean you are being persecuted… I have a lot to say on the persecuted church as a woman who has been to illegal churches in South China.

We have chosen the wrong battle to fight. And we’ve chosen to fight it in the wrong way.

People all over the world are asking “Where is the God who should be near?” And people are saying “If God is real, why isn’t he doing anything to stop this.”

But God has done something. God has left it up to us. In the ancient Bible priest came after priest, prophet after prophet… and our last account of this was Jesus Christ. God sent us his son. And then what happened? What was foreshadowed to us in the Exodus, in God freeing his people from slavery, was given as a commission. And the Commission was this: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely, I am with you always, even unto the very end of the age” (Matthew 28: 19-20, NIV).

What did Jesus command? What did he teach? He taught the disciples to love, he taught them to heal, he showed them to be humble, taught them to trust, told them to visit prisoners, to care for the orphans and the widows. He taught them to look after the vulnerable, no matter how tough their situations, no matter how sinful the circumstances. He even said that those who did this did it for God, as if Jesus himself was in prison, or hungry, or cold. When we fail to do this for others, we fail to have done it for Christ… and the Bible says those of us who stood to “His left,” those who followed an agenda that failed to reach out past themselves, past their church walls, into the broken, sometimes heartless world, would never see Heaven (Matthew 25).

When we miss out on reaching out, we miss out on Heaven. For the mean time I’m going to leave out opinions of what happens when we die… Heaven is even more real than that. When sin entered the world it took physical form. Sin isn’t just what we call the bad things we do, but it’s the bad things in the world. It takes the form of physical chains that hold people in bondage, it takes the form of disease, it takes the form of the physical earth deteriorating. There’s garbage. Garbage that we say. Garbage that we do. Literal physical garbage that people live in.

I took a trip down to visit my Compassion daughter in Bolivia this May with my Fiance, Stephen. Santa Cruz, Bolivia is not a city of riches, and the more we ventured out into the outskirts of the town, the more the roads became dirt, and the buildings became shacks. We entered the barrio, assembled on top of a landfill. In that landfill there were children living. But there was also a church living there. The church didn’t even come in and then leave every night. But the church is there in permanent form. That church, in partnership with Compassion International breaks poverty cycles. Every time a cycle is broken for a child, a little more Heaven is there.

The Gospel of Jesus is deep, it’s challenging. It’s more challenging than being called out for saying “Merry Christmas” when it’s not politically correct. Our battle is so much bigger than that. If you believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then you, with me are charged with doing something. We are called to care for orphans. We’re called to fight for real justice. We’re called to take care of the earth.

I recently watched this commercial for giving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrgcrnraUnM. I’d say it’s controversial, I’m sure you have an opinion on it. But I think it has to do with the real battle that the modern day Western Church faces: we’re too comfortable. We’ve reduced giving to clicking a button. But that isn’t a sacrifice. Honestly, we’ve not given anything. We have reduced persecution to mild discomfort of not agreeing with people on politics. We are as much a culprit in missing the purpose of Christmas as anyone else. We’re in danger of missing out on Heaven.

God set an entire nation of people free over and over again. And he sets us free too. But he’s also called us, to help in the mission of setting people free. As a whole we need to stop arguing theology and start seeking God in practical ways. As a nation we need to stop copping out by calling clicking a button sacrificing. Our generations, Christian and non-Christian are searching for meaning in the comfortable lives that we live. We fight small battles, battles with little mission, battles with little purpose. We have ducked out of relationships for individualism. We’ve ducked out of commitment. We’ve ducked out of companionship. We are divided over trivial things. Our world is divided by color, by money, by citizenship, by language, by popularity. We miss out on Heaven.

You won’t see Heaven by clicking a button. You have to get out in the world and love people. You have to get out there and fight for something bigger than yourself. Don’t fight with words that fall on deaf ears. But I believe God is calling us as a nation, as a generation, as his Moseses.

I have no doubt, God has heard the cry of the people in bondage. He has looked to us and said “Go. Go to all nations, make disciples, break chains, teach them there’s a new way to live.”

