The Gospel Whiskey Runners "Hold On"

I found The Gospel Whiskey Runners before flying overseas. They have continued to bring me good music as my time as an SM passes.

Just SMILE

They've Found The Way To My Heart… Just By SMILES 

Wanting ALL of ME

Therefor, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

God loves us too much to allow us to stay tied to anyone or anything that does not bring out the best in us. 

Today I had a few conversations with two friends. One was uncomfortable and the other was for comfort. Within these conversations I remembered 2 Corinthians and it's PROMISE of filling in the old with the new. The new is more BEAUTIFUL than anything! Even though life pushes me along faster then I expected I know I always have this special relationship with my LOVE. He never gets old, always fills my life with excitement, adventures, and simplistic JOY. Away with the old and in comes the new! My sinful human mind often forgets to put Him first. Thank God for his SELFISH PASSION of wanting ALL of ME! Each day He fights to push out my old and fill me with Him, the new. 

Here's to another new chapter! 

Miss Joanna Had A Farm...

I hear, "Teeeeacherrr! I don't want to plant anymore." 1st and 2nd graders transplanted hundreds of carrots and radish. Near the end their focus had left from gardening towards wanting to see the chickens. I find myself laughing at my experience here. Who knew I'd be running a farm full of crazy kids, chickens, and row after row of plants! Enjoyed laughter and smiles on this cold wet day.

Little Piece of Heaven

Long Dong-Coastal Climbing

After a long week of working out visa renewal, teaching 2nd grade for a day, working on REACH day camp program, and figuring out trip plans, I finally got out of the city and into my atmosphere. God new I needed to renew my spirit with tranquility and Him. Now I'm ready to face another week and see what He has in store! What an AMAZING God we have. He is the master sculptor of the best art- eARTh. It will never run out of style or get boring to look at.  

I was told by another teacher, "You are going with us to Green Island this weekend." Great. Second month in Taiwan and people are telling me what I will do. The idea of going to Green Island wasn't the problem but the way I was "invited" and who I was invited by was the problem. The time has come for me to start seeing things without the warm and fuzziness of the "honeymoon" stage. Individuals are starting to get on my irritation radar.

With that said, I decided to go to Green Island a few weeks ago. 6 hour car ride + 1 hour ferry (known as the vomit boat)  = destination.

  

Vomit bags

Ferry

  

Motorized bike

Beach…..of coral

View from hotel room

View

Goin' hikn'

Snorkeling!

How the Taiwanese snorkel 

Once on the island we picked up our motorized bikes and started on our way to the hotel. Relaxing with a beautiful view and having a natural hot springs on the island was a blast. My favorite part of the trip was snorkeling. I had a BLAST. Really enjoyed my time seeing new sights and being able to get out of the city. 

Adventure Continues

Kenny (the boy who's family picked us up while hitch hiking) contacted my friend Lesley and I again. He told us he wanted to go out to waffles! God is spontaneous as all get out! We met Kenny out for waffles that night. As we sat (stuffing our faces with goodness), Kenny told us he really wanted to start going to church. Exciting! Once again God looked after Lesley and I by giving us a free meal. Kenny's mom paid for our dinner. My heart is warmed.

Here I Am

Here I am.

I stand before You.

Scared.

Broken.

Thirsty.

Shaking with excitement.

You tell me to go.

So I go.

Here I am,

blowing in the wind,

allowing You to take me.

Spin me.

Spin me so fast everything blurs.

I've taken flight!

In the time it takes to adjust my eyes

I pray to see the world differently.

I want Your eyes.

Eyes that allow me to see

Sorrow.

Love in purist form.

Anguish.

Desire.

Need.

Simplistic joy.

Here I am

Use me.

Wild Adventure With God As Our Tour Guide

Today a new adventure started. My new found friend Lesley (from New Zealand) and I decided we were going to try and find a hot springs called Ba Yan Wild Springs. Now, this isn't any old hot springs, it's the free and illegal one. Perfect! We are both up for fun and adventure so the plan was fitting.

I found a blog with all the information. It looked great! The blog said we needed to catch bus 1717 (which runs every hour) over Ming Shun mountain. Great. So I know what bus to take but I don't know where the bus stop is to pick up. To make sure I had all possible information I continued to read through the comments of the blog. One person mentioned Taipei Main Station to be where bus 1717 leaves from.

(For those of you who don't know where I live, I live on Ming Shun mountain. So getting to the MRT takes a little bit and then finding my way to Main Station is an ordeal as well. Also, those of you who know me know that I get distracted. My distraction came when I started Skyping with Sarah and latter Matt P. I got so distracted that I forgot to write all the information down).

1:00pm was the designated time to meet at Shilin MRT. From there we proceeded to Taipei Main Station. When we stepped off the MRT (which at this point was underground) it was like a ant nest. Everyone going everywhere. Awesome. Now what do we do? Lesley and I started the long task of finding the bus stop to take us to a nice day at the hot springs. We finally found the bus and asked the driver to take us to the hot springs (I'll remind you, we don't have the name, location, or anything). Needless to say, we ended up somewhere other than the free hot springs. The driver drove to a resort!
Ending up at a resort wouldn't have been a problem except neither of us had money.

