Don't Wait...

My mind is running in a thousand directions. Granted that's probably an exaggeration, but my thoughts really are all over the place. I've basically been sitting around for the last...I don't know year or so waiting to find someone to travel with me. After many failed attempts, I decided that since I couldn't travel I should work on my degree. So although the year hasn't been a total waste (I've almost got 3 classes finished this year towards a degree - of course I haven't decided on a major yet, but that's a story for another post), I haven't really traveled since my sister and I went to Thailand in 2011. We took a super short trip to Panama last year, but it was so short it almost doesn't count. I'm so, so glad we did go though, because now that she's married (and kids will probably soon be on the way), that very well might be the last trip we take together for a very long time.

All this non-travel is getting to me and starting to make me irritated, well, maybe restless is a better word. I've been reading quite a few blog posts lately and I'm really starting to think that I'm going to have to go it alone. As one of the blogs pointed out to me (Twenty-Something Travel), if your only alternative is not traveling then you'd better go solo. That fact, plus finding out about house sitting and Australia & New Zealand Holiday Visas, made me really think that I couldn't keep waiting for someone to have the money or the time to go with me. If I wanted to travel I was gonna have to try it on my own. I'm not that outgoing or independent, and I'm sorta scared to death at the possibility of trying it on my own, but isn't this what my blog is about? Doing things on purpose?! There are a hundred reasons to wait - a friend might finally be able to go with me, I have a good job I'd have to quit, I will really miss my family... The list could go on and on...but as Steph from "Twenty-Something Travel" said, "Don't wait for someone else to make your life happen. Go out and earn it yourself."

Pithy Quotes & Such

I love quotes and witty sayings - I appreciate the wisdom of others.  

Here are some I stumbled upon recently and thought I'd share - I've done my best to give credit:

wisdom (noun)

the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.

Government

I'm taking a government class this semester, so it's been quite interesting so far, especially with the whole shutdown.  I understand some of both sides of the argument, but this is one of the best articles I've read about the "who's fault is it?" question. 

Hopefully you'll take some time to read it, regardless of party affiliation: Who Shut Down the Government

govern (verb)

1. to rule over by right of authority: to govern a nation.
2. to exercise a directing or restraining influence over; guide: the motives governing a decision.
3. to hold in check; control: to govern one's temper.
4. to serve as or constitute a law for: the principles governing a case.

Don't Waste Your Life

 My CLC (Christian Living Class) at church is doing a study using the book by John Piper "Don't Waste Your Life".  I have to admit that after finishing the book I'm now a bit surprised that I'd never read it before.  It totally fits with the the "theme" (for my momentary lack of a better word) of my blog.  I want my life to have a purpose, and therefore, I don't want to waste my life.  I still haven't quite determined if I'm currently wasting, or perhaps have wasted part of my life already.  In chapter 7 "Living to Prove He is More Precious than Life" Piper focuses on a Wartime Lifestyle and in Chapter 9 "The Majesty of Christ in Missions and Mercy - A Plea to this Generation" on missions.  Those chapters definitely stick out most in my mind.  Mostly because while doing the chapter about the Wartime Lifestyle I was also reading "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" which is set during WWII (you can read more about that book here).  Also, having listened to an audio book of Flyboys, I knew many more stories than John Piper quoted in the book.  Nothing gets me quite like our military and the men and women who sacrifice so much...

The chapter on Missions also struck me because I seem to have always been drawn to missions, but I've never quite known why.  Or perhaps never quite wanted to admit that one of the reasons is simply that I love to travel and to do missions requires travel.  While studying abroad at Saints Bible Institute I distinctly remember Sam Spatola telling us that if God wasn't calling us to go somewhere as missionaries, then we should go home, make lots of money, and give it to missions.  I'm not certain that I've done so well at making lots of money, but I've certainly tried my best to always give to missions.  Oh and by the way, John Piper totally agrees with Sam :)  John Piper quotes J. Campbell White about missions (it has really stuck with me):

The evangelization of the world is the only enterprise large enough and important enough to provide an adequate outlet for the Church's wealth (p 171).

Piper then goes on to say,

"We will perish with our wealth if we do not pour ourselves out in ministries of mercy at home and missions among the unreached peoples.  We are very wealthy in America.  All the money needed to send and support an army of self-sacrificing, joy-spreading ambassadors is already in the church.  But we are not giving it." (p 172)

Several of the missionaries our church supports, and many more I know personally, are under supported.  I even know a couple who had to come back to the States because they didn't have the funds to stay.  Shouldn't that break our hearts a little?  I realize that might all be part of God's plan for their lives, but it seems like a shame when the American church is more than capable of supporting them financially. 

I can definitely recommend this book, it's full of truth and has some great "lessons" that I think we could all learn.

Waste

1. to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander: to waste money; to waste words.

2. to fail or neglect to use: to waste an opportunity.

3. to destroy or consume gradually; wear away: The waves waste the rock of the shore.

4. to wear down or reduce in bodily substance, health, or strength; emaciate; enfeeble: to be wasted by disease or hunger.

5. to destroy, devastate, or ruin: a country wasted by a long and futile war.

Guernsey Island & Vacation Reading

I've been back from vacation for what seems like months, but has sadly only been a few weeks. Vacatoins are just so wonderful, and we always have such fun, so it's quite sad to arrive home. We had some adventures taking my "toaster" down to Myrtle this year. I just don't think it likes road trips! We did, however, make the best of our mishaps, and we made lots of memories in the process.

