Tonight, I got to see Switchfoot live in concert, right here on campus. (Also, I touched Jon Foreman. True story.)

As hundreds of people in the coliseum rocked out to “Meant to Live,” I found myself lapsing into a typical Beth-zoning-out-moment as I listened to the lyrics.

We want more than this world’s got to offer
And everything inside screams for second life
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?

Something inside me latches onto those words, because I wonder often have I lost myself? Here I am, spending exorbitant amounts of money on a college education so I can get a degree in a field of study that I may or may not engage in as a career. I spend on coffee every morning what a person on the other side of the world might spend in a month. I spend 15 hours a week sitting in various classes on various subjects, some of which I will never touch again after this semester. I have a major excitement attack at touching Jon Foreman’s shoulder, while most of the world doesn’t even know the name, and would probably view other events as more worthy of the excitement.

All of these things and more make me wonder. Have I lost myself?

Regardless of whether you would consider touching Jon Foreman’s shoulder an accomplishment, you’ve gotta admit the guy got something right: we were meant to live for so much more.

I’m not entirely sure what “so much more” means, practically speaking. But I think it’s the longing for it that fills me with excitement about next summer in Uganda–the thought that maybe, the weeks I spend there will be so much more. Pouring part of myself into the lives of Africa’s orphans strikes me as something I would rather be doing than buying $4 coffee at Starbucks.

And maybe, I was meant for this.

(Confession: I’ll probably still brag about touching Jon Foreman.)

If you’ve ever been on the mission field, you probably understand how much work goes in beforehand to raise the necessary funds. And if you’ve ever looked into buying plane tickets to Africa…well, you really understand.

My trip next summer will cost me and estimated $3,000-$4,000. This is probably an unrealistic goal for someone working their way through college, but with a little help, I’m confident this can become a reality.

And that’s where the one dollar challenge comes in.

I know I’m not the only one with a tight budget and lots of expenses, so it’s really not fair or realistic to ask for much. But I would challenge each of you to donate one dollar to my summer in Uganda. That’s one pack of gum, or a third of a Starbucks frappuccino, or maybe just the loose change in your couch. Whatever it is, it’s doable. (In fact, even I could afford it…and that’s saying something.)

Giving is quick, easy, and relatively painless. Just use the donate buttons on the challenge page–you can donate without a PayPal account, too!

So what do you say?

Will you take the challenge?

(click here to donate)

Well, it’s happened. This blog has gotten a facelift, as well as a brand new job. I call it…

fundraising central.

Quick pointer: At the top of the page, you’ll find a few changes. Most notably, the One Dollar Challenge. Curious? Go ahead and click on it. I dare you. (And no worries, I’ll be explaining things a bit more in the next few days.)

Also, if you scroll down and check out the sidebar, you can find out what time it is in Uganda at the moment.

…am I the only one who feels really excited about that?

Okay. I’m curious: Thoughts on the new look? Helpful tips and tricks for online fundraising? Random questions? Drop me a comment!

Last year, as I became proficient in the art of sandwich-making, I created a short list of what not to do at Subway. But if 2010 was the year of the sandwich, 2011 is the year of the…restaurant. And guess what? After spending much of this year on wait staff at two different restaurants, I have a few opinions on how these things ought to work.

Ready? Go.

1. Don’t Have Parties In Restaurants…

…unless you are one of the few extraordinary souls who can remain pleasant and happy even if the food takes longer than usual and your poor server can’t quite keep up with refills. Parties are meant to happen in your living room. Or maybe try a park.

2. Repeat After Me: “My Waitress Is Not Responsible For How Fast My Food Is Prepared, Nor How It Tastes.”

This should be a given, but you might be surprised how many people never quite get the logic of it.

3. Checks Ought Not Be Torn Asunder

In other words, it’s ridiculously uncool to bring in a huge group of people, split the check in crazy ways, and swap seats throughout the meal. You know that game where you have three cups with a ping pong ball hidden under one, and you move them all around to confuse people? It’s like that. Only worse.

4. Don’t Take the Signed Check

You know the drill: pay with your card, sign one receipt with the tip and total, and take your copy. It’s bad if you take the other copy. You have essentially walked away with my tip. Bad.

5. Do the Math

Basic Social Etiquette informs us that 10-15% is an acceptable tip. Those are important numbers (especially the 15). Remember them, abide by them, use them. Then, move on to Advanced Social Etiquette: 20-25%.

6. Don’t Eat Out If You Can’t Afford to Tip

It’s always a bad sign to overhear a table commenting on the high menu prices. This inevitably means that the customers will spend their money on food and skip out on the tip. Save yourself the pain: mentally include a decent tip before you pick where you’re eating dinner. This is what polite people do.

7. As a General Rule: $1.00 Doesn’t Count as a Tip

That’s more like “Money I Could Make By Crawling Around On The Floor Picking Up Lost Change.”

