Act II... or maybe just another season in life

In some ways I feel like I starting the second act of a ten month play. I just had a two week intermission and now I'm back on stage. But when I sat down to think about this, I realized how incredibly wrong it is. It's easy for me to think that this year is a year of transition, a year of adventure, a year of 'acting' before real life begins, but it's not. This IS my life and it's just as real as last year and just as real as next year. As 2011 starts and everyone begins to ponder and reflect and set goals, I've done a lot of thinking as well. And I've decided that I'm going to be in the present. What am I doing RIGHT NOW that is Christ-exalting. I realize that not everything we DO may be spiritual and I don't mean to over-spiritualize making spaghetti for dinner or taking attendance in class, but every moment we have the choice to enjoy what we're doing or to not. So, there you have it, besides the fact that I want to do P90X, write out an elementary PE curriculum for the school, and finish by June my 2010 goal to read through the Bible, I'm going to...

LIVE IN THE MOMENT, FOCUSED ON ETERNITY.



Since I last wrote, so much has happened... Pinares Christmas concerts and staff white-elephant party, doing winter relays in PE class (sledding on scooters, ice skating on flat discs, making snowmen by doing forward rolls, etc :), and then... spending a wonderful 2 weeks with my family and of course, my best friend in the world. The week was filled with games, yummy food, taste testing for the wedding, Christmas shopping, finding my wedding dress :), hanging out with friends, a trip to Chicago to see Adam play BBall and meeting up with Jared's parents and little sister, Christmas parties, hunting, more games, and more food. I was not ready to come back to Honduras, and, I confess, I shed a good deal of tears that first day back as I sat on my bed, once again feeling alone and unprepared for the next 5 months. However, over the past week, God has been faithful and I have been continually reminded of his sovereignty.

And that brings me back to my resolution. In the book Crazy Love, Francis Chan says, “Lukewarm People think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Regarding this, C.S. Lewis writes, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” (pg 75) What an inspiration. It's true. We (well at least I do) focus so much on our worries of tomorrow, that we forget we could be in eternity today. So, 2011, bring it on. I'm focused on eternity and, as much as the things I'm looking forward to in this coming year (ie getting married) nothing could compare to the joy of being in the presence of God for eternity, and that is where my focus must lie.

God bless you all, and happy new year!