Myself, I feel I’ve been caught in comfortable. And there’s a reason our lives feel unsettling. We have been called to something much greater and we sit in our little worlds and we don’t reach out to co-workers, we don’t stand up for orphans and widows, we have done nothing to welcome the hundreds and thousands of people who come from all over the world to our city looking for a new start. We get comfortable and we miss out on Heaven, sitting in church, saying “merry Christmas.” We hide behind Nativity Scenes, we band together behind politics and TV shows, and an agenda. But God’s agenda was much more straight forward, “Give it all up,  come follow me.”

To you in bondage of comfortable, or meaninglessness, addiction, whatever, follow God out. There’s a way out. He has made for you an escape from your slavery.

For those of you who are free, in any sense of the word. Be like Moses, be like Harriet Tubman. They fled the darkness of slavery. Harriet was a slave herself, with physical chains and physical beatings. Moses saw the darkness of what people like her faced, he made his move against the status quo… Killed a slave master and fled his fate. But God called them both back. Not to slavery but to the slaves.

We don’t have to be the heroes of the world. God is the hero. But we have been given the power and the authority to change the status quo, to fight for justice, to love the broken and the needy no matter the circumstance. If God has saved you, then go into the world and connect with people. As the prophet Isaiah, who wrote of the coming of Christ, said:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1).

Proclaim freedom.

God came down in the flesh. We celebrate Christmas because He got down on our level. He made himself human, approachable, even homeless. Meet people right where they are. Speak their language. Love them where they are. Let yourself be approachably human. Open yourself to a celebration that includes outcasts, enemies, the broken, the needy, the labeled. So when you give, give of yourself. Proclaim Christmas by meeting people where they are. Proclaim the Gospel and stop playing games that divide us. Start uniting yourself with friendships, the kind that cross boundaries of lonliness, of darkness, of war. Giving money will never amount to real world change. To change the world we have to change the way we think and the way we act, and then the kingdom of Heaven will be near. Jesus said in Mark 1:15 “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is near. Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News.” And then he started calling people from their ordinary lives to live in extraordinary ways.

And the world is singing “My deliverer is coming, my deliverer is standing by.”

A Mid-afternoon Cup of Tea

(I found this blog post unpublished from July 17, 2013)

To the few, the sparse, the beloved readers I have, I have neglected you. I also feel I have neglected myself. You may have noted my travelings, ponderings, and overall life adventure has lead me back to China (of course). I’m about 3/4 through this journey. A few months ago I was selected for the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship. Which has lead me to be back in China, this time in the tropical, island city of Xiamen located just across from Taiwan.

The program is an intensive study of Chinese which is a language considered ‘critical’ by the American government. Needless to say it’s a little intense and between that and my spotty access to normal webpages like wordpress I have not written much. This is actually mostly due to a constant state of brain-friedness and an increasing inability to speak English like a native. I’m not sure this is due to my increasing Chinese fluency, but more due to the fact that I simply have not spoken pure English in quite some time. Directly before coming to China my fiance and I spent a week in Bolivia speaking Spanglish. Now I’ve always been known to speak Chinspanglish. To elaborate, to say I speak Chinese, Spanish, and English would be a gross misinterpretation. It generally just means I am unintelligible in three languages as I often blend them together to say things such as “Gracias, Zaijian!” I now make zero sense in three languages. It’s lovely.

I am happy to say my Chinese has improved. My English has… deteriorated, and I’m surprised I was able to conjure up a specific word like that. And I still throw in “Esta bien” in English or Chinese conversation. You’ll just have to get over it.

Xiamen is lovely. It’s an island, it’s always warm, there’s always a beach within a few miles, and the university I study at is a tourist destination. Only a couple hundreds tourists are allowed into the campus per day, it’s still fairly disruptive to regular life. I often have to tell tourists I don’t really have time to take a picture with all of them. I feel a little rude…. at the same time, it’s a little strange that they want a picture with me. And it’s never just one. Chinese people travel in large groups and often every person in the group wants a picture.

