1.28.2011

Durgapur

So thankful for all of the blessings and the wonderful memories from my time in Durgapur India! We were there for 10 days, and I would absolutely love to go back, especially with Mikey next time :) My favorite parts of the trip were:  1) the clinics we did every day, some in Durgapur, some in towns an hour or two away, and 2) the time we got to spend with the kids living on the compound where we stayed!  Those kids have been through some crazy things and have some wonderful stories...it was inspiring to hear their stories and to see their openness and joy in the face of some of life's great challenges.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures, showing some of the amazing times we had in Durgapur.

 Our room :)

 Teaching the children how to use a stethoscope

 Hugging on some of the children at one of the clinics!

 With one of the families we visited in the slums in Durgapur

 Learning some traditional Indian dance moves from some of my new friends!

 A typical Indian town's downtown area...I can't remember which one this was.

 Some of the kids in one of the slums we visited...they loved having their pictures taken! :)

Taking one child's temperature at one of the clinics

1.04.2011

Taking Inventory

A New Year.

Full of promise. of hopes and dreams. of goals attained and unattained.

Full of opportunity..for good, for bad, for indifference.

It's customary at this time of year to take inventory, and it struck me this morning how little I do this with my life.  Inventory.  What do I have an excess of? What am I running low on?  Am I where I wanted to be? Am I where I could be?

It can be so easy to take inventory of others...how are they treating me? I wouldn't do that. I like how they are like this...but sometimes, we need to shift the focus of our appraisal inward. (The speck and the plank in the eye, and all that good stuff).  

This morning I started thinking about my own life.  I am very happy with where I am.  A college graduate, a prospective medical student, a wife with a loving husband, a daughter and a sister with a supportive family, a friend, a believer in Jesus Christ and His power and love.  But I also realized how little effort I sometimes put into these roles, these responsibilities towards those closest to me in life.  How often do I settle for a comfortable interaction or a selfish existence, rather than straining my own time, energy, and budget for those I love?  I'm not saying I always do these things, but there is so much MORE I could do...and in the end, will I be satisfied with a life that is lived 50/50...or shouldn't I give all that I possibly can to make my friends feel appreciated, to help my husband's dreams and aspirations come to fruition, to give an abundance of love to my family?!  I am doing these things now, but if I am honest with myself (which I am truly trying to be), they are not close to the center of my existence. Far more often than I consider these things, I consider what I want, how things affect me.  But that is simply no way to truly live.  And so, my New Years Resolution is not so much for myself this year.  I resolve to pour myself out for the people I love.  I want to give recklessly, to love unconditionally, to care without reservation.  I want to be more about my Father's business and the people He has placed in my life, and much less about my own business.

What do you resolve to do this year?  Taking inventory of your life, your actions and inactions, your motivations and aspirations...what would you like to see polished and brought into the light?  Or discarded in favor of a new and greater thing?  It is such a beautiful thing to be honest with oneself, and to find that though we are all broken, all clumsily searching our way through this life, there is hope for restoration, hope that a better way does exist and that we can become the person we planned to be all along!

1.02.2011

I heart NC

This past week was spent mainly exploring the mountains and towns of North Carolina.  After celebrating Christmas with our families, including a stop at the Grandparents' in Spartanburg, SC, Mikey and I headed north to Hendersonville...


Day 1:
Bald Rock, SC

Caesar's Head (highest point in SC)


Pretty Place
(a chapel in Camp Greenville)

Unfortunately, we ended our adventures on Day One by getting stuck at the bottom of the hill to this lovely chapel...it was covered with ice and it took two hours of maneuvering and breaking up ice on the road before we escaped!
The gate at the top of the hill to Pretty Place
(notice the large patch without ice...just enough for a safe escape!)

Day 2:
Lake Lure, NC

After finding that many of our intended destinations were closed because of the snow,
we decided to be inventive and go sledding on a nearby hill on plastic box tops!




Day 3:
We explored Asheville, ate at the Tupelo Honey Cafe (YUM!), and then checked out the Grove Park Inn...it was beautiful!

Day 4:
THE BILTMORE!!
It was so gorgeous, covered in snow and all decorated for Christmas :)
And the audio tour was so interesting and really helped us to appreciate
the amazing history of the rooms! (Great idea, Meliss!)

After the Biltmore, we headed back to Spartanburg to celebrate the New Year with my parents and grandparents...and to do a little shopping :)

Hope everyone had wonderful holidays!!! 
I look forward to seeing what 2011 holds for all of us! :)