More deals

So, I think I'm about finished with this month's ConAgra deal. Here is my takeaway...

Total out of pocket expense? $17.97, and that's not counting the $10 I have on my next purchase at Jewel.

Now, what will it be....

Truth and Peace

I rabbit-trailed upon this video today. I had seen a video of the man on the left (Ravi Zacharias) talking about the Bible amidst other holy books. The panel seem to be modern (and I mean that in the utmost sense of the word) experts in theology. They talk briefly about post-modernism and the questioning of a culture. It’s worth a view.



One of the last comments made is this: “Truth is too important to kill it in the streets for the sake of peace.”

What do you think? Truth or peace? Is that what it comes down to? Must we forsake truth for peace or peace for truth? I have seen a lot of division in churches and fewer attempts for peace. I've seen people taking a stand for being right, and completely destroying relationship. They emphasize knowing the right answers at the cost of both dialogue and continued growth with a friend of different opinions. But I know truth is important. We stand for truth, amidst the lies of satan.

In the Iconography I am studying at the moment, there is this concept of “Floats”. It is the layering of highlights that are accenting and accentuating the colors and meaning below. They are not covering up the original layer, but instead revealing. Each layer and float have respective meanings, but none surpasses the other in worth. They are there to fulfill a joint purpose and to bring a fullness to the Icon.

While, I don’t call myself a follower of Brian McLaren, I am among a generation that is questioning how much of faith is called upon to be fact, and how much is called upon to be relationship. And why is it that they have to be mutually exclusive? I don’t want to “abdicate Christian responsibility/conviction” nor be a “cave-in of Christian courage”. However, I think there are places for truth to be told from the highest mountain and places for peace. And there are places for truth to exist with a highlight or "float" of peace, so that we understand theology and Christianity in a living way. Must these questions be answered in a lecture hall, or stage, or can they be answered in a relationship, a lifestyle, or a conversation?
I'd love your thoughts.

I write like...

I'm sure you've heard about the site: www.iwl.me ("I write like")
I first heard it on NPR and thought it would be fun. Using mostly posts from this blog, I write most like...
-Dan Brown
-H.P. Lovecraft (eek!)
-Gertrude Stein

Others of mention:
-Ernest Hemingway (I'm pretty sure most poetry is defaulted to him)
-Douglas Adams
-James Joyce
-Cory Doctrow

Try it out! Who do you write like?

To know and be known.

Losing a loved one has been on my mind since last night. Hubby and I were reminiscing about the past three years of marriage (our anniversary is today) and we starting talking about the things we wished we could get as anniversary presents, but would be absolutely impossible. After Thomas threw my “Kitchen Aid mixer” into the category, he had a more serious moment and said, “I wish I could talk to my Grandparents.” All of his grandparents have passed away over the past couple of years and were an especially central part of Hubby’s life. We both sat in silence, lost in memories for a few minutes, honoring and missing their special connectedness to him. And though we let the moment pass, and moved on to other things, I’ve been letting it linger in my thoughts since.

I have amazing grandparents who are still living--who have been married to each other their entire adult lives. And in combination with my reflection this anniversary day, I wonder about the breadth of knowing someone. You know your friends and family in different ways. I knew my childhood best friend in a way that no one else will ever know her. We grew up together and spent countless hours doing nothing at all and at the same time-- everything in the world we could get our hands on. I’ll know my grandparents and parents in their unique ways of being known, of idling and productivity, of baking and cleaning, of sitting and gaming. And I’ll know my present and future friends in other unpredictable ways.
But when I think of the breadth of knowing people, I often think of the chasm that would inhabit me if they left. How would I be different if “so and so” hadn’t been in my life? Married women are notorious for pondering these things about their husbands. But, today riffed on this traditional pattern and started to consider how I would be different, not if they hadn’t left their mark on me, but if I hadn’t let myself be known to them.

To know, and be known. And as I thought about that eventual day when I will be confronted with the loss of my mother, I realized that no one will ever know me in the way she does. And the thought of losing her is not only the thought of her presence and her smile, and her spontaneity (with all its quirks), but it’s the sobering thought of losing who she allows me to be, how she changes me by expecting boundaries to be torn down. In losing someone else, we lose some of ourselves.