I did have another student as myself and my room mate to help her friends get into the campus. Tourists have to wait in a long line to come in. Lauren and I went out the gate found her friends and I shout “hey! Ni hao! Long time no see!” The two girls look really confused. I just keep talking in Chinese as we walk past the guards and show our cards no stopping chattering. He asks if we’re friends, I reply “of course! they’re going to help me with my Chinese! We haven’t known each other long because I’m new to Xiamen etc. etc. Then he questions whether or not we know their names and of course we don’t. So we tell him “oh this is so embarrassing their Chinese names are too hard to remember. We only know their English names Katherine and Sarah.” Eventually he lets us in.

That was an adrenaline rush. Probably shouldn’t have done that. The girls talked to us for a few minutes and offered to take us to lunch but I think we had to do homework. We probably should have had lunch. It’s better practice and more fun.

Personal space? There’s really not any here in China. It’s also perfectly fine to push people. And lines mean very little. If you were the kid who got really justicey when people cut line for snacks in kindergarten I really don’t recommend coming to China.

People always make inferences about you based on how you look, this is just life. It’s a little odd for me as a white person to realize that people are making decisions to talk to me or not talk to me based completely on my foreign status. I’ve had my picture taken hundreds of times just because I’m white, and lots of people want to be my friend because I’m a Westerner. It’s a great way to make new friends. And it’s great to have friends that are different than you. Sometimes I wish the US was more outgoing and welcoming to those who are new. But I’ve not seen a “foreigner” discount on anything in America.

Chinese people are very friendly and usually incredibly helpful. But being foreign has a dark side. First of all, you need a lot of friends and a lot of help to do anything. Maybe you’ve witnessed it or maybe you’ve been on one side of a confusing conversation with a person who isn’t a native speaker. It’s hard to be the person who isn’t the native speaker. People lose patience with you pretty quickly. Sometimes they just don’t listen to what you’re telling them. Sometimes you tell the person at 麦等老 McD’s that you want icecream (bingqiling) and they give you a bucket of fried chicken. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes to get the order right. Other times, people just refuse to talk to you so you can order your train ticket. Sometimes you’re too much trouble.

It’s tough to be a non-native speaker. It’s really tough  to learn how to do everything in a new way. Hopefully you’ll keep that in mind the next time you meet a non-native speaker. But I’ve had a strange experience abroad. I’ve done many “firsts” abroad. Like my first time being hospitalized, my first time living in a dorm, my first time living alone, the first trip I took on a train, and a boat load of other things. All stories in an of themselves.

I think that’s all I have for now.

Come Over to My House, Come Over and Play

“Come over the my house, come over and play”

A quote from a favorite childhood book. Children from all over the world saying the words “come over to my house.” It’s a beautiful image of friendship, crossing cultures, global unity.

I was a stranger and they invited me in.

In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, A six year old boy of a twenty-one year old mother whom he called sister held hands, in his other hand he grasped the fingers of a tall American woman. Jenny is his sponsor through Compassion International. We followed as he lead us down a dusty road full of roaming cattle, horses and chickens. When he arrived as a small brick house with a tin roof he whirled around and waved his hands in joyous excitement. “Este es mi casa!” “This is my house!”

A six year old boy in the spirit of thanksgiving invited friends over to play. At the beginning of our trip in Bolivia with Compassion International, we were told that we would represent all of the sponsors. What I found was a six year old boy representing Christ.

Skip ahead a few weeks. I’m a stranger in a foreign land. I live at a University in China. A local group of Christians invites my room mate and I to dinner. And Afterwards into their home. They are thrilled to hear we have been praying for them. In China it’s expected you bring a gift if you go to a person’s home. We came empty handed. Yet they welcomes us with open arms. The child sang and danced for us, the grandmother served us fresh fruit.

They new nothing of me and welcomed me anyway.
I was a stranger and they invited me in.

What we have big or small we still have to offer to the work of The Lord. And when we come empty handed he makes no scene over it.

Come over to my house, Jesus.

Travel Tips

I’m not a world traveler yet. But I started travelling more or less on my own when I was 16. From road trips across the USA to mission trips to the developing world to a couple months abroad I’ve acquired a few travel tips.

WHAT DO I PACK?!?!?!

For a 4 day trip to New York City: Only pack carry-on

For a mission trip of 1-2 weeks: Only pack carry-on

For a trip which requires living abroad for a couple months: Only pack carry-on

And for God’s sake if you’re planning a back packing trip through Europe: ONLY PACK CARRY ON!

