Life Is What You Make Of It...Or is it?

I've had so many thoughts rolling around in my head lately, and I've wanted to blog them so often, but I haven't been able to put them all together in a coherent pattern. So, for the sake of posting something, I'm going to go on a bit of a ramble and see how it comes out...

Living here has been hard, emotionally, lately. The emotional roller coaster ride that one naturally rides in life seems to take faster turns and deeper drops when living in an unfamiliar home away from home. In my journey to navigate these emotional waters, I find myself battling to keep my joy. And I can tell I'm in the midst of a spiritual war that often translates into small daily things becoming deeply significant.

The other day, I was thinking of how to respond. Right now, I have a deep longing for home now that the holidays are approaching and the weather is changing in the U.S. Where I am, these meaningful changes that mark the yearly cycle of life experiences do not happen. The sun shines as hot as it did 6 months ago, and nobody cares about the pilgrims, giving thanks, or pumpkin pie. In my head, I thought, well, "Life is what you make of it, right?" I've just got to pull up my bootstraps and make it happen myself. But as a phlegmatic, my motto tends to more often say "Life is what takes the least amount of effort!" instead. The problem with this motto so natural to me is that life gets stale when you're always the victim of circumstance. And, both mottos fail to point to the source of real power we have in life, that is Christ.

So, I have begun to dwell more of my thoughts on Christ, who he was, what kinds of things he did, why it matters. I have to admit that Christ in my faith walk has usually been a "doorway" to God. I pray to "God" and thank him that Christ made it possible. But I find myself with more of an urgency recently to not look thru Christ toward God (although that is a beautiful thing), but rather to look at Christ directly. And camp out there for awhile.

And the cool thing is that while I do that, the joy that I've been battling for starts to spring up on its own. And then I find myself taking charge of my circumstances. But its not out of my own will power to make life better. It's out of a deep indescribable sense of peace that something amazing lies in the existence of Christ and I can't help but enjoy life more. Even though nothing on the "outside" has changed.

So, with all of that said, I've noticed how little things can bring great joy when you are looking for it. And because of Christ, all these little things become much sweeter. I'd like to share with you a few of the little things that have made me smile lately...

1. Doing arts and craft projects with my daughter. I think it is more for me than her but she seems to enjoy me enjoying myself :) Here we are making gingerbread "snakes" and toilet paper roll caterpillars.

2. Enjoying wind chimes. I've loved wind chimes since I was a little girl browsing the seashell shops of the Texas coast. I bought this one recently and have loved the texture and color it has brought into the room. (Yes, it is inside, not outside, because it would rot within a few weeks from the humidity)
3. Decorating a Fall Wreath. Ariel and I don't have a lot to work with when looking for evergreen plants to decorate a wreath for the fall season. But we took a walk, found what we could, and attempted to glue it all onto a piece of cardboard. I thought it turned out pretty well!
4. Christmas lights. For about $20 bucks and a crazy trip to the chinese market, we have been able to turn our courtyard into a little winter wonderland. The temperature might not change, and the mosquitos might still be out, but in OUR house, its the holidays!
5. Enjoying Beautiful art. A friend and colleague pointed me to a site that promotes the artwork of believing artists from Asia. I LOVE taking in the creative ways people from around the world express their love to God. Here were a few of my favorites by Sawai Chinnawong.

The Lost Sheep, The Good Shepherd

The Lost Son

6. Crafting curriculum for people around the world. I am currently putting together a training manual of sorts for Geoff and I to use. It will give the believing artists in this area of the world a practical guide for understanding biblical worship, how to encourage it in their area, and how to understand and create musical concepts that will communicate God to their own people. It gives me great joy to dig into the scripture, look at the works of other artists and music researchers, and think about how to communicate that to an artist in Mongolia, Thailand, or the Philippines. I can't wait to be in heaven and join in with the multitude of worshippers and all of their creative expressions! I guess I have an eternity to enjoy that, so for now, I am content with sharing the joy of the arts with folks here on earth.

7. Reading a great book. I am currently reading The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun. It is the account of a Chinese believer during the 80's. His story and all those he describes is deeply challenging. I've learned that these folks have a different take on suffering than we do in the West. In fact, he often says things that I've heard respected pastors booed at for saying in the U.S. It's not a fashionable take on suffering, but this guy doesn't have the luxury of fashion. If you want to know what people have endured for the sake of their faith and the amazing ways they find joy in it (!), then this is the book to read. I highly recommend it.

So, there is the end of my rambling. I hope that a coherent thought jumped out at you somewhere along the way. Although my little things seem insignificant and perishable, it is what they represent that is significant and eternal. A mother daughter bond. The beauty of nature. Memories of home. Expressions of love to the Creator. And connections with "family" all over the world. To name a few.

Life is what CHRIST makes of it!

And he makes it worth living.