Storyboarding my life

For two weeks, students are busy working on a final video class project, Storyboarding my life.¹ As I prepared for the lesson (and taught it three times) I shared my life story and reflected on my life's purpose, theme, and direction. I was greatly encouraged seeing how the Father has directed, transformed, and renewed me. (Hint, my life's theme is Romans 12:2)

Here's what the students did and I encourage you to do the same with your own life. We begin at the beginning, what's happened so far?

PART I – CONTENT
First, I need to determine the content of my life storyboard. I do this by:

• Remembering important facts in my life
• Understanding them in positive and negative terms
• Applying “chapters” or “scene titles” to my life events.

The students created great timelines reflecting their lives' events in positive and negative terms. We had sticky notes everywhere. All over desks, in notebooks, in lines, and even in a circle. It was great to visually see their lives in yellow and blues, reds and greens, positives and negatives. I encourage you to create your own timeline. When you're finished, continue and look at your life's events and discern a theme:

PART II – ESTABLISH A THEME
Next, I need to perceive my life’s purpose to establish a theme for the story by:

• Analyzing what I consider or want to be the theme (purpose) of my life, especially in relation to my life content.
• Evaluating whether my life events communicate well or poorly my life theme. If there are incongruencies, what needs to change – my theme or the direction my life events seem to be taking me?

If you are visual, create a Venn diagram to illustrate these points. One circle has what you want your life to be about (ideal life) and the other circle has your life's events (reality). If these circles are quite different, there is a huge problem: Your theme doesn't match your life. Something must change to make these circles overlap more and more. What about you? How's your life's theme match your life? What needs to change?

Students struggled with this part. Many commented that they had never thought about their life's theme before. I encouraged them to look carefully at their life and discern their life's direction. Where's their life heading? Is their life going in the direction they desire? Does it match their life's purpose?

Then as a class, we discussed point of view and perspective. Who has the best perspective on your life to tell you if your theme (purpose) matches your life's actions. Is it a friend, spouse, parent, teacher? Or is it God?

Lastly, we examined where we are in our life's journey, our life's "plot structure."

PART III – PLOT STRUCTURE
Finally, I need to storyboard my life by laying out the basic plot structure. I do this by:

• Creating a discernible storyline; I fit my life content into either Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, or Conclusion.
• Pay attention to the climax’s relationship to my theme. In other words, what I consider to be the climax/turning point in my life should directly relate to what I consider the theme of my life. It’s possible my life has not yet had a climax.

I encourage you to live according to your purpose. In the end, who determines our purpose? Our Creator.
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¹ This project is not of my own design. Many thanks to my former teammates for this great lesson plan and life lesson. It has been truly insightful for me.

The purpose of an empty stadium

I love sports stadiums. They've always drawn my interest. I love the thought of them filled with fans cheering on their team to victory. I love the sights and sounds of stadium. The crowded ticket gate, showing my ticket to get in the gates, finding my seat, smelling the concession stand food, walking around the concourse, eating popcorn, reading banners. I love everything about them.

The first thing I saw as a gazed out our 20th floor window when we arrived in Harbin were two stadiums. One was on our campus and the other, much larger stadium, was down the road. I've noticed it for years but had never been inside. I'd only walked by it as I entered the shopping mall. I waited for the perfect time to go inside. I waited for an exhibition soccer match to come to town. The game never came.



The stadium sits empty day after day, month after month, year after year. Four years of emptiness (and who knows how long before we came to Harbin). It's sad to imagine a stadium never used for its purpose, but I love them the same.

So there I was looking into the empty Harbin stadium nothing barring me from walking up and down the aisles or taking a seat anywhere I'd like. It was empty and unused in disrepair but at any moment it could serve its purpose.



I imagined my own life. Is my life being used for its purpose? Does the Father look at my life and rejoice cheering that I'm being used for His purpose? Or does He peer into my empty life saddened that I am not being used for the purpose He intended? I long for the former. I long to be used for His purpose. I long to hear the Father say, "Well done good and faithful servant."

Back to life, back to reality

Welcome to snowy Harbin! After a (mild) winter full of freezing temperatures and no snow, snow has covered the ground for the last few days. We’re all geared up for a white Easter. Really, I hope for a spring-like Easter with cherry blossoms, flowers, and pastel dresses and ties, but it’s Harbin and spring doesn’t come until May.

It is good to be home in Harbin with familiar surroundings and routines. Kanyon started back at preschool, I began teaching, and our team shared the first round of cooking for each other.



