Power-Posting

I have to admit I started this blog with this grand idea that every day I would find something beautiful and write about it or post a picture or link of some sort. While I might think about this blog almost every day, I certainly don't sit down to blog every day, as my one current reader can surely tell. However, isn't there something great about power posting? I mean, I certainly enjoy thinking about all the beautiful things that I have encountered this week all in one sitting. I have no delusional idea that I am going to miraculously change and start posting every day. That isn't the way I roll. But for now, I will plan to enjoy a few days worth of beauty as I power post!

If this doesn't make your mouth water...

Picture taken from here.

This is just one of many mouth-watering pictures I found when I typed "raspberries" into Google Images. Check it out for yourself!

Books, Books, Everywhere!

Picture taken from here.

This is what my room looks like right now, minus the shelving in the background. I have been so blessed to receive some book donations from a coworker and from a library that was giving away its rejects. I am sorting them now, figuring out which ones can still work in a classroom (some of the library's books were old enough to be quite outdated) and which ones might work for which grade levels. I am also sorting them to figure out which ones I want to read immediately, soon, and when the occasion might call for it.

The possibility of failure

Living within a safety net. Laying on the balance beam, holding on with both hands. So often we live in such a way as to reduce or eliminate risks. I have a little bit of "risk manager" in me because I am a generally cautious person, I work in a potentially dangerous environment, and I have a risk manager for a father. While I think it is good to be wise, I also realize that dreams, goals, and life paths cannot be determined without risk of failure without being extremely compromised.

In Runner's World (Special Beginner's Guide, May 2011, "Notorious" by Charlie Engle, illustrated by Nathan Fox), there was recently a story about the Barkley Marathons. The story illustrates a CRAZY race, and ends with this commentary:

"If I picked each race or adventure based purely on the likelihood of success, I have no doubt that I could safely map out a plan that would make me look good. And I am also sure that such a plan would leave me miserable. The promise of comfort will always be alluring. But the power of human resilience is only realized through true pain and suffering." (p. 82).

Thoughts on Short Term Missions

I follow the Livesay Family blog about their ministry in Haiti, and they have had some very thought-provoking posts recently. I am not sure of the etiquette on linking blogs or on using other people's photos, but I have consistently "taken" other people's pictures and posted them on my blog with links to the source. If you have taken those pictures and are not ok with my using them, please let me know. In the same manner, here is a link to two thought provoking blogs from the Livesays. I hope that etiquette allows for this (you may see the irony/wrongness in my doing this after reading the second link)...Please read these and consider donating to the Livesays' ministry.

http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2011/03/thinking-through-stm.html (Things are conversed and dissected even more in the comments, so read those as well!)

http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2011/05/respecting-poor.html

Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism, Jillian Michaels

I bought some workout videos to give me some options for rain, snow, or extreme heat days. There are a few that I think are ok, one that I don't like at all, and one that I love. Jillian Michaels' Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism is a great workout. I feel great when I am doing it, and I feel like I am working to my potential. This is a tricky balance, as I find some workout videos are too easy, some are too hard, some are not for me, and some are a mix of all three of these. (I really struggle with the ones that are both too easy and too hard. What in the world? Is it me or the video that causes that?)

I highly recommend Jillian Michaels' Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism . It's not designed for beginners, but even beginners could probably do most of it with the modifications that she includes. Great workout, great touch of soreness the next day.

Last Day of 2nd Grade

Today was my last day volunteering in the 2nd grade classroom. I had been going every Wednesday morning, and it started out as a way to get some classroom experience and push away the Wednesday blahs I had been having on my marathon training rest days. I was so blessed by my time there. I loved getting to know the teacher and the classroom aide, and I loved interacting with the students. They are a bundle of joy and energy and excitement and distraction and more. It was such a privilege to be there, to help out in various ways, and to have a weekly reminder that THIS is what I want to spend my life doing. A beautiful reminder, a beautiful teaching method, a beautiful group of students, a beautiful experience.

Accomplishing Goals

Picture taken from here.

Awhile back I read a book by Jill Smolinski called The Next Thing On My List. It is about a woman completing someone else's goals before that someone would have turned 25. When I read it, I thought about the goals I had as a kid. I wrote this big long list of absurd and not-so-absurd things.

