thank the cow.

God really does know what he’s doing. Who knew?!

He has a ridiculously incredible way of working in all of his wisdom and planning things perfectly in a way we can’t even begin to comprehend. In the past I has struggled with the tendency to, oh, freak out! about everything. Being the visual learner that I am, God knew that he would have to show me a different way. So where did he take me? A magical place called Argentina.

One of the things that stuck out to me the most about the people of Argentina was their people first mentality. They weren’t constrained to a strict time schedule and making sure they come into their own. They were concerned with people, with openness, with quality time. They certainly work hard, but they care for people FIRST.

What do we do as Americans? Well, as I’m learning about in my sociology class… America’s prime values include the following: progress, efficiency, achievement, material comfort, personal success, activity, work, and science. Sounds like the description of what a Christian should be right? Not so much. These values were the source of a lot of my freak out moments. Now God has shown me a better way to live and, with the exception of my graphics labs, I’ve adapted to it surprisingly well.

He also gave me a semester at The Graphic Cow with no school to worry about to break my old habits of stress and anxiety. I love how God works on such a personal level. I don’t know that this would have been possible any other way. It’s becoming more and more clear to me that life is a process, we are constantly being molded and refined by our brilliant Creator, and why wouldn’t we want to be?

All of this hit me when I was driving back to school yesterday morning, thinking about how I was going to be late to class. I had stayed a few extra minutes at home to talk to my dad before I left. Seeing my dad before I came to school is something I’ve actually very rarely done in my lifetime. It was a treat. It was worth being a few minutes late. Does that sound Argentine or what?

A few words from Tozer on the incredible ways God works that he doesn’t always let us see…

When God created the heavens and the earth, darkness was upon the face of the deep. When the Eternal Son became flesh, He was carried for a time in the darkness of the sweet virgin’s womb. When He died for the life of the world, it was in the darkness, seen by no one at the last. When He arose from the dead, it was ,’very early in the morning.” No one saw Him rise. It is as if God were saying, ”What I am is all that need matter to you, for there lie your hope and your peace. I will do what I will do, and it will all come to light at last, but how I do it is My secret. Trust Me, and be not afraid.”

love it.

for the creative type

I was working in my Captivating Guided Journal on my lunch break and it was talking about what only Eve can tell us about God. Eve was the finishing touch, the “crown of creation.” It brings such a sense of intimacy with God to realize that as women he created us specifically, not as an afterthought, but as a beautiful work of art. The journal asked for examples of favorite works of art. I, of course, included “Starry Night” in my list. As I was thinking about other works of art, I turned to Google Image search. While I was searching for other famous works of art, something popped up in my mind. I’ve always been interested in art and being creative. One source of inspiration? My old friend Pappy Drew-It.

“If you ever wanna paint, if you ever wanna draw,

if you ever wanna recreate anything at all…

Well now you can in Pappyland, that’s where we are today.

Where anything can happen, cause Pappy drew it that way.

Pappy, Pappy Drew-It! He drew Pappyland.

And you to can do it, when you’re in Pappyland!”

Yes, that little gray-haired man with the giant red pencil and his puppet friend Elmer provided me with much inspiration from their little colorful house in the woods of Pappyland. I would sit glued to the TV, armed with computer paper, pencil and whatever I could find to bear down on.

And here many years later, at “blue past 2″ I’m a Graphic Communications major on an art internship.

Thanks for the encouragement, Pappy. I owe ya one.

What would be the song that we would sing to you, when they’re in need?

Would it be an empty Hallelujah to the King?

Turn down the music, turn down the noise.

Turn up your voice, oh God, and let us hear the sound

of people broken, willing to love,

give us your heart, oh God, a new song rising up.

-”Turn Down the Music,” Shane & Shane

 

It’s overwhelmingly to easy to get caught up in the “noise” of life. We focus so much on the distractions and cry out for a sense of focus and direction. Maybe we’re just looking in the wrong place. Shane & Shane recorded this song for their most recent album “Everything is Different.” On their website they had a video explaining this song.

They told a story of a church that was located near a railroad track during the Holocaust. During their services one morning, a train full of prisoners, crying out to be heard and rescued passed by. The church people smelled their filthiness and heard their screams. Their response? Close the windows. Turn up the music.

How often do we do this in our own lives? We know this world is hurting. We know that we could do something to relieve even a small amount of that pain, yet we choose to turn up the music and shut out the brokenness around us. We are all broken, but we are good at hiding it. At least we think so. What about the ones who have no way to hide? How are we helping them. Or even the ones who think they are hiding, but we see so clearly. Is it really better for us to tend to our own affairs and leave them to fend for themselves?

