How did Jesus travel?

John 4:3-6a "When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well."

He sat down.
Next thing you know the people from the local town are urging him to stay because they believe.

It was just a rest stop. The disciple would go grab some food from the local McDonald's and Jesus would take a break and rest his feet.

I've experienced this. A long day of travel and we're tired so we stop someplace to grab some food and catch our breath. In our case we heap our backpacks in a pile and then one person stays to watch well everyone else grabs food. It's similar. Kinda.

Two differences:
1. Jesus starts up a conversation with the person he shouldn't even give a second glance.
In contrast, we're so tired we scrupulously avoid eye contact with every single person who might feel the urge to start a conversation.

2. Jesus ends up proving his point to, like, a whole village, giving them living water, and being offered        a place to stay for as long as he wants.
We end up with, well, a couple cheeseburgers and maybe some free wifi.

It isn't like Jesus was just wandering around aimlessly, he had a clear destination: Galilee.
For Christ, the stops along the journey were as important as reaching the end of his journey.
A necessary stop for food was an opportunity to live out his calling.

I don't think it should be any different for us. Whether we're at a physical or hypothetical rest stop we can't make the end of the journey more important than the stops along the way.

Okay, so it's way harder said than done*, but I think the first step to changing my actions just might be becoming aware that my actions are not righteous.

(Here is how the rest of it goes! http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4%3A1-42&version=NIV)

*pretty sure that isn't how it goes... or what I meant to say. If it was actually harder said than done that would be quite beneficial... I take this as more proof that I should return to an English speaking country asap... or in 17 days? or maybe I should just edit?... nah.

Just Another Valentines Day: LOVE!

Happy Valentines Day!

I know, I would appear to be into super cliche blog subjects. In fact, I was sitting here trying to write a sarcastic tweet about the bountiful-ness of Valentine blogs when I thought to myself, hmmm, I could add my own thoughts to this word dump. They might not be brilliant, but then, not many of the things I've read today have been. Here goes:

I read a lot of blogs today. They all had some advice to give. Most of this advice can be summed up in this: If you have a significant other, good for you, if you don't, use this day to pamper yourself.

You don't have to tell me to love myself.
You don't have to tell me to buy myself chocolate.

I already do those things.
I already put myself first.

Thanks for the suggestions but I don't think buying myself chocolate is going to solve any problems.

You see, whether my self-esteem is low or high, I don't have to put an effort into putting myself first.

Problems (sins) don't bloom because we're so busy loving others, but they definitely grow because we're so busy loving ourselves.

'Me-Thinking' and the 'Do what makes you happy' philosophy are exactly what will occur if I choose to love myself in the way you're suggesting. It might be okay for one February 14th, but if I'm honest, there is no way that it will just stop after one day. These things are satisfying and enjoyable... at least for a little while, but they wont last.

Sex-trafficking.
Abortion.
Divorce.

So many forms of brokenness occur as the result of us loving only ourselves and forgetting that we need to love others.

I was talking with a friend last week and made the comment that when I look back on the past couple years I can see that many of my decisions were made because I thought they would make me happy. This was not a positive realization for me so her reaction took me by surprise. She congratulated me. Yeah, way to go me, give a big ol cheer for selfishness.

No. Guys, we seriously need to stop acting like selfishness is a good thing.

It's not okay.

Singleness is not an excuse.

Happy Valentines Day!

The Disposable Camera Challenge

 The Challenge:

1. Avoid using my digital camera.

2. Stop posting photos on fb/twitter.

3. Use only disposable/film cameras for 365 days.

4. Do not develop any film until the end of the year.

The Reasons:

1. I really have no reason to share photos of my life… other than to make my life look great, which is clearly a terrible reason for me to be sharing photos.

2. I love photography but it looses it appeal when other people’s opinions matter.

3. How fun would it be to end the year with a years worth of photos that you’ve never seen?!

4. My camera just happened to break a few months ago and I don’t really want to get a new camera until I can get an upgrade :)

5. I’ve got a memory (and the internet) so I want to avoid Eiffel-tower-syndrome and stick to taking photos of experiences that mean something to me. (I don’t actually know if Eiffel-tower-syndrome is a thing, but chya know the whole tourist walking down the street with a camera in front of their face the entire time thing.)

The Motivation:

A really stimulating conversation with a friend... I can't actually remember exactly what we said, I just know it was a great conversation :)

20 Things I'm Thankful for Right Now

1. freshness of visiting new places every week

2. hospitality of the Austrian family that has taken us in and everyone else that has hosted us

3. meeting up with old friends in new places 

4. sunsets

5. metro rides (aka people-watching paradise)

6. baguettes (45 cents!)

7. culture and it subtleties 

8. finally being in a place where the languages are somehow tied to english 

9. being mistaken for locals… because the two completely lost Canadian girls are going to be able to 

give you directions in German

10. the awkwardness of telling someone who has been talking to you for a couple minutes that you didn’t understand anything they've said

11. palaces/castles/ruins 

12. high places with views… every city seems to have at least one

13. wandering around with no agenda (other than to maybe find cheap food)

14. having unlimited time to get completely lost

15. coffee (seriously North America, you're doing something wrong when it comes to hot drinks)

16. the incredibly good and cheap Asian food that is pretty much anywhere... also Kebab stands.

