30 Day Photo Challenge: day 02

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest

Yeah...I know I'm not in the picture.  What can I say?  I'm a rebel. I did take the picture...so point for me.  That's Danielle. She's not related to me by blood, but she's my sister in every sense of the word.   We've been friends since she was 13 and she's been with me thru some really fantastic times and some really awful times.  She's pretty freakin' awesome.

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Day 04 - A picture of your night

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 01

Inspired by the lovely Lauren, I decided to to the 30 Day Photo Challenge.  Should be fun. (c:


Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts

This picture was taken by one of my absolute favorite people ever, Amy-Lynn.  It was a lighting test for a shoot I was assisting her on and it's a moment that captures so much random about me; classic Steph face, headphones around the neck, hoodie, and awkward pants adjustment just for some extra class.  

1.  I'm pretty even keeled.  I don't anger or excite easily...and even when I'm angry or excited, most people can't tell.
2.  I love to write.  For me, it's cathartic.
3.  Music is a huge part of my life.
4.  I inwardly (okay, maybe not so inwardly) cringe when people incorrectly use "your", "you're", "there", "their", "they're", etc.  It might be a sickness.
5.  Rain makes me happy.
6.  I abhor clothes shopping.  Shopping in general gives me a headache, but clothes shopping makes me want to go postal.
7.  I am terrified of birds.  Mostly because they're awful.
8.  I've only read 3 novels more than once.  I've read 'Persuasion' and 'A Slow Walk In A Sad Rain' both twice and I read 'The Princess Bride' every year.
9.  I left my heart in Africa when I was 17.
10.  When I'm sick, one of my favorite things is a fresh blanket out of the dryer...that's actually awesome any time, but especially comforting when I'm sick.
11.  My biggest pet peeve is passive aggressiveness.
12.  At some point in my life, I'd love to live in England.
13.  When I was 15, I was in a family band.  No bus, just a Camry.
14.  I love trees.  I love them in any season; when they're flowering in the spring, shady green in the summer, indescribably beautiful in the fall...but I love them most in the winter.
15.  My favorite US city to visit is New York.


Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your night
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

.resolution.

I'm not really one for new-year's resolutions; this should be apparent in that I should have been talking about resolutions 4 weeks ago.  That isn't to say that I'm not into resolutions in general.  I think there's something to be said for resolving to improve oneself, I just think a "forced" resolution at the beginning of every year is just a recipe for failure.

That being said, I've been in the mind-set of resolutions lately because I'm in a strange place of self-discovery and change.  The past five years have been difficult and the vast majority of my mental, emotional and physical energy was wrapped up in my dad and his illness.  I don't regret the time, nor am I bitter about having to put parts of my life up on a shelf.  The choice was mine and I'd make it again in a heartbeat.

But that's not what this is about.  This is about me trying to make some changes...

I was inspired a bit by Micah and her recent post in which she honestly and openly shared about how she is reacquainting herself with herself during a time of significant change.

In addition to that, I have just started reading a blog by Andrew Arndt and the most recent entries are dissecting the Lord's Prayer; breaking it down to it's individual parts to explore what God's intention for our prayer life is.  It's not for the faint of heart, but it's been really eye-opening and supremely challenging for me; I'd recommend it highly.

One thing that really stuck out to me as something I personally struggle with as I began to read about the purpose of prayer, was selfishness.  On the whole, I wouldn't consider myself a selfish person; I typically try to think of other's needs before myself and I'm happy to give anything I can to help anyone out.  I think what I struggle with is self-centeredness. 

It's easy to do in this age of social media.  If I post something to facebook, I get excited about that little red notifier that says that someone liked what I said, or responded to what I said; I love getting responses, retweets and follows on twitter; I love getting responses to my blog.  Is this awful?  No.  Of course it isn't, but for me, it constantly draws my attention back to myself; what I said, what I did, what people think of me...  If that makes any kind of sense.  I kind of find it ironic that tools that keep us socially connected mostly serve to appease our narcissism.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, we're wired to be self-serving.  Maybe that sounds cynical, but it's what I see.

So, I'm making a resolution.  Not to stop using social media, but to change my focus.  To look outside of myself and my little universe.  To listen more.

Here's to shutting up and listening.

.Qwetu Hope.

I know I don't get personal on this blog very often (tho it's been known to happen), but I wanted to share something pretty fantastic that happened recently.


If you've been following my blog for a while, or if you know me at all, you know that my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1988.  On November 14, 2011 his 20+ year battle came to an end and he went home to heaven.  I have contemplated on writing more in-depth about my dad, my family, and our journey on this blog, but I'm not quite ready for that just yet.


I did want to share one thing though. After he passed, a number of people asked us where they could send donations on my dad's behalf.  We really thought about what he would want; he was active in ministry and we wanted to make sure wherever the money went was a cause that he would support.


My brother's father-in-law is really involved in a ministry that supports community development in Africa called Hearts for the World International.  In his life, my dad had the opportunity to visit China, Israel and Mexico, but he always regretted not being able to go to Africa.  After I went to Uganda in 1997, it just made him want to go all the more.  Taking that into consideration, we thought giving to Hearts for the World would be a really cool way to give a piece of my dad's heart to the people there.


One of the projects that Hearts for the World is supporting is the Qwetu Hope Community Development Group.  The project was started in late 2010 with the sole purpose of transforming their community, specifically by helping those less fortunate (children and elderly).  They opened a school in January 2011 (with 250+ students) and are working to help the members in the community be self-sustaining. 


Recently, we received a letter from Peter Okwe, the coordinator of the project.  He was explaining to us the difficulty that they had been having in getting people to support the school.  This caused a lot of problems, including not being able to pay their teacher's salaries.  He let us know that with the donations they were able to catch up on their teachers' payments as well as buy new desks, text books, a black board, and numerous other essential supplies.  It also enabled them to complete one of the classroom buildings.


I wanted to share a little bit of the letter from Peter:
It should be noted here that this fund from Brother Stephen through Hearts for the World, has given Qwetu new energy, face and confidence to move on.  At some point the chairman, Mr. Raphael, and I almost gave up due to a lot of challenges.  In December 2011 we were under intese pressure since we had promised to start class one in 2012.  Nothing was going on at the project site to indicate that class one was going to begin.


Some parents even took their children to other schools due to the rumour that was going around that we were between a hard place and a rock.  And honestly speaking, that is where we were.  I told the chairman to join me in prayers so that God can work a miracle to us before the end of 2011.  And indeed God came in the 11th hour when our faith was almost dying off.  Jan, the president for the Hearts for the World International, called me on my way to church and told me he was going to send some money for the project.  I stopped and on the way told God thank you.  That was a miracle that I will never forget, I was so thrilled that I did not know how to express myself to Jan.


I would like to give special thanks to everybody who contributed financially towards this project.  You are real friends, friends I have not found even in Kenya; people who have not even visited gave us a surprise.  May God expand the territory of those who gave, may he bless them and protect them always.  To our beloved brother who God called home after a good work, let his spirit rest in peace; one day upon winning the race here on earth, I pray that I will meet him.  To the family I pray that one day we shall meet and shake hands.


Peter is requesting to name the school after my dad; the plan is to call it Stephen Romine Academy Rusinga Island.  My family is already talking about taking the time to visit.


**If you are interested, they are still taking donations in my dad's name.  Just send checks or money orders payable to Hearts for the World International to PO Box 140728, Edgewater, CO 80214 and indicate that you are giving to the Qwetu Hope Community Development Group on behalf of Stephen Romine.**

.breaking.

some words that struck this week...

"what breaks your bones is not the load you're carryin'

what breaks you down is all in how you carry..."