Come On, Let's Go!

I imagined my life to look so very different.  Technically speaking, if everything had gone according to my plan, I would be entering my senior year of college in just a few short weeks.  I would have a car.  I would be somewhere close to having real adventures.

Well, as it turns out, after taking a full year of classes at a community college, I took a semester off of school to work and then transferred in to a Bible college.  Due to the difference in nature of the two schools, all my credits transferred, but few actually applied to classes I really needed.  Where I had my math and science courses completed, I needed Greek and Hebrew.  That sort of thing.  ;)

And as it turns out, I'm much closer to having real adventures than I originally thought.  After completing a year and a half at that school, something else came up.  In fact, it happened right around Easter.  This thing rocked my world, excited me beyond imagination, and made me want to really do things with my life.  What was that event?  Well.

I decided to go to Israel for six months.

What???  Won't that set you back in school yet again?  Won't you miss huge family events at home, like, oh I don't know, the birth of you newest sibling?  Won't that set you back in school?  And isn't Israel surrounded by hostile nations? Most importantly, won't that set you back in school???

The answer is a big whopping "YES" to all of these.

As you can imagine, one of the biggest factors playing against me is the time-frame in which I finish school.  After thinking long and hard about this, I've come to these realizations:
1)  Finishing school in a mere four years (which I already blew by taking a semester off) is more of a cultural norm than anything else
2)  I have literally nothing holding me back at this point.  I'm not married, engaged, or even in a relationship, so this is THE time to do something like this.
3)  I've always had a penchant for adventure, so when an opportunity of these proportions comes my way, I may possibly have an obligation to myself to think seriously about running with these things.
4)  This is truly the adventure of a lifetime, and I seriously can't imagine turning this one down.

So yes, if things were to go according to my plan, my life would look very different, and much less adventure-filled, which is odd since I love living for the memories.  It is with great excitement that I look forward to boarding that plane that will take me half a world away so I can experience what it's like to live in a different culture for an extended period of time.

Yes, school and family will be waiting for me when I come back.  Yes, I'll still have a job when I come back.  And yes, I'll have a slew of stories and photos when I come back.

For the record, I'm so glad my life isn't going according to my plan.  What a boring life that would have been.

So, here's to the memories, adventures, stories, and new experiences.  God is good, my friends, and I can't wait to see what He's written next in the story of my life.

 

50 and Counting

The sound of my grandfather singing to my grandmother filled the kitchen as the entire family gathered around to watch a slide show of pictures of my grandparents over the years appear on the screen.  Testimonies from their friends of 30+ years brought laughter as memories were shared as well as tears as sweet heart-felt sentiments were spoken.

You know, this is the second set of grandparents I've had who've celebrated their 50th anniversary.  Last year, my dad's parents were able to experience 50 years of wedded bliss and this year my mom's parents joined them.

 

I can't tell you how thankful I am for both sets of grandparents.  I look at my parents, and the strength of character they both have.  I look at their values and passions and can't help but to thank God for giving them their own parents who spent time parenting them.  Both sets of grandparents have trained, loved, prayed for, raised, and befriended my parents who have in turn done the same for me and my siblings.

 

And that's what gets me to thinking...

 

My legacy begins with my grandparents.  Many of my great-grandparents weren't saved until sometime after my grandparents.  Which means I really have my grandparents to thank for training my parents in the faith who then led me to the Lord.  It's because of them that I have a passion for the Lord, and it's because of them that I want to gain as much wisdom as I can.

 

My grandparents are perhaps the wisest people I know.  I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with them that leave me feeling like I've had a small taste of heaven, wishing Jesus would come back already so I could spend all eternity having moments like those.

 

50+ years spent married to the same person... sticking it out during the hard times, treasuring up the beautiful moments, learning from their mistakes, making a concerted effort to grow together, but most importantly keeping Christ at the center of it all...  these are the lessons I've learned from my grandparents and hope to apply in my own marriage down the road.

As a side note, you should really hear them tell the story of one of their first fights in which a birthday cake played a vital role.

 

 

 

So to Grandma and Grandpa, happy 50th anniversary!  Your marriage has produced a large family with 3 kids and 12 (soon to be 13 [or will it be 14?]) grandkids, most of whom know the Lord.  May every year be a little different and a lot sweeter!  I love you!!!

Who, Me? You've Got the Wrong Woman

If I were to have gone to a public highschool, I would have been voted "least likely to get involved in politics."  Even though I was homeschooled, I was still voted by my family "least likely to get involved in politics."  Any time I've tried to keep up with the world's current events, I would get so worked up about them that I've spent the better part of my 20 years trying to avoid them altogether.  Chances are VERY good that if I'm not at home with my family around the dinner table, I will have little to no knowledge of what's going on.

