progress?

well, it's sunday, so i supposed a day off is in order...but!

1) i saved money by using a gift card for coffee today
2) i declined an invite to get a pedi (which i really don't like anyway) in an effort to spend less frivolously
3) used my leftover lentils to make a soup and it was good!

in other news, my apartment is a wreck because it has been storming and my ceiling leaks...right over where i keep my books! so there are stacks of books on my dining room table. i am also in the process of importing ALL of my cds to my computer. and apparently that can create quite a mess too.

one step forward, two steps back.

Happy New Year!

i have always hated new year's resolutions. i don't particularly like to resolve myself to doing things in the coming year. so i started calling them revolutions and making them more of a shift in my life. i still don't really like them, but continue to come up with them because what better time to set goals than at the beginning of a new year? or is it rather arbitrary? what makes january 1 any different than december 31? anyway...

-study regularly for the GMAT with the goal of a 600
-narrow down b-schools to apply to
-get a new job (eh, this one depends on a lot of factors)
-add at least 3 states to my "i've been to" list
-visit...San Diego (Feb 13-15!) Seattle (???) and Michigan/Chicago (4th of July?)
-spend a mandatory three hours a week writing (for peacemaker or other)
-read everyday
-write on this blog everyday...even just a little bit
-use my new More-with-Less cookbook at least 4 meals a week
-be a better manager of my money (save, tithe, pay off debt, spend less frivolously)
-get back into "spring of 2007" shape

and that sounds like enough for now. goodness. if i did those things it certainly would revolutionize my life. in all of that my overarching goal is to focus on what i have going on in my life right now and what is already set up for the future. i don't need to added distraction of seeking out things that i "should" have going on like a boyfriend, a garden, art projects, etc...

that should be it for now. good night.

apparently i write like a man...

www.genderanalyzer.com

i entered two individual posts and got 83% and 85%. meaning this analyzer is over 80% sure that a man wrote those posts.

the whole blog got 65%.

this probably isn't a surprise to many of you.

i will be editing and revising the last post for peacemaker.com. look for a more focused commentary and less of a devotional writing. still getting used to this journalistic type writing.

Trust...

an older woman from my church congregation invited me to coffee a few weeks ago. i accepted her invitation with outward enthusiasm but inward caution. you see, i was one of the nominees for three open elder positions at my church and i couldn't help but assume that her sudden interest in us getting together was motivated by this. turns out i was right. one of the first things she said to me was that she asked me to coffee because she didn't trust that i was ready for the responsibility of being an elder. she didn't think i was capable of handling the stress and the weight of the decisions looming in our church's future. when i asked her why she thought this way, she answered simply, "why, because i don't know you!"

this got me thinking...about trust. the Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary definition of trust is (noun) 1 a: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b: one in which confidence is placed." now, rightly i couldn't expect a woman who doesn't know me to have assured reliance in me or expect her to know me enough in an one hour coffee session to place her confidence in me. but with a continued relationship, i hope that we can build a mutual trust that will move our relationship forward.

i often like to transfer these simple ideas about relationships between people to our relationship with God. we are called to trust God right? well how many times have you looked at something and essentially said to God, "well, i'm just not sure if you can handle this. my life is just so complicated you see, and, well, i'll just deal with it myself." speaking for myself, i do this constantly. and it struck me over the weekend, that i keep trying and trying to trust God, but i still struggle and struggle with it because i don't know Him. sure i "know" him, but how much time have i spent reading scriptures to see His character, to see how much He loves His people and takes care of them. and by reading scripture, i mean specifically the old testament.

so often we get stuck in our post-modern, meta-cognitive, over-analyzing way of thinking about "religion" and "God." we think and question and talk to each other (again, speaking for myself here). these are not bad things, but we must remember that one of the reasons we have the Bible is to learn. and the more we learn about God, the more we will be able to trust Him.

now, the woman at my church might learn more about me and still not trust me. i'm human and, despite what you might think, i'm not perfect. so that assured reliance may never exist. but God is perfect. and He is faithful. and he shows us again and again in scripture. so go read and learn why you can trust God. He is good!

Trial Book Review

So...I am part of a book club and we have our monthly meeting tonight. I decided to take a few minutes today to reflect about the book and I wrote this little review. I think this is something I want to invest more time in. I'll post more as I write more.

A Thousand Splendid Suns / هزار خورشید تابان by Khaled Hosseini

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I think this book was a well written exploration of a war-torn nation. While this setting can take center stage a times (and rightly so!) the book does a good job of focusing on the characters and their relationships. The majority of the characters seem to encounter each other roughly, causing bumps and bruises that do not go away easily. The characters who survive are the ones able to finally look outside of themselves, and then they are healed.

I tend to enjoy books that explore women's identity and this did not disappoint. The main characters are two women with different backgrounds who are forced to live and work together in an intimate setting. At first, they do not understand each other, but as they learn to love each other, they learn more about themselves in the process. Each is able to reach a point of complete self-identification, which is not devoid of the tragedy that has ravished their homeland.

I loved reading this book and would recommend and pass it along to most people. It was an addictive read that I could barely put down. Hosseini is a genius with words, plot, and characters.





View all my reviews.

well, my trip to seattle and continuing "evacuation" have slightly changed my goals in life right now. so the whole "month without plastic thing" isn't a priority at this moment. i feel like having looked at how much plastic i have used is a good incentive to cut down. and i have, for sure, cut down my consumption in many ways, but i know to do away with plastic properly will require an amount of focus, time, and energy that i won't be able to devote to it at this moment in time.

so, hurricane gustav wasn't as bad as we all thought it was going to be, which is such a blessing, praise the LORD. however, things in new orleans and the rest of souther louisiana are far from perfect right now. there is still a lot of debris and the sewage systems aren't running perfectly. things will be improving significantly in the coming weeks, though. it is just pretty interesting to be in the midst of anticipating a storm to come wreck your home. i've never really experienced that and honestly, i don't think i would like to do it again.

however, i had a great time in seattle. not a bad place to be stuck at all. i am thankful that my plans took me in this direction in the first place. i'll be honest, part of me wants to move here so badly. and maybe it will be my next stop on my "tour of america." maybe i should make a new goal to see how many states i can live in by the time i am 30. i already have OK, FL, NY, CO, TN, and LA under my belt. so that's six down, 44 to go!!!

but i am anxious to return to New Orleans. God led me there for a reason, to help rebuild. so i know that this is the time for me to go and lend my hands and my heart. my LORD will take care of my future for me.