“How about WHAT you’re a fan of,” a random surfer could ask.
Well, random surfer, let me tell you what I like.
I like it when people take a period in their life and dedicate it to the Lord.
It is no secret that I support mission work. Today is Mission Monday if you needed any other hint. I’ve blogged frequently about Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a non-denominational mission organization that I did two training programs with in the 90’s. (Yeah, way back then.)
When I was 18 I attended their Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Lakeside, MT. Even though they have these programs all over, the rustic mountain location was a great place to get away from distractions and spend time with God. We spent three months learning about God, His character and ways, His word, prayer, evangelism, and missions. This time changed my life, from letting me see the depth of the Father’s love for me to His heart for the whole world to come to know Him.
Our school then did a two month outreach in Asia, with my team going to Thailand and the other to Taiwan. Now we put our newfound knowledge and experience to test in the real world. We went to parks and prisons to share about His freedom. We did acts of service and prayed for a demon-possessed man chained to a bare-bones hut in a remote village. We tried to love as best we could. We even played Christian music in a Thai disco on New Year’s Eve.
This changed my life forever in so many ways. I not only knew more about Jesus, I had experienced so much of Him. I got away from the small town in Idaho and saw the big, bad world. I learned that we are incredibly blessed in the West, and that there are tremendous needs around the world. Even though I have not been called (so far) to work overseas, my heart has been to shine a light on these needs to people here at home since going.
But this is not the biggest way that my life was changed by a short term mission trip.
My older sister, 15 years older, was often like a second mom to me. She got active in Campus Crusade for Christ while in college. She served a couple of summer outreaches with them, and became dedicated in her walk. At the time our family was not going to church back home. When my sister moved back for a while, she started taking me to the local Southern Baptist church where I got saved and ended up becoming a true disciple in my high school years.
If it weren’t for her influence, and the influence of her short term trip, I may not be standing here today. (And I’m literally standing – I have this cool desk that elevates and…never mind)
This is why I’m an advocate for people to do some kind of trip or service to the Lord where they get away for even just a few months and dedicate it to Him. The rewards are more than you can imagine – IF you let it transform you, and you stay with the Lord.
It isn’t a panacea to all problems. I have had friends who have done these trips and have not continued leaning on God afterwards, and they have had trouble in life. I’ve had my share of trials too, but by trying to stay close to Him, I have by His grace weathered every one so far.
YWAM is awesome, but it is not necessarily for everyone. There are many ways Christians could partake in the type of experience I am talking about today. I encourage anyone reading this to consider taking a similar opportunity if possible.
It may just change someone’s life. Not just your own.
No, literally, you have to write through the pain!
I’m fighting some low back issues for the last couple of weeks, and it may be time to get some injections into the back. Even though I’m in the medical profession, it doesn’t mean I like getting needles poked into me any more than the next guy. But I’ll be alright, although it is a little depressing to be limited when spring is coming and Idaho is actually having a spring. And who knows, there might be something to write out of all of this. 😉
So much for my hook. Yes, I am dealing with some pain, but sometimes we have to write when it hurts figuratively as well. The subject we’re dealing with may be close to our own trials or troubles. We may be exposing feelings or thoughts long buried. It may be just good ol’ writers’ block pinning us down on the proverbial mat, and no matter what we do we can’t wriggle free from its grip.
What do we do?
It isn’t fun to hit the difficult parts, but if you believe what you’re doing is worth it, then it is imperative to power through. In my WIP, I touch on human trafficking. It is not pleasant to deal with some of this, and I have some characters saying things that I find abhorrent. I don’t see a way around it. If I want to see this story to fruition, it has to go there.
One way to break through is to keep writing. If it freezes your progress, it can be difficult to keep momentum. When I hit a point like this, I found setting a timer and making myself write whatever crap that comes out helped a lot. It pushed me through the tough part.
As a Christian, I believe another method is certainly prayer. If it is a personal pain, writing about it can be cathartic but it opens old wounds. Again using medical analogies, sometimes festering wounds need to be opened so the bad stuff can be drained out and true healing can begin. Prayer and Bible study can help with the spiritual healing.
Sometimes we may need to get up, stretch our legs, and move out of the situation to clear our head. If we’re beating our heads against the monitor (hopefully still figuratively here), it might be best to leave and return with a fresh perspective.
