Crazy Mrs. Zinos introduced me to Henry David Thoreau in Pre-AP English sophomore year of high school. One of his quotes has long been stuck in my head,
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation"
I have wondered what that really means. What are they desperate for? At times, I have also wondered if I am one of those men leading a life of quiet desperation.
How do you stop being desperate?
How do you stop always looking at what's next and focusing in on what is now?
I was considering this when I got into my car this morning, and there was Christy Knockels coming through the stereo,
Let me be most satisfied in You.
What is the secret?
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. Psalm 63:5-7
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. Psalm 107:9
My schedule right now is not all the way yet - I'm still training, and it's the end of the session. Then there are two weeks off; I may have some hours, but not as many as I will have. And then there will still be Tuesday mornings and Fridays. So I am submitting requests to volunteer, and making lists of fun things to do for low/no cost.
Because there is no waiting for the next great thing. God is great, all the time, and He is always here.
God is right now.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
And Oh Yeah, Give Up Your Idols
That's the katefinman translation of 1 John 5:21.
Over the last two days, I've been reading 1 John; the epistle is so full of the character of God versus the character of men, and on why and how the testimony of life in Christ can be trusted.
On and on we learn about who the Lord is without any mention of idolatry. And then, in the closing, it appears:
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
That's it. Those are the last two versus in the letter.
It so struck me as I read it. It's almost to say, now that you know God is love and faithful and true, why would you want anything else?
This has been such a great pairing with the Screwtape Letters, because the tempters work so hard to get the humans to focus on anything but God, because they are oh so aware of His nature and His desires. And that's exactly what the letter reminds us - God is good, give Him your all.
Over the last two days, I've been reading 1 John; the epistle is so full of the character of God versus the character of men, and on why and how the testimony of life in Christ can be trusted.
On and on we learn about who the Lord is without any mention of idolatry. And then, in the closing, it appears:
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
That's it. Those are the last two versus in the letter.
It so struck me as I read it. It's almost to say, now that you know God is love and faithful and true, why would you want anything else?
This has been such a great pairing with the Screwtape Letters, because the tempters work so hard to get the humans to focus on anything but God, because they are oh so aware of His nature and His desires. And that's exactly what the letter reminds us - God is good, give Him your all.
Cooking for One on the Cheap
I know I've only been doing this a little over a week now, but some friends and I have been discussing this so I thought I'd share what I've learned so far.
- Have groceries at home! If you don't have food already at your house, going to pick something up will seem too convenient to pass up.
- Buy stuff you use a lot in bulk - it can be stored or frozen. There's a store here that sells oatmeal, cereals, flours, granolas, etc by the pound, which is pretty great. Oatmeal is actually just great because you can add so many things to it (brown sugar, any fruit, maple syrup, chocolate chips, instant coffee. Look at 2 for sales even if you won't use it all right away. Meats, cheeses, breads can so easily be frozen.
- Invest in herbs and spices. I have a starter spice box and picked up a few other things, including a window basil plant for my room. It is super easy to make ok food taste great! I had to get dried cilantro (booo) but it's still good. CIlantro plants are actually pretty hard to maintain and I am not exactly a star plant person. A head of garlic is also a good idea. Maybe that's just me. Oh, and onions! Limes too. Chicken and lime, black beans and lime. Lime garlic butter sauce for pasta. So good.
- Produce! I think this is what I spent a good chunk of my budget on. Veggies and fruits make great snacks, sides, and even toppings for everything else. I also picked up some cream cheese, hummus, and peanut butter that compliment these well.
- Don't be afraid to cook two or three meals' worth of food at once. It can be stored! I did this with chicken tacos that I made. Actually I do this with almost everything I make.
- Prepping dried black beans can be a little annoying (read: time consuming) but they are really easy to season and combine with other things. I ended up adding some to the chicken tacos, and it was great.
- Don't forget good snacks. I already mentioned produce, but I also like having peanut butter and rice cakes, white cheddar cheez-its, gold fish, etc on hand. It's also better to make your own granola bars than buy them. Seriously. They test better, they're fresher, there are less preservatives, and they will cost you less.
- This might also just be a personal problem, but I work over dinner 4 nights a week (3-8:30/9), and by the time I get home I really don't feel like cooking. I eat a bigger "lunch" pretty late, close to when I leave, and then I put the leftovers in the fridge to heat up when I come home.
