January 2012
2 posts
LITERALLY.
Okay as of late in my life, I’ve used the term “literally” in not so literal ways. Which it is totes cray that words get morphed to mean things they don’t actually mean over time. For instance I say things like, “I’ve literally never been this hungry in my whole life…” “I have literally 8,000 hours of homework to do.” No, no not...
December 2011
8 posts
swimming in peanut butter is hard.
Swimming in peanut butter is hard. Maybe with your Sherlock Holmes-esque deduction skills you could imagine it’s an extremely slow process. And really most of all, it raises the chances for getting leg cramps by 4,000%. Okay. This is ridiculous, I know. The real truth is I’ve never swam in peanut butter, nor do I have the desire to unless there is 1 MEELYON dollars at stake. It’s...
BAAHH I love every element of this song....
A SMALL, POINTLESS STORY FROM MY LIFE
“Woes of Jet-lag” Part One
Because my house feels as if polar bears and penguins could live comfortably here, my adaptive instincts led me to make a small, temporary cocoon in my bed to prevent hypothermia from kicking in. Of course, that proceeded to become a four hour hibernation lasting from 5:20 to 9:20PM which means I am successfully making strides in my effort to actually become...
post-India
Welp. My post-India blog is coming sooner than I thought due to the paper I have to write for my school credit. This is the shorter, way more relaxed, blog version of my paper for my internship in India.
Words could never describe what I learned and how I grew over the last three months. I am honestly not even to a point where my thoughts are clear enough to write about the experience as a whole,...
1 tag
no if's, and's, or but's.
For a long time I struggled to understand this passage, and I always wanted to know its significance. Some people give it a socio-economical slant. At times, I have resonated with that. But today while reading it, I heard a new, simple understanding. It is nothing profound, but just a simplistic, face-value view of the temptation of Jesus.
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was...
November 2011
10 posts
“Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but...”
– Mother Teresa
Three ministries.
My three months in India is quickly coming to a close. In some ways it has seemed like it has flown by just because I can’t believe I’m about to go home, but when I think about family and friends at home I feel like I’ve been gone forever. In my time here, I’ve encountered three ministries who all do different yet equally impactful work for the kingdom of God (one thing...
“The moment I realized that God existed, I knew that I could not do otherwise...”
– Charles de Foucauld
GOOGLE IMAGE IT.
I couldn’t find any pictures on Google images of people SUPER excited to read the Bible so I just found these…
Sometimes the Bible SHOCKS us…
Seriously. I know some of you may not believe it. But, the Bible can evoke these emotions. I’ve seen it happen to others. It has happened to ME.
I’ve realized one of the things I hope for my life is that I can...
PRAY IN FAITH.
God is good. He really is. Why do I always have to add, “He REALLY is?” Because I’ve spent a lot of time doubting His providence.
I’m learning over and over again while I’m here that God is so good to people who are literally relying on Him and nothing else.
James, the founder of IRM, has been in some desperate need of funding for his ministry. I’m not going...
October 2011
14 posts
Occupy Nashville--a perspective from India.
I don’t really like being “controversial,” but I felt like I needed to say something about this. It’s so strange reading about all of this in India. No one really thinks of the BILLIONS of other people in the world who need justice too… Anyways, I woke up this morning and started reading LUmination’s article about the movement among students at Lipscomb with...
in light of diwali... the office.
This is so much funnier after being here in India.
Kelly: Um, Diwali is awesome. And there's food, and there's gonna be dancing. And, oh, I got the raddest outfit. It has, um, sparkles-
Michael: Kelly? Um, why don't you tell us a little bit about the origins of the holiday?
Kelly: Oh, um, I don't know. It's really old, I think.
Angela: How many gods do you have?
Kelly: Like hundreds, I think. Maybe more than that.
Angela: And that blue busty gal? What's her story?
Kevin: She looks like Pam from the neck down.
Dwight: Pam wishes.
bahahah.
GENIE ALL OH GEEZ
I was reading in Luke the genealogy of Jesus. Luke’s version is unique and cool. He goes backwards from Joseph, Jesus’ father, all the way to Adam! KIND OF like this: “names I can’t pronounce… David… more names I can’t pronounce… Jacob, Issac, Abraham, Noah, Enosh, Seth….then there was Adam, the son of God.” BOOM. Jesus relates to all of mankind.
