Saturday, July 31, 2010

"quit your worship charades."

"Quit your worship charades.
I can't stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings--
meetings, meetings, meetings--I can't stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You've worn me out!
I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I'll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I'll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act.
Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings
so I don't have to look at them any longer.
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless."

Isaiah 1.13-17

I was just spending sometime with the Word and this passage hit me like a ton of bricks. It spoke in volumes regarding some issues I've been struggling with lately. I wasn't going to read from the Message, but something told me to grab it, so I did.
So glad I did.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

summer to date

I mentioned before that my summer has been a hectic one, but I'm still enjoying myself nonetheless.
One of my favorite adventures from this summer was finally going to the beach after a year!



Camp was a different format this year and took some getting used to but I was able to learn a lot, rekindle old friendships and discover new ones.











I had a friend from France, Aurélie, visit for a month and we discovered Miami together. Art museums, the beach, restaurants, and of course a little shopping.








GC was pretty hectic. There were sooo many adventists. I saw a lot of people, but didn't see that many at all...






Summertime is great! I wish it could last all year... It will soon come to a close though and I'll return back up to Southern filled with new insight, hopefully being refreshed, and ready to tackle new adventures!

Friday, July 9, 2010

home

home |hōm|
noun
1 the place where one lives permanently, esp. as a member of a family or household
• the family or social unit occupying such a place : he came from a good home and was well educated.
• a house or an apartment considered as a commercial property : low-cost homes for first-time buyers.
• a place where something flourishes, is most typically found, or from which it originates : Piedmont is the home of Italy's finest red wines.
• informal a place where an object is kept.
2 an institution for people needing professional care or supervision : an old people's home.
3 Sports the goal or end point.


For a year, I have called France my home. A spacious room on the second floor of a girls dorm on the campus of Collonges. I ate, slept, fellowshipped and grew in this home. Although I would miss the familiarities of my life in the U.S, my little european styled room was my home.

And now I'm back.

It's been a month since I've been back and everything has been happening fairly quickly:
June 8th-- Miss my flight from Geneva to the States. Epic fail. And not on my part. (ugly debate with a mean french guy airport worker)
June 9th- -Sleep for a few hours then my best friend Silvi drives me to Camp Kulaqua to work.
June 10-June 27-- I realize that coming to camp late really sucks, you miss out on crucial bonding with staff. But I learned a whole lot and realized that God was trying to humble me in so many ways. Working at camp for many years got me accustomed to the same people running the "show" because they did it so well. I had to get used to new people contributing and realized that everyone has to be given a chance. We all start somewhere.
Camp didn't go exactly how I planned but like I said, I still learned something from it all.
June 28--Got a well deserved and needed pedi with my sister and Fern, then prepared for my six hour drive down to miami.
If you weren't aware before, my father is a Pastor and the conference moved our family to Miami while I was abroad.
My french friend Aurélie has come to visit. I picked her up from the MIA airport and we headed home.
June 29--Washed clothes and repacked for GC.
June 30--Drove to Atlanta, Georgia for the General Conference. Had a blast seeing people from my past.
July 4-- Drove back down to Miami. Watched fireworks in the car on the way down.
July 6--Drove back up to Orlando to see some friends for a couple days. Serious nostalgia kicked in as I visited my old home, high school and my favorite spots in O-town.

So there you have it. I've been going non-stop for almost a month now. From France, to Miami, to Georgia, to Orlando and back. It's a little different now. My parent's have moved from the house I grew up in and now they are to move again. All our stuff is in boxes and everyday is like a maze game trying to get to our belongings.

This year I head back to Southern. This will be the first time for me, that I take all that I own to school. I don't have a home after this. I mean, technically I can always go back to the house my parents are living at but this year marks a lot of change going on in my life. It won't be easy, this new life style.

A few years ago, I would have painted an ideal setting for my life. I would have told you precisely everything I would accomplish and by what time, who I would have married, where I would be living and what my career would entail. Then real life kicked in. People left, died, grew-up, hearts got broken, changed, moved and nothing went according to plan. I am in the process of still learning the power of the God I serve, who gets me through everything. Having a home, a place for refuge to go to and just leave all my stuff has always been there for me and now it's not.
Well, I guess this is the part where "Home is where the heart is" comes in. Except I'm not sure where my heart is yet.