A Holy Moment

Do I need a reason to cry? A concrete explanation? If so- I have many, though you might not find them worthy of tears. But how about the mere idea that my Father, my Savior, wanted to spend this moment with me? 
I climbed to the top of this mountain in search for solitude, even though there are a lot of other people around. But then everything stilled. Children stopped chattering and feet stopped pattering. I could even hear the wind. Faintly at first, then with rising power the sound o f voices hit my ears. It didn't take long for me to spot the large group of people in the distance, below the base of the slope. It also didn't take long for me recognize the tune their boisterous voices sang. "I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee, my precious Savior, I surrender all." They continued and I was enveloped in the hymn. I'm wrapped in the call of my God to lay it down. To surrender ALL. Every struggle, each pain of mine, and the burdens of others I wish I could carry. 
Every reason I have to cry is eclipsed by the realization that this is a holy moment. My Father is askin for a response. A response of love, trust and surrender. And that alone is enough to cry tears of joy and gratitude. These tears fall in surrender and repentance, as I lay it all down at the feet of my Savior. 
"All to Jesus I surrender. All to him I freely give. I will ever love and trust him. In his presence daily live." 
Just as suddenly as the sounds died, they resume. Conversations and laughter, camera shutters and shoes hitting the rock. But the sounds are all stilled as I contiue to seek solitude amidst a busy world. 
Inhale. Exhale. It all fades away. Just me and Jesus left at the top of the mountain.

Coffee Breaks

I wish that I could tell you all of the ways that spending 2 weeks in Malawi, Africa changed my life. But I'm actually still discovering them for myself, a month after being back. This is probably something that I will write about often. You simply do not visit a third world country and come away unaffected. (Be it Africa, or otherwise.) I am still processing the things that I saw, the hands that I held, all of the emotions, and the way those people touched my heart. So, if you find yourself a frequent visitor to this blog- know now that you will read about Africa a lot. But...back to one of the ways 2 weeks in Africa changed my life...

I love coffee. I love specialty coffee, and the coffee shop experience. Phoenix is a great place to live for the coffee shop scene. I have explored many a cafes downtown and in the north west valley. I have my favorites, but have yet to find a shop that I don't like. Each has its own personality, and beverages. One thing they all have in common, though, is price range.

Being a college student only working part time, I run a pretty tight budget. I am conscious of spending, and try to refrain from unnecessary purchases. Except when it comes to coffee. Coffee is about the only thing that I will justify spending $5 a cup for- because I love it that much! 

Well, a while back I got some coupons for a coffee place downtown that I enjoy. They expire at the end of this month, so my roommate and I decided that we needed to take advantage of this deal and use them. As we were preparing to leave, I came to the realization that I have not gotten coffee since I have been back in the US. (Yes, I have made coffee from generic brand grounds in my personal coffee maker-but I have not purchased a cup of specialty coffee from a shop.) This struck me. I had been known to go get coffee AT LEAST once a week. My wallet is chalk full of punch cards from all of my favorite places; yet, I hadn't gotten any form of iced latte in a whole month. And then I began to wonder why.

 When families are making $1 a day just to survive, spending 5 bucks on a drink that will not last seems utterly pointless. Now, I'm not here to lecture, or make you feel guilty if you love to splurge on coffee as much as I do. I am simply putting into words what I believe is at the core of my unrealized coffee refrain. Living life, though only a short piece of two weeks, with these families has shifted the way I see the money, America, luxuries such as coffee, and really my whole world. 

So often while overseas, from our American lips come the words "We are so blessed." But I don't believe that we are blessed just because we live in America, because we make more than $1 a day, because we live in excess, because we hoard money and possessions, because we love luxury, and turn a blind eye to the poor. "Blessed" is NOT the same thing as spoiled. (And now I may have stepped too high onto that soap box.) 

Don't get me wrong. I have not suddenly decided that I will not enjoy an iced macciato every now and then. Coffee shops are an escape for me, a safe haven for conversations with beautiful friends, and a delightful place to study- school books or the Bible.  I will continue to justify spending the 5 bucks on a drink (Or maybe opt for tea- which is extremely cheaper in comparison!). But I hope to be more conscious of those 5 dollars.  And I hope that you will be too. 

Also, plug if I may... Mocha Club is a great organization that I have been apart of for about a year and a half. They're based off of kinda the same thought process I have going here. $7 a month, they say is about the cost of 2 mochas. $7 can provide clean water for 7 Africans for a year. Crazy, right? This organization has several projects throughout Africa: clean water, orphanages, at risk women, medical care, etc. It's pretty great. If this sounds like something interesting to you, check them out at www.themochaclub.org. 

And watch this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAB-zJPsJjs. It basically explains exactly where my heart is.

First Step

I’ve decided to start a blog.

I am a Communications major who loves to write, but is also very indecisive. So let’s call this a first step.

I took a class a while back called “Writing for the Media.” We explored many different mediums of writing, and blogging was one of them. As a Communications major I should have a blog. But…I should have a blog that is done well, has a point, has a following, and flows in one direction. Choosing said one direction is a little hard for me. However, I believe it will be good to just start a blog. It will be useful to develop my writing skills, and maybe help me to narrow down the list I have of potential subject ideas.

So this is your warning. Much like my mind, this blog will be all over place. Some things you may find me writing about here: Jesus, Art, Africa, School, The Bible, Crafts, Careers, Traveling, People, My Generation, and probably a million other things that I find myself passionate about. I’m not promising that anything on here will be true, but it also will not all be fiction. I enjoy writing stories- both real and make believe.

Feel free to critique anything and everything you see. Growth comes from criticism, as long as it is constructive. If you like what you see, come back, leave a comment, tell me about my writing, or about yourself.  Just as I am taking a creative license in the content that may appear on this blog, feel free to do the same in dialogue.

Every journey starts with a step. I hope you will enjoy walking this one out with me.