Yesterday was rough. I experienced homesickness yesterday like I never have before and it wasn't an easy day to get through. But, because of Christ's abundant grace and love, I did. But yesterday and today also showed me just how amazing my friends are, but more importantly, how important friendship is.
It's the root of everything, right? Friendship? It's the basis of our relationships, our communities, our families, everything. Marriage is based on friendship. You should marry your best friend. Friends are the ones that get you through the hard times. Friends are the ones that carry you when you feel like you just can't go on. Friends are the ones that often know just what you need at the right moment. Friends are some of the greatest blessings that you could ever have in your life.
My friend, and kindred spirit, Tiffany, knew I was dealing with homesickness and got in contact with my friend Joanna here in order to send me "our" verses. You see, Tiffany has been my "Titus" for many years and I've been hers as well. So, it was only appropriate that she sent me 2 Corinthians 7:5-7
"For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever."
I cried when I read it. But Joanna was there to give me a huge and lasting hug that made me cry even more. Then, to further the process of healing, Joanna made me mini apple pies to give me a little taste of home. :) Then I was beyond blessed to talk to my Bestie from home whom I haven't been able to talk to in centuries. It was just another little blessing to cheer me up and give me the boost I needed.
See, aren't friends just awesome?? Mine are.
March on, my soul!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Seasons of Life
This weekend was a huge range of emotions for me; some good, some bad, some weird...everything. Mostly good, though. This past weekend a bunch of ladies from CEO and some dear friends got together in Pécs (a small, but super quaint town in Hungary) for some fellowship and lots of eating. LOTS of eating. Most of the weekend was just spent hanging out, sharing stories, and walking around the town. But on Saturday, we got together to have a discussion about the seasons of life that we're in and basically the breakdown is as such:
Fall- Change is coming, but it's definitely not for the better.
You're preparing for a winter time in your life and you kind of dread what's on the horizon.
Winter- A dry and barren time in your life. It's a time that you feel kind of lost and hopeless and not really sure what to do anymore. I feel like it's pretty self explanatory.
Spring- Again, this is a season of change and transformation, but it's for new and exciting things.
Summer- It's all sun and brilliance in your life. This is definitely a season of blessings and happiness. I think that a lot of times we forget to enjoy this season because we're so sure that it's too good to be true and we're nervous that something bad is going to happen at any time.
Unfortunately, I'm definitely in my winter season right now. It's hard. I have been in this season almost my whole second year in Hungary and it's been difficult to deal with. A lot of people would say that I'm experiencing culture shock now since I never really had it my first year, but I'm not sure that I am or will to be completely honest. I grew up with a lifestyle that forced me to change everything every 3 years. Not just location, but we would move to different "cultures" within the States. From the South, to the North, to the West, to the East...everyone was different and I was always ok with that. I came to this country with no expectations and embraced change from the moment I landed. Right now, though, I will admit that I'm suffering from homesickness. I miss my family and my friends terribly. I miss the ease of life with them and how they know what I need before I do.
However, there is change on the horizon, I'm just not sure if it's spring or fall. I'm moving back to America in the summer and I know NOTHING about what's to come. I mean it...nothing. I don't know where I'll live, with whom, what job I'll have, what car I'll drive...not a single thing. Right now it seems like it's a all type of change, but I think that this could be a really great change in my life, which leads me to think that it's a spring type of change.
Don't get me wrong, I am changing for the better. I'm a stronger person than I've ever been because God is still God and he's growing me in incredible ways. He's teaching me new things about myself and how to face new situations in life with confidence and grace. It doesn't make it easy by any means, but it gives me confidence that there is a purpose and that a new season is coming!
Fall- Change is coming, but it's definitely not for the better.
You're preparing for a winter time in your life and you kind of dread what's on the horizon. Winter- A dry and barren time in your life. It's a time that you feel kind of lost and hopeless and not really sure what to do anymore. I feel like it's pretty self explanatory.
Spring- Again, this is a season of change and transformation, but it's for new and exciting things.
Summer- It's all sun and brilliance in your life. This is definitely a season of blessings and happiness. I think that a lot of times we forget to enjoy this season because we're so sure that it's too good to be true and we're nervous that something bad is going to happen at any time.
Unfortunately, I'm definitely in my winter season right now. It's hard. I have been in this season almost my whole second year in Hungary and it's been difficult to deal with. A lot of people would say that I'm experiencing culture shock now since I never really had it my first year, but I'm not sure that I am or will to be completely honest. I grew up with a lifestyle that forced me to change everything every 3 years. Not just location, but we would move to different "cultures" within the States. From the South, to the North, to the West, to the East...everyone was different and I was always ok with that. I came to this country with no expectations and embraced change from the moment I landed. Right now, though, I will admit that I'm suffering from homesickness. I miss my family and my friends terribly. I miss the ease of life with them and how they know what I need before I do.
