becka lippy

So here it is, the following few weeks: Dec. 22nd- leave for BA and meet up with Mom and Nigel at the airport to fly to Ushuaia (the very tip of South America) 23rd till 27th- leave from Ushuaia on a cruise through Argentina and Chile, looking at glaciers and hopefully seeing some penguins :) 27th- land in Punta Arenas, hopefully see my friends Alister and Julie (a chilean couple who studies at the Centro de Estudios Pastorales) 27th-30th Mom and Nigel drop me off at Puerto Natales where I am staying at a really nice hotel on the lakeside that has a full spa (ouch, life is hard!) 30th- fly up to Santiago with Mom and Nigel, head out to Viña del Mar for the night 31st- go up to La Serena and experience NEW YEARS!!!!! woo hoo! 31st till 2nd- La Serena and Valle del Elqui 3rd till 6th- drive down to Horcón, a little hippy beach town that I am sure to fall in love with 7th- I come back to Santiago, but leave for Camp with my church, I will only be able to go the one day, but it is the last

So I made plans last night to hang out with Courtney and some other friends. It turned out to be us girls, Timo, Jason, Sam, and a guy who I have been waiting to meet for the last 6 months named Rick. I have heard so much about this guy who was Sam's rebellious partner in crime when they were 12, who loves to debate theology and church ideologies, and yet holds very different views than our little group of friends, who lived in the Amazon for 6 months, who is to Sam what Rachel is to me. Good stuff. And with all the things I have heard about him for the last 6 months, I was still not dissapointed. He was a really sweet guy who stepped easily into our group, able to converse with whomever he pleases about a variety of conversations. The problem is that I told the boys that I needed to leave by 11 since I had to leave the house at 7:30 this morning and I had a full day ahead of me. So tell me why I checked my watch at 12:30 and realized that it was WAY past my bed time, and although

on my blog radio today: pure country music. I have no clue why, but sometime I find myself craving some good old school country music. Right now: Kenny with "She's got it all"

So last night Courtney came over and we ordered pizza (go Chile for having Pizza hut on every other corner) and we watched the 5 hour Pride and Prejudice over pepperoni pizza and white wine (classy, aren't we?). But yeah, afer going to bed at like 3:30 and waking up to make some of my traditional fried rice breakfast, I am tired. but that still won't stop me from going to work, buying Christmas pressents, going with Courtney to get her lip pierced, and hopefully having a little mango sour celebration tonight for Jason who is finishing his PSU (like the SAT's)! I have been hanging out with a new friend named Sebastian who I met a few weeks ago. It's funny we haven't known each other for long, but find each other really confortable and enjoy spending time together, so we do. In fact, I ahve spent more time with him in the last week than any of my other friends, combined. To make things interesting, he is a palestinian chileno. And I am the jewish gringa. These things

I came to this country alone. I lived here alone for 6 months before I even saw gringa from home. But for the last 9 months I have shared my life with Ashlee, and Rachel and Danielle, and Nathan, and Rocky, and of course Courtney (what? forget you Courtz? never! Idiot!) But this week has beenthe week of goodbyes. I just said good bye to Nathan who is heading up to Peru for a while. Courtney came over and basially had a "lets drink pisco and talk about boys" night.. good stuff. And Ashlee left on Thursday. It's weird, but because Ashlee is coming back in a few months, i am not really upset. I mean, it was definitly weird to come back to the house and have my roommate Paula telling me that NOW I am going to have to speak Spanish. Bueno. It is just a vacation. I am leaving on friday, and when I get back from traveling with my mommy and Nigel, I have about amonth before the gringas return... this time both Ashlee and Danielle... YEAH! Anyways, it was weirtd feeling to be alo

Aunt Sandy, these are for you! (Ashlee's aunt Sandy) And now some bowling fotos: Mely realizes that she is loosing the game, the bet, and therefore loosing the right to Edward Swan.. jeje! And of course, Starbucks! And finally.. the Gays, the Jews, and the Canutos (Jesus Freaks)!

