event-full week

So this was a big week:

1) I did the online part of my visa application and got the necessary passport photos taken. It will go in the mail as soon as I get my next bank statement (which must be included to prove my financial viability).

2) I sent in my Transit Fees by international bank transfer and discovered that my bank has a horrible exchange rate.

3) I booked my flight to London. I will be leaving Charlotte at 7:00 pm September 2nd and arrive in London 11:35 am September 3rd. Transit starts September 5th.

Everything is starting to come together. It's very exciting! I have this week off so I will be packing and planning and organizing to my little heart's content. 9 weeks and counting!

life of an artist

I went to see one of my favorite artists tonight; Amy Correia. She was great, the other performers not so much, we left early. But it furthered thoughts that were sparked over the weekend when I bought Bruce Springsteen's Live in Dublin CD.
I find people who live by their art fascinating, especially musicians. They seem to be consumed by it. Where for me, art, literature, and music are parts of my life, even big parts, for them it is their life. You can hear it in their voices, see it on their fingers, hear it in their words. It is actually who they are.
So my thought is, who am I? What is it that defines me? I write, I throw pots, I used to paint and want to again. I would call myself a musician, but it's been a long time since I have really played a piano or a violin. These are things I love, they are parts of me. But they are not my life, they are not who I am.
Why? Is it because I haven't cared enough about one thing to give up all the others to pursue it? Am I destined to be a Jack of all trades but always yearning to master one? I don't know. Maybe I just need to keep living. Maybe the thing that defines who I am is something less tangible than a guitar strapped to my shoulders or a canvas on my wall.
Something to think about.

Summer Fruit

Summer is not my favorite season, I don't like being hot. But one thing I do like about summer is all the yummy fruit. When I got back from the beach my mom gave me a bag of peaches and plums and nectarines. I've been eating them for breakfast. When I bite into one the juice goes splashing down my hand. This is happiness.

The Beach

I got back Sunday from a working beach trip. The girls were great and we had a fun, albeit exhausting, trip. We were out on the beach and in the pool and went to their grandfather's tree farm where we rode gators all around the 300 acre property. I had Saturday off and spent it laying on the beach reading. And burning. It was a lovely day for which I am still paying... OUCH!

I wanted to share something really cool that happened on the trip; A couple Sundays ago at church we had a special offering for Zao Water, a project that raises funds to dig wells in Africa. I felt compelled to give, and not just my standard special offering amount, something big, something challenging. And I did, while saying, "Ok Lord, I trust you. It's your money anyway so you're going to have to provide that much more for me to go to London." On the beach trip I was given double the amount I put in that offering.

Great is your faithfulness oh Lord!

Courage to trust beyond our fears!

A week or so ago I subscribed to the Moravian Daily Text. Everyday you get an email with a couple of Bible verses and a prayer. They can be really timely. Yesterday I had a bit of a crisis of faith. I decided to add up some totals for Transit and somehow the discrepancies between incoming and projected outgoing seemed bigger than before. So I had a few hours of trying to relax and trust. Then this morning I woke up to this:

The Lord makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters.
Isaiah43:16

And Jesus said to the disciples, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?"
Matthew 8:26

Making a way in the sea, you direct us beyond ourselves. Forgive us for
wanting assurances when you have asked us to have faith. Give us the courage to
trust beyond our fears. Amen.

Exactly, exactly!

(Oh, if you want to subscribe yourself just visit this website: http://www.moravian.org/daily_texts/)