Childhood memories.

I am a fairly inquisitive person. In order to get to know someone I like to ask a lot of questions. When I was with Youth With a Mission, I met many people. One of my favorite things to do at dinner time was ask people about themselves. Such as; What's your favorite color? What's your middle name? I like to know other people's middle names but hate to tell them my own. If you know me well enough you know why.


One day, sometime in spring, after a very trying and emotional day of classes, I came up with my favorite question. What is your favorite childhood memory? That day I got to hear many warm memories and you wouldn't believe how that question lightened the mood and lifted spirits.


It was my dad's birthday about a week ago, and in honor of his birthday, I thought I'd share one of my favorite childhood memories.

I can't remember where we were or even how old I was, but sometime, long ago, when I was munchkin I had breakfast for dinner. Back when I looked like this --->
I moved around a lot and at that time we were staying at a hotel. I was hungry and my dad and I walked to Denny's. We ate our dinner--or breakfast-- my guess is I probably had pancakes. They're still on my top ten list of favorite foods. After we had finished eating we walked back to the hotel. It had begun snowing and my dad taught me how to catch snowflakes on my tongue. We stood in the parking lot, in the snow, and waited for snowflakes to land on our tongues. After all these years, I still remember that.


Try asking people what their favorite childhood memories are. You'll get some great answers and I would love to hear all about your favorite childhood memories.

Block.

I spent Thanksgiving in Ohio with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandma. I had a really nice time, ate a lot of food, and got to to see some of my family that I hadn't seen in awhile. Pretty much a successful holiday. Also as an added bonus, I got to share a room with my little cousin. Being an only child I never got to do that as a kid. Now I refer to her as little, because she is four years younger than me (and she is one out of only two cousins who is actually younger than I am.) However without much exaggeration, if any, she is probably about a foot taller than me. So one night, my "little cousin," Annelise, and I are writing in our journals and she asks me what I'm writing about.

A few blog posts back, I asked people how they pray. I'm curious, you see, because I'm convinced that we all pray in a unique way. About a year or so ago I started praying via my journal. I am very easily distracted. In fact, as a small child one of my teachers had me tested for Attention Deficit Disorder. I don't have ADD but I often tell that story to prove my point about not being able to keep focus very long. I struggled for a long time in my prayer life because I could never seem to communicate with God effectively because I would get so distracted after about a minute of prayer. And so, I began journaling. I've always enjoyed writing, some people even dare to say I'm pretty good at it (including myself)-- and ever since I began writing my prayers, my spiritual life has improved. I still pray, even when I'm not writing, but I've found that writing to God is how I best communicate with Him. And so, when my cousin asked me what I was writing, I was praying.

Annelise and I had a nice long talk about, well, talking to God. I told her that I was writing my thoughts and prayers to God and how I had found that journaling my prayers was a perfect match for my personality. We also talked about being in a spiritual rut--or having a "block" when talking to God. You know that feeling when you just feel so spiritually low and you can't figure out why God's not talking back. Why He doesn't seem present. I said that I have found that even in those times when we feel that God is absent we just kind of have to keep showing up to pray and commune with Him and trust that He'll show up. And even though there might be a "block," He always wants to talk to us and that block won't be there forever. And then my not so little cousin said something that I would not have had the wisdom to say when I was in high school. She said, "Unless you let that block be there forever."

As of late I've been pretty discouraged. It's made it hard to talk to God. I told Him this morning that sure I trusted in Him no problem when the going got rough, but it's been a real struggle since the going stayed rough. After all nothing's been going my way... shouldn't I pout? But you see, just as my cousin pointed out, when we get stuck--really stuck, is when we refuse to move on. When we let our "block," our rut, win. When we give into discouragement or whatever it is. And so I ask you. What is your rut? Your block? And what are you going to do about it?

Zaccheus was too small.

Pay it Forward.