At the end, it is important to always get back up again. If it is worth fighting for, don’t stay down. Push through it. And here’s a little musical interlude to help with the mood 😉
—
What say you? Have you had pain (figurative or literal) you’ve had to battle to keep going?
No, literally, you have to write through the pain!
I’m fighting some low back issues for the last couple of weeks, and it may be time to get some injections into the back. Even though I’m in the medical profession, it doesn’t mean I like getting needles poked into me any more than the next guy. But I’ll be alright, although it is a little depressing to be limited when spring is coming and Idaho is actually having a spring. And who knows, there might be something to write out of all of this. 😉
So much for my hook. Yes, I am dealing with some pain, but sometimes we have to write when it hurts figuratively as well. The subject we’re dealing with may be close to our own trials or troubles. We may be exposing feelings or thoughts long buried. It may be just good ol’ writers’ block pinning us down on the proverbial mat, and no matter what we do we can’t wriggle free from its grip.
What do we do?
It isn’t fun to hit the difficult parts, but if you believe what you’re doing is worth it, then it is imperative to power through. In my WIP, I touch on human trafficking. It is not pleasant to deal with some of this, and I have some characters saying things that I find abhorrent. I don’t see a way around it. If I want to see this story to fruition, it has to go there.
One way to break through is to keep writing. If it freezes your progress, it can be difficult to keep momentum. When I hit a point like this, I found setting a timer and making myself write whatever crap that comes out helped a lot. It pushed me through the tough part.
As a Christian, I believe another method is certainly prayer. If it is a personal pain, writing about it can be cathartic but it opens old wounds. Again using medical analogies, sometimes festering wounds need to be opened so the bad stuff can be drained out and true healing can begin. Prayer and Bible study can help with the spiritual healing.
Sometimes we may need to get up, stretch our legs, and move out of the situation to clear our head. If we’re beating our heads against the monitor (hopefully still figuratively here), it might be best to leave and return with a fresh perspective.
At the end, it is important to always get back up again. If it is worth fighting for, don’t stay down. Push through it. And here’s a little musical interlude to help with the mood 😉
—
What say you? Have you had pain (figurative or literal) you’ve had to battle to keep going?
Are you glad you have a home? Are you proud to be an American?
What if that were taken from you?
Did you know that there are people in the world that aren’t refugees that do not hold a citizenship in any country? There are people that haven’t been chased out of one country into another due to war or persecution, but they just aren’t counted.
One situation is in the hill tribes of northern and western Thailand. They are technically eligible for Thai citizenship, but the regulations for getting it are often too cumbersome for rural tribes.
Why does this matter?
It limits these people in getting jobs or accessing services, and it makes them especially vulnerable for human trafficking, from labor-based slavery to sex slavery. They are not protected by laws that are otherwise designed to be a resource for workers. They can’t even own the land they live on.
The good point is that organizations like International Justice Mission are working with these tribal groups to facilitate registration and walk them through the confusing processes that are in place currently. By being an advocate, they do prevention work to keep these people from being so vulnerable for abuse.
These things happens nowadays. Thankfully there are many groups working to help this problem. Sometimes we can make a difference before the problem of trafficking actually happens, and working with vulnerable peoples and lifting them up economincally and providing avenues for justice will be the ways we eventually end the problem of modern day slavery. —
Are you glad you have a home? Are you proud to be an American?
What if that were taken from you?
Did you know that there are people in the world that aren’t refugees that do not hold a citizenship in any country? There are people that haven’t been chased out of one country into another due to war or persecution, but they just aren’t counted.
One situation is in the hill tribes of northern and western Thailand. They are technically eligible for Thai citizenship, but the regulations for getting it are often too cumbersome for rural tribes.
Why does this matter?
It limits these people in getting jobs or accessing services, and it makes them especially vulnerable for human trafficking, from labor-based slavery to sex slavery. They are not protected by laws that are otherwise designed to be a resource for workers. They can’t even own the land they live on.
The good point is that organizations like International Justice Mission are working with these tribal groups to facilitate registration and walk them through the confusing processes that are in place currently. By being an advocate, they do prevention work to keep these people from being so vulnerable for abuse.
These things happens nowadays. Thankfully there are many groups working to help this problem. Sometimes we can make a difference before the problem of trafficking actually happens, and working with vulnerable peoples and lifting them up economincally and providing avenues for justice will be the ways we eventually end the problem of modern day slavery. —
