Compassion International & My One Hundredth Post

After almost a year of blogging, I have reached my 100th post.  I've been thinking about what I wanted to write about for this entry the past week or so, as I knew it was approaching.  I knew that I wanted it to be more than just about me.

If I could tell you about just one thing, I think I would focus on Compassion International today.  The timing is perfect, because right now, there is a group of some really great writers who are blogging from Guatemala now through September 11.

Each morning, I anticipate the entry of Amanda Jones.  And I have recently discovered the beautiful writing style of Canadian Ann Voskamp.  {Seriously, if you read one thing today, check out her post on meeting her sponsored child.}  There's also Lindsey Nobles from Nashville, and South African Gypsy Mama, Lisa-Jo.  Each of them provide a unique perspective on how this week is impacting them.  

But one thing they all have in common is the obvious difference sponsorship makes in the lives of one child, the difference it makes in their family, and the difference it makes in the community where Compassion International is working.  It's really incredible.  

For a long time, I had heard people at church encourage people to adopt a child through Compassion, but it wasn't until last October that I finally decided to take it upon myself and find a child that I could connect with.  

After searching, I chose to sponsor Juliet in Uganda.  It's kind of overwhelming because there are so many children in need, but I just finally picked one.  I thought it would be a sweet reminder to find someone similar in age to the twins I keep, J and G.  And she loves music, which we also have in common.

Last week, I picked up some mail from my parents house, and I realized I had received not one but two letters from Juliet.  One was a thank you for her birthday gift, and another one was just to say hello, and it included an updated photo.  I cannot tell you the joy it brought me to find those in the mail, especially the one with a new photo.  Juliet has grown so much!  I loved seeing her.  And if I get excited about mail from Juliet, I can only imagine what it must be like for her.  

When I see her picture each morning, Juliet reminds me that this world is so much bigger than myself.  But our God is bigger.  And although we come from very different backgrounds, he loves us the same.  It is so humbling to me.  And you know what else is humbling?  She tells me that she prays for me and my family.  

So with this one hundredth post, I would like to encourage you to consider sponsoring a child.  For $38 each month, they are fed, clothed, educated and poured into spiritually.  Often times, it ends up impacting the entire family.  

And if you already sponsor a child, then I encourage you to write them today.  I did.  It only took me a few minutes, but I'm already anticipating the letter I'll get back.  

I'll leave you with a quote from The Hole in Our Gospel that I mentioned briefly in my last post really struck a chord with me.  

"Bob Pierce once said, 'Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything.'  These are wise words to anyone overwhelmed with the magnitude of human suffering in our world.  We are not asked to help all of them at once, just one at at time."  (page 152)

Laking it Up

This weekend was gloriously long, and I loved it. Friday and Saturday were low-key at home, and then we headed to the lake for Sunday and Monday.

My parents let us use the lake house while they were out of town, so Adam, Skippy Dog and I headed down to meet Amanda and Joey. It was the first time they had gotten to come, and it was so fun. We ate a lot, talked a lot, and jet skied.

Adam played grill master all weekend, and the chicken and burgers he made were delicious! Joey took out the trash a ton, which, as silly as it sounds, was really helpful too.  Four people surprisingly make a lot of trash!  And we all worked together to wield the sea doos into submission with the waves.  Quite the adventures.

And I discovered that Amanda is a speed-demon on the Jet Ski.  She loves to go fast!  I just hung on for dear life, and screamed a lot in Adam's ear.  {Sorry, AMP!}

Amanda and I got to spend time talking over morning coffee and tea, which are always my favorite times with her. We have the best discussions,  so it was fun to have some girl time.  She even came in the bathroom so we could put our makeup on together.  {Yes, we only did that to take our picture, haha.} :-)  Makes me wish we lived closer!

It was such a treat to have some of my favorite people together. Here's to lots more times like it!

Flying

I flew to San Antonio today for work on Southwest's airplane painted for the state of New Mexico. Quite colorful, that plane.

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I was so excited to get to wear my new gray boots. It was border-line cool enough to wear them when I started out because of the rain we've been getting. But really, I just wanted to wear them. And I made an executive decision that even though it will end up in the 80s, it's after Labor Day. And sometimes you just have to bust out the boots, baby.  And let's talk about the rain. Oh, the rain. It's made it so much cooler here and has been great, except it makes me want to snuggle in bed all day.

So...I just had a few interesting experiences at the airport.

I was talking to a lady at the gate, admiring her cute new baby. He was really sweet and even had a fuzzy head of blond hair. Precious. I'm pretty sure she was just trying to make conversation, which was really sweet, but she asked if I had any kids.

Excuse me? Kids? Do I look old enough to have kids? Oh my.

Then, I was standing in line to board and noticed a man with a Baylor athletic shirt on and struck up a conversation. I don't know if people from other schools do that, but it's definitely one of my favorite things about being an Alumni. He graduated in 2004. When I told him I was an '09 graduate, he said, "Oh wow. So you JUST graduated." Yes...about a year and a half ago.

How is it that I can be so old and so young in the span of 10 minutes?  Someone please explain this phenomenon.

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I interned for Southwest Airlines one summer in college, and so I am a huge fan of theirs. One thing I love most is their Fun-LUVing culture. Today was no exception.  The flight attendant today reminded me of Jack in Will & Grace. If you've ever seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. If not, just imagine a vey dramatic and flamboyant man. It'll make you laugh.

Today I was reminded of a few things about myself: one, I love wearing boots. Two, I enjoy traveling, especially on Southwest. And three, perhaps my favorite thing about traveling is the people I get up the nerve to talk to. It's always interesting. And always entertaining.

