A Loving Farewell to Agape

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Things have been a little crazy, as I'm sure you can imagine. This weekend we are having our second yard sale in an attempt to sell most of our worldly possessions. The first was held in Henderson and was a great success. This one is in Cordova - I'll let you know how it goes.

Today was my last day of work. It is bittersweet. I am so excited about our upcoming year in China and all the amazing things that we will experience. But it is difficult to leave a job that you enjoy and that has provided stability to launch out into the unknown. It is a great lesson in faith and trust in the Father. I'm getting there.

Tuesday, Michael and I joined my adoption center co-workers at my director's house for a cookout and a movie. It was wonderful - I will miss the friends I have made and the laughs that we have shared. Thursday at our Agape staffing, they served a breakfast in my honor - there's no greater tribute that Panera Bread Bagels and chocolate milk.

So with the close of this day, I bid a loving farewell to my friends at Agape. Thanks for laughing at my jokes. Thanks for all the encouragment that helped me to do my job well. Thanks for the opportunity at my first ENJOYABLE big-girl job! Michael, Melissa, Carolyn, Amber, Jennifer, Claire, and Willie - you will all be missed!

I Can Officially Make It Public!

Michael and I have some news... no I'm not pregnant! We had to share this information with several people before we could make it public knowledge, but now I can share it with the whole world if I want: We're moving to China!!!!

We have had the opportunity for several years now to move to China and teach in a university there, but for different reasons, we have always said "no." We did the same this year, but our Father had other plans! He kept putting it in front of us, over and over and over. Applications were supposed to be sent in March. We decided at the end of May to see what could be done, since Somebody obviously wanted us to. Chuck Harle, who is the director of the China Calls program, told us that it would be impossible, but if our Father wanted it to happen, it would happen. So we sent in all the necessary paper work and waited. About 2 weeks later we found out that we have been hired by Hangzhou Normal University in Hangzhou, China. And the crazy thing is that we actually got hired before many of those who turned in their applications back in March!

My brother Kyle and his wife Rebecca, along with their team (Stan & Juliane McCorkle and Kevin Westmoreland), were supposed to be in a city about 2 hours north of us. But their jobs there fell through and they have been placed in Hangzhou as well! We are all very excited about going, and especially about being together in the same city to do a Great Work!

I will finish up my job at Agape on July 24th. That will give me one week to pack up before our lease here in Memphis is up! After that, we will spend the next 3 weeks visiting with friends and family. Then we will fly out of Dallas sometime around the 25 of August. We will be teaching at the university for the entire school year - 10 months. We will probably spend several weeks after the school year is up "surveying" different areas of Asia for when we move over there for good. Our sweet Annie will be living with her grandparents in Ft. Worth, Texas for the next year. I cry about this all the time! But it is for the best!

So, we have less than 5 weeks to pack up all of our belongings and figure out where to put everything that we're not taking! Things are a little hectic right now but we are so excited! Please remember us when you talk to our Father!

** Notice the special capitalization! We have to watch what we say, so please do the same with any responses, emails, facebooks, etc! Thanks!

Please enjoy these pictures of our future home!

This is one of the views of the campus! The building in focus is the library!

This is the Art Center at Hangzhou Normal University

Another view of the campus

The beautiful West Lake - major attraction in Hangzhou

Hangzhou cityscape

I Have a Sister!!

Kyle and Becca were joined in matrimony on June 6, 2009 - my parents' 28 wedding anniversary. When Daddy asked Kyle if they chose this date in honor of his parents, Kyle said, "No, it was just the first Saturday we were free." How sweet. The wedding was held at the Buford church of Christ in Buford, Georgia.  I had the honor of being one of the bridesmaids and Michael had the honor of being one of the officiants. Here are a few pictures from the big event!

These are the men in my life. Kyle was king for the night as evidenced by his Burger King crown. Dad was the the chef for the evening.

