Freedom in the little things.

There is something that represents such freedom to me when I find a swing. As I was running the other day I came across a park that had swings! I quickly sprinted to them like a little kid and hopped on! It always makes me happy to jump onto a swing and glide back and forth while stretching my body back in complete surrender to the glides of each stride as I pump my feet to go higher. I feel like a little kid, as if there aren’t no worries around me and I can freely embrace the ability to pump my feet back and forth to go higher and higher. To some this may seem mundane and even a simple task, but to me it brings peace and a sense of childlikeness. As I jumped on the swing, I thought to myself…I am living out the desires of my heart right now. The lord has been crazily moving in my life. Shifting things around and blowing my mind in ways I could have never imagined. Although this is happening, it didn’t necessarily come easy. I fought for other things that weren’t necessarily in the plans of the Lords eyes at times, but I think we can all say that sometimes we get off the trail sometimes chasing after our own desires before the Lords. I was thinking this even today talking with a friend…I know…I really do know that spending time with God is SO beneficial to my everything but I can get off that trail easily enticed by my own strength of working things out only to come back to the place of saying, “Abba, Father, I need you because you satisfy all my desires.” There is a rhythm sometimes to our lives that we can experience the sweetness of the Lord but be drawn away easily. How does one maintain consistency? How does one know in their heart that quiet time is good time but does not always take the time to do that thing they know what is good for them. Am I making sense? Sometimes my blabber gets the best of me. The Lord says to come to him and he will provide. If we know this why is it sometimes such a challenge? I have a tidbit of an answer…because we live in a dark world sometimes and satan is out to turn us against the Father who brings life.

A really good Psalm that someone spoke over to me recently goes like this… (It’s the message, which some people may find not spot on biblical but the words I found were beautiful to me and comforting :) 

“My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength – that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth. Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God!”

-Ephesians 3:14-19

Amen :)

What stood out to me most was “the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love” O how wonderful if we allow him to live within us! Praise be to Him, the giver of life!

I want to try and keep this blog updated with my thoughts still but also a little update as to what I’m up to and where I am in the world ;) I am constantly on the move with this Job I am leading and would love for you to journey with me as I write and share! Currently I am in Manitoba and heading towards the Mountains/Alberta on Sunday! Manitoba has been nice but I’m stoked to head west and experience the beauty out there as well! Next week is girl/guy week which makes me so excited to spend time just with the girls! I know were going to have a rad week! Pray for safety on the road as we travel both Sunday and Monday.

Much Love,

A

 This link below is a blog that is written by students. Feel free to check it out as it will be updated more often than my blog :) 

http://outtatownsa14.wordpress.com

Here are some photos as of lately :) 

                Twister with paint!!

Fun group of staff I get to work with :) 

Small group cookie making night! Was blessed to use this kitchen at a camp we stayed at! 

Hangouts with these beautiful gals :) 

Thanksgiving with my friend Mik :) 

We like to bake & cook lots :) hehe! 

Pumpkin swirl cheesecake for the win! 

:) 

The art of helping.

There is something about one person taking action that I believe encourages others to join in if one sets an example. Some people may think one person may not make a difference but I believe they can. A few days ago as I was walking on the beach, the clouds were coming in and it was getting windy. The boats were all anchored in the distance to keep from coming on the shore, except this one boat (to give you a picture, it was a small rowboat size). I noticed a Thai man struggling to bring the boat to shore that had filled up with water. I turned to my friend and we both looked at each other suggesting maybe we should go help this man. This story may not necessarily be just one person taking action to start but the narrative shows that we both had the thought individually to help this man with the small boat caught up in the tide. I put my back pack on the beach and me and my friend started walking out to the Thai man asking if he needed help. I than waved over a group of young looking Spanish students that had been contemplating to take action just as much as I had to help this man. About 8 of us went over and started helping him haul the water out of the boat, one person ran to get a bucket to help scoop the water out and together as a team, after a few tries the boat made it out of the water! The action of me and my friend compelled others to join and help, and together the boat was brought to shore. 

This reminded me of the body of Christ by helping those in need. This man was in need and people extended a hand. Warms my heart when people come together! Regardless of faith, in love and out of human nature we all, inside of us crave love! 

One person can make a difference and start a movement. I saw this quote by Martin Luther King Jr.

"The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the confirming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority."

This quote ignited a passion in my heart to join a revolution of loving your neighbour as yourself. The pressures of this world each and every day can be so difficult. A world that is constantly telling you, that to be beautiful and happy you need more and more and so many people end up in a rut, believing they don't have these materialistic temporary things the world sells. What if loving and serving others was the message of magazines, tv shows, mission statements of business and so on. Jesus' sweet enduring love. 

