Today has been a busy day, but it's lovely. After staying up most of the night and working a little today, I can be done with my first paper if I want to be. I'll go over it a bit over the next few days, tweaking & maybe adding enough to make it a solid 10 pages.
Three hours of sleep is all I got, and I drowsily donated blood and read some C.S. Lewis essays on fiction (now unnecessary) before heading down to SFO to get one of my goddaughters. My head about exploded due to only one security line being open, but I finally obtained the girl and made it out of the city.
In an effort to get my page length, I flipped through the Chronicles looking for another example of the things I already pointed out, but eventually realized I had a shiny, new point to make! That was fun. So I pulled up the trusty Amazon search and looked for "moon" in all of the books (well, the one, big copy of them all). No, I haven't resorted to listing objects and the frequency of their appearance, but I had an idea that the Moon was sometimes more than just a moon, so I wanted to see all the uses. Turns out I'm kind of right. That's always nice.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 09, 2010
Fun with fonts!
Oh, I do love messing around with fonts. You're just lucky that there are only eight to choose from here on blogger and they're all kind of boring, or I'd be changing it up every time, sometimes within one post.
I taught tonight at the young adults group, and I think it went well. I was just piling Bible verse on top of Bible verse illustrating that what God wants from us is all-out love for him and for our neighbors, who just happen to be everyone, oh, on the planet. We are clearly charged to take care of one another, and our love for God is supposed to take up all of our being. As one guy said tonight, it's a little scary because there are no loopholes out of this. All of you. Everyone.
So, I decided to do a power point presentation because I had about 11 Bible passages, some long, and I didn't want people to have to flip all over the place and not really be able to look at the text and concentrate. Naturally, every slide was in a different font. In fact, most slides had 2 different fonts: one for the title and one for the text. All the titles were the same, "What does God want from us?" but I started changing it up even beyond the font by putting it in different language. Thank you, Google translator! For the most part, I was able to double-check and figure out if the translations were right/close, except for with Welsh. I was just going to have to trust that one. I had Spanish, Welsh, French, Swedish, and German. It was great fun, I tell you.
Here, you can look at it to see how crazy I went. I even have 1 piece of clip art. I was into this. Core PPT
*note that one the slide with the link to the movie study, we just skipped through the preview & watched the short clip from lesson 4.
I taught tonight at the young adults group, and I think it went well. I was just piling Bible verse on top of Bible verse illustrating that what God wants from us is all-out love for him and for our neighbors, who just happen to be everyone, oh, on the planet. We are clearly charged to take care of one another, and our love for God is supposed to take up all of our being. As one guy said tonight, it's a little scary because there are no loopholes out of this. All of you. Everyone.
So, I decided to do a power point presentation because I had about 11 Bible passages, some long, and I didn't want people to have to flip all over the place and not really be able to look at the text and concentrate. Naturally, every slide was in a different font. In fact, most slides had 2 different fonts: one for the title and one for the text. All the titles were the same, "What does God want from us?" but I started changing it up even beyond the font by putting it in different language. Thank you, Google translator! For the most part, I was able to double-check and figure out if the translations were right/close, except for with Welsh. I was just going to have to trust that one. I had Spanish, Welsh, French, Swedish, and German. It was great fun, I tell you.
Here, you can look at it to see how crazy I went. I even have 1 piece of clip art. I was into this. Core PPT
*note that one the slide with the link to the movie study, we just skipped through the preview & watched the short clip from lesson 4.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
I'm not a theologian
I mean, sure, I'll have a master's degree in Theology in about a year and a half, but that doesn't make me a theologian, and I'm fine with that.
I really appreciate all that I'm learning, and the opportunity to read great thinkers and write about the stuff of God that people have pondered and prayed on for thousands of years, but over and over again I just keep thinking that it's all just trying to nail jello to the wall.
The Bible isn't clear on many, many things. If God wanted to spell some things out, he would have done so. Am I saying that it is of no use at all to wrestle with questions and concepts? Not at all. But when complex, multi-layered arguments are constructed with very little biblical basis or evidence, it may be a waste of time. At least, I feel like it's a waste of time for me to have to read them. There are few things I hate more than wading through a confusing section of a book, hurting my brain trying to figure out what the author is proposing, finally coming to see their point a little bit, only to get to the end and realize that they were actually illustrating a view with which they disagree or that there is little to no biblical support for the muck and mire I just went through.
Believe me, I get it. With the Bible's annoying lack of clarity on so many things, we have to thoughtfully discuss and extrapolate and expand our beliefs into fully-fledged organisms. The problem is that we then try to hold on to them so tightly and will fight people on them, and we construct miles of scaffolding to support them, when all we're really holding up is our own opinions, or those we've adopted from those who came before us.
Stop trying to nail jello to the wall. Eat it. Get it in you. Digest it and let the sweetness become a part of you. Put it in your mouth & swish it around and make kool aid out of it. Just stop holding it and showing it off and getting everyone's hands all sticky.
I really appreciate all that I'm learning, and the opportunity to read great thinkers and write about the stuff of God that people have pondered and prayed on for thousands of years, but over and over again I just keep thinking that it's all just trying to nail jello to the wall.
The Bible isn't clear on many, many things. If God wanted to spell some things out, he would have done so. Am I saying that it is of no use at all to wrestle with questions and concepts? Not at all. But when complex, multi-layered arguments are constructed with very little biblical basis or evidence, it may be a waste of time. At least, I feel like it's a waste of time for me to have to read them. There are few things I hate more than wading through a confusing section of a book, hurting my brain trying to figure out what the author is proposing, finally coming to see their point a little bit, only to get to the end and realize that they were actually illustrating a view with which they disagree or that there is little to no biblical support for the muck and mire I just went through.
Believe me, I get it. With the Bible's annoying lack of clarity on so many things, we have to thoughtfully discuss and extrapolate and expand our beliefs into fully-fledged organisms. The problem is that we then try to hold on to them so tightly and will fight people on them, and we construct miles of scaffolding to support them, when all we're really holding up is our own opinions, or those we've adopted from those who came before us.
Stop trying to nail jello to the wall. Eat it. Get it in you. Digest it and let the sweetness become a part of you. Put it in your mouth & swish it around and make kool aid out of it. Just stop holding it and showing it off and getting everyone's hands all sticky.
Friday, August 06, 2010
Feverishly scribbled notes
Today has been a long, great day. I woke up naturally at 5am, thinking I would just pee & go right back to sleep. Nay. So, I finished The Last Battle (it always makes me so sad, though it shouldn't), then tried again. Nope. So I decided to embrace it and enjoy being up. We had day one of the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit (WCAGLS- wickagles) today, and I was afraid I would crash at some point, but it was just to awesome.
The friend I came out here with has never been to the summit before, so I told her to expect that we'd learn a lot, but also end up rolling our eyes a bit. Ah, not today. Opening video- we both teared up a bit. Worship? Great. And almost all of today's sessions were about change, crisis, dysfunctional teams, and various other things that hit home so much that we often found ourselves looking at each other with an "oh, really! I wonder who that could apply to!" look on our faces. There was also one high-five when Jim Collins threw out, as if it were completely obvious, "Oh, and double your outreach to young people by changing your practices, but not your core values."
The other two times I've gone to the summit, I've gone alone, so with four of us from church there, it is really great to have others go over this stuff with, to also share the inspiration you're receiving, and take it back to church. During the first session, I realized that I kept wishing that some of our pastors were there, but we are here. We four women, only two on staff, none of us in real positions of power right now: God put us in that room to receive this vision and inspiration, and he wants us; he wants me to take it back and help make it grow. I thought of it as a holy pressure. I'm scared and excited.
Tomorrow- day 2. I looked at the books of a couple of tomorrow's speakers, and I'm excited by what I see. And the four of us are going to get together and pray for God's vision and for strength and wisdom for our role in whatever God is doing. Pray for us, please. Our church- God's church- needs a lot of help.
The friend I came out here with has never been to the summit before, so I told her to expect that we'd learn a lot, but also end up rolling our eyes a bit. Ah, not today. Opening video- we both teared up a bit. Worship? Great. And almost all of today's sessions were about change, crisis, dysfunctional teams, and various other things that hit home so much that we often found ourselves looking at each other with an "oh, really! I wonder who that could apply to!" look on our faces. There was also one high-five when Jim Collins threw out, as if it were completely obvious, "Oh, and double your outreach to young people by changing your practices, but not your core values."
The other two times I've gone to the summit, I've gone alone, so with four of us from church there, it is really great to have others go over this stuff with, to also share the inspiration you're receiving, and take it back to church. During the first session, I realized that I kept wishing that some of our pastors were there, but we are here. We four women, only two on staff, none of us in real positions of power right now: God put us in that room to receive this vision and inspiration, and he wants us; he wants me to take it back and help make it grow. I thought of it as a holy pressure. I'm scared and excited.
Tomorrow- day 2. I looked at the books of a couple of tomorrow's speakers, and I'm excited by what I see. And the four of us are going to get together and pray for God's vision and for strength and wisdom for our role in whatever God is doing. Pray for us, please. Our church- God's church- needs a lot of help.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, etc.
I may have read Prince Caspian today, too, but I was more interested in Voyage. I found it quite difficult to skim because I haven't read it in some years (7 or 8) and, with the movie coming out soon, I wanted to read the details. I did skim a bit, but found myself slowing down and wanting to savor. I just about clapped when Lucy, Edmund, & Eustace got to the field with the feast laid out by the Lamb. I love the imagery!! And Reepicheep??!!! He is seriously awesome. Love him.
I just started on The Silver Chair, which I remember not liking. It may be because I don't like villains & so I'm not real fond of the time spent with the giants and worrying about being eaten. We'll see how I feel. I'll likely skim a lot, because I'm really just looking for things about Aslan.
My sister will be here in less than an hour, and I've been cleaning off & on today while trying to focus on reading. I've had mixed results. Sure, I read 2 books, but I wanted to finish all 7 by tonight.
So, I'm going to read a few chapters, wait for Seth to call me from In-N-Out in Rohnert Park, I will place my order with him, then do some last-minute cleaning just so my sister isn't completely disgusted by our house. I swear, if I didn't ever have company, my house would never be cleaned.
I just started on The Silver Chair, which I remember not liking. It may be because I don't like villains & so I'm not real fond of the time spent with the giants and worrying about being eaten. We'll see how I feel. I'll likely skim a lot, because I'm really just looking for things about Aslan.
My sister will be here in less than an hour, and I've been cleaning off & on today while trying to focus on reading. I've had mixed results. Sure, I read 2 books, but I wanted to finish all 7 by tonight.
So, I'm going to read a few chapters, wait for Seth to call me from In-N-Out in Rohnert Park, I will place my order with him, then do some last-minute cleaning just so my sister isn't completely disgusted by our house. I swear, if I didn't ever have company, my house would never be cleaned.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia
As you may have seen coming from my previous posts, today was a breakdown day. Not long after I woke up, I started thinking of all the things I needed to do today, and I was only able to talk myself out of crying for so long. Thankfully, my dear husband was home, so he was able to hug me and knew I was going to cry before it started.
After a run and getting most of the errands done, I was able to lighten up a bit and get a little homework done. I finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and skimmed through The Horse and His Boy. It makes me happy when the story obviously mirrors biblical actions and themes. I love it when people are anointed with the Holy Spirit, and I really liked Narnia's Pentecost in The Magician's Nephew.
I also love Lewis's writing style, especially when he talks to the readers. You see a side of him that I would call silly, even though you don't often read about that aspect of his personality in biographies or letters. The only glimpses of that you get are in a few letters or remembrances by students of his who write of him good-naturedly making fun of other professors and acting more like the students than an authority figure. If you only ever read his theological writings and most biographies, you would have to read between the lines to figure out that he had quite the sense of humor.
So tomorrow I shall press on with Prince Caspian get through the rest of the books. Once I have all my data, it shouldn't be a difficult paper to write.
After a run and getting most of the errands done, I was able to lighten up a bit and get a little homework done. I finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and skimmed through The Horse and His Boy. It makes me happy when the story obviously mirrors biblical actions and themes. I love it when people are anointed with the Holy Spirit, and I really liked Narnia's Pentecost in The Magician's Nephew.
I also love Lewis's writing style, especially when he talks to the readers. You see a side of him that I would call silly, even though you don't often read about that aspect of his personality in biographies or letters. The only glimpses of that you get are in a few letters or remembrances by students of his who write of him good-naturedly making fun of other professors and acting more like the students than an authority figure. If you only ever read his theological writings and most biographies, you would have to read between the lines to figure out that he had quite the sense of humor.
So tomorrow I shall press on with Prince Caspian get through the rest of the books. Once I have all my data, it shouldn't be a difficult paper to write.
Monday, August 02, 2010
I shan't blog tonight.
Entirely too tired. Perhaps tomorrow I'll write a little bit about today, but I'm just brain dead.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
I've been lax in my writing exercises
But not in my physical exercises, I can assure you.
Nor in my homework duties.
You see, I've just been burnt out these past 2 weeks from class. 30 hours of class in two weeks + 1200 pages of reading + my other class reading & homework + figuring out paper topics + searching/buying/checking out books for said papers.
Thus? My brain is mush when I get home and I haven't felt like turning the computer on and blogging at night. I'm sorry. I don't apologize to you, because I know you're cool with it, but I apologize to my future self and its writing abilities.
To celebrate diminished brain powers and lack of writing finesse, I shall pretend that this blog is my twitter feed and just blurt out some of my thoughts. Enjoy!
Nor in my homework duties.
You see, I've just been burnt out these past 2 weeks from class. 30 hours of class in two weeks + 1200 pages of reading + my other class reading & homework + figuring out paper topics + searching/buying/checking out books for said papers.
Thus? My brain is mush when I get home and I haven't felt like turning the computer on and blogging at night. I'm sorry. I don't apologize to you, because I know you're cool with it, but I apologize to my future self and its writing abilities.
To celebrate diminished brain powers and lack of writing finesse, I shall pretend that this blog is my twitter feed and just blurt out some of my thoughts. Enjoy!
- I'm reading Chi Running and worked on my form a little bit yesterday. Well, a lot. A planned 30 minute, light run to work on form turned into an hour and a half or so of being lost, being hot, having to poop, worrying about the dog, backtracking, resting in a park, and finally asking for directions. My time was still pretty good, though, and I'm not very sore today, so I think the form worked.
- I think I'm going to do my first paper on Manifestations/Representation/? of the Trinity in The Chronicles of Narnia. So, I'm kind of skimming my way through them right now.
- My right butt cheek hurts.
- I'm glad to be back in Sonoma County after being away for all of this week and most of last week.
- We didn't have the DVR set to keep more than one episode of So You Think You Can Dance, so we have to watch Wednesday's ep online, but I already know who went home on Thursday.
- You know what my 4 bookcases look like, yes? Well, I currently also have 7 books on the back of the couch, one on the end table behind me, one pile of 13 on the kitchen table, another pile of 5 on the table, 6 on top of the bookcase in the kitchen, and I returned 8 to the library earlier. Almost all of the books mentioned were/are for school.
- I'm really really in the mood to go to Southern California. Hmmm...one more...
- I love my life: being in school, being in ministry, being in California, being in love, being in shape. It's all good.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Unreachable
I'm staying at the house of some friends while I'm in class these two weeks, and the house must be lined with lead or something, because I get no cell reception (even outside, sometimes) and the internet doesn't work everywhere, like in the living room. Well, it's temperamental and moody.
It's kind of a beautiful thing. Sure, I wasn't able to get online last night and write this entry, but I also can't get any phone calls and spend less time online. Fabulous. Maybe I should climb on my roof at home with a roll of tinfoil.
I'm reading! A lot! Well, I'm also watching a lot of Angel, but that's really okay since I'm getting other things done, too. Not that my phone rings much at home, but it does from time to time. I get e-mails or facebook postings from people asking me to do things, and I should do laundry or clean the house or something. Here? It isn't messy, there's plenty of room to put the things away that need to be put away, and I can't do anything with anyone. It's gorgeous.
Perhaps I need to learn to block out my time better when I'm working on class. The only problem with that is that I'm almost always working on class, and I do have a life, relationships, and ministry to consider. But maybe I should block of certain days- maybe 2 per week, at least- where I never make plans and I don't answer the phone. I also won't feel guilty about housework. This is something to think about.
