Will Power! Kinda different from Will-I-Am

WILLS

I've been thinking a whole lot about wills lately. There are a lot of wills out there, ya know?

• God's will
• My will
• My parent's wills
• My family's will
• The will of people back home
• The will of my church
• Everyone has an agenda of some sort. Let's be real.     

That means that there are 6.5 billion different wills out there. WHEW! That's a lot of people who want a lot of different things. It's also a whole lot of different opinions. Can we say.... room for conflict?? You betcha.

I'm going to put out a disclaimer again: I'm only 23, and I'm learning a lot right now. Bear with me, please, and don't let my humble opinions be taken as ultimate truths (I don't know everything).

I read an article the other day on the topic of drinking alcohol. It offered an opinion that was pretty interesting to me, simply because I've never heard it put that way before. The article approached the subject based from a "Can I?" versus "Should I?" standpoint. Basically, the issue is not a matter of "Do I have a right to do this?" Instead, the issue is "Should I do this?" For example: Does this benefit me and people around me? Does this bring me and others closer to God? It was just interesting. I was less captivated on the opinion of the writer and more captivated by his style of argument.

Most of the time, I hear one crowd trying to condemn something vehemently and another crowd trying to gain the right to do something without being condemned. Each side spurns the other. People can use the same source to back up completely opposite viewpoints. Agendas? Wills? Ringing a bell???

I guess it all depends on your motivation, really.
Are you trying to create black and white?
Are you trying to get people to pick sides?
Are you trying to impose guilt on people?
Are you trying to stick to something you believe?

I can't help but think about wills in all of this. By the way, this post is just me thinking out loud so to speak. I'm just thinking. At the end of the day, there are going to be 6.5 billion different opinions. But.... What's God's will? I think God wants to draw people toward him. I think he wants to bridge the gap between the sin that separates us from him. I think he wants everyone to rely on him for hope and grace. I think he loves everyone, but everyone doesn't love him back. I think that he wants peace and unity with humanity.God's will sounds a lot like LOVE.

All I have to say is that I want to love people.

I used to get all puffed up when someone challenged my world view. I'd fight tooth and nail, argue, and come off as quite the prick half of the time. But now, I live in Southeast Asia. Friends, Asia life is molding me. I don't live in a bubble anymore where there are loads of people who have the same beliefs as I do. There is no teaming up with only people who have the same beliefs anymore. Now, my friend group is wider than life. I have all kinds of friends. They believe all kinds of things. We may talk about those things sometimes if they come up in conversation, but I no longer feel like I'm pushing an agenda of viewpoints on anyone. I now feel like I'm a little bit closer to pushing an agenda of loving on purpose. The response is about 1,000 times better when I tell them why I'm loving them. I love them because God loves them. The end. Simply beautiful. If God's will is to love, then I want my will to be the same thing.

Can I do anything I want to do? Sure, I can. Nobody's got strings attached to my legs and arms like a puppet. I'm free to choose action from action.

Should I do certain things? Maybe so, maybe not. It's worth a thought or two.

Food for thought:

Maybe it all depends on your will/agenda in the end.

I guess the question is: What IS your will? 

And: Should your will be changed?

It's 2014 already?

HMONG NEW YEAR

 

Because of my location, I get the privilege of celebrating the New Year about 5 times per year. Last year, I missed Hmong New Year. But, this year, I got to see it! And let me tell you, I had no idea we had so many Hmong people living in this town.

Everyone gets dressed in their traditional Hmong suits. Hats, stilettos and socks, coins jingling like crazy hanging from brightly colored skirts and blouses. So very exciting!

They have a huge get together that centers around bull fighting and ball throwing. Ball throwing? Yes, ball throwing. It's the only time I've seen tennis balls for sale in this town, and it's actually not a bad idea. Girls and guys get in two extremely long lines that face each other. If a guy is interested in you, he can come up and ask to throw the ball with you. So, you throw balls to each other. It's kinda like a dating service I guess, but hey, people have to get together somehow right?? After all, you have to create enough workers to help run your farm.

Some of the guys start singing to the girls they're trying to woo. If the girl likes him back, she sings back to him. Fascinating to watch, really. They sing an original heart song of their own. They create the tune and the lyrics on the spot. It's like the penguins in Happy Feet. If you've ever seen Happy Feet, you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, go watch it!

The bull fights are exciting, but dangerous. People make a large circle around the bulls. There are no fences or anything. The first bull to run away loses the fight. Trust me, when those bulls go running, you DO NOT want to be standing in the way. The ring of people standing around the bulls scatters frantically when that happens. Needless to say, this is the busiest day of the year for our rinky dink hospital.

Thoroughly enjoyable day for me!

MY ACTUAL NEW YEAR

Adventures...

 

So, I went to a more touristy town for my actual January first New Year. I just wanted to blend into a sea of white faces and not stand out so much. Mission accomplished. I haven't seen that many white people in one place in over a year!

My friend and I decided we wanted to go on some adventures. I wanted to ride an elephant because that's something you have to do at least once in your lifetime. Tagged onto an kayaking trip, and you've got yourself a good day. Or so you think... Ha! You have to remember that I don't live in America. Things like standards, rules, and safety seem to be missing here.

We met our tour guide and the Swiss couple who also signed up for the trip early in the morning. The first thing that our guide tells us is that it's his first day on the job. NICE. We saw a waterfall and rode elephants first, which was awesome!!!!

 Me on the elephant's head!!!!! SCARY!!!! But awesome.

 This cutie stole my heart <3

Then, we hopped into our kayaks. After about 20 minutes, I noticed that our kayak was retaining water. It was getting pretty difficult to paddle, too. So, we pulled over on the river bank. Our tour guide from Tiger Trail says, "OH, Tiger Trail!!!!" He shakes his head and lifts up our kayak, which pees out God only knows how many gallons of water for about 5 minutes. My friend and I looked at each other just wondering how long this trip was going to be and what else was going to go wrong throughout the course of the day. Tour man informs us that the rest of of trip will be another 3.5 hour down the river to the stopping point. OH BOY!!!!!

We stopped every 30 minutes so our kayak could relieve itself...

About 2 hours into this trip, our guide puts his helmet on. We all notice immediately and ask him why on earth he just did that. Hey said one word: Rapids. What in the ham sandwich? Rapids? We're all inexperienced kayakers here,  so we ask him what level they are. "Oh, Class 2 or 3, I think." GREAT, Tiger Trail. Great. A few moments later, our guide's head disappears down what seems to be a 10 foot drop in the river... He pops out unharmed a ways down. Oh, crap my pants... What on earth did we sign up for? The Swiss go first, and bite it. Jaws gaped open, my friend and I have no choice but to go for it. And.... we went down hard. Haha!!!!! The Swiss man lost a shoe, but we all suffered a blow to our pride.

Best idea of the day: Putting a piece of chewed gum in the dime sized hole in our kayak.
Thanks, Swiss guy.
Thanks, Tiger Trail...