2008

I suppose this is my last post of 2008. It's crazy to think my first year in the blogging world is over. I've really enjoyed putting some of my thoughts and experiences up on this page. Today I'm looking back on this year, reflecting on all that it brought. I learned a lot and I changed a lot. I am not the same as I was twelve months ago.

I began the year by finishing up my second semester of college. I met some amazing people with whom I goofed off, studied and honoured God. I traveled away with a friend to meet her family and just have fun for a weekend. My family was a part of a mission team and we spent every Sunday raising funds for our trip. Perhaps the most life-changing time, however, began in the summer.

Every year my family discusses options for our summer vacation. Every single time I suggest that we travel to Alaska or Greece. I have wanted to visit these two places for years. 2008 stands out as the year that I made it to both of those wonderful places. A summer mission trip took me to Kenai, Alaska and a Study Abroad travel break saw me visiting Greece. I cried tears of joy as the plane touched down in Anchorage. Tears once again slid down my cheeks when we landed in Athens.

From Texas to Alaska and from England to Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, my journeys took me around the globe. My experiences were much more than just "dreams come true". I have new ideas about the direction in which my life may be heading. I am more confident in myself and thus a more outgoing person. I believe that I am more fully living out the message of the gospel. I grew and I think that I'm a better person than I was 8,766 hours ago. In a lot of ways I don't really want this year to end. I enjoyed it so much that I would like it to just keep on going. Of course, that's not going to happen so I can only hope that the next thousands of hours will be as formative and wonderful as each of those in 2008.

Dear Santa

Blessing Line

Wilderness Trek was without a doubt one of my favourite high school trips. I grew a lot on that mountain, Mt. Antero. I also formed some great relationships. Today I remember Tyler, one of the young men who was on the trip with me. He was an amazing person and I wish we had been given more time to know each other.

I think everyone would choose the Blessing Line as their best experience on Trek. I certainly would. It was a special time, and very moving. We all stood in two lines, across from each other. One by one, each person would walk down the line with their eyes closed and receive a blessing from everyone while we sang. But it wasn’t without humour. Tyler was tall, considerably taller than me. In fact, he was the tallest person there and I was the shortest. I grabbed his hand and thought of all I could say about this amazing young man. But I couldn’t reach his ear to whisper the blessing to him. I grabbed his shoulder and tried to push myself up several time, but to no avail. I just wasn’t tall enough. Finally, Tyler realized who was blessing him and squatted down so that I could talk. Afterward, he told me that if he had realized who it was, he would have just bent over to begin with.

Blogging

Because I know this blog is more for me than anything else. If you know me, you know that I just like to talk a lot.

Well, I'm Back

"Well, I'm Back."

These are Samwise Gamgee's final words in the Return of the King, and with these words the entire trilogy ends. Such simple words carry so much weight. After traveling the world, fighting in battles and saving Middle Earth, Sam returns to his quiet life in the Shire. He is overjoyed to return to his beloved Shire and start a family, yet the memories he made and adventures he survived cannot be forgotten.

Right now I feel a bit like Sam must have felt. The relationships I forged in England are priceless. I already miss my housemates like crazy and January seems so far off. I had so many wonderful adventures in Europe and did some amazing things. I grew and learned a lot about myself and about God. I am constantly reminded of experiences I had in England that no one here can relate to. Each time I feel a little forlorn, sort of torn in two.

I am glad to be home, happy to spend time with my family. Even so, I miss Oxford and our wonderful group. After an exciting fall abroad, quiet Abilene seems sleepy. Right now all I can do is relish my memories, writing down my experiences and flipping through pictures. But I also have to sit back and just enjoy time with my family, sinking onto the couch with a soft, "Well, I'm back".

Most of the girls


My Beautiful Roommates

This is Home

This is my last post from the city of dreaming spires. It's so difficult to express the conflicting emotions within me. I love Oxford so much and I consider it one of my homes. I've spent close to five years of my life here. The relationships that I have formed this semester are unbelievable and the memories priceless. I'm excited to see my family, but right now I just want to stay right here. I know that as soon as I step onto that plane tomorrow I will be ready to be in Texas. But until then, I'm hanging on tightly to my last few moments. Here's a small glimpse into this place I love and the people who have become a family. This is home.

