The World at Our Fingertips - Always, but not Quite

I adore traveling. Really I do. There is just something that is positively exhilarating about the idea of getting on a plane and going somewhere that you have never gone before. Really, you should try it sometime. It's stellar. Your life will never be the same after you have stepped beyond the borders of your own country (I will have travel posts coming soon! I just can't create them while I am in Texas, because not all of my pictures are on this computer and none of my travel journals are with me).

We always hear the phrase, "The world is at our fingertips." In the technological sense of the word, yes it is. It is very easy to type a quick email or facebook message to someone across the world or to Sype with someone who is seven thousand miles away. In all honestly though, nothing can compare to actually going. If we settle for viewing others pictures and listening to their memories, yet make none of our own, we are sorely missing out on a fabulous part of life. Despite what you might think regarding my vocal advocacy for travel, I do not believe in traveling without a purpose. To do so is to waste time and money - both of which, primarily the first, are far to valuable to throw around carelessly. I do not recommend it. Also, I am not saying that you should go just because you have the time and the money. Make the trip worthwhile and use it to further the Kingdom of God. Now, back to what I was saying regarding the cliche use of the phrase...despite the number of photographs we see or the amount of time that we spend listening to others' stories, they will never come alive unless you go for yourself. Many people live vicariously through others - I am determined not to do so.

I hope and pray that each one of you are blessed to receive a call to missions from the Lord. It is a wonderful thing to be able to serve the body of Christ in such a way. Just make sure that when you go, you go for the right motives (Watch the video below). To our international viewers (You are absolutely fabulous!), the U.S. needs missionaries too. Pray about it, and see where God leads. He may or may not have you travel internationally, but that fact isn't always necessary. For some, a walk next door may be many more miles than a flight across the ocean. Either way, I pray that you will be stretched, challenged, and changed. Seek the world from somewhere other than behind your computer screen.

Pretty crazy, huh? That video makes me stop and think everytime that I watch it. Like Josh (the guy in the video with the red and white shirt), I'm not saying that you shouldn't go on a missions trip - I hope that you can someday. Just do it for the right reasons.

Before I close, let me just share with you a few of the fabulous places that I dream of which I dream to go:

• Italy (The place that I want to go the most, currently)
• Ethiopia (I would love to go back!)
• England/UK (I mean, come on? Who doesn't love British things? Secret** I love British accents and find myself talking to myself in them more often that I probably know. =))
• India (There is such a deep spiritual need in this country.)
• Ecuador (It's amazing.)
• Guatemala (I have friends who have gone - I would love to as well!)
• Mexico (I want to go back here as well. =))
• Spain (I have a friend who lives her, and it is a beautiful country.)
• Zambia (I have heard so many stories from my cousin who lives here; I want to see it in person.)
• Kenya (I love wild African animals, and I know someone who lives there.)
• Tanzania (My Mom went here once; I would love to go where she went.)
• Bahamas (Again, my Mom went here so I want to as well.)
• New Zealand (It's gorgeous.)
• China (I have several friends here, and so want to visit them someday!)
• Denmark (Colored houses, houseboats, bicycles....what more could a girl want?)
• Romania (Something stirs in my heart for this place.)
• Argentina (I had to research this place for a Spanish report and fell in love with it - particularly, the Buenos Aires Tango Festival.)
• France (I love French food and I long to visit Paris for just a few days.)
• Korea (I have a friend there as well, and it is such an awesome country.)
• The Canary Islands (Simply put, beautiful.)
• The Galapagos Islands (Such a testament to God's creation!)

I could go on, but I will bore you no more with my long list of countries which I dream to visit someday. I may never reach them, but I have already been there in my dreams. Dreams are capable of taking us farther than we can go.


Blessings to my fellow travelers and travelers-at-heart,
Hannah

The Impact of Time

Oh dear! It's Tuesday already. I'm elated, as I finished my finals today, but I am also amazed at how fast time flies. There is so much left to do this week! I have to finish up my 180 days of school, clean the house, go to work, and pack for my trip (I'm leaving for Texas on Friday!!) - all among a million other little things. Have you ever noticed that there is so much to do, yet so little time to do it? When I was little, my parents always used to tell me how fast the day went by. I never believed them until I was about thirteen and a half...then it hit me. BAM!!! Time flies. I quite often tell my best friend that my life never stops moving and that it is traveling way too fast. It seems like only a short while ago that my youngest sister was born...she's nine now. In my life experience, I have found that many people hold onto things that are pointless and temporary. If we only have a short time on earth, do we really need to be wasting time doing things that don't matter? While I like to take a break and relax, I do not find that it is beneficial, or even enjoyable, to waste my teenage and soon-to-be college years. If I spend eight years on my life on me, then I just lost eight years of my life that I will never get back. Most people live to be around eighty years old...so in that case, I just lost 10% of my life. Yikes! As some of you may have already figured out, I am a big avocate for living life to the fullest. As I've said in earlier posts, I don't want to reach the end of my life, look back, and realize that I missed out big time. I want to love passionately, to live deliberately, and to dream daringly. I want to go beyond the expectations of my generation. Let's face it: adults don't expect much from us. Frankly, we deserve that. If all that we are going to do with our teenage and college years is party, get high on drugs, drink, and have sex, then we definitely deserve the lack of expectations with which we are labeled. However, I believe in changing this. I believe in changing the world.

Wow. I know - big statement, one that is used way too much. It seems like everyone nowadays is talking about changing the world. However, I have seen very few people actually do it. I don't want people to look at me and see a hypocrite. If I say that I want to change the world, then I need to actually do it. Jesus only spent thirty-three years on earth in human form, but look at what He did. He changed the world. Because He did it, I know that He can use you and me to make a difference. It isn't some crazy hard thing that you have to wait to do until you are older. A school lunch is like what? $2.50? That isn't much at all, but buying someone else's lunch will change their life forever. Yes, forever. Every action that you make has an impact - positive or negative - upon someone else. I can't change the whole world, but I can certainly change someone's world. I'm not going to live forever, so I want to use the short time that I have on earth to leave it a better place tomorrow that I found it yesterday.

Note: In case you couldn't tell, I'm big on the whole challenge-you-and-me-to-be-a-better-person thing. =)

So, I want to let Christ use me to make a difference. I want Him to work through you too. Because, maybe, just maybe, if you and I separate ourselves from the world and from the low expectations of us, we could make an eternal difference in the Kingdom of God.

Blessings,
Hannah