“The Climb is Worth It.”

The only mountains I grew up seeing was the Smokey Mountains until I traveled to the Pacific Northwest and my eyes landed on Mt. Rainier. Driving up the road to where my group and I would park the vehicle and hike was gorgeous. There were beautiful waterfalls, lakes and green foliage everywhere. It was beautiful, and although I was excited to hike a little bit, I was content staring out the window at what was going on around me.

 

When I arrived, there was people walking around, visiting the lodge and tourist shops. I started the hike, easy paved walkways but still hills that soon transformed to rocky paths. I was able to see deer that were like none I have ever seen, flowers that looked like they belong in a Dr. Seuss book and marmots. Marmots, very unique animals that remind me of fat prairie dogs that are actually big squirrels, sit along the paths in the meadows acting as if there were not crowds of people around.

 

I was able to smell the fresh air, see and hear the animals, look at the flowers close-up and feel the rocks beneath my feet. I was able to sit on a giant rock overlooking a steep drop to where a glacier was until it melted and left a giant cavity in the Earth. I would look up and see the snow capped tops when the clouds will roll past, imagining what it would be like to climb the mountain.

I was content and comfortable in the vehicle going up the mountain to where we would walk, but the beauty there, although safe, had nothing to compare to the beauty that I experienced once I stepped out of my comfort zone and climbed.

 

I think life is like that, we are comfortable with what we know and there is beauty that surrounds us here. However, there is so much to experience if we just take the time to truly see, not on the screen of a phone or a window, but really taking time to see that even if the climb is hard, it is worth it.

“Why is Fancy Standing in the Road?”

Because a radical love isn’t just a one-time instance, but it is a daily choice that those around you are more important than yourself.

Source: “Why is Fancy Standing in the Road?”

“Why is Fancy Standing in the Road?”

“Why is Fancy in the road,” screeched a voice laced in panic. Fancy, a woman who lives behind a local church in small town Mississippi, lives with her husband and their pet dog in a cozy house next to an open lot. As the youth ministry in the local church grew, so did their desire to host the teenagers in their home. What started as one day grew to twice a week as the teenagers would flood the house, making themselves at home.

Fancy and her husband would sometimes cook for the teenagers but always be there to talk to them, invest in them and pray for them. As prom night neared, Fancy went to look at the seniors take photos near the railroad tracks. A truck was driving down the road and saw the students, but the students didn’t see the truck. Fancy stood in the road until the last student walked to the other side on the shoulder. Then she nonchalantly joined them.

Of course, watching Fancy stand in the road with her light pink shirt and a smile on a face caused instant panic. However, Fancy thought nothing of it. Fancy didn’t save a life that day. She didn’t push a child out of oncoming traffic or another other crazy act of love we often read about it. No, that isn’t Fancy’s story for this season of her life.

Fancy’s story is one of radical love, a persistent ordinary person that creates extraordinary results. It is opening the door smiling, listening, praying, watching them play sports and believing in them. Fancy and her husband may not have a plaque on the wall of their achievements from helping this church, may not have a building dedicated to them at a school or even for people all across the world to know their name, but for the teenagers that flood their house, they have found a second home in the love of Fancy, her husband and their dog.

 

Because a radical love isn’t just a one-time instance, but it is a daily choice that those around you are more important than yourself.

“I Love Chinese Food..” 6 Somewhat Shocking Things When It Comes to Eating in China

1. Desserts – Not as Sweet as They Look

Along the crowded streets of the large cities in China are what seems like never-ending storefronts. As you walk, you will see these wonderful bakery and pastries storefronts. Inside are delicious looking cakes and pastries, and you may become excited to eat some sweet desserts. However, this will never be the case in China.

If you see dark brown bread that looks like chocolate bread, it is not at all chocolate. If you have a sweet tooth in China, it can fixed by buying some chocolate (like Hershey’s) at stores, but the bakery is not for people who grow up on sugary desserts, cookie dough and love cake… that takes like cake.

2. Burger King, McDonald’s & Dairy Queen

After eating traditional Chinese food for a few weeks, I saw a Burger King and almost lost my mind in excitement (not something I have ever done in the U.S.). Nationals love red spice, so everything is spicy. Other than that, it is almost like you are back in America, except everyone is taking pictures of you as you eat.

The McDonald’s was pretty much the same but with a smaller menu and a weird looking bean pie instead of apple. If you see a Dairy Queen, they have green tea ice cream – check it out!

3. Scorpions, Crickets, Ants, Seahorses

Name it. If it chirps, bites or looks super cute in an office aquarium, you can probably find it on a stick moving around until they quickly cook it and sell it for about $6 in American cash. Yum!

 

       4. Wu Mart

I think of Wu Mart like Wal-Mart, this magical place in China where I can find bamboo chopsticks, all the candy I can’t read and tea I can’t pronounce. They also have a meat market, but unlike the meat sections I am use to, they just lay out the meat on a table covered in ice and you grab a thin plastic bag (like you would put fruit in at Wal-mart) and just put your chicken leg or whatever else you want in it to take it home.

5. Ice, Ice, Nada

I love ice in my soft drinks, sweet tea, green tea, water, lemonade.. You get the point. However, they feel like cold water will get you sick so you will be served hot water or hot tea at your meals and bottled drinks won’t be refrigerated at stores.

6. Fruit on the streets

By far my favorite! Along the streets you will see people selling large, beautiful-looking fruit with more flavor and less money than in the U.S. However, if you buy anything where you eat the peel (like an apple), wash it.. then wash it again… and just go ahead and wash it a third time and make sure the water is not absorbed into the fruit. If it is, toss it and try another.

 

 

Karie’s Helpful Hint:

If you’re in the larger tourist cities, they’ll be McDonald’s and Starbucks and other American-style restaurants that you can point to the familiar looking options on the menu to order. If you are in areas that are not common tourist destinations, when in doubt, go for dumplings (my favorite is mutton) and rice.