| Tomorrow... |
[May. 21st, 2009|12:28 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
|
|
|
| Got my edumacation |
[May. 9th, 2009|11:27 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  relieved | ] |
I graduated today. Strange. Five years and thousands of dollars later, here I am with my diploma. Most expensive paper I've ever bought. I really don't feel that much smarter. Oh well. I got to shake Bo Jackson's hand, so that was cool.
I leave for World Race training in 13 days. I'll get to meet the people I will be spending the next year with. It's getting close, and I'm really nervous. My biggest concern isn't getting eaten by lions...or getting abducted...or not having showers. I'm worried that I'll have annoying people on my team. Is that shallow? I'm just worried about fitting in. From what I can tell, I'm not as charismatic (from a spiritual standpoint) as a lot of them. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be ultra charismatic, or it's bad not to be. I'll just have to adjust.
As far as fundraising goes, I'm about 60% there. I've been so blessed by the generosity of people, but it's gotten to the plateau stage. I had about a 20% success rate from my support letters (20 out of 100 replied), which I've been told is a fairly good return rate for a mailout. I was invited to come speak to a youth group in Fort Payne last weekend. My church let me be part of a big fundraiser a couple weeks ago, so that brought in a nice amount. However, there is still a long way to go. I have the required amount to leave in August, but if I don't raise the remaining balance, I have to come home. That would be no good. For those of you who ordered shirts, they will be ready Tuesday. Sorry for the delay.
Feel free to use your Jesus connections and say a prayer or two for this whole process. I still don't think the magnitude of this has really sunk in yet. I'm sure I'll be entering freak out mode soon. Probably near the end of camp. But I guess there's no better place to enter freak out mode. I'm ready to be there. Now.
Alrighty, I'm out. Peace. |
|
|
| Watch out |
[Mar. 14th, 2009|12:07 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
I'm reading The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. I've been told this makes me a hippy. I'm cool with that. It's bold...he's not afraid to throw things out there. I really shouldn't be reading it right now, especially with all my dreams of world/church revolution and such. It's dangerous.
I finally have my World Race blog up and running.
Here ya go.
You can subscribe to get e-mails when I add a new post, browse pics from the field, meet my fellow team members, make sure I haven't been eaten my lions, etc. I also have a facebook group to keep everyone updated. (Travel the world with Halley!)
So, spring break is officially underway. I'm leaving for Destin in a few hours. I'll basically be making sure the 25 teenagers we're taking don't get in to trouble. Hopefully that won't be a hard task. After a couple days of soaking up the sun...actually, rain...it'll be back to Auburn to work. I'll end the week with a little hiking in Tennessee. This will be my last official spring break, so I better enjoy it. |
|
|
| I've lost my mind. |
[Feb. 25th, 2009|10:18 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | hopeful | ] |
Ireland.
Romania.
Jordan.
Israel.
Egypt.
Kenya.
Uganda.
Pioneer Africa.
Vietnam.
Cambodia.
Thailand.
August 1, 2009 - July 1, 2010. This is going to be my life. One month in each country.
I've been accepted to do the World Race. This is bigger than anything I ever dreamed of doing. It still hasn't hit me that I'm actually going through with it. This is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done. But my life will never be the same. I'm terrified, but I've found a joy and peace since making this decision that I haven't felt in a very long time. More details/ramblings/freak outs to come.
Preview- WR 2007-08 from Sean Smith on Vimeo. |
|
|
| Halley's Good Day |
[Jan. 27th, 2009|05:29 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  content | ] |
I had lunch with my dad yesterday. It had been almost 5 years since I'd seen him. It was awkward at first. He was really nervous. And he teared up when he saw me. It was like we were meeting again for the first time. And I'm glad.
Over the past few years I haven't wanted to see him, and I didn't think he wanted to see me. I didn't need him. I wanted to be able to hate him. It would have made things so much easier. I did a pretty good job at it for a while. He's done/said things that were more hurtful and degrading than I could even start to express. More than that, he hasn't done things that were under his responsibilities as a father. But I can honestly say that none of it matters anymore.
