:) L.O.L. :)

Living in Love with Amazing Grace...

2010-01-06T07:03:00.005-06:00

The Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you indeed love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Deuteronomy 13:3

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Knower of our weaknesses, there is trouble everywhere. Even our hours of pleasure are commingled with hardships and threats of despair. With much thanks for your grace, we rest forever loved and blessed in your ever-presence every day. Amen.

I have been so flooded with wonderful blessings lately... but as this prayer shares truthfully... in this life we are so susceptible to hardships and threats of despair thanks to the wiles of the devil in this world. I am so incredibly thankful for the grace and love of our EVER-PRESENT God... Especially as he revealed himself through Jesus, our Savior... who gave us his "paraclete" - the Holy Spirit, to live within us... to strengthen, encourage, comfort, lovingly guide us to know him more and glorify God - making him known to all the world!!!!

Oh dear... God, please give me the grace and discipline to make it a priority to share more of the blessed thoughts you've filled me head with for the building up of your Body, my brothers and sisters in the family you have magnificently created... and are continuously shaping to join you in your redemptive plans for this broken world..

I love you, Lord... and I lift my voice... to honor you, oh my soul, rejoice! Take JOY my King, in what you hear... and may it be a sweet, sweet sound.. in your ear.

Keeping the main thing the main thing...

2009-11-12T11:29:00.002-06:00

So, just after I posted the post right before this one... I read this:

Paul wrote, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.“ - 2 Timothy 4:5

Paul calls Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist.” We say it so often: the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Cultivating a constant burden for the lost and striving toward consistent witness keeps the heart in touch with the heart and mission of Jesus, who came to “seek and to save those who are lost.” It is easy to get so absorbed in keeping the aquarium that we lose our passion to fish for men.

Yup...

And... I've also been thinking a lot about the whole "fishing" analogy. I won't exhaustively type out all of the thoughts about it now - but I challenge you to think about the "fishing for men" analogy. ;) PLEASE post comments with your thoughts if you have the time to share. :)

Okay... now I'm going fishing... ;)

Livin' Out Love... we better be sharin'!

2009-11-12T09:38:00.002-06:00

**Warning - this isn't a "nice and tidy" worded e-mail... this is a product of my word bursting important thoughts. Unfortunately, I can't be bothered to scour through it and re-word it much better at this time... but I'm sick of withholding the blessing of sharing these thoughts with you. So I pray this is encouraging to someone!! :) **

Recently, I have been blown away by the opportunities I've been given to explain my faith to new friends who don't yet know what it means to have a personal relationship with God...

And as I've been sharing with them, and then shared the stories of the joy of sharing with them with others - it has reminded me of our need to practice speaking the amazing truth of the Gospel. Not only should we share with those who don't know and don't believe it yet, we should also share with those who "already know" because... guess what, the mercies and truths have this beautiful way of being fresh and vibrant each new time you hear them (because it's ALIVE!!). AND, as you're sharing, wow - you just keep seeing things in an exciting new light yourself.

What a beautiful gift - and what beautiful pictures and analogies the Holy Spirit brings to mind as I've attempted to share and explain the reason for the hope, joy, love, and peace that spills out of me. I am praying all of you will ask God to help you take advantage of the privilege to share your faith in words - and may you be filled with the confidence and boldness and clarity you need when you need it... and even if you seem to think you lack the understanding, and the right words to explain, may you resist the devil lying to you in that moment trying to distract you, making you feel like you can't be used to communicate truth to someone. Oh, because, please, everyone, (and i'm saying this to myself even more than anyone else) REMEMBER that we are the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit - the presence of God to be shared with others - to point to Christ, to make that glorious truth known...

Oh God, PLEASE, HELP US!! :) It's all about you and for you... and it's SO neat that you've invited us to participate in the joy and even the struggle of the process of pouring out your love to humans - filthy, unholy, defiled sinners... until you came along to replace that with your righteousness - amazing grace.. amazing love... amazing. Amazing God, we love you, oh, but help us love you and know you ever more and more!! ;) Thanks for your faithfulness to us even when we are not faithful to you. In your precious name we have the privilege to pray and talk with you, and I say, thank you, right on, uh huh... AMEN!! :)

Slip and Slide, TAKE TWO!

2009-08-20T09:42:00.013-05:00

**Quick disclaimer... I ran out of time to read over this for edits, and the pictures were giving me fits, so hopefully I'll update it to a more readable and well-laid out version ASAP.

Unfortunately... my slip and slide adventures haven't ended since my last post.

Oh on, in fact, they have intensified, haha.

You can find all my bruise pictures on facebook if you hunt through to the end of one of my albums... but so start this lovely post, I'll just include the big kahuna for you here:
On that note... let me tell you about a few more slip and slides!

Naw, wait, how about a success story first! I climbed a couple of mountains while out at the campsite property this August... and the first one, while I acquired plenty of scrapes because of the thorny bushes on our "path," I actually didn't have any major falls or slips! And here was my rewarding view at the top! :)

And after climbing this... and sweating profusely... a few people crazily on a whim decided to run our "treacherous" rocky path (that took us an hour to get there on!) back to camp, and the others of us hopped in the boat. BUT.. then me and a friend couldn't ignore the calling of the cool water beneath us... soooo, we jumped out about here... and swam back for some... 15-20 minutes! :) I'm working on my triathlon skills. Where's my bike! Ha, how 'bout mountain biking down this next mountain?!?!... yeah right!

On this one, I wasn't quite so lucky with the slipping and sliding... It was SUPER steep, and although the path was more clearly defined, it was quite a challenge to avoid rock sliding! The hike up went quite well, I must say. We pushed ourselves too, and made it in less than 40 minutes! I'll admit there was plenty of huffing and puffing (and a bit of crawling) involved by the end... but I assure you, this was the easy part!

It took us just as long, if not slightly longer, to make our way down! I so wished there was snow on it... haha. A couple of the boys with us RAN on ahead, and oh my goodness, I had visions of them rolling all the way down into a pool of blood at the bottom. They were NUTS I thought! But nonethless, the rock slide surfing was going pretty good for me, and I was keeping a pretty good pace. Everyone "fell" (that is, slipped enough to pretty much just lean back and go from 90 degrees to 80 degrees with rocks on your back, ha) atleast a few times... and I'm proud to say I just fell once... but oh goodness.. that once gave me another big honker of a bruise, and another aching twist in my low back... shoot. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or throw up in that moment... but I just kept pressing on and finally made it down to level ground. Then we rode the boat over to the pick up point... and rather insanely, hopped out of the boat to let guests be taken over, and proceded to run the hiking path over to the property. It was one of those exhausting but incredibly good feeling runs... and at the end, jumping right into the sea was definitely a reward well worth it all! :)

The other slip and slide stories are less glamorous... but just as painful (or more!) unfortunately.

While deep cleaning the guys bathroom trailer... I slipped on the steps right outside the door. The steps and the bottom of my flip flops were slick and wet, and I had my hands full of cleaning supplies so I couldn't catch or steady myself. I looked just like a goofy cartoon whose feet sweeps out from underneath him and they land on their butts usually breaking through the stairs, a bucket of water on their head, and little birdies flying around... I didn't break the stairs, but they definitely left their colorful imprint on me (like I said, those bruise pictures can be found buried in my facebook albums if you're curious enough!)! I didn't have a bucket of water on my head, but I did have the little toilet cleaner brush basins fall over onto me. Thank the LORD we had just FINISHED cleaning them and filling them up with CLEAN BLEACH instead of ... well, yeah, you know, lol. AND, as far as I know, there were no stars or birdies around my head... now bees and flies - highly likely, LOL. Oh... and I still finished cleaning the bathrooms... and ate a chocolate bar as a reward for myself! :)

And... just like last time, with the slip and sliding down the streets or up the stairs stories... now I have to ashamedly add bus steps to that. Good grief, I didn't realize I was so clumsy. But sure enough, bout lost my flip flop underneath the bus the other day while I was trying to climb up onto it with my hands full of grocery bags and my big envelope of cat scan x-rays. Oh, wait a site I must have been. This time it was the old ladies looking at me with the look of concern trying to help me get up onto the bus!!

Which reminds me... old ladies slipping and falling... yeah, just the other day on my way to work, one fell down in front of me. I actually missed it because she was behind a car, but after hearing it and walking around it... and seeing her laying on her back on the ground, eyes clothes, hand up over her head... I was scared she had dropped dead! Thank goodness she saw and heard me when I stuck out my hand, asked if she was okay, and could help her up. It was fun to understand her Greek words of gratitude and thanks. :)

Okay, that's enough rambling on this slip and slide saga for today. I'm off to fly on a plane to Ireland, woohoo!! Hopefully I don't slip and slide there, ah!

An "inconvenient" adventure, TAKE TWO!

2009-08-20T09:09:00.003-05:00

So... how about a quick update on my doctor situation? :)

Basically, if you'll skip down to my last post and analyze that diagram of random letters and numbers... you can pretty much just add 5 "C-11's" to the end, haha. + calls and texts to 09.

I did have to go back and have another CATscan... but thankfully I didn't have to pay for it. For fun, just to add even more extra adventure, on my way there I hopped on a different random bus going in the same direction to see if I could still find my way there... it went way past the road my other bus goes on, but I walked a few blocks in the RIGHT directions from the other bus stop, and still found the place. Boo-yah! I was so proud of myself!! :)

This time it went much quicker as well... haha, but almost too quick - I didn't feel like I had to pass out this time - maybe because they let me lay down the whole time instead of moving from room to room and sitting in different chairs after they inject me with medicine, hehe - BUT, they did squirt my blood all over the place and popped my blood vessel where they stuck the IV in... oops!

Anyhoo... the next day I went back again to pick up the results. I couldn't read them, of course... but it was a longer report than the last time, so I assumed they at least saw something this time! The secretaries in the office that night weren't the same ones that I'd started to become friends with, and they were a little less willing to help out a poor, dumb, English-speaking girl, haha. So I decided it really didn't bother me to wait another day to know what was wrong with me!

On the way home, however, I drove through an area where I'd been to another doctor a couple times before, so I got off the bus and walked to doc R5's to see if he could see anything in the results, or at least read them for me! Turns out the office was completely torn apart, ha - must be remodeling, and no one was around... *sigh. Abandoned... I just laughed, and bought some chocolate from the kiosk before walking back to the bus stop to go... not home, but to a friend's place for some fun, lol.

But then... my wonderful oral surgeon calls me that night. Now, back up just a second - I have to tell you about this last guy (O9 on the diagram, lol). He has been incredibly patient and helpful and concerned for me the entire time. He called up the CATscan place to make sure they'd let me go through another one for free, and to reiterate exactly the area and type of scan he had asked them to do in the first place. He has also been the best at explaining what could possibly be going on to me. And now... he listened to me as I stumbled through reading the Greek on the report to him over the phone. I sounded like a first-grader just learning to read, lol. He made me read it twice, ha.

