75% of all US presidents were in the bottom half of their class. 50% of CEOs had a C or C- average in college. and 50% of all millionaire entrepreneurs never even went to college. What do they have that so many of us do not?
Passion.
It's interesting that one little word can make people do such crazy and often incredibly impressive things. The more I thought about that today, I realized that the first thing in my life (aside from the Lord) that I can recall feeling REALLY passionate about is Brazil. I remember thinking it was a strange feeling. Like, maybe I was crazy. But it changed the way I approached everything. I became more ambitious and I took more risks, but I would never call myself impulsive. And those are all things these leaders and CEOs and millionaires will probably tell you they did. I still don't know exaaaactly in what capacity I will be in Brazil next, but it is so dear to me.
While I'm in the US, I have been reading A Thousand Splendid Suns...in Portuguese. And I listened to my Portuguese worship mix, so much so that when I get to work I have to force myself to say 'good morning' to Pam instead of 'bom dia.'
Joaquim gets here on FRIDAY. 3 days away!!!!!! And hopefully while he is here, in addition to spending time together and him meeting and getting to know my family (poor guy), we will be talking with the international students director at Harper and really getting the ball rolling. Well, it is rolling, but...Harper doesn't know about that yet. The more I think and pray about that, I just think...God is so good and SO faithful.
This gospel song says it so well.......
"Faithful, faithful, faithful is our God.
I'm reaping the harvest God's promised me
Take back what the devil stole from me
And I will rejoice today, for I shall recover it all!"
I'm happy. I'm so content in my job, and it is challenging and my work is always growing and expanding. I'm excited about moving into a new apartment at the end of April, with such a dear friend. And I am amazed at the miracle that will arrive at O'Hare airport on Friday. Joaquim is such a blessing in my life, and God is so good to be bringing him here to me, when I can't go there. HE has everything planned. I remember praying over my relationship with Joaquim in July 2006...10 months before we even started dating...and I felt then, that even though it seemed crazy to me and looked impossible to the world that I could ever go out with this great guy, that God was just saying "wait just a little...and stop worrying about it." He said that because if He had said "ok, so you'll go to Brazil for 6 months a year from now and you can learn Portguese and live in a new city and then live with Joaquim's family and talk with them over coffee every day. Then when you come home, you'll get a job and move into an apartment with Janell, but before that, Joaquim can visit you for a month and we'll take it from there. How does that sound?" I would have fallen over and/or been committed...in the "mental" sense of the word.
Every April-ish at Taylor I remember feeling like spring is such a lovey-dovey season. And I never had a love...or a dove. Now...well, I just bought some Dove deoderant at Walgreens yesterday, and I will have my love here in April! I'm looking forward to that month.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Hard to wake up...
I admit, I'm blogging from work. Not a big fan, but I am having such a hard time waking up that I figured I would try to jump-start my brain. I also only feel like dusting my desk. We need some swiffer wipes around here.
While we're on the topic of work...it's going wonderfully. I'm still enjoying myself and also enjoying making a to-do list at the end of every day, of things that are accomplishable and also impactful. It's a good feeling. Not a good feeling is the thought that now that 53 is being torn apart by woodfield, thus removing all express lanes, my commute to work from Bloomingdale, home of my new and lovely apartment which I can JUST BARELY afford, will be gas guzzling. (How do you spell that?) I don't even care about the time, I care about the pure gold called gasoline that will be basically dripping out of my tank, all over that thing we in Chicago call an "express" way. Nothing express about it at the moment.
I think I have SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder. I have always had it, and I have it all year round. If the day is rainy, my productivity and conscious thoughts must be cut literally in half. It is now 9:30 in the morning and the streetlights are still on, because the clouds are so thick that it's barely light out. I think I need a UV light here at my desk.
Let's talk about something sunny. On Sunday, I got baptized. Yea, it was a randomly not random thing. I've been thinking about it for months and months, mostly since I was in Londrina and 3 people asked me when I was baptized (isn't that a strange question to ask someone?) and then were appalled by my answer. I hadn't even thought about baptism until I went to Harvest 2 1/2 years ago and saw some and heard a sermon about it. I couldn't believe that I hadn't set foot in a church that preached about baptism until I was 20 years old. So, after 20 years of rhetoric that told me about infant baptism, it took a couple years to re-wire. I was a little angry about it because I felt like, especially in Londrina, people assumed I wasn't a Christian if I hadn't been baptized. And that is incredibly frustrating. However, thanks to other people (Joaquim, Janell and Alex) who were incredibly patient with me and never pushed me an inch on the subject or in any way discounted the relationship I have had for years with the Lord, but just told me "well...you gotta get baptized. Think about it..." I thought about it. And I decided in December that it was going to happen, I just didn't know when, or where. In Londrina, I would have had to take a 6 month class, called Verdades Básicas. I was "taking" it while I was there, but only 15 out of 20 lessons, and I was really just sitting in, so that didn't count. At Lar, Joaquim taught a baptism class and since I didn't do that, that was that. And I didn't WANT to take a class about baptism, or about basic truths. I didn't like the implication that my lack of being dunked under water suddenly rendered me very immature and unknowledgeable. So, that was why this Sunday at Harvest when Pastor James MacDonald said "you don't need a class, just get up here" I was interested.
