Pharisee, Disciple, Believer or Rich Man, Who Are You?

How often do you hear people say,"It was so easy for people who were alive when Jesus was alive. They didn't have to deal with doubt and faith. They could just ask Jesus whatever they wanted." But really was it?

Jesus wasn't the first man to show up and perform miracles, he wasn't the first one to have followers. Just like we often find ourselves saying, "Is that you, God?" The people of his time were doing the same. They wanted to be faithful, they didn't want to jump ahead of God and they wanted Him to fit inside their box of understanding so that they would clearly recognize Him when he arrived.

Before we judge the people of that time for being "completely stupid" and missing the point, I have to ask, 'Haven't we all been there?' Maybe instead of trying to understand, predict or fit God into a box, they could have spent that energy on getting to know Him, His heart, His reactions and His character. If the Pharisees had done this, I think they would have recognized him.

As I dig deeper into scripture, I come across the story of a very rich man (Mark 10).  This man had been "good" his entire life, he had honored his mother and father and been faithful.  It even sounds like he really truly believed that Jesus was who he said he was.  But when Jesus asked the man to leave everything behind and "come follow me" his heart was heavy because he was holding on tight to a lot of things. I don't think the man really believed that any of these material things were more important than Jesus. I just think he was afraid.  It was too much, too fast and Jesus was asking him to dive in way past his comfort zone.  Unfortunately the man missed out on incredible blessings and the greatest relationship he would ever know because he couldn't bring himself to trust. 

I might not be having a problem with an abundance of money but there are things he is continuously asking me to let go of...  some of these things are harder than others to let go of and well... sometimes I have to ask him to pry it out of my hand because I just don't know how to let go.

So if we were each to take a role in the stories who would you be? Would you doubt him? Deny him? Abandon everything to follow him? Chase him down when you had a need? Or decide that following him is just too risky?

If Your Life Were A Movie...

Person #1: "How was the movie last night?"

Person #2: "It was good. We enjoyed it but the plot really wandered at times...  It was worth watching but was missing something.  ...It wasn't worth five stars and well, I wouldn't really give it four stars either.  I guess it would be three stars.  I liked the storyline, it just wandered..."

Sounds like a pretty average conversation, right? But just this once something jumped out at me. After hearing her response, I thought, "WOW! Isn't that life?!"

How many people are settling for a "three stars" kind of life? It isn't really bad but it isn't really great.  It's just ok enough to get comfortable.  If it was bad, we might actually be motivated to do something about it. And if it were really great, we would be out shouting about it like we do with all the great films we watch.

Think about what is happening when the plot of a movie wanders.  The storyline is missing the point and straying from fulfilling its purpose.  Is the storyline of your life wandering?  Are you missing the point or are you fulfilling your purpose? How many stars would your film receive?

Well... Who Would Have Thought?

Well, out of NOWHERE I have been offered a teaching position!  I stopped applying for jobs back in early March and haven't thought a thing about it since. But the way this all came together out of nowhere definitely got my attention so... I am now going to be teaching 2nd grade at ECO Charter School in Camden, NJ.  Ten minutes from a LOT of family and five minutes from Philadelphia! 

But DON'T Worry!! I have been assured that my summers are mine to do what I would like with so my hope is to still do the road trip next summer!!  I am also hoping to get to still visit New Zealand this winter just for a shorter period of time.  I will let you all know more later...

"Girl, Don't Let Your Dreams Be Dreams!"

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a desire to explore and to know.  I’ve always been known as the person who asks too many questions in class or cares too much about random details.   I love to travel, I love to explore and investigate cultures and places that are different from my own.   I want to see every corner of the world I possibly can.  I want to know what life is like for people living in the Alaskan Igloos (do people actually still live in igloos?), for people in India, South Africa, Israel, and New Zealand.  How is what the people in Israel value different from what we value?  How is it similar?  What do educators in New Zealand do differently from American educators?  What do they do that is the same?  What results are they seeing in their school systems that we are not seeing?    What are the people in South Africa passionate about and how do they interact with one another?  Are the people in New Zealand as materialistic as Americans?  Do the people in Australia rush through life the way we do?   What are relationships like for people in other places around the world?

My curiosity isn’t just for the cultures of other countries.  It’s for the culture of Americans all across the country, past and present.  I want to know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of Yellowstone Park, to go caving in the Carlsbad Caverns, to sit at the Grand Canyon, talk to God and learn about the Native Americans who ruled these lands so many years ago.  I want to explore places like the Badlands and learn about the events, ceremonies and rituals that took place there hundreds of years ago.  I want to experience big cities like, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles and I want to go to lesser known places like, Billings, Montana (Hey, Kathleen!) and Alamogordo, New Mexico.   

