Caring as Jesus did

Sunday night I gave my first talk at our weekly meeting. I wasn't really nervous, but I was a little intimidated. Never having talked there before I didn't know what to expect as feedback. It was part of project of sorts we're doing with our students called "prayer, care, share." They were challenged to pick three friends and then pray for them, care for them and eventually share with them. It has been exciting to see them respond to it so far. So, this week we were starting "care" and I was speaking on the topic.
I choose to focus on loving others and in turn caring for them. I hit on the Great Commandment to love the Lord your God and to love others as yourselves pointing out that if we don't love God and are an outpouring of His love in return it is hard to love others. Then I proceeded to use examples from the Perfect Example, Jesus. I used the famous passage of feeding the 5,000.
Matthew 14:13-21
I just want to share a few major points that God showed me from this passage.
1) First off, in verse 14 the very first Jesus does for the people is heal them. He had compassion on them (aka love for them) and healed them. Caring for people is fulfilling a need in their lives, Jesus saw their need for physical restoration and he filled it. He loved them because he put their need for physical healing above his need for rest. He didn't even have time to sit down...He got out of the boat and started caring for the people gathered there. Wow...
2) In verse 15 the disciples tell Jesus to send the people away so they can get food. They recognized that these people were getting hungry and had a need to eat. However, they assumed that the people needed to fulfill that need themselves. Instead, in the next verse Jesus tells them to feed them! He says, "they don't need to go away. You give them something to eat." Whoa, how many times have I tried to send others away to tend to their own needs? Jesus knows they are hungry, and He knows they are capable of going off and finding food themselves (they have afterall, been eating their whole lives, right?), however, He instead wants His disciples to care for and feed these people. To fulfill their needs. To demonstrate God's love for them by fulfilling a simple need for food.
3) Jesus provided the food but the disciples passed it out. Verse 19, Jesus blessed the food (it multiplied) and He gave it to His disciples for them to give to others. So, Jesus wants us to care for others, but He doesn't leave us high and dry. He provides for us a way to care for others, the means of caring for them. That is a true picture of us being vessels for Him! The people ate and were satisfied.
4) Never once does it talk about Jesus preaching to the people. Verse 22 says "immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat..." Jesus cared for these people but didn't preach. I'm not a Biblical scholar, but I felt God is showing us through this passage that actions speak just as loud as words. What we do effects how people will respond to God and see us as messengers of Him. It's just as important to care for people and show them God's love as it is to tell them of God's love.
As I was sharing this during my talk, I actually didn't prepare for 2 & 3...God brought those to my attention while I was talking. Talk about a revelation from God! As my eyes were opened, I was impacted my what God was using me to tell others. The picture of Christ asking us to care for those in need was so beautiful to me. Just thinking of how many times I've turned people away convicted me. Sometimes the simplest passage, even a popular passage we've heard hundreds of times, can impact you more in one moment than it you ever imagined.
Who have you cared for today?

