Archive for category dream

Blessings

Sometimes, I feel like life is a real challenge. Then I remember how blessed I am. Even on the days where I’m sick and have to go to the doctor for the third time in two weeks, I realize that I have it so. good. There are people right now in Dallas who only wish they could go to the doctor for their sicknesses. That’s just in Dallas. There are people all over the world who have never been to see the doctor. Who have never imagined the day that they will be healthy. I am blessed.

There are days when I have to take a test after feeling like I’ve learned very little on the subject. On those days, I try to remember that I am getting a college education while there are little girls around the world who would cry tears of joy at being told they are allowed to go to school for the first time in their lives. I am blessed.

There are days when I feel like I don’t want to get up and go to work, when all I want to do is stay at home and read. I am so blessed to have a job I like, much more so to have a job at all.

On days when wedding planning overwhelms me, I realize that I am blessed in getting to have a wedding where I not only know the groom, I love him and he loves me. Many women around the world are denied this pleasure. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

I do not claim to know why I am blessed with all of these things and why others are suffering daily, but I do know that I want to help them. Where women, girls, men and boys are denied these blessings, I want to be the one God uses to help them. I know that God created me for this reason–to share his love and blessings with those around me and those across the globe. I can’t save the world, I know. But I can most definitely try to make one little difference. That is my goal. Make a difference.

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Forward and Back.

Wow. 2009 is just a matter of mere hours away. How did this happen? How was it just the start of another semester, and now that same semester is long gone? Seriously, these past few months have been the quickest moving period of time I have ever experienced. And boy, were they full! I mean, looking back, there was so much crammed into them that we should really only be in October now.

Here are some major highlights, just so you know what I’m talking about. I went to IL, had a couple of friends get married, started the semester, gotten a new roommate, seen many friends get engaged, had more friends get married, gone to Korea, hung out with friends, written papers, done projects, worked, taken millions of tests and quizzes, gone to the symphony, celebrated holidays, spent time with family, written a letter to the editor, gotten addicted to two shows, seen friends that I hadn’t seen in forever, helped plan/ prepare to be in a wedding, worked out, etc.

You have to admit that that is quite the list, especially since it all took place in a matter of months! There are some things missing from that list, though. Things I should have done, but didn’t. There are people I wish I would have called, books I really wanted to read, days when I should have gone out to take pictures, adventures I didn’t go on, and more. But really, I will do my best to make 2009 a year where I do all the things need to do (well, not all. I would like to have a reason to go on living!).

Here are a few things just off of the top of my head that I really want to do in this new year:

1. Learn how to cook. Not just easy stuff, but medium to hard level stuff.
2. Read a LOT. For fun, not just school.
3. Finally pull off that 4.0 I’ve been wanting. I know, I’m a nerd.
4. Accomplish something in the save the world category. I’m working on this right now, actually. I will write all about it when I have something definite.
5. Write something really good. Something memorable.
6. Go somewhere I’ve never been before.
7. Blog more often.
8. Go to Austin
9. Take more pictures
10. To be determined at a later date!

I guess that’s all for now, I’ve got a few things already on the agenda for 2009…my cousin is getting married, one of my friends is going to Denmark, and I’ve got my first 4000 level class coming up. It should be a good year. :)

Looking Ahead

On my wall right above my desk, a beautiful map of China is prominently displayed. I love China. The Chinese people that I have met are wonderful (many of my good friends are Chinese), the literature I read from China is awesome, and the books and articles that I have read about China and the TV shows that I have watched are eye opening. I haven’t been to China yet, but someday I will go…and I am so excited for that time, believe me! The point of the above declarations is to let you know that God has placed such a love for China on my heart.

I don’t feel called to be a full time missionary in China, although I used to want to teach English there. I do feel called, however, to witness to the Chinese people here in America. I know that God wants me to reach them in a way that sounds totally crazy to many people, but sounds absolutely perfect to me. I want to start an outreach center for Chinese immigrants (I love immigrants, too) somewhere with a large population of said people. I want to help them become citizens, learn English, develop skills that they couldn’t back home, and, most importantly, learn about God’s love for them.

To do this, I will need to fully rely on God. I will be learning Mandarin eventually, taking classes that help me learn how to start something like this, getting certified to teach ESL, getting my masters in something that will help me to do this, and much, much more. There is no way I can do any of those things without God’s help! Just looking at the list terrifies me. How can I do all of these things?

Without God, this dream of mine would be as impractical as trying to dig my way to China. With him, though, I can rest assured that it will happen.

Unexplored Territory: Earth

I feel this crazy need to get out of the country and do something awesome. DBU makes this need worse, because nearly everybody here has gone to some amazing, far-off place to do great things for God. I know people who have gone/ are going to places like China, Peru, South Africa, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Japan, etc. I have to admit that I am thoroughly envious of them all. Not only do they get to go experience another culture, which is sweet, they also get to share God while doing so.

I want that. I want to say that I went somewhere and did something for a better reason than just a vacation. I want to make a difference. I know that this can be accomplished here in Dallas, in Texas, in America, but something inside of me makes me want to dash off to some exotic locale, share the love of Jesus and just have a fantastic time while doing so. I don’t feel led to be a career missionary…I feel like God wants me to help immigrants here in America, but I do feel like he wants me to get a little first hand knowledge before I do so.

In the fall, there is a mission trip to South Korea. I know, that sounds sooo cool. I really want to go. I mean, it is such an opportunity that I just don’t want to miss. And if I do miss it, I will just want to take advantage of the next chance I have that much more. I definitely have to go somewhere and do something awesome for God while I am still in college. There isn’t really a better time.

//UPDATE: I am so going on this trip.//