It's kind of a beautiful thing. Sure, I wasn't able to get online last night and write this entry, but I also can't get any phone calls and spend less time online. Fabulous. Maybe I should climb on my roof at home with a roll of tinfoil.
I'm reading! A lot! Well, I'm also watching a lot of Angel, but that's really okay since I'm getting other things done, too. Not that my phone rings much at home, but it does from time to time. I get e-mails or facebook postings from people asking me to do things, and I should do laundry or clean the house or something. Here? It isn't messy, there's plenty of room to put the things away that need to be put away, and I can't do anything with anyone. It's gorgeous.
Perhaps I need to learn to block out my time better when I'm working on class. The only problem with that is that I'm almost always working on class, and I do have a life, relationships, and ministry to consider. But maybe I should block of certain days- maybe 2 per week, at least- where I never make plans and I don't answer the phone. I also won't feel guilty about housework. This is something to think about.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I make lists & check them many times
Today I continued my quest for books for school. Trusty list in hand, I headed north on El Camino Real, certain that I had seen a Borders somewhere. After a fair amount of traffic and much self-doubt, I found it. Now, I could have looked online to see if they had the books I wanted, and there I also would have seen the price. But I didn't do that. I just wanted to go. Therefore, I found books that I wanted at much higher prices than I wanted to pay. I mean, I'm not going to pay $13 or so for a 50 year old book that I should be able to find in a used bookstore, if I just had the desire to go from used bookstore to used bookstore looking.
In the end, I used my trusty coupon and bought A Severe Mercy, which I told Sandra I would never read. Oh, well. I'm writing a paper on C.S. Lewis's views on theodicy (pain & suffering, why bad things happen to good people) and this book deals with that.
I also stopped in at Barnes & Noble to see if they had any of the harder to find books, but they did not. It was really difficult being in those stores without a) feeling like I could really relax and browse, b) buying a coffee, and c) having money to spend however I wanted. Oh, bookstores. How you torture me.
So, after yesterday's & today's quests, I have 2 books I want/need for papers, I've ordered 2 more online, I'll go to the library at school tomorrow to get a few more (even though I prefer having my own so I can write in them), and I may order one more if the library doesn't have it.
And let's not even talk about my final project for sexuality, okay? I'm pretending that's going to be easy.
In the end, I used my trusty coupon and bought A Severe Mercy, which I told Sandra I would never read. Oh, well. I'm writing a paper on C.S. Lewis's views on theodicy (pain & suffering, why bad things happen to good people) and this book deals with that.
I also stopped in at Barnes & Noble to see if they had any of the harder to find books, but they did not. It was really difficult being in those stores without a) feeling like I could really relax and browse, b) buying a coffee, and c) having money to spend however I wanted. Oh, bookstores. How you torture me.
So, after yesterday's & today's quests, I have 2 books I want/need for papers, I've ordered 2 more online, I'll go to the library at school tomorrow to get a few more (even though I prefer having my own so I can write in them), and I may order one more if the library doesn't have it.
And let's not even talk about my final project for sexuality, okay? I'm pretending that's going to be easy.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday's blog is full of late
I didn't get home from last night until about 11:30, which is why I didn't write. After class, I drove about 25 minutes away to go to Half Priced Books (LOVE!), where I expected to find all of the books I needed for my C.S. Lewis papers. Alas, I was not so lucky.
This store is much smaller than the ones I'm used to, and I circled and circled in vain. I almost made myself dizzy with my head turned to the side while I quickly scanned the shelves in any section I could think of that might possibly be holding what I needed. (I may have also been looking a bit for something fun to read. No luck.)
What shocked me the most was that they didn't have the main thing I was looking for: The Chronicles of Narnia all in one book. You've seen it: giant paperback, Aslan on the front. I swear, it used to be at Costco all the time (not anymore, though. I looked.). I almost asked the people sorting the used books if they had seen a copy anywhere. I just couldn't believe that it wasn't there.
With 15 minutes left until the store closed, I went back to the young adult section to creep over each shelf, bit by bit. It may have been misshelved, you know. As I crept past the shelves, I spied 3 books piled on one another on the floor. The bottom one looked quite large, but, dangit, it had a white cover. But I was desperate, so I moved the other ones out of the way anyway. As I did, the font showed itself, and the letters took the form of the word "Narnia." GET! OUT!
I didn't actually believe it at first, because I had already given up hope, but there it was. The complete Chronicles, but with Jadis (Tilda Swinton) on the cover instead of Aslan. (That's an interesting decision, I must say.) My heart nearly leapt, I tell you, and I cradled the book to my chest as I went towards the registers.
In the end, I paid $9.95+tax, drove an hour out of my way, plus one $4 toll. I could have gotten it at the Borders down the street for $14+tax (with my coupon), but where would the story be in that?
This store is much smaller than the ones I'm used to, and I circled and circled in vain. I almost made myself dizzy with my head turned to the side while I quickly scanned the shelves in any section I could think of that might possibly be holding what I needed. (I may have also been looking a bit for something fun to read. No luck.)
What shocked me the most was that they didn't have the main thing I was looking for: The Chronicles of Narnia all in one book. You've seen it: giant paperback, Aslan on the front. I swear, it used to be at Costco all the time (not anymore, though. I looked.). I almost asked the people sorting the used books if they had seen a copy anywhere. I just couldn't believe that it wasn't there.
With 15 minutes left until the store closed, I went back to the young adult section to creep over each shelf, bit by bit. It may have been misshelved, you know. As I crept past the shelves, I spied 3 books piled on one another on the floor. The bottom one looked quite large, but, dangit, it had a white cover. But I was desperate, so I moved the other ones out of the way anyway. As I did, the font showed itself, and the letters took the form of the word "Narnia." GET! OUT!
I didn't actually believe it at first, because I had already given up hope, but there it was. The complete Chronicles, but with Jadis (Tilda Swinton) on the cover instead of Aslan. (That's an interesting decision, I must say.) My heart nearly leapt, I tell you, and I cradled the book to my chest as I went towards the registers.
In the end, I paid $9.95+tax, drove an hour out of my way, plus one $4 toll. I could have gotten it at the Borders down the street for $14+tax (with my coupon), but where would the story be in that?
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Fallen
The topic for my sexuality class this week is sexual abuse, and if that's not a pick me up, I don't know what is. (Please, oh please, get the sarcasm there.)
I only had to read one chapter today, and it mostly talked about the effects of abuse and the characteristics of the perpetrators.
We're going to have to watch a video about abusers, and I saw that one of our essays this week needs to be talking about our response when we hear about abuse.
I usually immediately pray and say to God, "Forgive us." It's a prayer I use from time to time when I'm struck by our corruption and what we will stoop to do to one another and/or all that God has given us. It's my response to the oil spill. Forgive us. When people are cruel and unthinking and rash. Forgive us.
In those moments, I don't know if I want Jesus to come back soon or not yet. Sure, it would be a relief to be done with all this mess, but there are too many people who aren't ready. I want everyone to have a chance to know him. So many people have been shown a really crappy image of Christianity and have never actually been shown or told Good News. Forgive us.
I only had to read one chapter today, and it mostly talked about the effects of abuse and the characteristics of the perpetrators.
We're going to have to watch a video about abusers, and I saw that one of our essays this week needs to be talking about our response when we hear about abuse.
I usually immediately pray and say to God, "Forgive us." It's a prayer I use from time to time when I'm struck by our corruption and what we will stoop to do to one another and/or all that God has given us. It's my response to the oil spill. Forgive us. When people are cruel and unthinking and rash. Forgive us.
In those moments, I don't know if I want Jesus to come back soon or not yet. Sure, it would be a relief to be done with all this mess, but there are too many people who aren't ready. I want everyone to have a chance to know him. So many people have been shown a really crappy image of Christianity and have never actually been shown or told Good News. Forgive us.
Monday, July 26, 2010
La Biblia
I only had my Spanish New Testament with me at church this morning, which made it a little hard for me to follow along when we were reading aloud. Not that I can't read it, but I opened my Bible in the middle of the reading, and we were going over part of the Sermon on the Mount where everything sort of sounds the same. So I was looking and thinking, "Oh, this must be where we are. But I don't totally get it. Why is it translated that way?" Then I realized I was on the wrong verse, which really cleared that whole thing up.
I led the high school group at church this morning, and it went fairly well. I didn't know a lot of the kids, so I was a little worried at first that they wouldn't listen to me at all or wouldn't discuss, but everything was great. We read a few verses of the passage at a time, with the kids discussing some questions I threw out to them at their tables.
Some of them even got pretty deep! One of the questions they were discussing was "What the heck did Jesus mean by "don't let your left hand know what the right is doing?" The quietest table of all boys said that maybe Jesus was talking in terms of the church as the body of Christ, so the hands would refer to other Christians, etc. Holy cow! I had never thought of that. I had just thought it was another example of Jesus being oblique and confusing on purpose or just to make a point.
Seriously? I love teenagers.
I led the high school group at church this morning, and it went fairly well. I didn't know a lot of the kids, so I was a little worried at first that they wouldn't listen to me at all or wouldn't discuss, but everything was great. We read a few verses of the passage at a time, with the kids discussing some questions I threw out to them at their tables.
Some of them even got pretty deep! One of the questions they were discussing was "What the heck did Jesus mean by "don't let your left hand know what the right is doing?" The quietest table of all boys said that maybe Jesus was talking in terms of the church as the body of Christ, so the hands would refer to other Christians, etc. Holy cow! I had never thought of that. I had just thought it was another example of Jesus being oblique and confusing on purpose or just to make a point.
Seriously? I love teenagers.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Blerg
It's entirely likely that I've used the title "Blerg" before, but it's how my brain is feeling today.
As my sister says, today was entirely too Saturday for class, yet there I was from 8am-3pm. Ugh. Rather than bore you with details about class, I'll let you know that it was long, though it did not drag too much, a smidge tedious at times, and now I'm home.
I read a bit for fun, I quickly looked over the notes for tomorrow morning's h.s. study, and now I'm off to bed after catching up on TV shows. That is all.
As my sister says, today was entirely too Saturday for class, yet there I was from 8am-3pm. Ugh. Rather than bore you with details about class, I'll let you know that it was long, though it did not drag too much, a smidge tedious at times, and now I'm home.
I read a bit for fun, I quickly looked over the notes for tomorrow morning's h.s. study, and now I'm off to bed after catching up on TV shows. That is all.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Random Swedish Words
Or are they made-up Swedish words? We wandered Ikea for a couple hours tonight, which, as always, started out lots of fun and ended up kind of like a death march. Or at least an exhausted, "Oh, I don't care anymore, can't we just go?" march. Your pick.
As always, I get lots of ideas at Ikea, very few of which we can actually implement, being that we don't own our home. We did get a couple CD/DVD storage boxes and racks, so that should make life a little neater. Not necessarily space-saving (at least the boxes), but nicer-looking.
Now I shall go to bed and read a little bit of Mere Christianity, which I guess I should have had read by Thursday, but oh well. It'll happen.
As always, I get lots of ideas at Ikea, very few of which we can actually implement, being that we don't own our home. We did get a couple CD/DVD storage boxes and racks, so that should make life a little neater. Not necessarily space-saving (at least the boxes), but nicer-looking.
Now I shall go to bed and read a little bit of Mere Christianity, which I guess I should have had read by Thursday, but oh well. It'll happen.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Midterm
I did my midterm today, and I was pleased by the questions I got. We were given three cases and were supposed to tell how we would react or counsel the people involved. Here were mine:
#1 was about a woman who recently read books about egalitarianism and accuses her husband of male oppression while he tells her she should be cooking and taking care of the kids like the Bible says.
In a nutshell, I said I'd get them to both calm down and explain their positions rationally, and what they thought the other person was saying. Without ever making it seem like the husband is being corrected, talked down to, or chided, I would guide them through the Bible to see what it has to say on their issue. I think I'd start with Proverbs 31 and the picture of domestic life drawn there: woman works, makes her own money, has her own reputation and freedom, and her reputation and happiness bless her husband and his reputation.
Then I'd look at the creation account and make sure they see that there is no hierarchy involved other than God over Adam and Eve and their dominion over creation. From there, household codes in Colossians and Ephesians, if necessary, and a talk on mutual submission. Get them on the same team. I wrote for about 20 minutes on it, so I'm just recapping here.
#2 was perfect for me, because I was supposed to be talking with a young couple who live together and want to become members of the church. They claim that they're already married in God's eyes. It's perfect because this was me & Seth, but we were planning on getting married all along and never would have expected a church to let us become members.
In this case, I was both good cop and bad cop, in that I identify with their situation and I understand where they're coming from, but they also can't pretend to not expect that what they're doing is frowned upon. I'm sure that my professors expected me to use all the doom and gloom statistics about cohabitation that we learned, but being that they weren't/aren't true for me and Seth, they don't hold a lot of sway in my mind. But I did say that I'd bring them up and point out that not everyone can be "the lucky ones."
#3 was also good because it dealt with pastoral sexual harassment. The situation was that I had been in an internship for 10 months with a pastor bugging me, and what would I do now that I'm almost done? The first thing I said was that I'm surprised that I put up with it for 10 months! I basically said I would tell him to knock that s@*% out, and I'd go to the elder board and then the denomination, if I had to. I expressed the importance of protecting people, their souls, the church, etc etc.
Hopefully, they'll like my answers and I'll get good feedback on my decisions. As the time when I will actually be having more of these conversations draws nearer, I crave guidance.
#1 was about a woman who recently read books about egalitarianism and accuses her husband of male oppression while he tells her she should be cooking and taking care of the kids like the Bible says.
In a nutshell, I said I'd get them to both calm down and explain their positions rationally, and what they thought the other person was saying. Without ever making it seem like the husband is being corrected, talked down to, or chided, I would guide them through the Bible to see what it has to say on their issue. I think I'd start with Proverbs 31 and the picture of domestic life drawn there: woman works, makes her own money, has her own reputation and freedom, and her reputation and happiness bless her husband and his reputation.
Then I'd look at the creation account and make sure they see that there is no hierarchy involved other than God over Adam and Eve and their dominion over creation. From there, household codes in Colossians and Ephesians, if necessary, and a talk on mutual submission. Get them on the same team. I wrote for about 20 minutes on it, so I'm just recapping here.
#2 was perfect for me, because I was supposed to be talking with a young couple who live together and want to become members of the church. They claim that they're already married in God's eyes. It's perfect because this was me & Seth, but we were planning on getting married all along and never would have expected a church to let us become members.
In this case, I was both good cop and bad cop, in that I identify with their situation and I understand where they're coming from, but they also can't pretend to not expect that what they're doing is frowned upon. I'm sure that my professors expected me to use all the doom and gloom statistics about cohabitation that we learned, but being that they weren't/aren't true for me and Seth, they don't hold a lot of sway in my mind. But I did say that I'd bring them up and point out that not everyone can be "the lucky ones."
#3 was also good because it dealt with pastoral sexual harassment. The situation was that I had been in an internship for 10 months with a pastor bugging me, and what would I do now that I'm almost done? The first thing I said was that I'm surprised that I put up with it for 10 months! I basically said I would tell him to knock that s@*% out, and I'd go to the elder board and then the denomination, if I had to. I expressed the importance of protecting people, their souls, the church, etc etc.
Hopefully, they'll like my answers and I'll get good feedback on my decisions. As the time when I will actually be having more of these conversations draws nearer, I crave guidance.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Yesterday blew by
First, a housekeeping bit: almost always, my posts say one day, but they really count for the day before. I just keep writing after midnight. So, the blog claims that I posted 2 posts yesterday, but those were really Monday's. Yesterday, I completely forgot and really didn't have time to write. I got home from class around 11:30 and didn't even look at my computer.
Of course, I didn't really need to catch up on much because I had been online all through class. Ah, the internet. Don't worry, I'm still paying attention in class, it's just nice to be able to let my mind wander for a minute. I mostly did stuff online when my professor was repeating himself or on a tangent.
Today I've been reading over my notes, handouts, and powerpoint presentations from human sexuality since I have to do my midterm this week. I'm thinking that I'll do it tomorrow. We have all the questions that will be on it, but I just don't have it in me to write out all the answers ahead of time and then simply regurgitate them onto the test. We have 8 case studies to respond to and the site will randomly give us 3 of those. I'm not completely slacking, because I have been thinking about the cases a lot, and they only serve to illustrate my frustration with this class so far. We have to say how we would react as a pastor to these certain situations, and I feel like I don't know much more about that than I did 5 weeks ago, and that was what I was hoping would happen in this class. Oh, well.