- Go to the store with a list and at least a few meal ideas, ok? If you just buy random stuff, then when you get home you may not have any decent meals you can put together.
- Oh, and don't freak out the first time you go shopping. The first time you get groceries, you'll need to get everything, so the bill will be higher than what you'd normally expect for the weeks after.
I think that's it for now. I'll add "post grad cooking for one" to the list of books I'm supposed to write one day.
- Have groceries at home! If you don't have food already at your house, going to pick something up will seem too convenient to pass up.
- Buy stuff you use a lot in bulk - it can be stored or frozen. There's a store here that sells oatmeal, cereals, flours, granolas, etc by the pound, which is pretty great. Oatmeal is actually just great because you can add so many things to it (brown sugar, any fruit, maple syrup, chocolate chips, instant coffee. Look at 2 for sales even if you won't use it all right away. Meats, cheeses, breads can so easily be frozen.
- Invest in herbs and spices. I have a starter spice box and picked up a few other things, including a window basil plant for my room. It is super easy to make ok food taste great! I had to get dried cilantro (booo) but it's still good. CIlantro plants are actually pretty hard to maintain and I am not exactly a star plant person. A head of garlic is also a good idea. Maybe that's just me. Oh, and onions! Limes too. Chicken and lime, black beans and lime. Lime garlic butter sauce for pasta. So good.
- Produce! I think this is what I spent a good chunk of my budget on. Veggies and fruits make great snacks, sides, and even toppings for everything else. I also picked up some cream cheese, hummus, and peanut butter that compliment these well.
- Don't be afraid to cook two or three meals' worth of food at once. It can be stored! I did this with chicken tacos that I made. Actually I do this with almost everything I make.
- Prepping dried black beans can be a little annoying (read: time consuming) but they are really easy to season and combine with other things. I ended up adding some to the chicken tacos, and it was great.
- Don't forget good snacks. I already mentioned produce, but I also like having peanut butter and rice cakes, white cheddar cheez-its, gold fish, etc on hand. It's also better to make your own granola bars than buy them. Seriously. They test better, they're fresher, there are less preservatives, and they will cost you less.
- This might also just be a personal problem, but I work over dinner 4 nights a week (3-8:30/9), and by the time I get home I really don't feel like cooking. I eat a bigger "lunch" pretty late, close to when I leave, and then I put the leftovers in the fridge to heat up when I come home.
- Go to the store with a list and at least a few meal ideas, ok? If you just buy random stuff, then when you get home you may not have any decent meals you can put together.
- Oh, and don't freak out the first time you go shopping. The first time you get groceries, you'll need to get everything, so the bill will be higher than what you'd normally expect for the weeks after.
I think that's it for now. I'll add "post grad cooking for one" to the list of books I'm supposed to write one day.
Monday, June 10, 2013
C.S. Lewis' Best Work
I know the Chronicles of Narnia are what made him a household name. And I love Mere Christianity, The Weight of Glory, Surprised by Joy and The Great Divorce as much as the next person, but when it comes down to it, nothing beats
The Screwtape Letters.
Hear me out, ok.
For those of you unfamiliar with the title, I'll fill you in. The entire book is a series of letters written from Uncle Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood. Screwtape and Wormwood both work for the devil, as tempters, and though Screwtape is a master, his nephew is just learning the craft. They are assigned people on earth, and it is their duty to keep them from becoming Christians. They are the antithesis of guardian angels if you will. Screwtape attempts to educate Wormwood on how to exploit human weaknesses and caution him against the nature of God, or as he calls Him, "The Enemy".
The book is pure brilliance, I'm telling you. Some people struggle a little bit because what is good to the Christian is bad in this book. So Satan is "Our Father", God is "The Enemy" and Screwtape talks about winning men over in sin.
Check it out -
"Once you have made the world an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man"
"if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles"
"Pleasure is His invention, you know"
"They will then progress quietly and comfortably towards Our Father's house"
"We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heal the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present"
#eucharisteo #1000gifts
"They will find out in the end, never fear, to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong - certainly, not to them"
Debbie gave a wonderful talk at InterVarsity about entitlement vs entrustment; we don't deserve our time, or any of the gifts we receive, but they are given us that His name be great.