I remember one time when I was a kiddo, on the way home from the doctor, my mom and I stopped for lunch. Belly filled with chicken fingers, I napped the rest of the way home. When I awoke, my to-go box filled with my left over lunch was nowhere in sight. I asked my mom where my lunch went and she told me she had given it to someone in need. I was very upset about the whole ordeal, down right mad and grumpy. I had wanted to eat those chicken fingers-- what a way to wake up from a nap I thought. But my mom taught me a very important lesson that day-- I probably didn't learn it until years later but she planted a seed in me that helped shape me into who I am today. 


I think giving food to people in need is an excellent testimony of kindness and the love of Christ. I almost never give people money-- I try to give them something to eat or something hot to drink. My mom taught me that kind of generosity by showing me through her actions-- it's something I hope my kids pick up on too. 


So in the spirit of the holidays, and more importantly in the memory of what Christ has done for us, I encourage you to pay it forward. Do something nice for someone else, someone in need. Be a living testimony of Christ's love. 

...and I'm a Mormon.

As of late, I've been going to the dentist a lot. Not that I needed a reminder why no one likes going to the dentist. But as it is, I've been there twice already this week. My aunt works in a dentist's office and was kind enough to get me an appointment while I was visiting during the Thanksgiving holiday. And hopefully by Thanksgiving the numbing medicine will have worn off. 

My aunt introduced me to most of the people who worked in the office and it spread pretty quickly that I had done missions work in Latin America. My dental hygienist was very friendly and talked a lot. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with a dental hygienist, dentist, or orthodontist? Do they actually expect you to talk back with cotton and their fingers in your mouth? Silly notion if you ask me. But I do appreciate a friendly demeanor just as much as I appreciate sunshine and good dental hygiene. So my dental hygienist asked me about my mission work, turns out her son is in the Peace Corp in Mongolia. She then proceeded to tell me how much it costs to send a care package to Mongolia. If you can't think of anything to be thankful for on Thursday, be thankful you don't have to shell out enough dough to pay for a package to Mongolia. She then asked me a question that took me aback. Because of the missionary work I had done, she asked, "So are you a Mormon?" I was shocked and maybe even a bit offended for some reason or other. Like something I had done inspired her question-- like I was guilty or something and that's why she asked if I was a Mormon. I'm sure my facial expression changed as I shot back a quick no and told her quite firmly that I was Christian. Truth is that her question got me thinking. It makes sense-- her assumption was logical. Why is it that we as Christians are so slow on the uptake?


I really respect Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't agree with them--  but I respect them. They've got at least one thing right. They tell others about their faith. They tell everyone! They go on missions trips and spread their faith openly and boldly. What if we were like that? What if we were more like Mormons? What if we actually believed what we say we do-- wouldn't that mean that we would tell others about it? About the inexplicable joy and freedom of salvation? What if we went out into the world and made disciples like we were commanded in Matthew 28? What if we one-upped the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses? Why not? After all we do have truth on our side. 


So I will ask again, Why are we as Christians so slow on the uptake? Even if you could think of an excuse--it wouldn't be good enough. I say that we shake things up a bit. When people think missions let's make them think Christianity. 

Missing Costa Rica.

Incurable Fanatic.

"If to be feeling alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large."- William Wilberforce


Recently I heard Human Trafficking defined as "the exploitation of vulnerability." Here are some statistics about Human Trafficking and modern day slavery.

• A child is trafficked every 30 seconds. – UNICEF
• The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the United States is 13 years old. – United States Department of Justice
• Human Trafficking occurs in 161 out of 192 countries. – The United Nations
• Pornography is a 96 billion dollar per year industry. – The Internet Filter Review
• Up to 96% of women in prostitution want to escape but feel they can’t. – United Labor Organization
• Human Trafficking is a 32 billion dollar per year industry. – The United Nations
• In some countries it is estimated that 70% of men purchase sex. – Victor Malarek; The Johns
• Over 27 million people are enslaved around the world. This is more than double the number of Africans enslaved during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. – Kevin Bales; Free the Slaves
• There are nearlly two million children involved in the international commercial sex trade.-UNICEF