I'll let you know which questions I get and if I was able to come up with something intelligent and loving. That's what my default will be: reacting in love and mercy, without throwing out all biblical guidelines.
Of course, I didn't really need to catch up on much because I had been online all through class. Ah, the internet. Don't worry, I'm still paying attention in class, it's just nice to be able to let my mind wander for a minute. I mostly did stuff online when my professor was repeating himself or on a tangent.
Today I've been reading over my notes, handouts, and powerpoint presentations from human sexuality since I have to do my midterm this week. I'm thinking that I'll do it tomorrow. We have all the questions that will be on it, but I just don't have it in me to write out all the answers ahead of time and then simply regurgitate them onto the test. We have 8 case studies to respond to and the site will randomly give us 3 of those. I'm not completely slacking, because I have been thinking about the cases a lot, and they only serve to illustrate my frustration with this class so far. We have to say how we would react as a pastor to these certain situations, and I feel like I don't know much more about that than I did 5 weeks ago, and that was what I was hoping would happen in this class. Oh, well.
I'll let you know which questions I get and if I was able to come up with something intelligent and loving. That's what my default will be: reacting in love and mercy, without throwing out all biblical guidelines.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I know you're reading this
I'm sad because two of my best friends, Ben and Sandra, are moving to Arizona tomorrow. As they set sail for that land of sand and racism, I figured I'd take the opportunity to send out a love letter in the form of a blog to them.
I met Ben at church a few years ago, and I wanted to like him because I had heard good things about him and my friend, Tracee, liked him, but I just didn't get it. The night I first talked to him, I thought he was a little bit bratty. As I got to know him a little better, I realized that it was just that he doesn't always have the gift of making it clear when he's being sarcastic or joking.
We really became friends on my last trip to Mexico, in 2008, where the gift of sarcasm brought us together. As the only ones with that gift on the trip, we often sought each other out to make snotty comments or jokes that no one else truly got or appreciated. Also, we were often the last ones awake, and we chatted by the campfire, with the only topic I really remember being movies. It impressed me that he had seen Once and loved it.
I may have also claimed him as my new best friend, which he took in stride (at least on the outside).
In the beginning of 2009, Sandra came on the scene. The news of this fairly serious relationship came as a bit of a surprise to most of us, but I think it surprised the two of them, as well, because it happened so swiftly. Ben had been out of town (out of the country!) for about two months, and during that time he realized just how much he cared for her. One night, when I dragged him with me to Barnes & Noble to buy a couple of the Twilight books (see! He's a good friend to a girl.), he told me about her and the conversations they'd had and his feelings. I was pretty geeked.
At the same time, I was nervous. It's always a little bit iffy when your friends start going out with someone you don't know, because I think we've all had the experience of one of our friends going out with someone we don't like, or at least someone who we just don't mesh with.
I can still see her face when I walked into church the first time I met her. I hadn't seen Ben in a long time and I came up and hugged him from behind while he sat (which is really the only way to hug him, being that he's 12 feet tall & about as cuddly as a piece of plywood). She didn't look at me strangely or in any sort of possessive way. She turned with her huge-normous smile that she has and said, "Robin!"
I got to spend time with her alone a couple times, and was impressed with how smart she is, how widely read, her heart for God, and her loving spirit. It sounds like she'd be a boring sap, but that's the best part! She's not! She's awesome and funny and sometimes sarcastic and everything that Ben is and is not. They are wonderful. Once she moved here and they got married, it was like I had a 2-for-1 best friend package.
So, I got that for almost a year, minus their excessive traveling. It makes it a little easier that they traveled so much, because sometimes it felt like they were already gone. But now they won't be back next Tuesday or in a couple of weeks, and I don't know who I'll have theological conversations with. They just seem to be the only ones that it ended up happening with.
I guess I'll just have to get a bunch of Obama stickers and some Che Guevara shirts and go visit them in Arizona.
I met Ben at church a few years ago, and I wanted to like him because I had heard good things about him and my friend, Tracee, liked him, but I just didn't get it. The night I first talked to him, I thought he was a little bit bratty. As I got to know him a little better, I realized that it was just that he doesn't always have the gift of making it clear when he's being sarcastic or joking.
We really became friends on my last trip to Mexico, in 2008, where the gift of sarcasm brought us together. As the only ones with that gift on the trip, we often sought each other out to make snotty comments or jokes that no one else truly got or appreciated. Also, we were often the last ones awake, and we chatted by the campfire, with the only topic I really remember being movies. It impressed me that he had seen Once and loved it.
I may have also claimed him as my new best friend, which he took in stride (at least on the outside).
In the beginning of 2009, Sandra came on the scene. The news of this fairly serious relationship came as a bit of a surprise to most of us, but I think it surprised the two of them, as well, because it happened so swiftly. Ben had been out of town (out of the country!) for about two months, and during that time he realized just how much he cared for her. One night, when I dragged him with me to Barnes & Noble to buy a couple of the Twilight books (see! He's a good friend to a girl.), he told me about her and the conversations they'd had and his feelings. I was pretty geeked.
At the same time, I was nervous. It's always a little bit iffy when your friends start going out with someone you don't know, because I think we've all had the experience of one of our friends going out with someone we don't like, or at least someone who we just don't mesh with.
I can still see her face when I walked into church the first time I met her. I hadn't seen Ben in a long time and I came up and hugged him from behind while he sat (which is really the only way to hug him, being that he's 12 feet tall & about as cuddly as a piece of plywood). She didn't look at me strangely or in any sort of possessive way. She turned with her huge-normous smile that she has and said, "Robin!"
I got to spend time with her alone a couple times, and was impressed with how smart she is, how widely read, her heart for God, and her loving spirit. It sounds like she'd be a boring sap, but that's the best part! She's not! She's awesome and funny and sometimes sarcastic and everything that Ben is and is not. They are wonderful. Once she moved here and they got married, it was like I had a 2-for-1 best friend package.
So, I got that for almost a year, minus their excessive traveling. It makes it a little easier that they traveled so much, because sometimes it felt like they were already gone. But now they won't be back next Tuesday or in a couple of weeks, and I don't know who I'll have theological conversations with. They just seem to be the only ones that it ended up happening with.
I guess I'll just have to get a bunch of Obama stickers and some Che Guevara shirts and go visit them in Arizona.
Oh, yay
Today I am tired, crampy, tired, kinda headachey, sad, and tired.
I had my first class tonight, and it was fair. The professor says that tonight and tomorrow will be a lot of loading on of information as background and context for C.S. Lewis' thought and writing, so Thursday on will be better.
The good news is that a) we only have to read 1200 pages of material, and once we hit that point, we can stop. b) The books don't necessarily have to be read in the order he has put on the syllabus, so I don't have to try to get through Mere Christianity before Thursday. I could read it later and just fly through a couple short things first, if I wanted to. c) All the reading doesn't have to be done within these two weeks.
In sum, that is fabulous. Now I just have to think of 2 different topics for research papers related to C.S. Lewis. I have a few vague ideas floating around in my head, and I hope that they'll solidify (or clarify) themselves within a few days, because the papers are due sooner than I thought. (Not by next week, but we don't have until the end of the semester, either.)
I'm also pleased because I finally finished the reading for this week's lesson in Human Sexuality. I'm not quite sure why it was taking me so long, but I'm done now, so I can watch the lectures tomorrow, write my essays for the week, and maybe do my midterm on Wednesday when I don't have class.
Now? I'm off to lie in bed & finish Conservatize Me guilt-free, since a lot of schoolwork was done today.
I had my first class tonight, and it was fair. The professor says that tonight and tomorrow will be a lot of loading on of information as background and context for C.S. Lewis' thought and writing, so Thursday on will be better.
The good news is that a) we only have to read 1200 pages of material, and once we hit that point, we can stop. b) The books don't necessarily have to be read in the order he has put on the syllabus, so I don't have to try to get through Mere Christianity before Thursday. I could read it later and just fly through a couple short things first, if I wanted to. c) All the reading doesn't have to be done within these two weeks.
In sum, that is fabulous. Now I just have to think of 2 different topics for research papers related to C.S. Lewis. I have a few vague ideas floating around in my head, and I hope that they'll solidify (or clarify) themselves within a few days, because the papers are due sooner than I thought. (Not by next week, but we don't have until the end of the semester, either.)
I'm also pleased because I finally finished the reading for this week's lesson in Human Sexuality. I'm not quite sure why it was taking me so long, but I'm done now, so I can watch the lectures tomorrow, write my essays for the week, and maybe do my midterm on Wednesday when I don't have class.
Now? I'm off to lie in bed & finish Conservatize Me guilt-free, since a lot of schoolwork was done today.
Monday, July 19, 2010
What are you trying to say, God?
You know how sometimes a topic comes up from a few different places and eventually you start to notice? That happened to me today, but it was all within the space of less than two hours.
I spent the night at a friend's house last night, and on my way home this morning, I was talking to God about my guilt about food and budgeting. With the way we're trying to eat right now, I'm finding that we just can't afford to eat organic, local anything. It's all just too expensive, and I feel tremendous guilt about that, especially the meat. We have spent a great deal of money this month on food, and we're not done yet.
This naturally led into feeling bad because we haven't been completely sticking to our budget. Even though we are doing things very differently than we did before, and there is money set aside for things and we're mostly being wise, I get all tense about the times we do spend something that hasn't been planned for and I think that we're sucking at the budgeting and we're going to slip back into our old ways and God is completely disappointed in us.
So that was the car. Then I came home and read my Bible. I'm going through a study bible/devotional thingy, so I was reading from Numbers 35 about the asylum cities that God had the Israelites set up. In pondering what that shows about the personality of God, I thought of fairness, justice, loving, etc. I saw that I don't have to feel guilty and horrible- he's not disappointed in me. He is fair and loving.
Then, at church, Pastor Doug was talking about freedom from guilt. Cool.
Then, at Core tonight, Christy was talking about the sacrifices and offerings set up in Leviticus & other parts of the OT, and in looking at Cain & Abel, phrased the lesson as "he doesn't want your blood, just your best."
So I haven't completely wrapped my mind and heart about the application for this. Yes, I obviously have the food & money guilt that I was mentioning, but it feels like this is about something more than that. I need to sit with it for a while and pray about it. It appears that I'm more infected & affected by guilt than I realize. It's also possible that I expect too much of other people and place guilt on them instead of giving them grace and fairness.
I spent the night at a friend's house last night, and on my way home this morning, I was talking to God about my guilt about food and budgeting. With the way we're trying to eat right now, I'm finding that we just can't afford to eat organic, local anything. It's all just too expensive, and I feel tremendous guilt about that, especially the meat. We have spent a great deal of money this month on food, and we're not done yet.
This naturally led into feeling bad because we haven't been completely sticking to our budget. Even though we are doing things very differently than we did before, and there is money set aside for things and we're mostly being wise, I get all tense about the times we do spend something that hasn't been planned for and I think that we're sucking at the budgeting and we're going to slip back into our old ways and God is completely disappointed in us.
So that was the car. Then I came home and read my Bible. I'm going through a study bible/devotional thingy, so I was reading from Numbers 35 about the asylum cities that God had the Israelites set up. In pondering what that shows about the personality of God, I thought of fairness, justice, loving, etc. I saw that I don't have to feel guilty and horrible- he's not disappointed in me. He is fair and loving.
Then, at church, Pastor Doug was talking about freedom from guilt. Cool.
Then, at Core tonight, Christy was talking about the sacrifices and offerings set up in Leviticus & other parts of the OT, and in looking at Cain & Abel, phrased the lesson as "he doesn't want your blood, just your best."
So I haven't completely wrapped my mind and heart about the application for this. Yes, I obviously have the food & money guilt that I was mentioning, but it feels like this is about something more than that. I need to sit with it for a while and pray about it. It appears that I'm more infected & affected by guilt than I realize. It's also possible that I expect too much of other people and place guilt on them instead of giving them grace and fairness.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Oh, I do that.
Oftentimes, when people watch musicals they think, "Who does that? Who bursts into song for no good reason?" I think this all the time, too. I'm really not a very big fan of musicals because I find them quite painful.
But I do burst into song for no good reason. I sing about dinner, I sing to my husband (yes, he sings back), and today I sang about brushing my teeth. I am one of those people.
The difference is that I don't have serious conversations in song. No marital spats, theological debates, or really anything that would take stomping, furrowing the brow, or pointing a finger while doing either of those things. I am not Jean Valjean (24601). I don't comfort my friends with heartfelt ballads about the pain they're going through. (Okay, maybe I'd do this, but only to get a laugh out of them at the right time.)
Perhaps I'm in a light-hearted musical about daily, domestic life. I'll watch out for my dogs secretly practicing synchronized moves to complement my twirls and flourishes.
But I do burst into song for no good reason. I sing about dinner, I sing to my husband (yes, he sings back), and today I sang about brushing my teeth. I am one of those people.
The difference is that I don't have serious conversations in song. No marital spats, theological debates, or really anything that would take stomping, furrowing the brow, or pointing a finger while doing either of those things. I am not Jean Valjean (24601). I don't comfort my friends with heartfelt ballads about the pain they're going through. (Okay, maybe I'd do this, but only to get a laugh out of them at the right time.)
Perhaps I'm in a light-hearted musical about daily, domestic life. I'll watch out for my dogs secretly practicing synchronized moves to complement my twirls and flourishes.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Do I or don't I?
I started reading Conservatize Me by John Moe, and I'm a little mixed about whether or not I should keep reading it.
It's not that it isn't good- he's hilarious. If you ever look at my twitter feed over there on the right, you will quite often see tweets of his that I have "re-tweeted." I feel like I just want to print off his twitter feed and give it to people to read because he is just that funny.
But this is a book about politics, which I have mostly sworn off. The premise is that he, Seattle born and raised, pinko, commie, liberal, spends 30 days immersing himself in all things conservative (and stereotypically conservative) in an effort to understand "the other side" and to see if he could be converted.
So he downloads lots of country music and even some Michael W. Smith, buys a power suit and some preppy clothes, only reads conservative newspapers and magazines, and travels to meet with some conservative heavy-hitters to see if they can convince him.
So far, he is being surprised by what he finds, as am I. He understands more of the points being made, and sees sense in much of the arguments. In this way, this book is good for me, because it's like I'm on this journey with him, even though I was raised conservative and have a slightly different view than he does.
The problem I ran into is when he finally met with some Christians. I know there will be more, and it's not like he's trying to make anyone look stupid at all. He is not being unfair. But when he went to the Family Research Council, that's where he finally ran into a wall of irrational (and I would say, un-American) beliefs. And I started to get angry.
I don't want to be angry. It's why I stopped watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and don't read articles that people post anymore. I want to love people on all sides and get along and not think that people are lunatics. Even the ones that are. (Believe me: I live in California. There are loonies that subscribe to any ideology you can think of here.)
I'll read it for a few more chapters, and if I find myself getting angry again and can't pray through my know-it-all-ness, I'll stop. Or I'll skip those parts and go to a funny part. I'll let you know how it goes.
It's not that it isn't good- he's hilarious. If you ever look at my twitter feed over there on the right, you will quite often see tweets of his that I have "re-tweeted." I feel like I just want to print off his twitter feed and give it to people to read because he is just that funny.
But this is a book about politics, which I have mostly sworn off. The premise is that he, Seattle born and raised, pinko, commie, liberal, spends 30 days immersing himself in all things conservative (and stereotypically conservative) in an effort to understand "the other side" and to see if he could be converted.
So he downloads lots of country music and even some Michael W. Smith, buys a power suit and some preppy clothes, only reads conservative newspapers and magazines, and travels to meet with some conservative heavy-hitters to see if they can convince him.
So far, he is being surprised by what he finds, as am I. He understands more of the points being made, and sees sense in much of the arguments. In this way, this book is good for me, because it's like I'm on this journey with him, even though I was raised conservative and have a slightly different view than he does.
The problem I ran into is when he finally met with some Christians. I know there will be more, and it's not like he's trying to make anyone look stupid at all. He is not being unfair. But when he went to the Family Research Council, that's where he finally ran into a wall of irrational (and I would say, un-American) beliefs. And I started to get angry.
I don't want to be angry. It's why I stopped watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and don't read articles that people post anymore. I want to love people on all sides and get along and not think that people are lunatics. Even the ones that are. (Believe me: I live in California. There are loonies that subscribe to any ideology you can think of here.)
I'll read it for a few more chapters, and if I find myself getting angry again and can't pray through my know-it-all-ness, I'll stop. Or I'll skip those parts and go to a funny part. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
I have nothing more positive to add about reading
I really want to be done with C.S. Lewis Remembered so that I can move on. I have finally started skimming, and I am skimming with glee. What are my fabulous plans? Well, when I finish this, I think that I may have to split my time between Inside Out (Maria V. Snyder) and ChiRunning. Of course, that will only last for a while, as my eagerness to not have to cram next week will have me either starting Mere Christianity, doing next week's homework for human sexuality, or both. I do have to write my midterm for that class next week, so I'd like to get that done ASAP so that I can enjoy the C.S. Lewis class without stress.
What have I not been reading much of lately? Oh, postings from my classmates. It really grates on my nerves that this class is so fascinating and deals with truly practical, if thorny, issues, but barely any conversation is taking place. We have weekly postings and are required to respond with some substance to at least two, but that is all anyone is doing. They may ask a question or bring up something interesting in a comment, but no one seems to go back and read the 3rd level postings, so no real conversation is taking place. It's really frustrating to me because I don't feel like I'm learning much from anyone or making any traction on figuring things out anymore. I'm just getting a little bit of push on my boundaries by the readings & lectures (which aren't all that different). I'm kind of sad.
What have I not been reading much of lately? Oh, postings from my classmates. It really grates on my nerves that this class is so fascinating and deals with truly practical, if thorny, issues, but barely any conversation is taking place. We have weekly postings and are required to respond with some substance to at least two, but that is all anyone is doing. They may ask a question or bring up something interesting in a comment, but no one seems to go back and read the 3rd level postings, so no real conversation is taking place. It's really frustrating to me because I don't feel like I'm learning much from anyone or making any traction on figuring things out anymore. I'm just getting a little bit of push on my boundaries by the readings & lectures (which aren't all that different). I'm kind of sad.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunshine, hearts, flowers, teddy bears
I feel like my internet presence has been a bit negative today, so I figured I'd blog a happy blog. At least slightly happy. Not pissy.
This most likely is only functioning as yesterday's blog, and we'll talk more later tonight when I'm done with today's reading.
All I really read yesterday was the assigned chapters in Authentic Human Sexuality or whatever the name of it is. This week we're talking about singleness and sexuality, which is something near to my heart. I do believe I'll be doing my final project on this subject, so you can expect to hear more about it, and I hope that some good conversations will happen both from this week's class discussion and if I end up putting a survey I'm designing up here.
I did go to the library yesterday, which was delightful, if overly tempting. I got ChiRunning, which I'm pretty excited about in a "gee, I hope the first chapter is magical and fixes everything and I'm never in pain again and have a 9 minute mile" sort of way. You know, realistic expectations and all. I also got a Maria V. Snyder book, which I'm not certain I'll like, but I do like her; John Moe's Conservatize Me (I think he is freaking hilarious on twitter); and one of the C.S. Lewis books I need for class. Oh, The Great Divorce, which I'm surprised I don't own, being that I love it.
The problem with this lovely pile of books is that I want to read all of them. Today. And I shouldn't. I need to read the C.S. Lewis books for next week first, y'know. It makes sense.
So, I'm off to read more of C.S. Lewis Remembered, which isn't a bad read, at all. It's just going slowly because I actually want to read every word, which takes so much time. I'm trying to get myself to skim. C'mon, Robin. Do it. Skim the book and get it over with.
Go go go go go!
This most likely is only functioning as yesterday's blog, and we'll talk more later tonight when I'm done with today's reading.
All I really read yesterday was the assigned chapters in Authentic Human Sexuality or whatever the name of it is. This week we're talking about singleness and sexuality, which is something near to my heart. I do believe I'll be doing my final project on this subject, so you can expect to hear more about it, and I hope that some good conversations will happen both from this week's class discussion and if I end up putting a survey I'm designing up here.
I did go to the library yesterday, which was delightful, if overly tempting. I got ChiRunning, which I'm pretty excited about in a "gee, I hope the first chapter is magical and fixes everything and I'm never in pain again and have a 9 minute mile" sort of way. You know, realistic expectations and all. I also got a Maria V. Snyder book, which I'm not certain I'll like, but I do like her; John Moe's Conservatize Me (I think he is freaking hilarious on twitter); and one of the C.S. Lewis books I need for class. Oh, The Great Divorce, which I'm surprised I don't own, being that I love it.
The problem with this lovely pile of books is that I want to read all of them. Today. And I shouldn't. I need to read the C.S. Lewis books for next week first, y'know. It makes sense.
So, I'm off to read more of C.S. Lewis Remembered, which isn't a bad read, at all. It's just going slowly because I actually want to read every word, which takes so much time. I'm trying to get myself to skim. C'mon, Robin. Do it. Skim the book and get it over with.
Go go go go go!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Skimming C.S. Lewis just feels wrong
But I'm doing it anyway. Today I have been flying through Surprised by Joy, and I had wanted to wait to blog until I was done, I'm getting tired & just wanted to write already.
I'm skimming it because it's the autobiography of his faith life, he's really big on description and things that, for the purposes of my class, don't matter all that much, and I want it done and some other books of his done before class starts next Monday.
As always, it's a pleasant read, with only a few references to classics and things about which I know little to nothing. He has spurred in me an interest in reading more classics, though. Maybe I'll give The Faerie Queen a try one of these days. I also like that he appreciates the Bröntes and Jane Austen; not segregating them into "feminine" literature as is done nowadays.
Though his lengthy descriptions can sometimes be a bit tedious if you just want to get on with the action, in one chapter he takes the time to describe in some detail the view from one of his favorite walks overlooking Belfast, and it is just beautiful. He purposely describes it for the benefit of those who have never seen it, in the context of his growing love of the beauty of nature. Perhaps, just as an exercise, I'll set about writing a detailed description of something, just to stretch that aspect of my writing. Don't worry, I won't post it here.
I'm skimming it because it's the autobiography of his faith life, he's really big on description and things that, for the purposes of my class, don't matter all that much, and I want it done and some other books of his done before class starts next Monday.
As always, it's a pleasant read, with only a few references to classics and things about which I know little to nothing. He has spurred in me an interest in reading more classics, though. Maybe I'll give The Faerie Queen a try one of these days. I also like that he appreciates the Bröntes and Jane Austen; not segregating them into "feminine" literature as is done nowadays.
Though his lengthy descriptions can sometimes be a bit tedious if you just want to get on with the action, in one chapter he takes the time to describe in some detail the view from one of his favorite walks overlooking Belfast, and it is just beautiful. He purposely describes it for the benefit of those who have never seen it, in the context of his growing love of the beauty of nature. Perhaps, just as an exercise, I'll set about writing a detailed description of something, just to stretch that aspect of my writing. Don't worry, I won't post it here.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Power Point!!
No, I did not blog yesterday. What are you going to do about it? Nothing, that's right.
I have had a crazy weekend, but it has been mostly good. Yesterday, I read a scoreboard, and it was great. Nineteen of us went to an Oakland A's game, which I was feeling pretty meh about, but it ended up being, to quote Napoleon Dynamite, "Flipping sweet!" First 2 innings: boring, quick, no score, out out out, etc. Third inning? A's get 8 runs. EIGHT. Two innings later? 5. We thought it would be a shut-out, but the Angels woke up for a little while and got one run, for a final score of 15-1. Wow. Best baseball game ever. But there's more! We then got to go down on the field (I sat in a seat instead, though) and there was an amazing fireworks display. Seriously, it was awesome. A little late night stop with friends at In 'n Out on the way home, and we were fat and happy.
I taught tonight at Core (the young adult group), so I read and studied for that a bit. We talked about Leviticus 22, Hebrews 4, and Mark 5. Cleanliness laws in the OT versus our freedom to approach God under Christ and his humanity, and how the woman with the issue of blood demonstrates this new order that Jesus kicked off. It was pretty great, with lots of good conversation.
And my movie clip? Oh, I showed a clip from Elf, with the thin thread of relevance being the phrase from Hebrews "throne of grace" and Buddy the Elf accusing the fake Santa of sitting on a throne of lies. It rocked.
I have had a crazy weekend, but it has been mostly good. Yesterday, I read a scoreboard, and it was great. Nineteen of us went to an Oakland A's game, which I was feeling pretty meh about, but it ended up being, to quote Napoleon Dynamite, "Flipping sweet!" First 2 innings: boring, quick, no score, out out out, etc. Third inning? A's get 8 runs. EIGHT. Two innings later? 5. We thought it would be a shut-out, but the Angels woke up for a little while and got one run, for a final score of 15-1. Wow. Best baseball game ever. But there's more! We then got to go down on the field (I sat in a seat instead, though) and there was an amazing fireworks display. Seriously, it was awesome. A little late night stop with friends at In 'n Out on the way home, and we were fat and happy.
I taught tonight at Core (the young adult group), so I read and studied for that a bit. We talked about Leviticus 22, Hebrews 4, and Mark 5. Cleanliness laws in the OT versus our freedom to approach God under Christ and his humanity, and how the woman with the issue of blood demonstrates this new order that Jesus kicked off. It was pretty great, with lots of good conversation.
And my movie clip? Oh, I showed a clip from Elf, with the thin thread of relevance being the phrase from Hebrews "throne of grace" and Buddy the Elf accusing the fake Santa of sitting on a throne of lies. It rocked.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tweets, man
I don't believe that I read at all today. I'm a little sad about finishing Harry Potter, so nothing is really calling to me. Once again, I did no homework today.
But I did catch up on my twitter feed! I hadn't done that since Wednesday night, so I had a lot ofcrap interesting links and thoughts to read. Now I sit here, not going to bed, and not doing homework, yet trolling through my twitter favorite posts, looking at posts and reading articles. Motivation is not at an all-time high.
I did work on this Sunday's Bible study, though, and that's something. I'm switching from Hosea for now, since I felt such a crushing load of failure last time. I know, I know- it wasn't that bad. But I still wanted to step away from it. I'm staying very simple this week. Maybe it's better to say focused. Not at all simple, being that I'm going into Leviticus, but I'm taking a small chunk and focusing on it. As I did a little research to see if anyone could dazzle me with their academic prowess, I was able to rein myself in from straying from that focus.
Tomorrow? A baseball game. Not super excited about the game itself, but I'll have fun with my friends.
But I did catch up on my twitter feed! I hadn't done that since Wednesday night, so I had a lot of
I did work on this Sunday's Bible study, though, and that's something. I'm switching from Hosea for now, since I felt such a crushing load of failure last time. I know, I know- it wasn't that bad. But I still wanted to step away from it. I'm staying very simple this week. Maybe it's better to say focused. Not at all simple, being that I'm going into Leviticus, but I'm taking a small chunk and focusing on it. As I did a little research to see if anyone could dazzle me with their academic prowess, I was able to rein myself in from straying from that focus.
Tomorrow? A baseball game. Not super excited about the game itself, but I'll have fun with my friends.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Lupin and Tonks!!
Here I sit, at 2:15am, finishing up The Deathly Hallows, crying my eyes out.
This time around, I'm noticing different people. Lupin and Tonks break my heart, and I do believe that Neville Longbottom is my new hero. It's just all so real and terrible and wonderful. J.K. Rowling is truly an amazing writer. By this book, it is not at all a children's book, and young kids surely should stay away from the movies when they come out.
What's extra heart-breaking is how we've seen these characters on screen for almost 10 years, so it's as if we really know them. With Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in my mind, I think back on Harry & Ron's first year and how little they were and just want to...I don't know. It's almost as if they are really kids I know and in my care and I don't want them to go through all of this.
Hopefully this braiding of fiction and reality will settle down again before November, or the movies are going to be very difficult to watch. I'm definitely going into the last one with a box of kleenex, though.
This time around, I'm noticing different people. Lupin and Tonks break my heart, and I do believe that Neville Longbottom is my new hero. It's just all so real and terrible and wonderful. J.K. Rowling is truly an amazing writer. By this book, it is not at all a children's book, and young kids surely should stay away from the movies when they come out.
What's extra heart-breaking is how we've seen these characters on screen for almost 10 years, so it's as if we really know them. With Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in my mind, I think back on Harry & Ron's first year and how little they were and just want to...I don't know. It's almost as if they are really kids I know and in my care and I don't want them to go through all of this.
Hopefully this braiding of fiction and reality will settle down again before November, or the movies are going to be very difficult to watch. I'm definitely going into the last one with a box of kleenex, though.
A strange day
I really don't know why it has been a strange day, but it had been. I slept later than I wanted, and I went to the gym pretty early, but it was all a bit off. My plans for the gym were changed in the middle being that I wore the wrong shoes, and I just got in a semi-foul mood.
Reading: I read a bit of Remembering C.S. Lewis at the gym, but my frustrating day made me just want to escape into Harry Potter.
I also read a lot of food labels, as I went to Costco to stock up on more things we could eat. While they don't really have a lot of alternative foods for a gluten-free diet, I bought a metric ton of fruit, which is lovely.
Reading: I read a bit of Remembering C.S. Lewis at the gym, but my frustrating day made me just want to escape into Harry Potter.
I also read a lot of food labels, as I went to Costco to stock up on more things we could eat. While they don't really have a lot of alternative foods for a gluten-free diet, I bought a metric ton of fruit, which is lovely.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Mel's Diner and the Deathly Hallows
Wait. That's not right.
Well, I didn't do any homework today, and that's fine. All I wanted to do was read Harry Potter, so I did that as much as I could, even though I was quite busy most of the day.
What did I not read? I did NOT carefully read the e-mail I received with my free pass to see Despicable Me tonight. I did not read that the start time was at 6:30, so I got there and had friends drive into the city and meet me there around 7:30. Boo.
So we had dinner. Remember, this is only day 3 of our new diet, so I was a bit hesitant to go out to eat. We went to Mel's diner and while our 3 friends were happily choosing which cheeseburgers they were going to get, Seth and I pored over the menu for quite a while, trying to find anything without gluten or dairy. I really did want a burger, but nothing clearly stated that I could get it without a bun, and I realized that a patty with no cheese and no bun would be sad, indeed.
We ended up splitting a hot dog w/sauerkraut and a cobb salad w/o cheese and with Italian dressing. When my friends got their side salads with blue cheese dressing, I looked at them longingly, completely expecting our salad to be disappointing when it came. I mean, Italian dressing?? C'mon.
But? It was delightful. Delicious. We inhaled it. I wanted another one. Huzzah! That was such a victory, due to both being out and the fact that I woke up this morning wanting nothing more than a baked good and a Coke.
Now we shall share a mango for dessert, and it will be awesome.
Well, I didn't do any homework today, and that's fine. All I wanted to do was read Harry Potter, so I did that as much as I could, even though I was quite busy most of the day.
What did I not read? I did NOT carefully read the e-mail I received with my free pass to see Despicable Me tonight. I did not read that the start time was at 6:30, so I got there and had friends drive into the city and meet me there around 7:30. Boo.
So we had dinner. Remember, this is only day 3 of our new diet, so I was a bit hesitant to go out to eat. We went to Mel's diner and while our 3 friends were happily choosing which cheeseburgers they were going to get, Seth and I pored over the menu for quite a while, trying to find anything without gluten or dairy. I really did want a burger, but nothing clearly stated that I could get it without a bun, and I realized that a patty with no cheese and no bun would be sad, indeed.
We ended up splitting a hot dog w/sauerkraut and a cobb salad w/o cheese and with Italian dressing. When my friends got their side salads with blue cheese dressing, I looked at them longingly, completely expecting our salad to be disappointing when it came. I mean, Italian dressing?? C'mon.
But? It was delightful. Delicious. We inhaled it. I wanted another one. Huzzah! That was such a victory, due to both being out and the fact that I woke up this morning wanting nothing more than a baked good and a Coke.
Now we shall share a mango for dessert, and it will be awesome.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Busy Day
I slept in later than I wanted to, and I may have taken a nap on the sunny couch this afternoon.
Those factors, together with the 3 hours of homework I did today (go, me!) means that I'm just now about to get to work on some reading for today. Sure, I snatched a page here and there in Harry Potter, but I mostly was watching lectures, then I wrote my essays for the week and started on my next paper due next week. It was a productive afternoon. I also cleaned, made dinner, then Seth & I watched Remember Me.
So, it is 10:45, I'm a little bit tired, but Harry is tracking down Regulus' locket and the Death Eaters are amassing outside of No 12 Grimmauld Place. How about this: I solemnly swear I am up...no later than 1am. Deal? Okay. Deal.
Those factors, together with the 3 hours of homework I did today (go, me!) means that I'm just now about to get to work on some reading for today. Sure, I snatched a page here and there in Harry Potter, but I mostly was watching lectures, then I wrote my essays for the week and started on my next paper due next week. It was a productive afternoon. I also cleaned, made dinner, then Seth & I watched Remember Me.
So, it is 10:45, I'm a little bit tired, but Harry is tracking down Regulus' locket and the Death Eaters are amassing outside of No 12 Grimmauld Place. How about this: I solemnly swear I am up...no later than 1am. Deal? Okay. Deal.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Food labels
Today is day 1 of the no gluten, no dairy, no sugar diet. After looking through the book a bit more and trying to figure out what to do, we went to the grocery store to stock up. While the author wants us to stay away from all processed foods and sugar, we have to be realistic. We will be eating very differently, but we know that going completely without snacks of any kind is crazy talk. We have been looking at labels for years, so that wasn't any hardship, but we had to be a little more careful when spotting gluten. Did you know that soy sauce has wheat in it? What the heck? We found some gluten-free soy sauce, though.
Also, as far as crackers and cereal goes, rice options don't seem to be all that healthy, so we had to do some more comparisons of nutritional info. I mean, I'm pretty sure that rice krispies have very little nutritional value. Also, some things do have a little sugar in them, or molasses or other fruit-based sweeteners, but we have to be honest with what we'll eat. We're already changing a lot at once, and I'm still a little bit obsessed with food, so I have to have stuff around that I'm going to like.
In that vein, I am going to be spending money and living it up on grapes and sugar snap peas. I also bought yummy Frontera salsa, and it will be a chips and salsa kind of life.
We could have spent even more money and gotten bread made from rice flour and fake cheese, then just pretended that hardly anything had changed and had sandwiches every day, but we resisted. I may buy some alternative flours or bread mixes in the future and get out the bread maker, but I want our habits to change into eating more salads & small snacks like fruit and nuts.
Right now, we're not stretching that much, and it's great: chicken in the oven, brown rice cooking in the rice cooker, and we're having tacos! Huzzzah for corn tortillas!
Also, as far as crackers and cereal goes, rice options don't seem to be all that healthy, so we had to do some more comparisons of nutritional info. I mean, I'm pretty sure that rice krispies have very little nutritional value. Also, some things do have a little sugar in them, or molasses or other fruit-based sweeteners, but we have to be honest with what we'll eat. We're already changing a lot at once, and I'm still a little bit obsessed with food, so I have to have stuff around that I'm going to like.
In that vein, I am going to be spending money and living it up on grapes and sugar snap peas. I also bought yummy Frontera salsa, and it will be a chips and salsa kind of life.
We could have spent even more money and gotten bread made from rice flour and fake cheese, then just pretended that hardly anything had changed and had sandwiches every day, but we resisted. I may buy some alternative flours or bread mixes in the future and get out the bread maker, but I want our habits to change into eating more salads & small snacks like fruit and nuts.
Right now, we're not stretching that much, and it's great: chicken in the oven, brown rice cooking in the rice cooker, and we're having tacos! Huzzzah for corn tortillas!
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Oh, I'm stuffed
I completely forgot to write yesterday, but that's really okay, because I'm not sure I read one, single thing.
Today was a terrific day, and I've read a variety of things. I woke up at 8am, which was not as many hours of sleep as I may have wanted, but I was pretty happy to be awake early. After breakfast and a bit of World Cup watching, Seth and I went for a run, which was awesome.
Most of the remainder of the afternoon was spent reading. Among other things, I started working on C.S. Lewis Remembered, and it is quite lovely so far. This book focuses on the recollections of people who knew him in a professional setting, especially his students. Even though I know he was a caring man and took time to write to people, I guess that I still had the stereotypical image of the cranky, English genius, but it seems that was far from the truth. He was generous both with his money and with his time, helping students and colleagues alike with encouragement and his great knowledge.
Today was a terrific day, and I've read a variety of things. I woke up at 8am, which was not as many hours of sleep as I may have wanted, but I was pretty happy to be awake early. After breakfast and a bit of World Cup watching, Seth and I went for a run, which was awesome.
Most of the remainder of the afternoon was spent reading. Among other things, I started working on C.S. Lewis Remembered, and it is quite lovely so far. This book focuses on the recollections of people who knew him in a professional setting, especially his students. Even though I know he was a caring man and took time to write to people, I guess that I still had the stereotypical image of the cranky, English genius, but it seems that was far from the truth. He was generous both with his money and with his time, helping students and colleagues alike with encouragement and his great knowledge.
He would always take your little ideas seriously and help make the into something, with the result that young people often felt they had been in amazing form after sitting next to him of an evening.This sentence struck me, and I realized that I want to be known for being like this. Especially as I come alongside (sorry, hate that phrase, but it fits) young people and encourage them in their faith and now that I'm moving into teaching more, I want to help people to blossom and make them feel smart instead of just trying to show how smart I am. This will take some heart adjustments, but I trust God with the tinkering.
Friday, July 02, 2010
One more thing.
IsawEclipseagaintoday.
I swear, I'm not a freak or obsessed (anymore). But I liked the movie a lot and a friend hadn't seen it yet, so I said we should go. I liked it again, but did take a bathroom break during Bella's attempted seduction of Edward. The actors just aren't all that adept at the intimate scenes.
I'll have you know that on our way out, I ran into 3 friends who were seeing it again already, too. Sure, they are 15, 16, & 17, but that really shouldn't make any difference or reflect at all upon my maturity. Hey- I connect with teenagers. It's what I do. I'm staying plugged in. Yeah, that's it.
I swear, I'm not a freak or obsessed (anymore). But I liked the movie a lot and a friend hadn't seen it yet, so I said we should go. I liked it again, but did take a bathroom break during Bella's attempted seduction of Edward. The actors just aren't all that adept at the intimate scenes.
I'll have you know that on our way out, I ran into 3 friends who were seeing it again already, too. Sure, they are 15, 16, & 17, but that really shouldn't make any difference or reflect at all upon my maturity. Hey- I connect with teenagers. It's what I do. I'm staying plugged in. Yeah, that's it.
Um, spoiler alert?
Not sure that I have to warn people about a 3 year old book, but if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and plan on it or plan on seeing the movies, you may want to skip this post.
Are they gone?
As I told you before, the excitement of the preview being released finally got me to pick up the book and read it again. I have previously only read it once, the day it came out, which was more devouring than reading. Details did not stick to my brain parts.
I'm still pretty early on, just where all the pretend-Harrys are slowly showing up at the Weasley's house. One thing I noticed is that the action starts with no holding back right from the beginning. I had forgotten about Hedwig and what a blow that was and how I didn't believe it at first. "Oh, she's fine."
George has lost his ear and is making jokes with Fred, and I'm crying a little bit and wondering if I'll skip some pages later on in the book. I love me some Weasley twins.
I have a pretty busy weekend ahead of me, so I'm not certain that I will, well, should get much reading done. If I do get a lot read in HP, it will be because I stayed up way past my bedtime or I didn't do as much homework as I'd like.
Decisions, decisions.
Are they gone?
As I told you before, the excitement of the preview being released finally got me to pick up the book and read it again. I have previously only read it once, the day it came out, which was more devouring than reading. Details did not stick to my brain parts.
I'm still pretty early on, just where all the pretend-Harrys are slowly showing up at the Weasley's house. One thing I noticed is that the action starts with no holding back right from the beginning. I had forgotten about Hedwig and what a blow that was and how I didn't believe it at first. "Oh, she's fine."
George has lost his ear and is making jokes with Fred, and I'm crying a little bit and wondering if I'll skip some pages later on in the book. I love me some Weasley twins.
I have a pretty busy weekend ahead of me, so I'm not certain that I will, well, should get much reading done. If I do get a lot read in HP, it will be because I stayed up way past my bedtime or I didn't do as much homework as I'd like.
Decisions, decisions.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Today's Blog!
It contains nothing! I didn't really read anything!
I mostly surfed the net while at work today, because it was too busy to get homework done. So I guess I read twitter & facebook.
I had a meeting at church, so I read brainstormed ideas from a white board & chose not to pooh pooh as many as I could have, being that I really have little idea what it takes to get a new service/worship night off the ground. But I am quite opinionated, you know.
Here's what I read today: a transcription I was writing of a 12 minute video for I Am Second. It wasn't really harder than I expected, but it did take longer, mostly because timestamps had to be noted every minute or so.
I also read...hmmmm...one page of HP & TDH, which I will work on more tomorrow, maybe. After I have a meeting at church (different topic), work out, finish watching my lectures for this week, and write my essays for this week. It is a cross-training day tomorrow, though, so I could read on the elliptical or bike. I'll do that.
I hope you've found something fun to dive into this summer. Let me know if you find something amazing that I'll like and I'll throw it on the TBR pile. (meaning: kids or fantasy or, best of all, kids' fantasy)
I mostly surfed the net while at work today, because it was too busy to get homework done. So I guess I read twitter & facebook.
I had a meeting at church, so I read brainstormed ideas from a white board & chose not to pooh pooh as many as I could have, being that I really have little idea what it takes to get a new service/worship night off the ground. But I am quite opinionated, you know.
Here's what I read today: a transcription I was writing of a 12 minute video for I Am Second. It wasn't really harder than I expected, but it did take longer, mostly because timestamps had to be noted every minute or so.
I also read...hmmmm...one page of HP & TDH, which I will work on more tomorrow, maybe. After I have a meeting at church (different topic), work out, finish watching my lectures for this week, and write my essays for this week. It is a cross-training day tomorrow, though, so I could read on the elliptical or bike. I'll do that.
I hope you've found something fun to dive into this summer. Let me know if you find something amazing that I'll like and I'll throw it on the TBR pile. (meaning: kids or fantasy or, best of all, kids' fantasy)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Finally!
Friends, that wasn't a long book (the one I talked about yesterday), but I just couldn't finish it quickly. But, done it is. Now I can listen to my lectures & write my essays for the week.
Tonight, I'm seeing Eclipse (3rd Twilight movie, in case you've been living under a rock), and I'll be going early to try to ensure that I get a seat somewhat near my friends. Since I'll be there about an hour and a half early, I'll be taking Sea Glass with me, and I may finish it. Well, maybe not. I'm really enjoying it and don't want it to be over, since the next one doesn't come out for a few months. I do have C.S. Lewis to read, though, so I can always do that, but it's nice to have some fantasy to escape into.
I also have Chi Running on the way from the library, and that should be interesting. My problem with that, though, is that I'll feel like I really need to pay attention and read a little at a time to incorporate what it tells me.
I've been a reading fiend lately, but that's totally okay with me. I think I'm also going to put Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into the rotation, because I've only read it once and the preview for the movie made me all goose-bumpy and excited.
Cheers!
Tonight, I'm seeing Eclipse (3rd Twilight movie, in case you've been living under a rock), and I'll be going early to try to ensure that I get a seat somewhat near my friends. Since I'll be there about an hour and a half early, I'll be taking Sea Glass with me, and I may finish it. Well, maybe not. I'm really enjoying it and don't want it to be over, since the next one doesn't come out for a few months. I do have C.S. Lewis to read, though, so I can always do that, but it's nice to have some fantasy to escape into.
I also have Chi Running on the way from the library, and that should be interesting. My problem with that, though, is that I'll feel like I really need to pay attention and read a little at a time to incorporate what it tells me.
I've been a reading fiend lately, but that's totally okay with me. I think I'm also going to put Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into the rotation, because I've only read it once and the preview for the movie made me all goose-bumpy and excited.
Cheers!
Trying not to fight the change
Right now I'm plugging through Men at the Crossroads: Beyond Traditional Roles & Modern Options for class, and I'm having a bit of a hard time. At first, I was feeling pretty bratty about it, thinking things like, "Oh, poor men! They have it soooooo hard!" and rolling my eyes at the different men's movements.
What makes me angry is when men, especially Christian men, moan about society being all about women and how men are at a disadvantage now. Um, hello? No, they're not. Women still make 20-30% less then men do, we're still expected to be more like men at work....but this isn't why I'm here right now.
Basically, I was blowing off all questions and issues that men may have. Sometimes I get a glimpse and understand a little bit the stress that men are under, but I often think it's all their own doing with their machismo and weird ways of thinking and why don't they just knock it off?! And this doesn't help.
I want men to care about and try to understand women's issues, so why shouldn't I do the same for them?
So, I go back to my reading with a different frame of mind. I will listen to these lectures with interest and compassion, and my eyes will look forward, not at the ceiling.
What makes me angry is when men, especially Christian men, moan about society being all about women and how men are at a disadvantage now. Um, hello? No, they're not. Women still make 20-30% less then men do, we're still expected to be more like men at work....but this isn't why I'm here right now.
Basically, I was blowing off all questions and issues that men may have. Sometimes I get a glimpse and understand a little bit the stress that men are under, but I often think it's all their own doing with their machismo and weird ways of thinking and why don't they just knock it off?! And this doesn't help.
I want men to care about and try to understand women's issues, so why shouldn't I do the same for them?
So, I go back to my reading with a different frame of mind. I will listen to these lectures with interest and compassion, and my eyes will look forward, not at the ceiling.
Monday, June 28, 2010
It's only okay
I didn't write earlier, while it was still Sunday, because I had a headache and was busy feeling sorry for myself. So there. Harrumph.
I was feeling down because my teaching was only okay and I gave myself a stress headache beforehand and I was beating myself up about not being a perfect speaker.
I've only taught 5 times. I know that no one else expects me to be perfect, but I feel like they're all quite ready for me to not teach anymore. I don't know if they realize that I'm new to this and I have to grow and learn.
My problem is that I have too many ideas that I think go together and flow, but they only really do so in my head, at least not without a lot more connection. This isn't a new problem, but one I've run into writing papers- I get entirely too many sources- and here on the blog, where I quite often get long-winded when I don't mean to or want to do so.
So I must learn to prune my works a bit and find the main ideas I want to express, keeping all the other stuff for a different work of its own, or as support for something else. I don't have to express everything I'm thinking just this minute.
Reading: I read my notes & parts of Hosea again, and I finished Out of the Silent Planet, which was pretty good, but Lewis went a little overboard with the descriptions. I was often waiting for something to happen besides description of the flora.
I was feeling down because my teaching was only okay and I gave myself a stress headache beforehand and I was beating myself up about not being a perfect speaker.
I've only taught 5 times. I know that no one else expects me to be perfect, but I feel like they're all quite ready for me to not teach anymore. I don't know if they realize that I'm new to this and I have to grow and learn.
My problem is that I have too many ideas that I think go together and flow, but they only really do so in my head, at least not without a lot more connection. This isn't a new problem, but one I've run into writing papers- I get entirely too many sources- and here on the blog, where I quite often get long-winded when I don't mean to or want to do so.
So I must learn to prune my works a bit and find the main ideas I want to express, keeping all the other stuff for a different work of its own, or as support for something else. I don't have to express everything I'm thinking just this minute.
Reading: I read my notes & parts of Hosea again, and I finished Out of the Silent Planet, which was pretty good, but Lewis went a little overboard with the descriptions. I was often waiting for something to happen besides description of the flora.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Fantastic!
Today, I read 3 things: the end of Redeeming Love, which was nice; Hosea, which is in preparation for teaching tomorrow; and the credits at the end of Toy Story 3.
It was lovely. I woke up after sleeping for 12 hours, and I went straight to my book and finished it. It definitely is a Christian book, but it is well-written and not afraid of dark places. I did roll my eyes a couple of times, because it always annoys me in books when people hold onto grudges or cockamamie ideas longer than they need to just for the book to go on longer. But I would still recommend it.
Then I got to work on the yard, which was a sweatier job than I expected it to be. I tied up the little dog in the front and let Underwood wander while Seth put up the front screen door (yeah!) and I raked, picked up piles, and praise the Lord- cut down our yellow rose bush. I wasn't sure if there would be room in the greens bin for it, because it was so freaking tall, but I was determined and it is GONE!
I puttered around the back yard a little bit, picking up weeds and a little poo, hosing off the clothes line, and just getting a move on.
Seth and I then walked into town and saw TS3, which was good. Yes, I like the Toy Story movies, but I'm not in love with them. I probably like the first one best. We laughed a bit and I cried a lot at the end, though I was fighting it, so I got a headache. I enjoyed the fact that the Gipsy Kings sang "You've Got a Friend in Me" in Spanish, and, although it wasn't in the credits, one of the pieces of music in a sad part definitely sounded like "A Heart Full of Love" from Les Mis.
We walked to the post, office, split a burrito at the mall, I got a decaf coffee with a Starbucks gift card, and we played in Brookstone. Lovely. We played Rock Band, but only for 3 songs, because I was much more tired than I thought, with a bit of a headache.
Tomorrow is church, helping friends with a luncheon they're having after church to talk about their missions in Mexico (enchiladas!), and teaching tomorrow night. It will be a great day. Smooches!
It was lovely. I woke up after sleeping for 12 hours, and I went straight to my book and finished it. It definitely is a Christian book, but it is well-written and not afraid of dark places. I did roll my eyes a couple of times, because it always annoys me in books when people hold onto grudges or cockamamie ideas longer than they need to just for the book to go on longer. But I would still recommend it.
Then I got to work on the yard, which was a sweatier job than I expected it to be. I tied up the little dog in the front and let Underwood wander while Seth put up the front screen door (yeah!) and I raked, picked up piles, and praise the Lord- cut down our yellow rose bush. I wasn't sure if there would be room in the greens bin for it, because it was so freaking tall, but I was determined and it is GONE!
I puttered around the back yard a little bit, picking up weeds and a little poo, hosing off the clothes line, and just getting a move on.
Seth and I then walked into town and saw TS3, which was good. Yes, I like the Toy Story movies, but I'm not in love with them. I probably like the first one best. We laughed a bit and I cried a lot at the end, though I was fighting it, so I got a headache. I enjoyed the fact that the Gipsy Kings sang "You've Got a Friend in Me" in Spanish, and, although it wasn't in the credits, one of the pieces of music in a sad part definitely sounded like "A Heart Full of Love" from Les Mis.
We walked to the post, office, split a burrito at the mall, I got a decaf coffee with a Starbucks gift card, and we played in Brookstone. Lovely. We played Rock Band, but only for 3 songs, because I was much more tired than I thought, with a bit of a headache.
Tomorrow is church, helping friends with a luncheon they're having after church to talk about their missions in Mexico (enchiladas!), and teaching tomorrow night. It will be a great day. Smooches!
This is NOT a blog post
Were this an actual blog post, it would either be much more interesting or much more boring. In any case, it would be longer.
Regular blogging will continue on schedule tomorrow.
Thank you for your patience. I'm going to read now.
Regular blogging will continue on schedule tomorrow.
Thank you for your patience. I'm going to read now.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Ah, a read for fun day
I didn't do any homework today, and that was totally fine. I would have read a little bit for school, but the book I need hasn't come yet. Other than that one, of which I read as much as I could on Amazon, I'm pretty much done with my duties for this week. We had an essay due tonight, and I appear to be the only one who has turned it in. I was going to be all proactive and respond to others tonight, but there are none there.
I had a lovely, social day, and had a good time at the gym tonight, and I read. I'm working on Redeeming Love and I mostly like it. There are sentences & scenes every once in a while that are a tad on the "corny Christian fiction" side, but not many, and I'm enjoying the story.
This is the problem: when I'm into a book, I'm kind of okay with not going to bed at a decent, human hour, because I want to read. I've always been this way.
I may need the help of nyquil tonight, because I was at the gym later than I expected (doing an hour of cardio will do that) and I...well, I took a nap. Kind of. Fell asleep on the couch. But I was so tired!! I could hardly keep my eyes open. Gah.
Tomorrow we have a YA event at a park, where we'll be hiking (wandering in the hills, really) for a couple hours, then grilling by one of the lakes. It should be lovely.
Also, I realize that YA can refer to teenagers, like Young Adult fiction. That is not this group, though there are some teenagers involved. It's college and other young adults, up to around the mid-30s mark, meaning that I'm too old, but I'm a leader, so there.
I had a lovely, social day, and had a good time at the gym tonight, and I read. I'm working on Redeeming Love and I mostly like it. There are sentences & scenes every once in a while that are a tad on the "corny Christian fiction" side, but not many, and I'm enjoying the story.
This is the problem: when I'm into a book, I'm kind of okay with not going to bed at a decent, human hour, because I want to read. I've always been this way.
I may need the help of nyquil tonight, because I was at the gym later than I expected (doing an hour of cardio will do that) and I...well, I took a nap. Kind of. Fell asleep on the couch. But I was so tired!! I could hardly keep my eyes open. Gah.
Tomorrow we have a YA event at a park, where we'll be hiking (wandering in the hills, really) for a couple hours, then grilling by one of the lakes. It should be lovely.
Also, I realize that YA can refer to teenagers, like Young Adult fiction. That is not this group, though there are some teenagers involved. It's college and other young adults, up to around the mid-30s mark, meaning that I'm too old, but I'm a leader, so there.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Power point slides, y'all
That's what I've read today. I had a very busy day- not just busy for me, but busy for anyone- and I didn't get much homework done. At my volunteer job, I listened to one of my lectures, following along with the slides & taking notes there. I'm currently listening to another lecture, and the professor speaking right now reminds me a little of Eugene Levy, with a little bit of a Brooklyn accent thrown in from time to time. So he'll make a really smart statement with big words, but he slightly mispronounces the words (which he admits) and then I kind of want him to add a "badda-bing!" on the end. Which would be especially wonderful, being that we're talking about sex.
I did pick up three books from the library, though. I got another C.S. Lewis book, Surprised by Joy, the next Maria V. Snyder book in her Glass series, Sea Glass, and Redeeming Love, which is a novelization of the story of Hosea and Gomer. I would like to get this read before Sunday, if it could help me with my teaching. (Yes, I spoke on Hosea last week, but I'm also speaking about it this week.)
I think I'll write my essays for this week tomorrow, then start hitting the fiction, including Lewis, so I can get ahead for my class.
I did pick up three books from the library, though. I got another C.S. Lewis book, Surprised by Joy, the next Maria V. Snyder book in her Glass series, Sea Glass, and Redeeming Love, which is a novelization of the story of Hosea and Gomer. I would like to get this read before Sunday, if it could help me with my teaching. (Yes, I spoke on Hosea last week, but I'm also speaking about it this week.)
I think I'll write my essays for this week tomorrow, then start hitting the fiction, including Lewis, so I can get ahead for my class.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Didn't blog yesterday, but slept AT NIGHT
thank you, nyquil.
I didn't remember about blogging yesterday until I was safely tucked into bed at 11pm, and I decided to stay there, rather than get up & turn the computer back on to blog. Sorry, blogging goal.
I had a good day yesterday, and I mostly read for school. I continued to work on Authentic Human Sexuality, which continued to be really interesting and good. It is really one of the best, most realistic Christian books on sex I've read. Of course, it's written by a family therapist and a sociologist (my professors for this class), so you would hope it would be honest and realistic. The section I read was still a basic introduction/overview, so I'll be interested to see how specific issues are dealt with moving forward.
I also started on Beyond Sex Roles, which is a nice complement to the class on women in ministry that I took. At first, I didn't think it would have anything really new to add to what I learned there, but it's nice because it appears that he's starting from the creation accounts and may analyze every relevant passage in the Bible about men & women. So far, I just read about Genesis, and I was both reminded of things I learned in my class and shown a new way of seeing some things. It's pretty exciting.
I wasn't sure that this class was going to be what I wanted it to be, but it's going to great. I think it's going to be very good for real-life issues in ministry, and just in life. As I've gotten to know a little about some of my classmates (through our message board), I see that we all have vastly different ministry experience, but we all have similar questions on issues in sexuality that we're bringing to the discussion and we know that the church needs to address these issues more clearly and, well, at all.
I didn't remember about blogging yesterday until I was safely tucked into bed at 11pm, and I decided to stay there, rather than get up & turn the computer back on to blog. Sorry, blogging goal.
I had a good day yesterday, and I mostly read for school. I continued to work on Authentic Human Sexuality, which continued to be really interesting and good. It is really one of the best, most realistic Christian books on sex I've read. Of course, it's written by a family therapist and a sociologist (my professors for this class), so you would hope it would be honest and realistic. The section I read was still a basic introduction/overview, so I'll be interested to see how specific issues are dealt with moving forward.
I also started on Beyond Sex Roles, which is a nice complement to the class on women in ministry that I took. At first, I didn't think it would have anything really new to add to what I learned there, but it's nice because it appears that he's starting from the creation accounts and may analyze every relevant passage in the Bible about men & women. So far, I just read about Genesis, and I was both reminded of things I learned in my class and shown a new way of seeing some things. It's pretty exciting.
I wasn't sure that this class was going to be what I wanted it to be, but it's going to great. I think it's going to be very good for real-life issues in ministry, and just in life. As I've gotten to know a little about some of my classmates (through our message board), I see that we all have vastly different ministry experience, but we all have similar questions on issues in sexuality that we're bringing to the discussion and we know that the church needs to address these issues more clearly and, well, at all.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Surprise!! It's the first day of school!
I thought I had another week until the summer quarter began, but I was wrong. I realized I was wrong when I received an e-mail reminding me that payments were due today. Uh...crap.
No worries on the money, though. I do a payment system, so I don't need to pay until July.
On the other hand, I wasn't prepared to start reading for class and figuring out all my online stuff. This class is all done online, with the lectures (videos, thank goodness) and handouts, message boards, exams, etc all done on a website. So, I had to go through a boring orientation-type thing, which mostly told me things I could have figured out on my own, but there were a few good points.
So, I feel a little stressed today, but I think I'm mostly over it. I was partially feeling scrambled, because it was, "Crap! How am I going to start reading for the C.S. Lewis class? How am I going to finish The UltraMind Solution before it's due in 3 days? How am I going to spend time on ancestry.com before I have to pay again? AGH!"
Then I calmed myself. I poked around on the message boards and "met" the other people in my class, introduced myself, and then I went for a run. I will remember that making time to work out always pays off. After the run and a trip to get fruit & veggies, I am home & calm. I've started reading for this class, and I'm already digging on it. I also remind myself that everything doesn't have to be done TODAY. If I keep with my 3 hours of homework per day regimen, I will be totally fine. And I also get to read for fun when I budget well like that.
My class is on issues of gender and sexuality that occur in ministry, and it seems like it's going to be great and right up my alley. We'll be talking about things that I'm passionate about and that are relevant to my church experience, such as dealing with pastoral indiscretion.
In the book by the professors, Authentic Human Sexuality, I'm only about 20 pages in (to the wrong edition, grrrr. and there is a difference), but I'm already impressed. One of the first things they talk about is hermaphroditism and gender assignment at birth, and the need for a space for gender-neutral persons. Wow. Not what I expected, even though I go to a liberal school. I guess I still expected the Christian writers to, I don't know, talk about people cursed by God that we need to pray for.
Don't worry, I didn't order the wrong edition of the book (I hope). It's just not here yet, so I'm reading the previews on Amazon & Google books.
Hasta mañana.
No worries on the money, though. I do a payment system, so I don't need to pay until July.
On the other hand, I wasn't prepared to start reading for class and figuring out all my online stuff. This class is all done online, with the lectures (videos, thank goodness) and handouts, message boards, exams, etc all done on a website. So, I had to go through a boring orientation-type thing, which mostly told me things I could have figured out on my own, but there were a few good points.
So, I feel a little stressed today, but I think I'm mostly over it. I was partially feeling scrambled, because it was, "Crap! How am I going to start reading for the C.S. Lewis class? How am I going to finish The UltraMind Solution before it's due in 3 days? How am I going to spend time on ancestry.com before I have to pay again? AGH!"
Then I calmed myself. I poked around on the message boards and "met" the other people in my class, introduced myself, and then I went for a run. I will remember that making time to work out always pays off. After the run and a trip to get fruit & veggies, I am home & calm. I've started reading for this class, and I'm already digging on it. I also remind myself that everything doesn't have to be done TODAY. If I keep with my 3 hours of homework per day regimen, I will be totally fine. And I also get to read for fun when I budget well like that.
My class is on issues of gender and sexuality that occur in ministry, and it seems like it's going to be great and right up my alley. We'll be talking about things that I'm passionate about and that are relevant to my church experience, such as dealing with pastoral indiscretion.
In the book by the professors, Authentic Human Sexuality, I'm only about 20 pages in (to the wrong edition, grrrr. and there is a difference), but I'm already impressed. One of the first things they talk about is hermaphroditism and gender assignment at birth, and the need for a space for gender-neutral persons. Wow. Not what I expected, even though I go to a liberal school. I guess I still expected the Christian writers to, I don't know, talk about people cursed by God that we need to pray for.
Don't worry, I didn't order the wrong edition of the book (I hope). It's just not here yet, so I'm reading the previews on Amazon & Google books.
Hasta mañana.
Today? Oh, it was mediocre
I was up till past 5freaking30 this morning, so I ended up skipping church, which I guess was okay because I missed all the Father's Day whoo-hah. After attempting to call my own dear father, I went back to bed.
But I did buy him a book! I bought him the audio version of The UltraMind Solution on iTunes, because I'm really digging on it and I think my parents will, too. This book is blowing my mind, and part of me can't wait to try the dietary changes the author recommends because he makes it seem like magical fairy dust will come down and everything will be better.
Believe me, I'm going into it with skepticism and not a ton of enthusiasm, because I'm not particularly excited about giving up gluten & dairy, if even for 6 weeks. But if I see a change, you know I'll tell you about it. Everything this guy is saying makes a lot of sense: that our medical practices have gotten all out of whack and that we now treat every part of our bodies as completely separate and disconnected from the rest, and then we throw different pills at each part whenever something goes wrong. He posits that our diets are so dysfunctional that many many of our ailments, both physical and psychological, would be greatly improved, if not cured, by taking better care of ourselves, with the chief manner being a change of diet.
Like Pollan & Schlosser, he says tat we eat entirely too much processed food that is lacking in basic nutrients. The FDA guidelines for vitamins and minerals really only get us to a survival level, not a place where our bodies are healthy and thriving.
I'm excited about this approach because I have noticed and lamented the fact that I could make a fairly long list of things that are amiss in my body, and in Seth's. I'm entirely too young to have a laundry list of medical problems and not wanting to bring them up to the doctor because I don't want to have to get one more prescription.
So, I read the book. The author repeats himself a lot, and I'm skimming a lot, partially because he doesn't really have to convince me and I'm not wowed by his illustrations of lipids and cell walls. At times, it feels a little like a horoscope, in that he's casting such a wide net that everyone would have to say yes to some things in his checklists. The thing is that I find myself wanting to check off nearly everything in his list of woes, and I do believe that medication mainly addresses symptoms instead of causes.
I suspect that, starting in July, we're going to be eating very differently, at least for a while. And we'll see how it goes. I really want it to help with a lot of things, because that will be our impetus to continue eating healthily.
Hugs, friends! Tomorrow I keep reading this book & I'll probably read the C.S. Lewis one I have up there on my Good Reads list. I don't remember exactly which one it is, so you'll have to look up & slightly to the right.
But I did buy him a book! I bought him the audio version of The UltraMind Solution on iTunes, because I'm really digging on it and I think my parents will, too. This book is blowing my mind, and part of me can't wait to try the dietary changes the author recommends because he makes it seem like magical fairy dust will come down and everything will be better.
Believe me, I'm going into it with skepticism and not a ton of enthusiasm, because I'm not particularly excited about giving up gluten & dairy, if even for 6 weeks. But if I see a change, you know I'll tell you about it. Everything this guy is saying makes a lot of sense: that our medical practices have gotten all out of whack and that we now treat every part of our bodies as completely separate and disconnected from the rest, and then we throw different pills at each part whenever something goes wrong. He posits that our diets are so dysfunctional that many many of our ailments, both physical and psychological, would be greatly improved, if not cured, by taking better care of ourselves, with the chief manner being a change of diet.
Like Pollan & Schlosser, he says tat we eat entirely too much processed food that is lacking in basic nutrients. The FDA guidelines for vitamins and minerals really only get us to a survival level, not a place where our bodies are healthy and thriving.
I'm excited about this approach because I have noticed and lamented the fact that I could make a fairly long list of things that are amiss in my body, and in Seth's. I'm entirely too young to have a laundry list of medical problems and not wanting to bring them up to the doctor because I don't want to have to get one more prescription.
So, I read the book. The author repeats himself a lot, and I'm skimming a lot, partially because he doesn't really have to convince me and I'm not wowed by his illustrations of lipids and cell walls. At times, it feels a little like a horoscope, in that he's casting such a wide net that everyone would have to say yes to some things in his checklists. The thing is that I find myself wanting to check off nearly everything in his list of woes, and I do believe that medication mainly addresses symptoms instead of causes.
I suspect that, starting in July, we're going to be eating very differently, at least for a while. And we'll see how it goes. I really want it to help with a lot of things, because that will be our impetus to continue eating healthily.
Hugs, friends! Tomorrow I keep reading this book & I'll probably read the C.S. Lewis one I have up there on my Good Reads list. I don't remember exactly which one it is, so you'll have to look up & slightly to the right.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday night
I had 2 parties to attend today, but I was feeling more motivated to work on my Bible study (better term) for tomorrow, so I skipped out. I also knew, though, that I had to work out. I'm trying to keep my new motto in mind: Depression can't hit a moving target. I should have gone to the gym to do some backwards elliptical-ing, but I read to pass the time on that, and I wasn't in the mood to read anything. I don't have a magazine I'm into right now, I don't have a book I'm salivating over, and I just didn't want to be distracted by anything. So I took both dogs out for a walk, which was lovely.
In the end, I felt good about my preparations for tomorrow, so I headed to the second party. We have a pretty low-key approach in our YA group, with a lot of group discussion and an open forum vibe, so I just needed to get my order of operations straightened out. I'm still new to teaching, so I get a little nervous.
Also, I didn't end up getting a satisfactory movie clip relevant to Hosea. I wanted something more surprising and maybe edgy, something about loving in the face of rejection and hatred, but I couldn't figure anything out. I'm stuck with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which feels like a cop out. I mean, I love it, but it's blatantly about Jesus, so using it to represent redemption isn't all that creative.
Oh, well. Have an awesome Sunday! Read your Bible!
In the end, I felt good about my preparations for tomorrow, so I headed to the second party. We have a pretty low-key approach in our YA group, with a lot of group discussion and an open forum vibe, so I just needed to get my order of operations straightened out. I'm still new to teaching, so I get a little nervous.
Also, I didn't end up getting a satisfactory movie clip relevant to Hosea. I wanted something more surprising and maybe edgy, something about loving in the face of rejection and hatred, but I couldn't figure anything out. I'm stuck with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which feels like a cop out. I mean, I love it, but it's blatantly about Jesus, so using it to represent redemption isn't all that creative.
Oh, well. Have an awesome Sunday! Read your Bible!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Not in the mood, y'all
I have placed my order with Husband's Delivery Service for 2 movies & a bottle of wine. We're going to watch Alice in Wonderland, which I fully expect to hate, so I also rented The Time Traveler's Wife, which you know I love, in order to have a back-up. I didn't want to punish him with Leap Year just yet. Maybe next week.
Today I finished reading through Hosea and poked around a little bit on the topic of redemption. I don't really have an outline or real focus to my thoughts yet. We've had a laid-back format lately, though, so I could just read through it with everyone and we could discuss. We'll see. I'll work more tomorrow, in between a graduation party and a housewarming party.
Since we also have a movie theme this summer, I have a pile of DVDs on the couch so I can skim through and try to find relevant clips to illustrate my points. I don't HAVE TO, but it would be nice.
In other news, I brought out some more summer clothes, packed away winter clothes, and worked on putting things away, and I realized that we are so very rich and spoiled. I was setting myself a small goal, so as to no be overwhelmed with the pile of clothes, so I was counting things I put away. Usually when I set a tiny goal, I end up going beyond it once I get into actually getting things done. Today, I put away 70- SEVENTY- items of clothing (not counting socks & underwear) and we still have quite a mountain, plus the things already in drawers and the closet. Wow. I have a large bag started already of things to be donated, but maybe I need to have a second, truly ruthless go round through my clothes. I mean, how many hooded sweatshirts do I really need? Really?
Today I finished reading through Hosea and poked around a little bit on the topic of redemption. I don't really have an outline or real focus to my thoughts yet. We've had a laid-back format lately, though, so I could just read through it with everyone and we could discuss. We'll see. I'll work more tomorrow, in between a graduation party and a housewarming party.
Since we also have a movie theme this summer, I have a pile of DVDs on the couch so I can skim through and try to find relevant clips to illustrate my points. I don't HAVE TO, but it would be nice.
In other news, I brought out some more summer clothes, packed away winter clothes, and worked on putting things away, and I realized that we are so very rich and spoiled. I was setting myself a small goal, so as to no be overwhelmed with the pile of clothes, so I was counting things I put away. Usually when I set a tiny goal, I end up going beyond it once I get into actually getting things done. Today, I put away 70- SEVENTY- items of clothing (not counting socks & underwear) and we still have quite a mountain, plus the things already in drawers and the closet. Wow. I have a large bag started already of things to be donated, but maybe I need to have a second, truly ruthless go round through my clothes. I mean, how many hooded sweatshirts do I really need? Really?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
A good day
Today I am finishing up Storm Glass and I started working more earnestly on my--can we just call it a "sermon" for ease of conversation? thanks--sermon for Sunday night. Hosea is pretty heavy, and it reminds me a bit of Job, in the "Gee, thanks, God, for trusting me so much in this way!" sort of manner.
I had planned on staying at church for all of Big Time (so, until after 9), but I just couldn't. I did have a fantastic time talking, eating nachos, and laughing maniacally with some of my students, though. We in the office had a slow night, so we just chilled, I watched some of the water jug baseball game out in the field, and then my comfy couch & book I'm almost done with called to me.
So here I sit, on the web instead of reading, because The Internet is what I read the most. Twitter, links people put up on twitter, links Seth sends to me, catching up on FB: these are what I do the most. But I have made better time for reading and have found a good balance between school reading and reading for fun.
If you'll excuse me, I have to find a way to look up movies about prostitution without finding porn sites.
I had planned on staying at church for all of Big Time (so, until after 9), but I just couldn't. I did have a fantastic time talking, eating nachos, and laughing maniacally with some of my students, though. We in the office had a slow night, so we just chilled, I watched some of the water jug baseball game out in the field, and then my comfy couch & book I'm almost done with called to me.
So here I sit, on the web instead of reading, because The Internet is what I read the most. Twitter, links people put up on twitter, links Seth sends to me, catching up on FB: these are what I do the most. But I have made better time for reading and have found a good balance between school reading and reading for fun.
If you'll excuse me, I have to find a way to look up movies about prostitution without finding porn sites.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
My Nose Ring
I'm not certain that I'll ever stop playing with it. I've asked a friend who also has her nose pierced, and she says that she has never stopped fiddling with it, and she's had it for 4 years.
Wednesday if often Blergday
Today has not/did not go as planned. I wanted to and needed to get some things done before my volunteer job, so I set my alarm for a reasonable hour. Unfortunately, I had my earplugs in entirely too well, and I woke up at 12:09pm. Ugh.
So, my fabulous day of doing dishes, working out, then lazily reading while volunteering turned into hurry-hurry-chaos-hurry. I only read a little bit, because it was just a busy day. There was a National Geographic camera crew at ADI, so people were constantly in and out of my area of the building, and people were actually coming in and wanting, gosh, help!
Then I got to feel like a complete noob trying to wrangle a design program on a Mac since my lovely student helpers were MIA at Big Time. I was stupidly printing multiple pages when I only needed one (of color! my little tree-hugging heart was bleeding), and couldn't figure out how to fix that until the last name tag (yep, it's 2 words today) was printed. Then I fumbled my way through a database, having to go back and find almost every person I put in to add something that I forgot. When one of the students finally showed up, I made her enter the last two people as a punishment, though she knows what she's doing and it took her about 2 minutes. It's not like I'm 85 and know nothing about computers! I'm intuitive, dammit!
So, I'm at home again instead of being at the gym. I was feeling harried, and I am going to sit and start anew tomorrow. Dishes are clean, laundry is washing, I'm sitting with my husband. I shan't have guilt.
Reading: I'm working on Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder, which is not really a sequel to her "Study" series, but kind of is. There are some overlapping characters and it is set in the same world, a few years after the last book of that series. I'm really liking it so far. She doesn't write in any sort of sensational way, but I get sucked into her stories. They're earthy, but not slow. I wish I could describe it better. *
*edited because I used the wrong they're/their/there. I told you it was a blerg kind of day.
So, my fabulous day of doing dishes, working out, then lazily reading while volunteering turned into hurry-hurry-chaos-hurry. I only read a little bit, because it was just a busy day. There was a National Geographic camera crew at ADI, so people were constantly in and out of my area of the building, and people were actually coming in and wanting, gosh, help!
Then I got to feel like a complete noob trying to wrangle a design program on a Mac since my lovely student helpers were MIA at Big Time. I was stupidly printing multiple pages when I only needed one (of color! my little tree-hugging heart was bleeding), and couldn't figure out how to fix that until the last name tag (yep, it's 2 words today) was printed. Then I fumbled my way through a database, having to go back and find almost every person I put in to add something that I forgot. When one of the students finally showed up, I made her enter the last two people as a punishment, though she knows what she's doing and it took her about 2 minutes. It's not like I'm 85 and know nothing about computers! I'm intuitive, dammit!
So, I'm at home again instead of being at the gym. I was feeling harried, and I am going to sit and start anew tomorrow. Dishes are clean, laundry is washing, I'm sitting with my husband. I shan't have guilt.
Reading: I'm working on Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder, which is not really a sequel to her "Study" series, but kind of is. There are some overlapping characters and it is set in the same world, a few years after the last book of that series. I'm really liking it so far. She doesn't write in any sort of sensational way, but I get sucked into her stories. They're earthy, but not slow. I wish I could describe it better. *
*edited because I used the wrong they're/their/there. I told you it was a blerg kind of day.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Prostitutes as Metaphors
I'm teaching at the young adult group on Sunday (actually, the next 3 Sundays, I think), and I'm starting out teaching on the book of Hosea. For the summer we are having a focus on story, while also trying to draw together the Old and New Testaments, since not everyone understands their cohesion.
Hosea is about the prophet (Hosea), who is told by God to marry, well, a ho. Some translations say, "a woman of whoredom." (Best word ever? Likely. Whoredom. Work it into your conversations, if you can.) Anyway, God tells Hosea to marry this woman and raise another man's (men's? possibly) children. It's a bit heartbreaking, and Hosea has to go and buy back his wife, I think more than once. God did this as a representation of what the nation of Israel had done in it's relationship with him. They had turned from their covenant with him and turned to worship other gods, basically whoring themselves out to whoever they thought would serve their purposes best.
The thing is, it isn't just about the old nation of Israel. It's about all of us. We're all dirty whores who look for security wherever we think it can be found, trying this and that, worshiping our own desires instead of trusting God and remaining faithful, even when we can't see what he's doing.
And the great thing is that, even though there is a covenant and rules and God always threatened to destroy Israel, his abiding patience and desire to be with them/us overcame his anger. There was always, "But if you'll turn to me and obey my commands," and other conditions like that. And Jesus did all the buying back that we need. That's the best part. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.
He loves us in our whoredom, in our filth, in our stank. He adores us and wants us and already bought us back from sin. We have to choose to stay.
Hosea is about the prophet (Hosea), who is told by God to marry, well, a ho. Some translations say, "a woman of whoredom." (Best word ever? Likely. Whoredom. Work it into your conversations, if you can.) Anyway, God tells Hosea to marry this woman and raise another man's (men's? possibly) children. It's a bit heartbreaking, and Hosea has to go and buy back his wife, I think more than once. God did this as a representation of what the nation of Israel had done in it's relationship with him. They had turned from their covenant with him and turned to worship other gods, basically whoring themselves out to whoever they thought would serve their purposes best.
The thing is, it isn't just about the old nation of Israel. It's about all of us. We're all dirty whores who look for security wherever we think it can be found, trying this and that, worshiping our own desires instead of trusting God and remaining faithful, even when we can't see what he's doing.
And the great thing is that, even though there is a covenant and rules and God always threatened to destroy Israel, his abiding patience and desire to be with them/us overcame his anger. There was always, "But if you'll turn to me and obey my commands," and other conditions like that. And Jesus did all the buying back that we need. That's the best part. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.
He loves us in our whoredom, in our filth, in our stank. He adores us and wants us and already bought us back from sin. We have to choose to stay.
Magazines and Nametags
Today was a lovely day spent with my sister. We both slept in quite late, then got ourselves ready to do some running around. First, we went over to ADI and played with the 3 litters of puppies that are there, including 3 teeny, tiny pups just born via c-section two days ago.
We then went by the library where I picked up Storm Glass, by Maria V. Snyder, the last week's EW, and Perelandra, which I'll be reading for class. I also returned a book that I thought I returned, but Seth found it in my car after I filed a "claim returned" at the library. Oh, well.
Then, we had a great time at the park. We moseyed around a bit, then I had a great 1/2 hour run while my sister moseyed on her own. We both stood in the lake for a while, then got b.o.g.o. burritos for dinner. Ahhhh, good day.
Tonight was the kick-off for Big Time, our yearly, week-long party for the junior high students at church. Last year, I was a small group leader, but I decided to pass on that this year. I don't like corralling and having to discipline more and keep students in line, which is why it bothers me so much when my high school girls are overly-wacky. So, this year, I'm working in registration, which is a breeze. I sit in the back office with some of my favorite students while they put kids' info into the database & make nametags. I, then, have the fabulous job of cutting the nametags out and putting them into lanyards. It's a rough job.
Of course, I also got to help put garbage bags over all the chairs in the sanctuary, since many of the kids were going to be quite wet and/or dirty from the insane games they were playing.
I'm going to keep trying to just borrow EW from the library and not subscribe again. I just love magazines. I did, in fact, subscribe to Rolling Stone since I got an offer of 6 months for $1. I don't necessarily care to read about music that much, but my love for magazines will carry me through. I also got a free subscription to Christianity Today, which I have also had on and off over the past few years.
Ah, magazines. Such an excellent way to have little snippets of entertainment when I need it.
Hasta mañana.
We then went by the library where I picked up Storm Glass, by Maria V. Snyder, the last week's EW, and Perelandra, which I'll be reading for class. I also returned a book that I thought I returned, but Seth found it in my car after I filed a "claim returned" at the library. Oh, well.
Then, we had a great time at the park. We moseyed around a bit, then I had a great 1/2 hour run while my sister moseyed on her own. We both stood in the lake for a while, then got b.o.g.o. burritos for dinner. Ahhhh, good day.
Tonight was the kick-off for Big Time, our yearly, week-long party for the junior high students at church. Last year, I was a small group leader, but I decided to pass on that this year. I don't like corralling and having to discipline more and keep students in line, which is why it bothers me so much when my high school girls are overly-wacky. So, this year, I'm working in registration, which is a breeze. I sit in the back office with some of my favorite students while they put kids' info into the database & make nametags. I, then, have the fabulous job of cutting the nametags out and putting them into lanyards. It's a rough job.
Of course, I also got to help put garbage bags over all the chairs in the sanctuary, since many of the kids were going to be quite wet and/or dirty from the insane games they were playing.
I'm going to keep trying to just borrow EW from the library and not subscribe again. I just love magazines. I did, in fact, subscribe to Rolling Stone since I got an offer of 6 months for $1. I don't necessarily care to read about music that much, but my love for magazines will carry me through. I also got a free subscription to Christianity Today, which I have also had on and off over the past few years.
Ah, magazines. Such an excellent way to have little snippets of entertainment when I need it.
Hasta mañana.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Learning
This blogging everyday about reading is an exercise. Often, I'm sure it will mostly be an exercise in frustration, but hopefully it will often be good for growth. I want to grow as a writer and a communicator.
I know that I am already okay at speaking and writing, but I'm not very good at organization of my thoughts and having a well thought-out plan, which is necessary for getting your points across. It's easier to sort of make it up as you go along when speaking, as far as being able to find your train of thought and get things headed in the right direction. At least, I think I can do it.
So, I read and write a lot. I don't know that I often stop and take notice when I'm reading something really well-written, because I think that I just get caught up in it, but I do notice sometimes. I read an old essay by Garrison Keillor, who I normally cannot stand, and it was very very good. It was funny and human and, for the first time ever, made me want to read one of his books. Maybe I should, just to observe and try to figure out what I like about what he's doing.
I definitely notice bad writing, and I read a lot of bad writing being that I read romance novels and kids books for the most part when I'm not in school. The book I'm about to finish, Seducing a Scottish Bride, is passable enough, but the writer has a few writerly tics that are quite noticeable and annoying. The worst one is that the characters are constantly going, "No-o-o" or "O-o-oh!" in surprise or shock. Seriously. Always with the three syllables.
I want to be aware of the crutches and tics that I rely on in my papers, in my teaching at church, and even in the fiction writing that I dabble in. I want to clear them up, use different words, and write with clarity. Then, for some of the those purposes, I still want to be funny. And here, in my blog, I'll probably go back and forth between attempts at propriety and quality and just blurting out whatever I want because it's my blog, so there.
I know that I am already okay at speaking and writing, but I'm not very good at organization of my thoughts and having a well thought-out plan, which is necessary for getting your points across. It's easier to sort of make it up as you go along when speaking, as far as being able to find your train of thought and get things headed in the right direction. At least, I think I can do it.
So, I read and write a lot. I don't know that I often stop and take notice when I'm reading something really well-written, because I think that I just get caught up in it, but I do notice sometimes. I read an old essay by Garrison Keillor, who I normally cannot stand, and it was very very good. It was funny and human and, for the first time ever, made me want to read one of his books. Maybe I should, just to observe and try to figure out what I like about what he's doing.
I definitely notice bad writing, and I read a lot of bad writing being that I read romance novels and kids books for the most part when I'm not in school. The book I'm about to finish, Seducing a Scottish Bride, is passable enough, but the writer has a few writerly tics that are quite noticeable and annoying. The worst one is that the characters are constantly going, "No-o-o" or "O-o-oh!" in surprise or shock. Seriously. Always with the three syllables.
I want to be aware of the crutches and tics that I rely on in my papers, in my teaching at church, and even in the fiction writing that I dabble in. I want to clear them up, use different words, and write with clarity. Then, for some of the those purposes, I still want to be funny. And here, in my blog, I'll probably go back and forth between attempts at propriety and quality and just blurting out whatever I want because it's my blog, so there.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Today's and Yesterday's Blog: It's a 2-for-1 bargain!
mood: hot and meh with a pain in my foot
Yesterday I read menus, checks, and the backs of books. 'Twas my sister's birthday, so we went to Denny's for her free Grand Slam. I got a $4 "Value Slam" and a Coke for $2.29. That annoyed me. I'm turning into a total old person, practically telling people that their prices are highway robbery.
After our healthy breakfast, we headed down to the city, where we looked at fancy houses, wandered, and slowly made our way to the deYoung museum. The museum was fine, but I don't think I need to go back. The nice thing was that there was a party going on, so there was music and people bustling about.
For dinner, we wanted to take advantage of the Dine About Town program that was going on, so we could get a 3 course dinner for $35 at a number of restaurants in town. We decided on Le Central, a very cute-looking French bistro right by the Chinatown gate. At first, our waiter was very good and went above and beyond. My sister was torn on what to order for her main course, so he brought her out a taste of one so she could decide. He also gave her some veggies in addition to her fries, even though she asked too late. But then, it all went awry. After giving us our food, he asked us once how things were, and then he truly paid no attention to us for half an hour. He helped the people to our right and left, offering some dessert, but never looking at us. We had to ask the busser for more water and to box our food. We asked the busser to let our waiter know that we wanted to order our dessert. Nothing. Finally, we spoke with the manager, asking for our desserts to go. The waiter dropped them off with an attitude, and brought us our bill in a huff. So strange.
After the awkward exit, we moseyed over to Borders, where I looked at Father's Day cards, with no luck, then looked in vain for the books for my class. I so wish that I could buy books with abandon, but it is not to be.
Wow. Boring yesterday post.
Today! I didn't read much at all today. I have yet to pick up the fantastic romance novel I'm reading, Seducing a Scottish Bride, but I'll be bustling off to relax and read that soon. You know you're jealous of my smut. It was another freebie from RT. I didn't read all of them, but I at least give them a try. This one is okay, so far. I'll finish it.
Tomorrow is a busy day with church and a possible trip to the beach.
May future posts be more interesting.
Yesterday I read menus, checks, and the backs of books. 'Twas my sister's birthday, so we went to Denny's for her free Grand Slam. I got a $4 "Value Slam" and a Coke for $2.29. That annoyed me. I'm turning into a total old person, practically telling people that their prices are highway robbery.
After our healthy breakfast, we headed down to the city, where we looked at fancy houses, wandered, and slowly made our way to the deYoung museum. The museum was fine, but I don't think I need to go back. The nice thing was that there was a party going on, so there was music and people bustling about.
For dinner, we wanted to take advantage of the Dine About Town program that was going on, so we could get a 3 course dinner for $35 at a number of restaurants in town. We decided on Le Central, a very cute-looking French bistro right by the Chinatown gate. At first, our waiter was very good and went above and beyond. My sister was torn on what to order for her main course, so he brought her out a taste of one so she could decide. He also gave her some veggies in addition to her fries, even though she asked too late. But then, it all went awry. After giving us our food, he asked us once how things were, and then he truly paid no attention to us for half an hour. He helped the people to our right and left, offering some dessert, but never looking at us. We had to ask the busser for more water and to box our food. We asked the busser to let our waiter know that we wanted to order our dessert. Nothing. Finally, we spoke with the manager, asking for our desserts to go. The waiter dropped them off with an attitude, and brought us our bill in a huff. So strange.
After the awkward exit, we moseyed over to Borders, where I looked at Father's Day cards, with no luck, then looked in vain for the books for my class. I so wish that I could buy books with abandon, but it is not to be.
Wow. Boring yesterday post.
Today! I didn't read much at all today. I have yet to pick up the fantastic romance novel I'm reading, Seducing a Scottish Bride, but I'll be bustling off to relax and read that soon. You know you're jealous of my smut. It was another freebie from RT. I didn't read all of them, but I at least give them a try. This one is okay, so far. I'll finish it.
Tomorrow is a busy day with church and a possible trip to the beach.
May future posts be more interesting.
Friday, June 11, 2010
A chapter and a magazine
Today was a good day that kind of flew by. I slept pretty late, but I always figure that my body needs a lot of sleep, so that's fine, if a bit annoying. My sister slept even later, though, so I felt all up-and-at-'em.
I had to finish up some homework today, so I had to read a chapter from a book on prayer, and it really gave me some mixed feelings. It was talking about tearful prayer, and that a surfeit of tears is necessary for repentance and closeness to God. It didn't exactly say that you couldn't be close to God without tears, but that's the impression I got, and I call that a bunch of hooey.
Not to say that I don't think brokenness is necessary in our lives, but this author went so far as to say that if, after asking God for this tearful spirit, it doesn't come, you should keep knocking and asking for it, because it is just that important.
I think that if you ask God for a broken and contrite heart, and you mean it, and the weeping just doesn't come, than that is God saying, "That's okay." Sure, examine your heart and make sure you're not being hard and trying to block out things, but move on in joy, already! Sheesh. That author ticked me off and I told my professor so in my reaction.
I also swung by the library to return a few things and see if a book I'm waiting for was in, but it is not yet, so I just grabbed an Entertainment Weekly. I've subscribed to EW on and off for years and years, and every time I cancel I end up subscribing again, because I'm just so sad without it. I'm going to try to keep grabbing it from the library, for now, because I shouldn't need to have it delivered to me to enjoy it. I read them very quickly anyway. I'm already done with the one I got today, thanks to my hour on the elliptical and a few articles I didn't care about (24, Katy Perry, Shrek (double ugh)).
I had to finish up some homework today, so I had to read a chapter from a book on prayer, and it really gave me some mixed feelings. It was talking about tearful prayer, and that a surfeit of tears is necessary for repentance and closeness to God. It didn't exactly say that you couldn't be close to God without tears, but that's the impression I got, and I call that a bunch of hooey.
Not to say that I don't think brokenness is necessary in our lives, but this author went so far as to say that if, after asking God for this tearful spirit, it doesn't come, you should keep knocking and asking for it, because it is just that important.
I think that if you ask God for a broken and contrite heart, and you mean it, and the weeping just doesn't come, than that is God saying, "That's okay." Sure, examine your heart and make sure you're not being hard and trying to block out things, but move on in joy, already! Sheesh. That author ticked me off and I told my professor so in my reaction.
I also swung by the library to return a few things and see if a book I'm waiting for was in, but it is not yet, so I just grabbed an Entertainment Weekly. I've subscribed to EW on and off for years and years, and every time I cancel I end up subscribing again, because I'm just so sad without it. I'm going to try to keep grabbing it from the library, for now, because I shouldn't need to have it delivered to me to enjoy it. I read them very quickly anyway. I'm already done with the one I got today, thanks to my hour on the elliptical and a few articles I didn't care about (24, Katy Perry, Shrek (double ugh)).
Thursday, June 10, 2010
So much for "Every Day"
I'm going to try, though. Really. I've just had a busy couple of days.
Today I finished a silly, romance novel that was a freebie from the Romantic Times convention this year,The Selkie Bride. To tell you the truth, it wasn't all that bad. Sort of a mystery set on a Scottish island in 1923 or so. A tad disappointing in the end, but not a waste of time.
I'm pretty much done with my class, and my sister wanted my laptop while I was gone, so I let myself relax and read while at my volunteering job. It's so nice to feel that freedom to read without guilt. Tomorrow, I just need to read a few chapters for school, write a couple short responses, print everything up and mail it off. Then I have two weeks before my next class starts.
My next class is also an online class, but with more structure than this one. I'll need to log on every week & take part in discussions with the professors. It will be better for me. I'm also taking a 2 week class on C.S. Lewis in July, so I may read a bit of him during my 2 week break. The rest of my free time will be spent on ancestry.com, digging around as much as I can so that I don't have to pay for another month.
Today I finished a silly, romance novel that was a freebie from the Romantic Times convention this year,The Selkie Bride. To tell you the truth, it wasn't all that bad. Sort of a mystery set on a Scottish island in 1923 or so. A tad disappointing in the end, but not a waste of time.
I'm pretty much done with my class, and my sister wanted my laptop while I was gone, so I let myself relax and read while at my volunteering job. It's so nice to feel that freedom to read without guilt. Tomorrow, I just need to read a few chapters for school, write a couple short responses, print everything up and mail it off. Then I have two weeks before my next class starts.
My next class is also an online class, but with more structure than this one. I'll need to log on every week & take part in discussions with the professors. It will be better for me. I'm also taking a 2 week class on C.S. Lewis in July, so I may read a bit of him during my 2 week break. The rest of my free time will be spent on ancestry.com, digging around as much as I can so that I don't have to pay for another month.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Oh, it's on.
I watched Julie and Julia Saturday, and other than making me want to be a better cook and live in France, it also made me want to write more often. As you can tell, I haven't been really good about blogging this year, mostly because of school. I have to read and write a lot, so fun writing doesn't usually happen.
Well, NO MORE! I am going to write here every day, I tell you! I've always been intrigued by people who do something daily & post it, like take a picture of themselves. I often think about doing one of those things, but I'm going a different way. From time to time, I'll have my normal posts on random things that strike me, but my focus is going to be on what I'm reading. Every day, I will write for at least a few minutes about something I read that day, be it a book, an article, or the back of a cereal box.
Hopefully, I can become a better writer with more practice, and maybe some good conversations can start!
I also know that reading a blog every day can be overwhelming, so I don't expect you to do so. I'm a horrible blog reader, catching up in large chunks on days when I have free time.
Thanks for joining me!
Well, NO MORE! I am going to write here every day, I tell you! I've always been intrigued by people who do something daily & post it, like take a picture of themselves. I often think about doing one of those things, but I'm going a different way. From time to time, I'll have my normal posts on random things that strike me, but my focus is going to be on what I'm reading. Every day, I will write for at least a few minutes about something I read that day, be it a book, an article, or the back of a cereal box.
Hopefully, I can become a better writer with more practice, and maybe some good conversations can start!
I also know that reading a blog every day can be overwhelming, so I don't expect you to do so. I'm a horrible blog reader, catching up in large chunks on days when I have free time.
Thanks for joining me!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Ooh! Famous Bloodlines!
I'm addicted to ancestry.com and I'm having a great time trying to go back as far as I can to see where my family came from. Along the way, I've had a few surprises.
I've found out that I'm not as Irish as I thought, which bums me out. My grandma always thought that my grandpa was 100% Irish, but he was only 1/2 or 1/3. I'm just as French and English as I am Irish.
Also, going into this, I thought that I'd certainly get a couple hundred years back, being that we have names, papers, and dates. The ways I've always defined myself: German, Irish, and Finnish? They've left me out in the dark. The English and the French, though? I'm all the way back to the 10th century, and it's a lot of fun.
Of course, I now need to go through and double-check those family members, because as I get my bearings on the site, I'm starting to learn the lame tricks or lazy things that people do to keep their trees going. What is the #1 favorite thing for people to do? Insert a famous person!
Believe me, I want to be related to Queen Elizabeth I so bad I can taste it, and I do get geeked when I see a famous name pop up on a tree, but I also have a healthy skepticism and the internet, so I do a search when, oh William Wallace pops up in my direct line, y'know, just to check things out. Oh, lookee there! It turns out that it's really easy to check on the actual family relations of historical figures and especially royalty! So, no, so far I'm not related to any rebel leaders, high kings, Lady Godiva (seriously), or Elizabeth Tudor. I'm not even related to the guy who saved the life of Henry VIII (her dad!) once & got a title for it. I checked.
Additionally, I'm pretty sure that most women didn't have their first kids when they were 5, or their last one when they were 80. Now, I was dubious about the late-30's and 40's for mothers, but I poked around and found out that women had children quite late back in the day. They pretty much started at puberty and didn't stop until a) menopause or b) death, whichever came first.
I am, however related to Gov. John Winthrop, 1st gov. of Mass., and a founder. My family has been in the New World for hundreds of years, both in Canada and in the Colonies. My family has been a part of Michigan and Detroit for hundreds of years- when Detroit was still a French territory. And George Washington is a distant cousin, as I'm sure he is for a bajillion people.
Overall, I'm having a lot of fun, though I do get frustrated every day with the stupidity of some people and what they'll blindly put on their trees and then allow to proliferate. Now, if you'll excuse me, instead of going to bed, I have to go double check and see if I really am 1,456,894th in line for the throne of Belgium.
I've found out that I'm not as Irish as I thought, which bums me out. My grandma always thought that my grandpa was 100% Irish, but he was only 1/2 or 1/3. I'm just as French and English as I am Irish.
Also, going into this, I thought that I'd certainly get a couple hundred years back, being that we have names, papers, and dates. The ways I've always defined myself: German, Irish, and Finnish? They've left me out in the dark. The English and the French, though? I'm all the way back to the 10th century, and it's a lot of fun.
Of course, I now need to go through and double-check those family members, because as I get my bearings on the site, I'm starting to learn the lame tricks or lazy things that people do to keep their trees going. What is the #1 favorite thing for people to do? Insert a famous person!
Believe me, I want to be related to Queen Elizabeth I so bad I can taste it, and I do get geeked when I see a famous name pop up on a tree, but I also have a healthy skepticism and the internet, so I do a search when, oh William Wallace pops up in my direct line, y'know, just to check things out. Oh, lookee there! It turns out that it's really easy to check on the actual family relations of historical figures and especially royalty! So, no, so far I'm not related to any rebel leaders, high kings, Lady Godiva (seriously), or Elizabeth Tudor. I'm not even related to the guy who saved the life of Henry VIII (her dad!) once & got a title for it. I checked.
Additionally, I'm pretty sure that most women didn't have their first kids when they were 5, or their last one when they were 80. Now, I was dubious about the late-30's and 40's for mothers, but I poked around and found out that women had children quite late back in the day. They pretty much started at puberty and didn't stop until a) menopause or b) death, whichever came first.
I am, however related to Gov. John Winthrop, 1st gov. of Mass., and a founder. My family has been in the New World for hundreds of years, both in Canada and in the Colonies. My family has been a part of Michigan and Detroit for hundreds of years- when Detroit was still a French territory. And George Washington is a distant cousin, as I'm sure he is for a bajillion people.
Overall, I'm having a lot of fun, though I do get frustrated every day with the stupidity of some people and what they'll blindly put on their trees and then allow to proliferate. Now, if you'll excuse me, instead of going to bed, I have to go double check and see if I really am 1,456,894th in line for the throne of Belgium.
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