Sorry, Charlie (Row).

Charles Row, Jr., don't read this.

Just kidding, but now I can say I gave fair warning to my granddaddy.

I ended my last post with "carpe diem," a favorite saying of mine (thank you, Horace, Robin Williams, or--and this is the real one--Erwin McManus), meaning "seize the day."  At the beginning of the year, the lovely Holly Tant recommended the book "Chasing Daylight" (McManus) to me; I read it, and found myself challenged by the basic idea presented by the book.  Seize the day.  Seize the moment.  Don't be complacent.  It's about more than just being proactive or any of that "7 Habits for Highly Effective blah blah blah" stuff; it's about looking at how Jesus lived and trying to live with the same determination and zeal for life.  

At the time when I was reading the book, I was not having the most fun with life.  It seemed like things were going right for all of my friends, and I couldn't understand why God was forgetting about me.  I was spending time in the Word.  I was praying.  I was waiting.

And waiting.  And waiting.

But sometimes waiting isn't always a good thing.  I was waiting for God to give me an answer about my future without really pursuing any leads that He needed to confirm or reject for me.  I was comfortable (but at the same time uncomfortable with being comfortable) and stagnant.  "Chasing Daylight" helped me realized that sometimes I just need to grab the bull by the horns and trust that God will show me where to go from there.  I needed to live with the same urgency that Jesus did.

So I began to try to seize the day.  Sure, I have my lazy days, but I can honestly say that my outlook on life has changed completely in the past seven months.  It's so clichè to say "live every day as your last," but it really is a great way to live.  I've learned to appreciate the small things, to treasure my relationships, and to try to be an open vessel of God's love because it may be the last time I'll ever be able to do so.  I'm seizing the day.  

If you haven't seen "Dead Poets Society" I recommend you watch it right now.  Seriously, stop reading this, go get the movie, and watch it.  There are so many great lines in the movie, but my favorite is the first monologue of Professor John Keating, a character played brilliantly by Robin Williams, in which he addresses his class of teenage boys at a prestigious prep school and compares them to the school's alumni whose pictures they're admiring (wow, that was a long sentence):

"They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day, boys.  Make your lives extraordinary. "

My potential is endless (as is yours), so why not chase dreams and, like Henry David Thoreau said, "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life," while I still can?  

Now I'm actually at the part of this musing that this whole post is really about...

I got another tattoo today.  It is αδράξει την ημέρα which means "seize the day" in Greek.  I like Greek better than Latin, and it's a literal translation of "seize the day" whereas carpe diem is not.  I don't have any pictures of it right now, so I'll just describe it as being written in a vertical line down my spine, starting right below where a collar typically hits.  It's about seven cm long and probably less than half a cm wide.  I love it, and it's a permanent reminder to live passionately for the Lord and to live an extraordinary life.  

Okay, well I leave for the next camp tomorrow morning and I don't think I'll have internet access while I'm there, so please continue to pray for God to work miracles in the lives of the students and the leaders.  We're going to be at a facility that has never been used for English camp before, so also be praying that we are fully prepared for the unknown.  I'll let you know how things go as soon as I can!

Peace and Love,

Lo B.