I'll be Home for Christmas

Christmas is in the air. Tonight we went to a Christmas carol service in the Sheldonian Theater. It was such a joy to sing carols with friends and welcome in the Christmas season. After the service we headed over to St. Aldates for mince pies, which are my favourite Christmas treat. Oxford is so joyful this time of year, holiday lights dancing overhead and Christmas trees in every window. I'm still loving Oxford and will miss this place terribly, but I'm also missing home more than I have in a long time. Tonight I'm dreaming of home.

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Splashing in the Aegean

Anyone who's reading this probably just wants to see some pictures. So instead of my normal long-winded post, I'm just going to post a few pictures from the second half of my Greece trip.

Imagine showering there - not pretty

My Oxford roommates on the boat

No cars on Hydra, just horses, donkeys and mules

Dipping my toes in the crystal turquoise waters

Poros

Beautiful sunset over the Aegean

And again, because I love sunsets so much

At the beach

Delicious Baclava

Ancient Corinth

Wednesday, November 26



In Corinth

Wednesday took JoAnna, Mary and me to Corinth. We weren't sure how complicated it was going to be to get there, because everyone kept telling us not to go to Corinth. Waiting for the bus I had a tasty pretzel that the street vendors sell all over Athens. A very sweet lady helped us out by telling us how to buy our tickets and exactly where our stop would be. After a couple of complications we made it out and walked down and old, deserted-looking road. And then we stepped into Ancient Corinth, to be met with the sight of an archaeological team hard at work. That in itself was really neat and we watched them with their shovel and pick-axes, uncovering ancient secrets. We spent most of our time taking pictures and gazing at the wonderful architecture. The city was larger than I had expected and quite a few portions had been unearthed so that it actually felt like a city and not just random ruins. The sun shone down brightly on the dusty land and shade was scarce. Crazy to think it was the end of November and the temperature was around eighty degrees.

Of course the coolest part is the fact that Paul lived in Corinth for a few years and wrote letters to the Christian there. We read from Acts, where Paul travels from Athens to Corinth, which is exactly what we did. We then read passages from 1 and 2 Corinthians. It was a powerful thing, to read it there. I could imagine myself as a Corinthian in the first century.


Reading Corinthians

Back in Athens we were followed to our hostel by a couple of dogs. They are everywhere in Greece, even amongst the ruins. These dogs are hilarious, because they stop right at the crosswalks with all of the people and cross when the green man shows up. I think they should put a green dog up there as well so as not to discriminate. Once we got back we went shopping again and then met up with Josh and Erin. We ate dinner at the Hard Rock Café, getting our hamburger fix.

Athens, Eye of Greece

I can't believe we only have nine days left here in Oxford. It's gone by so fast! Thanksgiving break was a fun and relaxing week. I finally made it to Greece! We had an amazing time, even though our group did not communicate particularly well.

Monday, November 24 & Tuesday, November 25

Our plane took off from London in the snow, so now at least I've seen snow in England! We spent most of our time in Athens, but took a few day trips as well. Athens was very neat and there are ancient ruins everywhere. We started our day out on Monday heading immediately to the Acropolis. The entire Acropolis is littered with bits and pieces of stone - a column here, a statue there. On the very top of the Acropolis are three temples, the most famous being the Parthenon. Though scaffolding marred our view (no surprise there), it was amazing! I've dreamed of seeing the Parthenon for years and it was almost surreal actually being up there. My batteries died at the Parthenon and my brand new spare set didn't work, so I didn't get quite as many pictures as I would have liked. The city of Athens sprawls out from the foot of the Acropolis. One one side, the Aegean shines silver in the sun breaking through the clouds. On the opposite side, gleaming white houses stretch to the surrounding mountains.

The Parthenon

Up against the Acropolis is the Aeropogus. It was here that Paul preached to the Athenians, using the altar to an unknown god as an illustration. This scripture is even posted in the rock face, though I did a very poor job of deciphering it. From here we walked down to the Agora and another temple. It is such a beautiful oasis in the center of a busy city. Within the Agora is an old church from the 11th century. Lunch that day was chicken slouvaka, a sort of Greek version of an American kebab, and Greek yogurt and honey for dessert.