Sunday night I went to a free screening of the documentary Nefarious: Merchant of Souls. If it's coming to a city near you I impede you to go see it. As a small(er) child I never pictured myself becoming a documentary lover-- but I am and I hope you will get a chance to see this film. I think we can read these facts and feel sad. Maybe even cry. But I feel like these statistics, these people deserve more than our pity and compassion. They need our help. You can start helping by spreading the news-- tell others what you know about human trafficking. Repost these statistics on your Facebook and on your blog if you have one. Heck make an Anti-Human Trafficking Blog. Whatever you can do to spread the word do it. Secondly you can pray. Prayer is powerful. I was inspired by the Nefarious film to pray every time I'm stuck at a red light. As soon as I'm done writing this blog I'm going to make a sticky to put in my car to remind me to pray for the end of human trafficking. Every time I'm stopped at a red light I'll pray for the girls who are held in captivity in the red light districts around the world. I hope you'll join me. 

Sucker.

Frugality is not one of my strong suits. I give you all full permission to begin praying for my future husband and his pocketbook. 

I offered my friend Jessica a mint today. I told her they were those "hunger mints." You know what I'm talking about. You see them every time you check out at Walmart, they're the ones in the test tube containers. I confessed to her what a sucker I am. I couldn't pass up buying those mints--because they advertised that buying said mints help feed the hungry. I then went on to tell her how a few weeks ago I bought a calendar. I was waiting in line at Whole Foods. I causally picked up a calendar and perused through it with absolutely no intention to actual purchase it. The cashier began to tell me that 100% of the calendar's profits went to charity and I knew that I was done for.
 After all, the nice cashier lady reassured me that it was going to a really good cause. You want to know a little secret? I never use calendars and much to my chagrin I told Jessica that I was a first class, bona fide sucker. You know what she said? "I think that probably just means you have compassion and a big heart." So what if I wasted three dollars on a calendar I probably won't ever really use? It's full of beautiful pictures AND coupons. Plus, I just invested in people all over the world. I'm glad I didn't go to Trader Joe's that day. Good thing I went to Whole Foods instead. 
What I think I'd like to communicate is that being a sucker isn't such a bad thing. I bet this world might look better if there were more suckers in the world. Compassionate and goodhearted suckers. 

And guess what else, tonight I bought two bumper stickers that support an Anti-Human Trafficking movement. Guess how many bumpers I have. Yup, I got sucked into spending two dollars to help diminish sex trafficking if the world. Ok, I spent six dollars, I also put four dollars in an offering plate. I think generosity comes in different forms. For me I guess it comes in the manner of buying one too many bumper stickers and having minty fresh breath from my hunger mints. That's a sacrifice I think I can handle. So I want to encourage you, challenge you to be a sucker. Go ahead give it a try.

Let us pray.

As of late I've been attending a little shindig at Oakland University on Fridays. It's a a Christian campus group and we've been watching Louie Gigglio's series on prayer. Louie makes some very interesting points about how our culture affects our style of prayer. The series is very challenging and it got me thinking a lot about how it is that we talk to God. God created us all to be different and unique. So it stands to reason that our relationships with Him are just as unique as we are. I believe our personalities, habits, and quirks influence our prayer style. For example, I usually start off a prayer with "Dear God." I know other people who always begin with "Heavenly Father" or "Dear Jesus." Often in my blog I ask rhetorical questions, but within the last few days I had the bright idea to just ask questions--and expect (or hope for) answers. Maybe a little confirmation that I'm not just talk to myself on here. So I want to know, how is it that you pray? How do you as an individual communicate with God?

 For example, one of the primary ways I talk to God is through a journal I keep. I pour a large cup of coffee and write prayers in my journal. I usually do this at my kitchen table or sitting on my bed with my journal propped up against my knees. I pray when I drive--unfortunately my "driving prayer" is often a prayer of repentance because I let a word a little stronger that "whoops" slip out of my mouth. (Still working on that.) I think most people have some sort of routine when they pray-- a certain time of day, during certain activities, and in specific places. I had a Bible teacher who would go to her closet to pray. So I want to know, How do you pray?? 