We’re called to something so much greater. I just finished reading Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge a couple of weeks. There was one line in particular that stuck out to me more than anything else.

“…she became the woman she was born to be, and the kingdom was never the same.”

What a beautiful thought. Fully living up to the potential that is innate. What’s stopping us from that place? What’s stopping me? I need to turn down the noise and listen to the world around me. Even more so, I need to listen to my God. He knows the woman I was born to be. I want to live in a way that when all is said and done, I have made an impact that causes the Kingdom to never be the same.

Do not give way to fear. -1 Peter 3:6

Give hope, let people know they aren’t alone in this broken world.

Jean the Queen

Today marks four years since one of the most beautiful and strongest women I’ve ever known lost her battle with lung cancer. I can remember the moment I found out like it just happened, so vividly. But my life has changed so many times since I was 16 that it feels like a lifetime ago. I try to hold on to her memory as life tries to sweep it away.

She was beautiful and I hold a piece of her in my heart and carry it everywhere I go. My green eyes mirror hers and I hope that they hold as much life as hers did till the very end. She was full of life. Radiant. She was known for her bejeweled clothes and her expensive taste. I think I’ve got some of that too. My Grandaddy called her “Jean the Queen” and that is exactly what she was. She taught me to fight as she fought the battle of her life. Every step for her was an inspiration to me.

She loved me, and I knew that.  I miss it. The hurt is still real, but the wound is healing. I hope I can carry her life giving warmth into the lives of people I meet and to my family.

I love you, Nana. I miss you.

some things are better left undone.

After getting used to the newer version of the iPod nano… I was listening to my iTunes yesterday while I was working and I thought that I would like for it to be set on shuffle. This thought was followed by an urge to pick my computer up and shake it. Unfortunately that doesn’t have the same effect.

Por que me escondo?

Why do I hide?

This was the topic for our campaign last week. We went around our campuses talking to students about hypocrisy. The way the government and the church have acted in this country has built us a reputation of hypocrisy. Many of the students here see hypocrisy as a barrier between themselves and God.

Our goal for the campaign is to apologize for that reputation and to tell them that we are called to more than that and that it is not a good representation of God. We did surveys about hypocrisy to try to get students talking about what they thought. It was interesting to see that many people were very open to talk to us. They were open to hearing our views as well. We had the opportunity to share with many students what God was really like and that he really loves us and wants a personal relationship with us. The hypocrisy is in people. Most of the students said that they saw hypocrisy in all people, which became a good transition to explain that all people are sinful and the fact that we are self-seeking.

Please continue to pray for the students that we met last week. Some people have had the opportunity to meet back up with students they met last week. Pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of students that we weren’t very sure about how well the conversations went. Pray for God to move on these campuses.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It would be so much harder to make it without all your encouragement. God is incredibly faithful each day. He has bonded together an amazing summer project team and an incredible STINT team.

To God be the glory!

life in the big ham and cheese

Due to a lack of access to the internet this update has been much delayed.

It all began on May 17th in Greensboro, NC. The team that I now know and love met together for the first time. My teammates are from Duke, Barton College, OK State, Clemson, Columbia College, GA Tech, and USC. We have now become our own little family/friends/support group. We stayed in NC through the 20th to be briefed for our trip. We talked about evangelism, the heart of God for the nations and the importance of our team.

Now we have officially been in the big city overflowing with ham and cheese (Buenos Aires, Argentina) for a week. I say that because ham, cheese, and many times tomato accompany pretty much every food choice here. : ) Here are some things that have happened so far:

- We went to the campuses that we are working on last Thursday so that we could check things out and pray for the campuses. (I’m working on the Architecture and Design campus. And I met a graphic design student earlier today. Hooray!)

- Last Friday we went to our first Vida Estudiantil meeting with the STINT team. We got to meet some students for the first time there. The Argentines are so cool. They are passionate about everything they do and we are praying that they will definietly latch on to this movement and get some of that passion in it!

- Last Saturday we went on a tour of the city. We got to learn a lot about the city’s history and what all the major landmarks are. There is so much that has happened in this country’s history that most people don’t even know about. I think that learning about the history will help us to understand this culture and the people that we meet. We also went on a tour of La Boca, which is a neighborhood that is one of the big tango spots. There were of course a lot of people dancing and they had a market of people selling jewelry, clothes, and other art that they had made. It was a fun little place. Very bright.

