You had me at Hello.

Could Calvin Klein boots get any better than this?

(I’m starting to think I need a separate category just for my boot/shoe obsessions….)

Fly Me To The Moon

There’s a Japanese restaurant in Tel Aviv that I completely adore called Moon.  If it weren’t so expensive, I’d eat there all the time!  I love Sushi!  It’s a fact!

If I were called to Japan, other than the language, I really wouldn’t mind at all.  I could totally live off of rice, sushi, tea, and noodles (ohhhh, not to forget the miso soup).  This past weekend a friend treated me to dinner at Moon, so I took a couple pics on my Iphone.  My Cherry Blossom Tea came in the most adorable teapot and cup, and I really wanted to take it home with me.

Dealing with Disappointment

Lets face it; everyone suffers from disappointment in life.  It comes and goes, and the truth is, when we put our expectations into something (or someone) here on earth, we run the risk of being disappointed.

Yesterday it happened to me.  A few months ago I had submitted an essay for a scholarship award, which would pretty much pay for my entire year of schooling (and then some in which I could put toward the youth center).  I really wanted to win. I put my heart into my writing, only to find out I wasn’t selected.

Immediately all the negative thoughts swirled around in my mind:  I’m just not a good writer.  Why did I even think I had a chance?  Why did I even bother in the first place?

Thoughts which only then led to fears: Well, now what? How will I pay for school? How will I afford the youth center each month?  Maybe I shouldn’t even be here…..

Then I took a breath and this verse popped into my mind: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

And HIS voice reassured me: I brought you here, not that contest.  Trust in me and I will supply all your needs.

Its what I needed to hear. I had placed my hope in that essay.  I had depended on that money for my needs.  I looked upon the earth instead of the heavens. And I had let it overcome my thoughts.

Am I still a bit disappointed? Yes.

Will I give up and lose hope? No.

…and once again I’m brought back to the one verse that sustains me in times of trails, disappointment, heartache, saddness, fear, and all else… For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

Pre-Holiday Wishlist

If any of you are wondering what to get me this year for Christmas, ponder no more!  I’ve come up with a brilliant idea that will relinquish my craving for some holiday spirit.

Here’s the deal:  There is NO Christmas here!  No festive lights, no trees, no carolers caroling, no drummers drumming… and especially NO Christmas movies on TV. (Plus, I don’t even own a TV, so that doesn’t help me much).

In order to be somewhat connected with my Christmas roots, I own 2 Christmas movies:

• Elf (with Will Farrell)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carey)

Sadly to say, I’ve already watched them both.  Soooooo, (drumroll) my brilliant idea is this…… if you are looking to buy your favorite Shine! ambassador a little something something for Christmas, look no more.  I am a Christmas movie FANATIC, and there are many good ones to choose from (see last years poll of some fav’s here).  Maybe Santa’s little helpers will surprise me with some holiday spirit this year

Lovely Lady, Lovely Blog Award

Thanks to @Holly, I have actually won an award here on my blog!  It’s exciting, yet humbling at the same time.

Here’s the great thing about this award: I can now choose 5 more lovely ladies to honor those who encourage, inspire, lift me up, and just bring happiness into my life on a day to day basis.

@Alece: Alece is a wonderful friend, who has not only helped me through a difficult time in my life, but has shared her heart to the world during her own struggles.  She is an amazing writer, and my dear African friend!

@Angie: Angie also lives on the mission field, but on the other part of the world (Bolivia).  Another fantastic writer, and such an inspiration to all women on the field.

@Bonnie: Bonnie is a new blogging friend, but one that I identify so much with.  We share the same love for movies, Star Wars, and of course… blogging!

@Chrystie: Chrystie has an incredible way with words, and her posts are always so uplifting and honest.  One day she is going to be on the Top Sellers List, thats for sure!

@Jill: Jill is one of my oldest friends, all the way back from elementary-school.  She is brand new on the blogging scene, and always has amazing projects or home ideas to glean from.

So, there you have it…. now go check out their blogs for yourselves!

(Ladies, click here to accept the award and pass it on…guidelines on Cassandra’s site.)

Mediterranean Monday: The Art of Bus-Riding

If my cup of coffee in the morning doesn’t completely wake me up, then the bus rides sure will! Riding the public busses in Tel Aviv is an art form, its not for the faint-of-heart.

You might be thinking, “how difficult is it to ride a bus, come on!?!”

And let me reply, “it’s not difficult, but you need to have gumption and be ready for battle.

First of all, let me start at the beginning. Bus-Riding in Israel 101.