Stranger Danger.

I spent all day today shopping for wedding gowns with bride-to-be and my long-time-friend Alyssa. As a hopeless romantic and the uber sap that I am, I had a wonderful day. The only thing that could have possibly made the day better would have been caffeine in larger doses and more frequent intervals. We went to six bridal stores and shopped from 10am-7pm. At the end of the day Alyssa narrowed her pick down to two choices--pretty successful trip if you ask me. We finished the day in high spirits, giddy, and exhausted. Upon leaving our final stop at a mall we encountered quite a bit of traffic. Turns out a young girl's car had stalled right in the middle of the turning lane and all she needed was a jump. My best friend Aimee stopped to ask the young woman if she needed some help, and of course she did. You see that poor girl had been stuck there with a dead battery for FOUR hours. Can you imagine? Four hours? Teary eyed and grateful, the young woman finally got a jump because Aimee made the simple gesture to stop a minute and see if the poor girl needed any help. This really struck me, because you see, if I had been driving, I would have been just like all the other drivers who went about their way without giving this girl a second thought. I saw that she was on her cell phone and would have just kept driving. Stranger Danger, am I right? I would have behaved just like everyone else. It was growing darker, I was hungry, and the situation was none of my concern. Right? But what an opportunity that gave my friend Aimee to help that woman and share a little bit of God's heart... just like the Good Samaritan did so many years ago. It makes me wonder how many times we pass up simple opportunities to share God's love. A challenge presents itself. As Christians we know that Jesus lives inside of us and we are in turn called to live in accordance with His example.... but how often do we let ourselves and our desires get in the way of living out His love? And how do we make it stop? How do we reprogram our selfishness and begin to live and act as if we were children of the most high God? And when will we begin to treat others as if they  were also His children?

Instant pick-me-up.

Need a laugh? Watch this video :)

Michigan.

Rain Boots.

My friend Somer asked me this week to update my blog on what God's been doing in my life lately. I told her that was a good idea.... and then proceeded to blankly stare at my computer screen. Because I couldn't think of anything to write. I tried to dig really deep and think of something super profound.... something spiritual. Wise. Something worth writing about. You know what I came up with? Not much. The only thing I found was honesty--- because, in all honesty, I have no idea what God is doing in my life. Now I am not saying that God is not doing anything--- I just said I don't know what it is He is doing in my life--or why. I feel like I've been under a little rain cloud lately-- and not the fun, puddle jumping kind of rain cloud. It's been a cloud of sad, lonely, and ill-adjustment. Now I'm not asking for recruits for my pity-party... I just thought maybe I'd share what I'm struggling with. I share this because life is not perfect, it's hard-- and I've done a lot of overcoming and maybe by sharing our struggles we grow. I've been asking God a lot what am I doing here--this place/stage of life that I'm in-- and why? I have yet to find my niche, my joy, my peace. Somewhere, deep down, I bet God is stretching me and preparing me for something. But I have not found it easy. Maybe God is calling me to go find and don my rain boots and face my puddles and look forward to the metaphorical rainbows that lie ahead--while looking adorable and very stylish in my robot/alien wellies.

The big questions in life.

Adorable.

From "My Friend Is Sad" by Mo Willems.

Ant hill.