God has a sense of humor.

This past semester, God began changing the way I thought.  About what?  Everything.  Behind the scenes, He began to gently prod me along as I began to really think about what it meant to live with excellence or what it even really meant to be a Christian!  Every passage I read in Scripture, every sermon I listened to, even every song on the radio pointed me to active living.  Actually, looking back over the past couple of posts I've written, I can see how I should have been expecting it to happen.  Oh, it should have been blaringly obvious.

Haha! God has a sense of humor!

What happened exactly, you may be asking?

A mere two weeks ago, I found myself on a conference call with roughly 30 pro-life grassroots leaders from not just my state, but from all over the nation!  Granted, in the presence of such great leaders, I listened more than I spoke and mostly just took notes.  I didn't (and still don't) consider my role vital to operations.  All I did was try to consolidate the information that we gathered and the plans we wanted to put into action and try to communicate it to pro-lifers via a facebook event that I created called Warriors Needed.

Two weeks ago I had no idea there was an extension to the capitol.  I had no idea there were two rotundas.  I had no idea who wrote HB2.  I had no idea that there was a library in the capitol, or that mere citizens are able to go in it.  I had no idea where either the House Gallery or the Senate Gallery were.  I'd always been pro-life, but never an activist.

Since two weeks ago, I've been on numerous conference calls that typically lasted a couple of hours.  I've been at work for 6-7 hours, only to go right from work to the capitol for another 6-7 hours to show my support.  I've kept my group up to date on what was going on.  I've had a crash-course on how a bill becomes law.  I've walked all over the capitol building.  I've shared why I was pro-life on www.lettexasspeak.com to hundreds of viewers from around the nation.  I've been yelled at.  I've prayed with people who I've never met.  I've shook hands with representatives and have gotten to know some seriously awesome pro-lifers who I wouldn't have met otherwise.

Yes, God has a sense of humor, and so do I.

I do see the humor in Him using a person who has had no prior experience in politics or networking to accomplish His purposes.  I do see the humor in having people calling, texting, emailing, or facebook messaging me questions that 3 weeks ago I wouldn't have had answers to, but now to which I can give a brief summary or check with someone else who knows.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to actively stand for something that I know to be right.  I'm glad that I could expend my time and energy on something that was worth it.  I'm glad I got to participate in this fight.  I'm also glad that it's over for now.  I know there's more to come, I just don't know when or how, but I do know that I'd like to remain involved in giving a voice to the voiceless, not because it's glamorous (far from it), but because it's the right thing to do.

Won't you join me?

Never, Never Give Up

My feet hurt.  My eyes are bloodshot.  I chose not to wear makeup to work today.  I'm wearing the comfiest clothes I own and I'm curled up in my comfy bed.

I'm weary
I'm weary of hearing people chant at me without ceasing
I'm weary of having to be polite
I'm weary of sharing Christ's love
I'm weary

As I stood outside the senate gallery eight days ago, witnessing the mob rule the day as the legislators tried to vote, I never imagined that I'd be caught up quite so quickly in this legal/spiritual battle.

Who am I?  A big nobody with no past political experience and who generally takes the path of least resistance in lesser matters.  That's who I am.

But on occasion... I have opinions.  They don't come often, and when they do, I am more than willing to go to bat over them. Over the past eight days I've met with close to 30 pro-life leaders in several conference calls, I've done my best to stay on top of news as well as get information out to pro-life supporters, I've been on the phone at midnight and then have been up early the next morning to get the word out to people who were asleep, but most importantly, I've tried to rally my fellow prayer warriors to go before the King.

I know this bill isn't necessarily a pro-life vs. pro-choice sort of deal.  I know that as a pro-lifer, I'm arguing to make it safer for a woman to have an abortion by getting the abortion clinics up to snuff.  I know I'm arguing that it's okay for a woman to have an abortion up to the 20th week of pregnancy.  I know all this.  But you know what?  It's the next step in this pro-life battle.  It will shut down all but 5 clinics in the state of Texas.
 
And even as we fight to pass this bit of legislation, I have to think of  Ephesians 6:12-13 where it says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

At the end of this, I will look in the mirror and ask myself, "have I done all?"  I'm taking a stand for the voiceless, yet I can't ignore the ones with voices (the mothers).  I know that I need to love them as Christ would, but I also don't need to lie to you and pretend that it's easy to love those who are shouting me down and mocking me.  Not retaliating in kind is probably the HARDEST thing I've ever done.

And it's hard.... oh so very hard

So yes, I am weary

Galatians 6:9 (emphasis mine) says, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

And so, I'm resting up this evening in preparation for the work ahead.

I praise God for the work that He's already accomplished, anxiously awaiting what He has in store next!