getting closer to jesus

last night i participated in a lovely discussion with some of the ladies in my small group. we read matthew chapter 6 and focused on the last section that talks about storing treasures in heaven vs. storing treasures on earth. basically we wondered, what does it mean to store treasures in heaven and what are those treasures?

after contemplating our relationships with others, being kind, etc... Laura made the statement that she doesn't believe it has to do with any of that. but what we have to focus on is how do we get closer to Jesus? what does that look like? how can we spend our days getting closer to Him?

one of the struggles we all face is feeling the need to justify our actions to the people around us. for example, how would your neighbor react if, in response to the question "what did you do today?" you responded "i tried to get closer to Jesus." i imagine they would look confused and after a pause say something along the lines of "great, but what did you DO?"

so what do we do? a) listen. or practice listening to God's voice. what is He urging us to do? where does He want to meet us? who does He want to speak through? b) try to find Him. this is again where practice comes in. we have to practice reading God's word. thanking Him for the blessings He gives. acknowledging Him when we do have an encounter.

i'm sure there are other ways, but for right now i'm subscribing to the K.I.S.S. method (keep it simple, stupid!) in the midst of my usual rushed monday morning routine, i forced myself to sit down and read my daily dose of ozzy chambers while eating my frozen waffles. and you know what he had to say? spiritual tenacity. sticking to it with the expectation that something will happen.

i'll take that as God's way of giving me some encouragement to keep moving closer to Him this week.

who would you have dinner with?

remember those questions contemplated in the wee hours of the morning? or on road trips? or in a hot tub? i feel like we always talked about them in hot tubs...those hypothetical scenario questions.

if you could be anywhere, doing anything, with anyone, what would it be and where and with whom? (except we probably didn't say "with whom") if you were stranded on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring? if you had to choose one food and that's all you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

if you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would you choose?

i'm pretty sure my answer to that question in high school was always "jesus, john belushi, and madonna." (and what a dinner that would be!)

for some reason i was thinking about this question the other day, maybe someone said something in a conversation or it was on the radio, i'm not sure. but i do know that my answer would be completely different now.

first of all, i wouldn't pick jesus. not because i don't want to meet the guy and chat with him, but i just don't think i would pick him for this situation. okay. also, while i still really really really love john belushi, i feel like he might dominate the conversation in an obnoxious way. same with madonna (attention whore!)

so now who?

a) John Steinbeck: i've been plowing through a biography about my favorite author for the past couple years (i pick it up off and on) and he is a fascinating person! i mean, he knew how to have fun, he was passionate about his work and the world, and he really cared about his friends. i think i would very much like to share a meal with this man.

2) Johnny Depp: aside from the fact that i am desperately in love with this man, i think i would want him there for some of the same reasons i stated for Steinbeck. passionate, caring, and fun person. i would love to hear about his creative process and his views on hollywood. also i would make him sit at the table shirtless.

d) Kaela Jo: there are some people in your life who help you be the best version of yourself. Kaela is that for me. and who wouldn't want to be their best when having dinner with John Steinbeck and Johnny Depp??

hmmm...there seems to be a theme in my life with the name john. i wonder what that means...

tired and cranky

probably because i haven't eaten anything today. which is also probably why i have a headache. but i'm waiting for the mechanic to be finished with my car. and sitting in a coffee shop in the meantime. but i'm tired of sitting here. i want to go home and make myself some mac and cheese. and a spinach salad.

how long does it really take to fix my brakes anyway? and really, do i have to wait until you are done with all those other cars first? UGH. not the happiest camper right now. probably because i'm hungry.

