Why in the World Would We Go (back) to Haiti
I tried this blog thing once before. Last summer, to be exact. I didn't get into the groove of blogging, and I don't really care for Tumblr. That's why I started up my Blogspot at 1:30am the other night. Well, that, and I'm a goober. But that's understood. So anyway, I was looking at my old Tumblr blog (all whopping 4 entries), and I figured this entry was a good thing to post here. Keep in mind that I wrote it last summer. I intended on detailing my experience of working with Bola and her family. Fail. But I'm giving the whole "I should journal my experiences" thing another shot. Give me props for that, at least.
Here it is, a little bit of a deeper look into my life last year that shaped me, ultimately, to end up ready to go to Haiti.
Aug 18, 2010
Looking back
Looking back
I made a promise to myself to record my experiences this summer so that I will never forget them. I never want to forget looking into the eyes of Jesus, feeling His spirit overfill my being to an intoxicating level, and learning how to really love. I’m putting this out here in case you want to tag along.
How I spent my summer …. by Allison
Cheesy, I know, but I gotta start somewhere. Let me rewind and set the stage for you. Otherwise, it’s not nearly as entertaining. It was early spring, and I was coming out of my winter hibernation…or at least my winter blues. I was in a funk, and I wanted to get over it. My relationship with my Lord was stale, and He was not the one at fault for it. I decided to actively pursue knowing God on a more personal level, to fall in love with Him like never before. You know the verse about the deer that panteth for cool water? Yeah, I didn’t quite get it, and it bugged me. It was time to do something. The cool thing about God (one of the many cool things, rather) is that if you want to draw closer to Him, He will always help you accomplish it. It makes Him very happy to help someone fall more deeply in love with Him. His Word says so. :)
It all started with a book. Now I’m not much of a reader, as I tend to have a short attention span while reading. Or I get sleepy eyes and zzzzzzz, I’m out. But this book was different. Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It’s intense, raw, and challenging. Perhaps Claiborne is just a little more hippie than me, but I like his style. It took me quite a while to read through it, not because it didn’t have my attention, but because I had to stop every few pages and read the Bible verses he referred to to “get it” myself. I kept finding myself asking, “Does it really say that in Scripture?” Wow. What an eye-opener….and I was hooked. I liked being challenged to live my Christianity out loud, “walk the talk,” so to speak. Claiborne felt he needed to experience and do more….so he did. What a great idea! Why hadn’t I thought of that?!
Meanwhile, as a Facebook junkie, I had friended Leigh Gray, a Spirit-filled woman that does her own blog to share the Word. Some of her messages had really been food for my soul over the winter. I came across a conversation thread on her Facebook page one day, and I just had to suggest Irresistible Revolution to her. She commented that she should check it out, as the author of the study she was doing had also mentioned it. Really?! What study are you doing, I asked her. It was Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker. It would become the second profound book of my reading season. I felt like I was onto something - but I had no idea what.
Isn't the suspense just killing you? No? Well, I didn't really expect it to. Because you already know that we ended up going to Haiti after getting pumped up reading all those Jesus-freak books.
So that's all I managed to blog about last summer, but it at least gives a little deeper look into my head during that time period (which can be a scary place to look in to!). My next entry will be about....well....I'm not totally sure yet. I'm shooting for:
Next: May 16, 2011 - Departure Day
How I spent my summer …. by Allison
Cheesy, I know, but I gotta start somewhere. Let me rewind and set the stage for you. Otherwise, it’s not nearly as entertaining. It was early spring, and I was coming out of my winter hibernation…or at least my winter blues. I was in a funk, and I wanted to get over it. My relationship with my Lord was stale, and He was not the one at fault for it. I decided to actively pursue knowing God on a more personal level, to fall in love with Him like never before. You know the verse about the deer that panteth for cool water? Yeah, I didn’t quite get it, and it bugged me. It was time to do something. The cool thing about God (one of the many cool things, rather) is that if you want to draw closer to Him, He will always help you accomplish it. It makes Him very happy to help someone fall more deeply in love with Him. His Word says so. :)
It all started with a book. Now I’m not much of a reader, as I tend to have a short attention span while reading. Or I get sleepy eyes and zzzzzzz, I’m out. But this book was different. Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It’s intense, raw, and challenging. Perhaps Claiborne is just a little more hippie than me, but I like his style. It took me quite a while to read through it, not because it didn’t have my attention, but because I had to stop every few pages and read the Bible verses he referred to to “get it” myself. I kept finding myself asking, “Does it really say that in Scripture?” Wow. What an eye-opener….and I was hooked. I liked being challenged to live my Christianity out loud, “walk the talk,” so to speak. Claiborne felt he needed to experience and do more….so he did. What a great idea! Why hadn’t I thought of that?!
Meanwhile, as a Facebook junkie, I had friended Leigh Gray, a Spirit-filled woman that does her own blog to share the Word. Some of her messages had really been food for my soul over the winter. I came across a conversation thread on her Facebook page one day, and I just had to suggest Irresistible Revolution to her. She commented that she should check it out, as the author of the study she was doing had also mentioned it. Really?! What study are you doing, I asked her. It was Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker. It would become the second profound book of my reading season. I felt like I was onto something - but I had no idea what.
Isn't the suspense just killing you? No? Well, I didn't really expect it to. Because you already know that we ended up going to Haiti after getting pumped up reading all those Jesus-freak books.
So that's all I managed to blog about last summer, but it at least gives a little deeper look into my head during that time period (which can be a scary place to look in to!). My next entry will be about....well....I'm not totally sure yet. I'm shooting for:
Next: May 16, 2011 - Departure Day
1 comment:
wow girl!!!! a journey u have been on - and me too! May He never quit woo-ing us to Him....may we never be hardened to that call! Much love, Leigh
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