Yet Another New

It seems like my life lately is all about new things...and THIS new thing is exciting, but wasn't something I was quite planning on just yet....


My little Frankie died on the way to my parents house on Christmas Eve. Luckily, I hadn't made it out of the town where my sister lives, so I was able to camp out (yet again) at her house, while my dad drove over to tow me back home. We talked it through, and realized that it was going to be cheaper in the long run to buy a new car now, rather than to keep band-aiding my old car - especially since it wasn't worth putting any more money into it. I went this morning to a local dealer that I've known since I was little, and he hooked me up with this cute little car! I love it, AND got a great deal on it!

Re-living 'Leaving a Legacy'

I was reading through my old facebook notes, and ran across this one. As I re-read it, I realized that it is something that I need to read and re-read over and over again. And if I need to, perhaps it might do good to repost it here. Enjoy.
***
In the past few months, I've been able to see a pattern of how I operate, and the things that really make me who I am. It's been interesting, because I've never seen it as strong in myself as I have recently, though as I look back on the last 26 years of my life, I see it weaved throughout my past. I am a fighter. I fight for things that are right, I fight for people I love, I fight for friendships I care about, I fight for what I believe in. Things that are important to me, things that I care about: these are the things I'm willing to spend the rest of my life trying to make right, in whatever capacity needed and possible. And I'm struck with this thought:

what if everyone fought for things that were important to them?

We spent our entire lives fighting to make wrong things right? We stopped caring about material wealth, and started caring about millions of people all over the world who have no access to clean water. That we would start caring about the millions of young girls who are sold into sex trafficking each year. Or that we would care about the people who live in our own city, who live in poverty because of the circumstances of their life? A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the front porch with a friend of mine who looked me in the eye, and asked me this: "Why Africa? Why not Kansas City?" And let me assure you, this question still haunts me. It causes me to look at my life, and wonder what I can do to make sure that I'm fighting for people around me. This friend has no issues with me going to Africa, but it's clear that her heart is about here. And shouldn't mine be, too? It's incredibly beautiful that I have an opportunity to spend the summer in Ethiopia, and I hope to continue going back to Zeway over and over again, but there are at least nine months out of the year that I'm in Kansas City - and what am I doing here? Is it enough? Not enough by my standards - but enough to really make a difference in the life of one person. Am I spending my energies fighting for those that live in poverty, for those that live under the bridge at I-35 and West Penway, for those that just need a meal? Or am I consuming my energies in myself? Let me assure you - these are incredibly overwhelming thoughts and questions, but I believe if we dare to entertain them, and even more so dare to act on them - we will begin to see not only our lives radically change, but those lives that we are fighting for will begin to be different. And as we only hope it could, an entire domino effect could begin around our city, around our nation, and eventually, around our world. I am called - WE are called - to be difference makers. Whether that is as a christian or humanitarian, there is a world out there who need us to begin the fight. Who need us to stand up for them, who need us to live radically different than everyone else. I don't know about you, but I want to leave a legacy that means something for generations to come.

Just Another Day in the Family

My sister and I enjoyed the works of the webcam - she laughed hysterically for a solid 10 minutes. Apparently her computer isn't as saavy as mine. :-)

Harry, cont.

My students know of my addiction to Harry Potter. In fact, I've been able to successful addict several of them as well. One of my girls came in today, with a Christmas gift for me. I open it to find what? Oh yes. This:

She might get an A for the rest of the year. :-)

Harry & Me

I have an addiction. To these:
As I start Book 6, I'm afraid. I wonder what life after Harry Potter will be like. What will I do to keep myself awake at midnight? What will I do when I need to escape the pressures of life? Or when I need to simply escape my life? I know what I must do. There's really only one thing to do. I must find J.K. Rowling, and convince her to continue the series. I don't know what happens, or how it ends (and please don't ruin it for me), but it SOMEHOW must continue. Otherwise, I'll be very sad. And have much more free time on my hands.

my unusual fascination

best purchase of the month. seriously.



...except for this:

lunch time wisdom

me, to a male teacher at lunch: Have you ever noticed...

him, interrupting me with a blank stare: I'm a guy. Why are you even asking me that kind of question?

something everyone loves

best yet

tonight, this made me laugh out loud. for awhile.

"...one person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode!"

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have."

You have to love Harry Potter!

if furniture could talk

dear owner,

please clean me off at your first available chance.

sincerely,

your bed (who is NOT your clothes holder because you are too lazy to put them away)

lifesong of late

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly

-Something Heavenly (Whatever You're Doing), Sanctus Real

my sweet girl

Today, I got a letter from one of my sponsored children, Masresha. Once a year, Food for the Hungry has every child in the sponsorship program write a thank you letter to their sponsor, and that's what today's letter was. Most letters are generally the same, telling you how your money affects their lives, what it allows them to have, etc. Each letter, though, is totally personalized in the last few sentences. Masresha's last few sentences melted my heart.

"I love you so very much. You are one of my family members, and I also am the family of your family." Masresha, her mom and I. July 2008

my need for bara

bara (hebrew): to create something out of nothing.

"Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do...He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said." romans 4:18-19

Excuse Me?

This morning at school, I was talking to one of the kindergarten boys about his new haircut. It was one of the strangest cuts I've seen on a white kid, so I asked him who cut it. He told me that his grandpa took him to the barbershop to get it done. We talked for a minute more about it, then something I was totally unprepared for came out of his mouth: "You know where else my grandpa took me? To the bar." Uhhh, yeah. I wasn't sure I heard right, so I asked him again. And he repeated it again. Wondering just what a five year old does in bar, I asked him. He said he drank a water while his grandpa had a beer. WHAT?!?!?! First of all, show me grandpa, because I'd like to punch him in the face, second of all: why do you take a five year old to a bar? Who lets five year olds into bars?! I was totally stunned. And appalled. And really, REALLY wanted to say something to his mom this afternoon when she picked him up (because he told me that grandpa told him not to tell her). Seriously.