cndbanana's Xanga

Friday, March 02, 2007

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:09:13 GMT

feeling accomplished . . . and staying ALIVE

i enjoy reading a good book, but for as long as i can remember, i've always been too "busy" to do it. well now that i have the time, i've been reading. my current record is one book a year, so given that i just finished one in a couple weeks, i'm feeling very accomplished.

what is this book? well, it's called wild at heart. haha!! yup, it's a man's book. the full title is wild at heart: discovering the secret of a man's soul. it was laying around (and so was i) so i picked it up, and i actually found it quite intriguing.

i also found it a bit simplistic, but i really enjoyed the writing style and the concepts that the author delivers. and there is something in there that i really appreciate and agree with wholeheartedly:

-----------------------
the author John Eldredge quotes Gil Bailie --

Don't ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that,
because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-----------------------

amen to that. why wouldn't we be alive, we've got a LIVING God inside us! but yet it's rare to find someone who is really ALIVE, you know what i mean? you know when you do, because you find yourself wanting to be around them all the time.

as i read that i was thinking - wow, what a great philosophy and answer to a world that is caught up in trying to figure out "what is my purpose in life" or what we can bring to the world to make it a better place. given that it's God's world and we should be seeking His purpose for it, God knows what we're purposed for and He's made us for that. and when we're doing what we're made to do, that's when WE COME ALIVE. that's when we shout yippeeeeeeee or woohoooooooo!! (or... is that just me?)

i feel like we get so stuck with key decisions, looking at the practical facts because we're squeezed by glaring needs or present life demands. but in the bigger picture i'm thinking that our "purpose" is - and key decisions should be - not so much involved around WHAT we do (which job to take, which place to live) but should be around HOW we do it -- by relationships that we form when/as we're doing it. or maybe to flip it, we could say it's not so much about HOW it looks on the outside, but WHAT we do with the opportunity.

after all, at the end of life here, we're not to give accounting to how successful we were in business or at work... we can't take that with us, right? so it must be instead about what lives we tried to impact around us and the relationships we formed in growing His kingdom. love God first and foremost, and He allows us to love others and LIVE life abundantly. and when we're truly alive, i can imagine that people will flock to know what and who makes us so ALIVE because they want it too.

ok, i'm done preaching now. that's what's running through my head these days, and i'm trying to keep that my focus as i think about my own next steps. where will i be most ALIVE?

Monday, February 26, 2007

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:22:17 GMT

a friend said it best --

"not only is he finally healed, but he is resting forever in heaven... it really is a beautiful thing to know."

amen to that.

spring is upon us. let's celebrate new beginnings.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:36:33 GMT

though i'm sad, i'm glad...

... that he went peacefully.

... that he knew how much we love him.

... that he lived a very full life and we can celebrate him.

... that i can pull up so many fond memories of times spent with him.

... that he leaves behind a family that draws together in joy and hardship.

... that we know exactly where he is today, and that we will meet again someday.

... that he can be out of his sick bed and active once again, probably worshiping the Lord,
as we were made to do.

and i'm glad ... that it's ok to be sad. it's ok to grieve; it's ok to mourn. this week has been tough, and this weekend will be tougher. but though we grieve our loss, we delight in celebrating his life.. we delight in Him who created us and gave us breath and purpose.. we delight in that the Lord is pleased with YeYe and has drawn him to Him.

Dear YeYe, I miss you.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 23:03:53 GMT

it's time

i haven't had email access the whole week, and yet every day i've thought about what i would blog about these last few moments. but now, as i'm sitting outside of my friends' apartment on the floor, "borrowing" their internet connection in the middle of the night to check in for my flight, i'm surprisingly speechless. a lot has happened these past two years. it's been good. (so i'll overlook the fact that - for the last time - mosquitoes are eating me ALIVE right now!)

wow, i can't believe two years have come and gone, and now it's time to go...

even so, good things are ahead for us all... i just know it.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 04:22:38 GMT

There is a crucial connection between our relationships with others and the salvation of those around us.

~ Henry Blackaby

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:19:20 GMT

excursion

yesterday (tuesday) i jumped on a plane to Udon to accompany Maling on a border run to Laos. we had just gotten back from our long-awaited Elite staff retreat to Kanchanaburi (pictures to come soon!) and didn't get much sleep afterwards, so we were POOPED. but we kinda did it the local way, taking local buses and tuktuks... it was pretty neat.

i also went there to visit the SDRF team and say goodbye. it was very bittersweet, as i've worked with several of them extensively these past two years and have gotten to know them well. we joked around and laughed, but the undertone was sad. the same happened the day before, at the Elite staff retreat. LOTS of crying as the Thai staff "tied" us and we encouraged each other.

i'm excited for the future of these ministries and am looking forward to seeing where the Lord will lead the folks that i've met here. i've realized more and more that it's our role to become irrelevant and support them to become more excellent. they're all extremely talented, and i see that we've hit a point where we've become a crutch.. because we've been doing it longer, they tend to depend on or defer to us. so i think once we're out of the picture, they will really really shine. in fact, i know that they will do far greater than anything we ever could. it will be amazing.

on a lighter note...

i was imagining how my life will certainly be different when i return to the states. instead of these last-minute trips to different cities and countries, it'd be like - "i went all the way to union city today!" or "i went to target AND walmart AND trader joes!" well, i guess that would be me on a crazy day ;)

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 15:42:53 GMT

random

this is too funny....

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 18:27:20 GMT

cool season

... is here!! can it be??

the weather right now is 73 degreesF according to weather.com. (then again, it's the middle of the night.) but still, the past two days have been breezy and cool (in the shade) so i've spent more time outside. yay! the forecast for this week calls for highs of low-90s/upper-80s and lows of low-70s, and lots of sun. wheeeeeeeee i'm really diggin' it.

but can't let my guard down. i opened my balcony door to enjoy the cool evening air and turned off the lights to keep the bugs out. it cooled down the entire apartment, but i think buggies still came in. got some bites sitting as live bait in the dark. whoops! oh well, it was SOOOOOOO nice.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:07:32 GMT

XT Update -- Changing of Seasons
(feel free to ignore if you've already received the email )

Dear friends,

suk-san wan krisamat! (Merry Christmas!)

I hope this message finds you well. It's the end of rain season here, and cool season is upon us. You would barely notice, since it's still about 90 degrees F. :) But other seasons have come and gone...

Since my last big update in the beginning of June, much has changed -- work responsibilities, housing situation, community and friends, direction about the future... please take a look at the newsletter (click here) for some highlights and pictures.

How is everything going with you these days?

Peace to you this holiday season,
Cindy

He has made everything beautiful in his time. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:11a

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 05:49:26 GMT

GLDF #2

in phuket for the second Grassroots Leadership Development Forum. setting it all up has been tiring, but it's great to see people again. and wow, the site is beautiful!

vision trip

went to India last week for a vision trip. was really neat to see work that Lord's doing there. i was very surprised to discover how much i LOVED it there - the colors, the food, the weather (was nice in Mysore)... and of course the folks working there who hosted us are beautiful people and are doing some pretty neat things with their ministries there. no doubt the Lord's pleased and is continuing to bless it all.

many pictures (www.dropshots.com/xealot)