Adventure Diaries: Audrey, Broods & One With Nature

Friends. Where do I even begin. And no, that's not a question.  

Last semester I decided to be more active in living my life the way I want to.  Sounds kind of funny to say, but check out my explanation blog (which includes a lot of rambling, btw) here. Now that I look back, it was mostly an attitude change.  Here is where it has me now:

People.  People are what I'm about.  Exploring their histories, pains, joys. Exploring with them this wild thing we call life.  I learn the most from people--what they've been through, what they like, what annoys them.  

SO. This weekend I took my dear friend Audrey to Miller Springs.  It's a wonderful world of magic right here in Belton (except if you go there for a date on a perfect Saturday, you're likely to run into people you know. Just ask my friends Ciera and Matt who caught me taking their photo as they were in their 'own world' haha). We brought with us ambitions to be beautiful and enjoy beauty. I think we exceeded our expectations. 

Being with Audrey is like looking into a mirror through the eyes of my soul (insert hashtag deep here). I kid you not, though, we share pieces of each other that just absolutely feed who we are as humans.  I'm comforted in her company with the stories she shares of her wild past and her stories of how the Holy Spirit is moving in her life right now.  She's genuine in her opinion and I can literally feel her love with the bounce in my step when I'm around her.

She was reading freaking Hemingway. Of course she is my soul sister.

While we were being super explorers in our hammocks we set up over a section of the creek, most of the people walking by couldn't resist taking note aloud. We heard things like, "Oh look, there are people in hammocks" or "You guys are too cool" or "Oh! Oh my gosh, look at that!" The funniest thing we heard was a mother's reply to her son. He said, "Look momma, people are sleeping in those!" to which she said, "Yeah, that's how they become one with nature." I highly encourage setting up a hammock in an obscure public place.  Take a journal and write down what you hear when people think you aren't listening.  Oh and bring food, too.  That's the one thing we did wrong on this adventure.  Always have food.  

You wanna do cool things? You wanna be loved? You want to feel beautiful and known? You wanna live life fully? My advice is just do it.  Literally just go buy someone flowers or bring your friends tacos or call your uncle. Ask your friend who has a nice camera if they'll do a photoshoot. Have a spontaneous dinner. People always want food. God gave us people who are our friends, family, mentors, peers.  He also gave us the command to love our neighbor as we love ourself.  Put two and two together and start being awesome. 

 Oh and the "Broods" part of my post title is because I was singing a song (don't remember which one) and Audrey started finishing the lyric and we were both like "YOU LIKE BROODS?!" So now we're going to see them in Austin in April, booyah.  You should listen to them. They're super and they're from New Zealand. My current favorite is Pretty Thing. 

World Wednesday: How to Love the World

Most people associate me and many of my friends with "the world."  If you walk into my apartment, you're sure to see a multicultural array of relics, a globe, maps, etc.  I have had the opportunity of traveling to a few countries and other parts of the U.S. while in college, and it's very true that I enjoy traveling "the world."  My current internship is focused on "the world." In part, people have me labeled as a "world girl." 

This got me thinking.  It's true I have a heart for "the world." I just got back from India two weeks ago in an attempt to better learn how to love another culture.  I realized, though, that in our day and age, it's really hip to love the world.  Travel is très chic, globes are a must-have home accessory and Instagram photos of rustic maps are sure to get a solid amount of likes.  But what does loving the world truly look like? What does it actually  look like besides maps on your wall and stamps in your passport? I really can only speak for myself, so here is what loving the world looks like to me:

Prayer
I truly believe there is no better way to love the world than to pray for it.  Why? Because we live in a big world. There is always something to pray for.  You may not be able to touch every life with service, but you sure as heck can pray for God's power to do so for every life.  Prayer keeps your focus on the bigger picture of what the Lord has done, is doing and is going to do in our world.  Prayer is the precursor for action. God hears and answers prayers.  I use several tools to practically pray for the world, one of which is the book Operation World. This book is so useful in not only guiding you in prayer but also in teaching about the world. It contains so much information on the political, religious, demographic, etc. make-up of each continent and country. 