Surrender

Do you ever think you really give something to God and then come to find out that it never left your hand? The past two weeks have been just like that. A back and forth rollercoaster of emotions and surrender. I keep asking myself the timeless question, "how do I really surrender?" At what point do you really let go and give it to God? Is it in one full swoop, you hand it over and all of sudden it's out of your grasp and in the hands of the Father, or is it a process? A slow turn over of giving the whole situation.
I'm beginning to see that it's daily. Daily surrendering all that I have and need to give to God. There are many things I need to daily surrender to Him. But with every day it gets a little easier, a little less painful. However, just as easily I can take it back and then it starts all over. Hmmm, I have so many thoughts running through my mind right now.
Ok, first off, surrendering to God is a desire. You have to want to give it to Him to really give it to Him. Otherwise, the whole time you're thinking about that thing you "gave to God" and wanting it back (when really you probably never gave it to Him in the first place). Think about a little kid with a toy. Let's say the toy is not a safe toy and his dad asks him to give him the toy. The kid really likes the toy, but he gives it reluctantly to the dad. Even though he gave it to his dad, he's constantly thinking about the toy, trying to figure out how he can get it back from his dad. He's thinking of all the fun he had with the toy and how unfair his father is being in asking for the toy. However, if he understands why the toy is not safe for him and why his father wants him to give it to him then the situation changes a little. Instead, the kid gives it to his dad, is sad for awhile but then continues on playing. His thoughts are no longer consumed by this toy and he has no bitter feelings towards his dad. Then there's the kid that realizes the toy is not safe on his own and he wants to give it away to his dad. This kid then never thinks twice. He's not bitter or even sad, but excited and happy that finally his dad has this toy that he could not use safely. And he understands that one day when he grows up and can maybe better handle the toy, his dad will give it back to him (in his timing, of course). Then, the kid will be able to use the toy and enjoy all it has to offer.
I find myself being the first kid all too often. I surrender things to God, but really I don't give them up fully, instead I hold onto them and think about them constantly. Such has been my life as of late. However, now that I've come to this shocking realization maybe I can ask God to teach me to desire to surrender. To open my eyes so I can see how much better things are in His hands. That His hands keep those "unsafe toys" from harming me until the time is right. And then, when His timing is perfect (which could be never), maybe I'll receive back what I gave to Him and find more joy in it than I could ever have hoped for.
Lord, give me the desire to surrender to You all that is Yours...

Happy!

Cute coffee shops make me happy! Kelley and I discovered a very fun, incredible cute coffee shop that serves good coffee and amazing fruit smoothies! I'm excited to go there tomorrow and have an extended QT. I miss American coffee shops, but this one definitely reminds me of a place where all my friends would go and study together (which never really ends up happening, I mean, c'mon...studying together...you never really study...well at least I didn't). So yeah, today we sat there for about a half hour and talked and I drank my berry smoothie, contemplated a mural on the wall of two nuns and dreamed of being in America. I was happy. Very, very happy. In fact, it totally made my day. Ahhh...

Picture time

I wanted to share some pictures with you all involved in my "blogger's paradise." I think allowing you to view the fun I have will help you feel more connected to me...however creepy that may sound I more or less have nothing else to blog about and this seemed like the best alternative.

We had some friends from WSU visit recently. This is me and the infamous Malisa Canto doing some sight seeing and such. It was a blast to have them here with us for a very short week.

Ok, these kids are super cute! Kelley and I witnessed their dance routine early one morning while out prayer walking on campus. They had routines to songs with dance moves and everything! So cute! The girl in the white jacket was our favorite.

This is me with my friend's rabbit, Hawaii. They've actually been through quite a few rabbits naming each one after a state. They started with "A" and have made their way to "H"...hmmm. And yes, that is a David Beckham bobble-head on their TV.

Ah, Kelley and I doing some sight seeing of our own. Which we never really get to do much of living here (weird). I love this picture. It's fast becoming one of my favorites!

The Kissing Disease

Mono. Our unexpected visitor. My roomie, Michelle, got mono and now Kelley and I are just waiting to see where it springs up next. Apparently, she has the "Asian" strain (didn't know there was a difference) and it's highly contagious through the air. Crazy. I could get mono, also known as the kissing disease, and not even have to kiss anyone to get it! I'm not sure how I feel about that. She's had it for about two weeks now and she'll sleep 14 hours a night on average. Crazy kid! Also, with the WSU peeps visiting this past week she's completely worn out. So now, everyone in "the fam" here is pretty much sick except for me. There's been a head cold going around, some sort of flu thing and now mono. I think I'm the only one who hasn't gotten sick yet. I'm hoping I get a choice as to what I catch. I'll take a head cold, please. If anything, it will be amazing if I don't get mono as I share everything with Michelle (drinks, food, etc) and snuggle with her quite frequently. The doctor told her that whoever is going to get it already has it. How comforting, I could be a carrier and not even know it for another 4 to 6 weeks when symptoms arise. Would anybody like a kiss?

