What Really Matters - Persecuted Christians

Excuse me while I vent about something that really matters - and I don't mean the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I mean the persecution and horrible massacre of people in Iraq. Have you read any of the articles that have been posted on facebook? And I mean really read them....to the end...where there are incredibly graphic pictures of the horrible things happening.

I did. Just yesterday. Up until yesterday I had dismissed all the articles popping up on my news feed. Up until yesterday I had assumed that what was going on was nothing more than what normally happens in the middle east. Then I read an article that changed my mind.

When I clicked on the article, I actually read through it, learning the facts of what is really going on in the Middle East. Then I got to the warning. The warning that told me that there were graphic pictures following. I hesitated a second before scrolling down. What I saw made me sick.

There were several images of heads without bodies - real people's heads. People who only a few moments or hours or days ago had been alive. People who were living and breathing and living life like you and me.

There were images of people being beheaded. And I don't mean with a sword or an ax or something that ends your life relatively quickly and can be considered a more "humane" way of killing someone.

When I say "people being beheaded," what I mean is that there were terrorists sawing off people's heads with butter knives. Freaking butter knives. Excuse my language, but if that doesn't hurt like hell and dehumanize people, I don't know what would.

(See the Article I Read Here: http://www.catholic.org/news/international/middle_east/story.php?id=56339 )

I'm not making this stuff up. This is what is going on in the Middle East. This is a problem - a huge problem that is going on today, in our world, in our lives. What are we going to do about it?

I'm sick of just sitting around doing nothing. The problem with this situation is that there really is nothing I can do about it - on my own anyway. We need to raise awareness about this problem. We need to change it. We need to help these people.

Don't get me wrong, the ALS disease is a real problem. And if this Ice Bucket challenge raises both money and awareness, more power to them (just make sure you donate somewhere that isn't supporting embryonic stem cell research).

But while you're out raising awareness about ALS, consider raising awareness about the current persecution and problems happening in Iraq and join me in praying for an end to all of this.

Boredom Doesn't Exist

Boredom doesn't exist.

Let me elaborate. In my Philosophy of the Human Person class, we had a discussion about something we called the "boredom delusion." Bored/Boredom were words that did not exist until more recent times. From what I can tell from my research, Charles Dickens was possibly the first person to use it in writing, which would be around 1852.

What does this mean for us? Boredom is a fairly new development; it's a little over 160 years old. What is boredom? According to the Oxford Dictionaries, Bored means the following: "Feeling weary and impatient because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity."

While I agree that people do experience boredom from time to time, I would like to propose that we cause ourselves to be bored. We live in a culture where we are constantly surrounded by technology, movies, sports, and a go-go-go attitude. Therefore when there is silence and time to actually think or be productive, we deem ourselves to be bored.

Boredom is often simply an excuse to avoid responsibility. My professor said the following statement in class: "It [boredom] exists for people who don't want to do what they have to do and want to do what they want." Think about it. When I was little I would go to my mom and tell her I was bored. She always assured me that she could give me something to do (usually a chore). I immediately left the room and found something to keep me busy. Suddenly I wasn't bored anymore.

Boredom is also a sign that you have a lack of meaning in your life. If you constantly sit around on your computer or cellphone and don't go out and do productive, meaningful things, you're likely to find yourself in a state of boredom. And whose fault is that?

When you give in to boredom and give up on searching for meaning in your life, you'll find yourself searching for something to fill up your life. This can lead to consumerism (shopping because you're bored....anyone, ladies?), improper use of technology (hours and hours on facebook or video games), and just generally missing out on the opportunities that life offers you.

As I was searching for quotes to share in this post, I came across this powerful one:

"Life is never boring but some people choose to be bored. The concept of boredom entails an inability to use up present moments in a personally fulfilling way. Boredom is a choice; something you visit upon yourself, and it is another of those self-defeating items that you can eliminate from your life." - Wayne W. Dyer

How do we solve this problem of boredom? I propose we get off of our computers, couches, beds, and search for meaning in our lives. Do a kind deed for someone else. Go out for coffee with a friend. Invest your time in something worthwhile that will last longer than a 5minute youtube video.

Remember, boredom doesn't exist unless we let it. 

Everyone Smiles in the Same Language

"Everyone smiles in the same language." This quote was something I thought about a LOT while I was in Haiti. See, most of the people down there speak little to no English. Everyone speaks Creole, a French dialect, so communication was very interesting.

I went down there knowing that we didn't all speak the same language, but not really knowing just how much that would impact our mission trip. As much as I would have liked to talk about God, I just wanted to be able to talk about anything! But that's not the way it worked out. So I got very good at smiling at people.

