It's here!

Yesterday, my passport arrived!

To be honest, I didn't know how I was going to react, if I would just start freaking out and squealing or burst into happy tears. I was somewhere in the middle. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I was crazy giddy and couldn't stop laughing for a minute. This was such a huge step for me that has now been completed! One step closer to England!

So, here's my gobsmacked face:

And here's my excited face:

If you are still reading this, I thank you! I hope to have more to post on here soon, and I appreciate everyone who has kept up with this crazy journey of mine! Keep checking back!

Like British words? Follow @Britwordaday on Twitter!

The First Real Step

Something big happened this week. Something really big toward my dream of going to England:

I ORDERED MY PASSPORT!

To backtrack, I still do not have funds to go to England, to take classes, to do anything there. I do not know how that will come about, I just believe it will somehow. I know it will take a miracle, and that miracle could come from any number of sources. But for the longest time, I've wanted to take care of the passport with my own money. I just felt if I could at least get that out of the way, then maybe this timeline for getting there may perhaps start moving a bit quicker.

However, it was one thing after another why I still was unable to purchase one. Although a passport isn't terribly expensive in the grand scheme of things, it might as well have been a million dollars. I even tried to save up a chunk of money each week for a while, to no avail. Eventually life got in the way, and that money had to be used for more pressing matters. I was heartbroken. It seemed impossible just to take this one little step.

But recently, God redeemed a terrible event and created extra provision from it. Through these extra funds, I was able to finally, FINALLY, make an appointment to order my passport. I called at the beginning of the week, and they had an opening the very next morning, otherwise I'd have to wait another 3 weeks. So I jumped on it. I drove to the post office the next morning playing my London playlist on my iPod (yes, I made a London playlist). Everything was super quick and easy, and I could not stop grinning for about five minutes after I left there. I was chuffed to bits!

I probably can't fully convey how important this moment was for me. While it doesn't guarantee that I'll get to London any quicker, I do feel a little closer to my dream, and my dream feels a bit more real. So, I wanted to share that on here, in hopes that there will be more moments like this coming in the near future. This story is just getting started!

Minding the Gap

Hello friends! I hope everyone is off to a good start in 2014. I, for one, was immensely glad to see the calendar switch to January, as 2013 was one of the most difficult years I've endured. It was definitely my worst financially, which led to me not getting to England as hoped. I have not given up, though. It will happen at the most beautifully perfect time for me, although I am certainly hoping that that means this year!

There's a phrase used in the London Underground called "mind the gap". It means be careful stepping from the platform to the train door. I love the phrase and can't wait to see it when I'm riding the Tube. But as the phrase has come to my mind many times, there's a deeper meaning that has emerged.

Photo Source: Wikipedia

Right now, there's a gap between where I am and where I want to be. That applies to pretty much all areas of my life, but let's just specify it to getting over to England. I've received the dream, and have done initial research, but quite honestly, I feel like I've dropped the ball a little bit on actively pursuing this. I feel a bit like it's completely out of my hands (which it is), so what can I really do about it, hmmm?

Plenty.

I need to mind the gap better in 2014. I need to be constantly doing things that remind me of my dream, and that will help me move toward it, even if it feels like the tiniest step. Whether that is reading or researching or talking to someone, the point is that it's doing something. One thing I plan on doing is blogging on here more, even if it's just about a video or article I saw about something British. It will help to keep me more connected.

Each of us has a gap somewhere in our lives that we need to mind better. We are in the season of New Year's resolutions, and fresh starts. Let's all make it a point to be more diligent in minding these gaps, of making our goals and dreams a reality.

And just for fun, I'm pretty sure I found this on Buzzfeed. I love it!

A Fun Little Project....

Hello, readers! For the few of you that do keep up with this blog, I sincerely thank you! Once I get to England (no, I'm not over there yet), I should have a lot more exciting stuff to post on a regular basis, but for now, I only seem to manage blogging every couple of months.

There isn't anything new to report on the getting-to-London front. Finances and circumstances have become increasingly difficult this year-not at all what I had been hoping or expecting. Still, God has a plan in all of this, and I'm praying that I am on the cusp of a huge breakthrough.

