Using my voice

Now that the adrenaline of traveling, new friends, and information overload has worn off, I'm sitting here with a miserable cold and little desire to unpack from Orientation for New Staff (ONS). My dad's youngest brother (小叔, the term for my youngest uncle), his wife, and their two kids are in town till Sunday, but unfortunately I have little energy to hang out with them.

At best, I'm bustling around the house and glancing over the thirteen free books, New Testament Commentary, and Bible Dictionary of Old Testament Prophets I got from ONS 2012. At worst, I'm taking an ibuprofen for the headache and getting the spot under my nose irritated from the excessive use of Kleenex. That, or waking up from my nap with a horrible coughing fit.

Anyway.

ONS was a blast, and I should write about that sometime. In fact, expect more posts soon, though I won't promise how long they will last.

One of the many ideas I'm toying around with post-ONS is doing things that are life-giving to you. Yes, ministry is pretty life-giving in itself. But I'm also 23, an engineering major, a photographer, a writer, a thinker, and more. I often wonder, "What would it have been like if I was a..." Event planner? Programmer? Teacher? Engineer? Web developer? Graduate student? Active blogger? Overseas missionary? Communications person? Graphic Designer?

In short, I have a bazillion things I love. I'm a big idea-loving, dreaming SJ (sorry to bring up Myers-briggs). This next year, I hope not only to grow in ministry life, but also to give time to develop hobbies and things I love. I hope to take things that feel like a waste of time and channel them in a way that's effective and life-giving. Instead of half-creating a website that I end up deleting, I might actually purchase a domain and make a good one (thank you, WYSIWYG editors!). Instead of simply perusing one photographer's website after another, perhaps it's time to challenge myself with certain projects. Instead of clicking every article that suits my fancy, it might be time to seriously do research on topics I like to think I care about.

Finally, instead of letting my ideas for posts remain unwritten in my head, let's actually write them down. Work through the frustration of having lost the art of writing after four years of engineering classes by practicing. Accept the fact that you're not the best writer, but also recognize that your desire and the level of your current talent is enough.

In our Asian-Pacific-Islander-American video promo earlier this year, a line says, "I gave you a voice, so use it because your people need you now." So here we go. Here goes a journey of faithfulness, to use a voice that I have been given to speak of truth and experiences as I go.