I have this incredible desire to experience as much of the world as possible.  I know the responsible thing to do is to get a “real job” after college or at least to go to grad school (and believe me I really want to do both!) but I can’t help but think, when else will I have this opportunity and how amazing would it be if I could have first hand experiences in 16+ national parks, 30+ cities, and 21 states?  What if I had my very own experiences, photographs, souvenirs and stories from all of these places to share with my students?  What if I had the opportunity to make the learning come to life for them?

Is it possible that I could experience different cultures from around our country and world and then bring back that knowledge for my students, friends and family in a way that creates a bridge between our cultures, a bridge that could break down barriers, prejudice and mistaken beliefs?

About a month and a half ago I realized that the reason I never follow through with planning any of my big fantasy trips is because I never have the money and never know when I will have it.  When I realized this I thought the only way to stop this cycle is to come up with a plan to get the money.  How can I expect to someday have the money if I don’t come up with a plan to save the money?  So I wrote out exactly what it was that I wanted to do and then I figured out how much it would cost.  I then picked a tentative date and figured out how much I would need to save each week if I was going to leave by that date.  Then I found some extra jobs all within a week and got to work at meeting my weekly savings goal.  But then a lot of people started giving me their 2 cents (which I appreciate greatly).  Some people said I should go to other places on my road trip, some people didn’t want me to do both things, some didn’t think I should do any of it, some thought I should take more time on my road trip, some said I should line up a job in New Zealand and stay longer, some said I should wait another year and then go, some said I said I shouldn’t go on the road trip and I should use that time and money in New Zealand. With all of these suggestions I started trying to mold my plans and dream to fit their thoughts and opinions but it got quite exhausting and every time I tried to make a change to the plan I would get upset because it felt like I was settling, like I wasn’t following my dream and I would ask myself, why am I doing this if I am not going to do it my way? 

Then out of the blue one afternoon my dad said to me “Don’t lose your dream.” And I realized that I needed to stop trying to fit my dream into everyone else’s plans (as well intentioned as they were) and let it be my dream and my plan. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, I am taking some advice from a Jack Johnson song (“Girl, don’t let your dreams be dreams.”) and going all out with my plans.  This September I will be getting in the car and driving 6,900 miles, stopping in 30 cities, 16 national parks, visiting 8+ old friends and 6+ friends of friends (Thank you to all of you who have offered me a couch along the way, I already have about half of the nights covered).  I will then return home for about a month and a half before heading to New Zealand and then Australia (why not, it’s only another $100 on the plane ticket?).   

What Story Do You Want To Write?

Today Jodi told me a story that she read last night in Donald Miller's book A Million Miles. It is a long story and not one I can tell here since I didn't read the book (yet) but basically it's about this father/husband who realizes he isn't doing a very good job when it comes to "writing" his family's story. He decides to step up and lead his family in telling a new story. His family's story becomes one of a family that raises $25,000 to start an orphanage in Mexico.

From my conversation with Jodi, I got the message that Miller is encouraging each of us to stop allowing the world and life to dictate the story we are telling and to pick up the pen, take control (under God's leadership) and decide for ourselves what the story is going to be.

As a recent college graduate (2 weeks), I can feel the pressure to choose a path, to decide what story my life is going to tell. I was just accepted today into an amazing graduate program (my first and only choice)in a city I absolutely love, I live in a beautiful, little mountain town surrounded by amazing, beautiful people who love me and I have an AMAZING job but I also have the opportunity to do ABSOLUTELY anything at this point in my life and I feel like if I go to Charleston right away or if I stay here in Bryson I am playing it safe and I don't want to do that. I want to live my life. I want to trust that God will take care of me. I want to experience His best for me.

I could just go to Grad School because that is the responsible thing to do and I "should just get it over with" but why do I have to be so responsible? When will I ever get to just LIVE? There is a quote in my room that I have had framed for years and it says, "Live all the days of your life." There is also a magnet on my fridge that reads, "Do one thing every day that scares you." The thing is I do not want to sit on the sidelines as MY life story is written by the world, I do not want to allow fear to have control over my life and I don't want to miss out on God's bigger story because I was afraid to step out on a different path than everyone else. I want to discover the life God has planned for EACH and EVERY one of my days and I want to see what happens when I take the pen back from the world and give it to God.

What will happen when I let God write the story of my life? I don't know the answer to that but I can tell from past experiences that it will be absolutely, mind blowingly, amazing!!