the next week of my life includes some pretty fun-tastic things, including but not limited to....
getting to spend some time with my wonderful family (unfortunately not in hawaii, like in this picture...)
eating some de-lish fondue at what could turn into another 3-hour marathon meal at the melting pot
going to one of my favorite madison-y places: the zoo! to see some of my favorite animals: the prairie dogs!
seeing matt wertz (mmmmmm!) in concert at the majestic. listen below to one of my favorite songs on his new album. but then just buy his whole album. because he's great.
going to blackhawk downtown. to worship and spend time with friends and celebrate sundays and talk to god and hear some truthiness.
continuing to devour the three books i'm currently reading
having a 21st birthday- crazyy!!- that will consist of a few wonderful things: friends, preschool, time with my young life girlios and an ncaa championship game :)
going to my first brewers game of the season! yes!
registering for what could be my last semester of college. that's weird. but, not something i could easily take a picture of.
then lastly: flitting off to california for a few days to relax, drink wine, giggle and do not much else.
i think i was more excited to celebrate with my little a this morning than i am to acknowledge my silly upcoming 21st. sadly, though, her and her brother darion did not come into preschool today so... party nicole-style is just postponed until tomorrow! good thing presents and hugs and balloons and smiles and cupcakes and crowns and birthday lovin' have no expiration dates.
i'm currently reading a book "stones into schools" that i'd sooo highly recommend! it is kind of a follow-up to the book "three cups of tea", which is about what one man, greg mortenson, is doing to build schools in afghanistan and pakistan in hopes of promoting peace, equality and obviously education.
in one part of the book, greg writes about the relief efforts of his non-profit, the central asia institute, and other organizations in the wake of a devastating 2005 earthquake in northeastern pakistan. here he writes about the disconnect between what wealthy western do-gooders donated to the relief effort versus what the middle eastern refugees actually needed.
by early november, sarfraz was starting to see groups of women who would bundle up huge bales of donated clothing- expensive waterproof parkas, pants and bibs- and set them on fire to heat water or for cooking. it turned out that what these women really needed was an efficient source of cooking fuel, and without a steady supply of kerosene or propane, they were forced to prepare their families' meals over fires made from the north face, patagonia, and mountain hardware gear.
this clothing was used for other purposes as well. later that month, sarfraz e-mailed me a photograph of a sheep grazing on a hillside with a puffy down jacket wrapped around its hind end. clearly, what these refugees needed was building material with which to fabricate shelters to keep their livestock alive. since no one has asked them, however, they were doing their best to improvise. the instinct to help was wonderful, but one can only imagine what the down jacket donor would have thought if he or she had seen what his or her gift eventually was used for. the sheep photo graphically illustrated the limitations of simply fire hosing relief supplies into an area without proper coordination.
reading this great book i'm inspired, encouraged, challenged and educated about so many things! this passage particularly, while it is funny and a bit entertaining to try to imagine exactly what mortenson is describing, i found especially convicting and applicable.
i think in SO many ways i can identify with the silly wealthy westerners greg writes about. superficially, yes, i admittedly have some sort of addiction to patagonia. but deeper than that, as i'm sure they do, i desire to help people in need. i desire to use who i am and the resources and education i've been given to do whatever work in the world has been cut out for me to do. but, to have any sort of helpful impact on anyone, anywhere, ever... good intentions won't be enough.
as is so comically but clearly illustrated by this passage, the difference between wanting to be of aid and actually being of aid is this: understanding. insight. communication. relationship.
one thing greg has absolutely required of the CAI is that his staff try to truly enter into the lives of the people they seek to serve, to talk with them and understand what they actually crave and need and desire. greg and his organization, rather than pushing their own agenda or plans- no matter how good or well-meant they may be!- tread humbly, asking questions and trying to look deeply to the roots of problems and just listen.
i love it.
beyond seeing that western charities throwing money and resources at a problem does nothing effective, this also just so ultimately reminds me of who jesus was and still is. this was his ministry and message. he and his father want to and will provide for me- fancy dancy jackets and all. but so much more than that, jesus also wants to cry with me. he first and foremost wants to just talk and understand what's truly happening in my heart. he wants to hear my fears and needs and desires and he wants to just see me.