"Out at sea, out in His sea, there is pleasure, and more pleasure. He makes no secret of it; at His right hand are 'pleasures for evermore'"
"We thus distract men's minds from who He (Jesus) is, and what He did"
"What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind I call 'Christianity and'"
This is so powerful, in that is shows that when Christ is not our full devotion, and we yet cling to something else, we remain in the hands of our enemy.
The Screwtape Letters is legitimately one of the best books I have ever read, and I probably say that a lot, but when you read a lot of books, you get to have a lot of bests, ok?
If I had to make a top 5 right now, Screwtape would be in it. (Along with...1,000 Gifts, Desiring God, Chosen by God, andddd I'm going to go ahead and throw Anna Karenina in there. Just because I can).
The Screwtape Letters.
Hear me out, ok.
For those of you unfamiliar with the title, I'll fill you in. The entire book is a series of letters written from Uncle Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood. Screwtape and Wormwood both work for the devil, as tempters, and though Screwtape is a master, his nephew is just learning the craft. They are assigned people on earth, and it is their duty to keep them from becoming Christians. They are the antithesis of guardian angels if you will. Screwtape attempts to educate Wormwood on how to exploit human weaknesses and caution him against the nature of God, or as he calls Him, "The Enemy".
The book is pure brilliance, I'm telling you. Some people struggle a little bit because what is good to the Christian is bad in this book. So Satan is "Our Father", God is "The Enemy" and Screwtape talks about winning men over in sin.
Check it out -
"Once you have made the world an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man"
"if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles"
"Pleasure is His invention, you know"
"They will then progress quietly and comfortably towards Our Father's house"
"We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heal the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present"
#eucharisteo #1000gifts
"They will find out in the end, never fear, to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong - certainly, not to them"
Debbie gave a wonderful talk at InterVarsity about entitlement vs entrustment; we don't deserve our time, or any of the gifts we receive, but they are given us that His name be great.
"Out at sea, out in His sea, there is pleasure, and more pleasure. He makes no secret of it; at His right hand are 'pleasures for evermore'"
"We thus distract men's minds from who He (Jesus) is, and what He did"
"What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind I call 'Christianity and'"
This is so powerful, in that is shows that when Christ is not our full devotion, and we yet cling to something else, we remain in the hands of our enemy.
The Screwtape Letters is legitimately one of the best books I have ever read, and I probably say that a lot, but when you read a lot of books, you get to have a lot of bests, ok?
If I had to make a top 5 right now, Screwtape would be in it. (Along with...1,000 Gifts, Desiring God, Chosen by God, andddd I'm going to go ahead and throw Anna Karenina in there. Just because I can).
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Church Hopping (Updated)
This morning, I went to Mars Hill U-District. Mars Hill is an enormous church spread out among at least a dozen campuses. Its headed by a famous senior pastor, Mark Driscoll, who's known for stirring up some controversy. It's a very young adult oriented church, and makes its sermons available online as podcasts, but that's not the only way they light up itunes charts. There are a number of Mars Hill bands that lead worship with a lot of original songs each week.
I decided to check it out because I was familiar with it.
I don't think I'll be returning.
I liked that someone, Jamie - 2 years out of school and in civil engineering - invited me to sit with her and her husband. She told me a little more about how the church works and invited me to her community group this week.
I liked that even though I had no chance of knowing the music, I was still able to pick up on the words. This is always, for me, a mark of Spirit-led worship.
I LOVED seeing husbands and wives praying together over communion.
However.
I did not like that music very much. There was a bizarre rock version of Be Thou My Vision and that was as close as it came to what I'd be comfortable with.
It did not feel like a family. At RVC, people knew each other and they talked and the old and the young all meshed together and were involved in each others lives.
I did not like that we watched a screen of Pastor Mark preaching at another campus. I want to know the pastor who is teaching me each week.
While I thought much of what he said was biblically consistent, there were some elements that I did not find to be accurate, nor did I think some of flippancy was anywhere near appropriate.
The gospel was not explicitly preached and taught
I did not like taking communion individually.
So, although it's tempting to be at a church where I could meet other people my age very easily, I'm going to have to move on.
What's great about living in a younger person oriented area is that there are a lot of churches with evening services. So I'm actually going to hit up The City Church tonight. Stay tuned.