But there are a few rules, first you have to look up TSA guidelines for what you can take. Buy a small suitcase (or backpack depending on your needs) that fits the requirements. I have a rolling suitcase that doubles as a back pack, but it’s not ideal for backpacking.

Second, you really also have to look up the guidelines for every airline you’re taking. In my experience all US airlines match TSA and other places in the world are less restrictive.

Third, do NOT stuff that bag with crap. I only took carry-on to China and I can tell you right now when I was dragging it all through the airport, through the subway station, and down a couple miles of dirt roads in Beijing to my hostel, I wished I had less stuff!

SAY WHAT!?!

I read in a travel guide that this guy never took anything with him that he hadn’t first tested out by carrying it all with him around his own town. I’ve never done this, but I sure would if I was back packing.

And I know what you’re think “oh but I’m not back packing through Europe, I’m going straight to a hotel.” Straight to a hotel is never quite that simple. You have to get all of that stuff through the airport, into a taxi or car or subway and lug it. Don’t count on other people to carry your stuff. They won’t be happy.

There’s a couple reasons to do this. First your luggage won’t get lost in transit. The odds are probably against you if you have complicated connecting flights. I’m about to take two series of 5 connecting flights through a couple of countries. Secondly, if you aren’t weighed down by luggage you can do more things, keep track of your stuff, and you probably won’t be a likely victim of theft. And lastly, no fees!

A few more tips:

–You really only need a week’s worth of clothes. If you won’t wear it more than once, it’s probably not worth it. Anything more than a week, just figure out how to do some laundry.

–Once you’ve cut out unnecessary clothing items, roll your clothes tightly and tuck them into your bag or suitcase. This is supposing that your clothes will be your biggest items. On the way back I often will wrap gifts and souvenirs with clothes around them. But you always want to make sure you have extra room in your bag for those items. Worst comes to worst buy a bag abroad and check it on the way home. This is an especially good idea if you’re going to China or South America. I can’t make a voice for countries in Europe.

–You don’t need all those liquids. Small amounts will do fine. If you’re going for a week, travel sized is all you need. Buy those little bottles that are refillable if you’re really concerned about your hair or whatever. If you’re going longer than that, buy what the locals do. Wear that Wang Lee Hom Twisty Lady hair gel! If you’re some place where it’s a real concern, like the bush, you probably won’t have access to a shower anyway. Which brings me to my point about wet ones. They’re good for everything from wiping down on a long plane ride, to cleaning your dorm, to being out in the boonies for a few weeks. Don’t sweat it. Just live how the people around you do. It builds character at the very least. And most places are developed enough to sell a quality brand of soap.

–If you can buy it there, DITCH IT HERE. First, save on crazy converters. If you need a hair dryer, buy one there. If this is a trip to the third world, go without. You’ll survive. And if you’re going to China… They make everything there, so it’s cheaper to just buy it in China.

Here’s how I roll:

Pack all alike items together. Little baggies of things helps if your stuff is being searched. After hours of going through security in Bolivia, Panama, and Miami, you’ll absolutely be glad.  Some places will open your bag and search everything. In Miami my Stephen’s guitar case was opened, searched and someone else’s random yellow bag got mixed in. If you have tiny things they could get lost and be hard to access on a layover or a night in a hotel.

The previous tip is essential for liquids for carry on in the US. They must go in a quart sized baggie.

I usually only bring two pairs of shoes. If space is incredibly limited wear big items on your person (coats, shoes, etc)… I did this when I had to pack my own sheets, blankets, winter clothing, and toilet paper for 2 weeks in Colombia and only took small backpack. But most of the time I wear the flip flops. Slip on shoes are easy for airports.

The carry on item which will go in the over head bin should not have to be accessed until the final destination. Your personal item can be a large purse or a backpack. I just recently took a tote bag as my personal item to Bolivia.

Experienced travelers do this. Check a bag on the way home if you buy too many souvenirs. Or give away your stuff. A friends of mine just left most of her clothes as a donation in Bolivia. I tossed out a pair of worn out shoes and most of my liquids… almost every time I travel.

