A long list of superlatives...

So apparently I have been using an abundance of superlatives this week. And in turn, I started using the word superlative quite a bit, not knowing quite what it meant, but it seemed to work in most situations. As I thought about not knowing the meaning of this word... I decided to look it up. Dictionary.com defines it as of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else orothers; supreme; extreme: superlative wisdom.

Well that seems to be quite the right definition for the vacation I am currently on with my best friend and my Aunt, in the Florida Keys. We have had 5 straight days of 82 degree weather with barely a cloud in the sky, both places we have stayed at have not only met but exceeded our expectations and we have just so happened to be finding fun around every corner :) 

Our place here in Marathon, FL on Vaca Key is phenomenal. We open our front doors to the beach on the Gulf Coast of the island. There is a tiki bar steps away as well as two pools and a water sports arena. I am burnt red like the lobster we caught and then cooked yesterday out of summerland key with my cousins friend and his family and have completely ran out of adjectives that are synonyms for perfect. "It doesn't get better than this"

I am struggling with why I deserve a vacation like this and how a place like this can be so seemingly perfect with so much other hurt in the world, but I think any place can be made to seem this way. It is the "Disney effect" if you will, everything looks so prim and perfect so the privileged can enjoy a retreat from the real world. Dont know if this makes any sense tonight but for some reason it makes me wonder....

Sex God

But sex is not the search for something that's missing. It's the expression of something that's been found. It's designed to be the overflow, the culminations of something that man and a woman have found in each other. It's a celebration of this living, breathing thing that's happening between the two of them.

p123

A letter to you... and you...and you... and YOU

To whomever you are....

I encourage you to continue learning and exploring what it means to live a life of love. I challenge you to hold yourself accountable and find out what it means to truly surrender yourself to God. He works slowly sometimes, so don’t get frustrated when miraculous things don’t happen overnight. Start small. Be a light to those who are around you on a daily basis. Give them grace, even when you don’t think they deserve it. Luckily, none of us are part of an equation of deeds and we should not handle our relationships this way either. Random acts of kindness are a great way to share God’s love with the world especially with people you don’t know. Don’t get overwhelmed with the vastness of this world’s problems. If you make a positive difference in one person’s life then your time here on Earth was worth it. But never become complacent; always strive for excellence in all that you do, because that is what God calls us to do.

Remember that we all fall so short but we have been redeemed. God’s love for us has not been earned it has been granted, this model should be used in your everyday life. It will be hard, there is no doubt about that, especially with all of the societal pressures telling you what is right, what is success and what is beauty. There have been numerous examples of people who are doing it right, seek them out. Surround yourself with people that model this type of behavior so that you can be equipped to share it with the world.

Read. Discover. Explore. Never let the desire for continuous learning die. Seek to answer the hard questions and try not to let other’s opinions sway you. Search out the truth, which includes the facts but is not limited to them and answer these questions yourself. Do not let political boundaries confine your thought processes or come between friends. Rejoice in the differences God has blessed each person with and learn from one another.

It is important, as well, to remember the bigness of God. He is in all, through all and the beginning of all. Alpha and the Omega. We should be fearful and rejoice in his mercy as we are just a speck on this universe in the span of time. God loves us all so much that he laid down his son so that we all may be forgiven, this love that is so vast and so big, is the sole reason why we should each chose to live a life of love.
Go in peace and live into the things that God has called you to do.

-Me

Power.

www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html

Culture.

I have been thinking/reading/writing a lot about culture lately and the importance of it in every aspect of life. Everything has a culture, each relationship, each team, each group, each society, each company, each organization has its own unique way of interaction, each its own reality of what is acceptable, what is valued and what determines success.

There are bad cultures that foster oppression and use power to put down subordinates and there are great cultures which foster creativity, personal development, teamwork and innovation.

As I reflect on the culture that I have helped create in my friendships, daily interactions, with my housemates and in group projects, there are some that I am not so proud of and some that are at least decent. In these more personal relationships how much control do we have over the culture of each? My mind automatically places blame and diffuses personal responsibility for the cultures that are not so healthy and takes credit for those which are. But in reality we are each responsible for each culture that we create in every interaction. I think there are a few things here that are important:

1) To define your own personal culture within yourself before entering into relationship with others. Know your own beliefs, values and strengths, as to not be pursuaded to succumb to the concertive control or power from outside sources. As the saying goes "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

2) Be intentional about the culture you create with other people. Do not misuse power and "Do not do anything out of selfish ambition or conciept." -Phil 2:3

Ultimately, this all comes back to the post I did earlier about LOVE. As Christians we are called to love unconditionally, Agape love. The cultures we create should be ones of love included in this is mutual respect and genuine care for the other person's well-being and development.

What would it look like if company's and organizations adopted this kind of culture? Even further what would it look like if nations adopted this kind of culture? This kind of culture, that kind of love would be revolutionary.

I will end with yet another Mother T. quote.....

"If we really want to conquer the world, we will not be able to do it with bombs or with other weapons of destruction. Let us conquer the world with our love. Let us interweave our lives with bonds of sacrifice and love, and it will be possible for us to conquer the world."

-No Greater Love

Procrastination Punishment

I have put off writing the first chapter of my life view WAY to long and now find myself at 1:20 on a Wednesday night, only half way through, still stopping every few minutes to check facebook, my email etc. It hasn't been a complete waste of time though... I ran across this quote from a paper I wrote for my Christian Love class. It seems to be a good starting point or maybe a good ending point? You decide....

