Pages

6.30.2010

Selfless

I love my friends.

My Florida friends have been staying over for the past few nights.

I love it. I missed them so much.

They have been going to work with Ruben and helping out with the construction.

As I have been observing them each day, I noticed something very special.

Every morning after breakfast, without any hesitation, Nicky announces that it is time to go to ignite to start working. The boys then get ready and head out.

Every morning after breakfast, I am in awe.
I am so proud to call them my friends.
To be honest, I consider them to be more family than friends.

Nonetheless, I have been thinking about these moments incessantly.

I then think about the idea of missions trips.
I think about missions in general.
What is a missions trip?

I always understood a missionary to be someone who goes to and becomes part of a new community. Someone who goes to help. Not because they have to, but because they want to.

They want to serve. They want to help. They want to love.

From what I have been seeing these past few days, I would have to say that these boys have done just that. They came here to Chicago for a vacation.

Are they lounging around at the beach?
No.
Are they going to amusement parks?
No.
Are they avoiding any and every type of work?
Quite the opposite.

They wake up every morning with the intention of going to work, and this is no office job friends.

This is manual labor.
Painting, cleaning, putting wires through things while hanging on extremely high ladders. These past few days have been no walk in the park. Yet, every morning, you are guaranteed to hear these boys want nothing more in the next hours of their lives than to go to ignite to help.

This makes me so happy. I smile every time.

Seeing people choosing to serve others rather than serving themselves is a beautiful thing.

To see selflessness played out right before my eyes is a gift and inspiration.

I love people.
I love love.
I love serving.
I love watching people love others through serving.

6.24.2010

Unthinkable

Well friends, today the unthinkable happened.

The owner of the home we are in now texted Ruben.
She told him that we can stay here until July 15th.
She told him not to worry about rent for this month.
She told him we don't have to leave just yet.

I'm not sure if I emphasized how stressed I have been these past few days,
but if I emphasized correctly, you can imagine the relief I felt upon hearing this news.

I was totally ready to be out.
Our entire place is packed, with the exception of our furniture, two mugs, two towels, and the silverware.

The ironic thing is that the date we were hoping to be able to move into our new home is July 15th.

Wait, Evie, is that a typo?
You just wrote that you have to be out of the place you are in now July 15th, and you can move into your new place July 15th.

Nope. That is absolutely not a typo. :)

It's days like these that you just have to thank God like a crazy person.
I guess you could call it fate or maybe luck, but I am without a doubt calling this God. There is no way this could all happen without some help from a good Friend.

Today I am feeling pretty good.
I ran a lot of errands and got to have lunch with Ruben.
So far this has been the best day I have had in a while.

Today I plan to hang out with my Florida friends, whom I love.
I am super excited to see them.

Catch you later, Aligator.

6.23.2010

Lonliness

These past few days have helped me come to the conclusion that packing up a home is something that should never be done alone.

Ruben has been working long days lately because they are trying to finish up a project there. It is 10:15pm and he has yet to arrive. I just want my husband back.

There is one word that can perfectly describe how I feel.

Lonely.

There is so much that needs to get done within the next two days and I feel as if I am doing it all alone.

We are going to weddings both Saturday and Sunday and need to move out all of our things before that. Which leaves tomorrow and Friday.

Meanwhile, my Florida friends are here, and I can't hang out with them because I have to finish packing. Alone.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

I can't take much more of this feeling.

In Florida I would be with people daily. No questions asked.

Here, I am with people rarely and that's just not OK anymore.


I think I will dub this my venting post.

6.22.2010

Tomorrow

I just finished writing a blog, and now I am starting over.

I am not sure what happened, but it somehow mysteriously disappeared.
I guess that means I should write about something else.

I'll give you a small recap of the last blog:
-We found a home.
-All the paper work is in motion.
-We have to move out of the place we are in before July 1st.
-I have been packing non-stop.
-I have discovered the magic of space storage bags.
-We will be living with Ruben's brothers until we can move to our new home.
-I have a sunburn. Ouch.

Today I realized something I did not want to admit.
I often talk about diet and exercise.

"It's too hard."

When I talk to people who claim that they love exercising I just cannot fathom it.

I want that.
I want to love exercise.
I want eating right to become daily habit.

I want it to be easy.
I want a partner to do it with.
I want to encourage others to do it.

Well, I realized today that I need to try harder.
It is not easy, especially if you are used to a different lifestyle, but it is possible.