Looking back, I realize that I know myself better now than I did when I wrote that list, and there are some things that I have no desire to do, which are likely only on the list because I thought they looked good in the world's eyes. It is cool to be able to scratch some things off my list as I do them, but also to be able to scratch certain things off the list because I know that I really have no desire to do them or to prove to anyone that I could do them.

After reading The Next Thing On My List, I came up with two big goals that I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30. One was a lifelong goal, something I have always wanted to do, but never really believed that I could. The other was something that happened randomly without much planning or initiation on my part. But it was still something that I would be able to do before my next birthday.

Goal #1. Run a marathon. I did that on May 7th, as I have written. It was a life-changer, something that changed my perspective about myself and about my running, and this is something that I want to keep doing in my life. It may or may not be marathons that I continue, but I want to keep setting goals that involve running and exercise.

Goal #2. Visit all 48 contiguous states of the United States. I realized awhile back that I had visited 42 states, just lacking the New England states, Hawaii, and Alaska. I have been able to visit these states because of my two years traveling with Youth Encounter and my current job which has me leading events around the nation. I had an event scheduled in New Hampshire this last weekend, so I decided to take advantage of getting to New Hampshire and take a small driving tour of New England. (See yesterday's post.) So now I can say that I have been to all 48 contiguous states, but I must admit something. That statement alone makes it seems like I have been a lot of places, and I can't deny that, but in going to these places, it is obvious that there is so much more to see, explore, and know. Going to one adorable town in Vermont is not nearly enough to say that I've explored Vermont. I can simply say that I have been to Vermont, and I have a desire to experience more of its beauty.

So my 30th birthday is in just over 4 months. But I can already check off the two major life goals that I wanted to accomplish before then. I wonder...what's the next thing on my list going to be?

Rounding out New England

Yesterday I rented a Prius and drove from Boston to Nashua New Hampshire, from there across the southern portion of New Hampshire and into Brattleboro, Vermont. I LOVED it there, and had a yummy scone and latte in Mocha Joe's. Then I drove south through the beautiful hilly farmland of western Massachusetts, down through Hartford and stopped in New London (see post from yesterday). Then I crossed over into Rhode Island, and found my way through Jamestown, RI, and Newport, RI. These are both very cool island towns. I never really realized that Rhode Island has so much of it as islands. OK, there is a tiny connector piece of land north of Newport, but I still count it as an island. Then this morning I drove to Cape Cod and drove around there. It was a really fun atmosphere, full of gorgeous homes and beachscape and trees and more. I was amazed at the dense forests throughout New England. The types of trees varied in various regions, but the dense overgrowth stretched throughout the places I explored. I spent an hour at the beach you see here, in or near Dennis, MA.

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

Picture taken from the Lyman Allyn Art Museum website.

Picture taken from The Guild of Boston Artists

These pieces are from the exhibit,"The Subject is Light" compiled by Henry and Sharon Martin and currently on display in the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut. The collection is all or almost all from contemporary artists.

I had the privilege of viewing this collection while I was in Connecticut. Even without a trained eye, I still love to look at actual paintings and enjoy the details, the creativity, and the craftsmanship of works like this. Replicas like the ones above, in any form, are never as good, never as appealing or inspiring, so I took some time to stop in the Lyman Allyn Art Museum while I was in New London, Connecticut. I was glad I did. It was inspiring to just observe such beautiful pieces.

New Hampshire and Maine

Picture taken from here.

Day 2 of my New England adventure. We worked all day in New Hampshire and then drove across a bridge to Maine, just a few miles away. We found a great place to eat on the beach in York, Maine, called Sun and Surf. We had beautiful views of the misty coastline, waves crashing, and three crazy surfers (crazy because it was pretty cold outside, so it must have been freezing in the water!). It was beautiful, and while now I can say that I have been to Maine and New Hampshire, I must justify that by saying that there is still so much more to see and explore. I have only had a tiny taste of the beauty of these states, and I am eager to go back and do more exploring later.

Passions and Dreams

Today I met Anna Reyes, the shorter female dancer seen in this video in minutes 2:30-4:13 and 6:30-8, possibly other sections as well, but it is hard to tell in this video. I was so blessed to meet her. She is a friend's son's girlfriend, and we went out to dinner together. It was also a blessing to meet the friend's son, Jordan Maley, who is featured on saxophone in the video below.



