here on the eve of my departure from kentucky, i can't help but reflect on the great times i've had here with my family...and yes, the dvr. i realize how much i love and cherish my family.
really...do we not grow out of this homesickness? apparently not. because i still get homesick and incredibly sad when i have to say goodbye to my family.
some of my favorite memories:
* funny accents with my mom
* good conversations
* xbox with my brother
* thanksgiving post-meal walk with the family
* craft night with the family
* watching this christmas with the family
* laughing, a lot
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
gobble gobble
gobble. gobble. happy thanksgiving to you.
i'm incredibly thankful for so many things and so many people.
this thanksgiving was really fun.
tomorrow i head to nashville with my mom to see kenley. i'm looking forward to spending time with my mom and then also seeing sweet k.
hope you all have a great holiday.
i'm incredibly thankful for so many things and so many people.
this thanksgiving was really fun.
tomorrow i head to nashville with my mom to see kenley. i'm looking forward to spending time with my mom and then also seeing sweet k.
hope you all have a great holiday.
Monday, November 19, 2007
my new york
i wrote this after returning from a trip to nyc:
My new york.
I remember my first trip to new york. The closest I had ever gotten to new york was through watching episodes of sex and the city. I imagined being whisked around in cabs while jumping in and out just to see a broadway show or to shop at some store. I imagined walking hand in hand with my love through central park...and maybe, just maybe kissing on top of the empire state building.
But that’s not my new york. I’m in no way a new yorker at all. I’m barely considered a southern implant in the midwest. But I do have my own new york. With it’s noise, it’s pollution...the honking, the walking...the stops...the moments of awe and inspiration mixed together in tension make this city beautiful to me. I can point out the restaurant I had my first new york meal...complete with tears and a fight. I can point out the different corners when I would get a glimpse of kenley and be blown away at who God has created him to be. My new york is full of slow, meaningful walks through the city, walking, sometimes hand in hand or maybe arm in arm with my best friend and love. It’s the noise and silence that make the soundtrack to some of the most important conversations of our relationship. When I can’t hear anything other than horns honking and strangers’ phone conversations, I feel kenley’s hand grab mine and it’s there, this unspoken, intimate moment between us that no one else can share.
Kenley gracefully and beautifully carries himself through situations and averted crises...and in that same manner, he gently encourages me to follow his lead. If it’s through him carrying my luggage up broken escalators...or if it’s him telling me to suck it up...he knows when and how to challenge me.
So. When I get home from new york, I’m acutely aware of his absence. Yes, I’m definitely aware of it when I try carrying my luggage up my stairs...not just because it’s heavy and I’d prefer if someone would help me...but because he carried that luggage all morning without complaining.
My new york.
I remember my first trip to new york. The closest I had ever gotten to new york was through watching episodes of sex and the city. I imagined being whisked around in cabs while jumping in and out just to see a broadway show or to shop at some store. I imagined walking hand in hand with my love through central park...and maybe, just maybe kissing on top of the empire state building.
But that’s not my new york. I’m in no way a new yorker at all. I’m barely considered a southern implant in the midwest. But I do have my own new york. With it’s noise, it’s pollution...the honking, the walking...the stops...the moments of awe and inspiration mixed together in tension make this city beautiful to me. I can point out the restaurant I had my first new york meal...complete with tears and a fight. I can point out the different corners when I would get a glimpse of kenley and be blown away at who God has created him to be. My new york is full of slow, meaningful walks through the city, walking, sometimes hand in hand or maybe arm in arm with my best friend and love. It’s the noise and silence that make the soundtrack to some of the most important conversations of our relationship. When I can’t hear anything other than horns honking and strangers’ phone conversations, I feel kenley’s hand grab mine and it’s there, this unspoken, intimate moment between us that no one else can share.
Kenley gracefully and beautifully carries himself through situations and averted crises...and in that same manner, he gently encourages me to follow his lead. If it’s through him carrying my luggage up broken escalators...or if it’s him telling me to suck it up...he knows when and how to challenge me.