Starting tomorrow morning, I am hoping things will be different.
I am not going to start with anything extreme.
A good breakfast, maybe some oatmeal.
A healthy lunch, maybe a turkey sandwich on wheat, no cheese.
A light dinner, maybe a nice salad.
A small workout, maybe a long walk.

Some of you may not be able to relate to this post.
Others of you can relate more than you think is normal.

Struggling with being healthy is something I have done for a long time.
I have been significantly more healthy since moving to Chicago.
I buy all of the food we eat. Healthy options.
In Florida I ate out everyday, sometimes multiple time a day.
Here, I make my own food. Multiple times a day.
I feel like it's time to get healthier.

Send me a text, email, or message.
Check up on me.
I'm going to need all the help I can get.

6.12.2010

Home Hunting

As some of you know, I have been looking for a hobby recently.

I have managed to find a hobby.

Drum roll please....

HOME HUNTING.

This is what the majority of my days for the past few weeks have consisted of.
This,some sleep, and a little food here and there.
I'll throw in a shower on a good day.

It's starting to sink it that I am an adult.

The house we are staying in has been sold, and we need to be out in the next few weeks.

This is definitely a first for me.

Do I know what I'm doing?
Absolutely not.
Am I stressed, discouraged, and afraid of the unknown?
Yep.

You see, after thinking about the past years I have lived, it occurred to me that I have been good at something this entire time, but have failed to recognize it as so.

My last year of college (2008 - yes, I am that old.)I ended up having to take a research practicum class in place of this community practicum class which I wanted to take so badly. I blamed the advisor. I was so angry. Everyone avoided this class. Research is hard and boring. This was an entire class dedicated to it.

So I thought.

Surprisingly, through this class, I had found something I was actually good at.
Something I actually enjoyed doing.
Something I thought was interesting.

I made sure to keep these thoughts to myself so that no one would think I was a super nerd.

Anyway, the good thing about this discovery is that, once I figured out I had it, I no longer had issues with research papers. Then I graduated.

Well, this apparent fulfillment I had in doing research came up again.
First in grad school, then my wedding, and now this.

Home hunting.

Why am I referring to it as home and not 'apartment' or 'house' hunting?
Because I don't want an apartment or a house.
I desperately want a home.
A stable, not going anywhere for a while, Home Sweet Home.

A place that I can decorate as I please
A place to hang art and photos up wherever I want.
A place I can paint, plant flowers and grow vegetables.

Ok, maybe not the flowers part, but you see where I'm going with this..

We have a limited amount of time to find "the one", and that's just scary.
I broke down today. Actually, I've been doing it a lot lately.
I'm nervous. Worried. Hopeful. Excited. Everything that doesn't mix at once.

There is a wedding here in a few weeks and I so badly wanted my Florida friends to stay with us. As of now, it doesn't look like that's happening.

I have to admit, staying in this house temporarily has been a major blessing.
It is an amazing location and a great place to have called home, even for 5 months.

I have been searching non-stop for a new home and have yet to find it.
Every time I call to make appointments or go to a showing they ask,
Agent:"Where are you staying now?"
Me: "Lincoln Park"
Agent: "Are you sure you want to see this place? Are you at all familiar with the area?"
Me: "Yes, I'm sure.."

Needless to say, we are staying in a place that we would never be able to afford if it wasn't for this amazing family who has shared their home with us.

Today I got in touch with a woman who I believe will help us find our new home.

I could end with a
"With God all things are possible" quote, or an
"Everything happens for a reason" cliche saying, or even
"When God guides, God provides",
but I won't.

Not today ;)

6.03.2010

Simplicity

I have started to write a few blogs, but have yet to publish any of them.

My thoughts are all over the place lately.

I was thinking that this blog would be just that.

No order. Just thoughts.

Here goes:

I am frustrated with myself.

I think about laundry and all that I have to wash and at times feel irritated by it.
Then, I think about all those people in the world that don't have that luxury.
To have so many clothes, to have a washer and dryer in my home, to be able to choose whatever I wear.

I went grocery shopping yesterday.
I had access to an overflowing abundance food.
It was my choice.
I could buy whatever I wanted to eat.

That simple.

Simple? Wrong word.

Disgusting.
Sad.
Unfortunate.

Simplicity.
Easy concept.
Hard to live out under these circumstances.

For the past week I have been really hot while I was sleeping.
Solution? Air Conditioner.

Not comfortable enough-justifiable reason to complain.
We're spoiled.

Convenience.

Convenience makes simple living hard.

Gandhi- "Be the change you want to see in the world"
Cliche?
Maybe.
Profound?
Absolutely.

That is all.