Back Home...

There are places in my life that have become very familiar and home-like. Of course the town I grew up and my parent's house always makes me feel as though I have arrived home. The town where I went to Undergrad, and where my sister lives and even Atlanta is beginning to feel a little more like home with every passing day that I am there. On that list is CP. The people, the town, and the ministry have all become like home to me. The faces, the places, and the feeling I get when I walk through the door of the office or the staff cabin and see those people who have joined with me in the ministry for these three months. I love feeling like I have found the place I belong, at least for this time in my life where transitions have been the name of the game.
Change is never easy or painless, as I have said before, and this summer is no exception to that. This home is different these days. Familiar faces I expect to see as I walk through the door of the office are no longer present. There is a void here this summer. Something that we all are getting used to, and one that I don't think will ever be filled. So being back home for this summer is bittersweet. Though the ministry I love is much the same, there is a piece missing. Though, there is a strange peace about it all. Though anxiety and questions are a part of the beginning of the summer, I feel as though everything will be alright. God has brought the right people here, for such a time as this. People who are just as passionate as I about this place, these people, and this ministry. Things will be different, no doubt, but God will work as always.
I think this summer will be good, and one that I desperately need to experience. I have felt as though I have lost touch with my passions and the things I love so much over the past year. Things need to be reawakened in my life, and I feel as though it is going to happen this summer.

fun and work

Sometimes in life we need to cut back and have fun. As a child, life was a good balance of fun and work. You would have the average school days filled with learning, papers, tests, worksheets and the like, but there was also sufficient time for play. For me, it was playing a lot of sports like whiffleball, basketball, and the like with the other kids in the neighborhood. I always worked hard in anticipation for the enjoyment I would feel as I was running around, laughing, and playing with others. There was a sense of accomplishment and freedom that was natural to that lifestyle of balance, were I could be both a successful student and faithful friend.

As time has progressed and responsibilities abound, the balance of work and fun seems a little one sided. With the volume of stuff to be accomplished (especially at the end of the semester) and a lot hinging on performance, time for fun is a little lacking. But I realized, for myself at least, the necessity to give myself the space to be free and to have fun. Whether that is manifested in taking a break to play Rockband, old school Nintendo, watch a movie, catch dinner with a friend, talk on aim, or frolicing outside (and I do mean frolicing!), all have a way of rejuvenating our spirits. We need the energy and joy that is found in the fun times in our lives, to help get us through the times of monotony or the daily routine.

I hope that I always remember the joy of cutting back and letting myself enjoy the fun that life has in store, even if opportunities for it are less than before.

live, laugh, love

Life is interesting. I think that is something that I say frequently. No matter how often I try to figure things out, the more confusing it gets. So why do I try? Because it is my nature. There is something deep inside me that yearns to figure the game out. To know all the rules, to get ahead, and to learn all the tricks of the trade. That way I can be prepared for whatever comes in my way. Nothing like being prepared to face it all, to conquer every circumstance, and never feel defeated. Yet when I ponder what life would be like if success was always on my horizon, if everything went my way, or I got whatever was best and most pleasing, I think life would be too boring.
Goodbyes, failures, sadness, suffering, frustrations, and disappointments are all a part of this life. Its not to say that we should allow them to come and not try to life live in a way that brings us or others happiness, but I think it is a mistake to try and to avoid those things at all cost. What is life if we don't take chances? What is life if we do not risk failure in order to do something we never expected? I don't think we can always play it safe, we have to take chances, we have to step outside of our box so that we can experience life far beyond what our confined experiences can show us.
We need to live a little, laugh a lot, and love even more. What if our hearts overflowed with great affection and joy? If we didn't hold back pieces of ourselves but were vulnerable with those we love most? What if we actually lived our lives like we we knew that we we loved by the One who is love? Opening our lives up to these possibilities, to these truths can only be s source of transformation and for hope. Idealistic? maybe I am, but I know that we can hope for life and a world that rises above oppression, disaster, and distress to become a people and a world the flourishes in hope and peace. but only when we can ground ourselves in the love and truth that is bigger than ourselves. And one that prefers to choose the weak to confound the wise, to use to outcasts to deliver messages of truth, and the children to speak words that can rock the very foundations of the earth. It is a power far beyond ourselves. with that hope we can learn to live, to laugh, and to love to a greater capacity than we thought possible. And that is a beautiful thing.