As our team prepares for this semester, we’ve been under attack. Sickness, kids not sleeping at bedtime, mental exhaustion of big decisions looming, and minor miscommunication all attacked different members of the team and tried to bring us down. We persevered and continue to overcome because we know the Father. We believe He has big plans for this semester and we believe it will be the best one yet. Please join us in praying against the enemy’s attacks.

Looking forward to the work at hand over the next month, these events need your prayers.

Coffee house: This week we’re hosting a coffee house event for students to discuss the topic of luck. Luck seemed appropriate since coffee house will be the day before St. Patrick’s Day. Please remember this event as we hope to lead students towards a deeper understanding of life.

Passport renewal adventure: We need to renew our passports. In China this involves a trip to the nearest US Embassy or Consular General. From Harbin, that means a trip to Shenyang (four hours by train). We planned the trip for this past weekend but were delayed due to sickness. We now plan to try again in the near future. Please remember the travels and paperwork required to renew our passports.

Grace’s expectant baby: Our friend Grace is expecting her first child at the end of March. Her parents moved in to take care of her and will live with her for the next 12 months. Plus, her husband just returned from a work assignment in Pakistan. We’re thankful for her friendship and ask for prayers as she enters the final weeks before her little baby arrives.

Thailand update: Thank you for your prayers during our time in Thailand. Your prayers directly resulted in the healthiest Annual Thailand Conference that we can remember. At times, we were sick, but our overall experience in Thailand with our friends at conference and with Jeremy’s family was great. Thank you!

TwelveTwoTimes newsletters: We will soon be moving towards online delivery of our newsletters. If you know someone who receives the physical newsletter via the postal service, please encourage them to go online and sign up to receive the email letters. Visit www.twelvetwotimes.com and click, "Join Our Mailing List" to sign up today!

To the book club

While we live on a university campus, part of our work is to connect with the nationals in the city beyond our university campus. So we engage locals in throughout Harbin.

Recently Kanyon and M’Lynn have been involved in Bell English Book Club. Each weekend they travel across town to a small apartment for an hour of English books and interaction with other kids. The event concludes with an activity and Kanyon often checks out a book to take home.

This week, M’Lynn led a “Snowy Day” activity for the kids. She prepared 20 cookies (more than enough), found marshmallows (a difficult task in China), and brought snow flake designs. Lesson plan in hand, she and Kanyon went “to the book club.”

The children loved it. They read “Snowy Day” and another snowman poem before doing the snowy activity. Together the kids decorated melted snowman sugar cookies, snow flake cutouts, and a paper chain. Everything nicely fit into the hour.

Activities like this are a great way to reach out into the greater community and build relationships. We’re excited to see what is in store for the book club!

Harbin Ice & Snow World

This is a warm winter with temperatures hovering above 0 degrees F making the 13th Harbin Ice & Snow world the warmest one ever. The fact that we've had no snow this winter is even stranger. So strange that the Ice Festival organizers had to make tons of artificial snow to give the festival the right "feel." Plus the snow makes walking on the ice less slippery and keep it from melting as it's constructed.



We visited the Ice & Snow World yesterday with the kids. Since M'Lynn and I've been twice without them, we figured we wouldn't miss much if we spent the whole night chasing kids instead of looking at the ice. But who can miss the ice buildings when they're so huge.



Kanyon loved the place! Immediately he set off to find the "fun stuff." Off we marched through the artificial snow in search of a small ice slide. It was fun! Kanyon went twice before Corbin got anxious for his turn. He also slid twice.



Then around we trooped. Up ice stairs for a view from above. Then inside a refreshment shop to warm up, but only for a little because everything was three times as expensive as normal. Then back outside. We stayed outside in single digit temperatures for about two hours before our toes were frozen and it was time to head back to the bus.



Before viewing the pictures online first go outside wearing shorts and a t-shirt and get comfortable in a lawn chair so you can experience all the sights and colors of the Ice Festival as if you were there yourself. Ready. Good. Here are the photos.

Then come back inside, find something hot to drink, and warm up your toes as you enjoy this video of the Ice Festival being assembled.



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Video produced by The Telegraph and borrowed here from Outside In

Mario Kart Wii has grace too

If you find yourself in last place, like Kanyon, don't worry, Bullet Bill to the rescue. Bullet Bill is Mario Kart's version of grace and unmerited favor. All you need to do is be in last place, or close to it, find an action square, and then press B. Bullet Bill takes care of the rest. You're rocketed past competitors as Bullet Bill takes control and drives your kart for you. Most times you'll start in last place and when Bullet Bill is through, you'll be near the front of the pack.

I've even used this as a strategy. Hang out in the back of the pack, but close enough to not be too far behind, and then get Bullet Bill to win the race.

