My spring break trip to... Warch.

As spring break comes to a close, I thought I'd attempt to make my spring break look as cool as the trip to Sierra Leone I turned down :)

Friends, too many blue slushies, millions of posters to hang, stamp wars and toppers.

Okay so instead of flying to the other side of the world, I walked to the other side of campus to sit in the same spot for 8 hours every day. But I'd still call that a good spring break! I got to do some reading, hang out with whichever friends decided to stop by the desk (or set up camp there), and do a little bit of work. Plus, when I was in my room, I had the Colman zoo to keep me company, which is probably just as diverse as the rainforest:

Simba the gecko, Juju the hamster and two fish whose names I don't know/remember!

Because it's spring break and I'm one of just a few people on campus, I am pet sitting for a couple of friends (and just had to include Simba because he likes the publicity)!

I even got to get slightly off-campus a few times! I attended my sister's orchestra concert, had dinner cooked for me by my lovely old-roommate Kelsi in her and her husband's home (and saw her adorable new puppy, Boo) and went recital dress shopping with my mom!

I hope my wild adventures don't make you too jealous, but in all honesty, I'm thankful for this calm break between terms after all of my summer/fall traveling and in preparation for some more summer craziness.

Called to the "least of these."

Sometime three years ago as I was sitting in a church in a new city wondering, as all college freshmen do, what I would end up doing with my life, this passage was projected up onto the church screen:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'" 

-Matthew 25:34-40

Since that morning, this passage has been a source of inspiration. Every time I stumble across it in my devotionals or hear it mentioned in a sermon, I get excited about it again. For me, this passage makes my "calling" clear. I don't necessarily believe that God is going to one day tell me, "This is the specific career you should do, so take these steps to get there."  Instead, I believe he has given us a pretty clear picture of what He wants his people to do or "calls" us to do, and that these words from the mouth of Christ himself clearly give us some examples to get started with. While these are by no means the only ways by which we can serve Him and be a blessing to those around us, I cling to this passage to help me become a more compassionate person (something that does not come naturally to me) and find ways to express my thankfulness to God by giving back.

As I head into spring term of senior year (even though I have a 5th year of undergrad ahead) I keep hearing about others' next steps and getting the common question, "What are your plans for after Lawrence?" This questions stresses me out because, frankly, I only have one year of "after Lawrence" potentially planned and the rest is wide open. I take comfort in this passage though, because I know that regardless of what titles or education I have in the future, I want my life to be oriented around these principles. I know that when I am considering an opportunity I can always look back to Jesus' words to confirm whether that choice will allow me to serve "the least of these brothers and sisters."

Simple. Or at least more so.

Simplifying life is hard, but I'm starting to discover that it is worth-while. I have always avoided simplicity because I found no reason to decline a good opportunity, but recently I have found a greater good in being able to take life at a more relaxed pace and appreciate things that would have gone undetected had I not given myself space. Here are a few things that have made me realize that simplicity is a new theme in my life:

----> I'm trying really hard to keep Sunday as a sabbath. In that sense, I don't practice my flute and I try to get all my homework done before-hand or save it until Monday morning. I started just about a month ago, and at this point I can say that it takes some adjusting but has been good for me. Mostly, I just don't know how to handle un-scheduled time, but I'm learning. It leaves the door open for me to realize what God is trying to do in my life. That is a very broad statement, but I'm not going to try to define what Sundays will be any more than that lest I fall into my planning-obsession again and defeat the purpose!

----> I recently was asked to accompany another student and a professor to Sierra Leone this spring break to help with nutrition research, decided I could only go if it were completely funded, found out that it's quite possible for me to get a grant that would cover the trip, and now have finally decided to turn it down anyways. Despite my love of seeing new places, interest in nutrition and hopes to return to Africa again, this opportunity wasn't sitting right with me. I need the rest that spring break is there for. Exploring the world is great and I want to do more of it, but I can't go when it's shoved into the only two weeks I have to breathe between Lawrence terms. It was liberating to realize that I am capable of turning down exciting opportunities when I need to.

----> After a year of working as a student researcher in the biology lab of one of my favorite professors, I did what I needed to do but have been putting off: I quit. Reasons why I needed to make this decision: I changed my college major and life goals so that neither of them has much to do with biology anymore, I have PLENTY of other things calling for my attention/time, I should start focusing on things that have more to do with my current goals, and it is getting hard to keep up with what I need to understand for this job since I don't take science classes anymore. Reasons why I really didn't want to make this decision: I love the lab community and being nerdy with the friends I met there, I feel reluctant to let go of my last grip on hard science, I love working for Judith, and I was actually kind-of excited about the new project I was going to take on. This one was tough, but the people I talked to about it agreed that it was wise to leave this part of my life behind. I'm still friends with my lab people and get to talk to Judith from time to time so I'll get over the rest of it!

