Entry 9: How do I speak of my Christ?

I have had some experiences at work recently which have caused me to examine how I think about my beloved Christ and how much I really bank all I have (e.g. TRUST) in his promises.

My manager, a wonderful and compassionate woman who I greatly respect, noticed a brochure on the staff table that I had brought with me that day. It was advertising the healing school with Katie Souza that is coming up on January 28th and29th. I heard her say as she looked at it, “Who needs to go to that?” I told her that I had brought the flyers and she sort of stopped short and said “oh-” and then inquired as to what the conference was about.

Entry 8: I graduated College 6 months ago

I graduated college 6 months ago. I now work full time at a consignment store. I live in my own place, buy groceries, pay bills, and I get by with a little help from my friends. Every day I become more alive, as I realize how good it is to know Jesus, to hear the Holy Spirit, and to share life with my brothers and sisters. Every day I take another small step in the direction of my dreams. I face a few minor hardships  and I am so full of hope I could burst.

Some of the activities and projects which have been occupying my time are

I desperately need the words of God… why?

I urgently need the words of God. Constantly around us are lies and deceptions. The word of God is more than just words—they are spirit and they are life. Our spirits within us are wasting away, fainting to hear truth, to hear the heartbeat of God. God breathed his spirit into us, and since the time of Adam the essence of who we are is spirit. When we read the word of God, our very spirits are quickened as they awaken to the reality of who we truly are.

Entry 7: Growing Up

I’ve been back in Bellingham for about four months now, and what I am now doing can best be described in a short three syllable cliche: Growing Up.

I am now officially working full time. My job is at Labels, a woman’s consignment store and pays barely above minimum wage with no benefits; and I am overwhelmingly grateful for it.

Entry 5: A new year

Last Wednesday, September 8th was the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the new year in Jewish tradition. I do not have Jewish heritage personally, but the new beginning seems appropriate for the season I am in right now. One of the customs of Rosh Hashanah is to approach the new year with repentance and self-examination. Repentance simply means to turn around, “to do a 180”. One custom (according to wikipedia, for what it’s worth) is to recite one’s sins by running water, symbolizing the sins being washed and swept away. A fresh start.

I am starting my year with

Entry 4: How well do we really know home?

Last Sunday evening I really needed to get away from people. I decided to set out on a small biking adventure. I followed Eldridge, which I knew ran up in the direction of the Lummi reservation but had never actually followed the length of it (or when I did I was too young to pay much attention to where exactly it went).

One of the bridges that Eldridge crosses: I've crossed this one many times but have rarely gone much further

Entry 3: “What am I bloggin’ about???”

For the faithful few who still check my blog, you may have noticed that I have not been very consistent in posting recently. I have struggled with posting consistently mainly because I no longer have a clear vision in mind as to what the purpose of my blog should be. My blog began as a travel blog, a means of communicating to others my travels and experiences and my growth during my time spent abroad.

Now that I am back in Bellingham, and perhaps just a bit less transient, I’m not sure exactly what the purpose of my blog is. A periodic personal journal? A place for theological or philosophical musings? A place to post noteworthy events?

Entry 2: Stirring up the gift

My dreams are being shifted and restored.

I have always had an itch to go to faraway places, to cross cultural lines. I have a hunger to reach out to the lost and lonely, to promote justice in the community.

Though I recently have talked about being a community organizer I have realized this: What I want more than anything is to make real, lasting change in the world. To transform situations of despair into situations of new hope and possibility. I am convinced now that that change is only possible through Jesus Christ and his Lordship.

Gladys Aylward, a missionary in China at the turn of the century, and one of my early inspirations

In fact, the only occupation I have ever really desired deeply is to be a missionary. Ever since I read the story of Gladys Aylward, I have dreamt of being like her: of going to a foreign land, breaking oppressive social structures (like foot binding, for instance) by leading communities to faith in Jesus, and ultimately saving lives and relying on God’s supernatural power in the most dire of circumstances

Bellingham Blog: Entry 1

This is what God’s words seem to be for me in this season of my life:

For the first time in my life, I am done with school. Now is the time to step out into the world and work and make a living and face challenges, and (God willing) make a difference on this planet.

My four years liberal arts education (Whitworth 2010, Sociology and Spanish) has perpetuated in me an almost childlike drive to do something “big” and “important” in the world. I want to make change. I want to make a difference.

But every big thing starts with first steps. The task of this last month has been to determine what those first steps are.

My last weeks at Whitworth

aaaa how I’ve missed blogging. Some updates for anyone who’s been wondering where I disappeared to:

I’m now finishing up my last few weeks here at Whitworth University. The first part of the semester was characterized by a lot of reverse culture shock and missing my friends in Uruguay.

Now I overall am doing much better.

I have been running two to three times a week. This is a tremendous accomplishment for me: I have never been a runner, and I have never been able to run even 15 minutes strait, even from the time I was little. Now I have worked up to 30 to 40 minute runs, including some pretty gnarly hills. I’m signed up to run Bloomsday, a 7 mile race put on every year in Spokane Washington. My goal is to run the whole 7 miles. This will be the first running race I’ve ever entered in my life. The race is Sunday, May 2.

Last weekend I presented at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference at Gonzaga Univ. The confrence allows students from a variety of disciplines, both the hard and soft sciences to present their research findings to peers and professors. I was selected from my University, and presented on a paper that I actually wrote during my time in Uruguay: The Transnational Family