okay, here is their flickr address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27713438@N05/- I'm not sure if the pastor has posted more pics since then or not, but whenever you see me- that will be the group that came down.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Gifts, great and small
I thought I'd hand-write this one- just to spice things up:)
okay, here is their flickr address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27713438@N05/- I'm not sure if the pastor has posted more pics since then or not, but whenever you see me- that will be the group that came down.
okay, here is their flickr address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27713438@N05/- I'm not sure if the pastor has posted more pics since then or not, but whenever you see me- that will be the group that came down.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Life, Death, and Definitions
This has been an interesting two weeks, a study of contrasts I should say. I have the bittersweetness of feeling very at home down here and this feeling of life and vitality coupled with the news of the tragic and untimely death of a very special young man I had the privilege of working alongside throughout choral and musical productions in high school. And in that vein, I have the conflicted feelings of settling here, but very much wanting to be home with the rest of our grieving community. To further complicate this emotional jumble, Amanda Miller, my best friend just got engaged- and I'm so happy for her! And while I can be ecstatically happy from Georgia, a part of me wants to hug her and jump up and down and "ooh" and "ahh" at her ring like best friends do. I suppose this is what they talk about when they say missionaries give something up- because so far I feel like I've been given abundantly more than I ever expected when I told the Lord I'd come down here for a year (or longer, if He sees fit.)
But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt God wants me here right now, all the pieces fit precisely in the timeline God ordained. We had our quarterly half-day of prayer today, my first (obviously) since arriving. It helped so much with my perspective on where the graphics work I've been doing fits into the grand design of things. Most days I know somewhere in the back of my mind that I have an integral part to play, after all, there was a need and that's why I came, but I don't here about it because like the diligent (some say work-a-holic ;) gal that I am, I only leave my office for lunch and bathroom breaks. So today hearing what everyone is doing and the impact our lessons are having all over the globe from our humble headquarters here in Madison helped refresh in my mind just why what we do is so very important. It also occurred to me (this is the definition part) that while I still want to write and illustrate my very own children's book, that God has a way of granting the desires of my heart- but they often come in different packages than I originally expected, what I mean is this:
As an illustrator, one of my great desires would be to a) publish overtly Christian children's books that Christian families can read together, that can get kids excited about their faith in Christ, or lead them to it perhaps. Also b) that I might be able to work in the secular industry in such a way that when,in our internet age, people see my work and look me up on the web, they could read my biography and see some of my other imagery and thus get them to think about Christ that way. Either way, my bottom line has always been that I might be able to use my talents in a way that I can impact the world around me for Christ. Fast-forward to today: I got the global vision again and realized that as I get files ready to print, or (my favorite) re-design old lessons to have more zing when they're re-printed, that while I may not be painting, I am indeed, still impacting the world for Christ through the talents God has given me. And wasn't that my desire in the first place? The problem is: will I let pride get in the way of my triumphing in the joy of this? After 4 years of having a successful illustration career drummed into my head and the object of being a published illustrator so firmly fixed in my mind as the measure of success- my pride wants to tell me I have failed, I am not a success, but if I re-wind back to my heart's desire, I see the REAL truth- that by using my graphics skills here at Source of Light, I am in all likelihood touching more people with the Gospel of Christ through my talents than even my most successful children's book ever may.
And when I really think about success, I find myself thinking about Matt. Because he was VERY fruitful for God's kingdom- it wasn't like he was a disobedient child God took home, on the contrary, he was a shining light. And so while to our human understanding it is completely baffling- in God's eyes, at age 22, before he began his career or got married, two of our biggest human benchmarks for success- Matt's life had fulfilled God's purpose, and his days here were completed. THAT really changes your perspective on success.
But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt God wants me here right now, all the pieces fit precisely in the timeline God ordained. We had our quarterly half-day of prayer today, my first (obviously) since arriving. It helped so much with my perspective on where the graphics work I've been doing fits into the grand design of things. Most days I know somewhere in the back of my mind that I have an integral part to play, after all, there was a need and that's why I came, but I don't here about it because like the diligent (some say work-a-holic ;) gal that I am, I only leave my office for lunch and bathroom breaks. So today hearing what everyone is doing and the impact our lessons are having all over the globe from our humble headquarters here in Madison helped refresh in my mind just why what we do is so very important. It also occurred to me (this is the definition part) that while I still want to write and illustrate my very own children's book, that God has a way of granting the desires of my heart- but they often come in different packages than I originally expected, what I mean is this:
As an illustrator, one of my great desires would be to a) publish overtly Christian children's books that Christian families can read together, that can get kids excited about their faith in Christ, or lead them to it perhaps. Also b) that I might be able to work in the secular industry in such a way that when,in our internet age, people see my work and look me up on the web, they could read my biography and see some of my other imagery and thus get them to think about Christ that way. Either way, my bottom line has always been that I might be able to use my talents in a way that I can impact the world around me for Christ. Fast-forward to today: I got the global vision again and realized that as I get files ready to print, or (my favorite) re-design old lessons to have more zing when they're re-printed, that while I may not be painting, I am indeed, still impacting the world for Christ through the talents God has given me. And wasn't that my desire in the first place? The problem is: will I let pride get in the way of my triumphing in the joy of this? After 4 years of having a successful illustration career drummed into my head and the object of being a published illustrator so firmly fixed in my mind as the measure of success- my pride wants to tell me I have failed, I am not a success, but if I re-wind back to my heart's desire, I see the REAL truth- that by using my graphics skills here at Source of Light, I am in all likelihood touching more people with the Gospel of Christ through my talents than even my most successful children's book ever may.
And when I really think about success, I find myself thinking about Matt. Because he was VERY fruitful for God's kingdom- it wasn't like he was a disobedient child God took home, on the contrary, he was a shining light. And so while to our human understanding it is completely baffling- in God's eyes, at age 22, before he began his career or got married, two of our biggest human benchmarks for success- Matt's life had fulfilled God's purpose, and his days here were completed. THAT really changes your perspective on success.
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