Truly, truly, I say to you, the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Monopoly deal breaker & grace

Have you ever played Monopoly Deal? I played for the first time this week. The game is simple, collect three complete sets of property and you win. Turn after turn, I collect cards, save money, and use action cards to gain an advantage.

Pass Go and draw two more cards.
Sly Deal - take any one property from another player
Debt Collector - all players pay me 5 million dollars
Forced Deal - Force a trade with another player, property for property
Deal Breaker - Take one complete set of properties from any other player

The first time M'Lynn used the Deal Breaker card during our game, I was furious. She stole my property. I worked so hard collecting property cards to gain the complete set. It took me many turns before I finally had all the cards to complete the set. Then she just gets to take the set away from me. For what? What do I get in return? Nothing. Absolutely nothing! She didn't earn the cards! She just took them!

Then I began thinking. This Deal Breaker card is much like grace. Unmerited grace from God. He gives grace, favor, blessing to everyone. Many times as I see others being blessed, or receiving favor I get jealous. What have they done to deserve that favor? They haven't earned it. Look at me, how I worked for it, I should receive something. Where's my favor? Then I realize that it's not about our works. God gives grace freely. We don't have to earn the grace. I, myself, was freely given this grace too. I've earned nothing and am just as sinful as everyone else. I've rebelled against God by my words and deeds, in commission and omission. I don't deserve grace any more than anyone else. I'm the recipient of the complete work of Jesus on the cross. God chooses to give me this deal out of love, unmerited. Amazing!

Acts of Obedience

Throughout our lives, we are always striving to fully obey all that our Father has called us to do, and all that He has asked of us. This comes difficult to us sometimes when we know exactly what we have been called to do, but we want to somehow cheapen the calling and do it in our own way.

The story begins in October 2006 when I was called to quit graduate school and find a job to help eliminate all our debts. We both knew then what the Father was calling us to do right then to prepare for where He was calling us in the future. I was to get a job and pay off all our remaining balances from consumer debt to student loans in preparation to return to China as teachers.

We were blessed abundantly by finding a job that more than just pays off the balances, but allowed us to remain involved in the local and international Chinese community. Over the past 11 months, our Father eliminated all of our debts. But His ultimate calling for our service to Him was still unfulfilled.

To be obedient to our Father, we applied again to be teachers in China. We completed applications, personality tests, phone interviews, and references. On October 29, 2007 we received word that we had been accepted to return as teachers in August 2008.

Now, the question of being fully and completely obedient to our Father’s calling for our lives. I tried to make excuses and justify what I am doing now as a perfect fulfillment of what He called us to do in October 2006. I am serving China from Midland, is that not what you called us to do? Can we not stay here where you have placed us? Is this not exactly what you have called us to do? Are we not fully following your call for our lives?

After being conflicted as to what we are called to do for months, we now have the clarity and peace of mind to be fully obedient to His plan. I had tried to only partially obey what He had called me to do, making excuses as to why it is enough, knowing full well that this job now is not what we have been called to do, but that it is a preparation for things to come.

We are going to be fully obedient to His call on our lives and join His plan completely. I am going to quit making excuses and trust Him completely that He knows what is best for our lives and our families’ lives.

He has asked us to return to China as English teachers in August 2008. While this is difficult, we know that His ways are better than our ways and that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Being completely obedient to our Father is the only place we want to be, no more excuses. We ask for your thoughts as we continue to strive for nothing less than complete obedience. We ask that you consider how our Father would use you to join in His plan for the nations.

Why China?

Hello. We're teachers in China. We build relationships, live as servants, testify truth, and serve in Harbin, China. Read our story.

The memories from our first year in Nanchang, China (2005-06) urged us to return to share the eternal hope we have with others. The plan has been confirmed numerous times by our faithful Father, and all things have continually prepared us for the task at hand.

China is a land of change. In the 1980s, only 5% of high school graduates were able to attend college; now it is upwards of 15%. In the 1980s, Chinese people were largely isolated from the outside world. Now there are 298 million internet users, 1 billion mobile phone subscribers, and Chinese travel abroad in ever-increasing numbers. In the 1980s, 80% of the population lived in the rural areas and 20% lived in the cities. Now according to the 2010 national census that ratio is almost 50/50.

We are excited to share this wonderful task with you and allow you to be a part of the Father’s plan to redeem those in China who have not heard, but will come to understand (Isaiah 52:15). You can help us reach this goal by continually lifting up the newsletters we will send, and asking for partners to come forward to join in the Father's awesome adventure. We would love to be able to send you more information about the opportunities to partner together. Just drop us a line and we will get back to you to answer your questions and get you more information.

Check back to the blog for updates on the progress, stories of the faithfulness of the Father, and ways you can lift up this task.