But I don’t want to do that. So tip me for real.

Waitresses aren’t that hard to please. All we want is your money. No big deal, right?

Well, I’m going to Africa next summer.

Call it an “extended short term mission trip,” or something like that. Although the dates aren’t nailed down yet, my hope is to spend the majority of the summer there–at least two months, maybe up to three. And I’ve been dying to tell you all about it every since the thought first came into my mind.

…wait, what? Where exactly are you going?

Destination: Uganda. Specifically, I’ve applied and been accepted to work under an organization called New Hope Uganda. I’ll be living and working at the Kasana Children’s Home.

Why Africa?

I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the past year or so looking into various missions opportunities. I wanted something that was more than just a week-long experience; I wanted to immerse myself in something big. And in the middle of beginning an application for a different opportunity, this one landed in my lap. The ministry at Kasana is a place where I can use my God-given hobbies and talents to enable and advance New Hope’s mission to serve the orphans of Uganda. A better question is…why not Africa?

What will you be doing?

Sit tight. More details to come!

In the meantime, I can  always use prayer. Pray that all the necessary details would fall into place, especially in the chaos of this semester at school. Pray for New Hope Uganda. Pray that the funds I need for the trip will be readily available.

Speaking of funds, you can expect some visual changes around here to coincide with the African focus of my next several months. Fundraising is a must, so please bear with me while I pull everything together.

Lately, everything seems to be running out.

I’m out of time to do homework. I’m out of black paint. I’m out of money. I’m out of creative things to write for my English papers. I’m out of ideas for our group project. I’m out of jalapeno chips, the sustenance of life. I’m out of energy. My car’s out of gas. This brings us back to “I’m out of money.”

Let’s just say that at this point in my college student life, I am scraping the bottom of my creativity, my time management skills, and my wallet.

Maybe it’s not a coincidence that this week, ACU is hosting its annual Summit conference with the simple theme “enough.” Writers, speakers and thinkers are on campus from just about everywhere, all bringing their particular insight to the conference. I’ve listened to talks on culture, faith, storytelling, psychology, and blogging–pretty cool, really.

I think it’s all come at a good time–encouraging me to keep my focus off my empty wallet/gas tank/creative brain and instead draw in to God. The riches of Your love will always be enough. We sang those words in chapel last week, and they keep running through my mind.

Is it true?

I don’t need enough time, enough money, enough creativity, enough energy.

All I need is enough Jesus.

(Which is good, because He’s easier to come by than a full tank of gas.)

Yes, there are. This has been one of my greatest delights over the past three weeks–professors, classroom desks, roll call, assignments, due dates, cafeterias, libraries, fellow students, and dorm life.

At risk of showing how much of a homeschooler I truly am…all those things make me really excited.

The downside of college? It’s a bit unhappy to constantly have homework hanging over your head when you’d rather be blogging. Or hanging out. Or talking on the phone. Or going to Walmart to buy jalapeno chips, the sustenance of life.

Oh well.

If you’ve wondered what I’ve been doing lately, things can be mostly summed up with these words:

Dorms. Moving. iPad. ACU. Welcome Week. Friends. Late nights. Nail polish. Camo. H2. Awesome professors. Scary professors. Jalapeno chips. Walmart. Textbooks. Money. Spaghetti. Orchestra. Coloring pages. Schedules. Walking. New people. Homework. Command strips. Painting. Devotionals. School.

Basically, awesomeness.

Also, I turned 19 today, so I’m really starting to feel my age. Possible side effects could include a tendency to forget about this blog. But no worries! God’s up to some exciting things lately, and I’ll be posting about them here as soon as possible.

Until then, please pray that my statistics class doesn’t kill me. (I’m an English major, for crying out loud. Do I look like I can handle numbers?)

There are piles of fluffy pillows in my chair, right next to an assortment of storage boxes. A “dorm shopping list” is hanging by my desk–mostly crossed out now. One week from today will be my last shift at work. Twenty days from now, I’ll be moving in at school.

These last few weeks have been full of work and shopping and family time and a pervasive sense of “getting ready.” I’m excited, to say the least. Roommates, class schedules, room numbers, move-in dates…well, it’s all very real. And coming up rather quickly.

In other news, this blog is still in an in-between stage–depending on whether I can recruit the assistance of my genius friends or not, the current look might have to be scrapped in favor of one with functional links. And until then, it just doesn’t feel right to post “for real”–but I’ll try, okay?

Well, it’s one of those days. I woke up, cleaned the house, felt inspired, and decided my blog needed a little cleaning-up too.

The new theme is obviously quite a bit brighter, happier, and (in my opinion) awesome-er. Unfortunately, there are a few issues at the moment–you might notice that several of the links aren’t functional. Hopefully that’ll be up and running soon.

In the meantime…what are your thoughts?