WSU Visitors

I said goodbye to some friends today. It was sad to see them go, but I know it won't be long until I see them back at WSU again. For the past week I have been hanging out with my fellow Cougs and showing them around my hometown. It was fun and refreshing (as I thrive on relationships), and I got to catch up with some amazing people I haven't seen all year. I realized how much I miss WSU and all the people there. How much I thrive in that community of believers. I'm beginning to see just how extroverted I really am. Without relationships my life would fall apart. Ha, I'm dependent on conversations and silliness from those around me. So, having them here was amazing, and although I'm exhausted it was all worth it. Thank you Cougs, for coming, visiting and encouraging those of us over here. I hope you were able to get a glimpse of God's goodness and catch a heart for the world.

Draw near

I haven't blogged in awhile and I guess it's because I don't really know what to blog about. I haven't had any insights into life, nothing dramatic happen. It's just been...life. Hmmm, life as I know it. Today I'm fasting. Right now I'm really hungry. This is the first time it's hit me all day, strange I thought I'd be hungrier this afternoon. Anyways, I was prayer walking on campus today and God opened my eyes a little more to Himself. As I looked around and watched all the students I realized how vast the population is and how small I am. How can I reach all these people? What am I really doing here? Can I really accomplish what God has for me? A lot of those thoughts have to do with the fact that I came back from break and none of my six promising students can meet with me any longer (2 no longer want to and 4 of them have "time constraints"). Thinking over that is rather dreadful. So, as I pondered that and looked out over campus I realized how much of it is all about God. Ok, how all of it is about Him. How so much of this year is all about Him working in me and somehow reaching the nations. I'm reminded of a quote from my dear friend Steven from earlier this year. I don't remember it exactly, but it went something like this, "Coming into this year I thought it was going to be about 80% of God using me to reach this campus and 20% of God working in me. But now I've realized that it's about 100% of God working in me and somehow through that, He's going to reach the campus."How true that is. It's all about drawing near to God. How He pulls us into His presence and then uses us when we least expect it. That's why it's an outpouring of His love for us. How can it be an outpouring if we're not being poured into? I guess I've been changing my priorities a lot lately. Making it more about Him and less about me doing things for Him. More about His love and less about how I can love others. I can do all things through Christ who strenthens me. Hmmm, so that means I need Christ's strength, which comes from Him (not myself). Yeah, that's it. It's all about Jesus. How often we get it wrong, how often we forego a relationship with God and get caught up in the performance. He made us for His enjoyment. He enjoys our presence. As a team we're reading "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer, in it he states that God is waiting for us, and waiting and waiting. Incredible that God is waiting for us to draw near to Him, to pursue Him. To reach out and grab onto His hand and just be in His presence. This is all random, and I guess I do have something to blog about. God is incredible and I'll never understand His ways, but maybe that's the beauty of it.

I couldn't resist...

Ok, read my post below and this will make more sense. I quite often feel that I have the most common name in America. So I googled my name (below), but then I went on to google the most common name. I found NameStatistics.com. It's cool. You should do it. Anyways, I first tried Jessica. Here are the results:

• Jessica is a very rare male name.
  Very few men in the US are named Jessica.
  Be proud of your unique name!

Whew, I was worried there for a minute...

• Jessica is the #26 most common female name.
  0.49% of females in the US are named Jessica.
  Around 624750 US females are named Jessica!

Oh my goodness!! 624,750!! Wow, that's a lot of Jessicas! But still only .5%, interesting. For some reason I thought it would be more than that. It was afterall, the most common name for girls in the 80's.

• Jessica is the #83290 most common last name.
  0.0005% of last names in the US are Jessica.
  Around 1250 US last names are Jessica!

Huh? What amazes me is that people actually have the last name Jessica...Who are these people? Haha, I find this very amusing. There are around 1250 last names Jessica? I never saw that coming.
Ok, now for the last name. Anderson. We'll see how this goes...

• Anderson is the #11 most common last name.
  0.311% of last names in the US are Anderson.
  Around 777500 US last names are Anderson!