Next plan of action was to find an English speaking person. With Gods help it didn't take long and we were off by foot down the mountain. As we walked I got the idea to try and hitch hike. The cars seemed to speed up as they saw Lesley and myself. With each vehicle that passed we laughed at the thought of jumping on. Lesley and I shot up a prayer asking for any kind of a ride. I walked with my thumb out for about 12 minutes and a nice BMW pulled up beside us! As the car slowed down I could see a family with smiling faces greeting me. The son spoke English!

This family asked us where we were trying to go and started taking us without a second thought. We tried to explain the location to them but they became just as confused as we were. The dad decided to pull over and ask a local restaurant about the hot springs. As we all stood in this nice restaurant they mother takes my hand as says, "You eat lunch with us."

They happily payed for our meal! One of the nicest acts shown to me so far in Taiwan. This family shows Gods amazing love with poise. We prayed with them before the meal and talked about religion, family, culture, and education. God was working!

After the meal the mama saw the view and wanted to get pictures taken with us. What a loving and kind woman she was. Lesley and I thought we would try and find the bus stop to get home but before we could say goodbye they asked us were we lived. Once again, God is looking out for us. They gave us a ride back! As we drove home the dad asked if we wanted to see some sights on the way. Of course I did! We didn't have any money or gifts to give so we decided to sing them a song. My God Loves Me came into mind and we sang that to offer thanks haha. After we finished they wanted us to sing it again!

This nice family dropped Lesley and myself off at Shilin Night Market by the MRT. Before we parted Lesley and I stood on the sidewalk and gave praise to God for his marvelous kindness and protection. She walked away to head towards her bus, leaving me along in line for mine.

God is SO good!

Dare to Be

"Dare to Be

When a new day behind, dare to smile gratefully.

When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.

When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.

When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.

When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.

When you're feeling tired, dare to keep going.

When times are tough, dare to be tougher.

When love hurts you, dare to love again.

When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.

When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.

When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.

When the day has ended, dare to feel as you've done your best.

Dare to be the best you can- all the time, dare to be!"


-Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Chickens & Butterflies

Have you ever found yourself in a situation witch at every attempt the finish line seems to stay in the far off distance? 

I felt as though I wast in this situation. The job I was told to do is actually not the job I ended up doing (which is normal in SM world). Outdoor director for an up and coming program was the bate and hook. They got me!  What I found to be the hard part wasn't gardening all day long in heat, with sweat rushing from every pore of my body. It was/is the constant talk about the outdoor program without focus, resources, and full understanding of what their dreams and desires entail. 

Before I came over here my thoughts went racing for all the potentials this program could have. RAD (Big Lakes outpost camp) was my guide. But as time goes on I see my passions and excitement don't quite line up with those I'm making the program for. 

God as granted me my prayer! Being content and excited for whatever these kids are excited for is better than fulfilling my own desires for the program. Who knew I would be excited about raising chickens and looking at butterflies (I'm not saying it's my personal past time haha)! 

When God calls you He always has a plan. Chickens and dirt are what He had in mind for me! There is never a dull moment when you work for the King. 

PDX Goodbyes

The adventures have already begun, but I wanted to record these memories. 

Do You Know The Saying

I wrote this a last school year and just came across it again today. God has blessed me with His unconditional love. All I have to do is let Him in, take time to see it His wonders, and giggle a little.

You know the saying…

You never know what you have till it’s gone.

Well, I don’t believe it.

I know now what I had. What I have.

I can see it,

every moment of every day.

I can feel it,

when a cool gust of fresh air blows through my hair

sending something warm,

so warm it fills me with joyful tingles.

I can see it,

when a stranger passes me on the sidewalk,

and gives a genuine, “How are you?”

I hear it,

when joyful praise flows with

fierce rawness.

freeness.

from the mouth of a hurting individual

with

no

fear

of

judgment.

I’m reminded when giggles take over,

observing an old man take his wife’s hand

and getting the same reaction as 40 years before.

true love.

I know what I have. God.

was.

is.

and always will be what I have.

Even when I knew not.

He is never changing.

All these things are reminders,

mere symbols of God’s presence.

Brick Wall

"We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil." 

-Captivating

As I walked to school one morning I noticed this wall. Might not seem like much, but to me it brought joy. I always enjoy those moments when you can apply what you see with something that's been on your mind. 

This is what went down;

We (ladies) try and support ourselves just like this wall.

Putting layers on.

Neutral. 

It's what we strive for.

Nothing too shinny or bright because the lady who walked by wasn't wearing it.  

We just copy.

It's safe.  

Ladies get afraid of what others will see if the walls weren't there.

If the neutrality was gone.

As I stood there looking at the wall, I saw the colorful brick.

Beauty.

Raw beauty.

Under all the layers there was a masterpiece.

God has made each of us a masterpiece.

Why do we cover up what has already been so beautifully made? 

There shouldn't be fear because what people see is Gods handiwork at its finest!