Eek!

I was so excited yesterday when I peered into my mailbox. I saw that my passport had arrived. I went inside, let the dog out, fed him, and let him out again before I sat down to open the envelope and carefully slip out my new passport. The first thing I noticed was that it was a lot thicker than my previous passport. It's that newfangled technology I guess. Next, I opened it and started flipping through it to see what the pages looked like. Then I saw it. My passport, which I had been very pleased with, was distorted grossly by the government's printer. I look really scary and paler than usual (which is REALLY pale!)! Oh well. I'll probably look really scary when I use it, what with mission hair and all. Despite the misrepresentation of my complexion and head-to-neck ratio, I'm quite pleased and incredibly excited! What a good day!

Confession

I have a confession to make: I am a baby when it comes to needles.

The first time I had my blood drawn, the nurse almost had to have another nurse sit on me. Granted, I was only 8, but ten years later I still had to have my mommy hold my hand. Even worse than getting blood taken is getting shots. They don't ease the needle in. Instead, they throw it like a javelin deep into your arm. Who wouldn't be afraid of that?

Why am I confessing this now? I was discussing whether or not to get the recommended vaccines for my trip to Brazil, and I was firmly on the NOT side. I was planning on getting my tetanus updated and calling it a day, but I was then informed that Yellow Fever is pretty bad in Brasilia, one of the cities I'll be going to. I arrogantly replied with, "Oh, I'll be fine!" Then the good news fairy said that Yellow Fever is carried by mosquitoes. Well, guess who mosquitoes love to nibble on? That's right, me. I go outside for two seconds and end up with about 47 mosquito bites the size of a quarter. That being said, guess who's getting the Yellow Fever vaccine? me.

This is forewarning that I will be the biggest baby on the planet until all of the necessary javelins get launched into my arm.

Cello Cases

I spent a disgusting amount of money today. I ordered the cello case and flight cover that will protect my instrument while in cargo on the plane. I was incredibly nauseous through the entire ordering process, but now that I've ordered, I just feel blessed that it was possible. God has really provided through this whole process and is continuing to show me that He is in control and cannot be bound by a calendar or a calculator.

So, do you want to see what I'm getting?


Here's the case. I'm getting the silver one (blue wasn't available). It's a Bam Classic with wheels.



















And here's the flight cover. It looks heavy... but it also has wheels!

I'm going to Brazil?

Usually when I stop blogging it's because I'm extra stressed at work and can't free my mind. But the past couple of weeks of no blogging is a result of being so overwhelmed by God that I haven't been able to find the words to write. I've sat down to blog several times over the past few weeks, but I could never find words big enough or good enough to explain what God was/is doing in my life. Whatever words I use would certainly be puny in comparison to who God is. So here's what's going on...

On February 6, I went to a church orchestra workshop led by Camp Kirkland, big time church music arranger. Camp shared about a music mission trip to Brazil as well as some other mission opportunities through Global Missions Project for instrumentalists. I was interested in the idea, so I went to the Global Missions Project website and starting looking at all of the different projects they had scheduled for the next year. At the top of the list was the Brazil trip that Camp mentioned, but I thought to myself, "That is way too soon and so not possible!" I perused the website that Saturday, Sunday, and again on Monday searching for the mission project that would be most appealing to me and the one that seemed the most financially feasible.

Over those three days, it was like God was pointing a huge arrow toward the Brazil trip. Sure that He was mistaken, I discussed these factors in full with God:
• I could not raise $2,995 by June.
• Never in my life have I wanted to go to Brazil or anywhere in South America.
• What?! I have to also pay for 2 meals a day and oversized luggage fees for my cello? Another $800?!?!
• I don't have a current passport and can't afford one.
• There's just not enough time!

Even after "discussing" these things, I knew that God wanted me on that trip. So, that Tuesday morning, I registered and shortly after paid my deposit and started the ball rolling.

