We are in Shiyan, getting our old apartment in order. There were many things that disappeared over the summer, a few things needing taken care of ... and since we are here for Christmas, we thought we'd give these as gifts to the tenants of our old place.
Merry Christmas to all! Happy New Year!
I'll be posting more upon returning to Beijing or when the school decides to give us the gift of internet.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Cookies, Christmas Party, and More Cookies
Jaime, Sunni, Li Shan, and Nikki (and I) made something like 700+ cookies (most were bit size). We gave them to floors 30-13 in our building. We ran out of cookies, so when we return from Shiyan, we are making more and blessing the rest of our building! We then attached this little note to the baggie that held 5 little cookies:
The Christmas Party was great! I juggled... it was a lot of fun. There was a professional violinist, another musician was 15 yrs. old - she played an ancient Chinese "guitar", then there were a couple of singers, but the most precious were the kids from the orphanage. There were tiny, some of them only 4 and up to 6, they did two little dance numbers to Chinese praise songs.
Worship was great too! We had so many blessings from God throughout this day... I'm sure I'll remember this for the rest of my life. One day I'll finally be able to talk with some of my Chinese friends about it too.
It says:圣诞快乐!新年快乐!邱安路 Andrew Hill 先生 (86)15901173497; inspiresme@gmail.com
希珍米 Jaime Hill 太太 (86)15901173498; jaime.myjourney@gmail.com
我 们是基督徒。我们住在望京新城418-2203。我们给您这个礼物因为耶稣给我们他在十字架上的生命。我们为您祷告，上帝给您爱，给您平安，很多祝福。如 果您有圣经的问题或者想学习英语，我们家每星期三晚上七点有英文的圣经学习小组。我们还在同一时间有全中文的圣经学习小组。
Last night we invited them to our Christmas Party that was this afternoon! And for the ones we handed out tonight, we invited them to our study. If their English wasn't great we gave them Gary's info!Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!Chinese name, English name, Husband/Wife; mobile phone, email address
We are Christians. We live at 418-2203 Wangjing Xincheng. We give you this gift because Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. We pray that God gives you love, peace, and many blessings. If you have any questions about Christianity or English, we have an English small group Bible study in our home every Wednesday night at 7. At the same time, but in another place is another small group meeting in Chinese.
The Christmas Party was great! I juggled... it was a lot of fun. There was a professional violinist, another musician was 15 yrs. old - she played an ancient Chinese "guitar", then there were a couple of singers, but the most precious were the kids from the orphanage. There were tiny, some of them only 4 and up to 6, they did two little dance numbers to Chinese praise songs.
Worship was great too! We had so many blessings from God throughout this day... I'm sure I'll remember this for the rest of my life. One day I'll finally be able to talk with some of my Chinese friends about it too.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
A Wedding & 2 New Sisters
On Sunday we were triply blessed... a wedding and two new sisters! I'll have to post some photos sometime soon.
I've begun a new blog, just for me, Daily Disciplines is about making the changes I desire. I often think about how people (others) should be, the type of person I want to inspire me. I think about those that have lived faithful lives in the Lord's service and that is who I want to be. I want to be an inspiration to others... I want to live a faithful life, a life worthy of imitation, a life I want my children to have, but haven't been keeping the habits that make for this kind of life. So... time to get serious!
I am using that blog as a way to be intentional, to have accountability, to keep a record of my spiritual maturity, and if it is a blessing to others, bonus!
I've begun a new blog, just for me, Daily Disciplines is about making the changes I desire. I often think about how people (others) should be, the type of person I want to inspire me. I think about those that have lived faithful lives in the Lord's service and that is who I want to be. I want to be an inspiration to others... I want to live a faithful life, a life worthy of imitation, a life I want my children to have, but haven't been keeping the habits that make for this kind of life. So... time to get serious!
I am using that blog as a way to be intentional, to have accountability, to keep a record of my spiritual maturity, and if it is a blessing to others, bonus!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
10 Steps to Goal Getting by Zig Zigler
I like Zig Ziggler! I think I have listened to a few of his books, read a few others, and heard him quoted a few thousand times... Bruce Stopher just posted this list on Facebook. I have been struggling with getting some goals accomplished, so I am going to take these ten steps seriously and hope you will too!
These ten steps will help you achieve your goals now or as you make them for 2009.
1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. "One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest." Mary Crowley.
2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.
3. Build your life on a sold foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.
4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.
5. Be prepared to change. You can't control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully--but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.
6. Share your "give-up" goals (i.e., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they're going to encourage you.
7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.
9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, Weekly Planner or Palm Pilot.
10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals--what you will become is the winner you were born to be!
--------
There are many things I already do that have become wonderful habits, others not so good that need curtailing. Here are the items I need to work on a little more diligently. Anyone up for accountability? I mean real accountability?
Daily Goals:
Weekly Goals:
Monthly Goals:
Yearly Goals:
Do you know of any other goals I should have?
These ten steps will help you achieve your goals now or as you make them for 2009.
1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. "One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest." Mary Crowley.
2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.
3. Build your life on a sold foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.
4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.
5. Be prepared to change. You can't control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully--but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.
6. Share your "give-up" goals (i.e., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they're going to encourage you.
7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.
9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, Weekly Planner or Palm Pilot.
10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals--what you will become is the winner you were born to be!
--------
There are many things I already do that have become wonderful habits, others not so good that need curtailing. Here are the items I need to work on a little more diligently. Anyone up for accountability? I mean real accountability?
Daily Goals:
- Pray, read portions of the Bible and another good book, and journal it. (30 min.)
- Mandarin study. In class time (3 hours) and studying outside (3 hours). Going to class is easy, studying outside will require accountability - anyone interested? I should spend 3 hours to preview, prep, and review. Then I want to study other material for an hour or so... maybe this is unrealistic.
- Fitness - going to the gym at minimum 3 times each week.
- Check Facebook, email, and such less than 2 times a day.
Weekly Goals:
- Take a Sabbath (12 hours at minimum)
- Call family
- Email Newsletter
Monthly Goals:
- Have a full Sabbath day
Yearly Goals:
- Read the Bible through - accomplished in daily goals
- Take a relaxing vacation with Jaime
Do you know of any other goals I should have?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