It made me think about my own genealogy. I...
psalm 126
During the message at the prayer meeting tonight, I decided to read Psalm 126 since I can’t understand a word of what they are saying. The Psalms weirdly come alive to me here in this place. The words about meaningless idols resonate 100 times more. The words about redemption from captivity and horrible situations jump right off the page in light of the girls who are being rescued here.
...
I don't feel pretentious no mo'
SIMPLY THIS: On this trip, I’ve been drinking in Scripture like it’s my paid job. I’ve never really done that before… like hardcore every day… reading through different books. So far I’ve finished Matthew and Romans, and am working through Genesis and John currently. All that reading combined with living in this pagan society, I’ve been convicted of mainly one thing: The man Jesus Christ was not...
two songs.
Two songs that have recently come on our Ipod shuffle.
1. Andrew Peterson “Reckoning”- I love this song. Not many songs attempt to grasp the FULL expanse of God. Peterson writes longing for the day we don’t see in part anymore but in full—face to face with God. I love the bridge. I love this song.
I can see the storm descending on the hill tonight Tall trees are bending...
what in the world have I been doing???
I feel like I need to write a good blog concerning what we have been doing and what we will be doing in the next few weeks. Thanks to you all who have been praying and following my blog while I’m here. I feel so blessed when I hear your prayers and encouragement.
The purpose of this trip is to get the Ashraya Mission home ready for girls to live here. That is where I am now. This home is...
“Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend—it must transcend...”
– Martin Luther
Avoiding Jesus
It’s been a lazy day at the Ashraya home—perfect morning to dominate at some Rook with KB and her rents, and also a perfect afternoon to tackle some Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I’m only on chapter 2 of The Cost of Discipleship, and it’s kicking my tail. What I’ve been reading today has opened so many doors in my mind full of thoughts and questions; I had to take some time to type it out.
To be honest I...
BLOGZ. →
Ashraya’s blog
September 2011
4 posts
So pretty much the only way to make a trip to the Taj Mahal any better is to bring along some kids from Asha Mission who have never really left their town before… and especially to see one of the seven wonders of the world!
We had an early start arriving at Asha to pick up the kids at around 5am. The children were dressed in their very best clothes for this exciting outing. We piled up into...
this blog is dedicated to joe carr.
i’ve never loved listening to the Beatles more than while painting Ashraya Mission in India. i haven’t really had a chance to listen to non-Indian music in awhile…their music is terrible. TERRIBLE. (except the dance music..we have been learning Bollywood dances which i’m not too shabby at) …but Alissa put her ipod on Beatles shuffle while we were painting. it was...
Hey friends. Sorry It has taken we so long to write something. We haven’t really had good internet access yet. And when we do, I feel rushed because others need it too. So India is pretty interesting…that is kind of an understatement. When I look to my left, I see a mountain which me, Bonny, David, Kevin, Hushkush (that is a made-up name I gave him because I can’t pronounce his...
Many if not most of our prayers for this trip are for safety, health, strength and so on, but I was convicted the other night by the words of one of my fellow travelers, David. His one prayer was simply that the Lord be made much of. Whatever it may take… that God would be the one lifted up high. MAAANN. yes. Amen. I’ll still ask for safety, health, and all that jazz…. but...
August 2011
9 posts
CAN THESE BONES LIVE?
He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+37&version=NIV (if you are a REAL christian you’ll click this link and read the full story!!!! kidding………………..but seriously.)
This story has truly rocked my world recently. I went to Denver and met the...
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… Broad, wholesome,...”
– Mark Twain
pre-india thoughts.
(I wrote this like a month ago..I have some continued thoughts at the end.)
If you have ever been cliff jumping before, you probably know that inner struggle when you are about to jump and your nerves and brain are making you hesitate and second guess, but your body ends up rebelling and just going for it anyways. Well, maybe that isn’t you, but at least that is how my mind and body work....
an inconvenience rightly considered
“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.” G.K. Chesterton
India. 17 days.
4 tags
July 2011
1 post
May 2011
1 post
February 2011
2 posts
there's only one way to figure out. will ya let me...
In your ocean, I’m ankle deep I feel the waves crashin’ on my feet It’s like I know where I need to be But I can’t figure out, yeah I can’t figure out Just how much air I will need to breathe When your tide rushes over me There’s only one way to figure out
Will ya let me drown, will ya let me drown?
And the water is risin’ quick And for years I...