It basically said that they can't see anything major wrong in my skull, but they do see the swelled area, and recommend getting an MRI next. My doc just said to wait until we both get back from our vacation times, and he'll have a look at everything and recommend what to do next. So, for now, I just keep living with this swollen bump in my lower right jaw... It hasn't been horribly painful as of late, just quite tender, so that's nice... but about every other week it puffs out my cheek bigger than normal, joy... cute, haha. :P There are worst things; I shall not complain. :)

Ah, in the meantime... I should be sending in all my x-ray/CATscan bills into my insurance company... whoops! Better get on that.

Until the next update... :) Keep praying the cause will be found so it can just all go away. Also pray that I'll think of some creative, good ways to stay in contact with all the doctors and nurses and secretaries... and to encourage them and thank them for helping me! :) Lord - let your light that's alive in me, shine on them. Help them ALL to know you!! :)

An "inconvenient" adventure...

2009-07-30T16:16:00.005-05:00

Listen to my journey with a crazy physical health issue I've been dealing with the last couple of months...

Beginning of May...
Off and on for one week, whenever I'm plodding down the big hill on my way to work, there is an odd, annoying sensitivity in my jaw/gums/teeth area of the back right side of my mouth.

A couple of weeks later...
One day there appears a very noticeable swelling in the "crevice" between my right cheek and jaw/gums. Hmm... wonder what that is?

I ignore it for about a week...
It didn't hurt too badly, but it bothered me a bit because it was obviously abnormal.

Then, let the pain begin...
I went to hug a friend one day that first week of June, and my face bumped their shoulder just in the "right" spot. OUCH!! I could no longer ignore the subtle dull pain that was now growing into a constant pain that continues to be swollen and irritable. For a couple days it became challenging to open my jaw as far as normal... eh, not good... hehe

So... the doctor marathon begins...
I first go to a dentist recommended by friends in the mission. Very nice guy who we'll call D1. He sends me to get an x-ray at a different place a ways up the main road... then I go back to him, and he can't help me so he sends me on to the first specialist...

Let's just make a diagram: (the initial represents the name of the place, a new line equals a new day, and the new numbers are a running total of the number of places I've been or doctors I've tried to contact...)

D1 => X2 => D1
E3 => R4 => F5
R4
P6 => O7?
O8?
P6
O9 => E10
C11
C11 => O9
C11

C11??
O7???
O8???
...........?????????

Alright, that may not make much sense to you, but it definitely does to me! Each of these symbols represents a relationship with a new doctor, dentist, endodonist, x-ray man, radiologist, cat-scan person, nurse, doctor's assistant, receptionist, pharmacist, periodontist, oral surgeon, or??... even a bus driver!! That nearly sums it up... :)

All this, and I still unfortunately have no answer about what is wrong with me.

I had been waiting to even post this story because I was hoping to finally have some sort of answer before I did... but it turns out the CATscan results I brought to the oral surgeon tonight are not complete enough to see the swelled area... soooo, yeah, there's a chance I'll have to get another CATscan... blah. :(

Some possible theories for this problem...

It could be related to the surgery I had to remove my wisdom teeth 1.5 years ago... (which I was fully awake for, what an adventure!... including not having enough numbing stuff (or laughing gas for that matter, sheepers!!) and totally feeling them start the cutting process, and nearly choking on a piece of tooth at one point... aaaand, then having the entire De Jong family pictures that night, haha! aaaanyhoo...)

The issue with this theory being the right one is that I have had MANY "teeth" people negate it by assuring that the tooth is vital. (a.k.a. - the possible damaged root isn't bad enough to cause this type of odd swelling infection(?))

If it is truly an infection of some kind, what else could be infected in that area? And why would it not have completely drained and gone away when one part did split open a bit and bleed and ooze some one night... or go away after I was taking antibiotics for one week...

Will I get another CATscan? eh? I have no idea... sure hope I don't have to pay for it again if I do!! I'll remember to eat a little more before I go this time so I don't have to almost pass out again!

This has been quite the process... but through it all I've
- developed even more confidence to handle stuff like this on my own,
- met a lot of nice doctors and other people,
- learned a bit more about how my insurance works,
- understood some new medical terms in Greek,
- conceded not to beat myself up for taking the time to deal with this "inconvenient" issue...
- and yeah, just a bunch of other good things have come out of this experience. And now I'll be able to recommend good doctors to people, and I can relate to others that have to have a CATscan or their teeth vitality checked or... the list goes on! :)

I like this prayer from an encouragement/daily scripture & prayer e-mail I get each day... May you come to know your Divine Healer intimately! :)

O Divine Healer, we thank you for the ways in which you transform our lives. Thank you for healing our bodies, minds, and souls. With lives transformed by you, we go out today to tell others of the wonderful ways in which you have blessed us. Amen.

Thanks to all who have been encouraging me and praying for me through this unique adventure... :)

Slip and slide! :)

2009-07-18T14:16:00.004-05:00

What a better way to bring my LOL blog back to life
but to tell a LAUGH OUT LOUD story:

This afternoon I was walking from my bedroom to the kitchen to get a drink when I noticed the tile floor under one of my wicker chairs in the living room was shinier than usual. I was pondering the reason for this as I continued on towards the kitchen, when all of the sudden I nearly slipped and fell onto my backside (for like the 5th time this week! ...those stories to come in just a moment).

I had just finished a load of laundry... and I had forgotten to put the water hose into the sink drain. OOPS!!! I have never been more thankful to NOT have carpet because there was water all across my bathroom, hallway, kitchen, dining room, entryway and living room, hahahaha... so yeah, basically everywhere but the bedrooms. Nothing was damaged because my floors were clear; they were just telling me that it was time to mop, lol. A few days ago when I was cleaning I had decided to ONLY sweep this week. From now on, I know what I have to do to quickly and efficiently mop the floors, LOL!

I promised more "slip and slide" stories... so here they are:

Last week at our ministry campsite, I woke up early with my sister and friend to climb up the mountain to watch the sunrise. We made it to the top of the fenced-in property line, but I was determined to go beyond it to the look-out point I had been to last summer. The girls waited by the fence while I ventured ahead to look for the path clearing. I didn't make it more than 10 steps before the "big sturdy rock" I was climbing over gave way beneath my feet. All of the sudden I was toppling down the mountain-side... OUCH! My awful fall ended with me sprawled on my back, feet-end up the mountainside, head-end down, and that darn rock planted on my right ankle - as if pinning me there upside down so all the blood could rush to my head.

Praise the Lord I was able to move the rock, get up... and actually walk, haha! I was sporting some nasty scrapes and a couple of rainbow-colored bruises on my thigh and back after that, but I was mostly just grateful for no broken bones or swollen ankles!! I took a picture of the thigh bruise - perhaps I'll post it eventually... it's not loaded on to this particular computer yet.

I said in my first story that it was like the 5th time that I had survived an unexpected slip and slide... here's why:

Almost every day while I walk up and down the hills in my neighborhood, I nearly fall down at some point or another - because the sidewalks here are so stinkin' slick... and my poor flip flops have absolutely no traction... SCHNIKEES!

After all of these slips, and twists, and turns... I'm really missing my chiropractor! But if finding myself a chiropractor in Greece turns out to be anything like finding a doctor to treat my swollen jawbone, I'm not sure I have the energy for it this month. Maybe I'll post my "endodontist adventures" tomorrow...

Cell phone

2009-04-27T14:03:00.002-05:00

So...
I lost my cell phone on a bus last week...
A little frustrating when I first realized what had happened, not gonna lie.
I went through this whole "lost and found" Christian analogy lesson in my head, ya know, trying to smooth away all the angry feelings and let even this be an occasion for joy. LOL... right. Went through all the excuses in my head - oh, it's okay, it was a fairly cheap phone anyway... ah, but I liked my cheap, simple phone... ah man, I lost all my messages and contact info... ah shucks, do I really need to pay for a new one... hey, I can't get ahold of anyone tonight, I literally know no one's number but my own... hey... it's actually kind of nice for once to be out of such close contact with everyone who may "need to get ahold of me."

Soooo... the next day, God sent an encouragement my way - a HUGE, unexpected, overflowing care package from some dear friends of mine. Wow... what a blessing. And with the card, there was a check for exactly the cost of the phone I had lost... whoa. Okay God, tears... yup, the tears of joy, let them overflow.

And then... the search for a new phone. I was quite excited when I realized that at least I would be able to keep my same number so I don't have to tell everyone else a new number! And then I relentlessly tugged away at my "tight, Dutch" nature, and decided to splurge a bit on a "pretty" nice phone since I haven't bought anything for myself in awhile, and a few friends told me with their gifts that I should do exactly that at some point while I was here. Sooooo... I got a new phone - and it's a "jewel." Literally... the Motorola Jewel. pretty cool. :) And the best part was - I got to make another new friend - the girl who worked at the COSMOTE shop. She helped me for a long time that night, explaining things about how the phone system works that I hadn't understood so clearly before. And after that, I told her to enter her name into my phone as my first new contact... :) Her name was Natassa - the same name as one of my other really, really great friends here in Greece! It made me smile, really big. Thanks for another fun relationship that I could start with another beautiful Greek girl.

Okay God, thanks for greatly redeemed a mildly frustrating situation. :)

And then today when I heard of how a friend of the ministry's house got broken into last night - and so many things stolen - like a new laptop, camera, money, etc... I thought to myself, whoa... and I just had to deal with the very minor stress of losing a cell phone. What can I say to encourage this family? I could think of nothing except how surely I know that God somehow redeems every single minor or major frustrating, awful, evil, upsetting situation in this world for good and for his glory. I pray that this family will somehow be comforted by that powerful truth.

People...

2009-04-27T13:51:00.002-05:00

I love people...
I love talking to people...
I love understanding people...
I love Greek people...
I LOVE my Greek neighbors -
Anna and her elderly mom - across the street on the opposite 4th floor balcony...
George and Ritsa - my neighbors next door in my apartment...

I love laughing with them as we stutter through broken phrases, a few words here and there in both English and Greek... trying to understand one another... aaaaahahaha...

I love it... but oh... it can be frustrating because, like I said...
I love people...
I love talking to people...
I love understanding people...

I want to understand Greek... NOW...
So I can TALK to these people...
and understand all people speaking GREEK to me...

AH!!...
patience Meg, patience...

For now...
At least...
I really love smiling at people... :)

(And I think smiles are worth a thousand words...)

Turkey, Wedding, Germany...

2009-04-07T16:49:00.005-05:00

What do these three things have in common?...

