shades

Yep, I broke another pair. I'm hopeful that one day my sunglasses and I will have a friendship that last longer than a couple weeks before they are lost or broken.

comma problem

Main Entry: com·ma

Pronunciation: \ˈkä-mə\

Function: noun

Etymology: Late Latin, from Latin, part of a sentence, from Greek komma segment, clause, fromkoptein to cut — more at capon

Date: 1554

1 : a punctuation mark , used especially as a mark of separation within the sentence [2 : pause, interval ] 3 : any of several nymphalid butterflies (genus Polygonia) with a silvery comma-shaped mark on the underside of the hind wings

I just love a comma. Over half of the commas I use when I write are not necessary, or in, the, wrong, place. If this misappropriation has irritated you, caused frustration, given you urges to punch your computer screen, or caused your finger to move that mouse over the [X] on the corner of the screen and click out of my blog before you could get past the first paragraph; please know that these efforts of misuse are not intentional. In all honesty, I just place them where my thoughts take a pause. I always heard that commas were like a pause in a sentence, so there's my simple (most likely way off base) logic. If you've noticed my misappropriation of the comma, please except my apology.

thursday

"Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

[Daniel 6:19&20]

On Thursday morning at Island, there is a group of women who have joined together to study the book of Daniel. This week we found ourselves in an all too familiar story of Daniel in the lion's den. Of course there is much life to be found in the way that our Sovereign God chose to shut the mouths of lions and spare Daniel's life. But Thursday morning my spirit was pierced by the steadfast nature of Daniel's integrity and the holy habits that he had formed over his lifetime. While still surrounded by a pack of lions, Darius shouts down to Daniel and acknowledges the living God whom Daniel serves. I love that he calls to Daniel and accompanies this acknowledgment. He also included a key word when he spoke of his service: continually. Daniel didn't decide to turn to the Lord when he was being lowered in the lions den. His heart had met infinite love and as he lived and walked and loved in light of the Love he knew, he served continually. I pray that this feeble self can be found steadfast at the end of my days. Thursday afternoon yielded incredible time with the women on my team. We joined together to talk through what we've been learning lately, and take time to sync our hearts around truth for these days. The evening ended with lots of laughter and encouragement from precious cards that came to us all the way from Atlanta, GA.

[Annie & Ellie: thank you so much for your encouragement, you are both so thoughtful!]

As another week is bringing itself to a close, the days have seemed to pass so quickly, but they have been rich and I'm looking forward to surprises yet to unfold in the month of November.

wed nes day

These boots were made for walkin', and since I had a lot of walkin' to do Wednesday, they made their debut. The morning was full of reading and preparing for bible study Thursday morning at Island ECC. I met Vivien for lunch at Festival Walk. And after a few minutes of deliberation in the middle of people scurrying all around us in the food court, she decided on McDonalds. If you know much about my childhood you know that I survived off of McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries for most of my childhood. If you have any inclination that I was a picky eater, you would be correct. So, at lunch I defaulted to my childhood delight and shared great conversation with Vivien. After lunch my boots took a little stroll towards Admiralty into Starbucks where I spent the later half of the afternoon sharing my story with another dear friend, Kathy. On a far less significant side note: someone asked me for directions as I was making my way home. Perhaps it was because they assumed I could speak English, or perhaps it was because they figured someone wearing boots was walking in a familiar direction. I'll let you decide. That evening our team gathered together for our first official HK BBQ. We had the great joy of introducing our friends Rick & Rob, who were visiting, to new friends here and watch them connect. We were also able introduce them to some classic American staples such as hamburgers and marshmallows.

tuesday

my toes tapped across campus to lunch with a few wonderful new friends. it was refreshing to sit and listen to their hearts unfold as we talked about their future. on the outside looking in, there seems to be one barrier after another preventing us from truly understanding one another. the obvious: there's a language barrier; a big one that would seem to hinder a depth of conversation. the not-so-obvious: cultural barriers that each one of us carry from our inheritance. as i approach these barriers, i'm beginning to realize that there is choice to their hindrance in our friendships. so instead of letting them separate us, they have now become points of conversation. it's a joy to gain deeper understanding and see how our differences no longer assume misunderstanding. for now they have begun to yield connection and compassion.

a week in my shoes : monday

with feet fitted in shoes that remind me of places already tread; living life in this city of new experiences alongside familiar faces is becoming wonderfully familiar and all the more surprising. yesterday i found myself sitting around a squared table with incredible individuals that i get to call friends. as we recounted God's promises in light of what we are all learning, i was humbled at what he has already done in our midst in the past few months. this meeting was followed by lunch at one of our favorite places that we like to call "Tommy's", Tommy just happened to be one of the first waiters that communicated with us in english so the name has stuck ever since. we rarely stray from our favorite dishes. but my theory is, when the food is that good i suppose there is really no need to branch out when i can't read the menu. the day ended with jason and i going on a treasure hunt with 3 precious little munchkins. time with them always includes laughter. the treasure hunt last night included making a crown and when i asked caleb if i could take a picture of his crown, this was his default pose. monday was lovely.

saturday mornings

i love that saturday mornings usually look a lot like this. one thing i don't love about saturday mornings is stepping on my cup of coffee that was sitting next to my bed. not just a nudge, i stepped on it. the bright side is: the coffee, in it's entirety, has been soaked off the floor and has left a lovely coffee shop aroma for my room. i can just close my eyes and pretend i'm at an actual coffee shop reading, but i suppose that wouldn't be too conducive for actually reading. hope you have a lovely saturday wherever this may find you. watch your step.

my portion for today

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring your righteousness forth as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him...

