Irons in the Fire

Hey all. I just wanted to update you so you can be praying. I have some good prospects in front of me as far as other jobs and sources of income, as well as some long-term goals that I had put to the side but am finally picking up again.

I had a fateful run-in with an old college professor last week, and we started shooting emails back and forth and met again this week for lunch. She is so encouraging and positive, and really believes in me and my potential. She also knows lots of people in the non-profit world, and has already talked to someone about a great position for me in their organization. In addition to that, I have another non-profit that potentially wants me to do part-time work for them as well, so I may have some choices. I am committed to BLE first, and my one condition with any other employment is that I need the flexibility to still fulfill my obligations to the BLE ministry. The good thing is there are many things I can do remotely, but I don't want to flake out on BLE when I love their vision and mission, and still know God has things He wants me to do and learn here. But the reality is I need a more stable source of income right now.

The next thing I'm working on is I have finally, after years of putting it off, decided I'm going to take the steps to go back to graduate school. I am going to take the GRE on October 31! It is a four hour exam on a Saturday morning, but I am finally ready to take this giant leap forward in my life. I HATE standardized tests, and will almost certainly have a minor anxiety attack beforehand, but I have to do it. I really don't like any test that's not an essay test. No matter how much I study, I've never been a good test taker. I plan to read up with some prep books and take a few practice tests to get my mind back in school mode.

So now for the next question, what am I going to study? Glad you asked. I want to get .... a Master's in Public Administration! I have been researching it, and know it's the right fit for me. I'll study things like PR Campaigns for Non-Profits, Grant and Technical Writing, Non-Profit Management, Non-Profit Law, Foreign Relations and several history courses. It's a little more slanted for government and politics, but also works well for non-profits and advancing to a career as a Director of Development or Grants Officer. I'm excited!

I also have the opportunity to write a grant proposal for another local non-profit, which will give me a great experience and hopefully get my foot in the door to this as a freelance (and lucrative) profession.

So, I have several irons in the fire. Of course, none of these are going to happen overnight , but I am excited to see them cooking.

I Love History

I love history, especially when it's re-enacted. I'm such a visual learner, that it helps me to actually see things played out. I also love novels that are set at major historical moments, just because it's in the background of whatever the main plot is and again, it makes it more real to me.

Recently, I was on my Netflix account, and it recommended to me this HBO miniseries done about John Adams. (side note: if you don't use Netflix, you should! It's awesome!) It starred many notable actors, like Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, and others you'd recognize. It was a seven part series, beginning with the Boston Massacre and ending when Adams died at the age of 90, on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and also the same day his close friend Thomas Jefferson died.

I learned so much from this show, and it was so well done!! The biggest thing I came away with was John Adams doesn't get enough credit! He went through so, so much and was a very key player in us even fighting for our independence. He suggested Jefferson write the Declaration, and encouraged him when he didn't think he could do it. He also recommended Washington lead the army. He was the first vice president, and second president. He was an ambassador to England (which FYI it took 6 weeks, one way, to sail to Europe from America at the time), and while there the daily papers made so much fun of him and of the fledgling America, and he had to endure that for several years while he was there. He was also the one who, during the war, went to France and other countries to get money to help us pay for the resources we needed to start our country. He gave up so much to serve his country. It was amazing, and I never realized all the things he'd had a part in doing.

I think the part that most surprised me was he actually defended the British soldiers accused of murder in the Boston massacre. This of course was a wildly unpopular stand to take, but he did it, and what's more is he won! I had no idea.

I really liked Abigail Adams too, because she was such a strong woman and very smart, and they loved each other so much. I also learned things about Benjamin Franklin (I didn't know he invented the swivel chair!), George Washington and Thomas Jefferson that I didn't know.

Anyway, now I'm feeling all patriotic and also wondering what Adams would think of present-day America. It's a great miniseries, and I highly recommend it if you're into history.

Just a little more to go!

I just checked the mail, and had a surprise donation for me! I love when that happens! And it was from someone I sent a letter to, but wasn't necessarily expecting to hear anything from because we haven't spoken in quite some time. But there it was - a check from her and her husband to support me. Awesome! I love how God works. I am feeling very uplifted and encouraged right now. I also am excited because now I only need $350 more this month, which ends next Friday. It seems such a small amount, and of course I know God can do anything. So, please be praying for this money to come in. Of course, if more came in, that would be better and would give me a little wiggle room. But at least I'd have my bills covered for the month, which is what really matters right now.

If you have creative fundraising ideas, let me know that too. I am trying to think of some outside-the-box ways to raise awareness about the ministry and also let people know how they can support me in it. God is good!

Friend Raising

Wow, I wish I had more to report on, but things have been pretty normal lately. I am currently setting my mind on support raising. I still need another $500 for this month. I sat with Steve – one of the guys I work with – yesterday to share ideas on some creative things I can be doing to engage potential supporters. I think the dilemma I reach is I don’t want to be super pushy and annoying. I don’t want people to see me coming and say, “Oh no, I need to hide. Suzanne’s going to ask me for money again.”

Maybe I’m being too extreme, but it’s a much different experience asking for money from friends than from, say, a company or organization. I have to walk the line between making sure my friends know their friendship is my primary focus, and also not offend them or annoy them with appeals for support. I feel like I’ve saturated most people with my need for support, and now I’m feeling like a broken record. I don’t want to strain relationships, and I guess eventually it gets to the point where I can’t say anymore, and if they still haven’t given, there’s not much else I can do about it. It’s between them and God, and if God isn’t telling them to give, then I just need to move on.