So. When I get home from new york, I’m acutely aware of his absence. Yes, I’m definitely aware of it when I try carrying my luggage up my stairs...not just because it’s heavy and I’d prefer if someone would help me...but because he carried that luggage all morning without complaining.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
on snap
it's that time again...prayer letter time! ch-ch-ch-eck it out!
Friends and family,
If you know me and my brother, you know that we are pretty different. He’s almost a foot taller than me. He is inclined to be more introverted and I more extroverted. But as we’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed our similarities. We both enjoy exercising, sports and reading. And we both love celebrating holidays. And I don’t mean the waking-up-at-six-am-on-Christmas type of celebrating. I mean, celebrating holidays and sharing memories with our family.
My favorite memories have been helping around the kitchen with Mom, breaking the wishbone with Jonathan or watching Dad make his famous German Chocolate Cake (if you’re ever in Lexington around the holidays, let me know, you need a piece!)
So in the past years Jonathan and I have attempted to protect our holidays. I have to preface this with: we have never succeeded and never should. Usually about a week or so before Thanksgiving, Mom tells us that she has invited guests over for dinner. Jonathan and I may exchange looks, we both know what this means: our best behavior and clothing. What Jonathan and I have both overlooked is what Mom’s invitation represents. With love and her hospitality, she invites friends into our home to share a meal and build community. Guests make our conversations sweeter and deeper and our table fuller.
Hospitality is interruptible, inclusive and open to distractions. We see this type of hospitality throughout the Bible (Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary, Luke 10:38-41, Jesus staying at the home of Zacchaeus the tax collector, Luke 19:1-11. – I know there are countless more). I have a lot to learn. It’s only through the hospitality and invitation of Christ and His sacrifice that I am able to enter into relationship with Him.
You all have offered me such hospitality. You have allowed me to come into your email, mailboxes and lives and you’ve welcomed me well. So, as I prepare for this upcoming holiday season, I want to be truly hospitable.
So, in honor of Thanksgiving, I’d like to invite you to share in some of the things I am the most thankful for this year.
Personally
• Home sweet home. My apartment space is coming together and I love that it feels like home.
• Friendships are priceless. Both my friendships in and out of the office have developed and deepened. Spiritually. I’m continuing to learn how to surrender my life to Christ every day.
Vocationally
• Advocacy Coordinator. I love my job, I really do. My primary roles in the office are to work on the design of The Cry and other publications from the office, support both my department through strategic planning and the international community as they serve the poor around the world.
Financially
• Monthly Supporters. My number of monthly supporters has doubled in the past year. I currently have 20 people who support me financially each month. The monthly support that I receive each month has allowed my support account to move closer to being in the positive territory.
• -$1,092.00. This is where my support account was at the end of October, right after my salary was pulled. Like I said in my last prayer letter, my support account was -$4,071.93 at this time last year. Thank you for how you have generously responded to my financial needs.
I am thankful that the amount of monthly supporters has grown a lot in the past year. I would love that number to continue growing. If you’re not currently a monthly supporter, I would love it if you would prayerfully consider it. The monthly support that I receive helps my support account and makes reading my monthly support update a lot easier. Also, any year-end gifts you could send on my behalf would allow me to move towards having healthy support account that is able to withstand my salary, taxes, travel and other deductions.
Next May Marcia and I hope to visit Sierra Leone, West Africa, to visit our staff and friends there. Although that trip is not for another five months or so, I need to raise a significant amount of money to cover my travel costs. I plan that this trip will cost close to $3,000 (airfare, housing and food costs). I would love to have my support account healthy enough to cover this cost by May.
Thank you all for how you’ve supported me in these two years I’ve been with Word Made Flesh. I’ve felt incredible cared for and supported by you all. From your letters, phone calls and emails, you’ve welcomed me into your lives.
I hope you and your family have a beautiful holiday season, enjoying the gift of hospitality that Christ offers us each day, Merry Christmas,
Love,
Jara
Friends and family,
If you know me and my brother, you know that we are pretty different. He’s almost a foot taller than me. He is inclined to be more introverted and I more extroverted. But as we’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed our similarities. We both enjoy exercising, sports and reading. And we both love celebrating holidays. And I don’t mean the waking-up-at-six-am-on-Christmas type of celebrating. I mean, celebrating holidays and sharing memories with our family.
