Christmas videos!

Merry Christmas friends! 
This one's from my pal, Anna - Christmas story told by kids from New Zealand.  Awesome.

 And this one i actually saw in church - "digital" nativity story. 

update

Wow, friends, it's been a while since i've posted anything, but here goes!  My life has been fairly uneventful but very busy since the summer.  I moved to a new apartment with a fun new roommate. Corley from Arkansas (she also claims New Orleans and Pittsburgh as home).

Here we are together:

Still living in Oxford and working at the Elementary school in the English Language Learner (ELL) program. I've been taking two classes this semester to add the ELL certification to my teaching credentials.

Going back to Ole Miss has been quite an experience.  First of all - freshman are so young!!!  They are children.  How did I think I was "grown up" when I was a freshman?! So, Ole Miss, as most call it, is trying to move away from some of their image problems - they dumped the Rebel mascot just recently and are working on "greening" the campus with public transit, bike rental, recycling, etc.  It's grown a lot since my freshman days, and that's a good thing.  I don't plan on giving them anymore of my money, though!  Done after this semester. 

I squeezed in a September visit with two of my fabulous friends, Allison and Anna.  Love you, ladies!  Thanks for visiting!

Oxford has been beautiful the past few weeks as most places are in the peak of Autumn. It's my favorite time of the year by far - and not because of football season!  Here's a picture of the Pumpkin Patch at the Episcopal Church downtown.  It's a fundraising tradition, and it's pretty. 

Hmmm, what else?...well, I have tried adopting a few new hobbies, but with reading for class I have not had much success.  Some of my attempts have been:  felted crafts (with Anna's help), another time around with knitting - this time a hat,  exploring natural hair and skin care (with an attempt to go "no-poo," that didn't quite stick), and running.  I've gotten up to about 2 miles, but I'm aiming to be able to do a 10K. 

 And I got a haircut just this week.  Bangs are back for a visit. 

 

 Well, that's the story for folks who are interested.  This has been a calm and restful season of my life the past 3 months.  Much of the anxiety and stress from the last year has passed for now, and I'm looking forward to the next part of my life with great anticipation.  I get to celebrate 28 years of life next Wednesday - wish I could celebrate with some of you! Peace, people.  Let's keep our blogs going! 

Worth watching

I saw this video of Tim Keller's teaching on "The Gospel and the Poor" on my friend Valerie's blog.

Tim Keller: The Gospel and the Poor: A Case for Compassion from Here's Life Inner City on Vimeo.

A Prickle-ly Perch

Today I enjoyed a blanket-on-the-ground picnic with my friend, Leigh Anne.  We go back a few years, I'm gonna say about 5 to 7, I think.

We talked about things both silly and of depth.  Among them, thoughts of our our future, calling, dreams and the mixture of fear and excitement that comes with such thoughts.  Later on while lesson planning,  (she's an elementary ed student), she stumbled across Dr. Seuss's little book, Oh! the Places You'll Go! She shared some of the lines with me.  It's a bit cheesy, of course - it is a Dr. Suess book - but encouraging and funny too.  Thought I'd share a bit with you. 


Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.
 ...
I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl...
...
I laugh when I read this not because I am making light of the pain and frustration of struggles, dark times and confusion, but because I get stuck thinking I am alone in my experience.  I know this is completely untrue, and  I have to keep reminding myself that I couldn't be more wrong.  If there's anything through which I can identify with a brother or sister, anything that will bind us together other than our shared joys, it is those seasons of darkness and struggle - those slumps in which we all find ourselves and the grace of God that brings us to the other side.  Let us not be afraid to share when we find ourselves in a prickle-ly perch or when we come to a place where the streets are not marked. 

And so we come to the end of life lessons from Dr. Seuss...although I'm sure there are more.  Avoid the green eggs, though.

new name

Yes, if you're wondering, i renamed my blog.

Blogging is fairly insignificant in light of real life, but the former title just wasn't sitting well with me.  I came up with it without really thinking where this blog was going and that I might want it with me through different seasons of my life.

I feel like the purpose of blogging is to share what you're learning, observing, laughing at, and thinking with other people so that they can share the same and we can all know each other a bit better, at least that's what I've come to as the practical purpose for this little blog.  