Chef Daddy and his assistants out on the grill. The food was delicious!

Putting on the dress! My beautiful new sister-in-law.

Michael and me right before the ceremony. He's mic'ed and ready to go!

  Waiting for the bride.

I made the groom's cake! It was stressful, but turned out to be a success!

The Hoopers

The Lessons I've Learned from "Thugs"

When I first told people in Nashville that we were moving to Memphis, they were quick to warn me of the danger & crime, and even added some scary stories to the mix. So Michael and I decided to live in Cordova - close to Memphis housing prices, but "farther away from Memphis crime." Ha. There are so many things I could say about this, but I'll leave it to another blog post. For the record, I have never felt threatened during our time here in Memphis, and I have learned a lot of lessons about stereotyping and judging people prematurely.

I have been humbled during the last two days by the things I have seen and the lessons I have learned from so called "thugs." I have been taught by my culture that young, black men that wear their pants low and wear do-rags in their hair are bad people and most likely members of a gang. I have been taught to be leary and even fearful of them. Well, they have taught me something completely different.

Last night, Michael and I went out on one of our weekly date nights. We went to a nice Thai restaurant, to the discount movie theater, and then headed over to tcby for some ice cream. We didn't arrive at tcby until around 9:45PM. There was a pizza place next door. As we were getting out of the car, a "thug" came out of the pizza place. If I had been listening to my culture, I would have been "watching my back." But before I had time to register this, this young man humbled me. A white, middle-class woman was walking into the pizza place. She was out of the normal range that manners (at least in the south) would require someone to hold the door for her. In fact, this young man was already out the door and out on the sidewalk. When he saw her approaching, he turned and walked back to the door to open it for her.

Lesson #1: Don't judge by appearance and don't stereotype!

I'll just leave it at that... I think you know where I'm going here. On to lesson 2.

Often, especially in during these hard economic times, I will pass a homeless person on the side of the road while on my way to work. I always feel guilty that I "don't have anything to give them." I will usually say a prayer for them and in this way satisfy my conscience. Besides, I have been taught by my culture that if I give them money, they will just use it on drugs and alcohol. They need to go get a job! This morning on my way to work, I was approaching an intersection. I saw the homeless man with his sign standing on the corner. As I said a prayer and began to divert my eyes, something caught my attention. The car in front of me was stopping. The driver was a young black male wearing a do-rag (another "thug"). He rolled down his window, shook the man's hand, and handed him a wad of cash. Not that it should matter, but the homeless man was a white man, probably in his late 30's.

Lesson #2: Love is not words, but action

So many of us call ourselves Christians, but who are we really? We sit in our expensive church buildings with our middle-class neighbors, feeling comfortable in our pews. We don't drink, we don't cuss, we don't lie. But do we love? Do we obey? We pass homeless people on the side of the road and think we are doing what God wants us to do by not giving them money (to spend on their drugs and booze). But we are not told to decide who deserves our love and generosity. God told one man, to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. This "thug" probably didn't have much himself. But he gave what he had to someone in need, without discretion.

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18

Let's start truly obeying what Jesus says (all of it!!!) and glorifying him by loving (=serving) others, without discretion!!

Here's To You, Becca

In less than 2 weeks, my brother, Kyle is getting married. You must understand that since I was very young, Kyle has been my hero. He was the brother that let me come into his room, set up my stuffed animals like forts, and play G.I. Joes with him. He was the brother that let me hang out with him and his friends, even though sometimes I was the annoying little sister. He was the brother that, while living in China, had to give his permission for me to marry Michael. He was the brother that officiated my wedding. He was the brother that I never thought any girl would be good enough for.

But it has happened. Rebecca Harp. The only girl who I would ever approve of for my big brother.

I think that she will be more like a sister than a sister-in-law, really. She already is. She constantly makes me laugh. She inspires me to be a better person. She's just down right cool! So here's to you, Becca, the newest member of our family! I love you and I'm so excited to be your sister!