Laying Down My Own Culture
I am a born and raised American.  Not only that, I am from Texas.  I love my country for the opportunity and freedom I have as a citizen.  I love my state in part because my state loves itself... but also because it's a good state. I've had a great time living in Texas.  The trap that is easy to fall in to, though, is being culturally snobby.  If a person of any country is not aware of just how many other cultures there are in the world, then it becomes easy for him or her to view their own particular culture in a glorified manner.  I do not wish to glorify my own culture above any other culture.  I choose to understand that there are so many cultural differences, (not bad things about other cultures but simply different things about other cultures), and that mine is not special in any way. This is my own choice. This is how I choose to view my culture in light of others.  It has been hard in some instances to set my culture aside.  I've been in countries where I was frustrated at their lack of customer service or at their different understanding of what being pushy in a bus stop meant.  But I have seen over and over the value of learning and accepting culture differences, especially in light of living out the gospel.  Across the board cultures have different understandings of personal space, comfort, religion, money, etc.  It does me no good to view my U.S. culture in a manner higher than other cultures.  I am very grateful for my country. I'm also keen on learning about other countries and learning how to respect other cultures and religions.  

Learning
Which leads me to this aspect of loving the world: learning about it.  What good is a world traveler who knows little about the world? What good is a world traveler who thinks they know everything there is to know about this big, vast world? What good is a person who loves the Lord and His creation and does little to learn about it? These are all questions I ask myself. This is one way I practically love the world.  When you meet an international person in the U.S., it means a lot to them if you know something about their home or if you're interested in learning about or visiting their home. 

The way I learn about the world varies. This semester I'm taking two classes related to understanding the world through the lens of the gospel. Learning world history is another practical thing. Keeping up with the news from different types of sources is another. I read books and watch films of other cultures. There are so many ways to learn and even more things to learn. We will never be finished learning. 

Going

This is the funnest way of loving the world—traveling it. I'm no expert on this stuff. I haven't been to a whole lot of countries. I don't know five languages. I'm not unlike most people my age who have ambitions to travel. I'm no special thing. But this is my heart. My heart is going and experience other cultures, being challenged in my own, laying down comfort and convenience, and living out the treasure of the gospel amongst other peoples. I don't travel just to travel. It's fun and enlightening sometimes, but the world is about a lot more than me, and I'm learning not to be selfish about it. I also know the world is all around me. Sometimes going to the world doesn't mean hopping on a plane but it means visiting my Indian friends in the next city over and learning their language while sharing a meal. Sometimes it means going to a cross cultural event and learning something new even while still in Texas. What?! Yes. 

This is not an exhaustive list. It's a big world!! In what ways do you love the world? In what ways can you challenge other people to better love the world? Let me know! I'm eager to know :) 

-Leah 

Raw Thoughts Over Black Coffee

It really is quite a trip sitting in a coffee shop. There is something about coffee. Something about having a cup of it or some other version of it or tea and just existing with other people. I suppose that's how it is with drinks in general. But coffee is something special. (So is tea, but for the purposes of my current culture...) 

Right now I'm sitting in an old coffee shop on Georgetown square. This place used to be something else. It used to be owned by this dynamic family, run by dynamic people and with the aesthetics of a truly unique shop. Now it's sort of...mainstream (and I use this word lightly, not in its typical sense.) It has a lot less uniqueness. Cool thing is, though, it hasn't stopped being an enchanting place where memories are made over a muffin and a cup. 

Right now as I sit in this coffee shop, there is a girl and a woman to my right talking about college. Talking about housing, what to major in, what to expect, and all this other stuff. And it's probably one of the most frustrating things ever to me. Why? Because it reminds me of when I was in the same boat. I hardly knew what I was talking about or what I was going in to. I was uncertain about so many things. I had so many incorrect premonitions. And looking at how far I've come, I'd hate to be in that place again. This conversation is frustrating. 

I suppose it's also a sweet reminder of just how far I've come. I'm in a different place for sure. But then... I suppose I'm also in the same place as this girl, as I was before. I graduate college in May 2015 and I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing or what I want to do. At least this girl to my right is hashing it out with someone. I'm almost afraid to.  I'm almost afraid to think about the future because when I start aligning options, it becomes more real. And right now, I'm so content where I am. 

