As usual, my sinful nature took over yesterday and God's grace smacked me in the face soon thereafter. Yesterday, I was pretty down because I wasn't going to be able to go back to work and the thought of spending another week having nothing productive to do made me want to punch holes in the wall, just so I'd have something to fix. That and I was very concerned about the fact that I wouldn't have any income for two months, which was very scary to me.
Today, thankfully, my family presented me with a temporary job! The Cordova family is selling my grandma's house very soon (my grandpa passed away about 9 months ago and my grandma has Alzheimer's and must now live at a place where they an care for her 24/7) So, because my grandparents lived there for almost 50 years, the house needs a little work, particularly painting, so say hello to your friendly neighborhood painting machine...Me! Since the house has to be painted before it's listed, I will spend the next 2 weeks painting an entire house by myself. Holy Moly. It'll be good, it'll keep me busy and give me a chance to do something that will benefit the whole family too as it's raising the value of the house! So...this is the part where I sheepishly repent for my prideful worry and thank God for His goodness though I do not deserve it at all.
It's going to be a little weird knowing that house will be sold. My grandparents raised 6 kids there and then raised their grandkids there as well. I could type for 3 days just telling you about all the memories that house holds, and although it's sad to know how things are now, I couldn't be more thankful for the memories that that house does contain! It's weird when you know you're passing that bridge of all the memories that you've had so far, and the memories that you're starting to develop right now. Life's funny like that, eh?
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Rainy days and Wednesdays always get me down...
Well, not everyday is filled with sunshine and lollipops. I just found out today that I'm not going to be able to work with my favorite design company, Citron Workspaces again this summer. Sigh.
Unfortunately, they've hired another full-time designer earlier this year which means that there just won't be enough work to hire on another designer. Sad day! Of course I still love that design firm. It's kind of funny, they told me they hired a girl that just graduated from design school, and one of the first thoughts I had was "that could have been me" However, I did not think about it with any sort of regret. Going down one path also means giving up whatever is on the other one. I know I could have been starting my career as I type right now, but that's not where God is leading me. I'll miss Citron, they're an incredible company, but they'll still be around when I get back. They also said that they would call me if they get busy some weeks and need some extra help around the office. Pray that they get smashed with work.
But the real reason that this whole thing is somewhat disconcerting to me is that I now have absolutely no source of income, yet I still have credit card bills to pay and student loans to worry about. Of course, my instant reaction was not what it should have been. I need to trust that God will provide, because He already knows my needs (and debts) so that's all I need to know.
So, if you or someone you know needs any sort of summer help, I do music gigs, I can do interior design consultations, I'm pretty awesome at answering phones and organizing files...and I'm willing to learn anything else you can think of in order to make some money this Summer. =)
Unfortunately, they've hired another full-time designer earlier this year which means that there just won't be enough work to hire on another designer. Sad day! Of course I still love that design firm. It's kind of funny, they told me they hired a girl that just graduated from design school, and one of the first thoughts I had was "that could have been me" However, I did not think about it with any sort of regret. Going down one path also means giving up whatever is on the other one. I know I could have been starting my career as I type right now, but that's not where God is leading me. I'll miss Citron, they're an incredible company, but they'll still be around when I get back. They also said that they would call me if they get busy some weeks and need some extra help around the office. Pray that they get smashed with work.
But the real reason that this whole thing is somewhat disconcerting to me is that I now have absolutely no source of income, yet I still have credit card bills to pay and student loans to worry about. Of course, my instant reaction was not what it should have been. I need to trust that God will provide, because He already knows my needs (and debts) so that's all I need to know.
So, if you or someone you know needs any sort of summer help, I do music gigs, I can do interior design consultations, I'm pretty awesome at answering phones and organizing files...and I'm willing to learn anything else you can think of in order to make some money this Summer. =)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Why I'm Me...
Last night I had an epiphany. Ok, maybe that's too strong a word for what I actually had; but, I did have a pleasant realization. It's always amazing to me the way that your upbringing more or less controls your personality. Think about it, your circumstances, especially as a child are primarily responsible for who you are as a person. That's why cloning people would be a catastrophe. Your environment is the primary factor in your personality- Even if you cloned someone you could never clone their personality, different environment, different person. Anyway, why cloning wouldn't work wasn't my semi-epiphanic moment. Not directly anyway. What I did realize was the reason why I have a heart for missions and why I want to travel the world. And do you know how this started?
It started because last night, I watched The Chipmunk Adventure. Yes, the 1987 classic where The Chipmunks and the Chipettes were on a balloon race around the world. I must have watched that movie a hundred times, and I'm pretty sure that watching that movie and seeing those loveable Chipmunks race around the world and see all those places was a big factor in why I am hungry to travel. Funny how things affect you, huh? Well, after I started pondering that for a bit, I started to realize more about why I'm me and especially why I'm going into the mission field.