A beautiful women of God named Francine that I met months ago at church in Toronto along with her Husband Jobin wrote this on their blog little while back. The words they wrote radiated off the page into my heart,  awakening my soul! 

"But Love always restores humanity to itself and believes in a better narrative. From the cries heard between the silence of war, to the innocence lost in the darkness of brothels, to the dignity destroyed on the cold concrete of homelessness - our humanity is bound to Love's restoration and everyday we rewrite what it means to be human. From that place*, my paradigms are reversed, my prejudices are undone and my life is sold out to something that can't be bought. That's when being fully human becomes about loving my neighbour, as myself. That's when Christ is all I have to give, and Christ is all I have to get. That's when there's no price too high, no place too far, and no person too different- but I see myself in the stranger, the orphan and the widow. Against an age that has made beauty objective into what is seen in the mirror, Love reminds me that it's rather the lens in which I see others. In that light, every breath becomes lived out as a prayer and Christ is the very the lens through which I see others- and I see the image of whom we were created after in everyone."

My paradigms are radically changed with Jesus. 

Be encouraged brothers and sisters!

Much love,

-A

I got to ride an elephant this week with a guy named Paddy from England! What a blast! 

Adventure city!

Traveling is an interesting journey. It's unexpected, unpredictable, adventurous, exciting and unknown at times. You meet some really sweet people along the way and make some really good memories. 

There is a part of me that dislikes the unknown state of which city i'll go to next but there is excitement and less stress at times just going with the flow and not having an agenda. This past week has been neat! Unexpectedly I decided to hop on a 2 day small boat ride after crossing the boarder in Laos. I never thought to go to Laos but my friends here in Thailand suggested it's a beautiful place to explore, so off we went on an adventure! The small boat ride the first day was so great! We were spoiled with the amount of space we had. Reviews said we might be crammed, but it was cozy and comfy and we met really cool people to travel with! We played UNO on the boat, a classic I might say! 

Brought back childhood memories! The first day was about 7 hours. We than arrived around 5 to a small village basically located around a jungle! Oh and we saw a wild elephant on the way to our destination! The accommodations in this village was interesting! It smelt like musty goodness with a little bit of coffee smell perhaps? A group of us went out for dinner at this really neat Indian restaurant in the village. It had Christmas light decorations with really neat lamps! The meal was pretty good! I ordered one of my all time favorites, butter chicken! I love having meals with groups of people! A sense of community coming together to share stories and enjoy a meal is so refreshing! Such a good evening! The next day we had to catch a boat to Luang Probang, which would take about 7 hours. That day we were in for a surprise! I walked down to the boat and it was COMPLETLY jam packed!

I started laughing and was curious if I'd be sitting on the roof with my friends! The day before in our luxurious spacious boat we had learned there was 2 boats that day and the second day they only had one boat! At this point i'd go back to my word of unpredictable I used at the beginning as key words with traveling! Always be prepared for the unpredictable things you may encounter :) I hoped on the boat and there weren't 2 seats availed to sit with my friend so I shared a seat with a nice retired Australian man. We talked for the first while of the boat ride and shared stories about our lives. He was super kind and had been traveling all over Asia for 6 months so far. Had some good advice on traveling and it was good company! A large group of us got together for the remainder of the boat ride and played UNO again with a group of 10! It was crowded and lots of fun! OOOOO and did I tell you that we picked up, what felt like a person from each village along the way. I laugh because our boat already had many people on it :) I will upload a fun photo later of a woman from one of the villages on the way holding a dead large fish walking onto the boat with a huge smile on her face. She had a beautiful smile! I feel there was lots of surprises that day! 

....

    We arrived in LUANG PROBANG! What an interesting and neat little city of about 60,000 I believe. This town was neat! Along the waterside were lots of restaurants and neat places to eat! They had a night market every night with some beautiful things in it! I tested out my bargaining skills and got a sweet painting for about 7$! A bunch of us went bowling that night! Yes, they actually have a bowling ally in this town! A really smart idea! The next day was followed by an awesome waterfall!! What beauty! We took a tuk tuk to a waterfall out in the country side which is popular to go to! We had a nice small hike up to it and enjoyed the day! 

On the way back we stopped and took photos of the pretty rice plantations! 

And I also had Daneille find this tree that you can take the flowers from it and put them on your nose to look like a bird....AHAHHA! Tucan sam?! 

Priceless. 