It seems like I've heard multiple stories of people who were depressed with life and didn't feel that it was worth living, but then someone smiled at them or even just said hi and their perspective changed. So I decided to use the only common language I had: a smile.

On Monday, we woke up and had Mass at 7am, bright and early. After Mass, we ate breakfast and then went to help serve lunch to the children. I guess I should explain more about what the mission does. They run a school for about 800 children, from pre-school age up through 6th grade. School days are from 8am-12pm and each day the children line up in front of the main building to sing the National Anthem and then they proceed to their classrooms, grabbing a piece of bread to eat along the way. And as they walk to class, they sing a song that says "Thank you, God, Thank you."

The kids lining up and singing before school starts.

Grabbing bread while walking to class

Anyway, after we had eaten, we went to help with serving food to the kids. Because the school day is so short and there are so many of them, the men and women making the food begin serving around 9:30/10ish. The next few pictures describe the setup of everything and how it all works. Basically all the food is cooked outdoors in massive quantities, dished up, and served to the kids.

The "fire pits" where the women cook the food

In the middle of cooking

The bowls/food we served the children.

Here are some pictures of us serving the kiddos....as well as a classroom picture.

Mrs. Shoup handing out food

Lauren and Abigail serving food

One of the classrooms....very much like an outdoor pavilion.

Once we were done serving and the children had left for the day, we ate lunch and then went to pick egg plant from the field where the mission grows a bunch of different vegetables. Here is the end result of our picking for the afternoon:

Eggplant!

And that was pretty much the summary of our first day, Monday. I just really learned a lot about smiling and how valuable it is in communicating - especially when it's your only form of communication. Just look at this beautiful child and how can you not smile?

Haiti Mission Trip: Recap and Overview

Dear Readers,

I'm so sorry to have disappointed you last week by not posting anything. :( I had every intention of posting about Haiti while being there. Once I arrived, I did have access to a computer and to internet, but I decided that I really just wanted to give up technology for the week, so I chose not to post anything. However, I plan on using this week to update you on all that happened last week :)

I would like to use this post to give you an overview and explanation of the trip, and then over the next few days, I will go into more detail for each day. For starters, the trip was planned by a friend of mine, who ended up not being able to go, but there were 4 of us who ended up going: Lauren, Abigail, and Mrs. Shoup. On Sunday, March 10th, we flew to the Port au Prince airport in Haiti and then rode 2 hours in a van to get to our final destination for the week: Kobonal, Haiti. Here are a few pictures from our airplane travels.

Abigail, Lauren, and Me...waiting at 4am in the airport

The sunrise from the plane

Then as we were driving to Kobonal, I took lots of pictures. Haiti is beautiful! I couldn't believe how pretty the scenery was: mountains surrounding us; lots of green; gorgeous warm weather. It was stunnning.

Enjoying the beautiful warm weather!

The mountains we drove through

Once we arrived in Kobonal, we went straight to the mission where we were staying. The mission run by SOLT (The Society of Our Lady of the Trinity) and the priest who lives down there has been there for over 20 years. Anyway, we arrived and got settled into the guest house where we were staying. Fr. Glenn said Mass for us a little while later and then we ate dinner and pretty much went to bed after that.

The room where we stayed.

 Well that's all for today's post.....stop by throughout the week to read/see more! :)

The Hands and Feet of Christ

What does it mean to be the hands and feet of Christ? What does it mean to truly love? How can I sacrifice my own pleasures for the sake of helping someone else?

For spring break this semester, I will be going a mission trip to Haiti. We will be there for a week, starting tomorrow, March 10th. Please keep us in your prayers. This is an exciting time. A time to discover what it's really like to be Christ to someone. It's also a terrifying time as this is my first time out of the country. I'm excited to serve, (not gonna lie, I'm psyched about the warm weather), but nervous about what it will be like.

I've realized in the last day or so that I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. I don't know what it's really like to be without food or money or clothes. I don't know what it's like to have poverty in my life. I don't want my own selfishness to get in the way of serving those around me. This trip is going to be a big lesson in trust, love, and self-gift.

As I am there, I will keep all of you in my prayers! Please check back for future posts and updates about our trip - I'll do my best to keep you updated.

And as I'm going, I pray that I will keep this in mind:

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” — C.T. Studd

Challenge # 1: Daily Prayer Time

Do you have a best friend? Someone you love talking to...someone you could talk to for hours and hours....they know you almost better than you know yourself? I have several friends like that and talking to them really makes my day better every time I see them.

But then there are people whom I see around a lot, but never find time to talk to them and hang out. I definitely don't know them as well and probably wouldn't talk to them about everything going on in my life. Lastly, there are the people whom I've never talked to in my life. Why? the opportunity just never presented itself.