My dear friend Emily suggested that I read Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  I will admit I almost didn't even bother because, who writes a book with such a title?  And what in the world would such a book be about?  Well, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I did a quick google search to see what the book was about before I requested if from paperbackswap.  It sounded interesting enough so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I should probably point out that although I love to read, I don't ever read while at the beach.  My cousin and my sister read the whole week long, but I'd rather walk the beach or be in the water.  For whatever reason, this year I not only took a book to read, I atually read it.  The whole thing. 

Somehow, in my google search, I didn't realize that the book is written in the form of letters.  What a neat idea.  This book (and the weather in North Myrtle) combined to make it possible for me to actually sit on the beach and read a book.  The book was just entertaining enough to keep me engaged, but also not too demanding that I couldn't put it down to go take a walk or hop in the ocean.  The story was so compelling I definitely had to remind myself at the end of the book, that it was mostly fiction.  But, Guernsey Island is real, and (I'm sure you can guess what's coming next) I want to go there!!  The island sounds so quaint and it definitely seems worth a visit to me.

So if you're looking for some beach reading, I would submit this as a perfect beach book.

Quaint (adjective)

1.  having an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm; oddly picturesque: a quaint old house.

2.  strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way: a quaint sense of humor.
3.  skillfully or cleverly made.

A Wonderful Time of Year - Vacation

Getting ready to leave for our yearly vacation (early tomorrow morning as a matter of fact), I've been thinking about how we always go to North Myrtle.  I'm sure there are lots of reasons why my uncle chooses North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - but I don't really know many of them.  Regardless, he always rents a place there, so that's where we go :)  We know our way around and it works for us...  This article is so great Ode to the Annual Repeat Summer Vacation and I thought I'd share it with you all.  Those who return to the same location, or even the exact same house every year will probably enjoy it immensely. 

Here are two of my favorite parts, probably because I can relate to them:

"Our routine is quite simple: Swim. Nap. Eat. Rinse. Repeat. The start of the week is customarily filled with discussions of all the activities we might finally get to this year...____...but really, who are we kidding? We’re not going to do any of it."

"I’ve also learned the difference between traveling and vacationing, two words that are often used interchangeably but mean different things. A vacation typically involves travel, but travel is not always a vacation. Sometimes it’s quite the opposite—fraught with uncertainty over where to go, where to stay, what to see. Vacations are a respite from all that." 

our semi-annual, vacation photo-shoot



 

Beach (noun)

1.  an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.

2.  the part of the shore of an ocean, sea, large river, lake, etc., washed by the tide or waves.
3. the area adjacent to a seashore

Oh the places you can go....

I'm not sure if this would really qualify as a bucket list, it's just places I would like to visit and some things I'd like to do at some point (don't worry, this is the short version *no really, it is*).

·         Visit an active volcano (Japan 2006)

·         Touch an elephant outside of a zoo (Thailand 2011)

·         Stand on the Equator (Ecuador 2024)

·         Go to the Winter Olympic Games

·         Go to the Summer Olympic Games

·         Live in a house on the water

·         Learn to surf (Panama 2012)

·         Washington, D.C. – U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (2012)

·         Virginia – Arlington National Cemetery (2012)

·         San Francisco – see the Golden Gate Bridge (2008)

·         Swim in all 4 Oceans

    o   Atlantic (Virginia 2002)

    o   Pacific (Panama 2012)

    o   Indian (Western Australia 2017)

    o   Arctic

Travel the World!!!

·         Corcovado, Brazil (Statue of Christ Redeemer)

·         Ride a camel in Tombouctou, Mali

·         See a black rhinoceros in Zimbabwe

·         Visit the “Floating Gardens” of Xochimilco in Mexico City and visit the Aztec Ruins (Chichen
Itza) in Mexico

·         Italy

    o   Rome - Coliseum, St. Peter’s & Pantheon (2007)

    o   Venice - St. Mark’s Basilica and a gondola ride (2007)

    o   Florence - Duomo, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (2007)

    o   Milan – Il Duomo and The Last Supper by da Vinci

    o   Alberobello, Apulia

·         Bushmills, Antrim, Northern Ireland –Giants’ Causeway

·         Go sailing off the coast of Croatia (2022)

·         Greece – Acropolis, Parthenon

·         Paris, France - Tour the Louver, Notre Dame, and the Basillica de Sacre Coure (2005)

·         Haut-Normandie, France – Visit Mont-Saint-Michel

·         India - the Taj Mahal, Golden Temple of Amritsar, Jaisalmer Temple

·         Germany -Visit Neuschwanstein Castle and Hesse-Darmstadt (the city my ancestors

        immigrated from in Germany)

·         Spain (Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Galicia)

·         Israel – Swim in the Dead Sea

·         Dublin, Ireland – visit the Guinness Factory (2007)

·         Visit temple ruins in Thailand (2011)

·         London, England - Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, British Museum, and Hyde Park/Kensignton Garden (2007)

·         See the Swiss Alps

·       Japan -   Visit the Kiyomizu Temple

·         Turkey - Visit the Hagia Sophia (2018)

·         Peru - See Machu Picchu

·         Russia - Tour St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin, St. Petersburg (Petrodvorets) & Moscow

·         Jordan – Visit Petra

·         Prague, Czech Republic – Visit the Old Town Square (2010)