#11 most common...Impressive. Higher than I thought it would be. I guess my name isn't as common as I thought. #49 for first name and #11 for last name doesn't seem like it would be the most common. In fact, according to lifesmith.com Mary Smith is the most common girl's name. Weird, I actually know a Mary Smith! But I guess that shouldn't be surprising should it. It is afterall, the most common.

Google

Have you ever googled yourself? Well, I was curious as to what lay out there in cyberspace with my name on it. Of course, Jessica Anderson isn't exactly uncommon (sometimes I'm convinced it's the most common name in America) so I was interested to see what I would find.

#1 Australian Authors - Jessica Anderson:
The site reads: "Jessica Anderson was born in Brisbane in 1925 and has lived most of her life in Sydney, other than a few years in London. She started her career as a novelist rather later in life than most, although she has previously written short stories for newspapers and novel dramatisations for radio." Interesting...it seems I have also won a number of awards. Wow, I'm old! 1925?! (That's way before Jessica became the most popular girls name in America during the 80's)
#2 Goalie Pages - About Me, Jessica Anderson:
The site reads: "My name is Jessica Anderson, I'm 23 years old, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I am currently living in Cincinnati and attending Cincinnati State Technical College, majoring in Computer Graphics (graduating summer 2005). I graduated from John Abbott College in 2001, with a degree in Office System Technology. I then attended Concordia University for two years, majoring in History. I played for The John Abbott College Lady Islanders for four years (97 - 01). I played for The Concordia Stingers for two years (01/02 - 02/03). I'm a goalie of course." Hmmm...I'm a goalie of course. Of course I am! What else would I be? I even compare myself to Mike Richter. Assertive, perhaps?
#3 Jessica Anderson Online Portfolio
I think this site is the portfolio of the previously mentioned goalie. Wow, what a find! It's actually pretty cool. So in theory could I use her, I mean my, pictures on this blog? I am technically Jessica Anderson (although biologically a different Jessica Anderson). As I browse her portfolio, it's actually quite impressive...maybe I could have her design my blog? Hmmm...I mean, have me design my blog. Interesting thought. I should look into that.
Here's an interesting one:
#5 Jessica Anderson (II)
Apparently I'm also an actress who has starred in Passions where I was a gang girl, Big Momma's House 2 in which I was the bikini girl, and in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang where I played an upscale woman. Hmmm...all those roles seem to point to extra more than star, but hey, I'll take what I can get. I also don't understand the II. Oh wait, I play the piano. That's cool.

In Google you never know what you'll get. This has been fun. I think you should all Google yourselves and let me know what you find. Of course, not everyone can be a writer/goalie/computer graphics artist/budding actress but hey, nobody's perfect (or so commonly named).

The Love Bug

Lately I've been involved in numerous relationship talks. None about me, mind you...We're just not there yet. Anyways, a number of friends have been having "drama" of sorts in the relationship department. It's interesting, before Thailand I wasn't thinking about much in that area. In fact, Thailand was the first time I really talked about relationships, past included, in a long time. Since then there has only been more to digest as so many people apparently had their "Stint goggles" on. Interesting... It's funny how when you start asking questions people talk. But until that initial question into their love life is posed, they are silent. Then, it explodes and within an hour you've learned more about them and their year/month/week/whatever of relationship drama than you ever thought possible. Maybe that's how we work. We have all these ideas, feelings and hopes about relationships but because the Christian dating world can be confusing and messed up at times, we never talk about them openly. Then, when it comes up in conversation and we're in a setting that's safe, we have so much on our minds it all comes out. All cards are on the table. You are so grateful for someone to listen that you tell all. I was surprised by brutal honesty at times, but then I appreciated it. There are not many times when I'm in a conversation that is completely honest. So even though I've talked about relationships and thought about relationships more in the past four weeks than I have all year, it's not all that bad. Kind of weird, a little High Schoolish at times, but really not all that bad. In fact, it's refreshing to have an honest conversation about a topic so seldom touched on lately. All this talk of relationships (and it being so soon after Valentine's Day) reminds me of a book I used to read my sisters when they were younger: Love Bugs by David A. Carter. From which I'll take my application point: "About one thing I have no doubt... The Love Bug will bite you if you don't watch out."