- Sunday  morning we hung out with our friend Berkeley who came to visit us. She brought one of her friends that she met on summer project last year. We went to have lunch at a cafe and then to tour the Casa Rosada where the president works. Sunday night we went to an all Spanish church and it was pretty awesome! They prayed for us and loved on us. Which is universal, no language barrier there. 

- Monday was their Independence Day so we went with some of our STINTers to a park that is pretty central in the city. We took the subway there and then stopped at a little store to get some food for a picnic. We hung out, read, talked, played frisbee, drank mate, and got to know some of the STINTers’ Argentine friends.

-Tuesday we went to the campus for the first time. We went to our first English Club. It gives the students a chance to practice their English and us a chance to meet students and build relationships. That night we had Taco Tuesday. ( By the way, they don’t really eat tacos here.) The STINTers started taco tuesday as a good hang out time with the students.

-Yesterday was our first day on campus without the STINT team. We did the Soularium with students. I went out with Gina and we walked around campus looking for girls we could talk to. We ended up talking to four or five girls. They were all really cool and they ALL SPOKE ENGLISH!!! (answer to prayer, for sure.) We’re planning on meeting up with three of them again next week to talk to them some more and I think one of the other girls is planning on joining us for English club next Tuesday.

-And that brings us to today. We went back to campus. Today was a bit more difficult than yesterday. We had a hard time finding english speakers and had a few not so hot conversations. We decided that the best thing to do would be to spend some time in prayer. Jill and Katie got to have a good conversation with a girl they met yesterday and I think they are going to try and keep meeting with her.

Some things God’s been showing me so far:

My dependence must be on him. All my comforts have been stripped away. The people that I normally take my frustrations to are not within reach. There is a language barrier here for me that seems to be a mile high. In all of this, God is teaching me that he wants to be my source of strength, that he is the one that “cannot be shaken.” (Heb 12:27)

Sometimes it takes being totally out of my element for me to wake up and see the world around me.

Prayer requests:

-For the students that we’re meeting with again, that God would open up their hearts.

-For the campaign that we are about to help Vida Estudiantil with.

-For my team of 14

-For the STINT team here.

“Our God is a consuming fire.” Un beso para voy. Todo mi amor.

time to go

2 days and counting.

Sunday I’ll be going up to Greensboro, NC for training for Argentina. On Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be taking the 5000 mile, 11 hour flight to Buenos Aires! I’m getting more and more excited. A little stressed about support checks being MIA, but it’ll all work out. I’m all packed and ready to go, though!

Be praying for me and my team that we’ll be focused and prepared for all the exciting opportunities coming up! God is going to do some cool things through this experience, I’m sure of it. A big thanks to everybody who has made my trip possible! Thanks for the moolah and the confidence I’m carrying with my knowing you’re all an amazing prayer support team! Much love.

I’ll do my best to keep up with this blog. Rumor has it we’ll have internet at least once a week, so I can share my cool stories. If for some reason my usual slackness comes back, well then, we’ll just have to meet up for non-coffee and I’ll tell you all about it! And if you know me at all, you know there will be pictures, and LOTS of them! Thanks again!

seeing the light

What is it about the darkness that scares us so much?

Is it the fear of the unknown? The lack of control? The vulnerability?

In the darkness, we are completely subject to our surroundings. In a dark room full of obstacles, everything looks the same. No warning signs to protect us from danger. What hides in the darkness is just waiting for us to stumble over it. All the while we are completely unaware.

The flip of one switch changes everything. It’s all different in the light. We are easily comforted. We can clearly see danger. We can navigate our own way through the obstacles. We get so frustrated with God because he makes us walk in the dark. Does he not understand that we need to be able to find our way?

courtesy of CCC soularium

Maybe that’s our problem. We so much want to find our OWN way. Let’s think about how many times that’s worked out before. Like the guy in the picture, the space right around the light he has is the only thing that he can see, but he’s trusting it as his guide. Maybe God only gives us enough light to see our next step because we have to count on him to take that step. If he gave us the whole picture, why would we think that we needed him? Either way, we need him. But this way, we don’t count on ourselves.

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

our economy is lame.

period. (or more like exclamation mark.)

what on earth is going on? our economy is going down the tubes. this subject is not one i claim to be “in the know” on, but i do know it’s bad when a four-year degree does nothing for you when it comes to getting/keeping a job. doesn’t that make the college student feel good?

speaking of… rumor has it that this is the best time to be in college. tell that to the ones that are getting close to graduation. as college students we have to be the absolute best at what we want to do if we’re hoping to get a job. to me that spells s-t-r-e-s-s.

and furlow? dumb. i guess it’s better than being fired though. i don’t know.

hey obama, thanks for the help. …oh wait. nevermind.