Well, it's been another week since I've spent some time writing this blog. This always seems to happen when I start with such things. I really do enjoy dabbing my toes into the world of blogging, but I also enjoy living in the present and taking in what each day has to offer. Sometimes our days or current places might not seem the most exciting settings to partake in adventure, but I think that's where our imagination and heart for exploration kick-in.
I said in my last blog that I would explain the title of my blog, "Scope for Imagination." To put it simply, it comes from my favorite quote in literary fiction. When I was about 10 years old, my grandma gave me a series of books that she had read and wanted me to keep. At the time, the artwork on the cover and content of the stories didn't seem very appealing. However, I think it was the summer before I started college when I re-found the books on my shelf and decided to give them a try. Ever since then, I have fallen in love with Anne of Green Gables.
I've never been the kind of person that can take a book and read it multiple times. I have many books that I love, but re-reading them seems anti-climatic. I know what's going to happen! However, these books are ones that I can enjoy over and over again. The main character, Anne, is someone that I connect with on so many levels and I love re-visiting her tales in the first book of the series written by L.M. Montgomery.
Anne is a young girl filled with a wild imagination and has a wonderful way of expressing herself. She grew-up being tossed back and forth from one foster home to the next. In the midst of finding where she belongs, she develops such a sense for adventure and deep desire to find "kindred spirits." At the beginning of the book, Anne is embarking on a new journey to live with the Cuthberts, an older brother and sister who need help at their home on Prince Edward Island. Anne is not the young boy they were expecting to help with the work on their land. Instead, she's a young girl that brings them her own dream world and makes joy a reality.
Anne constantly re-names different places, so that they fit with the wanderings of her mind. She loves this new world at Green Gables and it allows her to really embrace all of the fantastical and quirky parts of who she is. In light of her dreaming, she is aware of her imagination and that is where I find my favorite quote:
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?”
I LOVE this quote. It is such an interesting world and there's so much to explore whether it's miles and miles away or right outside our door. Plus, the gift of an imagination is such a wonderful one. Children use their imaginations all the time to engage in worlds of make-believe. However, I don't think there's any reason to lose that as adults. There is still room to discover dream worlds and even more so, take our dreams and welcome them to reality.
So, here I am in Orange City. It is a lovely little town. It has nice neighborhoods, trees, green grass, fields, parks, shops... And while it's not like the big cities that I love in far-away lands, there's still much to be discovered. I just need to use my scope for imagination.
Here's to the wonderful ability to imagine. I think it's a great gift from the Lord and is something He delights in us using. Take some time today to find your scope :-)
Be blessed,
Justine
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Home
Hey, everybody!
Welcome to my new blog! I'm glad that you stopped by :-) I hope that you come check it out a few more times. Just don't forget to drop me a line and let me know how you're doing too!
As most of you know, I graduated from Central College in May. So, it has come time to move on to the next adventure in life. However, after living in a Dutch town for 4 years, I've learned about all sorts of things, like: windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, almond paste, Vans-, Vanders- and -smas. So naturally, when it came time to go, I moved on over to the next Dutch establishment. As nice as it would be to live in the Emerald City, the Orange City will just have to do for now...
And for now, I'm on a path that allows me to encourage current students here at Northwestern College to travel the world. What's more, I get the opportunity to work with a couple of the international students on campus in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. If you know me, then you know that these are things that I am passionate about: encouragement, travel, culture and languages. It's such a good fit and I'm blessed to be here.
Yet, I'm currently in the all-too-familiar phase that many other recent grads find themselves in, as well: transition. It's one of those over-used words by college students, but that's because there's not really a better descriptor.
You're kind of here, but you're kind of there.You don't really know what you're doing, but you're trying to figure it out. Transition. That's what it is.
Luckily, I'm a pretty adaptable person. During the last few days before my trek west (well, northwest), I was nervous. Plain and simple. However, my family is pretty great and helped me move out here. When it came time to say goodbye, some tears came... I didn't want them to go and my reality sunk in. Completely.
I gave myself the time it took to drive to Wal-Mart to cry... Looking back, crying and driving was probably a bad judgment call. Live and learn, I guess. Afterwards, I picked my head up and did what my mom told me, "Be brave, sweetie." Mom's are the best, aren't they?
Since then, I've been here. Out on my own. I have a nice little apartment to call my own and I get to put all my personal touches into decorating it. This is my new home...
And while it is my new home, it doesn't quite feel like it. Not yet. Because when I think of home, I think of a place where I know my way around the grocery store... Of a place with cars that have the same county license plate... Of a place where I dial 563-... Of a place where I can walk the dog with my dad, garage sale with my mom and embarrass the heck out of my little sister.
But, this will start to feel like home. Soon enough.
And really, it brings me back to the reality that no matter where we are on this earth, we're journeying to a more permanent Home. And that is a beautiful thing.
So, here's to home, my friends. Whatever that might look like for you. And here's to Home... because we're on the road there. Don't forget to roll down the windows, breath in the air and learn from the people that you meet along the way.
Be blessed,
Justine
P.S. I know I didn't really explain the blog title. It's coming... Sometimes you just need to mix things up a little ;-)
Welcome to my new blog! I'm glad that you stopped by :-) I hope that you come check it out a few more times. Just don't forget to drop me a line and let me know how you're doing too!
As most of you know, I graduated from Central College in May. So, it has come time to move on to the next adventure in life. However, after living in a Dutch town for 4 years, I've learned about all sorts of things, like: windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, almond paste, Vans-, Vanders- and -smas. So naturally, when it came time to go, I moved on over to the next Dutch establishment. As nice as it would be to live in the Emerald City, the Orange City will just have to do for now...
And for now, I'm on a path that allows me to encourage current students here at Northwestern College to travel the world. What's more, I get the opportunity to work with a couple of the international students on campus in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. If you know me, then you know that these are things that I am passionate about: encouragement, travel, culture and languages. It's such a good fit and I'm blessed to be here.
Yet, I'm currently in the all-too-familiar phase that many other recent grads find themselves in, as well: transition. It's one of those over-used words by college students, but that's because there's not really a better descriptor.
You're kind of here, but you're kind of there.You don't really know what you're doing, but you're trying to figure it out. Transition. That's what it is.
Luckily, I'm a pretty adaptable person. During the last few days before my trek west (well, northwest), I was nervous. Plain and simple. However, my family is pretty great and helped me move out here. When it came time to say goodbye, some tears came... I didn't want them to go and my reality sunk in. Completely.
I gave myself the time it took to drive to Wal-Mart to cry... Looking back, crying and driving was probably a bad judgment call. Live and learn, I guess. Afterwards, I picked my head up and did what my mom told me, "Be brave, sweetie." Mom's are the best, aren't they?
Since then, I've been here. Out on my own. I have a nice little apartment to call my own and I get to put all my personal touches into decorating it. This is my new home...
And while it is my new home, it doesn't quite feel like it. Not yet. Because when I think of home, I think of a place where I know my way around the grocery store... Of a place with cars that have the same county license plate... Of a place where I dial 563-... Of a place where I can walk the dog with my dad, garage sale with my mom and embarrass the heck out of my little sister.
But, this will start to feel like home. Soon enough.
And really, it brings me back to the reality that no matter where we are on this earth, we're journeying to a more permanent Home. And that is a beautiful thing.
So, here's to home, my friends. Whatever that might look like for you. And here's to Home... because we're on the road there. Don't forget to roll down the windows, breath in the air and learn from the people that you meet along the way.
Be blessed,
Justine
P.S. I know I didn't really explain the blog title. It's coming... Sometimes you just need to mix things up a little ;-)
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