Hehe, well nothing much except that I will have gone to all three of them in less than three weeks! :)

Here's the e-mail I just sent to my supporters. I just painfully realized my e-mail lists aren't even completely up to date anymore, so I haven't been sending to all of the contacts I want to, oops... Oh well, it will be okay. I don't need to let this sharing of the blessings God has poured out in my life become a burden or a stress. And as soon as it gets to that point, I need to immediately stop what I'm doing and re-focus my main goal - to bring glory to God in absolutely everything! :)

So anyhoo, like I was saying... here's that e-mail I sent. Enjoy! :)

Hi friends,

I just wanted to say a quick thanks for praying for me as I made a trip to Turkey last week. It was a wonderfully blessed time of encouraging the missionaries we stayed with while we were there. I wish I had time to share more details with you, but I'm actually preparing to go on another trip to Germany in the next couple of hours... I will be going to the Mission-Net conference to promote our Operation Joshua vision and Hellenic Ministries in general. It should be a blast! Visit http://www.mission-net.org to find out more about it.

Right after I get back from that I will be going straight to the Hellenic Ministries campsite property, Porto Astro, where we will have a family conference, sharing our stories of God's faithfulness in our lives through the year, and just truly enjoying the fellowship of our amazing staff. I'm super excited for it. We each wrote up a year in review report. A lot of mine is information that I have already shared with you, but I thought I'd attach it and copy the report for you anyway. :) Enjoy!

The picture I've attached was taken after I went to a wedding this past weekend (right after I got back from Turkey!). It was a truly blessed celebration of perfect love - 1 John 3:16... there is no greater love than this - that you lay down your life for your brothers. The Gospel was shared and beautiful music was sung. I was so blessed to be there... my first "big fat" Greek wedding, hehe. After the wedding, my Greek friends went and hung out at a great cafe and had yummy drinks and desserts.

The next day we went to church together, had lunch, and then... they asked me to go bowling with them. I still hadn't been home yet to change out of the dress I wore to the wedding. But I absolutely cannot say no to bowling.. sooo... yes, I went. And I was the bowling queen, hehe. I totally beat everyone...even though it was my first time bowling in a dress, lol! (You must share this with Grandma & Grandpa DJ, Mom & Dad... it's all because of the great practice we've had all these years every thanksgiving!!)

Anyway, I really must go for now. May you be blessed to be a blessing this week. And make sure you share this e-mail with anyone and everyone who may be interested... and share their e-mail with me so I can add them to my list!! :)

Until I have the opportunity to share more of God's blessings with you...

Meggan

**And here's my report, copy/pasted...

“Where are you leading me, Lord? I want to follow. Help me to be obedient!”

I have been blessed to be a blessing…

…just like God blessed Abraham to be a blessing to the nations. Through countless opportunities and experiences, I have been able to learn and grow and let the blessings overflow to everyone I meet! I have also been loved so deeply by God and wonderful family and friends that I feel especially empowered to share that amazing love with others. And I have been invited into an amazing adventure of living life to the fullest through the grace and hope I have in Christ, and I want to spend my life spreading that invitation to the ends of the earth!

Last year at this time…

…I was preparing to graduate from college with a double major in Music Ministry and Christian Education Ministry, and I was constantly coming up with new ideas for what God and I might do together next! Random options ranged from being a princess at Disney World, to traveling the world writing travel guide books, to staying right in Iowa working at a Christian college or as a youth leader, missions coordinator, and/or worship leader at a church. I told everyone that it did not matter where I went or what I did, because I would have a “missionary” focus wherever I lived. It was just a matter of discerning where my passions intersected with the needs God kept on my heart.

So I applied for a job at my college…

…that everyone told me I would be perfect for. While I was trying to make my plans work together, God decided to throw in a spectacular twist. All of the sudden, the dream I thought I had always wanted was being offered to me on a silver platter, but I did not feel any peace about it. This created perfect timing for God to give me a glimpse of the plans he wanted to lead me towards for my future.

The day before I flew to Greece to start a summer of ministry with HM…

…I heard the news that they offered the college job I had applied for to someone else.

The next day I arrived at the Athens airport…

…and heard the news about the trip to China. I am not sure what Johnathan thought when I raised my hand to say, “Yeah, sure, my plans have changed recently; I’ll go to China with you…” But a few weeks later when I reminded him of my call to go, he immediately put me on the phone with Sarah Wheway who helped me settle all of the practical details for joining the team! I am still in awe of the Lord’s guiding hand through it all. What a privilege it was to serve and worship with the OG3 team, following an already amazing summer at the sports camps and Operation Joshua.

As I cried out to God…

…that he would give me the eyes and ears to sense his leading, and the strength and courage to follow, I can testify excitedly that he answered my prayer! As I continued to cry out to the Lord about the next step to take after our summer adventure together, I had no question about the direction he was giving me the peace and assurance to follow. I was praying for less attachment to my possessions and comforts and more reliance on God alone for my every need. I was praying for God to help me follow him with abandon – to trust him more with each and every life decision, big or small. I was praying for a place to use my gifts and passions. I was praying for clarity in the BEST ways to encourage my friends and family with what God was doing in my life... and basically I had no other option but to follow the Lord calling me to share my story, raise support, and move to Greece.

And after four months of tremendous blessing and provision through my friends and family in Iowa, I returned to Greece on January 16, 2009, to live and love with joy.

So I continue to pray…

…because prayer isn’t just for the greatest work… it IS the greatest work, drawing me into an ever more intimate relationship with my Creator, Lord, and King. My Father, Savior, Friend… :)

I pray for…

…FOCUS on THE goal - running after Jesus Christ with all of my heart, soul, might, and strength... for I am NOTHING without you, God. Lord, I need you near me, and I thank you for your presence that I feel amongst my brothers and sisters at our family staff meetings, and I thank you that we are united together through our individually seeking you first.

I pray…

…that I will be in TUNE to the Holy Spirit's leading. It is so annoying when an instrument in the band is out of tune with the others... so Lord, keep me united with your Spirit, empowering me with the courage to add my part to the glorious harmonies of the beautiful redemption symphony you are composing in this world. :) Thanks for those moments your Spirit has led me to share a special song in these last few months, and thanks for clarity for which Greek church family to invest my time with.

I pray for…

…connections and relationships. I have already had the chance to catch up with many friends that I made last summer, and I have also made SO MANY new friends through the Bible school, HM ministry events, visiting various church congregations, and taking advantage of opportunities like Mission Konnect. I am very excited to get to know more of the HM “BASIC” extended family. :) And I want more and more and more of this, God... Thanks for making me such a relational person! :)

I pray…

…that God will continue to keep me filled up to overflowing with his joy, peace, and love, empowering me to pierce the darkness of this world with the light of Christ.

I expect…

…to be a blessing and encouragement. After arriving once again at the Athens airport this January, my buddy, Janet, picked me up, and on the car ride down to my new home, she asked me what my expectations were for my time in Greece. I said, “To be an encouragement – that is my only expectation.“ As our OG3 team “archerers” (inside joke) theme verse says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as In fact you are doing.” (1 Thess 5:11).

And I am filled…

…with a huge sense of passion for the Operation Joshua vision that I get to spend the majority of my time working with according to my role in our HM family. Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

There is so much more I wish I could say…

…but I feel helpless to share the massive list of things I have been praising God for since my arrival – because once you start seeing Jesus all around you, it is quite hard to stop. So for me who likes to record every special moment, I grieve the thought of forgetting something. But then I remember, God knows - he is writing my redemption story and using my voice in his redemption song. I am so excited to see the next chapter and sing the next chorus as I continue to surrender all of my plans, hopes, and dreams into the hands of the One who blows my petty, tiny, puny visions out of the water… and I hope that it includes me staying here and working with you all as long as possible!

My "brief" biography

2009-03-22T20:29:00.004-05:00

So... for the North American Hellenic Ministries board (NACOM) meeting a few weeks ago, each of the missionaries here was supposed to write up a quick little biography description with our prayer requests so that the board members would know us better (especially since there have been so many of us that are new!), and how best they could be praying for us. Like I just posted, I can definitely feel those prayers being answered! But anyway, I thought I would expose my dorky self by showing you the process I went through to cut my "brief" bio down as small as possible so that it wouldn't be drastically longer than everyone else's. Oh, the crazyness of being such a passionate creative writer... haha. So, are you ready for a good laugh? Let me copy and paste the various drafts for you... (I'll mostly just post the "background" section.. because that is what I modified the most times... the rest was pretty much the straight forward format that everyone followed): (And if you're bored and truly don't care... please feel free to just skip below to the final product!):

Background: I am the oldest of three in a close-knit Christian family. I have lived in two small town, Dutch communities, and I am thankful for the long-term relationships these places naturally cultivate to make me feel known, loved, and encouraged. God gave me a clear calling to ministry in high school, and the opportunities to lead worship and plan church/mission events haven't stopped since. In 2008, the summer after I graduated from college, I connected with HM as a member of the Pioneers Edge team. I helped with the sports camps, OJ, and even a "last minute call" to OG3, China. In January 2009, I moved to Greece to serve with HM for as long as God allows.

Background (choppier...): Oldest of three in a close-knit Christian family. Thankful to feel known, loved, and encouraged through long-term relationships cultivated in the two small town, Dutch communities I have lived in. Since receiving a clear calling to ministry in high school, opportunities for me to lead worship and plan church/mission events keep arising. Summer 2008 - Pioneers Edge team member. In addition to helping with the sports camps and OJ, I followed the call to OG3, China. January 2009 - moved to Greece to serve with HM for as long as God allows.

Meggan De Jong
From: Sully, Iowa, USA
Training: BA in Music Ministry & Christian Ed. Ministry from Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa
Background: Oldest of three in a Christian family. Thankful to feel known, loved, and encouraged as part of the two small town, Dutch communities I have lived in. After call to ministry in high school, have had continuous opportunities to lead worship and plan church/mission events. Summer 2008 - Pioneers Edger. Helped with sports camps, OJ, and followed the call to OG3, China. January 2009 - moved to Greece to serve with HM for as long as God allows.
Current Prayers: Connections & relationships, Focus on THE goal, In tune to the Holy Spirit’s leading, Filled to overflowing with the love, joy & peace of Christ

Background: Oldest of three in a Christian family with small town community roots. Lots of opportunities to lead worship & plan church/mission events. Connected with HM the summer of 2008 to help with camps and Operation Joshua, and then went to China for OG3. In January 2009, came back to Greece to serve long term with HM.

And the winner is... duhn, duhn, duh...

