101 Things in 1001 Days

So I've joined the 101 hype! ... speaking of hype... everybody should get it! =) anyways, here is my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I've already accomplished a few too!Creating your own 1001 Day Project
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

101 Things in 1001 Days
11/28/2008 – 8/26/2011

1. Learn to crochet, and make a hat.
2. Make a huge "Yahweh" sign for my wall.
3. Go to Africa.
4. Pay off my credit card debt.
5. Pay off my car.
6. Get a tattoo.
7. Go to Aliquippa, or somewhere like it.
8. Place verses in random places (i.e. car, mirror, computer)
9. Read the Bible from cover to cover.
10. Read 140 books.
11. Buy a pair of toms.
12. Go to the DR. (Haiti)
13. Eat sushi.
14. Go on a camping trip and sleep in a tent.
15. Go hiking in the mountains.
16. Take a completely impulsive, spur of the moment road trip.
17. Pray with a friend on a regular basis.
18. Fast for 3 days.
19. Order a t-shirt from Feed Just One.
20. Move out.
21. Make a list of all the words and definitions that I look up in the dictionary.
22. Go two weeks without facebook (while not on a trip).
    
23. Run through an open field.
24. Go an entire day without talking.
25. Stay up all night praying and reading my Bible. And not sleep until the next night.
26. Give up eating out for 1 month (excluding family outings).
27. Drink only water for a year.
28. Finish cross-stitching the one I started years ago.
29. Watch the sun rise on a clear horizon.
30. Lay under the stars in an open field.
31. Climb up in a tree and read a book.
32. Take a trip on a Greyhound.
33. Go snow-skiing.
34. Learn the trick to solving a rubik’s cube.
35. Recycle in my home.
36. Spend a day and night on the streets.
37. Go fishing in a boat, and catch something.
38. Go hunting.
39. Get my wisdom teeth out.
40. Patch up the holes in my jeans myself.
41. Create a t-shirt design and wear it.
42. Throw a surprise birthday funeral/eulogy for a friend (ok, I came up with this idea and it sounds terrible but if you're curious just ask).
43. Go to bed early every night for a week.
44. Get up by 8am every day for a week.
45. Have a consistent quiet time every day for 2 weeks straight.
46. Make a bracelet and anklet.
47. Make all my Christmas gifts one year.
48. Research clothing brands and don’t buy anything from those with sweatshops (1 yr at least).
49. Drive a motorcycle.
50. Start a prayer board and use it.
51. Buy a nice camera. And take way too many pictures.
52. Take a trip to surprise a friend.
53. Go through a tollway and pay for the car behind me.
54. Wash a stranger’s feet.
55. Plant a tree.
56. Grow some tomatoes.
57. Go a month without texting.
58. Go a week without a cell phone.
59. Go mushroom hunting.
60. Reach 1000 friends on facebook that I legitimately know.
61. Learn to like natural peanut butter.
62. Eat breakfast every day for 2 weeks.
63. Give up sweets for 6 months. (4 is close enough)
    
64. Take a picture straddling a state line.
65. Sponsor a child.
66. Work 70 hours in one week.
67. Go on a cruise.
68. Stop using credit cards.
69. Pay everything in cash.
70. Go on a video scavenger hunt.
71. Document over half of these things in pictures and/or video.
72. Make 20 free throws in a row.
73. Make a half court shot (not off the backboard).
74. Learn an entire dance.
75. Do a fundraiser.
76. Have no more hangnails on my fingers.
77. See the Grand Canyon.
78. Go to NYC.
79. Meet Beth Moore.
80. See Shane and Shane in concert.
81. Grow my hair long enough for braids/pig tails.
82. Visit a homeless shelter.
83. Donate blood and/or plasma once every 6 months.
84. Go whitewater rafting.
85. When I get good service somewhere, tell the manager.
86. Write another poem.
87. Pay for the person’s meal behind me in the drive thru.
88. Give 10 “just because” gifts. (3/10 completed)
89. Try Japanese food.
90. Become an organ donor.
91. Send a recovering soldier a Christmas card.
92. Take vitamins every day for 1 month.
93. Ride in a limo.
94. Save $1 a day for 1001 days.
95. Kiss someone on New Year’s.
96. Go AWOL for 24 hours.
97. Share Christ with an unsuspecting person.
98. Stay up for 48 hours straight.
99. Buy a new pair of sunglasses that I love.
100. Give up going to the movies for a year.
101. Create another 101 in 1001.

This Should Never Happen

It shouldn't matter what country you live in, or how much money you make per year, or the color of your skin. A human being should never ever have to go without food. This is a picture of Venecia Lonis, a 4-yr-old living in Haiti and suffering from malnutrition.

I was skimming through the ads on my desktop when the word "starvation" caught my eye. As soon as I opened up the article, anger shot all through me. You can read it for yourself here.

No one... not one human being... should ever have to be chronically hungry. There is too much abundance in this world, and in this country especially, for this to have to happen. As I read through this article my heart absolutely broke. Immediately I thought of the refrigerator and pantry I have downstairs with so much extra food that my household of four will throw a good portion of away. What did I do to deserve to be born in America where there is an abundance of practically everything?! Why does this 4-yr-old little girl have to be the one starving to death? These kids are barely even reaching 20 lbs. Does this blow anyone else's mind besides me? Seriously. I'm getting an ulcer right now.

The thing that gets me most about this article is the very last line:
I hope the government will hear about us and bring more support.

Who will help these people?


The wealth of the rich is their fortified city -- Proverbs 10:15a

The word fortify means to surround or protect as with a military system. A fortified city has walls built around it to protect. Walls protect, but walls also isolate. We are isolated from the suffering of the rest of the world. I have never been to another country, so pictures like these are all I can go by. But it is enough to tell me that there is a crazy imbalance in this world and it is not okay. Sadly, the vast majority of all Americans who will read that article and see that picture of Venecia in the worst of conditions will simply read it and go on like nothing ever happened.

Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother."

He said, "Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!"

Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me."

The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
Mark 10:19-22 (The Message)

Has not Jesus called us to be willing to give everything away to those who need it? Does this mean I should literally sell all that I have? Well, I don't know. Does it? Ask your God. He might just be saying that. But would I really admit to hearing it if that's what He says?

The more earthly possessions I have, the easier it is for me to be distracted from the Lord. Honestly, I would literally love nothing better than to pack up all my food in the fridge and give all my stuff away to a little girl like this. Jesus has instilled this incredible fire within me to love the oppressed. To reach out to the hurting and the dying. And I've never even been anywhere to make me feel this way. I read passages like this one above where this man is so shocked to hear Jesus tell him to sell all his things. And I wonder.... why am I not more surprised at the things the Lord is telling me? Am I listening? God is not a conventional God. He's not all about what's safe and secure in this world. He's all about the true Safety and the true Security--that is Him. Not my bank account.

When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.
Matthew 25:31-45 (The Message)

Jesus, I long to love you better.

~C

The Written Vision

The Lord had me, so I went into my closet with my bible and notebook and shut the door. After getting everything out of my system I asked the Lord to speak to me through His word and that His words would pierce my heart. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” I wanted to be pierced.

I began to read from Nehemiah. After that I turned to Habakkuk. I started from the beginning and read out loud so I could stay focused. Just to give a little background on Habakkuk, this guy is a prophet, and he’s asking God a few questions and God is answering him back. He is asking for God to show judgment on the enemies of the children of Israel that are dealing with them treacherously and keeping them in bondage. Habakkuk asks God why he allows such things to happen. His people are hurting. Then God answers him. This is when I couldn’t read out loud anymore. I was stopped…

“Then the Lord answered me and said:
‘Write the vision.
And make it plain on tablets.
That he may run who reads it.”
--Hab. 2:2

The silence was ringing in my ears and I felt that piercing through my heart.
“Write the Vision, Christie!” Write the vision. What does that mean?
But it goes on…

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie,
Though it linger, wait for it.
It will certainly come and will not delay.”
--Hab. 2:3
(That was a mixture of the New King James and the NIV, just for the record.)

God has a vision for my life. He has a vision He has placed within my heart. Write the vision. The vision is for an appointed time! There are plans He has set! Jeremiah 29:11. But what are those plans? I still don’t know. But what I do know… is that I have to write the vision.

So what is the vision? Off the top of my head… here is what I see as the vision. The vision of my own heart. The revelation, the dream, the desire I’ve been given by Christ. Free-flowing and raw as can be.

The vision is to be voiced.
The vision has no rules, it has no boundaries, nothing by which it is confined
Except that it is a slave to Christ.
It exists by Him and for Him.
For no other purpose than Christ.
The vision is love. Love unashamed and unleashed.
The vision speaks wonders of the Creator to the creation in its path.
The vision of my heart is that the broken are put back together.
Cracks sealed and bound by the blood of the Lamb.
The vision speaks hope to its hearers and grace to its doers.
The visionary is no longer visible. But serves only as a servant, a shell of a man in which the Spirit of the Living God dwells.
The vision shows the starving being fed. And the thirsty drinking the Living Water… and never thirsting again.
This vision holds a passion that is of no man, but Divine.
A love that could never be faked.
A compassion that flows like blood through veins and pumps a heart that beats only for a gracious God.
The vision is a call to hope!
A hope that satisfies.
A hope that does not disappoint.
A hope that the captive will become captive in Christ and be set free from this world!
What love is known to man, but that of a man who bore his sin and gave His life?
The vision calls for insecurity of the body depending on security of the Savior.
Self is knocked off the front of sufficiency and replaced with grace.
Joyful strength will override physical weakness and make it matter no more.
The vision is radical.
He is a mover and a shaker, that God of Abraham.
A radical if there ever was one.
Radically calling me to change my lifestyle.
The vision calls for less.
Less stuff.
Less clutter.
Less busyness.
Less distraction.
Less wasted time.
Less SELF.
The vision calls for more.
More love.
More hope.
More smiles.
More compassion.
More hugs.
More joy.
More trust in Him.
More OTHERS.
The vision calls for more of Jesus.
Scratch that.
The vision calls for ONLY Jesus!
Christie is dead to this world.
Alive in Christ!
For I am crucified with Christ and I live NO longer.
It is not I, but Christ who lives in me.
That means my pride is surrendered.
My arrogance humbled.
My agenda ripped to pieces and thrown in the fire.
My cares of this world... laid at the feet of Jesus.
As far as I’m concerned, I no longer exist.
Merely a tool, a means, a piece of flesh and skin and bone that the Spirit may inhabit, take over, rule and reign to reach in this world the hurting…
The broken-hearted.
The maimed.
The lame.
The disabled.
The diseased.
The abused.
The terrified.
The hopeless.
The homeless.
The hungry.
The little children.
The forgotten.

The vision is a risk.
There is a risk you will be hated for it.
Your friends may not understand it.
Your family might disagree with you.
The vision calls for extreme measures to reach a world in need.
Physical safety is not promised.
It might not seem practical.
It does not seem logical.
All odds are definitely against me.
But I have God on my side.
And that’s all I’ll ever need.
Lying in the arms of the Father is all the safety I need.
And I have it.
Oh yes, I have it!
Praise the LORD, He is mine!
Even now and Forever! He is mine!

The vision calls for a change of heart, and a change of life.
All that I have, all that I was, all that I am…
In Jesus’ hands I lay.
In Jesus’ name I pray.

You who have read, now run.