Lessons from the Rim

So, it may appear that I have not learned anything for quite some time. Let me assure you that this is not the case. In fact, I've learned a great deal since my last post. This summer was a summer of lessons, and a summer that is only briefly explained by stating the following:

I do not have words to express how much I enjoyed this summer. My ACMNP experience is one that I hope NEVER to forget. I learned how to appreciate God’s overwhelming love in the midst of feeling so alone. I learned that stepping out in faith, despite how many nervous/fearful emotions are present, is a step that will never be regretted. Before departing for the Grand Canyon, I questioned what I was doing and told myself that I wasn’t right for the job. Looking back, those thoughts have been crushed. God made me right for the job. I have heard it said before that “God does not call the equipped. God equips the called”. There is no way that I felt like I was equipped – that I would be the Godly woman that the canyon visitors needed to see. No way! Because I willing to do what God wanted, however, I was blessed beyond measure. It wasn’t me; it was Him.
This summer was also valuable in respecting other Christians. There was a point in the summer where our team was experiencing great tension because of differences in what we held as right/wrong. Sitting back and listening to an argument between the group one night, I was forced, mentally, to figure out where I stood. While I didn’t change my personal values that night, I do feel like I was able to recognize the fact that there are going to be situations similar to that that come up for the rest of my life. I need to stand firm with what I believe – not accepting actions that I disagree with – but I have to remain free of judgment. Certain disagreements are trivial to the real meaning of life. We are here to glorify God. We are created for His glory. Period. I must keep this in mind always and realize that although I may have disagreements with other Christians, we have a common bond that is more important than anything – we both serve Christ Jesus.
I still reflect every single day about my experience this past summer. I feel like my ACMNP experience and how I value it will continue to manifest itself in different ways. I am continually recognizing new things that I learned from this summer and I am continuing to fall more in love with the people I met this summer.

FUN THINGS I LEARNED:
- Doop is a phenomenal word
- Energizing lip-balm is not worth the expensive price tag
- Concrete picnic tables make terrible beds
- Carry lots of water when you hike
- I like Irish Blessings
- Nickelback sounds like they sing while on the toilet
- Squirrels deserve to have rocks thrown at them
- Kicking, jumping, and cartwheeling on the edge of the Grand Canyon make for splendid headless photos
- Only women should drink diet sodas. Real men drink real soda
- Not everyone knows the name of the Grand Canyon


As you can see, my months of non-posting have not been months of non-learning. Golly, I've been learning a lot!

-Melissa

Grass Clippings and Realizations

Grass is lovely. It has an interesting smell (I haven't decided if it's a pleasant smell or not) when it's freshly clipped. However, fresh clippings tend to stain socks and shoes...

This afternoon I partook in my first lawn-mowing experience of the season. My dad and I spent part of the afternoon mowing my grandmother's lawn. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it - in part because my father took the larger portion of the lawn, but mainly because the sun filled the sky, the air was semi-warm, and my grandmother's tree and flower assortments were quite beautiful!

The sights (and sounds of nothing but the lawnmower) reminded me of what I like most about Spring:

• Warm Breezes
• Green[er] Grass
• Baby Leaves
• Wildflowers
• TULIPS
• Sunny mornings
• Snow-free sidewalks
• Songs of birds

I realize that it has been quite some time since I've posted, but let me assure you that I have not learned any less since that time. I've reflected multiple times (to myself - never in writing) about what I have learned this school year. At the present moment, the one thing that sticks out to me is this:

One should enjoy each and every day. After all, each day is a gift from God. Often times I find myself rushing through one day with the simple goal of making it to the next day. What kind of goal is that? By constantly wishing that I were in a different moment than the one I'm living in, it is nearly impossible to enjoy each day. I want to take advantage of the multiple opportunities that I have to sit outside and enjoy God's creation - distanced from the world, quieted in Spirit, and contented by beauty.

Over and Out -

Melissa

P.S. I'm getting quite excited to start my adventure at the Grand Canyon. While the surface of my emotions contain a bit of fear and nervousness about the travel and arrival, there is a deeper part of me that cannot wait to see what God has in store for me this summer. But, while I wait for my Arizona departure date, I will be sure to enjoy each and every day :)

Gobble, Gobble up these fun facts!

Wow, what a great day to learn new things!

**A couple weekends ago, a few of us went to Chicago, Illinois and spent a Saturday passing out fliers for a church, making conversations with passerbys, and enjoying some deep dish Chicago-style pizza. While talking to one homeless man, Darnell, I realized how much I take my education for granted. I've had the opportunity to be educated for nearly 15 years now. For most of these years, I have not appreciated my education, nor have I thought about how grateful I should be for the encouragement and financial support from my family to be attending college. When Darnell found out that we were all college students, he thought it was awesome that we were in school, and he shared with us about how he wished he had had a chance to go to school. At that point, I learned how truly blessed I am to be attending school and working towards a great education.