I've never had compassion towards him. I've had people tell me that he was "sick". I said there was no excuse. I've had people tell me that he loved me. I called them liars. Everyone defended him except for me. One day I was blind-sided with some revelations. Who am I to refuse to forgive someone? Who am I to think anyone doesn't deserve my love? So I started praying. I wanted to be able to say that I loved him. Not because of what he's done, but because of who he is. I prayed for compassion. I prayed that I could see him through the eyes of Christ. Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to reach that place. Then I had the chance to defend him. And I did. It was a complete reversal of every previous conversation I've had about him. I didn't realize what I'd done until I the conversation was over and I calmed down. It was one of the most amazing feelings I've ever had. I viewed him in a completely different way. A way I thought I'd never be able to. I can't explain it. Pure God thing.
So Sunday afternoon I called and asked if he wanted to have lunch Monday. We made small talk. Like I said before, it was very awkward. We went to a place in West Point called the Tea Room. It was nice. After lunch, I went back to his house (well, his mom's house), and sat for a little bit. My grandmom even came in and talked. It had been even longer since I've seen her. We talked about funny stories from years past. We laughed. It was good. I told him I loved him, and I meant it. He told me he loved me, and I believed it.
It was a good day. |
|
|
| I'm old. |
[Jan. 15th, 2009|08:11 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  busy | ] |
I started my internship this week with Youth for Christ.
Day 1: Begin with 2 hour seminar on dealing with homosexuality in ministry...in a baptist church. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Next was a network lunch meeting with the local youth directors. Pretty cool.
Day 2: Went to Auburn Jr. High to say hey to kids at lunch and reminded them about campus life...then had campus life that night at Buffalo Connection.
Day 3: Reported to AJHS at 7:00 am...yes, 7 AM for FCA meeting. If you know me, you realize the difficulty in this situation.
Day 4: Stuffed and sealed 300 envelopes
Tomorrow I have to be at AHS at 7, too.
So far it's been great. I really like the people I'm working with. I can already tell it's going to be tough juggling this 30 hour per week internship with 2 more jobs (3 if you count babysitting), and my Wesley responsibilities. This week was exhausting, but I think I'll get the hang of it.
I also have a new source of support. Her name is Chloe Grace Dakota Power.
I literally opened my door about 2 weeks ago to go outside and in she ran. I put up flyers but never heard anything. She even stayed outside for 4 days while I was at camp. She was still waiting for me when I got back. She's beautiful. A little bipolar, but still adorable. She's a good friend.
Sooooo, I'm going back to camp tomorrow for Behold. Should be good times. I need to pack. Peace. |
|
|
| Gobble |
[Dec. 9th, 2008|12:42 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | anxious | ] |
I finally baked a cake. I've been talking about doing it for a couple years, but I never embarked on the task because 1)I've never cooked and assumed I would burn down my house, and 2)Baking a cake requires buying things to bake/decorate the cake. This Thanksgiving, I just decided to go for it. It was a lot of fun, and I've decided that it's my new hobby.
Cutting that cake was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I've been watching Ace of Cakes on food network, so I'm pumped about this cake thing.
In other news.
Today was the last official day of class. It hasn't yet sunk in that I'll never sit in a classroom again at Auburn. Now if I can just get through finals...
Tomorrow is dead day, and I don't have to work. I have a meeting at 2, so I'll probably roll out of bed around 1. That sounds fabulous. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up until 5 this morning...
Goodnight, and peace out. |
|
|
| Sup. |
[Nov. 25th, 2008|11:12 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  bored | ] |
I started a new job today at Alabama Outdoors. Not many people know there's an AO store in Auburn. So spread the word because today was pretty boring. I sold one jacket. Then played Tetris. Hopefully this working two jobs thing won't be too bad. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do next semester when a 30 hour per week internship is thrown into the mix...
Speaking of mix, I'm baking a cake for Thanksgiving. I'm going all out. I started on it yesterday and won't finish until Thursday morning. It's the first cake I've ever made. Actually, it's the first time I've actually cooked anything. No fires so far. I'll post pics when I'm done.
I've been babysitting a lot this year, and Sunday night I had the privilage of watching Elmo's World with my adorable little cousin. These shows are a lot different than I remember when I was a munchkin. Stirling and I learned that lettuce can not be a pet. Neither can a chair. Oh, to be a kid again.
Time for more Tetris. Peace. |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
halley_p's journal
amused