This post is dedicated to a happy life…

    So I have found the secret to a happy life! Are you absolutely ready for this? Don't continue reading unless you are sitting down, perhaps holding onto something, and have your emergency contact dialed on your phone just in case, this is it…to have a happy life all you have to do is NOTHING!!! This logic comes from: If you do nothing then nothing will happen, wah-lah happiness! 

    As Lee and I have been traveling around talking with friends one night we got onto the subject of traveling and life's happiness. One of our friend's mentioned reading an article that talked about this sort of thing and it mentioned that people who travel don't enjoy life as much as those who don't. The people who travel see more and in return want to do even more, a vicious cycle that I'm struggling with right now. 

   As I plan out my life I can't see a time where I will stay grounded for too long. Not necessarily where I live but in my career path and in my plans of things to do. Of course everything changes, sometimes daily, for me and I might find that thing I feel like doing for 50 years but we'll see if that happens. So until then I struggle to find solid ground to stand. I've been constantly on the go pretty much since I left for college. My permanent address has been in Garden City but I haven't lived there for a consistent 6 months since high school. It's great to see the world and have new experiences but there are draw backs. I want to do MORE because I find out about more to do!!! 

  I was talking with Lee about running a "Krispy Kreme" race in North Carolina in February and he tells me that I want to do too much and that it's too far away for such a thing, plus what will life be like then? Will we have a steady job we can't leave then? He can't see himself packing up to do something crazy like that. But I think it would be tons of fun and exciting plus you get a FREE box of a dozen donuts. I also have a longing to hike the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide, or all three! And don't get me started on the other countries I want to visit! While Lee and I were in Acadia we found out about Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, it looks awesome and has been begging us to visit! 

  Another downfall is the fact that I'm missing out on the life of my family and friends. Sure everyone says that I'm super lucky to get to do awesome things but is it worth it? I've missed weddings and babies, I've missed deaths and graduations, and I've missed reunions and celebrations. I'm missing out on making the big "after a college degree" bucks and buying a house and a puppy to decorate (you would not believe the costumes they make for dogs nowadays). So where do I go for guidance? The Bible? Sure the people traveled to the promise land from Egypt and had a sweet vacation spot in the desert but they had their families and mules with them. Sure Jesus tells us to go out into the world and make disciples but he always sent them out in groups to go into their mission fields because it's not good to be alone because of temptation, disheartening/for encouragement, and wisdom. Sure I have a partner but for the most part he can't do the job mostly because of the temptation part! ;) Here I am enjoying what I do but longing for a little bit more, a whisper from my God. I am content at where I am but I truly believe that God has given me a passion to be adventurous but also to be in community, how can those two exist in my life? I guess I have all winter to figure it out. As for now I'm training for that race, anyone want to join in, we must run to Wichita for the donuts though!

Learning Through Opposition

My first summer in Maine lead me to Hebrews 12 and truly praying for Jesus' guidance since He knew what I was going through. A refresher on how that summer went, I spent the summer, of my junior year in college, at a summer camp in Readfield, ME. The people I worked with and the children I counseled were totally different than what I was used to in Kansas. The attitudes and thoughts about life were totally flipped from the Christian environment I was used to, especially since most of them were Jewish and not big into faith but into drinking. So I found comfort in reading my little glow-in-the-dark Bible and landed on Hebrews 12 as my strength. Again I found solace in that passage this summer with events like feuding with a negative/whiny co-worker, talking to sarcastic and scary people who were vocal about their atheism or just not friendly around a vocal and nervous Christian, or being at our Cadillac mountain sunset service where a lady came over yelling at us to stop having worship and to leave because we were ruining her evening by our hymn singing and our "lack of consideration" of the separation of church and state law. This summer, again, I felt the pressure from an unbelieving world. I have noticed through these experiences I can truly feel Jesus' love. I feel sorry for those who haven't truly been mocked or discouraged or yelled out because of their faith actions, these moments lead to full reliance on God for strength. Are we in a hostile environment wherever we are, it's just not as noticeable? Is it because we truly aren't in a hostile environment or is it because we truly don't let ourselves show Jesus to those around us to make them feel uncomfortable? I like it best when everyone is happy and comfortable and situations aren't awkward or intimidating. Jesus makes people do weird things and if we truly lived with whole devotion would more people be vocal about or act on their disgust of what I believe. Why did it take two trips to Maine before I noticed the conflict of others around me? Am I truly living for Jesus at home or am I just in a more hostile environment in Maine? May we keep throwing off the things that hinder and the sin that entangles and keep running, remembering that Jesus also saw opposition from sinful men so that we don't grow weary and loose heart. I'm praying for those situations that we don't truly see where the differences lie, may we grow stronger when those situations boil up!