What is the point of all this? Well, what I want to know is, is Jesus one of your best friends? Is he someone you can talk to all the time about anything? If he's not, why not? If he is, good job, keep up the good work. Jesus is the only person who knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our hearts so well since he created them. He is interested in hearing about your life - the good, the bad, and the ugly ;) Will you tell him about it?

Practically speaking, how do we get to know Jesus? After all, he lives in heaven and it's not like we can go have coffee with him. Well, we get creative. Do you know what the five love languages are? Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gift Giving, and Physical Touch. Jesus wants to love us in all these ways.

Quality time is the easiest and perhaps one of the most important ones. How can we get to know Jesus if we don't spend time with him? Go to the chapel and just sit and listen. Or grab a journal and write to him. If you don't have access to a chapel, then find a spot in your room or somewhere that you won't get interrrupted.

Words of Affirmation. When we listen to what God has to tell us, he will often whisper that he loves us. We can also affirm God by thanking him for what he has given us in life.

Acts of Service. Well the Cross for starters. That was the biggest sacrifice ever made. I'd say that counts. We can serve Christ by serving those around us and seeing Christ in them.

Gift Giving. This one's a little trickier, but I usually think of it as giving God your time, or writing him letters/journaling....hmm I'll have to think more on this one.

Physical Touch. This is another tough one, but receiving him in the Eucharist is what comes to my mind.

Be creative! Jesus wants a personal relationship with each one of us. He knows our hearts and how we best love others, so let him love you the way you receive love, and learn to love him the way you love others.

Start small. 5-10 minutes a day is okay to start with....something I've discovered is that the more you get to know Jesus, the more time you want to spend with him. If you start praying but have nothing to say, then just listen. Or read the Bible. Or just sit and look at the Tabernacle in awe. It takes time, but it's worth it in the end. He wants to spend time with us.

Lent is a Time for Growth

It's Lent!!! But of course, you probably already knew that since it started on Ash Wednesday, and here we are at Sunday. I wanted to blog sooner about this, but did not get the opportunity as last week was crazy-busy for me!

Lent. A time of reflection. A time of sacrifice. A time of growth. Growing up, Lent has always been something that I immensely disliked. I won't say hated, but it was pretty close. I hate seafood, I love dessert, and I'm not very good at fasting. This combination of things have made Fridays in Lent my least favorite days of the year. My negative feelings about Lent have been going on since I was probably at least 10, if not before. I realized this year for the first time, just how negatively I feel about it - and I decided that something needs to change.

The season of lent is, after all, something that the Church teaches, and Christ was in the dessert desert (lol) for 40 days, so there's gotta be something to this whole fasting and praying thing. Soo my main goal this lent is to learn to love lent and see the beauty in it. A daunting task, yes, but entirely possible since God loves to do the impossible. :)

How am I going to do this? Well, I have several things I"m doing. First, I have decided not to give up dessert since it has been more distracting and frustrating than fruitful. But obviously I still can not eat meat on Fridays and I still have to fast. Sooo I am working on learning more about fasting as well as finding other sources of protein besides seafood (because even though God can do the impossible, I'm totally fine with my dislike of seafood never changing....sorry for everyone who grew up along the ocean front). That's my first goal.

The second thing I'm doing, is trying to really put my life in order. This whole semester (and we've only been here like a month!) I've been stressed out and not sleeping well, and I really just haven't been very disciplined with my time (aka, I'm writing this blog post now rather than studying spanish :P) Anyway, so goal number two is to work on discipline in my life with studies. I am also striving to have a daily prayer time of at least 15-20minutes. I've been working toward this for a long time and last semester was the first time I've really been successful so I'm going to keep working at it this lent.

Third, I'm going to do some hard-core spring cleaning in my life. I love clothes. I love music. I love movies. I love a lot of material things, which is not bad - provided that these things are building me up, not tearing me down; helping my soul rather than hurting it. I tend to dress modestly and listen to clean music/watch good movies...meaning that there is nothing in my closet or on my shelf that is explictly bad. However, it's often the things that fall in that "gray area" that need to be re-looked at.

Just a funny spring-cleaning quote to make you smile

Sooo this lent, I will be spring-cleaning my movies, music, clothes, and more. I will be issuing a weekly challenge on my blog (possibly posting it on Mondays...depending on my schedule). This challenge will be in part to remind me why I'm doing what I'm doing, but also to encourage all of you to join me as well. It will be hard, but soo worth it in the end.

Challenge accepted.

Are you up for the challenge? Let this lent be one of the best ones you've experienced - be ready to purify your heart, mind, and soul by letting God work in your life.