So,  I'll be calling this blog taking notes.  It's not profound or poetic, but it's exactly what I want to do here...take notes on life, regardless of what I'm interested in at the moment or where I end up in 6 months or a year (as I'm still a girl in transition...looking at moving again this summer).

-----------------------

Just a little funny to finish this out...

Today I was talking to a 4 year old about space exploration (mostly about Star Wars, actually), and I asked him to tell me what he knows about space.  He said "it's dangerous and pretend aliens live there." This is the same kid who told me last week to watch him run like a robot chicken.  wow.  :-)

blogger users rejoice/healthcare, what?

If you use blogger, you should check out their new layout editing options.  Go to http://draft.blogger.com/home instead of just blogger.com to view and edit your blog.  I had fun using all their new options, as you can see. 

Completely unrelated, but still on my mind:
After a talk with a very wise, soon to be doctor friend, I realized I am absolutely in the dark about the bill being passed regarding the future of healthcare. I want to be a responsible citizen, but I just am not informed about this issue.  I am aware that even though it doesn't affect me right now, it's only a matter of time before I will need to know exactly what it means for me.  So,  I know everyone has an opinion, and if you want to help a sister out and pass along some trustworthy articles, etc for me to read, that would be great...or if you just want to share your opinion, that would be great too.

New Job!

I have not abandoned my blog! It lives...even though I haven't been inspired to write lately.

I have some life updates for those interested, though.

I got a new job!  Actually an additional job, which I will work in the morning hours.  I'll be an ESL tutor in the elementary school here in Oxford.  I get three small groups of kids each day, and we will work on reading and language skills.  It's going to be awesome, and the kids are so great!  The job is just til the end of May, but with the possibility of going into next school year.  Regardless, it will be a good intro to this type of teaching. 

I am giddy about the upcoming warm weather, as I'm sure most of you are.  The new life and hope of spring is a beautiful thing, and I'm anxiously awaiting it's approach.

And for anyone who has been following my dog story, I've found a new home for Lexi.  She'll be with me about 4 more weeks, and then off to a happy new home with a yard and lots of room to run and play.   I'll update about that later. 

Read Hannah Coulter. It will make you happy.

I am finishing up reading Wendell Berry's Hannah Coulter.  It's a biographical account of a fictional character, Hannah, and it's part of his Port Williams series.  I don't want to finish it because the characters have become my friends and I'll miss them when they're gone.  It's rich in communicating abstract feelings like belonging, roots, community, and change.  They become real, tangible things and you feel them with Hannah and her family.  It's like listening to the stories and soaking in the wisdom of a grandmother you never had, or maybe just like one you have.  Here's a bit of why i love it:


"And so Nathan required me (Hannah) to think a thought that has stayed with me a long time and has traveled a long way.  It passed through everything I know and changed it all.  The chance you had is the life you've got.  You can make complaints about what people, including you, make of their lives after they have got them, and about what people make of other people's lives...but you mustn't wish for another life.  You mustn't want to be somebody else.  What you must do is this: 'Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In everything give thanks.' I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions."

thinking about Lent

This cold I have only allowed me to sleep until 4:30 a.m. So I'm awake, and I'm thinking about Lent on this very early morning.  I remember this season in past years as being a time of simplifying and turning away from things that distract me from God.  I remember trying to give things up and then giving in at some point in the fast.  One year I tried to fast from the snooze button so I could get up and do something more important than sleeping.  I probably fasted from my fast about half the time.

I didn't get it.  I got too focused on making rules for myself and then I didn't want to follow the rules.  So, I missed the point entirely.  I read earlier that Lent is a journey back to God, an opportunity to make some space in our lives to focus on God. 

This year I hardly realized the season was approaching before it started just yesterday on Ash Wednesday.  I had to remind myself of the history and purpose of the Lenten season.  I found some helpful info here.   In reading about Lent, I realized my need for a time to focus on repentance. 

Analyzing something is normal for me, but I think thoughtful self-examination with the goal of repentance is entirely different.  It involves calling into question the little habits I have that make me comfortable, the ways I isolate and protect myself so I don't have to deal with hard things, and the ways I turn from God in all of this: Sin. 

It seems so trite to give up coffee or alcohol or sweets or facebook for something that changed the course of history and of my own life...

but then I think about the way I indulge in sweets.