1. While waiting for the bus, remember that lines in Israel do not actually exist.  Everyone will sorta mule around, and when the bus pulls up you must push your way into the huddle.  If you stand back, unassertively, you will be last, and being last as you will see is not a good thing.
2. In the midst of pushing yourself onto the bus, make sure you have some sort of bus pass.  Giving the driver change will just prolong your process and make everyone else annoyed with you.
3. Once you are in, look for ANY available seat.  Being able to sit is a rare treat!
4. If there is no seat you are now one of the many “sardines in the tin”.  Trust me its not fun, but there are some important guidelines for the sardine life:
5. Make sure you have a firm grasp of either a pole or a seat.  I prefer not to use the hangy things from the ceiling, cuz they just are not stable at all.
6. When standing, make sure you have an evenly-balanced position. Legs shoulder-length apart, never together.  You MUST be prepared for the MANY abrupt stops the driver WILL make during the trip. Learning how to shift your weight from your right to left leg, according to stops and take-offs are ESSENTIAL!  This will prevent many akward spills into other people.
7. Make sure you know your stop.  If the bus is full, wading your way through the sardines to the exit of the bus may take a bit of time, so be prepared.
8. And finally, when the bus stops you must be quick to get off.  The driver WILL shut the doors on you or before you have a chance to exit.  Make sure you know the word for driver in Hebrew (nag), and be ready to shout it out, in hopes he’ll give you a second chance an re-open the doors.

As you can see, its not for the weak-minded….

And now you know why I do not look forward to my 4 bus trips everyday.  But, while in Rome (aka, Tel Aviv)……

I ❤ Candy Corn!

My heart is melancholy today, thinking of all the millions and millions of candy corns that will be eaten, BUT NOT BY ME!!! (sniff. sniff.)

Many people favor the candy bars: Three Musketeers, Snickers, Butterfingers…. but I love the candy corn (and pumpkins).

So, when you’re sorting through your candy tonight, please (even if you don’t like them) eat a corn for me (or two or three)…..

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Arabic

If you haven’t heard yet, I’ve started learning Arabic this past week.  I am now able to write all the letters (all millions of them) and we are starting to form words and sentences now.  I honestly thought Hebrew was difficult, but it seems to be a piece of cake compared to this crazy language.  The beauty of it though, is that they have many similarities, and knowing Hebrew first has helped me tremendously.

Anyways, today at Food Distribution, our little translator came to help out so I was showing her my Arabic workbook and what I was learning.  It was then that I discovered she does not know how to read or write in Arabic, only Hebrew.

Arabic is her mother tongue… her first language…. the one she speaks with her family; YET, she does not know how to read or write.  She reads/writes only Hebrew. And this is true for many of the Sudanese we work with.

It made me think.

Therefore, I decided that a part of the after school program at the youth center will be dedicated to teach these kids how to read and write their own language.

Imagine a foreign American… teaching written Arabic to kids who speak it fluently… in a country that none of us belong to… in Hebrew.

Now if that isn’t just crazy awesome, then I don’t know what is!!!

I’m in way over my head

The one thing that has been ringing true for me these past couple weeks is this:

I’m in way over my head.

It’s the scariest thing to feel, but its also the most beautiful.

Beautiful????

Yes, beautiful.  Because WHEN I come through it, I will be able to say with absolute honesty that it wasn’t me!

It was all Him!

There is no way I could do this all on my own. I’m in the midst of madness, and it is only going to get crazier.

• Learning 2 very difficult languages at the same time (Hebrew and Arabic)
• Taking classes for my Masters Degree
• Sudanese Ministry
• Planning the new youth center and all that it entails (which is a lot, I’m learning)
• Working on the ministry website
• Homework/Studying/Reading/Writing
• Blogging (of course)
• AND just trying to breathe!!!

So, as you can see, I an in WAY over my head here….

Isn’t it just beautiful???

Friday Fun: I’m a Croc Hater (and not ashamed)

I hate Crocs!

I’m talking about the reptiles, but I’m not a fan of the shoes either.  Since I was little I’ve had this un-natural fear of crocodiles.  That might not be too wierd, a lot of kids are afraid of them, but here’s the thing….I grew up in MIchigan. We have NO crocs there!

I don’t really know where it came from, though I think I pin-point it to one of our yearly trips down to FLorida visiting my grandparents.  My (at the time) uncle took us fishing and told us there were crocs in the water so we had to be really careful. He then proceeded to tell us that they love to eat dogs, and when his two labs jumped in the water I was so mortified, I began screaming at him to make them come out.  Now that I look back at it, I’m not even sure there WERE any crocs in there at all, but he just said it to scare us a little.