Meggan De Jong
From: Sully, Iowa, USA
Training: Music Ministry & Christian Ed. Ministry - NW College, Orange City, Iowa
Background: Oldest of three in a Christian family with small town community roots. Lots of opportunities to lead worship & plan church/mission events. Connected with HM to help with camps and Joshua, Summer ’08. Went to China for OG3. Back to Greece to serve long term with HM, January ‘09.
Current Prayers: Focus on THE goal; Connections & relationships; In tune to the Holy Spirit’s leading; Filled to overflowing with the love, joy & peace of Christ

Okay, yes, that was the final one, I promise. Commence laughing NOW! ;)

Overflowing with joy, peace,... and snot!

2009-03-22T19:26:00.003-05:00

The last 10 days or so have been absolutely wonderful...

I have been filled to overflowing with joy and peace, just as I have been praying for since I arrived in Greece.

Unfortunately, I have also had a cold, and while the worst of it had ended after just a couple of days... I still am overflowing with that lovely stuff that comes with colds, yeah... blah, lol. Seriously, is there no end? :)

Oh well, all of the good stuff has definitely overshadowed that annoyance!

I am in the middle of writing a report to share with my new fellow Hellenic Ministries missionaries at our family conference coming up in mid-April. I'll likely post it eventually... but for now, it's enough to say that each of my primary prayer focus points for this season of my life are being answered in very special ways...

They are for:
Connections and Relationships
Focus on THE goal
Staying in tune to the Holy Spirit's leading
Being filled to overflowing with the love, joy, and peace of Christ

**I have so many new connections and relationships I am building in Athens already that I am actually starting to get concerned that I have too many friends, haha. Is that a bad problem? I am praying the Lord will help me be faithful to encourage and spend quality time with those he leads me to invest most in... I just... wow, yeah, can't even begin to start listing all of the very special people that I have met so far, mostly because I don't want to leave any of them out! They range from being random people I have met on a bus, to students from Canada and America here for a few weeks or a few months, to Greek students in Bible studies, to fellow classmates from all over the world learning modern Greek with me, to adult men and women of all ages at church or Bible studies who have offered much encouragement and wisdom, to fellow missionaries from a number of different organizations all over Athens, and... yeah, okay, I could go on, but I should stop... Again, Lord, thanks for making it such a passion of mine to meet new people and start new friendships!! :)

**My prayer last summer was for the eyes and ears to see and hear clearly where the Lord is calling me, and then to have the courage and strength to respond. That is still my prayer, but I've modified the "focus" of that a bit.
The eyes - for "FOCUS on my one and only goal, Jesus Christ!" As I am seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all else will be added... and oh, it sure has been, let me tell you! :)
The ears - to stay IN TUNE to the Holy Spirit's leading. I want to keep developing an ever more clear sense of when the Holy Spirit nudges me to respond to his promptings for steps big or small. I want to know and recognize the voice of the Lord so intimately that I don't have to doubt or question it.

**And oh my goodness, I have been overflowing SO MUCH with the love, joy, and peace of the Lord. In fact all through last week I kept making the comment to some of my friends that if God wasn't careful, he was going to drown me in this overflowing flood of his goodness and presence in my life. I LOVE IT! Keep filling me up, Lord! :) I have been able to have a few sweet intimate dates with God... along a beautiful beach, and in my sun-filled room, and during a Greek church service, etc... and I want more. :) Because it is WAY too fun to let the joy, peace, and love that I am filled with, overflow and encourage those around me. It's absolutely wonderful the feeling of not needing any of it in return when I give it out, because, yes, remember: God is keeping me FULL to OVERFLOWING! Then of course in the process of giving it out, it always returns in even greater abundance even though you don't have the sense of needing it... but anyway, of course that is one of the special, beautiful ways that God continually keeps me overflowing! At times I feel almost too giddy to handle it, yeah... really, I'm serious. Haha, I know there was a few times people just kinda chuckled at me like I was crazy when I had this big, goofy grin filling my entire face when they asked me how my week was going... but what can I do? I just can't help it!! :) And I guess for now I'm not yet having a self-conscious complex about being the big "goofy, giddy" girl, haha! ;)

ANYWAY...
Thank you so much Father for everything! :) And thanks for drawing me ever closer to yourself, so that as I am looking to you, others will see a light beam shining brightly, piercing the darkness of this world, and directly pointing the way to you: THE way, THE truth, and the LIFE... Thank you for redeeming me and cleansing me and covering me in your righteousness so that I have this privilege of helping bring glory, honor, and praise to your precious name! I love you, Lord!! :D

Communication

2009-03-07T15:26:00.003-06:00

In the last month...

I have started and completed a 60-hour (that's just CLASS time) Greek language course.

I have met some friendly Greeks on the bus and used the Greek I knew for short, funny, helpful conversations.

I have had so many wonderful, encouraging conversations with...
fellow HM staff; my fellow Athens Center Greek language school classmates; my roommate; new friends at the Bible school, church, and Bible studies; new random friends from various locations in Athens, hehe... etc, etc, etc.

I have sent an update e-mail (or two?) to my personal supporters e-mail list (but unfortunately I recently realized that I forgot to combine the mailing lists for the message(s) to send to my entire prayer network/friends list as well)

I have updated my facebook "Pray for Greece!" page with more prayer requests

I have taken more pictures of Athens and the various settings I am in to communicate with people across an ocean through image... buuut, I haven't exactly posted them all yet, haha, oops.

I have done quite well at responding to individual personal e-mails, facebook wall posts and messages, etc...

I have sent out a mass e-mail to all of the HM constituency.

I have helped organize, offer suggestions, and edit and update content for the HM and Operation Joshua websites.

I have had several great meetings about being an important part of HM's "new" communication team.

I have helped set new communication goals for keeping our HM family up to date news, events, and prayer needs.

I have composed letters to communicate with major donors about financial needs, but most importantly to ANYONE and EVERYONE about helping us communicate the Operation Joshua vision and join our prayer team.

I have experienced mutual encouragement with the Mission-Net staff as I have been communicating with them about the details for having HM present at their conference in April.

I have shared my life story (the "15 minute version," hehe) with fellow missionaries - the Campus Crusade group who I didn't even have to wait for Mission-Konnect to connect with and learn ALL of their names. :)

I have felt the Lord's presence and voice speak to me SO clearly that I wept.

I have been able to communicate (in TWO more new contexts) God's word through the memorized Scripture, with God's help, I have permanently engraved into my heart and mind.

I have creatively communicated God's love and praise through MUSIC, YEAH!!! :)
...at a Brazilian church (SO FUN!)
...at the Hall
...at the Bible school
...at basically any random piano I come across!

I have had some WONDERFUL, precious phone conversations with friends and family back home.

I have been writing in my personal journal nearly every night, conversing with God about my day, and praying for my friends through creative writing.

I have probably forgotten some of the opportunities that I have been able to communicate with people...

So....

I HAVE been communicating A LOT... (and I am SO thankful for the passion God has given me for communicating and the special ways he is leading me to use this gift!!!!!)

but...

I have NOT posted to my blog...

AH, whoopsies... For you faithful readers out there, forgive me! I really will try to do better this month!! :) But if worse comes to worse... try to find me through another various form of communication I am doing better at. Chances are I am still communicating what God is doing in my life SOMEWHERE in this web world. But if not, well, I AM doing so in live conversation, so I guess you'll just have to set up a date to come visit me in person!!!! :)

I Want to Serve

2009-02-04T10:10:00.002-06:00

Love Meal - February 2, 2009

After House of Worship on Sunday night, I met David. He had found my “Pray for Greece!” facebook group and was interested in serving at the love meals. I told him we would be happy to have his help, especially since this week we had predicted that we might be short-handed. He asked where and when; I told him to come back to this same place anytime tomorrow afternoon; and he showed up right when he said he would. We had actually finished setting up already, but it gave everyone a chance to chat and get to know him better through fellowship and prayer. As the night went on, he served with his “natural bouncer abilities” – standing at the door to welcome those eager to come in, and he participated in the dirty bathroom clean-up work afterwards – rubber gloves, mop, and all. We had to test his authentic willingness to serve with us, no matter what the job, right? :) He maintained his ready and willing attitude, and we expect he will return to serve with us again at future meals. I am always very blessed by the way God connects his family together through prayer and service.

Colossians 1:22-24 – “Obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.”

Operation Joshua: Search for a Campsite

2009-01-27T10:22:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, January 24, 2009, three HM friends and I woke up well before sunrise to drive down to the next area of the Peloponnese to be blanketed with Greek New Testaments. First stop: Kalamata, Messenia. While searching for the ideal campsite proved challenging, you might say it was less difficult than navigating the numerous one way streets of Kalamata! We already started praying for extra patience and wisdom on the day our distribution teams will join forces to put the Word of God’s life-giving truth into the hands of this city’s residents.
As the day progressed, we visited several campsites along the sea that were either too small or too filled with trees to accommodate our event needs. With nothing promising near Kalamata, it was time to drive to the opposite side of our targeted bay area in search of the few other campsite options we had pinpointed on the map. After a couple more unfortunate dead ends, God led us to a hopeful possibility. Located on top of a hill, this site has a beautiful view of the nearby sea and mountains; it offers great options for our cooking and program needs; and most importantly, we developed a friendly relationship with the owner (almost as good as the one we shared with his incredible dog, Rex!).
Not only did God bless our day with a great campsite location, but our trip was also filled with fun fellowship and lots of laughter - especially during a couple of the most unique events, including two of us getting soaked in a downpour at the most inconvenient time, and our final stop resulting in a backseat full of freshly picked oranges. Praise God for safety on the roads and divine appointments with campsite owners. Please pray that God fills us with wisdom as we continue to work through the details to accomplish this Bible distribution vision. To God, and God alone, be the glory!

Ready to go!

2009-01-14T23:31:00.002-06:00

Wow...