17. the instant bond with every other Canadian (it’s actually really strange)

18. CHEESE… so good... missing good old cheddar, but the rest is just plain delicious

19. snow, if there wasn't any this Europe in winter thing would be extra lame

20. going to church in different places and having the opportunity to meet brothers and sister

p.s. If you experienced any jealousy as you read this you should probably know that I wrote this list because I would give just about anything to be home right now... traveling isn't everything it's made out to be. It's exhausting, boring, and sometimes miserable. Being thankful sometimes takes some thought. Good and bad, I am where I am so I'm gonna give appreciating it my all.

In other news, I'm doing a year long disposable camera challenge. There's a blog coming that will describe exactly what that means and why there will be very few photos in any blogs written in 2014.

Not meant to be a Tree

I am jealous of the trees.

They live every day simply to sit and watch

No need to seek the truth

No need to find something better.

But perhaps the trees are also jealous of me

For I am free,

Free to wander

But also free to stay.

They are rooted,

But for me, to be rooted is a choice.

At this moment I would gladly be a tree.

But tomorrow I will laugh because I'm not.

Tomorrow I'll rejoice because I'm me.

Not meant to be a tree.

Merry Christmas!

This is what Christmas looked like. It was a beautiful day!

Ramblings (UB#13)

I have 12 days left in Uganda. I cannot believe how many things I have experienced and how many emotions I have felt since being here. The time has flown by. As of today I have been here just short of four months. Almost the same amount of time I spent at my last summer job, almost the same amount of time as my last semester at trinity. This semester abroad, though it has been significant, as not been more significant than the four months I spent working in Banff or the eight months I spent living with a wonderful group of girls at Trinity… and I think that is absolutely a blessing.

There is no need to live a life of adventure, though adventure can be wonderful, it brings very little that can not be found at home. I’m thankful for the chance I had this semester to go on a safari, swim in Lake Victoria, and live with Ugandans, but I am more thankful for each and every relationship that I got to participate in this semester. Much of what I treasure most from this semester is probably the time spent just being with people. Nights spent ‘doing homework’ in the lounge, communal dinners in the dining hall, the many car rides with all the people from my practicum (especially baby JohannaJ). Being in Africa didn’t make this semester special… if anything, being in Africa made this semester really hard… but the people I met through this semester made it completely worth it.

Location really doesn’t matter. Relationships really do matter. I hope realizing this will help me to be more content at home… that being said, I am about to embark on a two month adventure through Europe, pretty sure location is going to play a huge role… but hopefully at the end of the next two months I will once again be able to sit back and appreciate the people I’ve met… more than the things I’ve done.

(Already had to say goodbye to BabyJo... gonna miss this

beautiful girl... glad her Momma promised to send me photos :)

Flaughs

What if I stopped caring about appearance?

It is an option after all.

What would change if I stopped caring?

I know what would change.

Everything would change.

I would be able to love.

What is it you wish you could hide?

What if I declared right here and now that I don’t care?

Yeah. You’re physically flawed. We’re all flawed.

But those flaws aren’t going to change the way I see you.

Let me see you for the way you think.

The way you acknowledge people with your eyes.

The way you carry yourself with grace.

The way you stay on the sidelines to make sure everyone has a chance.

The way you don’t care what people think.

They way you listen.

The way you share your blessings.

The way you have made friends into family.

If I stop seeing the flaws you know I can see…

Will you let me see the flaws I can’t already see?

Offerings and Confessions (UB#12)

There is a book I have been reading all semester. It is not about thanksgiving. Yesterday, on American Thanksgiving, the chapter I read just happened to be about thanksgiving. This is a quote the author used:

 "In the world to come all sacrifices will cease,

but the thank-offering will remain for ever; 

likewise all confessions will cease, 

but the confession of thanks will remain for ever." 

This is apparently a saying from the Tannaitic times (1st-2nd century AD). How crazy is it that in the 1st century AD thanksgiving was probably just as important or more important than it is now... also whoever started this pretty much hit the nail on the head... at least for our culture.

How often do I forget to be thankful?!? I get caught up in complaining, whining, and just doing life and not only do I forget what there is to be thankful for I somehow manage to forget the joy of giving thanks.

Pretty much everyone has what I like to call a fallback sermon. One of the PAs (basically an RAs) for the program I'm doing right now has a personal mantra of thanksgiving. On two occasions she has brought to our attention, as a group, different issues and then proceeded to suggest that we overcome those issues by putting on attitudes of thanksgiving.

It is a beautiful thing to watch people who have struggled together begin to purposefully confess their thanks. It is an even more beautiful thing to witness the difference that purposeful giving of thanks can make within a community. Giving thanks brings people and communities into joy. Persistent confession of thanks will slowly change your heart.

I am grateful for at least one day every year on which I am reminded of the joy of giving thanks.

(Also.. I'm thankful that yesterday I got to bake sugar cookies and pumpkin bread... in Uganda!)