I often eat sweets instead of praying or confessing to a friend.  When I've had a bad day, I might go out and buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's.  Not only is this a terrible habit, but it's false comfort.  I realized just yesterday that I have a problem on my hands.  Wednesday's sweets consumption: 3 rice krispy treats (snack served at preschool where i work), 2 cookies, 1 ice cream sandwich, and 3 pieces of chocolate - all in one day.  So, I'm seriously considering taking a break from addictive, comforting sugar. 

I am reminded: It is his kindness which leads us to repentance (from Romans 2:4).

What are your thoughts on Lent, fasting, etc? 

allow me to be a bit cliche, if i may: it's just been one of those days.

I know everyone has a day when absolutely everything is frustrating or just goes completely wrong.  A day when everything feels like work.  A day when you are, as crappy as it sounds, just surviving. 

I have had plenty, and today was one of them. 

I learned something on this blue day.  On days like today, I want to come home to someone to share it with and to laugh and cry it out with.   I decided that I'm done living alone.  I want a roommate ASAP, and not a canine roommate.  Living solo for this year has been a good stint through which I have learned some things, but I'm ready to get back to sharing life with people.  

I have learned so much about myself and have literally become an adult within the context of sharing day to day life with roommates...in community.  I've learned to cook and clean, organize, celebrate little things,  take time alone, listen, listen, listen, ask questions, share, be present, and to have an open door most of the time.  I also learned that everyone has annoying habits - especially me, and that ending the day with a hot meal and a friend is the best therapy.  Most importantly: Love is Patient. 
 
What about you?  Do you prefer living alone or with roommates? What have you learned about yourself from living with other people?

Just a shout out to all my former fabulous rommates. I have had many, and I love and miss them all!  I miss sharing my great days and my blue days with you guys, and I miss hearing about yours.  So, here's to you for helping me grow up!
Leah Smith, Corrie Beene, Sarah Powell Gong, Phyllis DeWeerdt Reeves, Leigh Anne Foster, Katie Laird Maxwell,  Natalie Walden, and Eden Hegwood Blackwell.  

Facebook silliness

Some people on facebook decided it is doppleganger week - which apparently means that you are supposed to post a picture of a celebrity who people say you look like. 

This is sort of ridiculous, since most of us don't have the advantage of airbrushed photography, personal trainers, and cosmetic dentistry - not to mention all the facials, massages and vacations they take to relieve stress and make them look beautiful.  Honestly though, to give them some credit, I love movies and think  they do great and often hard work!

Anyways - I don't think I look like any celebrities, but I did the match thing anyway - which I will not post on facebook because I think it's total crap.  But the results were funny, so here they are: David Schwimmer (a dude!) and Amy Adams.

Maybe I have David's face and Amy's hair!

If you have absolutely nothing else to do and want to waste some time - go to  myheritage.com to see your matches.

blog templates and creativity

I'm having fun changing the template and design for this blog.  It's like getting to design and decorate space in a new apartment, except with much more freedom to mess up and re-do...with just the click of a button.  I just realized that tumblr has some neat blog designs, but i'm already faithful to blogger, so i won't switch over right now.

Anyway - this is fun and it's also a way for me to be a little creative.

Creativity is something I haven't thought a lot about in the last year or so.  Living the everyday in survival mode doesn't really open up much room to be creative, but in the last few weeks I've been thinking more about it and feeling inspired.

I started knitting again (!),  and I got a new camera.
So I can start taking pictures again, which I LOVE to do.

I am discovering more and more that I need a creative outlet in my life to feel balanced and that God in fact created us that way.   

The sermon at The Orchard today is what helped me put all these thoughts together.  It was about redemption, creativity, and beauty - much more than just what I've mentioned in my ramblings. You can listen here.

Isaiah 61:1,3

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me...

(v3)to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion -

to bestow on them

a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

What I took home from this is a huge reminder that God is about making things whole and beautiful...and taking things like despair, mourning and ashes and giving them new life and meaning.   

Redemption. Continual redemption - not just one time or one chance for redemption, but ongoing.  There is hope for the mourners and the brokenhearted.  There is hope for God to make something beautiful out of our ashes and there is hope for you and for me to add to the beautiful work that He is doing with our lives.  This is good news for me. such good news.

A book I'm reading

First off, I just want to express my doubts about this blog actually lasting very long.  I really love reading other people's blogs.  Some folks are just good writers, but I may be more of a reader and less of a writer!