My favorite memories have been helping around the kitchen with Mom, breaking the wishbone with Jonathan or watching Dad make his famous German Chocolate Cake (if you’re ever in Lexington around the holidays, let me know, you need a piece!)
So in the past years Jonathan and I have attempted to protect our holidays. I have to preface this with: we have never succeeded and never should. Usually about a week or so before Thanksgiving, Mom tells us that she has invited guests over for dinner. Jonathan and I may exchange looks, we both know what this means: our best behavior and clothing. What Jonathan and I have both overlooked is what Mom’s invitation represents. With love and her hospitality, she invites friends into our home to share a meal and build community. Guests make our conversations sweeter and deeper and our table fuller.
Hospitality is interruptible, inclusive and open to distractions. We see this type of hospitality throughout the Bible (Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary, Luke 10:38-41, Jesus staying at the home of Zacchaeus the tax collector, Luke 19:1-11. – I know there are countless more). I have a lot to learn. It’s only through the hospitality and invitation of Christ and His sacrifice that I am able to enter into relationship with Him.
You all have offered me such hospitality. You have allowed me to come into your email, mailboxes and lives and you’ve welcomed me well. So, as I prepare for this upcoming holiday season, I want to be truly hospitable.
So, in honor of Thanksgiving, I’d like to invite you to share in some of the things I am the most thankful for this year.
Personally
• Home sweet home. My apartment space is coming together and I love that it feels like home.
• Friendships are priceless. Both my friendships in and out of the office have developed and deepened. Spiritually. I’m continuing to learn how to surrender my life to Christ every day.
Vocationally
• Advocacy Coordinator. I love my job, I really do. My primary roles in the office are to work on the design of The Cry and other publications from the office, support both my department through strategic planning and the international community as they serve the poor around the world.
Financially
• Monthly Supporters. My number of monthly supporters has doubled in the past year. I currently have 20 people who support me financially each month. The monthly support that I receive each month has allowed my support account to move closer to being in the positive territory.
• -$1,092.00. This is where my support account was at the end of October, right after my salary was pulled. Like I said in my last prayer letter, my support account was -$4,071.93 at this time last year. Thank you for how you have generously responded to my financial needs.
I am thankful that the amount of monthly supporters has grown a lot in the past year. I would love that number to continue growing. If you’re not currently a monthly supporter, I would love it if you would prayerfully consider it. The monthly support that I receive helps my support account and makes reading my monthly support update a lot easier. Also, any year-end gifts you could send on my behalf would allow me to move towards having healthy support account that is able to withstand my salary, taxes, travel and other deductions.
Next May Marcia and I hope to visit Sierra Leone, West Africa, to visit our staff and friends there. Although that trip is not for another five months or so, I need to raise a significant amount of money to cover my travel costs. I plan that this trip will cost close to $3,000 (airfare, housing and food costs). I would love to have my support account healthy enough to cover this cost by May.
Thank you all for how you’ve supported me in these two years I’ve been with Word Made Flesh. I’ve felt incredible cared for and supported by you all. From your letters, phone calls and emails, you’ve welcomed me into your lives.
I hope you and your family have a beautiful holiday season, enjoying the gift of hospitality that Christ offers us each day, Merry Christmas,
Love,
Jara
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
food
this past weekend we hosted our monthly meeting: beggars society. it was probably one of my favorite meetings so far. the focus was on AIDs and those who are suffering from AIDs (and HIV) in and outside of our community and how we can participate in the fight to combat AIDs...and to fight for proper treatment, education and justice for our friends.
