Amen

My runs are getting quicker and longer. I have a job interview tomorrow for a counseling position at a behavioral healthcare clinic. Just made a great lunch, and the sun is out in Portland! I try to live a life where my circumstances are not the major factor dictating my happiness but these things help a little. Thank God for his promises.

Philippians 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

A New Morning

 

As I awoke this morning,  fully rested from the first full night of sleep uninterrupted by severe fevers in a week,  the warm orange glow seeping through the blinds next to my bed welcomed me out of my slumber.  It’s that morning glow that only comes before eight in the spring when you know its still a bit chilly out but a decently nice day is still in store. Its the warmth that just gets you excited for the possibilities the day holds.  Laying in bed still, admiring the orange glow slowly get brighter and sharper, my alarm turns on on my phone and the calling words of Pastor Josh and the Followers inviting “Jesus come down” fill my soul just as the morning light has filled the room.

I guess sometimes it takes a week of being brutally sick to remind you to slow down, and to be thankful for your health and the many things God has placed in your life.

Longing for more and wanting less

Now that finals are nearly over I want to take this break to get back to my resolution and seek inspiration. I have a few stories I want to finish and share as well and in hopes to create a habit of posting more.

Todays inspiration:

The Road Not Taken

By: Robert Frost (1915)

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

 

I want this in my house someday.

“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” - Mark Twain

 

A great sandwich

So I am working on having a greater pallet for good wines, nicer beers, fancier food and so on. I am also enjoying learning to cook when I have the time, money, and someone to cook for besides my self and think I’m getting pretty good at it. But, for lunch today I busted out the tried and true late lunch sandwich makings. And might I lack humility for a moment and say, I am damn good at making delightful sandwiches. I thought I’d share with you all in blog world my latest and greatest beast of a traditional sandwich. It killed me to take the small amount of time to photograph it, as I was salivating worse than and Pavlovian dog.

Sandwich includes:

• Safeway thick-cut 100% whole wheat bread
• Light mayo
• Mustard (a must if you know me)
• Tillamook Cheddar
• Freshly cut cucumber
• Fresh Lettuce
• Freshly sliced smoked turkey breast

New Years Resolution

It’s taken me awhile to come up with what my 2011 new years resolutions will be. I already know this will be a big year for me as many new and big things are ahead of me. This year I become the first person in my whole family and with my last name to graduate college with 4 year degree. That alone is big enough for me but on top of that I know that opportunities for greater things are ahead of me and just working and walking those out will be an adventure I look forward to.

So as I sit down to write out my resolutions, of course getting in shape and reading my bible more come to mind but I want more. But I think all those “good things” will come out of this:

I want to seek ways to daily be inspired and motivated and in return be inspiring and motivating to those who know me.

I don’t wanna waste another day,
Or night,
I know there’s something more,
Than what we’re living for,
I see it in the stars,
I feel it on the shore,
I know there’s something,

Re-entry

     I’ve been home two weeks now. There have been so many different emotions and so much to process. The hustle of day-to-day life; moving, starting classes again, and looking for a job is enough to distract me from remembering all that Africa taught me. I have been wanting to keep up on the blog but putting words to the way I have been feeling since being back has been tough. And everything seems to fall short compared to Africa.
    As people often ask me, “how was Africa?” I struggle to answer in an honest way. The best answer I have come up with thus far is, “Africa was good, challenging but good.” I do have some fun and cool stories of the crazy and cool stuff we did in Africa. But, more of my stories are tough hard lessons learned in some really rough places and discerning who really wants to hear those stories isn’t easy.  I answer in that way in order to leave the door open, so that people can be satisfied that I had a good trip and am home safe and in one piece. Also, if someone asks the right questions it opens doors to really how Africa was for me. I am so thankful for the amazing family and friends I have. Within the first week I was home my best friend drove down to Portland just to spend the afternoon with me and hear my stories that were still so fresh on my heart and emotionally charged that we shed a few tears together. Also a great conversation with my grandparents really encouraged me as they asked the right questions in willingness to hear the hard stuff and then tell me how proud they were.
     A recent eye-opening moment came this past weekend at a wedding in Astoria I attended. At the reception, after the wedding, I took a moment to take in everything. I was dressed in my best slacks, pressed white button down shirt, and navy sweater-vest (yes, I can’t deny I rock the sweater-vest) all while sipping on a nice glass of red wine. In that moment, as I and everyone around was dressed in their finest and having a great time, I realized that it wasn’t even two weeks ago I was wearing clothes I hadn’t washed in a week dripping sweat 5 ft. deep in a hole throwing a pick-axe as a crowd of village kids watched as if I was in the zoo in a small village in rural northern Uganda. From one world to another.
     As I write this blog my hands are still recovering from that time; the blisters have turned to calluses and now the calluses are begging to peel. I still struggle with knowing what to do with this whole experience and how to share it. But, I know I don’t want to get so wrapped up in this world that I forget. I don’t want to forget my friend Manuel and that he lives in a small village literally across the street from a five-star hotel. I don’t want to forget the joy in the little kids that couldn’t wait for the village feeding program and the opportunity to jump all over me just wanting to be held. I don’t want to forget my friend Boscow and his hospitality. I don’t want to forget the little children of Kebier. And most of all, I don’t want to live like I have forgotten.
   -Chris-