Rainy day reading...

I just started reading Black by Ted Dekker. It's an unbelievable novel with incredible imagination. I have been more places in Black than I thought possible. I'm a little over halfway through it and I really can't put it down. It follows a young man named Thomas Hunter who is convinced that he is living in two realities. Whenever he falls asleep in one, he wakes up in the other. One reality is Denver, Colorado 2010, the other is a colored forest where Elyon lives with His people set come 200 years in the future. How Dekker came up with this is beyond me. I've always been a Randy Alcorn fan, but Ted Dekker plays on a whole other level. While Alcorn gives incredible plot and amazing visions of Heaven, Dekker comes up with an adrenaline-laced storyline and an incredible post-Earth Narnia of sorts that is beyond my comprehension. Both weave in spiritual truth without making it seem forced. I've fallen in love with Elyon, Jesus, all over again because of these books. I seriously recommend you read Dekker. And Alcorn. While you're at it read Perretti too. We are so blessed to have such amazing men of God writing fiction novels with incredible Truth and conviction! I'm also glad it's raining out today. Bring on the chai tea and good reads.

Wishing I was there again...

Fellowship

Fellowship. That's my key word of the day, maybe the year. I didn't realize how much I was missing out on relationships until Thailand. I think because I get along with everyone on my team so well I don't notice the lack of variety in my life. At the conference I got to hang out with all sorts of amazing people and I loved every minute of it! Sometimes I forget how isolated I am. Being over here in ministry is hard. We don't have community like it is in the States. There aren't relationships outside of "work" here. Back at WSU, I had friends in different groups. I floated between groups hanging out here and there. I can't do that in East Asia. Until Thailand, I didn't realize how much I missed those relationships and the fellowship that comes with it. Part of that makes me excited to go back to WSU, which is good. Through all this I've seen a bigger picture of what God has for us in heaven. I can't wait for the day when all these relationships continue on. When it doesn't end because you have to get on an airplane and travel from place to place. I honestly can't wait for eternity when we have all the time we could ever want to build into relationships that never end. There won't be good byes, or "see you next time." It will just be us and God in constant fellowship. Praise God for His beautiful plan and eternal love! Praise God for fellowship!

It's good to be back

Well, if you haven't heard by now, I'm back in East Asia. One word: cold! Our apartment is freezing, and of course, the heat isn't working like it used to. At least I have my electric blanket to keep me warm at night. Anyways, our apartment was as we left it. I really missed East Asia. Yesterday, Michelle and I went shopping and as we were in the taxi driving to our destination (the first stop was actually Starbucks, go figure...) I felt comfortable. I realized how much I missed people on bikes and horns going crazy. How much I missed the statue of the boy and dog that has never made sense to me. I even missed not being able to fully communicate with the taxi driver.
The people at Starbucks didn't recognize us. But then, when they realized their most valuable customers had returned (based on sales), they were excited to see us and hear of our travels (ok, really all they wanted to know is why we didn't tell them we were going to Thailand because then we could have bought them things). We even saw our Aussie friend who works upstairs. He looked excited to see us, at least I think so...Auchan was exciting. It actually wasn't as busy as usual. We got back home and then had a team dinner. We had dumplings delivered. It was good. I really did miss East Asia more than I thought I did. It's good to be home.

Superbowl Monday

Yes, even though I'm half-way around the world I will watching the Superbowl live Monday morning at 6:15am. I only have one comment:
GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Lost Luggage...