Temple of Zeus

On Tuesday we slept in a bit and then headed across the street to the Temple of Zeus. We had a lot of fun there and took a ton of photos. Afterward we walked around and shopped in the Plaka, which is full of fun tourist shop. Dinner was from a little grocery store that also sold olives. These delicious olives were the huge Mediterranean olives that Dad always refers to at Passover.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

On the first Sunday of Advent and the eve of December, I am looking forward to the Christmas season that is just around the corner. We had delicious cinnamon rolls and hot cider after 9@9 tonight. This was a lovely ending to our advent service that focused on hope. We sang my favourite Christmas carol and I am now singing it around the houses.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel


"In His first coming our Lord came in our flesh and our weakness; in this middle coming He comes in Spirit and in power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and in majesty. Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last." ~ St. Bernard of Clairveaux

On the Wings of a Dream

All of us girls

One final out of the way and I finally have a little bit of time to write. Our OXTA test was this afternoon and I am so happy to be finished with that. I just hope I did alright. Now I have a tutorial paper to write, Greek to translate and a trip to Greece to plan. Last weekend I went to Switzerland with a few other girls, and we had a blast. The trip was so much fun.

Walking to the lake

We flew into Basel and had a little bit of trouble taking the train to Interlaken. When we got to our hostel after 2am we all crashed. Friday we just walked around Interlaken, which is a lovely little town at the foot of the Jungfrau.

We spent Friday just walking around and relaxing. I am loathe to admit that we ended up eating dinner at McDonald's in an attempt to eat cheaply. In my defense, however, I ate the McEmmentaler. In the evening we went to a chocolate show. Apparently their milk chocolate was voted the best in the world last year. I think I'd vote for it too. We each ate way more chocolate than should be allowed. And we went back to Schuh at least once every single day.

My friend Casey above Interlaken

Lake Thun from the air

Interlaken means "between the lakes" and we began our Saturday with a beautiful hike to one of the lakes. Because of glacial silt, the river and lakes are a surreal turquoise blue. After a picnic lunch on Lake Thun we headed off to meet up with our paragliding instructors. Paragliding was the most amazing experience! We drove up to Beatenberg and stopped at our takeoff point, a very steep drop off. After I was all strapped in with my instructor, we took about three running steps and we were in the air.

Me taking off

I'm the second from the left, in the middle

The feeling of flying, face open to the air, is indescribable and incredible. At one point a bird flew beneath me, above me and all around. Interlaken lay sprawled beneath me, Jungfrau towered before me and the crystal waters shone in the setting sun. Wheeling through the air I felt so alive and exhilarated. For so long I have dreamed of flying and to soar amidst the glory of majestic mountains ... Suffice it to say, I'm ready to take flight again.

Finally my instructor asked if I liked roller coasters. I do, so we did some tricks in the sky which included flipping almost upside down with the parachute beneath us. All good things must come to an end, and so we began to float down towards the ground. Landing was just as simple and we met up with some of our friends who also went to Switzerland.

Sunrise in the Alps

Sunday morning we woke up at 4:30 so that we could take the early train up to The Top of Europe. Jungfrau is the mountain that shadows Interlaken. The train was early enough that we witnessed the sunrise over the Alps. The train ended at Jungfraujoch, the highest train station in Europe. Here we looked out over the Alps once again as snow fell gently down. A bit of a storm blew in and the wind howled through the mountains, lifting snow up and throwing it in our faces. We slipped and slid through the ice palace and shivered in fifteen degree weather. I had a chai tea latte and Toblerone to warm up. It's so amazing to be up there, on top of the world.

On the train down we saw a St. Bernard with a barrel around his neck - so classically Swiss. We hopped off the train in Grindlewald and hung out there for a couple of hours. Because it was a Sunday in off season, the sleepy resort town was basically shut down. Once back in Interlaken we went once again to Schuh, this time for dinner. We had a classic Swiss cheese fondue that was delicious. Looking like bums we proceeded make utter fools out of ourselves, but that's a long story. Of course we ended our evening with more world-famous chocolate.