It's finally here. I leave for Greece in about 12 hours, ah! :) I have to admit today was a bit stressful. Getting everything packed that I think I might need this year was... intense, haha. I was hoping to travel as light as possible... and let's just say I'm not going as light as I'd hoped, but as my mom keeps reminding me, I am going to be away for a YEAR, so I shouldn't view taking a few extra things as such a bad thing. I guess it just bothers me because I KNOW there are SO MANY people who live with SO MUCH LESS, and I had just wanted to challenge myself to live really simply too, weining myself off of an attachment to "stuff." I suppose if I had thought through more clearly how determined I wanted to be to slim down my packing list, today wouldn't have been so hard for me. I'm one of those people who over-analyzes everything to try to come up with the best possible result... in like, everything, lol..., which makes me a pretty slow-mover (or atleast it will often seem that way to the more "get 'er done" people!). So when my dearly loving, helpful, Mom tries to help me pack, we clash!! She's a much better "just do it" person. So, I suppose in the end, we balanced each other out, and all in all, it was a successful day, with compromises made both ways. Dad came along later this afternoon to help finish it off and get everything weighed just right. I'm so thankful for such loving, supporting, helpful parents!! I'm also incredibly thankful for the phone calls from two of my amazing friends who really listened, encouraged, and even prayed for me right over the phone today... and so many more who have been doing that for me all week, and through facebook messages, and cards, and... yeah, everything, it's great! :)

I feel SOOOO loved and encouraged, it's ridiculous! ;) And I'm super eager to let what I've been filled up with overflow to all I meet! :D

While I didn't perfectly accomplish every goal that I set for myself while I was at home these last four months... I have still had a blast and "accomplished" much more in other areas I wouldn't have dreamed of. I love how God just expands my plans like that so often! ;) I'm looking forward to journaling and reminiscing and thanking God lots for the blessings of this season at home while I'm traveling the next few days. And then, I'll be preparing my heart for this new adventure ahead!! Give me your eyes and ears, to see and hear YOU, and the courage to follow where you lead me, Lord! Moment by moment... day by day... week by week, every month, every year... :)

And right now... I am absolutely freezing. I'm pretty sure we're reaching record lows here in Iowa as the temperature keeps dropping well below freezing. While the weather in Greece can be pretty cold this time of year as well, I bet I'll feel quite warm when I get there, haha.

So, I'm going to go snuggle up and sleep!!! Oh, and I also sent a message to all the members of my "Pray for Greece!" facebook group this evening... I think I'll post that message on my other blog quick before I sleep. Definitely go read that one too if you've got time. I included lyrics to the song that pretty much sums up my life right at the moment. :) So I must go now, go and follow love. ;)

One Week

2009-01-08T17:25:00.002-06:00

One week ago...
I was having a date night with my whole family. We went to see Marley & Me, Mo & I got a few things at Maurice's with our Christmas gift cards, and we went out for pizza at George's.

A lot more has happened in just one week... I've read a lot of Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz, etc); hung out with great friends: Annette, Alyssa, the Chapmans, the Lewis,' Dave, Holly; I've had a couple Greek lessons, and I've been preparing for my Commissioning service this Sunday. :)

A lot more will happen in this week to come... I will have a shopping/pedicure/movie day with Mom & Mo; I'll go skiing with Dad, Chris & Mo; I'll have my Commissioning service; I'll hang out with more great friends; and I'll pack for Greece!

And exactly one week from now...
I'll be flying to Greece... WOW! :)

The Four Days of Christmas

2008-12-29T04:31:00.002-06:00

I had a wonderful Christmas this year. :) There were four parties in four days, and each day had it's special highlights. Here's a few of them:

Wednesday, 24th, Christmas Eve:

Family Day!
We made our feast together that afternoon and opened our stocking presents at random times
Took a break for the first Home Alone movie in our Home Alone marathon :)
Set the mood for our dinner - setting the table with the fancy dish set used for only this date every year, candles flickered through the dimly lighted room, and manheim steamroller played in the background
Dad reads the Christmas story right before we dig into the yummy food. This year our ham balls took on a little different form - Nice work, Mo. ;)
Then the whole family cleans up together!
Off to the presents! - I got a Precious Moment - the Christmas one that we get every year, but this year I thought it was especially beautiful :) I also got some "Greek lookin'" decorations with nice sayings on them - I especially liked the "Live well, Laugh often, and Love much" one, because in honor of the significance behind the title of this blog, I want to start collecting things that say Live, Laugh, and/or Love. My other favorite gift was this sweet leather covered Franklin Covey planner. It's the perfect thing for me - I've already started to fill it up!!
After goofin' around with our presents for awhile, we watched Home Alone 2. Ah, great times, great times. :) It'd been quite awhile since I've seen these movies, and they're just seriously funny!!
Then our parents went to bed, and... Mo, Chris, and I were nearly there ourselves when a random idea came along... but since it happened right about midnight, let's move on to Christmas day 2!

Thursday, 25th, Christmas Day

During the first hour of the day, Mo, Chris, and I are bundled up and sledding in our backyard. We even snowboarded, made a snow angel, and actually ALL went down the hill on ONE sled a few times. My favorite was pausing for awhile laying on our backs lookin' up at the beautiful night sky. It was so clear, and the stars were so bright! :)
Our little mid-night adventure didn't end there. We made a human Christmas card for Mom & Dad. With Morgan's new camera, we took pictures of ourselves forming human letters on our living room floor. Most of them took two of us to make the letter look the best, except for Chris' "T," hehe. Unfortunately the printer was acting up, so our plan was postponed to later today. More details to come... :)
Oh yeah, there was some sleep
Then this morning Mom, Dad, and I sang in the choir at church. It was a beautiful Christmas morning service. There was a neat poem read about the fruits of the Spirit. :) And after singing "Go Light Your World" with the choir, I had it in my head all day. I also got to talk with two of my old L-S classmates who I hadn't seen in awhile, that was great. :)
Then it was off to the community building for the Rozendaal reunion. Soup and sloppy joes were the traditional items on the menu, plus super yummy salads and desserts!
Then a bunch of us ladies played Skipbo. The game lasted quite awhile... and then Great Grandma pulled off a win with a sweet streak at the end! That was fun!
I took a nap this afternoon, and I spent lots of time consolidating my random lists and condensing them into my new planner!
Then it was time to fix up our "human letter spelling" gift. We got the printer to cooperate, and then spelled out "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and hung the letters with yarn across the stairway. Plus we put "We Love You" on the cute picture of us kids that we took right before our sledding adventure. :)
But then Mom & Dad said they were going to bed... how to get them downstairs. Finally, a loud, frustrated whine and "Charlie peed down here again" exclamation got them curious enough to come looking. Our poor dog Charlie, sorry to stick the blame on you, hehe... but atleast we got them to notice our gift on Christmas!
Then we cuddled up on the couch to watch Home Alone 3. :) NIGHT!

Friday, 26th, The Day after Christmas

Today I talked with my parents about packing for Greece. It got a bit stressful...
My stress was relieved when I bought some Skype credit to call up my friend Janet in Greece! :) It was soooo good to talk to her. :) I can't wait to see her in a few weeks! I asked her a lot of the big questions that were stressing my parents out. (yeah, just my parents mostly, since I'm not as anxious yet as I "should" be).
I also made up a short letter to send out soon to all of my supporters with an update about my leaving date, my address in Greece, and my commissioning service details.
This night was the party with mom's side of the family. Cousin Sam & her husband Jer brought cousin Emily with them to to spend Christmas with us. It was great to see them!
First thing, I got to show everyone the T-shirt quilt grandma and I made! It's nearly done!
We had our traditional lasagna, salad, and jello with marshmellows meal. :)
Then we opened presents. A few stockings for all the grandkids were first. Grandma always wraps 5-10 stocking gifts for each kid with that many different kinds of wrapping paper. Then she'll hold up the type of paper we all have to find to open at random times. Ah, memories, hehe... It's starting to lose it's excitement as we get older, but traditions like these can't help but make you smile with the memories. :)
We always exchange names, and this year Sammy had me. She got me some cute jewelry, but what was the coolest is that the necklace said Live, Laugh, Love!!!! And I hadn't told her about my new idea to collect things that say just that. :) Grandma also got me a nice shirt and some sweet guitar chord/scale charts. Now how am I gonna get my guitar to Greece....
The rest of the night we played the games "In a Pickle" and "Hilarium." Good times.
And of course we had our traditional pistachio dessert, mmmm. I almost forgot to mention the apple cider and amazing chex mix and other goodies that kept our taste buds occupied all night. :)
Another great Christmas party! :) One to go...

Saturday, 27th, Birthdays!

I slept in! But unlike on Home Alone, I didn't have a plane to catch, so it was all good. :)
Today is my Aunt Sherry and my cousin Heather's birthday. :)
This afternoon I spent time scheduling dates with all my friends for the week to come.
I also finished reading the sweet Christmas story "Gideon's Gift" by Karen Kingsbury. It's part of her Christmas red glove series she started and finished a few years ago. I received these short stories as gifts over the consecutive Christmas' when they first were published... and now I thought it might be fun to re-read them this Christmas.
I also had some fun conversations with my friends on the phone and facebook
Finally, it was time to go to the last Christmas party - Dad's side of the family
We had a yummy meal including chicken, ham, salad, beans, peach jello dessert, almond bars, and... probably something else good I'm forgetting
Before the meal, I helped filled the personalized glasses with ice, juice or water by the freezer... like every meal at grandmas. :)
After the meal I helped dry dishes and count silverware, hehe... while the younger kids were playing ping pong. Ah, I love it...
Present opening time! The ones who do the most opening are Grandma and Grandpa. Allow me to explain... The tradition of the past several years has been for gma & gpa to give us $20 at Thanksgiving to buy ourselves a gift with by Christmas. Then we wrap it up and bring it to the Christmas party... and we give it to them to open and see what "they got" for us. Then we explain our gift, give them a hug, and get some more money. ;)
This year I bought myself a sweet Greek cookbook with lots of stories about Greece and Greek cooking mixed in between all the recipes.
Afterwards there's more sweet treats and hanging out... This year it included a birthday cake and homemade ice cream in celebration of birthdays!
And albeit a bit silly to share, I was thrilled by the final event of the night... my 2 year old twin cousins had me help them go potty on the big potty! hehe. I was so proud of them, remembering to wash their hands and flush the stool and everything... :)
Before I went to bed tonight, I started to read some random books off my shelf that I either hadn't read or haven't read in awhile.

Overall, what a wonderful Christmas!!! :)

Today was pretty great too... I really thought a lot about the sermons I heard (I posted about them on my other blog). I also watched "Becoming Jane" with Mo & Mom, read some more, and took a nice long nap. Then... I have deeeeefinitely stayed up to late - but it was all for a good skype conversation with a great friend, and of course, catching up on this post about my fun Christmas celebrations.

I've got a big week ahead. Thanks to my planner I have goals listed, plans made, and a schedule to follow. We'll see how well it goes. :)

So much to update!!

2008-12-26T16:44:00.002-06:00

Wow... I'm behind on blogging about all the good stuff going on lately. :) Haha... it's funny how I can rarely start a blog post without saying that. Anyway...

I've really enjoyed the last couple of weeks. Exactly two weeks ago I gave another presentation about my summer, this time at the Sully Christian school. Then I went over to grandma's house to finish arranging my quilt blocks for the massive T-shirt quilt we're making together. And that afternoon I made the long, familiar drive up to NW IA one final time before my adventure to Greece.