So, for me, this anniversary, I am thankful for the years approaching, and the years behind us, where we allow ourselves to be known and to grow in our knowing of each other in those special ways in which we will entrust no one else.

I love you always, dearest husband of mine.

Sweet Irony

I burned my cookies...

Position Vacancy

Up until now, it’s been no big deal. Even the paperwork, the essays, the interviews, the countless emails to the Registrar’s Offices and Admissions teams, even the trips (well, trip) to California to visit a school, and, yes, even the acceptance letter and two letters following, granting complete and utter funding for my education. None of it hit home like receiving a “position vacancy” email for my own position while I’m busy doing the exact job in the description.

I’d like to think I handle things like this well, but to be completely honest,  at 10:26am as the email arrived in my box, I freaked out a bit and quite literally, Brandon accused me of “being a girl, right now”. I’m a little nervous about all the newness and change in my life recently. We’ve moved in to a new place, and haven’t really seen anybody. And between unpacking and vacation, we’ve been unable to “put our roots down”, so to speak in our new community. And since I started this blog by talking about community, I think I should point out right about here, that moving out of community has challenges of its own, as well.

We’ve been out of regular-church-going for about 5 months now, and my heart aches to be with a consistent community and to submit to a liturgy. But for one reason or another, we are temporary “heathens”, if you will. This is no secret, and my husband and I are working on checking out some churches in our area this Sunday, but until then, we crave. And I do believe that is part of the difficulty. And more than likely, contributed to my melt earlier.

We need each other. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we don’t like to admit it. Or rather, I don’t. Whether it’s because I think I come off needy, or over-sensitive, or whether it’s just plain pride-- any way you name it, it’s there. And it may carry an extra dose because I’m an extravert, or performer at heart, but I am convinced that we all need community for all the things in our lives that whirl around us without reason—especially as things are changing. I trust my community to be God’s voice of reason and grounding in my life. I trust them to rejoice and struggle with me. And even though this was a momentary shock of reality, a few days out, I’m ready. I’m ready for the world and the plans God is carrying out. I’m ready for the questions and none of the answers. I’m ready for community through people that walk everyday in subjects that don’t matter in some abstract reality, but that change and shape who we are at our core.

So, I’m making cookies tonight. And if I don’t see someone in the hallways-- beware, Kern Hall residents, I’m coming to find you.

An unexpected gift

I read all day long, so have gotten out of the habit of reading regularly when I go home. I love to read, and so have been picking up some books as of late to prepare to for seminary this coming September. I’m easing into it, you might say. I’m doing a little bit of non-fictional reading, but on vacation this past week, sunk my teeth full-heartedly into The Crystal Cave (by Mary Stewart). 

The book’s entrance into my life is perfectly synonymous with its content. It appeared unexpectedly in my mailbox one day from a good old friend, with a note that read, “Found this at an estate sale and thought of you.” That’s it. I turned it over in my hands, feeling the weight of the over 500 pages and smelling the distinct odor paper collecting dust. It was clearly printed in the time when  uneven pages were in style, adding to its ancient look. I peeked in the cover to find that it was published in 1970, not nearly as old as its worn blue binding portrayed. But, date or not, it was a gem--an unknown surprise, waiting for that perfect moment when you can find a quiet, solitary place and snuggle up with a cup of something warm to delve into whatever treasure it is storing just for you.

So, that’s precisely what I did. And when I found a moment of peace and secrecy, I peeled back its pages to engulf myself in its world. It was the book I had been waiting for my entire life. And I knew it as soon as my eyes had breached its cover.

It’s one of those stories that starts out simple, yet wraps you in the passing wind of its everydayness. It is of a different land, a different time, and a far-different hero, with a legend much larger than life. But it is the actual life and the story behind the myth that is much juicier than the fable.

If you can find a copy, or want to borrow mine, I’d encourage you to read it. And don’t google its contents. Let it surprise and entrance you some cloudy day, in a corner, sipping your warm something and letting your imagination run wild.
Trust me, it's worth it.