we shared a meal of porridge that is given to those suffering from AIDs, malnutrition and other diseases...this meal, about 750 calories per serving, was lukewarm, a bit sweet and tasted like grits. in somewhat awkward silence we sat and meditated on what this meal meant. three of us shared reflections that appeared in the cry. these reflections highlighted children of WMF who died from AIDs/HIV. i shared about our friend suryakala who grew up in one of our children's homes in india. she passed away last april. as i began reading chris' reflection, my voice started to shake. i was quickly swept back into the graveyard we visited while in chennai. there are these white crosses with a number of names...there's a special spot of graves reserved for children of wmf. and it struck me that is where there's a cross for surya. i remember standing in that graveyard, incredibly confused with hearing the of children who die each day (30,000). that number didn't make sense.
my responsibility didn't make sense. i couldn't see how anything i could do or couldn't do would change that number. i felt paralyzed. the grief was overwhelming. it was that same grief that caught me off-guard when finishing the memorial for surya. standing in front of a crowd, reading an article, with a shaking voice...became awkward and uncomfortable for me. i cried. and i sat down. not sure what happened.
i was a part of a collision of thoughts that i had been thinking of for awhile. since being on weight watchers my thoughts of food have changed quite a deal.
i realize that:
* we associate celebrations with food
* we waste an incredible amount of food
* we eat an enormous amount of food
* we truly live to eat rather eat to live
* we don't see the connection between honoring our body with what we put in it
* we don't feed our body what it truly needs
i've observed these things in my life and in the lives of those around me. in my small group at beggars society i talked about celebrations with food. our office had just come off of celebrating two birthdays with baked goods and other food. i don't think that celebrating with food is inherently wrong. i see how fellowship around the table is important...i saw that when eating at prabha's house in chennai. this huge, beautiful family offered us hospitality through their hours of preparing food and giving us food. what's central to that celebration is community. when we give our food to the other...rich, poor, black, white, we offer them a seat at the table and we share life...and break bread...and celebrate life.
in the united states we have the option to even talk about cutting back on how much we eat...and what we eat...there aren't many other countries that can do that. so we go into this conversation lightly and humbly...realizing that we can talk about watching what we eat and how much...when millions of people right now are starving and dying of starvation.
so, right now we're in the middle of conversations about conserving energy and being green because we want to honor the earth's resources and be good stewards of the environment...leave lighter ecological footprints. you get my point...i am def. a believer of being environmentally responsible. in that same breath, i think we have to really discern how we're doing that on an individual basis when it comes to food.
questions i am pondering:
* how much gas does it cost to bring the food in that i'm purchasing
* how much gas would i save if i didn't get fast food...or drive to the grocery store
* how much money would i save if i purchased food from local farmers
* how much money would i save on medical bills if i ate healthier
* what is a good food choice
* what about community potlucks?
those are really basic questions. not even good ones. it goes beyond money though...i think there's an ownership of responsibility...that what i do now...what i eat affects others....
what am i trying to do:
* limit the amount of times i eat out
* cook in more often
* invite friends over for more shared meals
* be a good steward of the food in my apartment - not being wasteful
* budget my money spent on food
* instead of ziplocs bags - use reusable ziplock containers
* limit my trips to the grocery store
check this website out...it helps you figure out how much you can save on groceries if you were to lose weight, eat healthier, etc.
what are your questions? what do you think you'll do differently next year?
we shared a meal of porridge that is given to those suffering from AIDs, malnutrition and other diseases...this meal, about 750 calories per serving, was lukewarm, a bit sweet and tasted like grits. in somewhat awkward silence we sat and meditated on what this meal meant. three of us shared reflections that appeared in the cry. these reflections highlighted children of WMF who died from AIDs/HIV. i shared about our friend suryakala who grew up in one of our children's homes in india. she passed away last april. as i began reading chris' reflection, my voice started to shake. i was quickly swept back into the graveyard we visited while in chennai. there are these white crosses with a number of names...there's a special spot of graves reserved for children of wmf. and it struck me that is where there's a cross for surya. i remember standing in that graveyard, incredibly confused with hearing the of children who die each day (30,000). that number didn't make sense.