I have so much I want to say, but I'm running out of internet minutes. One thing I want to let you know is traveling in big groups is never efficient. For example so far we have lost three pieces of luggage since coming to Thailand. The first one was David's suitcase (lost by the airline) and it was recovered. The second was my laptop that got lost in a taxi (the whole story I'm sure will come later) and is still MIA...although the Bangkok police are looking for it. And the third was our dear friend's viola she trusted us with and we left in Samui. So, word of advice: when traveling in large group keep count of pieces of luggage and assign people to certain things. Don't assume somebody else has it. (Or never trust your six friends traveling on vacation in vacation mode with something that is valued at more than $4,000 (the viola). )

Narnia in Bangkok

Movie theaters in Thailand should be standardized throughout the rest of the world. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had watching a movie. Not to mention the movie itself was amazing, Narnia was awesome! For $15 we got "Gold Class" treatment which included a complimentary drink from their seating area. The seating area was this waiting room that had these huge plush red chairs and posters of movie stars all over the walls. It was unreal! They escorted us to our chairs in the theater (where we had assigned seating) and brought us popcorn. The seats were massage chairs. Yes, massage chairs. I couldn't figure it out for awhile, but then I got the hang of it. We even got pillows and blankets! The chairs reclined, of course, so you could practically lay down if you wanted to. They were like leather lay-z-boys! Overall it was my favorite thing we did in Bangkok. I have to say that Narnia was even better just because we saw it in Thailand in massage chairs.
However, the one thing that was unusual is at the beginning of the film they play their national anthem while showing pictures of their king and you have to stand up to pay respects to the king of Thailand. Different and an interesting experience. It was strange sitting there and thinking about how Aslan parallels our King and these Thai people paid respect to their king before watching a movie about the true King and what He did for them. Thailand is a Buddhist country and they take religion seriously. It broke my heart to see them searching for something more. It made me appreciate even more the blessing I had being raised in a Christian home and in a country where you are free to worship Jesus. Just coming from a land where religion is illegal and then walking into a country where Buddhism is everywhere, it was a weird sensation. Gave me a lot to think about and be thankful for. So, thank you Jesus for giving me Your Light. Please help me to be a light for you shining in to the darkest of countries, whether they're atheist or Buddhist.

*this started to be a post about movie theaters and turned into something else...hmmm...God is good!

Packing and ponderings on TL

Ahhh, the joys of packing. Ok, so there's nothing joyfull about it. In fact, I don't like packing (the only thing worse is the dreaded unpacking). But this occassion I am actually excited about it as I am packing to head off to Thailand! The land of sun and beaches. Yay! It's weird packing tank tops, skirts and flip flops when it's 30 degrees out. We'll be flying out Sunday afternoon at about 3:30 (11:30pm Saturday night, PST) and landing in Bangkok where we'll stay two nights. Then we'll fly down to beautiful Koh Samui. Where we'll lay on the beach, maybe swim in a lagoon, eat Mexican food, admire sunsets and stars (we haven't really seen any since August) and maybe take up some snorkeling. Some others in my group are going to go scuba diving, but since I have this irrational fear of depth and sharks I'll stay close to shore. Chaweng is the main beach on Koh Samui and that's where our hotel is. We'll be right in the middle of everything. So this might be my last post for awhile. I might share an adventure or two from Thailand when I get the chance. We'll see. So I'll be on Koh Samui until Feb 3rd and then I'm headed to the Mid Year conference on the other side of Thailand for two weeks of conferences and classes. I'll be back in country on Feb 19. Please be praying for safe travels. I think the thing I'm most excited about it being able to build deeper relationships with my friends outside of work and East Asia. It will be fun to hang out and do life together in a new and exciting context, away from everyday life. Have some adventures together and laugh a lot. It will also be nice to see the sky and stars at night, and get back in touch with the beauty of God through His creation.