The weekend was GREAT! I got to see nearly everyone (and more!) on my "must see" list. There was another special trip to the little town of Nora for Christmas caroling, and then on to Spink for the famous Spink burger. Then it was time already to start saying good-bye to friends. I prefer to call them "cya laters" actually, it's just that this time the "later" will be a bit longer than usual. :) The weekend was chalk full of precious visits with friends, including watching my favorite high schoolers in action at their Traveling Nativity, and hugging my apartment roommates at their sweet Christmas party. I could easily type forever about all the joyous details of each minute of my weekend, but I haven't given myself enough time... :(

Last weekend was another great one. My sister made it home safely from college after her last final, and then last week Friday my whole family (+ Jaden & Trevor!) went out for a very nice meal at the Depot restaurant in Grinnell. I had a lamb chop... mmm!! And my sister and I split an amazing piece of cheesecake for dessert. The next morning Morgan and I went to get professional massages in celebration of her finishing another semester so well. That felt great! That night I went caroling with my church family, we had a nice meal after, and then a bunch of us went to Kristin and Steve Lewis' for games - telephone pictionary and Catch Phrase! We had a blast. We also planned to meet again to start a Bible study. Also, on Sunday morning I got to sing with the choir, and the Holy Spirit prompted me to lead a prayer for our Pastor after he gave a great message about willingly saying "May it be" to God, just as Mary told the angel after he explained she would be giving birth to the Son of God!! :)

This week has been great as well. On Monday I had another Greek lesson with Voula, and we gave eachother sweet holiday treats. On Tuesday I got a lot more cleaning and organizing done in my room. And then on Wednesday the Christmas celebrations began! I would love to share more fun details about all of my Christmas activities so far, but now I need to get going to my 3rd Christmas party. Hopefully by Sunday at the latest I will have made time to share the exciting stories of my "four days of Christmas!"

I'm so thankful to be celebrating Christmas with all my friends and family!!! :) :)

Yesterday, Christmas day... marked exactly 3 weeks from my flight to Greece! :) Keep preparing me well, God!! Thanks for all of the provision and encouragement so far!! :) :)

Living a Life Of Love

2008-12-17T10:28:00.002-06:00

It's been far too long since I've posted to either of my blogs. I guess those goals I set up for myself were somehow intimidating... haha. It's more like I have been busy doing too many fun things, and I haven't given myself time to sit and write about it. But I desperately want to get a post on my smileMEDs page again, so hence my rule of posting everything here first, I wanted to start flushing out what I might try and say on that post before I come back here hopefully later today and give update with more thoughts about what I've been up to lately.
I'm constantly sifting through the stuff in my room and coming up with more and more stuff to give away. I just gave 20 or so hangers a lighter load - nothing! And I boxed up another stack of books that I decided would be best in the hands of someone else who might want to read those words instead of taking up space and distracting me from more important priorities.

As I've said before, I'm praying God will help me strip away and travel with a lighter load, because with less stuff around me, I can better focus on the task in front of me: to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ - his complete self emptying on the cross in order to cover my sins with his precious blood, so that I may have life - and life to the fullest measure of joy for the glory of our awesome God!

I'm also going to post Acts 20:22ff, because I've been meditating on those words lately... and it's especially important to me because it's Paul's words as he is traveling to Jerusalem and he is saying good-bye to his friends who don't want him to go because they know there will be great trial for him there and they probably will never see him again. As I have already started saying good-bye to friends before leaving for Greece, it hits home. Anyway... I've got to post my smileMED now, hehe. :) I'll hopefully be back on here later today.

Sleepless in Sully...

2008-12-10T22:43:00.003-06:00

Oops...
I have not gotten near enough sleep in the last week, and now my health is paying for it. I don't have much of a voice left today. I haven't even been on this blog to update since I made such good plans last weekend! Hehe... oh well, here I am now for a quick update before I hit the sack!

I had a BLAST last Saturday. I had a great time with my family, and then I hung out with some wonderful friends. First on the list was traveling to a South Dakota town with called Spink with Ryan, Chelsea, and the Spidahls. On the way, we sang a new Christmas carol every 5 miles, and in between time we took turns updating everyone on what we've been up to. It was a blast to share, be encouraged, and SING! Then we arrived in Spink - population 8! There's a great little restaurant in an old house that we ate at. It's one of those places you just HAVE to go to atleast once. :) AND so was the next stop of the night - an even SMALLER town called Nora - population 5. In this town there's this cute old house with the main room filled with an organ, a couple pianos, a ton of chairs, and a packed room full of people singing Christmas carols! THIS was so fun! Anyone who can play an instrument is invited to help lead the music... and even I got to play the jingle bells and the piano awhile. I even ran into some of my friends from the Maurice congregation there. I had a wonderful time, so much so that I'm hopefully going back again this weekend... :) It's these simple, yet uniquely beautiful things of life that just... make me SMILE and bubble over with warm fuzzies and nostalgic feelings. :)
The night was far from over after this great adventure. When we got back to Orange City, we said goodbye to the Spidahls, and we searched three dorms and the Christmas formal dance for our friend Andrew. We finally found him a few blocks from the college visiting with other friends. It was so great to see him again! Andrew and Chels had just gotten back from their Romania Study Abroad this week... I missed them very much...
Then we went back to West Hall and sang great classic country hits, bluegrass songs, and old hymns with Ryan at the guitar. I absolutely LOVE doing that. :) At this point it was already past midnight, but of course I just had to stay up a few more hours into the morning to look at some of Andrew's pictures and hear some of his stories from Romania. Fun times! The others hanging out all night in the West "living room" even shared their sparkling juice with us... mmm!

Wow and that was just last Saturday. I said I would try to be quick... I guess I'll just bullet point the rest so I can go to bed super soon...

Said goodbye to MO after breakfast Sunday morning
Went to the candle light service at my church Sunday night - very well put together... my church family members of ALL ages encouraged us with singing, memorized Scripture, and a thoughtful "children's message." I was blessed. :)
I don't even remember everything from my eventful Monday, but I a couple of the highlights were confirming my registration into Greek language school, going out for coffee with my grandma & great grandma, and finally nailing down the rest of the details for my great gift idea for all of my friends and family members for Christmas.
Right before I went to bed I got to talk to my friend Andrew from Canada who will be going back to serve with Hellenic Ministries full time soon too. Yeah!
Yesterday I spent a lot of time cleaning, doing laundry, and coming up with helpful suggestions for Andrew's newly designed webpage. I really enjoy editing things. :)
Today I had a phsyical... woot woot, so exciting...eh. I figured I should try to make sure I'm as healthy as I can be before leaving the country. :)
My other grandma took me out for lunch at the Coffee Cup! I had the Dutch lettuce salad which made the Des Moines Register's list of top 100 things you should eat before I die, hehe. I also split a very yummy peace of pumkin pie with Grandma. Have I mentioned yet that I have an extreme weakness when it comes to anything pumpkin... cheesecake is my other worst dessert weakness!
This afternoon I got a few more things on my to-do list crossed off, from calling friends to set up dates for my one last visit to NW IA this weekend, to sending in receipts to HM for recent expenses... LIKE MY PLANE TICKET and MEDICAL INSURANCE for GREECE!!! :)
Then tonight I hung out with my mom getting groceries, making a great supper (ham steak, rice pilaf, and snap peas!), and going to grandma's house to continue working out the design for my T-shirt quilt! So fun! :)

I have also been making more preparations in my head lately for leaving the country in less than 40 days... I tried looking up tips for traveling light. I also go through a new corner of my room each day and make a box full of stuff to give away. Yesterday it was more stacks of books! Today it was a few more T-shirts, jeans, and coats... which yes I still like, and they still fit, and... they're nice and all. I just don't NEED as much as I've got!

Alrighta, that's a quick catch up on my story for the week...

I should do some more editing for Andrew now... but I really need to sleep, or I don't expect my voice back anytime soon, and I have another presentation for a Christian school chapel on Friday! NIGHT!

Over-due...

2008-12-06T10:23:00.002-06:00

Confession - I haven't posted on this blog awhile.. because I was at 18 posts on my other blog, and like 22 on this one... and I was trying to play catch up. Now my other blog has 21 posts, and this one 22 (make that 23 after I hit Publish Post to this one...), but I had to write on here too...

because... I NEED to state boldly and plainly what my distinct purposes will be for each blog. The ideas have been there... but they've been trapped in muddy water for the last couple months yet, lol. I do want to keep both... even if only for the reason that I love both of the site names I've come up with, hehe.

oh, and I've figured out why it's so hard to keep them distinct for me... it's because I feel like my "encouraging" life and my own "personal learning" life are too hard to separate!! I can't separate the encouragement I want to pour out from the own encouragement God reveals to me through my own life experiences each day!

Nevertheless... I still think it's a valuable goal to regularly attempt to draw boundaries and define purposes - with an allowance of grace to fudge the lines every now and then.

So, here we go:

:) L.O.L. :) blog:
Purpose: Telling my "Living Out Love/Laughing Out Loud" life story as it is being lived out
Boundaries: None... Can "no boundaries" be a boundary? Eh, yeah, I think so, LOL. ;) What I mean by this is - I think this is the blog I will give myself the freedom to be as much "diary-like/stream of conciousness typing/thought sharing/A.D.D. posting" as I want to be!
Posting goals: As often as I have the energy and opportunity to type!

:) M.E.D.s blog:
Purpose: A thought-full, purpose-full sharing of what God is teaching me lately with the distinct thought in mind to encourage others with my story
Boundaries: I need to have posted about whatever I write at this blog in some form on my other blog FIRST. In "writers terms" I'm saying - I need to have "free written/first drafted" these thoughts before I attempt to reflect on them enough to share well with others
Posting goals: Minimum of once a week. First reading through all of my L.O.L. posts since my last smileMED post, and then summing them up as intelligently, creatively, and concisely as my writing skills allow!

YEAH! Okay, that was fun. I'm proud of myself. We'll see how these new boundaries and goals go! :) Now, again, I'm tempted to go back and report on all the goodies of these last few days - like brainstorming how to gather young people in my area to meet in a small group, encouraging Bible study... like my awful Thursday night where my throat closed up all of the sudden, I couldn't swallow, and I had to fall right asleep without finishing the stuff I needed to do to prepare for the next day, like how God helped my presentation Friday morning to go so well - and I even was fairly well over the awful sick feelings of the night before, and how on my long drive up to NW IA I watched the movie Definitely Maybe... and how it makes me reflect so much on my own life and love story. Of course I don't "condone" or "like to watch" all of the details of some of the characters' in this movie's immoral lives... but I do still appreciate the journey of life the characters go through!... AND THEN!... I got to listen to my sister sing with Sophie and Josh squared at the HUB while playing cards with my parents and grandparents, indulging in a yummy "swirlie - equifvalent of a blizzard," and running into old college friends... :) and last night I got a wonderful sleep - after laying awake forever trying to make my own music and thoughts play loud enough in my head to distract me from my parents' snoring... and this morning had a fun little chat with my parents and g-parents in the hotel lobby... and how now I've had this precious time to catch up on my blogging. :) And I'm looking forward to the day ahead - eatting Chinese and going to the movie "four christmases" with my family... plus NW's Vespers concert in the chapel tonight... aaaaand...

that's enough "dairy-like/stream of consiousness typing/thought sharing/A.D.D. posting" for this post, lol. I think I'm getting off to a good start with my purpose and "boundaries" for this blog. ;) Until next time... :D

Life moving on...

