travel day | on the ground of Jesus

Today is a travel day. I like those. I get antsy when there is too much time between them. And I’m antsy now, which is funny because it hasn’t been that long. Two months ago, I was in Texas. Only 2 months.

Ugh, but 2 months is a long time! In normal life, it’s not necessarily. But in unsettled life, it is.

So, little unsettled me is ready for a change of scenery for a week.

And little unsettled me is going to be asking God particularly a lot while enjoying this change of scenery, “When and how should I move towards a settling point?”

I want to walk in His timing. I know I am very capable of trying to rush and very capable of trying to delay. And while in moments I have desires to do both of those things, I don’t ACTUALLY want to do either of them. So, I’m praying that I’ll see through His eyes, and walk in His ways and moments with a steady trust in His ability to get me where I need to be and when.

I read this seriously great devotional yesterday. It said:

We have to leave our own ground in every way.

…

Do you answer back, "I am so weak!" The Lord is not going to meet you on that ground; He will meet you on the ground of His Son. That is what the Holy Spirit means by such words as He speaks through Paul: “…be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1). God hears us exclaim, "But I am so weak, Lord!" but He does not pay any heed to what we mean to indicate by that confession, which is: "Come down on to the ground of my weakness and pick me up!" He says, "You forsake that ground, and come on to the ground of My Son, and you will find strength there." "I am so foolish, Lord!" The Lord says: "You will remain foolish until you get on to the ground of My Son, Who is made unto you wisdom."

…

We take our own ground before the Lord and are surprised that the Lord does not lift us right out of our own ground and put us into a better position, but He never does. We shall stay there forever, if that is our attitude. The Lord’s word to us is: "Forsake your own ground and come on to My ground. I have provided a Heavenly Man Who is full of all that you need; now come on to that ground." It does not matter what you are, or what you are not. There everything is adjusted and made good.

- By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Stewardship of the Mystery, Volume 1 – Chapter 12

And that, my friends, is the way I want to walk – on the ground of Jesus, with Him as my strength.

And now, it’s time to finish getting ready to fly…

Texas here I come!!!! (I still think it’s funny that I get excited about going to that state.)

{Random Picture Post} | always make me smile and miss…

There are some pictures that will ALWAYS make me smile and miss… 

… laughing with these ladies:

… hilariously pitiful adventures with “Mr. Wu” (who is not in this picture, and yet he IS):

… dinner parties with the office crew:

… falling asleep on trains (I’m REALLY good at that):

… being dramatic at KTV:

workout video

In case you’re out of the loop… I recently returned from a year teaching in Asia.

In the Spring, we had a break for – oh – about 7 weeks. All of us foreign teachers did some traveling, but Brittany and I decided to go home before anyone else. Our town was never very exciting, but during the Spring Festival it’s literally SHUT down! BOR-ING!!!! So, we came up with a lot of ridiculous ideas during that time. (I’m really good at that…)

One of them was to make a “workout video” showing how we get in a good workout while living in Asia (except it would be hilariously ridiculous/totally not real). Eventually, we got other people on board with our ridiculous idea and one Saturday we got up really early and spent the day going around town making absolute fools of ourselves.

We had grand ideas about editing it and putting it to music, but then things like our JOBS got in the way and it never came to be. I’m still hoping it happens one day. But, in the meantime – I decided it’s time that the public sees a few of our clips. Today, I will share 2. More may show up later.

{I’m not sure if this will be as funny to everyone else as it is to us… But I’m literally laughing until I cry as I watch these… }

Every afternoon and evening, people gather in all the squares to dance. It’s delightful. We tried, but we weren’t good at it… So… Well, just watch:

our Asia workout: jammin’

There might be several clips in which I fall. Some of them were on purpose. Some were not. It happens. And somehow, I’m still alive! My brother, Josh, recently explained to me why you never want to be “that guy” no matter what “that guy” is… You just don’t want to be him. Well, I think I was “that girl” at this moment. You know. The ABSOLUTELY OBNOXIOUS foreigner? I promise, I didn’t draw this much attention to myself on a regular basis… I mean, people stared no matter what. But, I didn’t make a habit of making scenes like this. And I kinda don’t like that I was “that girl” for a bit, but… oh my goodness… this is hilarious! (Despite the negatives of being “that girl!”) So with that disclaimer attached…

our Asia workout: when I was “that girl”

I might be SLIGHTLY embarrassed that I’m showing these… but only slightly. It’s too funny (to me) not to share. ;)

Happy International Sunday to me

I had a super day today. It was filled with all sorts of international-ness.

First, I was highly amused by this greatness:

I’m sure I’ve seen this place many times before and never thought a thing about it. But NOW, I find it hilarious. (A Spanish speaking Chinese restaurant?)

Next, I went with Anissa and her 11 year old nieces to the International Houses in Balboa Park, which apparently I went to as a small child but have no memory of. Anissa was mortified that I didn’t know what they were. We have now fixed that and I’ll likely go back again.