I also have some issue with journaling for the public.  I'm just saying to my one reader out there, that this blog might be short lived.

However, for now, I'm still trying to have more faith and less fear and do things that bring that thought to life - like blogging and trying to love people and myself, running races, and dreaming things for the future. 

So, on to the book....It's Simple Spirituality by Christopher Heuertz.  I bought this book at a missions conference I went to in December called Urbana.   It's hard to sum up what Urbana is about, but if you're interested, you should check it out here.  

So far, I have made it about half way through this book. Chris, the author, has worked with Word Made Flesh, an organization that supports and sends workers to some of the poorest cities in the world to serve and learn and live.

In the book, Chris discusses 5 main "practices" you might call them that help to cultivate a simple life of following Christ and "learning to see God in a broken world," which is the subtitle of the book.   They are Humility, Community, Simplicity, Submission, and Brokenness.

I think I have a general misunderstanding and romanticized view of community, not knowing what it truly looks like and not knowing what it means for my life...and also a little frustrated about how people throw the word around without clarifying what it actually means for day to day life.

I know some people living in urban neighborhoods and they share life together and reach out to their neighbors living in poverty, but what is community if it doesn't look exactly like that?  What does it mean for my life and how do I move toward living in community? 

Chris's book has helped clear some things up for me and broaden my understanding.  I'll just share a few lines and I'll keep reading.

"Often, community provides orientation and clarification for identity.  Both in intimate relationships such as marriage and in thriving and growing communities, who we are is accented and highlighted - the best and the worst of us. 

As simple as it is difficult, we must learn to see past the lies "I am what I have," "I am what I do," and "I am what other people say about me" to the truth that we are the beloved sons and daughters of the King.  Seeing our own belovedness will give us the eyes to see the belovedness of others.  Learning to recognize these truths about ourselves allows us to see these things for and in our community.  It creates space for the miracle of community to happen."

Tomato Soup, Running a Race, and some thoughts for 2010

Yesterday I opened a can of tomato soup for lunch, mixed in a little milk and added some cheese on top.  It was a nice meal for a cold day, but it was especially nice because it was the last bit of a "care package" my grandma sent home with me the last time we were together.  The package had jelly, peanut butter, some bread, a few other sundry items, and this soup.  For some reason, I was saving the soup - it reminded me of how of how thoughtful and intentional she was about taking care of me, even as an adult.  What a wonderful thing it is to have someone remember you and take care of some of your needs.  This little can of soup reminded me of all of this and reminded me of what I get to do for other people - give them love and cans of soup, or maybe not soup, but whatever I can give and whatever the need.  Great to share one last meal with my grandma.  


I have said for some years now that I want to run a race.  Probably not a marathon, but how about starting with a 10K?  I've always been afraid to sign up for one because I was fairly certain I would not run enough to be ready when the race came!   I'm not a runner by any means - my knees hurt, I'm slow, and I'm out of shape...but i'm hoping to change that as soon as the weather warms up a few degrees.  So this is just another small way that I can do something I have some fear about doing, and I'll probably get a t-shirt, so that's a plus.  The 10K is in April here in Oxford. 

I'm am indeed thankful for the start of a new year.  Not that time is really divided into neat little numbered boxes we call years - but, we humans of course need a way to mark time and to help us remember our lives!  So, I am thankful for a fresh start this year, and  I feel encouraged and hopeful.  Not much will be changing right now in the way of work and routine, but I'm really asking God to help me move forward and trust him to take some steps of faith very soon - probably this summer - which I'm hoping will include a job and moving away from Oxford.

Another goal for this year is to read through the Bible in a year, which i've never done.   I'm going to be using this website to help me.  www.youversion.com 

By the way - the snow is still here.  10 degrees here this morning.  crazy!

Snow in Oxford!

It's snowing today in Oxford, and I'm thankful for that snow because it gave me a much needed sabbath (aka "snow day" because we don't know how to deal with snow here - so the schools close!)  I haven't taken a day to do nothing since way before Christmas.  I ended up cleaning out my closet and hanging out online most of the day, and also giving the dog lots of romps in the snow, but I feel rested a bit too. The sun is out and the snow is melting already - pretty typical of a Mississippi winter.  Here's a picture of my snowy yard.