New Blog..

Hello friends...

    I've so enjoyed my time here on this site, and have enjoyed looking back to see how I have grown throughout the past five years that I've had this site. But I believe it's time to move on. I've made a new Xanga account, screename: lovewalkedin7. There should be more details there. I'm having some trouble setting it up so that both my blog and pictures show, so if it's not working now, be sure to check back. And subscribe!

    Love you guys,

                        Michelle

             So again, it's been ages since my last post. My apologies. :) But I assure you that my life here has been wonderful and a day doesn't go by when I haven't learned something new, met someone new, or been transformed by my time alone spent with the Lord. It's been incredible.

             I always find the people that the Lord has placed in my life to be absolutely amazing, and being here on Guam has been no exception. Whether they are people of permanency or strangers that end up sharing pieces of their life with me, they are all beautiful. I had the most wonderful experience this evening that I want to tell you all about.

             I decided that I needed to catch up on some Christmas shopping tonight and decided to peruse some of the local stores in the area to find some creative gifts for my family. There's a great little shop down near the beach that I'd been wanting to visit for some time, so I decided to check it out. I was surprised to walk in and find an American woman sitting behind the counter. Most of the shop owners here are Chomorron/Asian....and I rarely run into Americans outside of the base..and KMart. :) We were alone in the store for a short amount of time when we started making small talk, talking about where we were from, etc. One thing led to another and we ended up sitting down and talking about life and love and our travels for over an hour. It was incredible, and I am amazed by the life that this woman has led.  As we sat there with the ocean breeze blowing in through the open doors, she told me about her life. This is some of her story:

             Her name is Johanna and she was born and raised in Florida, where she eventually ended up meeting her husband. He was in the military and was frequently on duty overseas while she raised their two young children. As the children got older and her husband was finally able to retire, they left the States and decided to travel the world, taking their children with them. They both had a love for the French language and a desire to learn more about the culture, so they moved to France and lived there for four years. Once their children were grown and off to college, they decided to get serious about their travels. They sold their house and ALL of their belongings and used the money they sold it with to, get this: build a sailboat with an entire cabin in the bottom, complete with a spare bedroom, kitchen, etc. When their sailboat was built, they set out to explore. Everything they owned was on the boat and they had it stocked well enough to last five years with food, supplies, etc. They would spend weeks at a time on the boat, enjoying the peace of the water and the comfort of their cabin. Occasionally they would stop and explore some of the islands they would come across in their travels. Eventually, they landed at their first destination: South Africa. They arrived on land right when Nelson Mandela came to power, when it was the most dangerous for them to be living there....Johanna said it was one of the most beautiful times in her life and she never felt unsafe. She'd return today if she could. After two years, they picked up and set sail again, this time heading to Morocco. They would pick up their bags and move every two years. And they've continued to live this way ever since. Living and experiencing a new life for two whole years and then leaving....off to embrace new adventures, new people, new cultures. Occasionally their family members would fly out to meet them on their adventures and sleep in the spare bedroom for the very reason it was created for. They've literally lived everywhere- and she spent a lot of time telling me about their experiences in Afghanistan, a time in her life that was life changing. They've lived in India and Indonesia, Chile and Costa Rica, the Bahamas and Jamaica, Sweden and Great Britain, and so many other places. They've been on Guam for a year now and their next destination is......Africa. Be still my heart. They plan on moving to Ghana in January 09.

           Listening to this woman's life- the adventures she chose to seek out and the amazing people she was able to meet because of it- both humbled and inspired me. At the end of our conversation, when the shop was closing, she asked me to come back, so that we could share more of our lives with each other. I was so incredibly blessed by the opportunity to bask in the storytelling of this woman's life....I just had to share it with someone. Experiences like these, meeting a stranger- finding a kindred- learning from their own experiences- is exactly the adventure I live for. As much as I love to travel and experience this beautiful world that God created, I know that I may never set foot on some of the incredible destinations that this woman's eyes have been opened to.....but for an hour tonight, I did experience those places...I lived through her experiences....and that is so beautiful.