Over winter break I read a really inspirational book that further prompted me in this direction:

The Contented Soul: The Art of Savoring Life 

by Lisa Graham McMinn

I'm not sure how to even describe this book, as she covered so many areas of life and how to be content and peaceful within them, so I'll just quote the inside cover sleeve: 

"Our souls were not made for frantic, frenzied living. And, in the midst of our busy culture, we have forgotten - or perhaps never learned - how to savor moments and days. But Lisa Graham McMinn calls us back to a significant, simpler way of life, a way characterized by intimate connection with our Creator, authentic relationships with others and a profound hope for the shalom that is to come."

This is definitely worth a read and if anyone at Lawrence wants to borrow it, let me know! I might even consider mailing it if someone who is not at Lawrence is interested :)

Here's a picture I took at home, shortly after I got back from Ecuador. It's sort-of relevant because after a semester of living among stunning mountains, I was surprised how much I appreciated the beauty of the geographically simple, flat place I'm from!

Happy 2014!

I'm kicking off the new year by kicking off a new blog! I never thought I could get into the blogging thing until I tried doing it for my two recent international trips (see 180º in 180 days if you want to read about those). Turns out, I like it... so I'm going to keep doing it even though I am home and my life is considerably less interesting ;)

I love New Year's resolutions because I love goals. As many of my friends can attest, I'm a little too obsessed with goals and you can probably see that in the length of this list. Still, I tried to only include meaningful goals that address some of the wishes I have had or areas of potential improvement I have noticed over the last year.

1. Read 5 news articles a week. I realized this year that even though I claim to have an interest in the world and want to go out into it as a missionary, I really don't know anything about what is happening out there (or even in the US). I want to be a more well-informed citizen of my country and of the world before I try to make opinions or help out with issues. Plus, any current events knowledge I gain by doing this will help out in VR Trivia :)
2. Listen to 5 new pieces of music a week. I know surprisingly little about music considering the fact that I am one class short of finishing a Music Performance major. I would like to expand what I have heard and what I know about certain composers, styles, time periods, etc. by listening to new pieces on a regular basis.
3. Give more money. Specifically, I would like to tithe 10% of my earnings to my church as well as donate 5% to a charity/NGO/mission that I have researched. I have various reasons for wanting to focus on this that I am having a hard time figuring out how to write down, but to sum them up, I think it is a good practice to be obedient to God, relinquish my attachment to material possessions, and support those who are trying to do good in the world. 
4. Learn 7 new Spanish words a week. After I overcame my general fear of speaking Spanish while in Ecuador, the main thing holding me back was a simple lack of vocabulary. I feel relatively comfortable with grammar and conversing now, but it is always disappointing to lack the relevant words to express myself. 
5. Eat healthier... which sounds cliché since nearly everybody makes this their resolution, but I would like to do my best to boycott junk food and fast food in order to stop being a hypocrite about nutrition issues. I have realized while studying nutrition in Ecuador that a HUGE nutritional problem around the world is that globalization is bringing these horrible foods into every culture and enticing people to eat them, causing malnutrition, obesity and sickness. I can harp about that as much as I want but I am a hypocrite until I can also put aside these foods and thereby withdraw my support from these companies.
6. Run 5 5k races. I'm not concerned about the exercise part of this so much as the endurance, mental toughness and focus. I've always known that I tire out really fast, but when I failed miserably at climbing Cotopaxi in Ecuador this fall, I realized how much I lack the mental ability to keep pushing on. Running is an area where I can really work on this mental toughness and I think the strengths I can gain from training for and running these races will affect many areas of my life.
7. Read the Bible... in 2 years. From August 2012 - August 2013 (the year I was 20) I completed a "read the Bible in a year" plan. It was great and I was fascinated to read things that I normally don't turn to. BUT, those were some big reading chunks to do every day and I didn't get to spend much time on any of the sections. Hopefully, spreading this reading plan out over 2 years will allow me to think more deeply about what I am reading. I know, this is a resolution for the next 2 years. So for this year, my goal is to read half of the Bible!

If you see me and think about it, ask me how these resolutions are coming! Accountability works wonders. What are your resolutions?