“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on paper. What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a crappy first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.”
― Anne Lamott
So, who am I? And why on earth do I think I have anything to add to all the noise and voices in our world today? Truth is, I don’t have any new or wise pieces of advice or wisdom. However, I’ve long thought it would be a fun hobby to start a blog- a little tiny space in my world where I can write and think and process and feel. All the abstract. All those controversial, grey areas and the ethical dilemmas that we run into in today’s world. I’d like to think I’m ‘Original Material’ (Colony House.) But really, most of my thoughts and processes aren’t actually my own. They come from/are inspired by my gleanings of both reading, discussing with, and listening to many people- authors, artists, mentors, creators, preachers, friends, and missionaries. They are inspired by people much wiser and with more life experience than I. But- I’ve decided it’s time to stop waiting for wisdom to strike, to jump in, and see what happens. I am creating this space to write and process, kinda like terrible first drafts maybe. Follow along if you feel like it. Don’t if you don’t want to. I’m not sure what I’ll be including in my writing or what ‘genre’ of sorts that I’ll have. Some ideas I have are topics on- justice, widows and orphans, the white saviour complex, depression, grief, wrestling with how one should live in today’s world as a Jesus follower, and random other musings. Let me know if you have particular areas of interest that you would like to see on here. No promises though. I’m a bit of a sporadic, disorganized visionary. So who knows. (my next crazy or flash idea might include alpaca farming or something.) Anywho- nuf said about that.
–A word on Faith– I am unashamedly a Jesus follower and this has a direct impact my views, thoughts, and beliefs. However, I know many many people have been so burned by religion- for which I am so so sorry. I will be sharing from my perspective of faith. Please hear me out and if you would like, let’s have a conversation about it. I would love to hear from you and I welcome feedback. The last thing I want to do is to trigger you or push you further. Please know I have struggled and still struggle to identify myself with many people who claim to love Jesus then turn and destroy, hurt and wound. That is wrong, and is not the way of the Jesus that I know.
-so- a little about me. I’m Jan. I grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I’ve currently traded that in for city life in SE Asia. I love making connections and meeting new people but am also quite introverted and need that space to retreat and recharge. People fascinate me. Psychology intrigues me. Why we do what we do. How our core motivations affect how we relate. Why we have the passions and dreams we have. How our direction in life can be changed with one choice. For me- when I met Jesus my life’s trajectory drastically changed. I’m passionate about sharing the real deal of relationship with Father God- not the religious stuff where we strive and try to perform well enough, but rather where we are transformed by His love and live out of that- redeemed, broken and whole. Redemption is currently one of my favorite words. There is so much hope in that. I believe the essence of the gospel is to love the vulnerable, to defend those who have had their voices stripped from them. I believe that this gospel should transcend borders and politics. Over and over in His Word I see God’s heart for justice, I see commands to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God. (Micah 6:8) It’s my desire to live in a way where I actively use my undeserved privilege to fight for people who have been marginalized and made vulnerable. I want to see change in my generation. I want to see freedom and hope made possible for all. (I know… I dream big, get hurt, despair over the impossibility of it all, weep over the evil, then take a deep breath, get up, brush off the dirt and try again.) And so it goes.
“I don’t want to just fit in with the rest of them
I’ve got too much on my mind to be wasting any time
Pretending to fit in with the rest of them
I’d rather be original material for once” – Original Material, Colony House
Concrete Abstractions 