Previously, I had difficulty believing in heaven.
Now I do.
Simple reasoning: glimmers remain of the original glory of creation, and the brokenness of this world leaves me yearning to see the eternal restoration of all things. Even faint hope can turn to faith.
(from shore)
26.1.12
18.1.12
long-ending Layla...
I've not always been a girl who likes surprises, but there is one type of surprise I particularly enjoy: being surprised by beauty. Washes over you, silences your throat, harnesses your gaze, plants your feet--the surprise of beauty, indiscriminate and equal-opportunity.
Last fall I was caught in the middle of the mundane. The quotidian rhythm that seldom allows inspiration, revival, or even a depth-filled sigh. I inched my car into its space, following an early morning of class that was likely preceded by a late night of studying. Then it fell: surprise.
Having been listening to Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," I was hushed by the instrumental ending. I had never heard it before: perhaps the hustle of American life requires radio edits, or what is worse, perhaps my own lifestyle reflects a "failure to yield."
As the warm light enveloped my cheeks, I surrendered to stationary-living long enough to invite the music to dispel its magic. With tears fumbling carelessly to the surface, Layla soothed my heartbeat with an effortless tune. She dances a whirl of grace and ease. She embraces time without stressing the where, or even when, she closes her spin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3ycKQV_4k
Last fall I was caught in the middle of the mundane. The quotidian rhythm that seldom allows inspiration, revival, or even a depth-filled sigh. I inched my car into its space, following an early morning of class that was likely preceded by a late night of studying. Then it fell: surprise.
Having been listening to Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," I was hushed by the instrumental ending. I had never heard it before: perhaps the hustle of American life requires radio edits, or what is worse, perhaps my own lifestyle reflects a "failure to yield."
As the warm light enveloped my cheeks, I surrendered to stationary-living long enough to invite the music to dispel its magic. With tears fumbling carelessly to the surface, Layla soothed my heartbeat with an effortless tune. She dances a whirl of grace and ease. She embraces time without stressing the where, or even when, she closes her spin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3ycKQV_4k
16.1.12
when I get outta school...
I hope to:
1) Be able to go to the gym four times a week.
2) Read without worrying about retention.
3) Call people back, write emails, take vacation to see friends.
1) Be able to go to the gym four times a week.
2) Read without worrying about retention.
3) Call people back, write emails, take vacation to see friends.
14.1.12
...southern baptists (insert eye-roll if you please)
For three weeks in January, I have submitted myself to a form of cruel and unusual punishment...or so I thought. Baptist History is a required course for my degree: something about showing my appreciation to all those little church women that paid for me to live overseas and also pay 3/4 of my tuition here.
Fortunately, I have a kick-ace professor named, drumrolllllll: Keith Harper. He pairs each lecture with a fair share of sarcasm and coercion to bring breakfast for the whole class to share. So I'm surviving. Actually (although it would be really embarrassing to be associated with this...), I really enjoy the class. Why? Thought you would never ask (eye-roll again if necessary).
Ever since I have been reading about all the politics happening at OBU, I've been brainstorming solutions. Surely there is another answer besides the blatant options:
1) I dislike all fundamentalist/conservatives who are stupid enough to believe in blah-blah-blah (which is normally something tied to biblical inerrancy, the creation account, homosexuality, abortion, etc. or perhaps more legitimatly, their orthopraxy of separatism from modern American culture--don't blame you on that one.) Let's totally disconnect OBU from its constituents and benefactors!
2) I dislike all the hell-burnin' heathens out there who want to read ideas and talk about issues that would make granny blush. Opposing ideas are dangerous, and I want my kids to know one thing: the Bible.
As great as those two parties sound, I'm interested in knowing how other Baptist institutions withdrew from the their local state conventions without committing financial suicide. And is that even a good option, considering that the trend in formerly-religiously-affiliated schools is to become unrecognizable to orthodox believers only a century later. Do I really want our beloved OBU to become antagonistic to orthodoxy? Not really.