As we talked, we came to a point of discussing following our dreams and living with our passions. Jordan lives and breathes music, Anna lives and breathes dance. We discussed the need to follow these passions even when we may be unsure of the how, when, or where of it. If you need to play, you will find a way to play. If you need to dance, you will find a way to dance.

I have been thinking about this since. (I am backwriting by almost a week.) I love to run, although I don't think that the passion is quite as strong as it is for Anna and Jordan. However, I feel better about myself and my tasks and the world around me when I run. I love the feeling of running, even on bad runs. I had a pretty awful run yesterday, but could still acknowledge that the pain was a part of the passion, and I couldn't trade it or erase it without compromising some of the passion. There have been numerous stages in my life when I have completely stopped running, and looking back I know I wasn't at my best during those periods of time.

When I think about living overseas again, I acknowledge that this decision may mean sacrificing running, as it is not appropriate in some cultures and it could also compromise my ministry there. I think I would still try to find a way to run, however, running in circles in my basement as I do when the weather is bad here, or purchasing or importing a treadmill. There were also a few gyms in Bolivia, perhaps I would be able to workout in a gym wherever I end up.

Then there is my future as a teacher. Will I even have time to run, regardless of the country I live in? Will I ever get to run in the daylight again, or would it be only early morning or late night runs? Will there be time to train for another marathon or whatever else I set my sights on? I go back to the conversation with Anna and Jordan. If I need to run, I will find a way to incorporate it into my life.

As I think about this, part of my anxiety about my future in running subsides. I love running, and therefore if I need to run, I will find a way and a where and a how to run.

Jordan will keep playing and Anna will keep dancing. I will keep running. Somehow. Somewhere. Some way. It is a part of us.

Facial Expressions

Picture taken from here.
Isn't it cool what we can do and convey with our faces?

Finding the perfect career

I have been thinking about jobs and careers lately. More specifically, I have been thinking about finding a job that is a good fit. I have recently been in conversation with people who love their jobs and people who have had such bad experience that they are wary of even trying to get a job. I know people who have jobs simply to pay the bills and I know people whose jobs have consumed them. I know workaholics and those slackers that you sometimes wonder how they ever managed to get hired, much less keep their jobs when they seem to do so little and care so little.

I have been in school for the past year and a half trying to train for a new job as a teacher. I have had many times when I have doubted my decision to pursue this career, but I have also had numerous occasions in which I am SURE that this is the right career for me.

I know that no job is perfect, and you won't like all the tasks in a day and there will be days when you don't like your job at all. But I want my job to be a good fit. I want to wake up happy to go to work rather than go to bed dreading the next day. This desire is what has kept me from pursuing a better paying job - unfortunately my passion happens to correspond with one of the lowest paying careers in our nation.

As I look ahead to my next position, with student teaching already assigned, I have felt a variety of emotions. Even last night as I was discussing it with a friend, I felt very stressed out.

However, today as I once again visited my second grade friends, I didn't want to leave. I had this peace that I was in the right place, and that I could happily do this forever. Again, I know that no job is perfect, and teaching can be thankless, politically charged, frustrating to no end, and at times fruitless. But I go to bed tonight confident in my decision to pursue this, confident in my ability to learn and grow into this position, confident in the possibilities of the future.

How about you? Do you believe in the work that you are doing? Is there anything you can change so that you are happier in your current position? Any relationships that need strengthening so that both you and your coworkers enjoy the day more?

Be the change that you want to inspire. Be the person today that you wish to be in the future. Put aside fear...and BE.

Fix You

Coldplay's "Fix You". So You Think You Can Dance's Robert and Allison. Choreographed by Travis Wall.

This was my favorite dance of the whole season last summer, and now, almost a year later, I still love to find it in YouTube and watch the incredible beauty and emotion. I think that Travis Wall did an amazing job of conveying a story that was dear to his heart. Even though it was personal to him, the dance transcends the stage, the night, the dancers, and can speak to anyone who has dealt with the hard things in life.

There is so much I want to say about this dance, but I find that my words can't express the emotion that the dance both evokes and embodies. So I will keep it short and let you experience your own Fix You.

