November 8, 2011: Bible Study

I love Tuesday nights.  Meeting with my Bible study friends to discuss God, Scripture, life, etc. is a highlight of the week.  It's a consistent moment of solace amid the chaos with people who offer new insight and encouragement.  Plus, sometimes we just hang out together and drink beer or play games.  We're a small part of what the Church is, which is daunting yet special.

November 7, 2011: Skinny Jeans

This post is superfluous, totally a First World Problem, but come on, sometimes a girl needs the minimizers.  And on the day after I was "supposed" to run a 5K, a flattering pair of jeans rocks.  That's all.

But to leave you with a tasty but profoundly-rocking treat, here's Feist's "The Bad in Each Other" off her new album, Metals, which I'm LOVING these days...

November 6, 2011: Football Sunday

This morning I visited a new church for a school assignment, which warrants an entire blog post in itself, but right now I can't write about it, not processed enough yet, so I'll do some thanksgiving:

Today I am thankful for Football Sundays.  I spend them with Dani and Kaz (Mac, too, sometimes) in my sweats, watching football, winning Fantasy Football, and doing my homework.  It's nice to be with another human being amid the books and notes.  Inevitably we have little dance parties, drink boxed wine, and converse about life, love, and God.  We all need those people who get it and those times when it's cool to let it all out.

November 4 & 5, 2011: Music and "Me, too!"

Two thankful posts in one day, because, let's be real, school work gets the better of me sometimes.

November 4, 2011:  Music

I don't have a lot of time to pursue leisurely things I love to do, and I can't wait until November 20, because all my courses and projects will be done for first quarter.  Aside from boxed wine, one thing that I love is listening to music, and fortunately this can be done while working on homework, cleaning my house, or driving in between the office and work.  I take it everywhere with me.  Recently, music's been my solace for my soul.  The creative outlet I miss but need to stay sane.  And it lets me escape to a different place, which is real nice, when I'm a little overwhelmed and off-center with no mat for a down-dog.  Mmmm.

November 5, 2001:  The Phrase, "Me, too!"

For the first month of grad school, I walked around thinking, am I the ONLY one?  about everything.  I felt so alone and out of place, so different.  But slowly walls break down, and I'm able to learn my classmates' stories a bit and get a closer glimpse into who they are and what this process is like for them. In those conversations the words "me, too!" come out frequently, which are a fresh breath, like waves rolling onto the shoreline, washing everything clean.  It's nice to know you have a buddy, especially since eye chat happens this way.  I do love a good eye chat.

November 3, 2011: Learning

Today I am thankful for learning.  This is the eighth week of my first quarter of graduate school.  In 21 days I will be finished with the beginning and that much closer to being able to do what I was made for, to devote my nine to five to what makes my heart beat faster.  I am overwhelmed by the blessing of education, to live in a country that allows and encourages women to grow their minds and go deeper.

It costs many dollars and consumes a lot of me, but I am so lucky to be doing this.  To devote two years to prepare and grow into a social worker.  Some days I think about all the possibilities and work I can be a part of, and I am overcome by how big the world is and how many possibilities wait ahead of me.  I am blessed to be a part of an incredible profession and meet amazing people with giving, big hearts.

Yeah, I'm thankful for papers, books, literature reviews, internship hours, meetings, and paper cuts.  All of it, every part... I was made for it.

November 2, 2011: Heart Joy from Nouwen

Today my heart is thankful for this Henri Nouwen quotation from Life of the Beloved:

"You and I have to trust that our short little lives can bear fruit far beyond the boundaries of our chronologies... the fruitfulness of our little life, once we recognize it and life it, is beyond anything we ourselves can imagine."  

Today I am thankful for these, specific words, because they remind me that, in spite of feeling like I am doing nothing world-changing each day in the office, my life is significant.  My life belonging not to me but to my father is significant, and the moment I choose to live in that calling is beautiful.  It's the moment of trust that Nouwen's talking about, I think.  

My little life... oh how I limit, you, Jesus.  Thank you for not limiting me.  Thank you for planning infinitely more for me than I can even comprehend.  Thank you for not giving up on my little life!

May you find your heart joy today, whatever it is.  Peace.

The Best Ideas Aren't Mine Anyway.

I'm copying my friends and taking time to write about what I'm thankful for on this blog every day during November.  I love it.  It's something that I need very much right now, I think, so thank you to whoever started it to begin with...

Today I am thankful for my sister, and it's her birthday, so it's fitting!  Erica and I couldn't be more different, and we fight all the time, because we don't get each other... but we do.  That's the crazy mystery of sisterhood.  Right now she's going through some tough stuff, but she's persistent and trying to make the best out of it.  And I admire her for that, her resilience and determination to do it right.  She's stronger than she thinks she is, because she admits when she's a hot mess, which is so hard for us to do.

I'm thankful that I get to be her sister and for how she looks up to me, even though I don't know what I'm doing half the time either.  I just love her :)