Well, scare me he did! I had nightmares for a LONG time of crocs eating my family. (horrid!)

So, to this day I HATE them with a passion, and living in Africa with them all around me made it intensify! (seeing one eat a baby hippo made me want to kill them all myself) You won’t find me on any Save the Crocs list anytime soon, and I will even go as far as to say that in my opinion, this is the only thing they are good for:

Aren’t they just gorgeous!!! I seriously want a pair!!!

(ok, animal activists….let me have it!) hehehe

I’m not the only one…

I’m getting anxious with my youth center plans, and I have a feeling I’m not the only one.  Though its not official, and most people here don’t have a clue of what I’m about to embark upon, I think the feeling of something new must be brewing in the air.

Lately at the Food Distribution more and more kids have been coming, not just to pick up food for their moms, but to stay and chat (and sometimes help out!).  Last night we were graced with the presence of our two little “translators”, a term and position they have appointed themselves.  Since most of the mothers only speak Arabic, and I only speak Hebrew, they like to be the ones to communicate all the in’s and out’s of the procedures.  It’s very cute, actually.

They sooooo need this youth center, to have a place to go.  I’m getting excited about the vision I have, and this week I will be looking at some potential buildings for the site.  In the meantime you can see my adorable, little helpers for yourselves.  These girls are two reasons why I am passionate about future plans…..

Depending Fully on HIM???

Today I am going to write about a serious topic, one that directly affects my own life.

PERSONAL SAFETY.

How far would you go in order to feel safe?  How far is too far?  What is acceptable and what is not?

I do ministry in the darkest, most dangerous area in Tel Aviv; yet I have never felt unsafe while I was there.  Mind you, I am usually there during the day, but now that winter is approaching and it’s getting dark earlier, I will be finishing at night.

I have been told by some that I need to carry protection with me…..pepper spray, stun-devices, or even a gun. (As a disclaimer, I DID have a gun while I lived in Africa.  Technically it was a  gun for animals, but he could have easily done a bit of damage on a person as well. I also wouldn’t even be ALLOWED to carry a gun here.)

I am constantly being reminded of how “it’s not safe for you to be there” or “you shouldn’t be there at all at night“.

I’m not saying that this information is not true. I am NOT going to run out and get a gun….by no means, and no, it is NOT safe there at night; but it does bring up an interesting thought. As a believer in God and His protection on my life, do I forgo any other means of protection and depend fully on Him?

And there it is: DEPEND FULLY ON HIM!!!

Sometimes this is extremely difficult to do, especially when you are faced with having outside options.

But what about using those options as “back-up” just in case??? (These are words that are swirling all around me…not just from others, but from my own head too.

Its easy to say to someone: Depend fully on Him.  But when reality hits you in the face as you literally “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” each night coming home, its a tad more challenging.

So please give me your opinion.  I’m struggling a bit in this area, and my doubts come not from fear, but from advisement on what I should do.  I want to be full of faith in my Father, and at the same time I also want to be full of wisdom as well. What do you think???

Friday Fun

I love Fridays! I’m sure most people do, they’re the bringing in of the weekend. BUT, Fridays for me ARE the weekends (and Sats). I digress.

You might have seen the piano stairs floating around the internet (if not, you must see it), but posted on The Fun Theory site is another awesome experiment they did on making throwing “rubbish” away fun.

I love the ideas these guys come up with!  We need a little more fun in our lives!

Ode to the one-eyed cats.

Today as I was walking about here and there, I happened to notice a bunch of one-eyed cats, like three in a row.  Of course, seeing millions of cats a day is not anything new (read all about it in this Med. Monday if you need to catch up), but for some reason I noticed a lot of blinded cats today.

We are called to heal the sick and the blind, so does this extend to cats or animals in general??? How many of you have ever prayed for a pet?  A dog needing surgery? A horse who broke his leg?   (I’ve actually said a prayer or two for our dog, Tasha)

I’m sure its contraversial within the prayer realm… and for that matter healing in general is an issue many people don’t even agree upon; but as I was walking I couldn’t help shrug the thought that maybe I should just go lay hands on one of those cats. hehhehee (But then the grossness of their condition freaked me out and I quickly dismayed that thought…..forgive me, God.)

Sooooooo, Ode to all the one-eyed cats out there.  You may not have many people willing to pray healing upon you, but here is a special prayer for all of you today:

May your good eye be 20/20 vision, may it contain peripheral sight, and may you all see just as well as all those two-eyed cats tonight!