Different, Not Less Than

At Bethel we have chapel Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 10:15am to 11am and although it is not required you can always find a number of familiar faces.

Different, not less than; the name of our series over the last week in chapel.  People who live with disabilities are different, not less than me and you because each of us is designed to change this world in diverse ways.  The definition of the word disability is, "a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities." Especially after this week the word, limits, seems out of place. 

Joni Eareckson Tada dove off a dock into the Chesapeake Bay, but misjudged the depth of the water and was paralyzed from the shoulder down.  As Joni was being introduced in chapel on Friday the list of  books written, degrees, awards, and achievements that she had worked for and been given kept going on and on (the very opposite of "limited").  Now she is the founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center an outreach to thousands of families affected by disabilities around the world.

Another example of those with "so called" limits pressing past those limits is a man by the name of Emory Dively. He is a deaf pastor at Twin Cities Deaf Assemblies of God who also travels around the country signing his story.  An interpreter translated into a microphone from the audience continuously getting behind Emory due to his enthusiastic story telling.  He had a wonderful sense of humor and talked of God's plan for our lives (Ephesians 2:10)

This morning I volunteered with other girls on my floor at the Special Olympics and there was pure joy in the faces of those competing.  They were just so thrilled to be there and do what they love. 

I am perfectly healthy, but maybe by the standards of dictionary.com I do have a disability.  I am limited in many ways.  Some days it is difficult to find even a fraction of the joy that the people I saw today have all the time.  I am still limited by my view of the world and wonder what beauty they see everyday that I only occasionally glance at.

G3 Girls Volunteering at the Special Olympics

Disability. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disability

 

Saturday at the Spyhouse

The need for an adventure lead us to downtown Minneapolis.  On the corner of Tyler and Broadway sitting outside Spyhouse, a hipster coffee house, writing and drinking the best cup of coffee I have ever had.  Seriously. Best Coffee Ever. 

Sitting there I was reminded of all the wonderful adventures I can go on, the freedom in choosing my next adventure.  It is easy to forget of that freedom while at college. Caught up doing all sorts of crazy homework assignments, working 2 jobs and without a car.  It becomes easy to feel stuck. But this is my life.  I can do what ever I want.  I can travel around the world, take up underwater basket weaving, and learn to play the harmonica or slam some poetry. 

I was raised for this. To be on my own.  Have my own adventures.  

And I am so excited!

My Spyhouse Carmella! 

Twin Cities

A Little Spring Snow

Spring. Spring. Spring. And, although it is spring here in the Twin Cities the snow will not let up.
But I know that spring-ie weather is just around the corner.  I have hope. I know it is coming.

I had lunch with a good friend yesterday and we talked about the importance of being present.  Being here.  Right now, in the moment.  If we are always looking to the future we become blind to the wonderful things right in front of us?

It drives me crazy this Minnesotan weather is so bipolar.  I know spring is almost here, but if I spend all my time dwelling on the future (in this case Spring) then I would not enjoy the big beautiful snowflakes falling from the sky today.  I find myself day dreaming all the time and I have to snap back into reality.  Life is happening right now and why would I want to miss a single second of it.

Today I will enjoy my coffee, French café Pandora station and warm sweater. 

Today.



Look at the size of that snow flake!



Walkway to North

Today

STAY CREATIVE

Spring is here! The warm weather is on its way! After this winter, I can-not wait for any weather that is above freezing.  Spring Break was this last week; the majority of it was spent hanging out with friends, watching movies and doing some sewing projects. I was going through some old boxes of papers over break and found a list of ways to stay creative while waiting for Summer to arrive and I thought I would make my own list!

23 Ways to Stay Creative

1. Make Lists
2. Get Away from the Computer
3. Day Dream
4. Doodle
5. Sing in the Shower
6. Drink Coffee/Tea
7. Take Pictures
8. Listen to New Music
9. Dance
10. Be Open
11. Repurpose Something
12. Plant Something
13. Don't Give Up
14. Go Somewhere New
15. Simplify
16. Read, Read, Read (not a textbook)
17. Count Your Blessings
18. Take Risks
19.  SƎ˥∩ɹ ƎH┴ ʞ∀Ǝɹq
20. Do More of What Makes You Happy
21. Free Write
22. Have Fun
23. Finish Something

Spring Break Shoe Selfie

 

A Little Vitamin D

Today was beautiful! Let me say it again. Today was BEAUTIFUL!!!

B-E-A-U-TI-FUL!!!!

With a high of 49 degrees, it has not felt this good in a very long time.  Only a week ago 10 degrees felt warm and now that I have seen  "nearly 50 degrees", I don't know if I can go back. I don't know about you guys but I am SO EXCITED for spring!

 

I went on a walk earlier today to get some good old vitamin D and found this little message chalked on the side on a building. 

 

Pr. 4:18

 

In The Message in Proverbs 4:18 it says,

 

"The ways of right-living people glow with light;  the longer they live, the brighter they shine."
 

The definition of the word right or righteous is, morally good or acceptable.  I believe that I have good morals and although I have been tested this year I have held fast to what I believe and have found strength in those around me. 

Being a light in this world can be hard some times, I know.  But being a light non-the-less can show some ones true character. 





How beautifully ironic that on such a gorgeous day I would find this little message. 

What a beautiful day

SNAIL MAIL

Hand written letters and post cards from far off places. 

Nothing will ever quite replace snail mail.  Although email, text messages and Skype threaten the old system I have continued writing away none the less. 

In the first couple months that I was at college there was nothing more encouraging than a letter from my mom or a post card from my Nana.  The packages were amazing!  And though I enjoyed what the boxes and parcels contained it really was the idea that someone took the time to pick out items that I liked, put them in a box and sent them to me.  As if sending their love in the mail. 

When it comes to SNAIL MAIL, there is one very important rule that MUST be followed.  You must write back, or else you have broken the chain of communication.  I know it takes time and effort to sit down, write about your day on a piece of paper, throw it into an envelope, stick a stamp on it, lick the weird tasting glue, find a post office and wait patiently for the person who is receiving it write back... BUT there is nothing like snail mail.  All of that time would not have been spent on someone that you don't like, and the person receiving that letter knows that, because they spent the same amount of time with the paper, envelope, stamp, licking, post office and waiting patiently that you have done.

I will keep writing,

cause I love it & cause I have to!



My Snail Mail

Write me and I will write you back!

Haliee Ewest

MSC 720
Bethel University
3900 Bethel Drive
St. Paul, MN 55112

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