life is beautiful

i am sitting outside, it's warm, there is a breeze and the only thing that keeps running through my head is.... life is beautiful. what should be running through my head is the list of things i need to do before i graduate, before i head off to the far east, before blah blah blah, you get the drift. so why is life beautiful?

well some people believe that nature cannot be observed in the city. it's too loud, too polluted, too many people, it is just downright busy BUT i believe otherwise. sure i cannot see all the tiny lights god has so eloquently placed in the night sky like i can when i am down on the farm with little or no light pollution nor can i sit back and hear nothing but wind through the trees like i can when i am deep in the woods BUT in the city there is nature to be found. nature in the squirrels trying to nest in the numbered trees, nature in the tulips blossoming in the 5 ft x 5ft "front yards" of my neighbores and nature in the people i encounter everyday. if you consider nature to be the product of god's handy work, nature is EVERYWHERE.

An encounter...today in a cab i was talking with a man from sierra leone. a man who is studying civil engineering and driving a cab to support his academic endeavor. on the surface we have nothing in common. i am this little privileged white girl from a dairy farm and he is this strong black man from a society i cannot even begin to truly comprehend. sure i can watch the movies and read the books on africa but can i really, i mean, really understand what it is like to be from a culture where violence and poverty are true realities in everyday living... no, i don't believe i can. anyways, back to the story. so i am talking with this man and come to find out he used to live in fort wayne. (crazy, huh?) i tell him i am a hoosier and where my family lives (about an hour south of goshen). his deep brown, nearly black, eyes light up. "goshen", he says, "hmmmm.... i almost went there for school. those mennonites give a lot of money to africans." i smile, nod and tell him that is where i went to school. the conversation continues and he talks about his hopes and dreams of returning to sierre lione to build roads, bridges and help his country repair from recent devastation. while he was talking i was in awe. i kept thinking to myself, here is a man who due to his vocation is probably rarely valued other than the "thanks for the ride" yet a man who has a plan to do fantastic things for the betterment of all. and honestly, how many of us can truly say that?

i don't know my taxi cab driver's name but i he will stick with me as i strive to do something worthwhile with my life. and that my friends is nature, it's god's handy work played out "city style".

joy in beauty!
blessings...

motivation... it's a losing battle

so it is under a week before my academic obligations are complete or at least until i decide i need to go back to school for another degree. and why is it the closer i get to an ultimate goal the less motivation i feel to finish? shouldn't it be the other way around? i gain more speed towards the end like the full out sprint after a hard run. when i run and sprint to the imaginary finish line i always feel like i have accomplished something like i am my own champion but why oh why can i not translate that into my non-exercise life? hmmm... why do i ask so many questions?

i have four days left of classes and internship. within those four days i have numerous papers and a couple presentations. i know i could always "wing it" and see how the chips fall but honestly that is not how i like to roll in general. i have been blessed, or cursed, with the oldest child syndrome of always needing to feel in control and prepared for all situations. most days i feel this little aspect of my personality is a curse but i am sure somewhere i can find blessings. so i guess the moral of the story is i need to suck it up and get it done.

so be thinking of me as you go about your beautiful saturday enjoying the outside, the naps, the sleep in time, the lazy weekend for i will be slaving away at another, and might i add final, scholarly paper. a paper i could have done a month ago but have decided to procrastinate until the almost last minute. gotta love it!!

oh the joys of academia.
blessings...

holy humor... okay maybe not

today is holy humor sunday and i was given the privilege of leading the worship service at my church. i enjoy preparing for worship but i especially enjoyed preparing for this morning's service. why you ask? well i got to google mennonite humor and the result of that research has opened my eyes to the hilarious world of corny and sometimes downright wrong mennonite jokes.

and i just can't keep them to myself... so i must share. i anticipate most will not get these jokes but for those who do i know you will agree with me on the belly shaking nature of these tidbits of funny. so without further adieu....

what do you get when you cross and mennonite and a japanese car?
a toyoder (hahahaha)

why don't mennonite women wear sleeveless dresses?
they don't believe in bearing arms

what is a mennonite ethical dilemma?
free beer or free dance lessons (answer depends on your audience)

for the more daring/boundary pushing....
on a date, what is the difference between a mennonite man and a rock?
the rock moves faster (true... very true)

what do you call an attractive woman in a mennonite church?
a visitor (ouch... that hurts)

what is the difference between garbage and a mennonite woman?
the garbage gets taken out more often (oh snap)

okay so most of these would not be classified as holy humor but they at least make you smile or simply shake you head.

oh the sound of genuine laughter.
blessings...

hear ye hear ye

hear ye, hear ye... i have officially entered the 21st century. i know i know... a round of applause, please. anyways, this whole blog stuff is not as easy as it looks. first you need to come up with some clever address, then an even better blog name and finally decide on the layout, color and design. oy vez!!

so now the task of actually writing something other may want to read. first let's establish a few ground rules. by no means will this blog serve as an intellectual stimulating window into any aspect of life. there will be grammatical errors, made-up facts to support my perspective and most importantly an expectation and assumption that all who read will smile or chuckle. i have been told by many, "i write the way i talk and you can hear my voice through the words." so consider this a text version of a conversation.

phew... that's enough of that!

life...so in less than a month i will graduate. a day to commemorate the fact i have "mastered" something... what is that something? well, the diploma will say "social work with a certificate in international social development" BUT do i believe i have mastered any such thing... absofreakin'lutely not!! sure i have paid, and will continue to pay until i am gray and saggy, thus i am owed such mastery, but how come i have more questions upon graduation than when i first commenced on this journey? isn't 9 months of academic rigger suppose to clear stuff up a bit? or is that the point of school? to murky the still waters of an idle brain? to cause question in previously accepted practices and beliefs? to stretch you mentally, emotionally, physically, professionally and socially into a person you are proud to be? tricky questions, even trickier answers. perhaps when i receive that newly printed piece of paper, so fondly treasured as a diploma, the paper with my beautiful name stretched across it, proclaiming i have accomplish a specific level of education, a bolt of lightening will strike me, my questions will be answered and i will thirst for no more knowledge.

yeah, fat chance... but it would be kinda cool. perhaps instead of battling the questions i should revel in the fact there are no answers. for if all questions had clear answer how fun would life really be?

hmmm.... so that's my first attempt at a post. how did i do? what it as good for you as much as it was for me? comments welcomed.

blessings until...