Now that it's two weeks later, I wonder: Have you ever felt like God was laughing at you? Every time someone hands me a check, I feel like I can hear God chuckling while saying, "Duh! You can't raise that much money, but I can!" And while I'm impatiently waiting for the status of my passport to change from "processing" to whatever is next, I really think God is enjoying watching me squirm.

Basically, I think He's enjoying watching me learn that my timeline and my desires don't matter. He can make things happen in 4 months no problem! He can give me a heart that wants to go to Brazil. He can even make me love the people there before I get there! He can provide for a huge financial need. He can do all of these things because He never fails, and I love that about Him!

More updates on my mission project to come...

1/12 of the way there

I have officially completed the first full month sticking to my 2010 goals. Here are my thoughts so far ...

I've been super consistent in working out. I work out an hour a day five days a week. I've also been pretty good at counting my calories and eating my fruits and veggies, but I am incredibly frustrated that I'm not losing any weight. I know that I am lenient on my calories on the weekends, but seriously! I come out of that gym dripping sweat every day and nothing?! Not any weight?! So that's a little frustrating. Weight lost: 2.8 pounds (27.2 to go)

Another frustration is that I forgot to scan my card before one of my workouts, so the gym only has 19 recorded workouts for me instead of 20. I hate it when I'm to blame! It's the worst. Workouts at gym: 19 (technically. 81 to go)

I thought working out at the gym would be the hardest goal to accomplish, but I've found finding time to read incredibly difficult. Really finding extra time at all in my schedule is a little hard to do. By the time I get home from work I don't want to use my brain any more so I had to force myself to read. It paid off because I thoroughly enjoyed both books I read last month (The Blogging Church and Emma by Jane Austen), but I'm afraid I'll have to force myself to begin every book and even force myself through the first few chapters until I'm in to deep to stop reading. Books read: 2 out of 24

As far as my financial goals ... well, I hate money. It stresses me out something fierce. If everything goes as planned I'll be debt free by the end of March, so that's awesome. I can't really be frustrated about that, now can I?

All in all, January was a productive month and I didn't give up on any of my goals. The process to reach and the outcome of some goals may not have been great, but I'm just gonna hang in there and see what happens.

Week 3: I'd rather not talk about it

Week 3 was not a great week. I didn't lose any weight, I barely read out of my current book, this is only my first blog of the week, and I spent more money than I should have. Even though it was a disappointing week, I know what went wrong and what I can change next week. Here are the three major factors:

1. I need to drink more water. I worked out for one hour five days this week and only drank about 20 ounces of water each day. That is just not enough. Diet Coke should not be used as a substitute. (I say this as I drink one right now.)

2. I shouldn't stress about things I can't control. This week I retired from a ministry I was a part of for 10 years, and I know that is what God called me to do, but I also know that there are a lot of people that aren't happy with the decision or the timing. But here's the thing: it was God's decision and God's timing, so I don't need to stress out over the fact that people don't agree with that.

3. I should not eat all you can eat tacos. That just opened the door for birthday cake, Ben & Jerry's, cookies, and too much more. Now that I look back on it, I should have gained about 75 pounds this week.

I'm excited about a well-hydrated, stress-free week next week with no appearance from the words "all you can eat" unless it's celery.

Week 2: Frustration

Week two has been frustrating.

I've had headaches all week, which has kept me from reading, so I have some major catching up to do. I started reading Emma, and my goal is to have it done by a week from Sunday because KCPT is airing a movie version that night. Out of 55 chapters, I have read two. I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

My determination kept me from using my headaches as an excuse not to work out, and I managed to get all of my workouts in this week. I'm using the Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start DVD, and it's kicking my butt! I've also spent 30-40 minutes working out at the ROC Fitness Center every day, which is also kicking my butt. My feet hurt so bad I think I would welcome amputation. Now that I've put in the work, what kind of results did I get? Well, if you watch Biggest Loser, you know that week two is notoriously bad for weight loss. My week two wasn't horrible, but it wasn't as good as I was hoping for. I lost .8 pounds bringing my total loss to 3.4 pounds in two weeks, which I'm proud of.

Hopefully week three will be a better one!