2008-11-28T23:42:00.002-06:00

This morning I got to visit my friend Tessa, and see her new home. It's a nice duplex on the East side of Pella, just a block from her work friend's house. I'm so excited for her and her husband RJ! The emotions I go through when I hang out with her these days surprise me...
I'm seriously overflowing with joy and happiness for my friend, but I gotta admit, I thought I might have to battle more jealous feelings than I actually have! So, yeah, don't get me wrong, this is a super good thing! It's really beautiful when the lives of your friends keep moving on. Sometimes it's challenging when they're at different points than you on the journey, but I've definitely asked God to help by filling me with peace, patience, joy, and love, and he has most certainly blessed me to overflowing! I almost have to chuckle at myself when I think over my life these past couple years... because I myself was at the point of helping re-paint a house, and then finding a home to move into, and then dreaming about the future, and... all of that good stuff. God had different ideas in mind than I had been trying to plan for myself, and I can honestly say it has definitely worked out for the best and filled me with more joy and peace than going through with my own plans could have... it's just... "funny sometimes how things don't work out," ya know... but (to finish quoting one of my old fav chick flicks): "it's funny how they do!" :)

BIG week! :)

2008-11-27T23:51:00.002-06:00

Last week at this time I was playing piano in my college choir room, working out all of the chord changes for Morgan's competition last weekend. OH, what a blast that was to be a part of! :) And she won! OH HAPPY DAY!

Wow, I really wish I would have taken advantage of more opportunities to sing with my sister. I wish I would have taken the time to write more songs. I hope that I'll have the opportunity to sing together with her more in the future. It brings me great joy!! :)

Other FUN happenings of this past week included...

...going with my sister to a college play, Terror Texts (terror stories from the Old Testament!)

...going to an Episcopal church service where I worshiped with college friends and professors and pondered scripture from Matthew 25

...going to Disney on Ice with the most animated Disney friend I have. ;) (It was really cute how excited she was! And the show itself was pretty impressive, I must say. I always have thought watching people do amazing tricks on ice was pretty cool. Oh, and we went out for Blue Bunny afterwards... SO good, and I just LOVE the smell of that place. Seriously! I know I'm a dork, but that JUST ABOUT gets me more excited than the taste of the yummy ice cream.)

...singing with my old college choir. (I absolutely love to slip in during their practice when I'm in the area. This is one of the things I miss most about my NWC days...)

...visiting with some of my favorite NWC friends and professors, and even a few of my classmates back home on their break from seminary

...watching some great movies with friends and family... like The Guardian, The Visitor, Reservation Road, and my all time favorite love story to watch this time of year: Serendipity.

...sending out another wave of update letters about Greece to more friends and family!

...discussing getting a young people's Bible study going in my church with some of my favorite friends in the area! :)

...squaring away even more details for my return to Greece - money things, buying a plane ticket!, etc, etc...

...finishing all of my "reading through the Bible" devotions (I had actually finished reading the Bible straight through a few months ago, but got behind on my supplemental readings I was trying to do with it)

...getting Thanksgiving traditions rolling with the big Rozendaal reunion Wednesday night which involved incredible food and fun games of Skipbo

...visiting great grandma (for the last time in her "airport house") with Mom, Mo, and Charlie for more reminiscing through old pictures, cards, invitations, and programs from special events. :)

...and spending today, THANKSGIVING, with my wonderful mom, dad, bro, and sis. We went to church, ate incredible food (thanks for the good cookin' mom!), watched a good movie, played some games, relaxed, and... made plans for the rest of the weekend together.

I'm so so so blessed. What a fun week! And this week ahead is quite jam packed with good things too. I'll continue to do my best to record the details on this blog. :) Off to sleep now!

Fun days... :)

2008-11-21T14:34:00.004-06:00

I drove up to NW IA again yesterday, that's why I didn't have a chance to post. I had such a full day: packing to leave for 4 days, 2 hours of Greek lesson, a visit with an Orthodox priest at a Greek Orthodox church, a visit with one of my students from my high school leadership class last year, a LONG CAR RIDE up north, a practice for NC/DC with my sister Morgan and a bunch of friends, and a LOT of piano playing and music dictation to determine chords (so fun!),...oh, and plus a great late night chat with a friend who let me sleep in her extra bed last night, I heard her neat summer love story. :)

I enjoy marathon days like that. :) :)

Today has been great too. I slept in, showered in the dorm (wow, that brings back old memories, hehe, I don't miss college bathrooms!), and caught up on lots of e-mail communication. Now I'm going to keep practicing and getting ready for a fun re-enactment of the "Oh Happy Day" scene from Sister Act 2. Should be loads of fun! Hopefully I have a chance to catch up on more blogging at some point tomorrow. :) I started to get into a pretty good rhythm this week, I hope to keep it going! :D

More letters!

2008-11-19T23:24:00.002-06:00

Tonight I am busy again sending out more and more letters to friends that I haven't shared all of the details about my return to Greece with yet! :)
I've determined today that my departure date will be January 15, give or take a day or two... :)
I'm still busy trying to get all of the details in line, and I'm getting more and more excited!! :)
There's just so much I want to accomplish before I leave! Keep giving me the grace, strength, and wisdom to complete your tasks for me, God! :D

PRAISE the LORD for providing for all of my needs. The money I need to live and work in Athens for a year keeps steadily flowing in, and I am very humbled and grateful. :) And have I not yet mentioned how much of a privilege it is for me to have this "excuse" to stay in contact with so many people who have had such a positive role in my life, be able to share what the Lord is doing through my life, and then be a mutual encouragement for each other. Ah, I am truly loving it and soaking it all in with lots of giddy joy!! :D God, you're awesome. :)

Communicating...

2008-11-18T23:53:00.000-06:00

Communication...
It can be so challenging sometimes.
Trying to understand the complexity of thought in your own mind...
and then express it with words - audible or written; pictures - real or abstract; song - traditional or new... or some other creative communication...
AND THEN try to make another complex mind understand the expression of thought you've made...
Yeah, I could say more about this, but my communication skills are failing me tonight...

STUDYING!

2008-11-17T23:32:00.000-06:00

Wow...
I am absolutely loving this chance to study before I go back to Greece. :)
I've been reading about Greek history and the Orthodox church.
I've been learning the Greek language... :)
This is all so fun and interesting to me! Yet it's also so overwhelming, because there is so much I want to know and understand, but not enough time to learn it all.

I have so many goals it's ridiculous, lol... This is one thing I both love and hate myself. God, please give me the wisdom and strength to accomplish what of our goals together should be a priority... daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and indeed, for my entire life. :) HELP me, God. :D
Thanks! :)

More sharing!! :)

2008-11-12T23:12:00.000-06:00

This week has already brought me two very special opportunities to share more of what God has taught me...

On Monday night at the end of my "extreme makeover - Body by God" class, I felt compelled to share the words I had memorized from Philippians 3. :) It fit perfectly with the encouragement we'd already heard that night. Thanks for prompting me God... This was the most antsy and tingly I'd felt about the need to share it yet, hehe. I love how you work and move through me, Holy Spirit. :)

Tonight, I got to share my summer story with a special group of high school students in my town. :) I went through 90 pictures to share my stories and experiences and life lessons... and I even taught them a song, and they sang! Yeah, seriously, they did! And they sounded pretty good too! ;) It was a great time... and I'm thankful for their leaders' encouragement and invitation to share.

Thanks for using me, God! :) Let the opportunities keep coming!!!!...

Stuff...

2008-11-05T23:52:00.000-06:00

I have more STUFF than I need...
so why is it that when I sift through the stuff in my room... I'm so reluctant to let go of a lot of it?
Well, I know one main reason why...
I tend over-analyze everything to death... like, what if I could use this again one day, or what if my grandkids would stumble across this one day and be able to use it for their history project, or what if I'm just too darn stubborn to "throw away" the special memory I have attached to this object...
Blah, I'm silly...
I so deeply want to purge myself of excess "stuff, clutter, clothes, etc..." and even give a bunch of it away to bless someone else who may really need it! God, help me, please!!!! Help me throw off everything that hinders and distracts... so that I can run more freely and fully after all that you have in store for me. HELP, HELP, HELP! Thanks... :D You already are helping, I know...

Full of life!

2008-10-29T23:13:00.000-05:00

I find myself constantly full of life and thought... but unfortunately lately I have been having trouble reigning it all in! I have all these new ideas and goals and dreams and pleasures in learning and new insights and blessed moments... but I'm feeling inadequate at communicating it all to what it fully deserves.

The moments when I feel like this... which are seeming to happen more and more frequently, I find complete comfort and peace in the fact that God knows and understands me way more intimately than I know myself. God cherishes my every thought and experience way more abundantly than I do. I mean, wow, God CREATED me and takes DELIGHT in me... God loves overwhelming me with love... :) Loves loving me so I can share love... :) :) :) and again and again I'm brought back to the glorious, beautiful truth that God IS LOVE... God.. IS!!

...and now, yet again... I'm feeling paralyzed to say more even though I feel like I have soooo much to say. :) God's also overwhelming me with understanding - revealing more and more of who He is as I long to know more. :) :) And that reminds me that it's actually good and perfect that I'm having a bit of trouble trying to contain God with my words alone, hehe. How about... Praise the Lamb, Jesus, my Savior, God... thank you for smothering me with your love, taking my breath away so that all that's left is you breathing your life in me... :) :) :)

:) LOL... :) :) Have I convinced you yet that I have a beaming smile on my face? :) I made my teachers so frustrated with all the smiley faces I tried - no wait, I succeeded! - in peppering my "serious academic" papers with... I didn't mean it as disrespect against conventions, appropriateness or authority... I guess it's just simply hard to contain myself... hehe ;)

Ah, I know what I want to do... sing. I need to sing. I need to play the piano and sing... :) Yup. :D Too bad it's really late, my family is asleep, and the church building starts to feel a bit too creepy at night alone if I didn't atleast enter while it was still light, haha. Believe me, I know... been trying to conquer that fear in my frequent visits recently. :) I hope the janitor doesn't think I'm crazy yet, sorry Rod, lol. ;)

So... by the grace and help of the Holy Spirit living in me... I'm hoping to reign in my focus and goals and thoughts soon so I can be the most effective witness possible to the amazing love, grace, joy, and peace that I keep being filled to the brim and uncontrollably bubbling OVER with as I walk through each moment - from the most mundane to the most unique - of my life. :) There's still hope that eventually I'll establish a regular routine of blogging and figure out (or, I guess the challenge is more: sticking to!...) a clear purpose for each of my blogs. :) For now, thanks for patiently traveling with me through the randomness!

