Chihuly in Venice

Disciples

How come Jesus did not have any female disciples? Historical & cultural context?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

MY FRIEND CINDY GOT ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrNE82VIuFo&feature=share

email to-fro parents

Dad,

I get points marked off from presentations because I'm "too humorous"

=(

Mom,

I get points marked off in the clinic because I "smile too much"

=(

I think your genes are causing me to get bad grades in school......... 

------------

Cecilia,

It’s OK, as long as you can pass the courses!

On humor and smiling, you need to learn “where” “when” and “how”.  It is a good experience to pay attention to this, congratulations!  I am quite serious when I am discussing academic issues….  It is an advanced skill if you can using “sense of humor” and “seriousness” interactively with appropriateness.

Anyway, you have good genes!

God Bless!

Dad

insightful bits

I've been reading about my Brazil team leaders R & R's adventures. Below are two snippets I've c&p'd.

'Walk peacefully with Me through this day. You are wondering how you will cope with all that is expected of you. You must traverse this day like any other one: one step at a time. Instead of mentally rehearsing how you will do this or that, keep your mind on My Presence and on taking the next step. The more demanding your day, the more help you can expect from Me. This is a training experience since I designed you for a deep dependence on your Shepherd-King. Challenging times wake you up and amplify your awareness of needing my help.

'When you don’t know what to do, wait while I open the way before you. Trust that I know what I’m doing. And be ready to follow my lead. I will give you strength and will bless you with Peace.

Exodus 33:14, Deut. 33:25, Hebrews 13:20-21, Psalm 29:11

From “Jesus Calling” Sarah Young

This week we are busy in preparing for a "mini-distribution" and disability ministry training session in Jaurez Mexico. Yes, we know, Jaurez is a very dangerous place but as Jenny Hanks always says, "the safest place for a Christian to be is in the center of God's will...."

Boston Schweitzer Fellowship

Apparently a year has passed since I first took part in the Boston Schweitzer Fellowship.

One of my personal challenges in being part of this fellowship was comparing myself with the other 24 fellows. Their passions for their projects and compassion towards underserved populations overflowed, and they all seemed to have such discipline and focus. I sometimes questioned whether or not I was doing enough or even if my project were as valuable as theirs.

Today was our day-long closing retreat. We each had the opportunity to reflect and share our lessons learned from our experience as a Schweitzer Fellow.

I particularly appreciate the way the fellowship encouraged introspection - going deeper and figuring out our motivations for serving. For me personally I have to say that my ultimate driving force is my Christian faith; I believe that

1. Every single human being has inherent value
2. The world we live in is not supposed to be this messed up

It's been such a privilege to work with Chinese families affected by Autism this past year while hearing updates on 24 other projects in Boston. These grad students have been working with populations ranging from African refugees lacking access to primary care to teenage girls recovering from drug addictions.

To me, each project has been a glimpse of restoration in this messed up world. I see each fellow as an instrument used to restore a sense of worth in people who may have lost it in society. And the way we're enlivened through these new relationships remind me that we need each other. It's a beautiful thing - how caring relationships can blend "giver" and "receiver" into partnership, community, and hope.

This realization overpowers my interest in comparing myself with my fellow fellows. I just feel extremely blessed and thankful to be part of a much bigger picture.

Reminders and Epiphanies

I'm in the clinic 10 hrs/day M-Th, and these days are bookended by 80 min commutes. As a newbie student in the clinic, I feel like I'm constantly on the go and constantly being challenged.

My favorite part of each day is when my Clinical Instructor takes me aside after a new patient's initial evaluation and asks, "So what do you think is going on?" It's after we've gathered all the data we could within an hour through talking with the patient and taking objective measurements. It's when we try to pinpoint the underlying biomechanical dysfunction and/or pathology causing the patient's current state of disability. I present my tentative diagnosis and rationales, and then my CI shares a much more eloquent and comprehensive explanation. She blasts me with epiphany, basically. It's pretty fun :)

On my 80 min train/bus ride to the clinic each morning, I try to read through daily devotionals. But I can't seem to soak in the reading the same way as I can on a day like today, the beginning of my weekend.

I just read this in a World Vision Lent devo:

Hope is not an excuse to do nothing; it’s a reason to do what we can now, knowing that God is the restorer, His kingdom will come in due time.

So true.

Yet it scares me how easily and quickly I lose sight of why I do what I do. I can go through the motions of planning a night of bowling & fellowship to connect undergrads with young adults in Dorchester. And I can do all the busy work in preparation for monthly respite nights servicing Chinese families affected by Autism.

But why?

Sometimes doing these things week to week become just tasks to check off. The overarching visions no longer move me emotionally.

Then I just notice more immediate effects of my efforts - praise from people, recognition, the sense of accomplishment. These things aren't inherently evil. But when they're all I notice, they become all that I seek to sustain me through the week.

Sometimes I can sense pride rising up in me. It really saddens and discourages me because I know that God hates it. It "contends with His supremacy", as CJ Mahaney puts it. And I can sense how it dampens my relationship with Him :( It's frustrating because I've tried and I can't just will away this sense of pride or force myself to feel differently.

So I'm thankful for days like today, when God graces me with the ability to soak in His Word and His truth. Reading Job 38 helped me visualize and remember who God is and... well, how tiny & dispensable I am. How lucky I am to be a small part of all that He is doing... :)

Reading Revelations 21:1-7 reminded me of His vision for this world. It drew me into deeper yearning for that complete restoration of this depressing, messed up world... the restoration that only God can accomplish.

These two passages reminded me of this greater hope, and it fuels me to continue living each day knowing God is God and that He will restore.

As mentioned earlier, hope and truth aren't what always motivate me to do the things that I do. And I know God sees all the pride, filth, and messiness in my heart... to an infinitely greater extent than I can see myself.

Yet in prayer, He reminded me that He loves me???

He still loves me. That's just bizarre.

I wish that every single time I lay eyes on Scripture or engaged in prayer would be a moment of dramatic reminder + epiphany. But in this season, I'm just really thankful for these 3-day weekends that provide me with time to ruminate and listen. And I am thankful for His gracious provision of peace, purpose, and strength that sometimes follow.

... may my life make your great heart glad today.