However, there is change on the horizon, I'm just not sure if it's spring or fall. I'm moving back to America in the summer and I know NOTHING about what's to come. I mean it...nothing. I don't know where I'll live, with whom, what job I'll have, what car I'll drive...not a single thing. Right now it seems like it's a all type of change, but I think that this could be a really great change in my life, which leads me to think that it's a spring type of change.
Don't get me wrong, I am changing for the better. I'm a stronger person than I've ever been because God is still God and he's growing me in incredible ways. He's teaching me new things about myself and how to face new situations in life with confidence and grace. It doesn't make it easy by any means, but it gives me confidence that there is a purpose and that a new season is coming!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Homeless Shelter
Yesterday was my first Serve the City event of 2012 and it was so much fun. We went to the homeless shelter (way out in the middle of nowhere...) and had Valentines Day crafts and games with the kids there. Here in Hungary, they have something called Farsang. How do you describe Farsang?... It's kind of a carnival where you get dressed up in masks of crazy colors and celebrate. I guess it's their equivalent of Mardi Gras? That sounds about right.
Anyway, we had Farsang masks with the kids (I made a rainbow giraffe and I regret not taking a picture of it) so they could wear them when Farsang actually comes around. We also made butterflies with them for Valentines Day. We sang songs in Hungarian and English (I taught them how to do the Hokie Pokie...I'm pretty sure they all thought I was having a seizure since they didn't understand the lyrics. haha). We played some games and then they even showed us their hip hop dances that they had been practicing for months and months. It was so cute. We painted faces too. The boys found out that one girl could do a killer Spiderman face, so in the end there were about half a million Spidermen running around.
It was such a blessing to go there and work with those kids. Even though it was -2 that day (28 F) these kids were running around with no socks and slippers on. It was heart-breaking. And no wonder the majority of the kids were sick. One little girl was so sick and couldn't do anything except just sit in my lap and hold her balloon. But I realized how blessed I am. I have a huge selection of socks and more shoes than I know what to do with. In the next week, I definitely shall be ransacking my closest and seeing what I can get rid of. God has blessed me so I can bless others, not so I can hoard it all. Something I definitely have to keep in check.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Fitness
This year Will, Joanna, and I are all focusing on getting healthy. Not skinny, necessarily, but healthy. It's definitely a lifestyle change, that's for sure. But it's a great one. I've been reading about how we need to get rid of DIETING and get into a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. (I mean...who doesn't want to look like this girl??) No one wants to diet for the rest of their lives. Heck, I don't want to diet for a week, much less years on end. No, thanks. But we really are working on getting our acts together as far as working out and eating better. We're not cutting out all sweets and junk food, necessarily, but we're definitely cutting back on it A LOT. I've started recording everything that I eat in a day and let me tell you, it is eye-opening. I never realized before how much junk that I was eating and just how many calories I was consuming.
No wonder I wasn't losing any weight by just exercising. Eating healthy is 80% of the weight loss journey, which is what I think most people miss. They think that they can work out for hours on end and they'll get the body they want. I mean...that's what I thought. Seems logical. Nope. So, we're over here in Budapest trying our best to get fit and healthy. Will wants to look like Tony Horton (the coach of P90X...his dream body..even though the picture is a bit frightening) and Joanna and I just want to get toned. Will is shedding the weight like crazy because he's a stickler, but Joanna and I keep cheating with our diets. :) I guess we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
2012
So I know that I talked about my goals already for this year, but things have changed since then. Yes, I am still "dedicated" but now there is a little more definition to said determination. I've been reading this book called PUSH 
and it's been amazing so far. It's written by this lady named Chalene Johnson and she is the trainer for the workout program called TurboFire that I am currently a part of. While it's a fitness book, it's so much more than that. She's getting to the root of making goals and finding ways to achieve that in every area of your life. One of the biggest things that she does is motivate you to write 10 "get-your-butt-in-gear" goals. These goals are supposed to be difficult, but achievable. These goals are meant to motivate you to discipline yourself in order to get them done. I'm really looking forward to mine.
