looking back...

before moving into 2010, i thought i would look back at my 2009 goals...

• go deep sea fishing; yes, in june during my family's summer vacation. the video and pics are posted on my facebook.


• take 1 spontaneous road trip every month; not every month but i did take several; charleston, charlotte, jekyll island, atlanta, greenville, myrtle beach, maggie's valley...


• save $; yes, but then i spent it


• spend more time with family; i think so, but i should've been more specific in order to measure this.


• smile more; i don't know...i think so.


• parachute from a plane; on hold for now. waiting for my fun friend...


• cook more; eat less fast food; uh, nope


• exercise more; again, should've been more specific in order to measure this, but i'd say no i didn't excerise more but i did exercise.


• write a song; there are some lyrics in my head, but the song is still unwritten.


• journal or blog once a week; not one blog all year, but i facebooked ALL the time.


• relax more; i don't know...


• return to china; yes, in october with my dad and daughter and 4 others.


• try something new at least once a month; possibly, but not likely. didn't remember to make note...


• buy new bedroom furniture; no


• redecorate the living room; yes, well i started anyway. still in process of finishing.


• give up soft drinks; at least 3 times...


• lead my girls and their best friends through 2 bible studies; no, but thankful they are both involved in small group bible studies at church.


• sing karaoke; too scared


• participate in the marine corps ultimate challenge 2009 mud run; nope, my friend dissed me...


• take more pictures/video; most definitely


• continue to build off of last year lessons...developing my gifts and sticking to the things i do well; yes, but it got a little boring...so in 2010, i am...

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

2009

i am happy and excited to welcome a new year! as a whole i want to concentrate on my family and friendships...but some personal goals for my year include:

• go deep sea fishing
• take 1 spontaneous road trip every month
• save $
• spend more time with family
• smile more
• parachute from a plane
• cook more; eat less fast food
• exercise more
• write a song
• journal or blog once a week
• relax more
• return to china
• try something new at least once a month
• buy new bedroom furniture
• redecorate the living room
• give up soft drinks
• lead my girls and their best friends through 2 bible studies
• sing karaoke
• participate in the marine corps ultimate challenge 2009 mud run
• take more pictures/video
• continue to build off of last year lessons...developing my gifts and sticking to the things i do well
• my verse for this year is proverbs 16:9 (message); "We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it." 
• my word of the year; able

2008...

in no particular order and not an exhaustive list, but here are a few memories...

• went to isreal; walked where jesus walked…will never read God’s word the same again...
  
• went on my first date in almost 20 yrs…
  
• hired a personal trainer…
  
• saddened by the loss of certain friendships…surprised by unexpected change in another…other friendships grew stronger…made new friends…reacquainted with old friends…still best friends with childhood friend of 30 yrs…
  
• challenged by the responsibility of raising 2 teenage daughters as a single mom...
  
• mother survived breast cancer...
  
• father developed parkinsins disease...
  
• took a couple of group ballroom dance lessons...
• went to china…climbed the great wall…floated down the yellow river…helped distribute over 50,000 bibles…
  
• i love my job...
  
• was sometimes overwhelmed and emotional trying to “find myself” and my purpose…
  
• cried a lot…
• reaffirmed that I work best behind the scenes…planning, directing and taking care of event details…
  
• ended the year 7 lbs heavier than I began…am ok with it...
  
• hate being alone but love my privacy; trying to find the balance...
  
• daughter got her drivers permit...
  
• still $ broke...
  
• filmed travis barkers last performance on video before his plane crashed the same night…
  
• feel like I am missing something in my life…
  
• gave myself bangs! trying to grow them out again…
  
• favorite memories all involve water, or a boat and always friends...and shadow hand puppets!!
  
• had to get reading glasses..
• shot a handgun for the first time in 20 years...
• there's this jeep incident and a golf cart adventure; no details...
• laughed a lot...
• there's soooo much more i am leaving out, but...

2009...coming soon

my escape day...

        

this day God reminded me to relax and live in the moment...one day at a time. he reminded me that he loves me and he takes care of all my needs (can you believe i needed to be reminded of that??!!) 

more china...

back row: left to right - brother drung (a church volunteer and our driver...for another blog!), pastor greg, and ben (our interpreter). front row: left to right - sister li, cristi, kathleen (our team leader from california), me, and sister shung.

this was my distribution team. after traveling hundreds of miles together in a van for hours and days to places 99% of foreigners will never go, it is no wonder why it was an emotional goodbye. two different languages were never a barrier to complete the task given to us. these chinese church leaders watched over us, prayed for us, led us, inspired us and modeled for us what true servanthood looks like. i look forward to seeing these brothers and sisters again...one day.

mission not so impossible...

thanks to you who contributed either financially or prayerfully to the china mission trip. the trip was so successful in so many ways. for me personally, i was moved by the chinese christian's genuine love for jesus, god's word and their commitment to share it. they soak it up like they are starving…they are attentive to every word and they are living it out with honest, simple passion. the need for bibles is great. my team distributed 6000 bibles in 5 days in rural mountain areas (the total distribution between 6 teams was 50,000...there are 1.3 billion people living in china). we endured rough, tough, and exhaustive travel but the reward was beyond great with every stop…whether it was a pit stop (literally...our "bathrooms" were literally pits or holes in the ground) or a distribution stop. we were so deep into the mountains that most people in these villages had never seen a foreigner. they saw us as miracles from god because they had been praying intensely for more bibles to put into the hands of the people. the fact that we traveled from another country to see that these bibles were delivered just blew their minds. they were truly grateful while praising and thanking god for his answered prayers. i can't describe how humbled i was and thankful that i participated in this miracle. what i witnessed stirred emotion that i didn't know i had in me. i have tears in my eyes as i write this to you. it made me realize how much i take god and his word for granted. i can only pray my desire and thirst for god's word becomes half of what theirs is. i am very enthusiastic to make this a continuing ministry of mine. please continue praying for the word to spread throughout China and what your role will be to see that it happens. in '09 i will participate in two trips with friend church (march and oct) as well as together sending $1500 to purchase bibles. well, if all we did was distribute bibles it would've been enough but we were blessed to see another side of china. we flew into shanghai...this place is massive! i don't think there is another place like it in the world. it was overwhelming, overbearing, over the top BIG. from there we drove to nanjing for training and to meet the other teams. it was there that we had dinner with government officials and it was there that we realized we were already tired of chinese food...we had 10 more days of it ahead of us. the teams parted from nanjing and went to 6 different distribution points all over china. after 5 days we all met again in beijing. we weren't in the airport 10 minutes when we learned there was a mcdonald's and a starbucks inside the airport. we were ordering big mac combos 11 minutes after we landed! we devoured them! we still had 4 days of chinese food left to endure. by the way, when i say chinese food, it is not the chinese food as you know it here. honestly, we didn't recognize much of the food and what we did recognize made most of us gag. however, we ate it and were thankful for god's provision. we all stayed healthy and full! in beijing we toured the forbidden city, tien a men square, saw an acrobatic show, climbed the great wall, and so much more. we have so much video and so many pictures...look for some in my next blog...

china...

so i am on the other side of the world...i have so much to say but until my mind can process all that i have witnessed and experienced i will just describe it like this:

• vast
• overwhelming, yet
• simple
• innocent
• strong
• emotional
• true
• selfless
• committed
• honest
• genuine
• power

the desire for god's word is great. the commitment to spread the love of jesus greatly surpasses anything i have ever experienced in my lifetime. i am humbled, inspired, and empowered....i am speechless.