Dreams

This past year I was a part of a discipleship group called the Remnant. My parents were the leaders and 6 Kenyan youth made of the rest of the group.

Four where my classmates in secondary school in Kenya. Mom and Dad had gotten sponsors for them and paid their way through school. The other two were my Kenyan sister, Mercy, who is a nurse and Judith, a primary school teacher.

We all lived at Scriptural Holiness Mission. We all also had jobs to do to make money to live on. But the most important part of the Remnant - discipleship. We studied alot of things using discipleship courses, books and sometimes just the Bible and our thoughts.

Of Chirstmas last year my dad got a present from my oldest brother. It was the book the Dream Giver. After Dad read it, he decided it would be something good for the Remnant to learn about.


Each night for fourteen nights, the Remnant gathered in Mom and Dad's house after supper. Dad would have The Dream Giver laying on the table or by the chair. After everyone had settled down we would all look at Dad expectantly. Sometimes he would still be eating or maybe instructing Jed about something, but most of the time he had the book already in his hand, just waiting on us. He would open it up and we would all wait to see what would happen to Ordinary. Dad read the story, using just the right voices and tones to make it interesting. Since each chapter in The Dream Giver is short, all too soon he would read Ordinary's journal entry for his most recent experience. Then he would close the book. We would all sit there thinking about what we had just heard and wondering what would happen next. Sometimes you could hear an audible sign of regret for one of the group as Dad closed the book. After the book closed we knew that we were dismissed and all filed to the door. The next night we would be there promtly to hear the next chapter.

I tell you this story because reading The Dream Giver has more of an impact on my life than anything else from the 9 months the Remnant spent together. The Dream Giver has changed the way I see life and the way I live it.

I have always been a dreamer. I have an active imagination and since my brothers were already in high school when I was little, I needed it to keep myself entertained. The problem was that none of my dreams really had any meaning on my life. The dream that I had that I really stuck to and did something with was going on a mission trip with Teen Mission International. I dreamed about that trip for seven years and achieved it in 2001. Other than that I kinda floated between different thoughts and ideas and dreams for my life. For example I have dreamed of going into many different professions including: medicine, nursing, accounting, business management, education, missionary, youth ministry, counseling, education, and medicine. But none of them were a passion for me.

The funny thing is that after reading The Dream Giver I have discovered that the Big Dream that God (the ultimate Dream Giver) has given me is none of the ones listed above. As a profession in the only way I can discribe my Big Dream is by saying that I want to be a journalist. But my Big Dream goes so far and beyond just that. My dream encompasses telling the stories of the worlds hopeless and helpless. And yet it is still so much bigger even than that.

As I travel around America I see so many young people and even old people who are living life without a passion. People who think life is just about what you can get out of it and how much fun you can have. But it is so much more than that. It is about having a Big Dream that fills you with passion. Its about wanting to get up early in the morning and not waste a second of the precious time God has given us during this thing we can out life. Its about going to bed at night and thinking I did something worthwhile today. For me I found that passion in writing. In looking at the world around me and seeing it the way God sees it(actually thats a story for another day). In recognizing that the people around me each have stories that should be told and digging deeper to find those stories. I may not be a good writter and I may not yet see the things I need to in order to find the real story. I may not be well-known but... I have a passion. And I believe that is all that matters.

A Friend's Stuggle

I want to mention a friend. She and her husband live in New Zealand where they are missionaries and have beautiful little girl. She is pregnant with their second child. They found out that he has a rare problem where part of his brain is developing in a sac outside his skull (similar to spina bifida but different). Please pray for them as she will have a c-section around Christmas and they are unsure what they will be facing after that. Her blog site is www.mnssams.blogspot.com. God does work maricles. He can work a miracle in Matt, Susie, Oceana and Joshua's lives!

Opps

Today I sent an email saying I was getting published at http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/. Its true but what I forgot to say was that it will be posted on Wednesday. Opps. I'm sorry for people who have checked out the site and what... ummm?? I hope you liked what you saw on the website but check it out again on Wednesday. :)

YEA!!

I just had some really exciting news. As an aspiring journalist I just want to get published. Yet as a Christian and because I have a very focused dream for where I want my journalism it can't be just anywhere. Since I've been thinking about going on the World Race I've been spending alot of time reading blogs from the Racers and exploring the website. In the process I ran across a webzine called Wrecked for the Ordinary that is an offspring of Adventures in Missions vision. I submited a couple of articles from some experiences. A couple of days ago I got a response that I needed to change a few things before they could be used. Today though I had an interesting email. Jeff Goins let me know that he would be using one of my pieces for next week's 6 article webzine. So I'm getting something published (someplace besides my own blog).




Check it out next week at www.wreckedfortheordinary.com

Its got some other amazing thought provoking articles. Please check it out especially next week when my article will be on there.

This is new

This is my first post at blogspot. And since it is 11:00pm Central time this will be short. I'm on the road. And have been for 1 month and 8 days. Its long journey. The trip started in southwestern North Carolina. There was a night at friends of my parents in Greensburo, NC. A interesting day in suburban DC followed. We slept at my aunt's house - but she wasn't home. I did get to spend sometime making my 88 year old grandmother happy by simply listening to her tell some stories. On our way to northern NY we spent a night on the road somewhere in Pennsylvania. Then can two wonderful weeks in my hometown in northern NY. Lots of friends and even better - my two brothers with all their family were there. We made some wonderful memories. Since leaving Malone 15 days ago we have spent nights in 8 different places. First stop: Syracuse NY - my Dad's aunt and uncle - 1 night. Stop #2: Rochester, NY - old family friends including the doctor who delivered me, my friends from college, and a little shopping, a fancy dinner and some traveling blues - 4 nights. Location 3: someplace in Pennsylvania - plus a stop at Niagra falls...Finally - 1 night. Round 4: Youngstown, OH - my mom's stepmother's place - 1 night. Fifth: Springfield, OH - guess what we actually forgot our Canon Rebel digital camera in the hotel room, but hey I got to go swimming and work out... and I got a shock... I've already gained 10 lbs!! - 1 night. Location # 6: Indianapolis, IN - my uncle's house. Its on a lake and we went on his boat and we tour downtown Indianapolis and the canal which is beautiful - 4 nights. Bed # 7: Brookfield, MO - where my mom graduated from High School. The lady we stayed with is a wonderful cook and I think I've added another 5 pounds from her biscuits and gravy. - 3 nights. Finally Round 8 - Comfort Inn in Kansas. At least I have wireless internet! - 1 night.

In all this travel though I'm actually learning alot. God has been teaching me alot of about love, compassion and kindness lately and I'm getting to practice it. First of all I spend hours each day in the same car with 4 other people - one of whom is 4 years old.

That means - LOTS of PATIENCE :). Secondly I am exposed to alot of people in alot of different situations. One of the honestly most exciting things for me so far on this trip was at Walmart. I actually stopped focusing on myself for a moment and engaged the cashier in a conversation about herself. And it was exciting to see her respond to just that tiny but of interest I showed. I can't wait to more opportunities.

Another exciting thing - I might get to write a story or two for a webzine called Wrecked for the Ordinary. Its awesome stuff - check it out at http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/

Good night