      I think that one of my favorite places to go to in Luang Probang was a place called Utopia! It was the coolest place! You can get good eats there, play volleyball, sit outside on a beautiful terrace porch and enjoy a view of the waterfront surrounded by trees all around! I had dinner there one night and it was so relaxing! We went there two nights in a row and it was so much fun! 

Loving my travels and the people I'm meeting along the way! Really neat to also catch up with my friend Daneille who I did Kaleo with years ago! Loving the experience and cultures I'm leaning about! So thankful for this time around Asia! Met this cute little girl at a crepe street vendor! She made me smile! With the language barrier It also makes me see that body language is a huge thing. When we smile at others without a verbal word, it can go along way. Although I didn't speak this girls language, my heart was happy exchanging a smile :) 

Back to Thailand now! YIPPPEEEEE! 

-A :) 

"Perfection"

Would you say this picture is perfect below? At first glance, I think not, but as I look again I question what does this word perfection actually mean. I am pushed to think beyond "perfect", and deeper into my own life of the daily tasks I complete and how this word might effect me or others at times. I typed "perfect" into google and I was intrigued at what came up. 

Perfect: Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

1. synonyms:

   ideal, model, without fault, faultless, flawless, consummate,quintessential, exemplary, best, best-example, ultimate, copybook

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This picture would not make the perfect list of synonyms if it was judged by some photographers. But it makes my list of AWESOMENESS. haha! I might be over analyzing but in all seriousness, I believe this picture has made me think through some tough questions. Even the words behind the definition of perfect, made me feel heavy inside. Being without fault, ultimate, and flawless. What???

    

This past week I went up to The Peak in Hong Kong with a couple of the girls from the team. The Peak is a place up on a mountain, over looking the beautiful view of Hong Kong. I got to take some really sweet photos of the view from up top as the sun was setting! This particular photo above caught my eye. I had my camera on a 30 second open shutter option. This means that for 30 seconds the lens stays open so it can capture all the light. The camera is usually on a tri pod but I didn’t have one with me so I was holding it on a railing in hopes I wouldn’t nudge my camera. However, I shook it by accident while holding it and this following picture happened. At first, I was not happy with the photo. I wanted it to be crisp, clear, warm, and beautiful. When I first looked at it, I was disappointed with myself. It took me a moment to realize that I actually liked it and see that it was different, which was a good thing! My pre-conceived thought process was, that I wanted it to be “perfect”. For a moment I was upset than it clicked that it’s art, and that I actually think it’s really neat! It made me think about “perfection” in our own lives. How often are we trying to aim to be perfect and not succeeding for what we hoped or wanted to achieve. Constantly feeling like maybe you’re a failure because you can’t measure up to the meter of “perfection”, of how you wished something would have happened or turned out differently than had hoped.

    I should also explain why I italicized the word “perfection”. I italicize it because I wonder if something can actually be perfect? Are we living in a world that is aiming for perfection when we need to be aiming for our very best regardless if in our eyes it is not perfection. Do we set our standards to high, to constantly feel like we are failures. Or is it okay to have perfectionism in a healthy way? I don’t have the answers; I just am questioning the basis for perfectionism in our own lives and if it takes over our lives in unhealthy ways sometimes, rather than healthy. 

     It’s could also be in the way we perceive things to. We have the ability to change the way we see something. What if we looked at life a little bit more like art in some ways. The unique opportunities, possibilities and expectations that we daily encounter, may not always have to be looked at in the eyes of perfection. This is a process I am trying to go through in my daily life. To giggle at things that don’t go the way I wanted. Or situations I encounter that are not as I desire. Maybe I’m over thinking? Someone told me once, “it’s a process Liv”, and I think that can relate to so many things in life. It’s a process of learning, growing, and laughing along the way in the endeavours we take on in every aspect in life.

Oh how He loves us. The Father is gracious with us. He knows the desires of our hearts better than we do. When I desire perfection, He desires for me to please Him in all I do.

Time and time again, I am reminded of this verse found in the Psalms 37:3-4. The profound word, desire. It get's me every time. God knows the desires of our hearts better than we do. He created me, He knows me, I need to press into him in everything I do. My desires and his desires are different sometimes. I need to continually learn patience and joy in the midst of feeling like I am not succeeding at some things in life, because in his eyes, he see's me differently than I see myself. To God I may be succeeding further beyond than what I think. He will lead you :) Psalm 23 is my favourite passage! Talking about the Lord leading you :) 

In the end, maybe the lense we are looking through is too narrow and maybe we need to readjust?
I think that is a good question to ask.