This time I will be packing a bit more than the last time I went to China. This time I need some business attire, I’ll be at the university a bit longer, and I”ll be taking ballet classes. I’m determined to fit all my ballet clothes, high heels, favorite clothes, and my laptop into my bags. If it doesn’t all fit, something will go.

The only true essentials are your passport and your paper work. (I pack these in a tiny purse that goes over my shoulder. My Stephen put his in a ziplock in an accessible pocket of his bag, which also worked ok.)

Finally, make it all easy to carry at one time. Who knows how far you may have to carry it. Also, taking nyquil helps beat jetlag 😉

#11- With a Heart for the Nations

A while back I was looking around my church wondering where all the kids my age were. The 18 to 20 somethings, the less than 30s, the no children, unmarried, people… I recently heard a statistic, only 4% of those people go to church regularly. So I don’t know EXACTLY where the other 96% are but I see was adding up with what I saw in the church building. This makes me thankful for a great number of things which I hope to expound upon in my later posts: the Christian faith myself and my parents were brought up in, the flourishing small group of young adults at Crossroads, and the ministries I see reaching out to young people.

I know for a fact a heckuvalot of these 18 to 20 somethings are on campus in downtown Lexington. There’s like 38k undergrads… something like that. That’s where the people my age are. And there are a lot of really awesome people who are stepping out on campus and loving the heck out of students. One of those people is named Corrie. She has been on my heart tonight and in my prayers.

Corrie is one of the first people I met freshman year. She came to talk to CSF (another really great place full of loving people on campus) about serving international students. My heart was already in a place to receive it and I have no doubt it was because she had been praying and so had I. Corrie is with InterVarsity and she works with International students (and Americans!) and lives on support from the body of Christ (which is really awesome to hear her talk about!). Corrie prays powerful prayers, her heart is humble and seeks God fully. She is constantly inviting students into her home, picking international students from the airport, praying for those around her, and simply serving them. Merely watching her serve will bless you. I am so incredibly thankful for her and the way she gives of herself to serve and love students and glorify God.

Practically speaking Corrie does a number of things, like teach ESL, various Bible studies, she works in tandem with campus ministries and the Office of International Affairs, she builds programs from the bottom up, she shows her heart to those who glance and inspires them to give more of themselves to God, and opens her heart up to the nations and the Lord… God is doing truly incredible things through her and lives on campus are being changed for Jesus.

Tonight I am praising God for how he is at work on campus, especially through Corrie. I ask that you would also pray a prayer of blessing for Corrie and the Kingdom work she is doing, and how ever else the Lord guides you to pray. =)

#10- For Her.

I’m about to finish studying for my last final of the semester. Praise God again for the semester that I’ve had and everything I have experienced. Today I’ve been reflecting on the blessing of going to school. Not just school, but college as well. My great-grandpa was an amazing man and he lived to be nearly one hundred and he never completed school past the 6th grade. But his daughter, my grandma finished highschool, and her son finished college and now they have blessed me with that opportunity as well.

We take education for granted, and I simply do not want to do that. Everyday that I don’t want to go to school I pray for the children who can’t. This isn’t to say I’m a great person. This is to say I struggle with being selfish, and with taking what I’ve been blessed with for granted. But I am a very very blessed woman. To have the luxury of learning. My academics have been truly blessed. I had an amazing education through highschool, being homeschooled, and now I’m in college. And these are things that put me in the top percentage of most affluent people on the planet. Which is something I am constantly overwhelmed by… In the pit of my stomach I feel I have been given something far beyond what I have earned or deserved.

That’s a lot of responsibility. I would never want to take that lightly. I know there are young girls around the world who will never step foot in a school and never learn how to read. I have absolultly no idea why I am allowed to read and write and study tonight while women like the mothers of my compassion children sew clothes and do temporary labor. But what I do know is that I have a huge responsibility to them and to God.

So tonight I study for her. Someday I want to change her world.

#9–Shower.