Delicious Fondue

Monday was our day of departure. We rose early enough to hike to the other lake, Lake Brienz, for another picnic lunch. The cows lowing in fields all have bells around their necks and every movement fills the air with music. With a little time to spare we made a coffee stop and yet another chocolate stop. We made it to the airport over four hours ahead of time, so we had a bit of a wait. In Gatwick the transit between our terminal and the terminal with the train suddenly broke. Over half an hour later we finally made it to the train station, but had missed our train. The next train, an hour later, was delayed so after all was said and done we were over an hour and a half behind schedule. We were all so tired by the time we made back to Oxford and so glad to see the houses. I flopped straight into my bed and slept late the next morning.

Aquamarine Waters

Now I'm preparing for my next trip, which is to Greece. It'll be another tiring trip, but I'm so excited. And now it's probably time to go finish up some more homework.

6 Seconds

A very short video that I took while paragliding. So much beauty to soak in even in these six short seconds. My twenty minutes in the clouds was absolutely amazing.

God Be in My Deciding

On this election day I pray that God be with our nation. We need Him so much. I hope that we will all ask for God's guidance as we put forth our vote for the next president of America. I have already made my decision, as I had to mail in my ballot over a week ago. Now I pray that God will work through our new leader. May He touch the hearts of those governing us. No matter the outcome of this election, may God display His glory through it.

Oxford University Press

Everyone may be interested to know that I love to read. Unfortunately I haven't got a whole lot of reading in lately because of homework and the beckoning of the city of Oxford. In fact, I've had to resort to reading miniature books just so that I can fit them in.

Today our Oxford through the Ages class went and toured the Oxford University Press. It was fascinating to see the progression of printing techniques. For one who loves books as I do, this was a delightful visit. Once again we saw several amazing things and even got to flip through a Geneva Bible that was printed in London. I just kept asking myself if it was "real" (aka from the 16th century), or just a copy. Very cool just the same. I enjoy this stuff a lot. Who knows, maybe I should look into a career in journalism?

A Geneva Bible and a book of prayer

Find Me Faithful

Once again I'm reflecting on 9@9. I really enjoy these weekly gatherings and always come away with some valuable thoughts. This Sunday is sandwiched by All Saint's Day and Remembrance Day. The planning team had us thinking of all who have come before us in the name of the Lord.

I wonder what my legacy will be, and how people will remember me. I so desperately want to be known for my love and for my devotion to the way of Christ. All of this once again brought a song into my head. I grew up listening to Steve Green (Hide 'Em in Your Heart!)
It's because of him that I so often burst out singing scripture. Another great song of his is "Find Us Faithful".

We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through Godly lives

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

This is my hope as well. "May all who come behind me find me faithful." Like I've said before, I need to open my heart and love. I think my next step on this journey is to constantly ask a question. What does love require of me? And only then will I truly be a faithful servant.

Catch Phrase

It comes every year on the last day of October. It's the day before All Saint's Day. You dress up and get lots and lots of candy.

Yep, it's Halloween!!

If you guessed correctly, which I'm assuming you did, then you might consider playing a game of catch phrase with me. It would make me extremely happy.

Halloween as a child

I am dressed as a lamb and Amara is Lot's Wife - a pillar of salt. You know your Dad is a Bible professor when ... Well, I suppose he was a preacher at that point. 

Wow, I sure miss these guys. A year ago yesterday we all dressed up as each other for Halloween. It was so much fun. I even died my hair red for the occasion. Unfortunately, I didn't dress up yesterday. There were no parties to dress up for. We did, however, go to G&D's where I had a scoop of "Nightmare on Clarendon". It was vanilla ice cream with sweets, specifically for the spooky holiday. We came home, had more sugar, drank some coffee and played catch phrase for hours. Thank goodness for JoAnna, who loves that game as much as I do. It's amazing how many times Jesus can come up in a word game.

The weather here feels very much like fall. It's cold and wet dismal. Yellow and orange leaves flutter and fall to the ground as trees bend and sway in the wind. I cannot believe that today is November 1st. We have just over a month left here, and I'm not yet ready to leave. I'll just enjoy it while I can.