Why I Have a Heart for Missions: A short essay by Gillian Baikie
When I was growing up, I probably had a fairly normal childhood. Well, as normal as possible in the crazy family I live in. But nonetheless it was for the most part normal. However, I did have a few things in my life that weren't so typical. For instance, My cousins and I (who all grew up together) spent about half of our childhood lives at Grammy and Grandpa's house. This was so that we wouldn't have to go to daycare. We would get dropped off at their house in the morning, they would take us to school and pick us up at 3:30 then our parents would pick us up from their house. Summers, we would do the same, except there wasn't any school, so we would spend the whole day there. This is where I learned that family comes first, and that what I consider my immmediate family is what most people consider their extended family. My cousins are more like brothers and sisters, my grandparents were a second set of parents. Second, while most happy-go-lucky kids spent their time after school playing and not having a care in the world, our after school time would consist of helping sort clothes, carrying boxes of food or toys or clothing, and loading up vans. "Why?" you ask. Because my grandma and grandpa started Roadrunner for Christ, a non-profit mission that was founded to collect food, clothing, toys, and all sorts of other things. What's weird about that? They ran the whole thing out of their house, which was constantly filled with non-perishable food items, boxes and all sorts of things that they sorted, stored in their garage, shed, basement, and yes, even their living room until they loaded up their 15 passenger van with all the donations. Once the van was ready, they would drive it down themselves to the Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas, a small church focused very much on poverty relief across the Mexican border. Often they would take it themselves over the border, as well as to the Hopi Indian Tribe (my grandma is Hopi) and to the Tarahumara (pronounced Tawra-Mawra) Indian Tribe in Mexico. We essentially were free child laborers. Which leads me to my next example. While most kids spent their summers on the slip-n-slide and going on beach vacations, our summers consisted of vacations to some of the most impoverished parts of the border of Mexico. We would go with my grandma and grandpa when they would take a load down, help for a little bit at the Mission, and go across the border to take supplies and donations to poverty-stricken areas, and when I say impoverished, I mean cardboard boxes for houses and no running water. However, this wasn't weird for me at all. This was just my typical summer vacation and I loved it. My grandparents, without even knowing it, set an incredible example about caring for people and showed me about caring for others. I mean, for crying out loud! They spent their golden years packing up donations with boxes surrounding their entire house and then in 15 passenger van driving the same road 3 or more times a month down to Mexico to drop off all these things! I used to hate loading vans. I wanted to be the happy-go-lucky kid that just worried about how long it's going to take to set up the Slip-n-slide, but everytime we would complain, we were just reminded how much others needed our help more. My childhood wasn't normal I guess, but I'm glad for it, and so thankful that God blessed me with grandparents and a family who truly set a Christ-like example of caring for others. My great-grandmother was a missionary too. I guess I'm just carrying on the family tradition.
My Heroes:
My other Heroes- well, my inspirations:
It started because last night, I watched The Chipmunk Adventure. Yes, the 1987 classic where The Chipmunks and the Chipettes were on a balloon race around the world. I must have watched that movie a hundred times, and I'm pretty sure that watching that movie and seeing those loveable Chipmunks race around the world and see all those places was a big factor in why I am hungry to travel. Funny how things affect you, huh? Well, after I started pondering that for a bit, I started to realize more about why I'm me and especially why I'm going into the mission field.