I guess where it gets tricky is most people won’t tell me, “God isn’t leading me to give.” Rather, I just get zero response from emails and phone calls, so I just infer that God isn’t leading them in that way. I guess I just want to know, so I can mark them off the list. It’s hard for me not to have firm facts, but then I can’t always have all the information either, which is where faith comes in.

I’m looking at doing some part-time work next month. I want to be doing the same type of work I’m doing now – non-profit development – but somewhere where I’d receive some income to supplement my support raising. I am trusting God to provide for my needs, and I know it will be in some way I can’t even imagine right now.

Steve and I are meeting weekly, and he is holding me accountable to meeting with people or at least coming up with new ways of raising support each week. So if you get an email from me to meet, then know that I really want to tell you about the ministry for your prayer support and friendship more than anything. And if you pray about it and feel led to give, then it would just bless me further.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate your prayers.

Encouragement and Prayers

I'm not sure if many of you out there still read my blog, but I like to keep posting, if only for my own benefit to get my thoughts down.

I'm still working on raising my own support, and I know that God wants me in this place, doing this work. However, the funds are still a bit slow to come in. I had a really helpful chat with the guys I work with yesterday, and they are trying to find me some part-time work with another non-profit, essentially doing the same work I am doing for them, but working somewhere I would receive a paycheck. This will help me not only in gaining more experience and contacts, but also give me some extra money so I won't have to be so worried about raising support each month. I don't know if this will go anywhere, but it was nice to address the issue, and know that these guys are 100% on my side. It's just support raising can be challenging enough, and as I am just starting out, it may take a while to shore up enough funds to live off of. I know that God is working something out. Maybe He will provide enough for me each month, straight away, so I don't need to work elsewhere ... or maybe He has a reason and a place He wants to put me and is driving me in the direction of other work. Who knows? All I do know is He is controlling it, and it will be nothing like I think it will be and yet it will be incredible.

For those interested, I need about $500 more this month. So please be praying that these finances come in, in some form or other. God did a miracle last month, so I know He can and will do something again this month. I also am getting a little antsy about living at home. So please keep that need to have the money to move out in your prayers as well.

Radically Altered

The sermon at my church on Sunday was about rediscovering your freedom in Christ, even in the midst of the 'static' (distractions). I particularly liked the analogy used about experiencing the fullness of God rather than just pieces. The comparison used was to a cake. You wouldn't eat just flour, or just eggs, or just vanilla extract. You want to eat it when it's all together and baked, and makes a delicious cake. Like God, you shouldn't be only seeking Him as a Provider, or only a friend, or only a comforter. You should seek each side of Him, so you can grasp the fullness that He is.

I was thinking about these things in relation to my own life. I look back on my year overseas, and I can see that God used that time to radically change me. God used that circumstance to grow me in new ways. It was from a mixture of so many new experiences and friends, over a period of a year, that God taught me how to rely on Him solely and how to live my life as a sacrifice to Him, and glorify Him all at the same time. Before I went there, I loved God, sought Him, and would definitely not say I was just 'going through the motions.' But when I look back on that time compared to now, I feel like I was asleep. And now that I am awake, I want to keep this mindset, this desire to have the whole cake and not just pieces.

It's amazing what it does to you when God totally obliterates anything even resembling your comfort zone. That's what Hong Kong was for me. Over time, I guess I developed a new comfort zone, but it was nothing like the one I knew before. Language barriers, a culture to wholly different from my own, an enormous melting pot of so many cultures and races, strange foods, not a single friend I had any history with, or anything resembling home to cling to ... it was a hard and lengthy adjustment, but it formed my life there, radically altered me, and sometimes I miss it so much.

Holy Yoga

Last night was my second time to try Holy Yoga. It's a great experience, and I can still feel it in my muscles. The first time I did Holy Yoga, I had a few well meaning fellow Christians warn me that yoga could open me up to ungodly spirits and influences. But while that may be true in a regular yoga class, Holy Yoga is all about praising and worshipping the one true God.

As Cora, our instructor (pictured right), says:

Holy Yoga is a physical practice of aligning the body combined with breath work and mindful intention of reliance on God and was designed for and is dedicated to facilitating the worship and celebration of God through movement and meditation to all believers in Jesus Christ.

Thankfully, I've done pilates so I was a little more prepared for all the breathing and stretching, but some of those poses I just had to persevere through despite the burning in my muscles. We stretch our arms to God, feel him holding us up, and use the various poses as all acts of worship. Cora, our instructor, leads us through each exercise with Scriptures and reminders that God gives us the strength to endure. Worship music is played in the background and the room is darkened, and we really have a sense of being in God's presence through each thing we do.

At the end, we lay still on our mats for a good 15 minutes, eyes closed, music playing softly, and just have this time to be still and know that He is God. It's a time for prayer and meditation.

I'm not the best at becoming pretzel like in a yoga class, and fortunately Cora goes easy on us (I think), but I look forward to being able to go between each move without having to watch her as closely but instead be able to fully surrender my focus to God alone.

Check out Cora's Holy Yoga website to learn more: http://holyyoga.wordpress.com/