Reflections and Responses

Even though I work on the external affairs team, I feel like I don't always do a great job of explaining what the organization I work for does. The opening video from our conference in June does a great job of explaining what our organization stands for and aims to accomplish, in a (pretty) nutshell. I thought I would share this for any of you who are confused about exactly what Points of Light Insitute is all about. The video is just a three-minute montage of words. I hope it's helpful. Watch here .

Today I had the opportunity to visit a place where emotions run high: the escalator leading to baggage claim at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. If you have ever been there, you know exactly what I mean. The escalator is the meeting spot for travelers to greet those waiting for them. It’s as close to the terminal that non-travelers can go. Those who have just landed in Atlanta experience emotions as they come up the escalator, and those waiting for them are filled with a range of emotions as well. I have been on both sides and experienced an assortment of feelings. Coming up the escalator, for example, I have felt relief to be home, excitement to see John or my parents waiting for me at the top, a little disappointment when no one is waiting for me, and exhaustion from my travel. When waiting on others, such as my sister or my parents, I have felt extremely excited, slightly irritated when the plane carrying my relative is late, and tired from waiting. I know that many people...

God is so cool. I was having a rough morning (which, of course, God knew). I turned on my Pandora station and the first four songs were " Bad Days Better " by Shane and Shane, " When the Rain Comes " by Third Day, " Carried to the Table " by Leeland, and "In You" by Shane and Shane. Love it. If you don't know these songs, you should! All of them are about God being our strength and seeing us when we are sad and taking care of us. Great songs that God used to speak to me today. Thankful.

I've talked to several female friends who are newlyweds, and we are all in agreement: dealing with the necessary paperwork after getting married is a major hassle. After your marriage certificate arrives in the mail, you must go to the DMV to get your license, which you need as photo ID to change your social security card, credit cards, checks, and insurance. Don't forget that you must also change your mailing address, email address, everything at work (official files with HR department, email address, business cards, etc.). If you plan to travel internationally anytime soon, be sure to update your passport (which also costs a pretty penny). Then you have to notify any other accounts or memberships you have (like Delta Skymiles, gym memberships, etc.). The bottom line is that making all of these changes is inconvenient. The changes involve making a lot of phone calls, then physically visiting half a dozen places. Most of these alterations need to be completed during business ho...

It's interesting that everyone defines "fun" differently. Some call waking up early for a long bike ride fun, but others consider sleeping late way more fun. To some people, fun means organizing. To others, fun means making a mess. Caving and skydiving are in some people's definitions of fun (but definitely not mine!). To state the obvious, God did not make us cookie cutter people who all find the same activities entertaining. This concept makes life both interesting and challenging. For example, I was the one person in my family who did not enjoy roller coasters or overtly adventurous things. This complicated trips to Six Flags ("Who's going to sit this ride out and wait with Leigh?") and certainly ruled out skiing as a vacation activity for my family. However, it also allowed my family to learn about things I found fun that did not really interest them, like scrapbooking. I tend to not be great at relaxing or making time for leisure, but I have been re...

I am seeing my family off to Ghana tonight. My sister will be there for six weeks, and my parents will be with her for the first two. Amy has to go on a six-week international practicum as part of the graduate degree she is pursuing at Fuller Theological Seminary, so she chose to fulfill that requirement with the ministry in Ghana that we have worked with in the past. I have spent the last 24 hours with my family and really enjoyed it. Since my sister lives in Los Angeles, I hadn't seen her since Christmas! She will stay in Georgia for two weeks in August after she returns from Ghana, so I'm already looking forward to more quality time with her then. I am so excited for my family to return to a country that they have all visited before and to reconnect with people there. I'm also excited to see how God will use them as they dedicate a church there, spend time in villages and spend time "living life" with the awesome missionary couple who live there full-time. I kn...