never been here before

I had a friend back in college who blew up at me once - and it was for something pretty silly. He was mad that the costume designer in the play we were both in wouldn't sew a button on his shirt. I was the messenger (I don't remember how or why) so I was the one who felt the brunt of her message. He yelled, threw the shirt back at me, and caused a big scene in the green room. This guy was a good friend, and how he treated me was inexcusable. I let him know that. And he stomped away. The next day in the cafeteria a mutal friend of ours came up to me and said "I think you should say something to him." So my reply was, "Why? I didn't do anything wrong. He should come to me if anything." Our friend's reply was "Sometimes it's best to be the bigger person, no matter who's right or wrong." I knew our friend was right, so of course I had no reply. But I was still my stubborn self and did nothing. That evening, I was apologized to for t...

The 6th post for January Reflections... Wise : Who is someone currently involved your life that is wise? How do you think they got this way? Send them an email with an attachment to this post to tell them how much you admire them. The wise of heart is called discerning,    and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. - Proverbs 16: 21 I have a lot of wise people in my life. But I am only going to tell you about one. Her name is Jennifer and I had the privilege of living and knowing her during the most difficult times of her life. She may not be considered by some as "wise" in the traditional sense. But she is wise where I need her to be wise when it comes to our friendship.  When most people think of what a wise person is, they think of someone who is great at giving advice, who is gifted at discerning God's word, someone who has great life experience behind them, and/or someone who makes good decisions. I think that up until I met this person, I wo...

I'm a couple of days behind on January Reflections. Here is the fourth post from Jan 17-19th. Reading:  It is said that we are what we eat. Likewise, we are what we read. What are you reading to feed your mind and soul currently?   I love, love, love to read. I love the sappy chick book (that eventually becomes a chick flick) I love a great mystery. But I also rarely read fiction. Non-fiction is more my style, and it's usually something really nerdy like " Love in Hard Places " by D.A. Carson, Pia Desideria by Spener or  Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation  by James A. Smith. One of my greatest vices is any book about culture. On my "favorites" list of this genre are " Catching Light: Finding God in the Movies " by Roy Anker,   Eyes Wide Open by Romanowski, Culture Making by Andy Crouch, and A Matrix of Meaning s (this one will change your perspective permanently!). I got hooked on these when I did an independ...

The 4th of January Reflections '11 Sleep : What can you do to improve your quality of sleep? Take a short glance around the Bible to see what it has to say about sleep and then share it with us. I'm weirdly feng shui about my bedroom. I'm a firm believers in the feng shui of arranging your bedroom. Don't  place the bed in front of the door because you will be thinking about what's outside the door: i.e., the many things there are to do, which will not help you rest. It's also important to remove all the work from the room, for the same reason. It's bad to have a computer or desk in your room... it's bad to have unfolded laundry in your room (which I currently do, lying on the chest at the foot of my bed.  Work and rest are the opposite of each other - to have conflicting messages (albeit subconsciously) can contribute to unrest. It's also best to not place the bed under a window. According to feng shui, the bedroom is to be a place of sanctuary...

The 3rd of January Reflection '11 Stuff : Do you like stuff? What stuff do you have that you could do without? Is your stuff well used? Organized? Burdensome? I like stuff entirely too much. What I hate is the stuff I can put into a spot, so it lays around until I can figure out where it "belongs". This is usually office 'stuff.' I have a ridiculous weakness for beautiful journals and have far too many empty ones. I love all things paper related, including notepads, notebooks, folder, pretty binders, magazine files and such. The stuff I could do without is a bizarre compilation of dishes I've acquired over the years. I like too many different kinds, so I had the worst time settling on one type. I resorted to collecting bowls so that I ended up with several that didn't match but that were fun to have around. Alas, they took up too much space in my new kitchen, and I have limited cabinet space in my new home. So most of these bowls and dishes were rece...

So.. the second set of choices went up for the January '11 Reflections 'challenge'.  Homemade:  Tell us why you like store-bought or homemade things more? Share with us anything that was homemade by you this year? Singleness:  Everyone has periods of singleness in his or her lifetime. Did you enjoy those days? Who do you have involved in your life who is single? Disappointment:  What things were left undone this year? What were you too afraid or indifferent to do? What are you going to plan differently for 2011? Fashion:  What is one current fashion you love and one you hate? Share a photo of a fashion blunder you have made.  Scripture:  What is the last Scripture verse you heard or read? What was God saying to you? I read this and went "oof-dah". Then I ignored it. Then I went back and decided to do Disappointment . (Then cried just at the thought of delving down that road...) Then I decided to do Homemade , 'cause that's an ea...

As I walked into Foundation Grounds coffee house in in Maplewood, MO, I would be lying if I said my heart was beating fast with nervous anticipation. I stood just inside the door, coming out of the cold February wind, and scanned to room for him. My eyes settled on Christopher, whose head was buried in his Macbook. I braced myself, said a silent prayer, and sat down across from him. He looked up, smiled, shut his laptop screen and said "Thanks for coming." He got up to get me a cup of coffee and as he returned to his seat, I saw him sigh. It was a big sigh... and I knew some big stuff was coming. Christopher and I met three months previous through some friends of mine from church. I went to his booth at the John Burroughs School Unique Boutique art show and was in awe of his textiles. His scarves were beautiful and 100% green. I loved them and loved his philosophy of reusing things such as tires to make thread to weave stunning patterns. We talked about the Food Net...

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,   so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. -Isaiah 55: 10-12 (ESV) Emptiness takes on many forms for me. I remember being asked by the search committee that called me to Arizona "How do you think you will handle moving to a place where you don't know anyone and leave many family and friends behind?" I also remember thinking "They have no idea how much of an introvert I really am." Being alone is not much of a problem for me. I've often wondered if...