Tonight at work a woman came in with a Justin Bieber backpack, shorts, and some funky shoes and tangled hair. I guess she comes in a couple times a week, I’d never seen her before, or never noticed. She apparently comes in to use our sink in the bathroom to bathe. My heart goes out to her because if she’s bathing in the bathroom at a Starbucks she must be pretty dwindled on options. It appeared she had a friend with her tonight as well.

Now I don’t know her story or who she is. Obviously she didn’t order anything. She also didn’t make eye-contact. And that was it, she was in and out, she walked by us. It was simple as that.

I’ve just gotten home from work and cleaned off all the grit and grime from my day… I’m thankful for a shower. I’ve never been somewhere where I did not have a shower or did not have access to a shower. And I’ve been a lot of places where I’ve seen homes that did not… but I have never had to experience that… and I’m grateful.

I think just how new clothes can give you a self-esteem boost, the inability to be really clean would be disheartening, it would wear on you, it would be hard to have self-esteem. It would be hard to have self-respect.

Restoring self-respect to people in physical poverty is a goal of the Kingdom. And tonight I really want to dwell on that thought. I hope I see her again and can talk to her. I want to know who she is.

#8-Kairos

Kairos. Kairos is this really cool word I learned a number of months ago. It’s Greek and it means a moment in time when time stand still. It’s like when everything clicks. It’s like an incredible life event. It’s something you can point back to. A moment in which you heard from God.

Well a while back I began to pray about church. I’d been between churches for a while. Both wonderful places. My family had been attending a newer church and I went with them many Sundays and for the rest of the time I’d been attending Crossroads. I love both churches, but I felt I’d hit a crossroads with my involvement in student ministry and life and just… everything.

Finally I began to dwell on the conviction I had felt in beginning Student Ministry at Crossroads and felt the Lord leading me to continue in that. From that point I’ve done my best to involve myself and my heart more deeply at this place. And from the the opportunities that have arisen for both Stephen and I. The people I have had the blessing to befriend, and be challenged by, and laugh with build me up in such unbelievable ways. I have a feeling of being part of something, something more deeply connected and healthy than possibly ever before.

Tonight I am thankful for the Kairos moment that has lead to opportunity, community, and enrichment.

The stories God weaves are deeply beautiful. His intentions for us are clear as well, we were meant to be part of the Church. To really pray for one another, to challenge each other, to transcend the boundaries of space and time and culture because we all KNOW HIM. And I love that.

1 Corinthians 12 gives us a really great preparation for more Kairos moments. The passage talks about how we are all the same in Christ but we play a different function. I think it’s really important to dwell on how God has gifted us individually and corporately. What do we have? What can we use? Where can we use it? How do we best steward it and how are we lacking? And what are we learning?

This exercise in gratitude is about all of that for me– so that I can clearly reflect on how God is at work in my life, praise him for it, and consider how I can use that to further his kingdom.

#7-Just to Make You Smile

I didn’t get a chance to write my gratitude challenge last night. As you’ve noticed, a few of my posts have been late. I acknowledged it facebookishly last night, so I’ll have last night’s post this morning, and Sunday’s post sometime later today.
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Yesterday was a crazy day at Starbucks. Customers can be mean and make you want to scream or strangle them. There were 3 people who came through my Drive-thru who made my night.

The first is a regular customer. Honestly, I was in an awful awful mood when she came through and as soon she smiled I smiled. I believe smiles are absolutely contagious. You just have to WANT to brighten that persons day.

The next person who came was Stephen with our friend Christian. And it means a lot that Stephen would come see me and make me smile (and… yknow get something from Starbucks). And it put enough smile on my face for the next person who made my night.

Someone came through and remembered me from Chick-fil-A. Normally I remember my regular customers. Some people I serve at Starbucks now that I served sweet tea to for 3+ years. Now they get Pumpkin Spice Lattes. This guy I have no recollection of, but he said he had 4 kids and came through a lot… didn’t help me. Maybe I’d remember his kids. But he told me he remembered me because my smile was so vibrant. It made me feel like the little things I do matter.

I’m incredibly thankful to people who remind me to smile. Like strangers from Chick-fil-A in Starbucks and Stephen. Sometimes I feel God sends me someone to make me smile… just because he likes to see us smile. And I’m grateful for that.

The application for this is simple. I get to give this gift away just by smiling. =)