"The path of loving trust means: total reliance on our Heavenly Father with the spontaneous abandonment of little children, totally convinced of our utter nothingness but trusting to the point of rashness with courageous confidence in His fatherly goodness.”

Risk.

Risk seems to be a funny thing. Some people fear it, some people search it out. I was told tonight at the 2nd Annual Business Club Dinner that, "This is the time for risk." As I am now currently in the decision making process of where I will spend the next few years, this statement really hit home.

I was seated at a table next to a man named Ed, he was in the insurance sales business, has three kids and was incredibly insightful. He quickly noticed my outgoing personality and inquired what I might be interested in going in to. After immediately suggesting sales, I told him about my experience in marketing and also about my other opportunities. The struggle was apparent as he could see the dyadic tension that is growing inside. He encouraged me to look towards God in honest prayer and also reinforced with his own personal stories the idea that this is the best time to take a risk. You have nothing tying you down, he noted, while telling me of the story of his wife.

After this great talk, Richard Postma delivered the keynote speech. He touched on his experience with banking and technology, noting some of his accomplishments and ended with the emphasis on three points, Culture, Courage and Commitment. He linked this with Micah 6:8 and the ideas of doing "Good Work."

Being Alone.

Being Alone.

this is something that most people in todays society are very afraid of. We are taught from the day we are born that there are power in numbers, two brains are better than one and especially girls have been socialized to never go anywhere alone.

Alone.

What is so scary about being alone.

Is it that you have to stand on your own two feet?

Is it that you won't have anyone to hide behind?

Is it that you won't have anyone to talk to?

What is it that makes being alone so bad?

Why has being alone become such a black hole of society?

I am me. I know who I am. I can stand behind myself.

In the past few weeks I have realized the power of being alone. Not being surrounded by 10 sorority friends, not having to fight for the attention of boys, not having to try to be someone else. Just being me. By myself, just me.

Airports and cities are my favorite to be me in. There are so many people around, hundreds of people, yet you are alone. Free to judge and make up stories, free to get lost in your own thoughts, free to think and free to dream. I recently walked back and forth in an airport terminal missing my gate three times becuase I was in my own world, surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of people. There is no other feeling like this in the world. To be you, to be free, to be alone right alongside hundreds of people..

There is also something to say about being in a city and being alone. No one really cares about you. You have to care about you and this is where a lot of the seemingly self-centeredness of city dwellers comes from.

If you don't watch out for yourself who will?You have to be aware of your surroundings because your surroundings are so busy and so alive. I can't treat the streets of chicago like I treat the streats of Holland.. I would be dead now.

There is also something liberating about anonyminity. Being in a city of millions of people makes this fact come true very fast. I could live for years in this city and not see a single person I knew. Nobody knows me. Nobody cares. Nobody knows.,  Noone would know the difference if I died my hair purple, dressed in all black and shaved my eyebrows. This means I can be whoever I want to be every day. No expectations to uphold, no standards to live up to, I am free to be me.

So what about relationships, what about being alone with another person.

Can you still feel this same alone feeling if another person, your soulmate, was right beside you?

How to Change the World

The Gathering tonight, was one of the best gatherings I have ever been a part of. Dr. Gary Burge of Wheaton College gave a slap-in-the-face, one of a kind, just-what -I-needed sermon on how Passion is what changes the world. In his research, Dr. Burge has found time and time again that in order to realize this passion, a person traverses through four basic steps.

1. Undeniable experience (Encounter)
2. Immediate gut-check (Paradigm shift)
3. Enviable focus (Passion)
4. Infections enthusiasm (Game-changer)

As a senior graduating in two months this idea of passion is something that I have been struggling with, hard. So many questions begin circulating in my head... What does passion look like for each person? Do you/should you find work/job/vocation within your passion? Is there such thing as an occupational calling? Is it irresponsible to purely follow passion? Should I first take care of financial obligations, secure a good future and then go after my passion? Is passion something that finds you or do you search for it? Does this passion need to be big or small? How can I make a difference? Can people like me really "change the world?" Is there such thing as a passionate person or are all people equally passionate? There are so many problems in the world how do I choose one?

Although I have already begun to answer these questions, there are many that are left unanswered. If there is such thing as a "passionate person" the people in my life have confirmed that I am one. I am fairly emotional and when I attach on to something, well let's just say you better watch out. So, lets say I have the capabilities as much as anyone else to be passionate. Great. Ok. So now what? I have been doing a lot of reading for classes lately and they seem to have at least helped me but none have helped me define what truly is my passion. 

Brainstorm: 

Children, youth, educational inequity, AIDS, Africa, Rwanda, orphans, poverty, hunger, preventable disease, prostitution, sex trafficking

But why? Why all of these things... and how do I choose within them? Dr. Burge centered much of his time around this idea of an undeniable experience such as the woman at the well in John 4: 1-27 had when she encountered Jesus. Many have this experience when simply getting your hands dirty, whether it be volunteering at a local church or spending 2 years in a tribal community in the middle of Africa. "Game-Changers" as he calls it, all have a similarity in that they experience something that strikes a nerve, something that they get a fire in their tiummy over, that haunts their dreams, consumes every conversation and is the topic of the majority of their thoughts. This moment or experience is what turns an ordinarily passionate person to a game-changer.