They are as follows:
1. Pay off $5,000 of student loans after my highest one is paid off (which will end up being the equivalent of approximately $7,000 total this year)
2. Pay off my credit card (CHECK!!!!)
3. Put $2,000 into savings
4. Get to 23% body fat by working out at least 5 times per week and eating veggies with at least one meal every day.
5. Run a half-marathon with my dad, but be able to run a 10K (6.1 miles) by my birthday in May
6. Visit Rome (I want this one sooooo bad)
7. Memorize the book of James
8. Take 8 grad classes (including the 3 I'm taking right now)
9. Complete an Insanity and TurboFire program
10. Mentor at least once a week.
Pretty crazy, huh? But I'm actually really excited about it. The financial goals are going to take a LOT of discipline, but I definitely think that they're manageable. Most of that will have to come in America and I have to make decisions every day in order to get those goals accomplished. It'll have to be decision such as buying a cheap car and not such a nice one, not getting a smart phone, etc. If I accomplish these goals, I have to say that I'll probably feel like Wonder Woman.
Does she just look like she could kick butt????
and it's been amazing so far. It's written by this lady named Chalene Johnson and she is the trainer for the workout program called TurboFire that I am currently a part of. While it's a fitness book, it's so much more than that. She's getting to the root of making goals and finding ways to achieve that in every area of your life. One of the biggest things that she does is motivate you to write 10 "get-your-butt-in-gear" goals. These goals are supposed to be difficult, but achievable. These goals are meant to motivate you to discipline yourself in order to get them done. I'm really looking forward to mine. They are as follows:
1. Pay off $5,000 of student loans after my highest one is paid off (which will end up being the equivalent of approximately $7,000 total this year)
2. Pay off my credit card (CHECK!!!!)
3. Put $2,000 into savings
4. Get to 23% body fat by working out at least 5 times per week and eating veggies with at least one meal every day.
5. Run a half-marathon with my dad, but be able to run a 10K (6.1 miles) by my birthday in May
6. Visit Rome (I want this one sooooo bad)
7. Memorize the book of James
8. Take 8 grad classes (including the 3 I'm taking right now)
9. Complete an Insanity and TurboFire program
10. Mentor at least once a week.
Pretty crazy, huh? But I'm actually really excited about it. The financial goals are going to take a LOT of discipline, but I definitely think that they're manageable. Most of that will have to come in America and I have to make decisions every day in order to get those goals accomplished. It'll have to be decision such as buying a cheap car and not such a nice one, not getting a smart phone, etc. If I accomplish these goals, I have to say that I'll probably feel like Wonder Woman.
Does she just look like she could kick butt????
Friday, February 3, 2012
Internet Fast
So, this past week, my friend Justin and I challenged each other to a week with no internet. We both realized about a week and a half ago just how much time we spend...rather, waste... on the internet. We lose productivity and time just seems to slip away from us. So, from last Friday until today after school we were banned from the internet. The only exception for me was for school work and we had a two hour grace period on Sunday in order to Skype with family, etc.
Surprisingly, it was fantastic and much easier than I thought it would be. I realized just how productive I could be without spending all the time on the internet. Like I mentioned before, it was a literal waste of time. I wasn't even being productive on the internet, I was just browsing and exploring. I got so much done, too! I did more homework and got it completed in a more timely manner. I got to cook so many amazing meals and made a lot more baked goods than I normally do (which my friends really appreciate...) and I was able to spend more time with people. Now, I don't mean that I had hours and hours on end to deal with, but I had about an extra hour or so everyday to play with. Unfortunately, most of it was spent on school work. But because I got that done throughout the week, I have more time for this weekend!
I'm getting rid of a lot of sites that I read. I just realized that they don't do anything for me, so there's no point in being a part of them. It's quite exciting really. I actually have a lot to blog about this weekend, so I'm sure there will be many 1 or 2 more posts this weekend alone. Get excited!
Surprisingly, it was fantastic and much easier than I thought it would be. I realized just how productive I could be without spending all the time on the internet. Like I mentioned before, it was a literal waste of time. I wasn't even being productive on the internet, I was just browsing and exploring. I got so much done, too! I did more homework and got it completed in a more timely manner. I got to cook so many amazing meals and made a lot more baked goods than I normally do (which my friends really appreciate...) and I was able to spend more time with people. Now, I don't mean that I had hours and hours on end to deal with, but I had about an extra hour or so everyday to play with. Unfortunately, most of it was spent on school work. But because I got that done throughout the week, I have more time for this weekend!
I'm getting rid of a lot of sites that I read. I just realized that they don't do anything for me, so there's no point in being a part of them. It's quite exciting really. I actually have a lot to blog about this weekend, so I'm sure there will be many 1 or 2 more posts this weekend alone. Get excited!
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