This particular link is from the tour because the links from the show are disabled, but you can watch a cleaner video of the dance here.

The King's Speech

Picture taken from imdb.

Official Site: http://www.kingsspeech.com/

New Trails

I took this picture from here.

Today I found a new nature preserve! It is very close to a house I visit each week, so I am already plotting time to go to the house early and spend some time exploring the paths around the lakes at this forest preserve.

Curtains in the breeze

I took this photo from this great blog.

Healing

Today I am amazed by the body’s ability to heal and regenerate. For instance, last weekend I ran a marathon, and I could hardly walk on Saturday and Sunday. Monday I was feeling a little better, by Tuesday I wasn’t limping anymore. Today, Friday, I have already gone on a slow jog and basically feel better than I did even before the marathon. Isn’t it amazing how quickly my body can heal itself?

Another thing that has struck me about our bodies lately is the phenomenon of pregnancy. I am in my late 20s, so almost everyone I know has kids, is pregnant, or wants to have kids. I have seen a few of my friends in the final stages of pregnancy in the past few days, and I must admit, it still strikes me as odd that we can just grow a baby inside of us. We have a very creative Creator! I mean, if I had been creating the world, things would have been pretty boring. Not God, though, he keeps things interesting from the creation of the universe to the tiniest atoms, and we ourselves are by no means an exception! Maybe I will explore this more later, but the links above are some previous thoughts on this…

Composting

I have been pestering my parents about composting and recycling ever since I moved back home. I may not be here for long, but I really want to be responsible in the way that we dispose of our waste wherever I go. Plus, if I can get my parents into good composting habits, maybe they will keep it up once I leave.

We live near a landfill and from a nearby road you can see the hundreds of trucks that go up and down the hill carrying our trash each day. I have heard that even though some waste might be biodegradable, it will not biodegrade in a landfill because there is not enough air circulating. Many things can be composted, which not only breaks them down quickly and naturally, but also provides good soil to use in our garden. This part alone makes it worth it for me, because we have clay for soil, and few things grow in clay.

So yesterday my mother and I went on an excursion and purchased a composter! We had been debating about making one or buying one, and in the end we bought one. Today I spent some time putting it together and clearing out the perfect spot for it on the back of our property. I cleared the path to get to it, made sure it is on a level spot and that it gets enough sunshine to keep the temperature up (they tell me that part is important). I loaded up the bottom layer with twigs, dry leaves, and some yard waste that I hope will be a good starter. That’s what the directions said to do, so I am hoping it works.

We shall see how well it works, but for now it was a wonderful day spent outside in the summery heat getting my hands dirty!

I'm Sorry

Today I was struck by the maturity of a second grader. She seems to be a lot like I was as a child in personality, but I think she is more mature and less stubborn than I was!

I was having a good day again helping out in second grade, and then at the very end of the class something happened which didn’t involve me. As I was about to leave, the child who had been involved in the incident came over to the teacher and asked to speak with her. She said that she was sorry about the incident, and that next time she would make a better choice.

Oh, how I wish I spoke and heard these words more often. As adults we tend to get all high and mighty, thinking that we are right all the time, we had a right to act the way we did, or even if we admit to ourselves that what we did may have been wrong, we find it very hard to admit it to others. We have to save face. We have to stick to our guns.

But wouldn’t the world be a better place if we were able to admit our mistakes more readily and decide that next time we will make a better choice in our actions?

I learn from these kids every time I am with them.

Getting my hands dirty

Picture taken from here.

Since my marathon I have been enjoying the newly warm weather, going on walks, digging up weeds in my yard... just enjoying being outside. This morning I spent a lot of time trying to catch up on email, which is one of my least favorite tasks because it can be so overwhelming even though I am responding to people I like. To reward myself, or maybe just to have an excuse to get away from my computer, this afternoon I convinced my mother that we needed to plant her garden. We did a little planning, went to buy some seed packets and some plants and we got to work. I have been trying to extend her garden for awhile, and this year she is letting me, so that means I get to get my hands dirty a lot more and nurture life into these additional plants and then many of them are vegetables, fruits, and herbs, so later we will get to enjoy the yumminess of our investment!

Today's beauties: dirty hands and planting new plants!

Teachers going out of their way

Picture taken from here.