January 12, 2010

as you have gathered, january 12 is my birthday. this year i went about my business, mostly unaware of what was happening in the world. i heard about the earthquake in Haiti, but didn't actively pursue more information because i had more important things to think about, like what i was going to wear out that night.

in the days after, i saw news reports and read articles about the conditions in Haiti, the rising death toll, the reality of what was happening and it was too much. it didn't seem real to me and i felt really removed from what was happening.

then i got an email about the good friend of a family i'm close with. she is Haitian and hadn't heard from her extended family who lives there. on top of that, her parents had been in port au prince for a visit and she hadn't heard from them either. boom, it was real. it was touching me. i had spent an easter with regine, her husband, and their little boy when they were in town visiting the blundells. she had encouraged me to pursue a phd in literature.

thankfully, regine heard from her family and they are all as safe as they can be during this time. her parents are medical professionals and have been helping out in the hospital as much as possible. thank the lord that they survived and are able to put the gifts he's given them to work helping others.

i still feel a little hazy about everything that's happening. it's so big that i can't really wrap my mind around it. but i feel a bit more grounded and empowered after a meeting i had with local disaster response nonprofits yesterday. new orleans is going to start mobilizing efforts to provide whatever aid we can. supporting our local Haitian community and empowering them to help in reasonable ways. around the table yesterday people kept offering mental health and other services to the Haitian representatives who were present and they kept saying "what would help us deal with it is being able to help."

i feel the same way. and to all of you who might feel lost or hopeless in the face of this tragedy...you don't have to jump on a plane down to Haiti in order to help. donating helps. so does volunteering your time to inventory, sort, and package donations. trust me, that takes a lot more man-power than most of those relief organizations have.

overwhelmed...

okay, i know facebook makes it super easy for people to remember your birthday and comment and all that. but i also know how often i ignore birthdays and don't comment. and i can't help but assume that the rest of the population is like me.

so i was overwhelmed by all the happy birthdays i got yesterday. i know it's just a few seconds of someone's day to write "happy birthday" and click to post. but it still makes me feel loved that so many people took those few seconds to wish me well. especially the people i haven't talked to in YEARS! i mean, old coworkers from nashville. people i met my first year at CU. my mom's friends. they all paid attention to the fact that it was my birthday, and despite the brevity of their comments, i truly believe that they wish me well.

it is a good reminder that no matter where we go or what we do, we can touch people and leave an impression.

so that's my sappy birthday lesson for this year. cheers!

26 is the new 25

for some reason i feel like my life is more "together" than it was a year ago. maybe it is...or maybe my perspective has changed somewhat.

i'm leaning towards the latter.

back on track...

yesterday i mentioned a few of my resolutions. i did not include "writing more" as a resolution because i have no way to measure the results of "more." also, because i don't want to set some expectation for myself of writing every single day. i know that i would fail at that goal and then beat myself up about it later...

while i was home for christmas i watched julie and julia with my family. despite the fact that the movie has no real arc to the story, i thought it was entertaining enough. i mean, it combined two of my favorite hobbies: cooking and writing! so, while i'm not making it an official resolution, i am going to make a solid attempt to write more this year. just like i made a solid attempt to write more last year. one of these years it's going to stick.

i mean, i think i'm making progress in my writing discipline. i'm already more comfortable starting my writing this year than i would have been at this point last year. so that's good. but this is all just rambling and i did have something i wanted to say today.

i had a friend from new orleans come out to colorado to celebrate new year's eve and to visit for a few days. it was super fun to show her my "roots" (those of you who know me know that i don't really have roots, but the CO is the closest i get). she got to meet my friends, see my mountains, eat at my favorite restaurants, drink at my favorite bars, hang out with my family, etc... it was fun to show her what my life is like in the CO.

it always makes me feel a little bit more grounded in reality when i get to bring my worlds together like that, whether it is someone visiting new orleans from colorado or colorado from new orleans. it's like bringing the two halves together to make a whole. which also makes me more aware of the chunk of my life i'll be leaving behind when i leave new orleans. i know i'm making the right step and i am so excited to move back to colorado, but it's going to be a bittersweet move, heavy on the bitter.

a friend of mine once passed on a bit of advice (he's even more of a nomad than i am!): always live so that when you move away, you miss something about it. i think it's a good reminder for me to immerse myself in my present life. live in the moment. the here and now is the only REAL reality.

117 days left and i'm going to make them count.