There are houses to represent different countries from all over the world. You walk through them and learn about the cultures, try foods, see traditional clothes, and maybe even talk to a person who is from there. Outside there are concerts, and all kinds of cultural things going on. As you walk through the grass you see people of every skin color you can imagine.

Perfect Sunday…
for a girl who still can’t get over how many white people she sees everyday!

We gave the girls a LOT of geography lessons! We ate Czech/Slovak potato pancakes! Mmm! The girls were given Chinese names and had them written on papers to keep. (The China house was their favorite!) We all had our names written in Hebrew and talked to an adorable old Jewish man from New York for quite a while. We learned about the wars between Turkey and Poland from a man with an AWESOME polish accent. The girls decided that all the traditional dolls were creepy and they would NOT want them in their room. We learned that in Norway they put sour cream on waffles, with jam or fruit. And we tried it. And it’s GOOD.

     

Next, Anissa, Dana, and I went to Happy Hour Sushi Sunday! Mmmmmm.

Then! One of my good friends in Asia chatted with me and asked if we could talk, so we did on skype on my phone. So. Great! I went back to my – “I must speak in complete and clear sentences. I can not use any contractions.” I taught him what “My foot is asleep!” means and what cinnamon is. He told me that he REALLY misses my french toast and syrup! We talked about our lives. And, he asked if I could send him some new pictures of me and my family and the things I’ve been doing. I did. He emailed me back and said that he had a picture of the two of us.

So. Cute. :)

Happy International Sunday to me.

What are you doing NOW? | job search

Apparently, when you move back from another country people ask you the same questions over and over… which makes sense, I guess.

If the other country was in Asia… Boys will ask about how to say something like “I will karate chop your head!” in the language. My answer: “Wo ____ _____ nide tou.” (I have no idea how to say “will karate chop.”) Girls usually ask about food and/or the bathroom situation. My answer: “The food is awesome. They like spicy stuff in my area. The bathroom situation varies. In public, it’s all squatty potties. I’m kind of a fan of them though. I don’t know why people are so afraid.”

Then, usually, people want to know… “WHAT’S NEXT? What are you doing NOW?”

In case you haven’t had a chance to have that conversation with me yet… I’ll just go ahead and write out the conversation. I’ve got the whole thing memorized. And since I’m sometimes overwhelmed by (or just tired of) the topic… This will help us all.

YOU: So, Shanda… What are you doing with your time these days?

ME: [Thinking to myself: I hate this question! It stresses me out. But I know they care… and they’re curious… and if I was them, I would be asking too.] Well, I’m looking for a job…

YOU: Oh. Yeah. How’s that going? Have you heard anything yet?

ME: Yes. I just heard back from one job earlier this week that I was VERY interested in. They let me know that my “impressive credentials were given most serious consideration” and that they have decided to “eliminate [me] from further consideration.” So, that’s awesome. And 7 Starbucks managers have offered to hire me, without me even asking. So far, that’s all. But seriously, I kind of really wanted that job… the one that turned me down… so it really is good to know that it’s not going to happen. Otherwise, if something else came up I would be unsure of whether or not to take it.

YOU: So, where are you looking now?

ME: Well, everywhere? So far, I’ve applied at various non-profits… but I’m not TECHNICALLY very qualified for a lot of the things I’d like to do. So, either someone has to take a risk on me and let me learn as I go… or I’m going to have to get a “just a job” and volunteer doing other things. I’m okay with that. I’m just not sure when to cross over in my job search to that. Ya know? How long do I wait?

YOU: Yeah. That’s hard. You’ll just know, I think.

ME: Yeah. I guess. [Thinking to myself: What does that even mean? “YOU’LL JUST KNOW!” … ??? … I think people have too much faith in me sometimes.]

YOU: So, that’s what your days look like? Job searching. Are you looking online or what?

ME: Yes. Except, I feel like a lot of the time I mostly just stare at the computer screen… A.D.D. really kicks in when I’m sitting at home without structure to my life. I try to get out of the house and work on it from other places but I’m having car issues so sometimes that doesn’t work out… and then I go crazy… It’s all really very fun.

YOU: So wait, what do you actually WANT to do?

ME: Well, there are a lot of ways it could play out but I really just want to work with women and children who have faced (or are facing) various forms of oppression/neglect/abuse/hopelessness… and I want to… love them! And practically provide tools for them to find healing and hope and justice and … to know that they are valued. That could be a job. Or it could just be who I am and what I do when I’m not at my job.

YOU: That’s neat. I definitely can see you doing something like that… It’s who you are.

ME: Yeah. Well, it’s who I want to be at least…

…

It’s an adventure. And I’ll be glad when the NEXT part of the adventure comes… (The part where I get a job and find MY OWN place to live…)

In the meantime, the following picture (brought to you by Jenny Cummings and Amarillo, TX) perfectly describes my current condition: