Hicks, Hoodlums, and Highrises

The unknown can’t be prepared for, yet true adventuredemands we face it anyway. In that facing, we discover our greatest peril is often our own limitations, our ignorance, our weaknesses as they are revealed to us. But when we journey by faith, God intervenes where natural abilities fail. This is a story of one such intervention.

There is no such thing as a leap of faith. More than a meremoment, faith is a conscious, on-going commitment, to embark on a treacherous journey into the unknown guided by trust in a God who is known. Often, this means leaving a familiar people, culture, and home to become a stranger. As was the case when a financial faith pledge I thought was meant to take me down one such journey, ended up taking down another. I not only received the shock of my life, but a crash course in navigating new cultures, street smarts, and a set of foundational skills for a future I couldn’t comprehend.

This is that story plus revelations on navigating new cultures including: 3 Factors that Shape Culture, 7 Facets of Cultural Expression, and Tips for Adapting to a New Culture

Most everyone wants a place to belong, a place they can call home, where everyone “knows their name”. But more importantly, there is no greater human need than to know and pursue our creator. However, for some, such a pursuit requires striking out alone…very alone…, leaving all that is familiar to wander as nomad and foreigner. Accepting such a call runs so contrary to our innate desire for belonging, that many miss it all together and of those who do see it, the risk of leaving everything to cross over into a world of the utterly unknown for an unseen future, it is not only unappealing, but terrifying.

This is the story of how I nearly missed one such defining moment in my life and how that has shaped the purpose of IVRI Media and this blog Hicks, Hoodlums, & Highrises – an IVRI Media publication.

Stories are the things life is made of. Tying together moments and elements that go unnoticed in the day to day, stories teach us to understand ourselves, identify what we value, and capture the wisdom of the past to guide us into our future. What’s more, stories take us to places and introduce us to people we otherwise have no way of doing so on our own. They allow us to use our imagination to experiment and test ideas learning as we go. Nevertheless, a story is nothing without its author. To truly understand a story, one must understand the context from which the author writes.

This post is the story of how I developed a passion for stories, hearing and telling them, why I started this blog, Hicks, Hoodlums, & Highrises, and my high-level introduction to you as the blog’s author.