And another good thing about flying is that I have some good, uninterrupted time to read. Right now I'm reading The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns. It is really opening my eyes to serving those in poverty. Hopefully I'll be able to write some of my thoughts on it soon. But for now, I'm going back to reading.

Happy Thursday, blog friends.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dear Dad,

Today is your special day...I hope you feel loved and celebrated!  Thanks for being such a wonderful Dad.  I love that you find so much joy in the music Troy and I make.  You and Mom are our biggest fans, no doubt.  Thanks for making it possible for us to go for our dreams, even when being a Rock Star is not always practical.

{March 2010--At a show in Deep Ellum, when Troy's band came to Dallas to record}

{June 2009--American Idol Tryouts}

Thanks for my education.  I'm grateful to carry on the legacy of being a Baylor Bear.

{On Campus, May 2009}

Thanks for showing us how to love and be loved, 

for exactly who we are, and who we can be.  

Thanks for showing us that you can always grow, change and learn. 

 All it takes is a willing heart.

And thanks for showing us how to have fun and laugh...

at ourselves.  

{Easter in Mexico, 2010}

Thanks for all the opportunities and the experiences we've had to make us who we are today.  It has made all the difference.  Not everyone can say they have a Dad that would go the distance for them.  

But I can.  And I'm so thankful.

Happy Birthday, Dad.  I love you.

Love, Shay

Today's Letters

In the style of Today's Letters...

Dear Tahoe, yesterday you hit 100,000 miles.  Thanks for toting me back and forth from Waco to home so many times during college, and now from work to home for almost a year.  Someday if I get a dog, I think I'll name it Tahoe.  Because I like you that much.  Dear day-off from work, I thoroughly enjoyed you.  Please come again soon.  Dear Papa, I'm glad I caught you between all your many travels.  Lunch with you was sweet, funny and entertaining, as usual.  Dear College Football, I'm so glad you're back.  You provide such a great soundtrack for fall weather, afternoon naps, and lots of school spirit.  Dear New Running Kicks, I'm really grateful for you, because now my little toes don't hurt when I run.  Dear Roomdog, glad we got to catch up last night, slumber-party-style.  I've missed you.  Dear AMP, spending yesterday with you was a great way to enjoy beautiful weather and running in the park.  Loved every minute.  

Happy Weekend!

A Tale of Two Tickets

I got a speeding ticket last month.  I was on my lunch break, going to switch cars with my dad for the weekend.  They were taking a bunch of kids from the youth group to the lake and needed a bigger car.  (I seem to always be on a "good mission" when I'm speeding.  Why is that?)  So there I was, on I-35, caught going 75 in a 60.

I'm used to the speed limits on the Toll roads being 70, so it didn't feel to fast at all.  But this officer caught me.  I'm pretty sure I had the music up loud, and I was singing along, not really paying attention to my speed.

I have today off from work, and besides sleeping late and cleaning the apartment, I decided to do other riveting things like go pay my ticket.  Prior to heading to the courthouse, I deposited my bonus check, knowing full-well that I would use at least some portion of it to pay my ticket.  Isn't being an adult fun?

I was the only one in line, and I must admit, this was a pretty nice place.  Not exactly what I expected.  I was given the option of paying $107 and agreeing to take defensive driving, or pay $297 and not have it on my record or take defensive driving and just be done with the whole blasted thing.

Honestly, it didn't take me two seconds to calculate the cost of defensive driving was less than the $190 difference, but I did think about it, if only for a millisecond, when I remembered how I really wanted to spend my bonus check (it does not include paying for a ticket, in case you're curious).

I debated dressing nicely for this occasion, wondering if they would treat me differently if I came in wearing a t-shirt.  But since it was my day off, I decided that I didn't really care, and the ticket was going to cost the same no matter what.  I ended up choosing one of my favorite Baylor shirts, and had the nicest conversation with the lady behind the glass about a time she met our mascot, only to later discover the other bear killed it.  Sad story.

But, I must say that paying this ticket and having a nice little conversation with Barbara was much more pleasant than the time I got caught going 62 in a 40 down Valley Mills road in Beverly Hills (a tiny town at the edge of Waco) on a cold Sunday afternoon, had to visit their old, dirty and dark courthouse twice, for reasons I've apparently blocked out of my mind.

Today was much more pleasant.  So, here's a valuable lesson: if you have to get a ticket, don't get one in Beverly Hills, Texas.  Or just don't get a ticket at all.

Book Recommendation: Crossing to Safety

I'm sitting in my "rainy day clothes:" a faded pair of jeans and a Baylor t-shirt that smells freshly of laundry detergent.  I'm feeling quite cozy on this rainy Wednesday afternoon, and I thought it would be a good time to recommend a book that I just finished called Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner.  {And sorry, you can't really "look inside," but it's the only photo of the cover I could find on Amazon.}

Someone else recommended this book to me, and I'll just take a snippet from the back cover to tell you about it.  "Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage."   

I've been so busy lately that it's been difficult to find a book that would hold my attention, and I also find it difficult to read regular fiction (as opposed to Christian fiction) that is not, um...dirty.  But I had a chance to read on vacation, and I would highly recommend it.  

The part that stuck with me was the couples' friendship that lasted their entire adult lives.  It reminded me of our Baylor Summer Bunch, and how my parents and their friends have been friends through thick and thin.  

I'll leave you with a quote.  This was as the narrator, Larry, and his wife, were leaving their good friends.    

"Our hands were out the windows, our necks craned for a last look at the people who above any other two on earth made us feel good, wanted, loved, important, and happy."  (p. 215)