Psalm 37:3-4

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Much Love,

Liv

p.s. I will update about my teaching soon :) 

Bonjour mes amis :)

Thought I'd spice it up with some french! This is a tad late, but I have just found some time to complete this post J

Enjoi!

 

One full week has come and gone with the kids and by the end it was such a rewarding experience!!! The week was difficult at some points but truly on the last day I saw the fruit of my teaching throughout the week! My kids did a phenomenal dance that me and Cat, my TA choreographed for them! At first it took a lot of prompting to get them dancing. Me and Cat pushed through all week to get them going and by the end they were actually wanting to do it. It makes me think of some things in life, sometimes we just have to persevere through that tough thing to make it through to the finish line to know it was worth it. Throughout the week I was prompting the students to keep dancing, although it was painful at times to be so persistent, the sense of accomplishment that I felt when all was said and done was incredible. The dance felt like my biggest accomplishment with my students this week. At the end when all the kids were dismissed, my students came up to me in a large group with a card my TA bought and got them all to sign! I was so surprised, thinking these kids I told to be quiet over 100 times and taught all week, actually liked me! The fact they didn’t want to leave right after they were dismissed, was a compliment to me. They wanted to stay around and talk! My heart was happy!

I also was incredibly blessed by another fellow teacher Olivia! She had her students individually write out letters to me! Some of them were so cute! Some phrases they used in their letters were,

“Dear Miss Cecchi, You’re the most funniest Canadian I ever seen. You’re a really nice person too, you don’t get mad, so we will miss you for everything”. –Sindy

Here are also some photos from the letters: I think you can click on them to enlarge and read them :) 

       This one was pretty cute: “Your smile like a sunshine, very nice, warm, and very sweet”. –Oscar

                           It was so encouraging and nice to receive these letters from the kids J

This was my first class last week :) 

I have a hilarious video of me, Kait and the whole school doing the "Cha Cha Slide"! I can't upload it to my blog for some reason but I will try to post it on Facebook. I also have the video of my kids dancing!

----------This week---------- :) 

Hmmmm this week indeed looks a little bit different. Have you ever seen the movie Finding Nemo? When Dory tries to speak whale? This clip will help you out, if you haven’t J

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqDZf3smobI

            After watching, my explanation of sounding like whale to these kids is pretty accurate. It doesn’t mean that is a bad thing. I feel bad in some ways because my English is really confusing for these kids because they are not entirely sure what is going on because of their low English level. It also doesn’t mean that their “disobedience” is actually because they want to not listen. They just don’t understand things that I am instructing, which prove it to be difficult at times. I sure am learning to practice grace this week!

Refinement

            You know how I blogged about refinement? I feel I have been tested in a variety of ways this past week or so. Feeling challenged on many levels. My reaction is my biggest insecurity in some ways, when a lot of things feel like they are going “wrong”. I ask myself again, “Am I thankful.” Faced with situations that I’m in a loss for control, classroom management, ordering the wrong thing, stress and so on. The school I have been working at this week has variety of inspirational quotes on the walls. I love each and every one of them!

Below are some photos of them:

My good friend said these words to me in a conversation this evening to, “embrace the inconveniences”. Living each day thankful for what lies ahead even if its difficult. With Christ’s help we are more than conquers over the little inconveniences in our life. Got to stick to this when things get tough.

To end on a hilarious note, I have a story! I went swimming with a few of my teammates the other evening. First of all to set the tone for the story, Hong Kong is a VERY crowded place. People don’t have spatial perception it feels like constantly. Your walking or waiting in line at the store and people walk in front of you or even better, they stand so close to you, that they either rub up against with a nice sweaty arm or you can feel their breath. It’s funny, most the time ;). So a few of us were at the pool around the corner from where we are staying. We were swimming and there were about 70 people in the pool I would say. We were floating in the water in a group of 4 and all of a sudden….we sort of yell as we almost get smoked in the head with this women’s arms, doing the back stroke! We quickly try to swim out of the way, as she is oblivious to all that is going on and we are all laughing hysterically as we watch her in the pool for another 10 minutes going back and forth doing backstroke lengths amongst kids and families. As she swam, she would clear people out of her way. It was like the parting of the red sea, people would see her coming and try to run for it before she hit them. It made us all laugh really hard because there was another pool to do lengths but this woman chose to do lengths in a pool with many people. I wasn’t the slightest mad, I was humored by her! Hope you can laugh as much as I did through this story!

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”. -Romans 8:13

Be blessed,

A

This song is on repeat: CLICK HERE  :)