           You know, I don't know if this woman is a woman of faith....if she knows Jesus and if she is also amazed by His beauty and grace. Perhaps in time I will find out. But I do know that He used her in my life tonight, to remind me that some dreams never die and that as much of a dreamer as I can be sometimes (and believe me, I'm a dreamer)...that there are times that we need to be encouraged to dream- to dare to do the unimagineable- as long as we only chase after the dreams that are offered to us in the palm of God's hands..

             When I think of my own dreams, and where God has led me in life, I am humbled and amazed. And honored. So honored that the people He has placed in my life are people that He trusts me with. That is so beautiful to me. My time here has been precious and I can truly feel Jesus changing me from the inside out...slowly, day by day. I don't know how long my time here will last, or where I will be led to next. And I'm learning that it's okay to not know. I'm learning that you're never to old to dream, as long as the dreams that you're seeking are God's dreams for you,  for God's dreams put man's plans to shame. And His plans for me will always be bigger and better than my plans for myself. What an awesome and gracious God I serve.

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Just another reminder that we need to stop being so self-centered, and take a broader look at the world and the people within it. There is so much more to living life for our own pleasures....After all, what was it that Jesus said? Love your neighbor as yourself? I'm convicted that every day that I wake and find that I'm placing my own needs before someone else's that I'm not living the life that Jesus called me to live. The life He's called all of us to live. Be bold in your love for others. Embrace the hurting world around you. Choose to live a life of love.

I've Become An Old Woman....

When your day begins at 5:30 AM and you're in bed by 9 PM.....it's pretty official.

Is it strange that I think I prefer this schedule?

I think back to my college years when 9 PM was when the evening was just getting started. I loved those late nights, but I'll never go back to it. I like being an old woman. :)

I'm at such a beautiful place in life.

 I'm meeting incredible people.

I'm being challenged.

I'm being open to the Lord and what He's been saying to me....and what he's been saying to me is this:

"You're not who you were.

Tenderly remember the past, carry those lessons with you, embrace the present, dream of the future.

Love the life you live today.

 Look at the people around you that I have placed there for a reason and a purpose

....for I have brought you here for such a time as this."

I can't tell you how many times I feel like He's reminded me of this. I can't begin to describe to you the wonderful opportunities that have been dropped in my lap...the people who so eagerly have taken me into their homes, their lives, and their families. They are so eager to pray with me, to open themselves up to me, to love me wholly without really even knowing me.

         I'm always amazed when I travel outside of the states at the true love that I see within the fellowship of Christian families. I've seen it in South America and in Europe, and now I'm seeing it here on Guam. I'm not saying that my experiences within churches at home in the States have been poor, but I feel like within the realms of most of those churches there are people who put up walls....who will only allow you to see so much of themselves....who will only allow a relationship to go so far. I know, because I've been one of those people. And I know countless others who have struggled with the same thing. But the truth is, how do we really challenge ourselves to grow if not to really open up and reveal ourselves to one another.....our strengths, our weaknesses, our spiritual gifts and most importantly, our sins? That should be the focal point of our relationships. And that's what I've seen since I've been here. I love the church that I've found here so far...and I honestly feel that I know some of the individuals at this church, people that I've know for no more than a week, better than I know some people from church that I've known for years. I feel like I have a lot to learn from them, but a lot to give as well. I'm anxious to see where God will call me within the doors of this church and the streets of this community. I'm understanding now that His purpose for bringing me here stretches beyond the mundane.....beyond the beach and the pool and the family that I'm staying with and dives deeply into the lives of people....my family included but also those strangers on the street...the children within the walls of my church...the teller at the bank....the cashier at KMart. I'm truly excited to be at such a wonderful spot in my life and I thank God for trusting me and blessing me enough to come here. I know that He has great things in store here....and I can't wait to seek them out!!

       Please keep me updated on all of your lives..as excited as I am to be here, experiencing new people and places, a part of me still aches for home...and I've found truth in the statement that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I want to share in your joys and your sorrows- so keep on updating. I'll be here on my island cheering for you. :)