"green"

Call it "green", call it environmentally conscious, call it "I never felt shameful about carrying a plastic bag home from the grocery store till I shopped in Hong Kong". I have to admit that my minimal efforts would not qualify me to fit into any of the "green" categories. While in Auburn I did manage to form good habits of separating cardboard, paper, and plastics; and yes, I even drove them to the recycling center. I'm sure that the fumes from driving my carefully separated recycled goods only canceled out my attempts at saving the planet. Nonetheless, over the past couple months I have found myself avoiding carrying a plastic bag at all costs. Perhaps an example scenario would help to elaborate my point. Let's say I am in the market to buy some vegetables. In the U.S., I would hop in my car, drive to Kroger, stroll through the isle with my over sized cart that rolls whichever way it pleases [still one of the great mysteries in my book-why shopping carts always seemed to roll sideways or roll normally until you were trying to pass someone and would inevitably jolt into the side of their cart-I digress...] after selecting said veggies, proceed to the self-checkout, dig through my purse for my wallet, place my produce in plastic Kroger bags and waltz out to my car without thinking twice about it. In Hong Kong, hop on the lift, walk across the street to the store, pick up a basket, try desperately to run into as few people as I can while maneuvering through the smaller isles towards the vegetables. After spotting what I need from the second row of people huddled around the desired item, I try to grab whatever I need as quickly as possible, apologizing and reaching across 4 sets of arms in the process, then when I reach the check out I begin to dig through my purse with hope that I packed my compact shopping bag so I don't have to face the look of requesting a plastic bag, after the grocer packs my items I swiftly move along for the next customer. But hypothetically speaking, let's say I forgot to put my compact little shopping bag in my purse one afternoon and instead of asking for a plastic bag to carry things home, I paid for my vegetables and just put them in my purse-hypothetically speaking of course. In the U.S. if a grocer even hinted at the idea of stuffing vegetables in my purse instead of a plastic bag I would have thought they were a little extreme, or so "green"if you will. In the midst of making light of a legitimate concern in a big city, I have to laugh at myself defaulting to broccoli in my purse over a plastic bag.

what's in a name

Last night I found myself huddled around a table with new friends.

As you can see, they enlightened me about a few differences in our names.

I'm learning that embracing, and celebrating, cultural differences yields to deeper appreciation.

I hope I never grow weary of embracing whomever is before me.

flashback

Sitting in the flat in HK looking out over the city.

Listening to the "Shine" series from Encounter last fall.

Thinking back through what I was learning this time last year.

Watching the Lord intertwine all that he has done, and is doing, in my heart and the community around me.

Humbled by Philippians 2.

Orienting myself around the truth that: "A surrendered life that is intended to glorify God is lived out in sacrifice."

conversations to be had

Before arriving in Hong Kong, my knowledge of Cantonese and Putonghua [Mandarin] was minimal at best. Hong Kong is a unique place because so many cultures meet in the context of this ever growing city. For the most part, maneuvering around can be accomplished if English is your only means to understand signs/MTR stops. But there are times when I am become so frustrated with myself that I am not able to communicate well with those I'm interacting with. A couple positive thoughts have stemmed from this frustration with myself: the first is a fresh eagerness to learn the language well and to practice languages I already have some knowledge of; the second is an excitement for today, and for the future, for conversations that could be had after learning a language. And in the midst of my frustration stemming some seemingly propelling thoughts, Cat and I caught a glimpse of the language barrier breaking down. We were on the way to a photo-taking-excursion and we saw our friend Ling. She stopped us to show her latest investment: a translator. If the first picture that popped in your mind was Ling flipping through the pages of a handheld dictionary, you have far underestimated Ling. Her translator is nothing short of fancy. I would try to explain to you the intricate features and seamless way it works, but my lack of technological lingo would most certainly fall short to do it justice. But the point is not the technologically advanced gadget we used to communicate, it is Ling's desire to communicate well and her initiative in that desire. The tiny blips of sound that echoed through the lobby as we typed back and forth will be etched in my memory for a long time to come. As we waited for her to respond to questions, it was exciting to see the look on her face as she read our words in her native language. Her eagerness to communicate beyond simple greetings gave me a new perspective on connecting with people here. Perhaps if you find yourself in HK one day I'll have the joy of introducing you to this sweet friend. All that to say, I'm looking forward to conversations to be had.

today's the big day

There is something so special about wedding days. But today is extraordinary because today, my best friend is marrying Mr. Mike Bailey. The ceremony is one she's always envisioned, and is sure to be nothing short of gorgeous. As I write this, Trace is probably getting her hair/make-up done and checking the clock to see if the hours would just rush to 6:00 already. I can just picture in my head all the last minute details being tied together and everyone bubbling with anticipation as the day unfolds. Mike & Trace are such a joy to know. You don't have to be in a room with them very long to know that they care deeply about one another and have so much fun together. It has been so neat to watch them walk alongside one another in their relationship so far and I feel blessed to call them friends.

[Pacey: I need you to know how absolutely thrilled for you today. I wish I could be there beside you running last minute errands and making sure you have a Diet Coke close at hand. I hope that today is everything you have hoped it would be and more. As much as it saddens be not to be there with you on this milestone day, I couldn't be more happy for you and am excited to walk through these next months and years as you and Mike experience life as husband and wife. Thank you for being the friend you are to me. I love you so much.]