More than interested, I knew it was definitely the time. My heart would have flown out of my chest and just thrown itself into the water if I hadn't taken my body with it. So for people who were like "what, you got baptized? Hey, cool!" or for my Lutheran family who may be thinking, "yea, I remember when you were baptized on August 18th, 1985...I was there..." it was a process of 6 months where I dug through my heart and prayed a lot about this. And Sunday just opened up an opportunity that I couldn't wait for.
It turned out to be incredible timing, as can be attested by a prayer made in São Paulo on March 2nd, that I was unaware of...but that's really a story for another time.
While we're on the topic of work...it's going wonderfully. I'm still enjoying myself and also enjoying making a to-do list at the end of every day, of things that are accomplishable and also impactful. It's a good feeling. Not a good feeling is the thought that now that 53 is being torn apart by woodfield, thus removing all express lanes, my commute to work from Bloomingdale, home of my new and lovely apartment which I can JUST BARELY afford, will be gas guzzling. (How do you spell that?) I don't even care about the time, I care about the pure gold called gasoline that will be basically dripping out of my tank, all over that thing we in Chicago call an "express" way. Nothing express about it at the moment.
I think I have SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder. I have always had it, and I have it all year round. If the day is rainy, my productivity and conscious thoughts must be cut literally in half. It is now 9:30 in the morning and the streetlights are still on, because the clouds are so thick that it's barely light out. I think I need a UV light here at my desk.
Let's talk about something sunny. On Sunday, I got baptized. Yea, it was a randomly not random thing. I've been thinking about it for months and months, mostly since I was in Londrina and 3 people asked me when I was baptized (isn't that a strange question to ask someone?) and then were appalled by my answer. I hadn't even thought about baptism until I went to Harvest 2 1/2 years ago and saw some and heard a sermon about it. I couldn't believe that I hadn't set foot in a church that preached about baptism until I was 20 years old. So, after 20 years of rhetoric that told me about infant baptism, it took a couple years to re-wire. I was a little angry about it because I felt like, especially in Londrina, people assumed I wasn't a Christian if I hadn't been baptized. And that is incredibly frustrating. However, thanks to other people (Joaquim, Janell and Alex) who were incredibly patient with me and never pushed me an inch on the subject or in any way discounted the relationship I have had for years with the Lord, but just told me "well...you gotta get baptized. Think about it..." I thought about it. And I decided in December that it was going to happen, I just didn't know when, or where. In Londrina, I would have had to take a 6 month class, called Verdades Básicas. I was "taking" it while I was there, but only 15 out of 20 lessons, and I was really just sitting in, so that didn't count. At Lar, Joaquim taught a baptism class and since I didn't do that, that was that. And I didn't WANT to take a class about baptism, or about basic truths. I didn't like the implication that my lack of being dunked under water suddenly rendered me very immature and unknowledgeable. So, that was why this Sunday at Harvest when Pastor James MacDonald said "you don't need a class, just get up here" I was interested.
More than interested, I knew it was definitely the time. My heart would have flown out of my chest and just thrown itself into the water if I hadn't taken my body with it. So for people who were like "what, you got baptized? Hey, cool!" or for my Lutheran family who may be thinking, "yea, I remember when you were baptized on August 18th, 1985...I was there..." it was a process of 6 months where I dug through my heart and prayed a lot about this. And Sunday just opened up an opportunity that I couldn't wait for.
It turned out to be incredible timing, as can be attested by a prayer made in São Paulo on March 2nd, that I was unaware of...but that's really a story for another time.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Small Acts
I have had one thought in my head for the last few days. "Changing the world one small act of kindness at a time." Today I saw my weekly quote in my dayplanner and it of course went right along with this, which actually is the theme of the movie Evan Almighty.
Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success. -Swami Sivananda
I watched Evan Almighty on Friday night with my little brother...he complained, but it turned out to be a sweet movie. Similar to its prequel, Bruce Almighty, it was of course far-fetched, but in the end everything really made sense. It was fascinating. And I am always impressed by the way they portray God, or Morgan Freeman. While capturing God's character by dressing a man in white and making him omnipotent and all those other "omni"s is obviously impossible, the aspects of Him that a human can portray were really well done. I especially liked the part where Morgan Freeman is talking to Joan, Evan's wife, in a diner, dressed as a waiter named Al Mighty, and he mentions something to her, in casual conversation, that brought her to tears. That is really how the Lord speaks to our hearts. There are moments in our normal days where something shines out as being SO intensely personal and purposeful that we can't deny its divine source. I love those moments.