I was at a tattoo parlor on Tuesday. No need to trip out... it wasn't for me, I was there for moral support and to give a free ride. My friend was getting a tattoo in Hebrew on her wrist that says "pray." It's absolutely beautiful and very inspiring. Her tattoo artist asked her about it, why she chose Hebrew, and why she chose the word pray. She told him that she is a Christian, and what a great reminder it will be to always pray. Her tattoo artist began to comment on his observation of the Hebrew God and how different the "Old Testament God" is from the "New Testament God." I chimed in that we serve the same God... our God never changes. He is and was and always will be the same. I think people can get so caught up in the misconception of an angry bitter Old Testament God.  In Bruce Almighty, Jim Carey describes God as "a mean kid sitting on an ant hill with a magnifying glass" waiting to burn off our "feelers" and watch us "squirm." I believe this is more or less how that tattoo artist sees God. I talked to him a little bit during the ink session. I understand where he was coming from. I understand that God's ways don't make sense in our minds but in the end, what it comes down to is that God is love. He is not mean, He is good and has always been that way. And here's a little reminder (in song form.)

And remember how Bruce all Mighty ends? Bruce completely changes his view of God after relationship with Him (and of course acquiring all of His powers. A little unorthodox, I know.) Bruce's life is forever changed, he is a happier man in the end and he even gets the girl.

Faultless.

On Sunday morning I went to church. On Monday morning I went to the dentist.


The service Sunday morning was on James 1:19-27. I enjoyed the service and the preacher gave a "good" sermon. In theory all sermons are "good"-- a sermon would only be deemed "bad" if the pastor were spitting blatant lies or the church goer was being convicted in an area they did not feel like being convicted in. No, I think it comes to is this: we call church services "good" IF we were actually paying attention. Allow me to share with you what stood out to me in the service that morning. The pastor reminded us that we are called to "live the Word." He quoted, "Many people mark their Bibles-- but don't let their Bibles mark them." Wow. So how do we "live the Word" and how do allow the Bible to "mark" us? Although there are probably a variety of ways, we can begin with our service. The Bible reminds us in James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." The preacher edified and thanked the congregation for all they had done and all the ways that they had served in order to fulfill this mandate. He congratulated them on their many missions trips and successful ministries in Africa and all over the world. It made me cry. Just a little bit. This is where my heart is. I want to help kids for the rest of my life-- I want my life to be a ministry. I'm not exactly sure what it will look like-- but I know I want to look after those in distress and those in need.


Flash forward to Monday morning-- Dentist office
I was in the waiting room-- waiting-- and talking to the receptionist at the desk. She asked me if I was in college, a fair assumption given my age and culture. I told her what I had been doing and where, and she asked me about the conditions of where I had been working. She told me that she lacked any real desire to travel (and do missions) because she didn't want to see. She said she didn't think she could handle seeing people in dire need. I understand that it can be hard to face something so trying as poverty or starvation-- I've never seen starving babies face to face before. There's a lot out there that has yet to break my heart. But her comment made me sad. Because I realized that it is that mentality that prevents so many people from doing something. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is what prevents us from practicing that true and holy, faultless religion that calls us to help those in need. I don't believe that everyone is called to be a missionary in a foreign country-- but I do believe that we are called to open our eyes and take our fingers out of our ears and listen and see the opportunities God has given us to help the less fortunate. And it starts with you.

Fashion.

.Since returning to Michigan, I have been very cold. Today it is 54°F in Petoskey, MI. In Costa Rica it's 80 degrees plus 84% relative humidity. Perhaps you can sympathize with my struggle to adjust. So I've walking around dressed a little something like this....

Who knows. Maybe I'll avoid frostbite and even make  fashion statement.

Culture shock.

I've been in the United States since Tuesday. It's been really hard to adjust so far. I'm having what is called "culture shock." Here is a list of a few things that have been making me trip out.
11. Cold weather-- very very cold weather
10. I can use my cell phone again-- and text.
9. How awesome Starbucks is.
8. When placing an order at a restaurant or coffee shop.... what language do I order in?
7. Multicolored Autumn leaves.
6. Country Music--yuck.
5. Hunting season is coming?
4. Liquid laundry detergent
3. Cable television.
2. Pumping gas at the station.
1. Remind me again where I'm supposed to put the toilet paper? 

Slideshow.

Part of my "homework" for my debrief time in Mexico was to make a slideshow of my time spent in Costa Rica. Enjoy!