Why I Have a Heart for Missions: A short essay by Gillian Baikie
When I was growing up, I probably had a fairly normal childhood. Well, as normal as possible in the crazy family I live in. But nonetheless it was for the most part normal. However, I did have a few things in my life that weren't so typical. For instance, My cousins and I (who all grew up together) spent about half of our childhood lives at Grammy and Grandpa's house. This was so that we wouldn't have to go to daycare. We would get dropped off at their house in the morning, they would take us to school and pick us up at 3:30 then our parents would pick us up from their house. Summers, we would do the same, except there wasn't any school, so we would spend the whole day there. This is where I learned that family comes first, and that what I consider my immmediate family is what most people consider their extended family. My cousins are more like brothers and sisters, my grandparents were a second set of parents. Second, while most happy-go-lucky kids spent their time after school playing and not having a care in the world, our after school time would consist of helping sort clothes, carrying boxes of food or toys or clothing, and loading up vans. "Why?" you ask. Because my grandma and grandpa started Roadrunner for Christ, a non-profit mission that was founded to collect food, clothing, toys, and all sorts of other things. What's weird about that? They ran the whole thing out of their house, which was constantly filled with non-perishable food items, boxes and all sorts of things that they sorted, stored in their garage, shed, basement, and yes, even their living room until they loaded up their 15 passenger van with all the donations. Once the van was ready, they would drive it down themselves to the Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas, a small church focused very much on poverty relief across the Mexican border. Often they would take it themselves over the border, as well as to the Hopi Indian Tribe (my grandma is Hopi) and to the Tarahumara (pronounced Tawra-Mawra) Indian Tribe in Mexico. We essentially were free child laborers. Which leads me to my next example. While most kids spent their summers on the slip-n-slide and going on beach vacations, our summers consisted of vacations to some of the most impoverished parts of the border of Mexico. We would go with my grandma and grandpa when they would take a load down, help for a little bit at the Mission, and go across the border to take supplies and donations to poverty-stricken areas, and when I say impoverished, I mean cardboard boxes for houses and no running water. However, this wasn't weird for me at all. This was just my typical summer vacation and I loved it. My grandparents, without even knowing it, set an incredible example about caring for people and showed me about caring for others. I mean, for crying out loud! They spent their golden years packing up donations with boxes surrounding their entire house and then in 15 passenger van driving the same road 3 or more times a month down to Mexico to drop off all these things! I used to hate loading vans. I wanted to be the happy-go-lucky kid that just worried about how long it's going to take to set up the Slip-n-slide, but everytime we would complain, we were just reminded how much others needed our help more. My childhood wasn't normal I guess, but I'm glad for it, and so thankful that God blessed me with grandparents and a family who truly set a Christ-like example of caring for others. My great-grandmother was a missionary too. I guess I'm just carrying on the family tradition.
My Heroes:
My other Heroes- well, my inspirations:
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Back to little oxygen!
Well, I'm back in my home state of Colorado! It's nice to be back, I really love it here! I'm sitting once more at my favorite coffee shop- Coffee on the Lowell, drinking a perfect mocha and figuring out the next two months of my life. So far, I realize that I have 42% of my overall support raised, which is great news to me! Clearly though, I cannot sit back too much because as we all know, Money does not grow on trees. Well, not any trees that I know of anyway. I will start speaking at churches soon and If you know of any churches that I would be able to speak at and possibly receive support from, I'd very much appreciate the info!
I don't think I actually too much to write about right now, just wanted to give a little update. I'll write more later. But that's about it for now.
Oh and here's a little photo I took on my new mac! This is Clycloptic Clayton (aka: my pug clayton with the mirror effect on photobooth!)
I don't think I actually too much to write about right now, just wanted to give a little update. I'll write more later. But that's about it for now.
Oh and here's a little photo I took on my new mac! This is Clycloptic Clayton (aka: my pug clayton with the mirror effect on photobooth!)
Monday, May 7, 2007
Excitement quickly fades into reality...
Well...I'm now convinced that college life is stupid. No not the academic side of it, or the pursuit of an education, but come on, whose idea was it to have someone spend four years making new friends and even living with some of the best friends of your life and then within a day having to say goodbye to all of them?? Dumb idea all the way around if you ask me.
I graduated college on Saturday- it was wonderful. I'll try to put some pictures up later, but it was truly a happy day. And then came the goodbyes. Ouch!
I don't think anything hurts my heart more than having to say goodbye to family and close friends without being able to say when you'll see them next. Previous years weren't so bad because it was always, "see you in 3 months after summer!" Now, though...now it's different. Now it's "Have a nice life, I hope we run into each other again someday?" Tough Times. Well, I don't want to sound too depressed, I know that saying goodbye to Anderson University is maybe just little bit higher hurdle than the rest that I have to cross before I leave for Peru, which I can be completely thrilled about. Just one of those things I guess. Oh life...
Spanish Lesson:
"No llore porque termina. Sonríe porque sucedió"
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened!
- Dr. Seuss
I graduated college on Saturday- it was wonderful. I'll try to put some pictures up later, but it was truly a happy day. And then came the goodbyes. Ouch!
I don't think anything hurts my heart more than having to say goodbye to family and close friends without being able to say when you'll see them next. Previous years weren't so bad because it was always, "see you in 3 months after summer!" Now, though...now it's different. Now it's "Have a nice life, I hope we run into each other again someday?" Tough Times. Well, I don't want to sound too depressed, I know that saying goodbye to Anderson University is maybe just little bit higher hurdle than the rest that I have to cross before I leave for Peru, which I can be completely thrilled about. Just one of those things I guess. Oh life...
Spanish Lesson:
"No llore porque termina. Sonríe porque sucedió"
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened!
- Dr. Seuss
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