I had one of them yesterday. I decided to go to Harvest Bible Chapel...by myself. Not a lot of fun, and it just made me even more sick of this whole "being alone" business and made me miss Joaquim even more, if possible. But even though I forgot that the clocks moved ahead 1 hour on Sunday, i woke up at 10:30 and quickly got ready for an 11:15 service because I was committed to trying my best to make this church my home. It's big, and that's daunting, but I'm not going to say I didn't try. I love the messages, and I really just wanted to give it my best shot. So I went, I parked a mile away, walked inside, saw a row whose middle was open, and excused myself to squeeze past 2 women, a woman and her daughter. I sat down next to the daughter, who reminded me of a girl at Taylor that I had the misfortune of having French with once, with one seat in between us. Then she leaned over and asked, "excuse me, did you used to go to Souled Out?" And then I recognized her.
I don't think I have ever had a real conversation with Sarah, but after going to the same small church community for a few years and having lots of mutual friends, there is already a good foundation. So I scooted over to sit next to her, so grateful to just not be hanging by myself at church. That's now how church should be... Afterwards, I chatted with her and her mom for a little bit and we just decided to head to Panera. We talked for over an hour, and I was so blessed by them. They bought me lunch, listened to all my crazy stories, and shared with me. Who knew I would have gone to a church as enormous as Harvest and sat next to someone I didn't realize I knew and then had a great conversation with them over lunch? So I guess I should keep going to church there, even on days when I have no one to go with. And believe me, I can't wait to bring Joaquim there. Sheesh, maybe someday he'll be around to go with me every Sunday. That would be a dream.
On a less philosophical subject, I guess I'm truly an adult or something, because I signed a lease for an apartment with my dear friend Janell last Monday. It's in Bloomingdale, and it's a really great place...we're not moving in until April 26th though because Joaquim will be here until then, and I defintely need to save up some money. We have no furniture. I think I'll have a bed and a nice closet. Other than that, I have yet to go to IKEA.
Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success. -Swami Sivananda
I watched Evan Almighty on Friday night with my little brother...he complained, but it turned out to be a sweet movie. Similar to its prequel, Bruce Almighty, it was of course far-fetched, but in the end everything really made sense. It was fascinating. And I am always impressed by the way they portray God, or Morgan Freeman. While capturing God's character by dressing a man in white and making him omnipotent and all those other "omni"s is obviously impossible, the aspects of Him that a human can portray were really well done. I especially liked the part where Morgan Freeman is talking to Joan, Evan's wife, in a diner, dressed as a waiter named Al Mighty, and he mentions something to her, in casual conversation, that brought her to tears. That is really how the Lord speaks to our hearts. There are moments in our normal days where something shines out as being SO intensely personal and purposeful that we can't deny its divine source. I love those moments.
I had one of them yesterday. I decided to go to Harvest Bible Chapel...by myself. Not a lot of fun, and it just made me even more sick of this whole "being alone" business and made me miss Joaquim even more, if possible. But even though I forgot that the clocks moved ahead 1 hour on Sunday, i woke up at 10:30 and quickly got ready for an 11:15 service because I was committed to trying my best to make this church my home. It's big, and that's daunting, but I'm not going to say I didn't try. I love the messages, and I really just wanted to give it my best shot. So I went, I parked a mile away, walked inside, saw a row whose middle was open, and excused myself to squeeze past 2 women, a woman and her daughter. I sat down next to the daughter, who reminded me of a girl at Taylor that I had the misfortune of having French with once, with one seat in between us. Then she leaned over and asked, "excuse me, did you used to go to Souled Out?" And then I recognized her.
I don't think I have ever had a real conversation with Sarah, but after going to the same small church community for a few years and having lots of mutual friends, there is already a good foundation. So I scooted over to sit next to her, so grateful to just not be hanging by myself at church. That's now how church should be... Afterwards, I chatted with her and her mom for a little bit and we just decided to head to Panera. We talked for over an hour, and I was so blessed by them. They bought me lunch, listened to all my crazy stories, and shared with me. Who knew I would have gone to a church as enormous as Harvest and sat next to someone I didn't realize I knew and then had a great conversation with them over lunch? So I guess I should keep going to church there, even on days when I have no one to go with. And believe me, I can't wait to bring Joaquim there. Sheesh, maybe someday he'll be around to go with me every Sunday. That would be a dream.
On a less philosophical subject, I guess I'm truly an adult or something, because I signed a lease for an apartment with my dear friend Janell last Monday. It's in Bloomingdale, and it's a really great place...we're not moving in until April 26th though because Joaquim will be here until then, and I defintely need to save up some money. We have no furniture. I think I'll have a bed and a nice closet. Other than that, I have yet to go to IKEA.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
VISA!
HE GOT IT!!!
Thanks for your prayers! He got a 30 day visa and will be here from March 28th until April 25th.
YESSSS!!
Thanks for your prayers! He got a 30 day visa and will be here from March 28th until April 25th.
YESSSS!!
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