Chivalry

Kelley and I just finished watching Kate & Leopold. If you have not watched it, I suggest that you do. It is a good movie and reminds me a lot of chivalry (although throughout it Kate, Meg Ryan's character, is quite mean to Leopold). First, the plot line: Stuart (Kate's ex boyfriend) goes back in time and upon returning lures back the Duke of Albany, Leopold (who also happened to invent elevators). So Leopold is from 1876, stuck in 2000 (or so) and ends up falling in love with Kate. Anyways, the movie is mostly about chivalry and Leopold is excellent at it (being from the 19th century helps a great deal).
Why am I caught up in chivalry you ask? Because the same methods that Leopold used (assuming they are actually 1876 methods) still work today, however they seem to be long forgotten. The age of opening doors for ladies and bringing them flowers is fading. Yes, there are still men out there who do these sorts of things but unfortunately there are many, many who don't get it. At one point in the movie Leopold is giving Kate's brother Charlie advice on calling a girl he likes. Leopold was one who actually secured her number for Charlie and is surprised that Charlie is acting so "inconsiderate" of her feelings, I believe he calls him a merry-Andrew. He tells Charlie, "Everything plays a farce to you. Women respond to sincerity. No-one wants to be romanced by a buffoon." So true! And yet so many women allow themselves to be romanced by a buffoon. Just today I was reading an article on MSN that gave an example of how a girl who so badly wanted to be married that she dated this guy even though she knew he was a jerk and not worthy of her. In the end, he proposed, but not to her. No, instead he proposed to the girl he was dating behind her back! So how does this happen? How do these buffoons end up with girls and end up marrying them? Why do these girls settle? Simple: girls are desperate to get married and thus make it easy for guys who are too lazy to be chivalrous. If women instead held their ground and only dated those men who were sincere and who did actually court them then men would be forced to become those types of men. When a woman dates a man who treats her badly then she only encourages his behavior. I'm not saying that you can date a man and change him. That is never a good idea. Instead, expect more from them. Of course, a man will never be a Leopold (let's face it, that's all Hollywood), but what does it hurt to set the bar higher? Why not expect him to open your door, bring you flowers and write you letters that say how much he appreciates you? And if you do happen to find one who does this, be appreciative. Thank him, encourage him.
Letters, that brings up something else from the movie. In the same conversation with Charlie that was previously mentioned, Leopold also talks about letters. After hearing that Kate is going to dinner with a man whose intentions are unclear. Leopold is concerned about her, rightfully so. He asks to chaperone her and she retorts, "I'm alone with you. Do I need a chaperone?" To which he replies, "We are not courting, Kate. If we were, as a man of honor, I would have informed you of my intentions in writing." Ponder that...I know all you girls are sighing. Interesting enough he does just that later on and it works! Guys, take note.
I'm not writing this as a "girls need to be treated better" campaign. However, I am encouraging those women around me to not throw themselves at every guy who comes along. Just wait, be patient and encourage chivalry. Make him make his intentions known. Would you rather date a man who has no concern for your emotional well-being right now, or wait 1, 2 or maybe even 5 years for a man who would do anything for you, even bring you a warm bioche smothered in marmalade and fresh creamery butter in bed.
It's all in God's timing. Don't rush a relationship or try and date every available guy to the expense of your heart and emotions. Men were made to pursue, they were created to be chivalrous. Encourage them and let them pursue you. Enjoy the wait and enjoy what God has for you right now. God created marriage to mirror His relationship with us and to bring Himself glory. He wants the best for you. The question is are you willing to wait for it?

Puddle Jumping

Last night Kelley and I found ourselves caught in the middle of a downpour. We had just finished dinner with Michelle's family (visiting from the states) and went to leave Pizza Hut when we noticed the incredible rain shower. Kelley and I attempted to hail a cab, but after 15 minutes standing waiting for a taxi we decided to try and walk back. Well, by the time we started walking the rain had already begun to run off of my Gore-Tex jacket and onto my pants. By the time we were half to the boy's place (to pick up Kelley's bike) we were soaked through. At that point, we figured what the heck and took up the sport of puddle jumping. I remember one particular puddle where Kelley said, "you can't even see the bottom!" To which I jumped in and exclaimed, "there it is" as the muddy and God-only-knows-what water covered my shoes. By the time we reached the boy's place we were drenched. However, despite the fact that I was freezing cold and my shoes will probably never dry in this humid climate, it was fun. I revisited a time in my life when puddle jumping was an art and being drenched in a down pour was enjoyable and laughable. That night, even in the cold, I enjoyed laughing with one of my closest friends and reinventing the art of puddle jumping.