my responsibility didn't make sense. i couldn't see how anything i could do or couldn't do would change that number. i felt paralyzed. the grief was overwhelming. it was that same grief that caught me off-guard when finishing the memorial for surya. standing in front of a crowd, reading an article, with a shaking voice...became awkward and uncomfortable for me. i cried. and i sat down. not sure what happened.
i was a part of a collision of thoughts that i had been thinking of for awhile. since being on weight watchers my thoughts of food have changed quite a deal.
i realize that:
* we associate celebrations with food
* we waste an incredible amount of food
* we eat an enormous amount of food
* we truly live to eat rather eat to live
* we don't see the connection between honoring our body with what we put in it
* we don't feed our body what it truly needs
i've observed these things in my life and in the lives of those around me. in my small group at beggars society i talked about celebrations with food. our office had just come off of celebrating two birthdays with baked goods and other food. i don't think that celebrating with food is inherently wrong. i see how fellowship around the table is important...i saw that when eating at prabha's house in chennai. this huge, beautiful family offered us hospitality through their hours of preparing food and giving us food. what's central to that celebration is community. when we give our food to the other...rich, poor, black, white, we offer them a seat at the table and we share life...and break bread...and celebrate life.
in the united states we have the option to even talk about cutting back on how much we eat...and what we eat...there aren't many other countries that can do that. so we go into this conversation lightly and humbly...realizing that we can talk about watching what we eat and how much...when millions of people right now are starving and dying of starvation.
so, right now we're in the middle of conversations about conserving energy and being green because we want to honor the earth's resources and be good stewards of the environment...leave lighter ecological footprints. you get my point...i am def. a believer of being environmentally responsible. in that same breath, i think we have to really discern how we're doing that on an individual basis when it comes to food.
questions i am pondering:
* how much gas does it cost to bring the food in that i'm purchasing
* how much gas would i save if i didn't get fast food...or drive to the grocery store
* how much money would i save if i purchased food from local farmers
* how much money would i save on medical bills if i ate healthier
* what is a good food choice
* what about community potlucks?
those are really basic questions. not even good ones. it goes beyond money though...i think there's an ownership of responsibility...that what i do now...what i eat affects others....
what am i trying to do:
* limit the amount of times i eat out
* cook in more often
* invite friends over for more shared meals
* be a good steward of the food in my apartment - not being wasteful
* budget my money spent on food
* instead of ziplocs bags - use reusable ziplock containers
* limit my trips to the grocery store
check this website out...it helps you figure out how much you can save on groceries if you were to lose weight, eat healthier, etc.
what are your questions? what do you think you'll do differently next year?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
coming up for air
yep. i was that kid who would love to try and see how long i could hold my breath under water. there is always that point of feeling like you're just about to suffocate. your arms flail...you push off of the bottom of the pool and you come up for air. beautiful, lovely and satisfying air.
i'm not at that point of feeling like i 'm suffocating. i've made a point to go to the gym each morning...and i've tried to make a point to create some quiet space in the morning at home when i get back. sometimes saved by the bell is just too tempting.
the board meeting starts this weekend. it is sometimes a test to see who has to come up for air...flailing their arms...or who comes up beside you to help you catch your breath. that's my prayer for this weekend. it's inevitable...something will happen...and our arms will go up in the air...our blood pressure will join it...and so will our hair...and possibly the volume of our voices. but hopefully someone will link arms with us and tell us...it's alright, just come up for some air. this will be over before you know it...and besides, we get an extra hour of sleep on sunday.
:)
i'm not at that point of feeling like i 'm suffocating. i've made a point to go to the gym each morning...and i've tried to make a point to create some quiet space in the morning at home when i get back. sometimes saved by the bell is just too tempting.
the board meeting starts this weekend. it is sometimes a test to see who has to come up for air...flailing their arms...or who comes up beside you to help you catch your breath. that's my prayer for this weekend. it's inevitable...something will happen...and our arms will go up in the air...our blood pressure will join it...and so will our hair...and possibly the volume of our voices. but hopefully someone will link arms with us and tell us...it's alright, just come up for some air. this will be over before you know it...and besides, we get an extra hour of sleep on sunday.
:)
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