My last reading assignment for the course is Barry Hankins' Uneasy in Babylon, and so far I'm intrigued by the academic laxity among moderates that facilitated a conservative resurgence. How sad that "academic" elitism on their part created a vacuum for cultural moralists to take over. Moderates were as isolated then as conservatives appear to be today.
Here's another surprise: the early conservatives among the SBC resurgence read more widely the works of Northern evangelical theologians. That's not the dim-witted conservative impression I expected to find. All this to say, the sides are not as clearly defined as we may want or feel led to believe.
So why do I care? I care about preserving an OBU that challenges students to truly think, grapple with foreign ideas, and formulate opinions that are informed, not formulated for them.
Fortunately, I have a kick-ace professor named, drumrolllllll: Keith Harper. He pairs each lecture with a fair share of sarcasm and coercion to bring breakfast for the whole class to share. So I'm surviving. Actually (although it would be really embarrassing to be associated with this...), I really enjoy the class. Why? Thought you would never ask (eye-roll again if necessary).
Ever since I have been reading about all the politics happening at OBU, I've been brainstorming solutions. Surely there is another answer besides the blatant options:
1) I dislike all fundamentalist/conservatives who are stupid enough to believe in blah-blah-blah (which is normally something tied to biblical inerrancy, the creation account, homosexuality, abortion, etc. or perhaps more legitimatly, their orthopraxy of separatism from modern American culture--don't blame you on that one.) Let's totally disconnect OBU from its constituents and benefactors!
2) I dislike all the hell-burnin' heathens out there who want to read ideas and talk about issues that would make granny blush. Opposing ideas are dangerous, and I want my kids to know one thing: the Bible.
As great as those two parties sound, I'm interested in knowing how other Baptist institutions withdrew from the their local state conventions without committing financial suicide. And is that even a good option, considering that the trend in formerly-religiously-affiliated schools is to become unrecognizable to orthodox believers only a century later. Do I really want our beloved OBU to become antagonistic to orthodoxy? Not really.
My last reading assignment for the course is Barry Hankins' Uneasy in Babylon, and so far I'm intrigued by the academic laxity among moderates that facilitated a conservative resurgence. How sad that "academic" elitism on their part created a vacuum for cultural moralists to take over. Moderates were as isolated then as conservatives appear to be today.
Here's another surprise: the early conservatives among the SBC resurgence read more widely the works of Northern evangelical theologians. That's not the dim-witted conservative impression I expected to find. All this to say, the sides are not as clearly defined as we may want or feel led to believe.
So why do I care? I care about preserving an OBU that challenges students to truly think, grapple with foreign ideas, and formulate opinions that are informed, not formulated for them.
2.1.12
resolution...
I have no resolution for the new year. But I do intend to start writing again. I frequently have the thought, "I should probably write that down." So I'm going to pick my technological pen up again...
Thoughts on the new year:
1) I feel like I am getting old. 25 isn't so scary around other single twenty-somethings. But throw me into a New Years Eve party with a bunch of married people, and well, you get the idea.
2) Now, more than ever, my life feels wide open. It seems as though the sky is the limit, no road lay open before me. Choosing a direction feels arbitrary.
3) My nanny kids are the biggest blessing to me, daily reminding me to take it easy. Life's not that serious. "Whatever you do, just don't say D-A-double M!" and I'll be ok.
Thoughts on the new year:
1) I feel like I am getting old. 25 isn't so scary around other single twenty-somethings. But throw me into a New Years Eve party with a bunch of married people, and well, you get the idea.
2) Now, more than ever, my life feels wide open. It seems as though the sky is the limit, no road lay open before me. Choosing a direction feels arbitrary.
3) My nanny kids are the biggest blessing to me, daily reminding me to take it easy. Life's not that serious. "Whatever you do, just don't say D-A-double M!" and I'll be ok.
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