Fun Facts about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
- If you laid every parade balloon since 1927 end to end they would stretch from Battery Park City to the Cloisters (approx. 12 miles I think?)
- Due to a helium shortage in 1958, the balloons are brought down Broadway on cranes.
- Santa Claus has ended the parade every year except 1933, the only year in which he led the parade.
- Macy's is the world's second largest consumer of helium. The United States government is the first

Fun Facts about Thanksgiving
- The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.
- The state of New York officially made Thanksgiving Day an annual custom in 1817.
- Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States.
- Turkeys have heart attacks. When the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier, fields of turkeys would drop dead.
- A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.
- Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey.
- $1 is the average cost per pound in of a frozen whole turkey.

...Well that's all for this Thanksgiving Day (at least for now). Keep your heart open today and think (and pray) often for those who are spending today without family, friends, a home, and/or food.

-Melissa

Hurry up and read it already! (the blog of an impatient person)

I've learned something new: I am very impatient.
I often blame it on the fact that I'm an American...but I think the reason is probably more in depth than the simple fact that I live in an impatient culture.

気短か
ongeduldig
impatient
ungeduldig
ανυπόμονος
impaziente
성급한
impaciente
нетерпеливо
impaciente
不耐烦

*If you were able to spend time trying to figure word above and which languages were included in the list, you've already proven to have more patience than me.

I have been hit in the face lately with the fact I have a very impatient side to me. I always cram my schedule so full of activites that when I'm forced to wait for someone or something, I feel that I am wasting my time.

Truth is, I am a very selfish individual. I want things done when I'm told they're going to be done...I don't want to wait around because something "came up" or "needed to be taken care of". I understand that often times, these things that I call excuses are truly important happenings in the lives of others. But, because of my selfish desire to have things done as planned and when I expect, I often boil inside when such excuses are given to me.

The past couple of days, my patience has been tested many-a-time. It was today that I realized maybe there is bigger reason that schedules and planned meeting times keep falling through...perhaps it is God's way to get me to an empty building and make me wait for an hour, unable to be distracted by the usual distractions of a dorm room. God can do a lot in an hour. Though people around me may let me down and cause me to feel unworthy of their time, God displays his goodness continually. How great He is.

NAsty Syndrome

I've learned something new: If one plans to buy a train ticket, one should buy a train ticket when it first comes to mind rather than waiting a few days. Why? As days go by (approaching the desired departure date), the price of the tickets increase.

I purchased a round-trip train ticket today so that I will be able to travel home to see my parents (and friends, I suppose) over fall break. I've been planning to purchase the ticket for quite some time, but I just felt like it would be too premature to purchase the ticket before today. Additionally, I didn't want to invest so much money in a ticket in case I was able to snatch up a ride with another student. Needless to say, I did not find a ride that would work with my schedule, so I resorted back to the train ticket...a few days too late. Between Friday and today, the ticket had increased $18 (round-trip)! In all reality, it's no big deal...my parents are willing to cover the cost :) They're so sweet.

I've learned another something: Negative attitude syndrome is not good.

I have a tendency to have periodic outbursts of Negative Attitude Syndrome ("N.A.sty" Syndrome, as I like to call it). I was hit by one of these this morning during Sunday School. Over this past year, many of the things I've learned have led me to this new discovery. I used to accept my negative attitudes as part of who I was - my personality. This, however, was a lie that I used to subcontiously justify my attitude. You see, if I justified my attitude, I didn't have to own up to my wrong actions...I could simply blame them on a "conflict of personality" with whoever I had offended or hurt during the course of my NAsty Syndrome outbreak. Today, however, perhaps for the first time, I was able to catch myself in a negative attitude and identify it while I was experiencing it. Because I was able to identify it, I was able to allow God to change my heart...which allowed my negative attitude (which would have normally lasted all day...or perhaps a couple days) to be contained to a few minutes during the Sunday School period. Golly, I've still got a lot to learn. God is so good...and so faithful in teaching me new things.

What have you learned today?

-Melissa

Blogger?

I am not sure that I am a blogger. Honestly, I cannot see myself maintaining this page as I hope to, but I figured I would give it a shot anyways.

A few questions (and the answers to the questions) that you may be wondering:

1. (Q) Why "Never Learning Less"
(A) Last semester I was hit in the face with the fact that I was simply getting through each day. I was not enjoying myself, and I was not taking time to enjoy each precious day that God was giving me. So, I began to realize that in order to see the good in each day, I needed to ask myself one simple question each day. The question - "What did I learn today?" This question made me realize that there was extreme good each day - as long as one has an open heart, one can learn a great amount without ever learning less.

2. (Q) Do you really think people are interested ito hear about what you're learning?
(A). Yes. Probably. Possibly. Probably Not. No. I really don't know the answer to this question. But here's what I figured: People are snoopy (myself included). They'll see that I started a blog, they'll open the blog, they may read this first post to see what I'm all about, and then they'll stop back at least once or twice more to see if I've updated the blog. It is after about the third visit to a blog that one decides whether or not they appreciate the blog. So at this point, I have no idea whether or not people are interested to know what I've been learning, but I am sure that someone is bound to read at least one thing that I've learned. This one thing may be something that they'll appreciate. Who knows.

3. (Q) What about today? Have you learned anything today?
(A) Yes! While putting this blog page together, I learned that alternate names for a blog are Weblog and Web log. The term "blog" is a shortened form of the two previously listed names.



That's all I've got for now.
Melissa