But I'm not. This past semester has been the best one I have ever lived. I am so full of joy when I think of the memories I've made. And part of me doesn't want this crazy, special undergrad college time to end. Another part of me can't wait for the adventures ahead. A part of me does think about the future and dreams of all the possibilities and is always telling myself not to let them slip away. Don't stop living this life you love, no matter where you are. 

My thoughts jumble. Some guy just walked by and called me my sister Kymbrly. It makes sense—this is her hub and we are basically twins. My thoughts jumble. This girl has already graduated high school? I'm confused. My thoughts jumble. I have a page of writing I've left unfinished to write this here blog post. My thoughts jumble. God? Hello. Hi. Here we go. 

The ghost of a good conversation amongst friends, this the empty table at a coffee shop. 

What Are You Waiting For?

I like to think.  I like to share my thoughts with the Lord and see what he thinks, too.  One time I was thinking, and something hit me (I usually get hit by thoughts – not tapped or nudged, although that does happen sometimes, too. Actually, maybe some thoughts sneak up on me also… so never mind). But yes, a thought hit me – what am I waiting for? What am I waiting for???

We’re always waiting it seems! We are always waiting for the next milestone – graduation, next vehicle, next paycheck, next sport event, next relationship, next house, next job, next pay-raise, year, child, class, birthday, wedding, you name it! We’re waiting for it.  Sometimes the wait is simply normal, like waiting in line at the DPS office to get a new license or waiting to have enough money to make a down payment on something. Sometimes, waiting isn't okay.  Sometimes we wait until graduation to start living like there’s a real world out there (speaking for students of all ages). Sometimes we wait until the morning-of to study for a test (guilty a hundred times over).  Sometimes we wait until the work-day is over to start enjoying the time we have. Sometimes we wait until we are in a new relationship to start actively working on the character flaws we know we have to wrestle with.  Sometimes we wait until we have our first child to start seeing humanity as precious and valuable. 

I looked at all these elements of waiting and decided that I don’t want to wait. I’m done waiting. I’m done waiting to take charge of my attitude and development as a person until I’m…what, more grown? A wife? A mother? A grandmother? When do you start making changes and growing? Yes, I know that each of those times of my life will bring each their own lessons and seasons of growth that I can’t experience right now.  But I don’t want to go into those times unequipped, having waited until I’m in an intimate relationship with someone to practice far-stretched patience or profuse forgiving or self-sacrificing. I don’t want to wait until I’m married to start taking constructive criticism seriously and delicately.  I don’t want to wait until I have an “official job” to start doing what I love. The time is now.

I've heard that phrase over and again, too.  The time is now. It never really got to me, though, until recent thoughts hit me (hahahahaha). So here is one of my new mantras I've been sharing with those close to me:

The life I’m living now is the life I always want to live. I’m not waiting to live how I want to live in the future.

What this means to me is not that I’m completely satisfied with where I am now but that I am completely satisfied with how I’m living my life now.  How am I choosing to live life now?  I’m choosing to take each day and actively seek how I can give this life I've been given back to the One who is worth all of my life and so so so so much more.  I’m choosing to live each day in the understanding that I have so much more to learn about life and God and loving his world.  I’m choosing to laugh more, care more, give more, adventure more, fail more, cry more, celebrate more.

I’m simply saying that I’m not waiting until the bad times, rough times, odd times, emotional times or whatever have passed for me to start being better for Christ. It seems almost absolute to say I’m completely satisfied with how I’m living my life now. It isn't though, because my understanding is that I’m living with the knowledge that I have so much farther to go – and that’s why it’s important not to wait. We’ll always, always have room to be better, to grow more like Christ, to love people more. So why wait? Why wait and fall behind? Why wait and watch the excellent life pass you by when you can hop on to the excellent-life boat and sail through life in excellence? Does this sound cheesy? Maybe it is. But it’s real. And it’s now. I want to be on that excellent-life boat. I know the waters will get rough sometimes. Shoot, I’ll even get knocked out of it every now and then. Other times, though, I’ll see the most beautiful things on the journey. I’ll feel the winds of life rushing along with me. I’ll see the power of God and how he is constantly in motion. And I know deep down inside, I’d much rather be on the boat of excellence, excellently giving my life back to the Lord for his glory alone, than to be on the shore wishing I was.