My prayer life sucks. Basically I have commited to sitting out on my balcony for the last 15-20 minutes of every night and praying. And it has felt so uncomfortable, like talking to an old friend for the first time after years of not seeing them. I don't know what to say to God. I don't know how to praise Him. I look at the stars, and I feel awe, but not connected to this Creator I have come to admire, serve, and love. So I pray anyways and ask for forgiveness for my cold heart. I started this practice a little over a week ago, and each night, my talks with God become more natural, my praise more heart felt. And I have seen the effects of this choice in other areas. God speaks (or I listen to Him) more during the day. I have been facing some interesting questions recently about my future. And in answering my questions, I know what my answer would have been a few years ago. And although they are the first answers that come to mind, I find myself answering differently, and these

So the last week has been one of many things. Some of the things have been good, some bad, many of them are just a part of life. On friday we (Ashlee and I) went to Viña to visit some friends. We stayed with our friend Silvia who lives in a sweet house on the hill in Viña. From her house you can see downtown Viña and the beach crowded with people. And it was at her house that we had an asado (BBQ) which consisted of meat, beer, diet coke, and more meat. There were about 10 of us there. Good times. At the end of the night we found ourselves sitting around the table with the last of the meat and beer, singing songs. Any song would do: Christmas songs, Elton John, Damien Rice, Backstreet boys, and of course Disney classics. The truth is, to see a group of 4 boys singing "A whole new world" was quite entertaining. The next day Ashlee and I returned to Santiago and threw a goodbye party for Ashlee. It was an ice cream/dance party. Around 2am (which is early for Chilenos) the ad

So I bought some roses today because they made me happy. There is nothing in the world like some beautiful roses...

I am at work and listening to a good old friend of mine.. Bonnie Raitt. I am not sure how old I was when I first heard her singing, but her songs have always sung themselves straight into my heart. As much as I am a pop kinda girl, I have a part of me that will always turn to blues/folk when I need to truly feel those feelings of pain and love and anything in between. Playing right now: I can't make you love me if you don't ... ouch. Thanks mom for introducing me to Bonnie and giving me a love for that grass roots kind of music.

I was just browsing facebook and I found 3 more buddies who have been married. argghhhh... I give up! How in the world am I only 23 and I feel so behind???

About 5 blocks from my house a man named Pinochet is lying in a hospital bed. He is just a man, a sinner who has lived his life far from the Lord and who is now dying and more than ever needs to repent and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus (thanks to Timo for pointing this out to me). But this man is so much more than just a man for the people of Chile. He was their general. He bascially led the country out of communism and economical depression by killing anyone who challenged him. And he killed thousands of people. Some people hate him with such fury that to this day they demonstrate their hatred with street fires and violence. Others love him and affectionately call him " mi general " and are now planted outside the hospital where he lays on his deathbed, waving flags and cheering for him. If he dies... wow, I have no idea what to expect.

So I had a conversation with one of my dear friends last night (you know who you are!) about how difficult it is to be single, especially during the holidays. It seems like everytime I login to facebook, I find wedding pictures of another buddy from university who has tied the knot. Every Valentine's Day I swear that the next year, just one more year, and I will have a real valentine. And every year, I am left trying to find excuses for not having a real valentine. Now I am being really honest here and if you just happened to stumble upon this blog and you don't actually know me, then you can stop reading. But the name of my blog is heart of lippy, and I being the extremely emotional, "let's figure out what is going on in our hearts" type of girl, I want to really share with you guys what is going on in my heart. For the last 23 years I have wanted to get married. Seriously, my mom can vouch for me. It probably started in the womb. Now when people discover this f

I made a new friend yesterday. Although this was the 3rd or 4th time I had met him, we had never really talked before yesterday. His name is Daniel and he is from England and is married to a girl from Mexico and they are missonaries in Viña del Mar with their little baby boy. So Daniel was in Santiago yesterday and came by CEP (the seminary I work at) and we started talking. One of his first questions for me was, "Have you ever heard of a guy named Mark Driscoll?". And I laughed and nodded my head explaining listen to his sermons quite often. (some of you may remember a blog I posted about that pastor a few weeks back). It was at that point that I noticed that Daniel was carrying three books with him. They were a sure sign that Daniel and i would be friends. 1.) C onfession of a Reformission Rev. by Mark Driscoll 2.) The story we find ourselves in . by Brian McLaren (I have also dedicated a post to him in the past) and 3.) Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church . By D.