Journey of a Thousand Miles

Using our Backstory and Redemptive Negative Turns , we are now to list them in chronological order and rate them from 1-10 on how positive or negative they were. Then we transfer them to a timeline and find a recurring theme in our life. Here's my life in chronological order:  1. Leaving home for the first time for college proved to be harder than I expected but was good for my self-confidence and attaining my goals. I loved being a student, living in a college town, and having my independence.  Positive: 7 2. My boyfriend got a girl pregnant. Very harmful but good that it happened. Would not want to experience that again. Negative: 8 3. Got involved in a worse relationship that still affects me today. Will never experience that again. Negative: 10+ 4. Majoring in Fashion Design. At first, this seemed a useless degree, but I am finally using it with my current job, and I just may start my fashion business after all. Positive: 5 5. Moving to Houston...

Some of my aforementioned plot turns in my previous blog seemed negative while I was enduring them, but turned out to have some redemptive qualities afterwards. Donald Miller uses the story of Victor Frankl to show how our suffering can be used for good and turned into a great life story.  I will evaluate my own negative plot turns here: Negative Turn #1-  Having your boyfriend of 4 years get a girl pregnant is not the ideal way to end a relationship, but it's the only way I would have let him go at the time. Being attached and naive, I couldn't see the warning signs of his bad character traits. That shocking incident opened my eyes to his true nature and allowed me to let go of a relationship that was long past its due date. As harmful as it was, I'm glad God didn't allow me to marry him because he wouldn't have made a very good husband (or possibly father).  Redeemed! Negative Turn #2-  My biggest negative turn of all time was my difficult relationship in ...

Donald Miller's Storyline conference is about writing a good life story and is based on his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years . The idea is to look at your life as you would read a story, with you as the main character, and discover whether you are living the ultimate story that you can be living. One of the exercises at his conference is to outline plot turns in your life, much like a writer would do for a novel, and discover your backstory. I have outlined mine below for your viewing pleasure, and I'd encourage you to do the same, as it proves to be very fun! Exercise One   List all the major plot turns in your life. Consider the following questions when plotting: 1) Who has had the greatest effect on your life? 2) What is your single greatest accomplishment? 3) What was the saddest day of your life? 4) What were the educational milestones of your life? 5) What was your first real job? 6) What are your greatest relational memories? 7) Have you lost so...

Well I had an interview in Tomball this weekend (the town my parents live in), and it went well. The job entails some graphic design and fashion, which is basically what I got my degree in. If they offered the job and paid enough, I would probably take it.   I also talked to a fashion designer in town who started his own business, and he talked to me for about an hour on how to launch my own and said he would help me. If everything worked out, and I got the job, I could also start the business I've been dreaming of since my first year as a fashion design student. It would just make sense to move home, wouldn't it? That got me thinking about whether I could live at home again and if it would be right for me. I've grown up and changed a lot, and Austin seems to fit my lifestyle and interests more, but what if Tomball has some hidden gems that only God can see right now?   It was actually a relief to come back to Austin today. Things make sense here. Li...

Things I am up to lately: Preparing for my mission trip. It is exactly a month away, and I still don't feel prepared. But I am uber excited to return to Europe. Ohh, how I miss that part of the world.  Perusing travel websites. Sheesh, I know I'll be traveling in a month, but it can't get here fast enough, and it's hardly a vacation. My travel bug is biting so hard lately.  I'm so tempted to drop everything and run, but money becomes an issue at that point. Yes, I know I can work abroad, but I have a few things here that I want to work on before completely dropping them. With that said... Recording a demo. Actually, I haven't recorded yet, but I will be soon. Getting into the music industry is alot of work, don't you know. But the more I do it, the more I realize how much I love it and that I actually can do it. Learning about forgiveness.  Just about everyone has something painful that has happened in their past, but do they know how to let these...