Think Positive

We have had a tough couple of weeks at work. We contract with a state-funded program that works with adoptive families. Due to the economy (I know, I'm sick of hearing about it, too), the state took some cuts. Due to the cuts in the state, we took a 15% cut. So for the past two weeks, we have known that one or more of us would have to be laid off... we were just waiting for the official word. Tuesday morning, we were all called in to the conference room, where our director let us know who had been let go - one of our therapists, Christie. Someone in our Jackson office had to be laid off as well. (Please keep Christie and Jason in your prayers). Although it was a relief to know that I would be able to keep my job, it is difficult to see a co-worker have to go through something like that. There are few words that can be said to bring comfort and encouragement. Morale is low and the office is pretty depressing. So I go home and turn on the TV to try to find some relief and take my mind off things... but that doesn't really work. I used to enjoy watching the news... now it is more depressing than ever. I feel like I'm being bombarded by negativity. It is affecting my thoughts and actions, and at times I feel like I'm drowning in bitterness. But in all reality, we still live in the wealthiest country in the world. We, and more to the point, I have so many things to be thankful for. I have seen some people do this on their blog, and I'm going to steal it... in an effort to ward off the bitterness and negativity, I am going to think of ten things that I am thankful for today:

1. I woke up this morning in good health.
2. I woke up this morning with my husband laying by my side, which means he made it through another night of work safely.
3. I woke up in a bed in a home with air conditioning... 3 things that a huge number of people in this world do not have and will never have.
4. I had a car to drive to work this morning.
5. God has blessed me with a job through which He provides for Michael and me financially.
6. I received an encouraging facebook message this morning from a friend who probably debated on whether or not to even say anything - it has helped me to find strength to get through the day.
7. Even though I forgot to pack my lunch this morning, I still found something to eat at the office, and I have never had to miss a meal because I could not afford food.
8. Spring is here and it is finally warm outside. I love when it is warm outside.
9. My husband and my dog make me laugh ever day... they are two of my greatest blessings.
10. God had forgiven my sins, and no matter how bad things may get, I know that this world is not all there is. I have something awesome to look forward to!
    

Okay, I wasn't sure that would work, but finding 10 things to be thankful for was pretty easy... and I actually do feel a lot better!! I hope that, even when you are having a bad day, you take time to count the blessings that God has put in your life!

The American Dream

Michael and I plan to move to Asia to do mission work in January 2014. It seems like forever, but there is much to be done and we are trying to be patient. Before we even got married, we came to terms with the fact that we may never own a house. It didn't seem so bad a few years ago when we were just getting out of college, and all of our friends were living in apartments and working temporary jobs like us.... it's gotten a little harder to swallow in the past year. Now our friends are getting married, settling down, starting careers, buying houses, and starting their families. And we're still waiting. I was having a really tough time with this, so Michael and I decided to sit down and have a heart to heart. My husband is wise beyond his years. At some point during our conversation, it hit me. Life is not about pursuing the American Dream. While others around me are building their earthly homes, I am at peace knowing that each I step on earth is building my real home - my eternal home. I may not have a lot of nice stuff - we live in an apartment, we drive old cars, our couch was free from a friend of a friend and has a few holes in it - but I have great treasure in Heaven. Now I think about things and believe that people have reason to envy me! I'm not settling on this earth. I have something so much better in store. Maybe that's one reason why Jesus tells us that it is harder for the rich to get to heaven. They have settled on earth. They have stored their treasures here and feel perfectly content with this life and the treasures that they have. But for those of us who are storing our treasures in heaven, we have no reason to hold on to this earth. Sometimes when I'm having a really tough day, I find myself thinking "I can't wait to go home." And then I realize that I am at home. The first time I noticed that I did this, I was a bit disturbed. Now I understand. Even my "home" isn't really my home. My home is in heaven, and I can't wait to get there!