Now to go appreciate the beautiful gift of sleep... :D

The Great Wedding...

2008-10-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

So... I've had a couple of re-accuring dreams off and on for the past several years...
and it involves a wedding and a large celebration gathering...
:) I'm just now starting to cherish this dream as the beautiful picture of Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church. :)
I am at the celebration in my dream... on the most beautiful beach in the world (after I visited Tulum in Mexico, it has usually been that beach...until now that I've been to some gorgeous beaches in Greece, hmm... hehe) and we're having the best party ever. :) And what's so special about it for me is everyone is there... everyone that I have ever known or who has ever been a part of my life in some way, is there. And I just spend all day reminiscing with amazing friends and experiences... and making new special memories at the same time.
I wonder if "heaven" will be like that... :)
Well, as I am sending out support letters to nearly everyone that I can think of who I care about and want them to partner with me in an amazing work of God... I count it a privilege to already be entertaining that piece of heaven - encouraging and loving all of the friends and people God has blessed me with as a part of my life! :)

God, wow, you're so good. :) I'm so excited to continue knowing more and more of your awesomeness! :) :) :)

Great Weekend!

2008-09-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

Okay...
So I'm still really bad at this whole blogging thing, haha.
Oh well. :) I'm back for a bit!
I had a GREAT weekend. :) Tessa's wedding was beautiful, and it was so much fun to be a part of. I especially enjoyed our pretty bridesmaid dresses and flowers and the whole ceremony - from the worship songs at the beginning, to the praying around the couple after the lighting of the candle at the end. :) The reception was quite fun too - especially the yummy honey-glazed ham, cream-filled cake, and goofy dancing. I didn't get the bouquet in the toss... but I suppose that's just as well. Frankly, I think it's just completely best to be single right now, and let God be my romancer. :) He sure is doing a great job. For starters, all I've got to do is look out my bedroom window at the beautiful field and sunrise each morning... :) God is such an awesome creator! :) So RJ and Tess made it safely to their paradise honeymoon destination, and I pray they have a wonderful time!! :)

Another fun part about this weekend was singing in church with my sister Sunday morning! Oh, I miss singing with her so much. :) We sang, "I Will Glory In My Redeemer" - a great song we sang together to audition for praise team last year. I'm excited! I will get to play in church again in 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to sharing a song I wrote - Bless Me, Indeed!, and a fun piano arrangement called "Sing Praise!" :)

Yesterday I also got to have a good grandma dinner and coffee time, plus I read more of the really great book, "The Shack," and I talked to a bunch of friends online!! :)

Today has been super too! I am well on my way to working out details for going back to Greece. My application is done, and my references all have their forms to send in in the next few days. Then I'll start talking with the Hellenic Ministries office about exactly how much I need to raise to get there, and dates, and... other stuff like that. In the meantime, I am enjoying catching up with friends, organizing my things here to give away or sell so I can leave without so much to manage left behind me - throw off everything that hinders, right?! :) AND, God has even provided me with a job until I leave for Greece. The situation works out great for both me and them, I'm so excited to get started with that in the next couple days as well. It will be good for me to have a bit more of a routine. It helps me stay focused and more productive. :)

Well, I am going to get back to uploading pictures to my facebook website now. It had been awhile! I still didn't even have my pictures up from the summer, ah!! :)

Until I post again... :)

My Best Friend's Wedding...

2008-09-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

So... the next couple of days will be full of events surrounding my best friend Tessa De Cook's wedding. Tomorrow happens to be both the decoration time, rehearsal, AND her birthday on top of all that. Tonight I was privileged to just chill with her family, eattin' pizza hut pizza, talkin' life, lookin' at pics of their possible new house, and watching a movie appropriate for the occasion: Made of Honor. :) As another chapter of her life changes, I pray God will bless her richly!! :) What a joy it is to share special joys with your friends. Now... I pray I fit into my bridesmaid dress after all the yummy foods I've been eatting lately!

Yeah! :)

2008-09-23T21:03:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I feel quite proud of myself. I switched my main profile account in a matter of minutes, woohoo! :) I am going to try my darndest to manage two blogs... lol. Silly me, when I haven't even been able to manage one for the last... long time. But anyhoo... check out smilemeds.blogspot.com soon too! :)
I really really really will try to post more soon! :)

Switching Accounts

2008-09-23T20:37:00.001-05:00

Alrighta... I'm about to hit this blogging thing full force! :)
In the mean time, I'm trying to get all tricky and change e-mail accounts on myself... so we'll see how this goes. Hopefully it doesn't mess you followers up at all. Danielle... and Lynnette. That's you right now, hehe. Alright, off I go... I've got a TON of goals for myself tonight. This should be the least of my worries, but I love preoccupying myself with challenges such as these! :)
Here goes! :)

A LOT to catch up on...

2008-09-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

Well well well...

It's been nearly four months since I last logged onto my blog. For anyone out there who checked this often to look for an update from me while I was gone this summer, I apologize. I spent very, very little time in front of a computer. And when I did, it was mostly to e-mail people about important details for a big plan change that happened in the middle of my trip. Soooo... I have a LOT to fill you in on. :)

First, some thoughts I've been having...
Frankly, I haven't figured out if I can make this blogging habit a regular thing or not. You see, I journal all the time - I filled up two big ones this summer. But in my journal I am incredibly A.D.D. It is seriously like my mind spilled out on paper. I go from recounting days events, to random thoughts, to prayers, to... who knows what else. I have to develop a distinct purpose for this blog... and then actually get in the habit of doing it... before this space will be fruitful for me or anyone who would actually be interested in reading it! Otherwise it will just turn into another "have to get done" thing in my head, and no one will really ever log on and spend precious time reading my long posts anyway.

So... there we go, that was already a glimpse into my randomness. I just need to dive right in and start telling stories! Here's the problem... I'm going to have to put it off again, because right now I need to go work on a letter to my church consistory. If I come up with anything profound to say in that letter, maybe I'll post it for you later. This is so weird to me... who is this "you" I'm even posting for? Am I the only one that is actually ever going to read or re-read my own old posts and laugh anyway? Well, who cares. At this point it is still worth it to me I guess.

I have been blessed to be a blessing.
God, help me be a special blessing to someone today. :)

ALL DONE!

2008-05-08T13:58:00.000-05:00

I just turned in my final paper about beauty.
Now THAT is beautiful! :)

Yesterday I went to a junior high youth group luau party, and I got to wear my skirt I got in Trinidad! I also used the last of my HUB @ N-DUB money to buy some tasty treats for me, Aaron, and Julia. :) AND... I applied for a job as an admissions counselor here at NW. I think it's the perfect job for me, so I really hope it works out. But even if it doesn't, I trust God has great things in store for me next! :)

I am going to go play piano awhile now to celebrate! :)

Good-bye schoolwork!!

2008-05-06T19:24:00.000-05:00

SOOOOO much has happened since I last posted. I wish I remembered to more often.

Anyway... I had the most amazing choir tour over spring break, I traveled to Denver for an incredible piano teacher's conference where I got to watch Lang Lang, the best piano player in the world, perform!, I had a ton of fun helping out at the middle school retreat at a camp near Okaboji, and I went to a student leadership conference at Willow Creek with my favorite high school student leaders! :)

God has blessed me so much in these past months... and now my time at NWC is nearly over. Such a bittersweet feeling...

I have one paper left to write... one last college paper... wow.
Funny feeling! :) GOOD feeling!

I'm so excited to see what God's going to do with my life next! :)

12 Days of Birthday!

2008-02-28T19:03:00.000-06:00

Yeah! I am soon going to take Aaron out for his birthday, and give him my unique birthday gift: "The Twelve Days of Birthday." Hehe... you see, I'm going to be gone to New York on a choir tour for the next twelve days, so I put together a special little package/note for him for each day that I'm gone. Woohoo! I'm really excited to give it to him.

I can't wait to be on tour! I really really enjoy them, even though it does mean way too much time in a charter bus with a whole lot of people. :) I like people though, so it works out okay. :)

Now I best go continue to get ready for my date...and make sure I'm ready for my late night of paper writing to finish up my midterm assignments before we leave on tour tomorrow, ah! :)

Until I post again... :D

I am so blessed!

2008-02-25T11:22:00.000-06:00

I am the happiest woman in the world... for a million amazing reasons. :)
Turns out I don't have to work at Disney World to be a princess. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T00:32:00.001-06:00

It's Valentine's Day...
the first one in a LONG time that I haven't had a sweetheart to celebrate it with... I don't want to let that get me down, though! :) I am truly enjoying my life and all of the wonderful friendships I have!!! God has blessed me SOOOO much!

I am disappointed in myself that I didn't write out a whole bunch of wonderful Valentine's Day notes to all of my friends... the truth is, that would take me forever, because there are so many people that I love and care about! If I have any complaint recently... it's just that... I feel helpless to share all the love and joy that I want to! I want everyone I know and love... even my newest friends... to know how much I care about them, and appreciate them in my life! I also feel like I'll never be able to take as much time as I want to thank God for all that I have been blessed with! I have always loved to journal about my days and how I saw God at work... Now I am behind almost a week, and I am scared to start again, because I'll want to catch up on the past week and thank God for all that has happened, all that I have learned, and all that I am so incredibly thankful for... but that just takes me SUCH a long time... and I can't do it all if I want to get a healthy amount of sleep. :( I am always so tempted to keep thinking about yesterday, and all that I wish I could remember, reflect on, or wish I could have accomplished... instead, I just need to keep reaching out in each moment... and seize every opportunity I have right in front of me. :)

God, you're so good! :) Thank you for opening my eyes to see you, my ears to hear you, and for giving me the strength and courage to follow you. Please continue HELPing me with this! :)

:)

2008-02-10T23:42:00.000-06:00

I love how God weaves people's lives together. :)
I am incredibly thankful for friends...
I am thankful for joy...
...for life.
...for peace.
...for beauty.
...for sooo much! :)
...for rest and sleep too.
I am going to go sleep now.
Thank you, God, for another wonderful weekend!

Live Out Love

2008-02-09T13:23:00.000-06:00

I am finally startng a blog!
I hope to fill it with Living Out Love and Laughing Out Loud stories! :)
This is probably the shortest post I'll ever write... bye for now!