This semester I took an online class with online tests. I had a problem my computer or the technology with one of 15 quizzes, one of three exams, and my final exam. I was quite the problem student. My professor was patient with me, and he even gave me a chance to finish my final exam when my computer froze and the time on my timed, one-chance-only test ran out. He did a lot of work to allow me to finish the test at our testing center at school, ensuring that I couldn't go back to the questions that I had already done. This trust that I wasn't cheating (I WASN'T) allowed me to get a much higher grade in the class than I would have, and it caused my teacher to kind of have to rewrite the test just for one student. I am so thankful for teachers who have gone out of their way to help me with problems or just with the learning process.

Now I get to enjoy 24 hours of freedom before my summer semester begins!

Mothers

Well, this one was pretty much handed to me by our society's emphasis on moms for Mother's Day, but I must say that I have really appreciated my mom lately. She has been involved in a lot of the preparation for my marathon, and she was my biggest fan during the marathon. She has been teaching me many valuable lessons my whole life.

I am thankful for her example of discipleship, as she studies God's word every day and leads other women in studies and heads up a committee at her church that makes sure not one person gets sick, hospitalized, or has any large need without getting a card, a visit, flowers, meals, etc.

My mom always said that in life, you do the best that you can at the time. Sure, there are things you might regret or look back on and wish that you had done differently, but you must live in such a way as to always know that you did the best that you could at the time.

I love you mom!

Marathons

Picture borrowed from the NY Daily News here.

Today I had the privilege of running my first marathon. It has been a long journey, and it is not something I will write much about in this blog, but it was a really beautiful thing to see so many people valuing life and health and sharing in the passion that I have for running. Many people that I talked to were running their first marathon like me, or their second marathon. I thought it was interesting that so many were on their second, and I saw that it doesn't get any easier once you have done it once. I almost think it gets harder because you know what to expect. I will have to wait a few months to find that out though.

There was a point in the race where the path wound around almost in the shape of a teardrop. I could see the masses of runners behind me and in front of me, and it was really amazing to be a part of that.

This marathon was one of the beautiful experiences I have had that really moved me, choked me up a bit, and caused me to worship God for this unique expression of beauty. If you have never experienced a marathon, I encourage you to go as a spectator or a volunteer. Be loud, and find a place to root people on where support may be lacking. The runners will certainly appreciate your support, and you will get to see what I am talking about.

Lake Michigan blues

Picture taken from here.

Today I got to go to Lake Michigan to pick up my race packet for tomorrow's marathon. Kenosha, Wisconsin is my favorite local getaway because it is just a short drive away from my house but it is a whole different, beautiful world. Today the lake was a beautiful aqua blue, and I got to just take in the beauty for awhile. Although my race will be along the lake for quite a bit of time, I tend to not see or appreciate much of my surroundings during a race, so I wanted to really enjoy it today. And I did. And it was beautiful.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Color

Still in my anti-computer mindset, I put aside my normal computer-based studying techniques and brought out the old markers. Sometimes it just feels good to color...even if you're studying.

Enjoying the View

This is one of my old favorite views. I don't live near there anymore, but I used to love watching the sunset behind these hills each evening. Today I have been thinking about this place and the people I love who still live there. I am so thankful to have been able to live in this incredible beauty amidst such beautiful people.

I've been everywhere man

Lately I've been feeling like I am always packing, unpacking, driving, flying, planning, etc. Although I have been a lot of places, the more places I go, the more I realize how much I have yet to discover. But for today, I'm just enjoying singing along with Johnny from the comfort of my own home.

Mowing the Lawn

Picture taken from here.

It's time for one of my favorite summer activities again! I love the smell of the freshly cut grass, the time spent getting to know my lawn, the time to enjoy all the new spring growth, and the time I get to spend outside. I love mowing the lawn.

Chocolate Stores

South Haven, MI

Chocolate stores everywhere. Fudge. Dark Chocolate. White Chocolate. Milk Chocolate. Truffles. Chocolate covered nuts, caramels, pretzels, etc.

I have always said that my job is as far into the food service industry I want to go. But I think I may have found an exception. I love chocolate. I could certainly live in a chocolate store from 9-5 each day. Of course, I may have to increase my running regimen, but I think it would be fabulously worth it.