What I wanted to post was that in the meantime, my friend Jen and I decided it would be fun to create a twitter account to post British words and their meanings. I've been fascinated with British English much longer than I've had the dream of briefly living there. Their words and phrases are fantastic, sometimes making more sense than the American equivalents. So, I'm really excited to explore the language more as I tweet about various British words. Feel free to follow us on twitter at @BritWordaDay.

One last thing, below is a picture I created on Tagxedo, a site where you can create word clouds. I made this one to go on our twitter background, and I love it so much I'm sharing it here, too. Enjoy!

Happy anniversary!

I just wanted to take a moment to blog on this anniversary. One year ago today, the first seed was planted of this idea of living in London and studying photography. It's so hard to believe that a year has passed already, and to be honest, I did expect to be over there by now. In fact, I had expected to have gone and already come back by now. But, as with pretty much everything in my life, my timetable is different than God's, and if He hasn't sent me over there yet, there has to be a good reason. He is lining up and orchestrating everything just so that when he gives me the green light, it will be at the appointed time He wants me there.

The longer one's wait, the better one's payoff.

So, I will keep waiting, and try to enjoy the journey.

Living the Dream

I was thinking of the concept of "living the dream". It refers to when your dream is actualized, and you're already in the middle of it. But what if there is a different way of looking at it?

What if we thought of living the dream including the period of time we are waiting for our dream to happen. Isn't that living the dream as well? When we're full of anticipation and hope that our dream is coming, when we're planning and preparing, and waiting day by day? If that's not part of living the dream, I don't know what is. It's just that we don't like to talk about this part of it as much, because, let's face it, waiting can feel like crap at times. Our impatient selves want our dreams to happen yesterday. So we only want to talk about the dreams that have actually come true already.

What I'm discovering, though, is that there is beauty in that tension of waiting between discovering your dream and getting to do your dream. It doesn't often FEEL like it, but it can be a blessing. I have plenty of dreams, but right now the one that weighs on my heart the most is getting to England (you can read the full story HERE). This journey toward England officially began almost a year ago, and although I'd hop on a Heathrow-bound plane tomorrow if I could, I kind of like that it's all still ahead of me, rather than behind. These many months have given me an opportunity to test my desires and motives, and my resolve for going over there has actually increased from that. Anticipation can be half the fun anyway, and my anticipation continues to grow, knowing everything with going to England is yet to be experienced. Knowing you have a dream and are working towards it...it's kinda like a badge of honor (or rather, honour)! THAT is also living the dream.

When I finally am in England, eating scones and riding the Tube, as I look back on the journey that got me there, it won't have begun when I booked my flight or signed up for my photography classes. No, it began with those very first seeds of desire, that took root and blossomed over a long time of careful watering, sunshine, and fresh air. To all those who are also waiting on something, try to slow down and enjoy the process in getting there, this period of refinement.

Let's really LIVE our dreams.

"I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him." -Psalm 62:1

*As an added bonus, click HERE to see amazing COLOR footage of London from the 1920's!

I Haven't Forgotten

Spring has arrived, but with it a sinking feeling, wondering when I will finally be able to make it over to England. My heart feels so ready, but it's never just that easy. It's a process, a process I can't even begin to fully see with my human eyes. I could name so many reasons why NOW is the time, but God knows better than I do. There's more to the story, that I will discover through time and transpiring events. It's very frustrating, but I haven't forgotten, nor given up on my dream. Just because it hasn't happened YET, doesn't mean it's not going to happen AT ALL.

Nevertheless, that is the reason why I haven't blogged in a couple of months, because there really hasn't been anything progress to blog about, sadly.

However, I thought I'd mention some of the things I have been praying and still need to be praying about. If you feel like joining me in praying for these things, I would greatly appreciate it! 

Pray for the following:

*God making the impossible, possible.

*Provision to be able to go (soon, I hope!).

*That I can trust God's timing, even if that means not going for another five years.

*God orchestrating the right people for me to stay with there.

*Opportunities to be a light there.

*For amazing friendships and connections made with people while in England.

*The faith to continue believing that this WILL happen!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, seriously. I know not much has been posted yet, but when God gives the green light, I plan to be posting a LOT more! Until then. :)