i love this book. i love what greg mortenson and the CAI are about. but more than that i looooove that this book reminds me of my god and savior. and that being reminded of who he is in the world and in my life, i am drawn to desire to be more and more like him. goood, good stuff.
spring break consisted of:
-5 friends
-1 grand ol' canyon
-60 hours of driving
-5 nights of camping
-1 day of 12 miles of hiking
-immeasurable growth and learning opportunities.
laughing.
in preschool this morning, as the culmination of our "fashion unit", we had a mini project grow fashion show. and it made my heart SO, so very happy.
loving.
a few things near and dear to my heart lately have been:
-my little sister, renee. i really love that high school sassafrass. more than she knows.
-trader joe's dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. mmm, mm, mmmm.
-arika.
here, using the sign language we've been learning, i am telling her just how much i love her
-the book "stones into schools". i don't know how i'll be called to serve this loco and broken world with my life but books like this and "just courage" about people who DO something to work on education and injustice and just the ugliness our planet is filled with right now, reallyy speak to my heart
-the story of the lord using moses in the book of exodus. the way the people treat the big M-dog with zero respect and faith at times. but then the ways he continues to lovingly and humbly serve them. the way moses expresses his emotions in real, human and outburst-y ways. but then the ways he resubmits to the father, accepting his will for his life. goooood stuff.
-relaxingly good music. going to see amos lee in concert tomorrow night! and just overall diggin' that kind of musica right now.
-BADGER BASKETBALL! giddy up.
-being absolutely broke and entirely single. really, truly. no, laura- i am not being sarcastic. this is good for me right now. and i really secretly am kind of okay with it :)
-sunshine.
wishing for life, laughter and love for you right now, too!
right now i feel very conflicted about...
-blogging. and facebooking. hence my absence from the cyber world lately.
-the level of annoyance this unexpected march snow fall has brought me. on the one hand, walking to class this morning was GORGEOUS. on the other hand, walking to class this morning i randomly had large chunks of snow tumble from the trees onto my head.
i feel i've found clarity in life that...
-i detest when girls swear up the wazoo. when adorable college girls can't converse with their friends without throwing in profanities and explicatives to every single sentence, i dislike that. could not possibly be less attractive.
-i like sugar strawberries! mmmmm. these are precisely what they sound like... strawberries with lots 'o sugar sprinkled on top.
-music is good for the soul. a few weeks ago, with a wonderful (now 20-year-old) friend :), i got to see drew and ellie holcomb as well as marc broussard in concert.
also, lately i've found myself repeatedly drawn to the music of josh kelly and tyrone wells. good stuff. double also, in the next few weeks i'll be seeing amos lee and then matt wertz in concert. mmmmmmm mmm good. music is good for the soul.
-i surprisingly LOVE polar plunges. good cause? ok. freeeezing cold wisconsin lake water? not so much. but i survived! and loved it! and am now a total convert and will be jumping again next year :)
-i goofily take so much joy in sipping hot, freshly brewed coffee in the morning while still wearing my glasses and having my lenses dorkily steam up.
-donald miller's blog can be a day-maker. good food for thought often. check it out here
-sun prairie young life is one place my heart is being big-time called right now.
below is a video put together by a few spyl leaders describing why we do what we do, all day errrrrday.
finally, i am currently very curious as to...
-whether or not my future husband will be a regular mouthwash user. i think if he were that'd be a good thing for me. i hate mouthwash. i SUPER hate flossing, too.
-just how myself and four friends are going to survive our quickly approaching trip. in now just about 48 hours i'll be packing up a car with great amigos to road trip out to the grand canyon for a week for our spring break. i love these people, i love that i am going to likely have the opportunity to sit in awe of god's great beauty in the world, i love that we finally have a pause from schoolness but goshh... we could very plausibly kill each other by the end of a week together. we shall see.
