Flashback Friday: reminiscing back to the beginning

Finishing off my previous post with a picture from 2008 caused me to reminisce a little bit this evening. I knew the picture I wanted could be found within my profile pictures on the ever faithful Facebook. I was surprised at how far back it was. That picture was from 2008. However, it was an interesting experience to see the 72 moments that were captured that I deemed worthy of representing myself on social media. It was like going through a time capsule.

Fact: google defines reminisce as the following

"indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events"

As I was reminiscing through the photos, I started to categorize them and this is what I came up with:

Brother photos: following every treasured trip for a too short of a visit, the Facebook world would know that it happened. He spoiled me each time and I love him for that.

Hawaii 2009.
Many flight issues included lost bags. Bought that shirt at wal-mart.
But none of that mattered as long as I had such sweet time with him.

Randomness with friends: I was in the prime of college years when I joined Facebook. There really is no explanation for anything that happens as soon as you walk out of class and sometimes the epic level had to be shared.

I was so innocent and Shani felt otherwise.
APSU Campus, Clarksville, TN
c. August 2008

Obligatory snow pictures: I love, love, love snow! Being in the South, I am mostly alone in this love. Whenever I was blessed with snow, it led to many adventures and countless pictures to freeze this moments forever. (pun intended in regards to "freeze")

Snow tunnel digging became a tradition at my grandparent's house in Eastern Iowa.
They improved in size and complexity each year.
(this was the first one, 2007)

Something I accomplished: Sometimes I do something that seems to fall into the awesome or unusual category and I like to share that also. Below, I am wearing the blue helmet in the front. I am also identified as the one with a wall of water next to my face.

Alaska Nova River Adventure
Six Mile Creek is known for its Class V rapids.
July 2009

 Africa: Looking through my pictures, they seem to be leaning towards one area….Africa. Am I surprised? No, I just never realized what it may look like from the outside. The picture below may not seem Africa focused but it is really where it all started. This picture was taken the day that I knew without a doubt that God was calling me to Africa.

Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Clarksville, TN
Lydia jumps on my back after setting the timer on my camera.
Result: one of the best roommate moments ever is captured on camera.

Fact: There are 41 photos after this picture on Facebook that I have selected for profile pictures. 27 of them are related to Africa.

{thank you for joining me for that reminiscing session!! I'm about to wrap things up}

Many opportunities for me to share about Africa have come and gone during the last month. I have enjoyed each one for they have all differed greatly. I learned that each time I share about why I am doing what I am doing, it reaffirms for me and seems to light my fire all over again. It has been a blessing to get to remind myself that God has called me to do this. I encourage you to read about the day that God confirmed my calling to Africa by visiting my first post HERE!!

It seems to me that the last few years have can be categorized into two roads: my dreams and God's will. At times the roads were going in the same direction. One road was obviously a bit easier of a path. The other may not have lead to the same place but gradually the destination was changed and evolved over time. There were many turns and at some points it crossed with the easier path and I walked that road for a ways. It seemed that the view was clearer and I could see where I was going but then something caused me to turn again. Although, even when I was on the easier path, there was still times that I would be unable to continue on my own and others would come by my side and help me get on my feet. 

Fact: It is getting late! With that said, I hope that last paragraph of metaphorical (is that the correct literally term?) rambling makes sense to you.

{wrapping it up for real this time}

1. Reminiscing is fun.

2. I've been blessed to have opportunities to share about Africa which has allowed me to reminisce and recall when God confirmed His calling to me.

3. You should learn about that day by reading my first blog post.

4. I am extremely blessed to have the road of my dreams merge with the road of God's will into this amazing path that has proven to be better than I expected.

Looking through Lenses

Sunglasses are one of many ways that we express our style. It is also a bonus that they protect our eyes from harmful rays and prevent us from squinting so much.

I don't often keep sunglasses but when I find one that I like I hold on to them for as long as duct tape will allow. Yes, I have kept a pair of sunglasses so long that they were duct taped in two different places and one lens would often pop pout easily.

I have one pair of sunglasses that is more sporty. They are Cardinal red and fit snuggly so that they don't fall off if I'm being a little rambunctious outside. I also love them because they were free. I discovered them while cleaning up after a yard sale. I never found out if they were part of the yard sale or if someone set them down and forgot them. 

Here is the classic beach picture with the waves (and photographer) reflecting in the lens. This was taken in Puerto Rico while we stopped for an almost literally 5 minute break to visit the Caribbean Sea while preparing for a week of Vacation Bible School.

My curent favorite pair of sunglasses are my aviators. One amazing feature about them is that they were  also free. The coworker that I carpool with had them for her grandson and I loved them so much that one day she insisted that I just keep them. So, I did.

I wear these basically all the time when I am driving during day time. I LOVE them. It makes me feel like I have style and I know I don't because I am definitely the shorts and t-shirt type of person. I also love the way they fit my face.

This time of year the colors are impeccable in the trees. Every shade of orange and red seems to be on display for everyone to enjoy. I struggle with the seemingly constant desire to use my phone to "snap a quick picture" of the beautiful display of fall at its finest as I travel between middle and west Tennessee.  This past weekend I enjoyed the seasonal beautifulness for over 400 miles will traveling to share about my upcoming Tanzania endeavor. It seemed like it was "that day" that the leaves are perfect and the sun was shinning. It was a tad warmer then expected for this time of year but still felt like fall.

The shading of everything seemed near perfection. When I went to take a picture I realized that part of that perceived perfection was due to the shading of my sunglasses. Note in the picture above how the lens shades the usually silver ear piece a rustic amber color. That shading on top of all the other colors of fall made a wonderful sight!

Then, my mind drifted to life…..

How often do we view life through our individualized lenses that are self prescribed? We see what we want to see and protect ourselves from other parts while nobody knows. All of this is done in such a way that we receive the most benefit.

Seeing what we want:
I love looking at the fall scenery with my aviators because it gives this shading to everything that is absolutely beautiful. It is almost like I am implying that the amazing scene that is presented for me daily is not enough. Have you ever considered what things you are choosing to see and not to see in life? For example, check out this video! People choose to see what they want and that includes not seeing their own family members on the street.

Protect ourselves:
Sunglasses can be great because they help protect us from harmful rays that would damage our eyes. If we have lenses for life, what are we protecting ourselves from? Are we preventing an awkward conversation with the neighbors that are struggling with their marriage? Are we choosing to see the happy front that they present to everyone but ignore the fact that she wears large lenses to cover up her black eye? Do we wear lenses so that we are protected from seeing truth?

Nobody knows:
Sunglasses can be shaded enough that you can not see the eyes of the person wearing the glasses. Although, this often makes for a wonderful photo op with something reflecting in the lens (see end of blog for one of my favs), it also always us to protect our selves from others. With our eyes covered, we are allowed to look wherever we want, see whatever we want, and choose not to look or at least claim we did not look. We can cover the bags under our eyes from hours of tears. We can cover the black eye from the fight the other night. The lenses allow us to hide. What is the reason that we want to hide? Don't we want others to be truthful with us so we can offer the best help to them? And in return shouldn't we remove our lenses so others can better see what we are hiding?

Are you wearing lenses as you look at life?
What are you trying not to see?
What might you be trying to see differently so that you like it better?

Summer visit to Iowa. I love watching the sunsets in my grandparents back yard.