UPDATE
I did go to the City Church and it was better but not enormously better.
First off, I think that going to church in U-district may be the problem. The churches are all geared toward younger people and even though I am one, I don't usually like those churches that much. I'm going to be moving, though, so I'm not sure how invested I want to get before I figure out where I'll be living. I do need somewhere to be fed in the meantime though.
I liked that a girl named Felicia met me at the door and got to know me a little, including introducing me to other people there, and showing me around the building.
I liked that I was familiar with most of the worship we did. There was also a joyful freedom. I received pictures while we were worshiping, and it was definitely Spirit-filled.
I liked that I got a card for a free latte at the coffee shop during the week.
The gospel was at least mentioned. I felt like the pastor missed a number of opportunities to be more explicit, though.
I did not like the screen preaching. Seattle, what's up with you? Despite the dozens of churches I've visited, I've never been preached at from a screen and now twice in one day!
The preaching pastor had a lot of fluff. I don't like fluff in church. A little, sure, but 1/3 of the sermon time, no.
This might be an ok summer church. I'm not trying to be picky, RVC did everything I could have wanted, I think.
Bible believing
Gospel preaching
Missional
Body
Community
Fellowship
Traditional and contemporary worship
LIVE pastor who knew me and made an effort to know everyone in his church
Lots of opportunities to be involved
Prayer focused
Discipleship oriented
Communion explained, Scripture read, taken together
Baptism explained, testimony shared (believer's baptism)
If you've seen one of these in the Seattle area, please let me know.
I decided to check it out because I was familiar with it.
I don't think I'll be returning.
I liked that someone, Jamie - 2 years out of school and in civil engineering - invited me to sit with her and her husband. She told me a little more about how the church works and invited me to her community group this week.
I liked that even though I had no chance of knowing the music, I was still able to pick up on the words. This is always, for me, a mark of Spirit-led worship.
I LOVED seeing husbands and wives praying together over communion.
However.
I did not like that music very much. There was a bizarre rock version of Be Thou My Vision and that was as close as it came to what I'd be comfortable with.
It did not feel like a family. At RVC, people knew each other and they talked and the old and the young all meshed together and were involved in each others lives.
I did not like that we watched a screen of Pastor Mark preaching at another campus. I want to know the pastor who is teaching me each week.
While I thought much of what he said was biblically consistent, there were some elements that I did not find to be accurate, nor did I think some of flippancy was anywhere near appropriate.
The gospel was not explicitly preached and taught
I did not like taking communion individually.
So, although it's tempting to be at a church where I could meet other people my age very easily, I'm going to have to move on.
What's great about living in a younger person oriented area is that there are a lot of churches with evening services. So I'm actually going to hit up The City Church tonight. Stay tuned.
UPDATE
I did go to the City Church and it was better but not enormously better.
First off, I think that going to church in U-district may be the problem. The churches are all geared toward younger people and even though I am one, I don't usually like those churches that much. I'm going to be moving, though, so I'm not sure how invested I want to get before I figure out where I'll be living. I do need somewhere to be fed in the meantime though.
I liked that a girl named Felicia met me at the door and got to know me a little, including introducing me to other people there, and showing me around the building.
I liked that I was familiar with most of the worship we did. There was also a joyful freedom. I received pictures while we were worshiping, and it was definitely Spirit-filled.
I liked that I got a card for a free latte at the coffee shop during the week.
The gospel was at least mentioned. I felt like the pastor missed a number of opportunities to be more explicit, though.
I did not like the screen preaching. Seattle, what's up with you? Despite the dozens of churches I've visited, I've never been preached at from a screen and now twice in one day!
The preaching pastor had a lot of fluff. I don't like fluff in church. A little, sure, but 1/3 of the sermon time, no.
This might be an ok summer church. I'm not trying to be picky, RVC did everything I could have wanted, I think.
Bible believing
Gospel preaching
Missional
Body
Community
Fellowship
Traditional and contemporary worship
LIVE pastor who knew me and made an effort to know everyone in his church
Lots of opportunities to be involved
Prayer focused
Discipleship oriented
Communion explained, Scripture read, taken together
Baptism explained, testimony shared (believer's baptism)
If you've seen one of these in the Seattle area, please let me know.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Mint.com
Betsy and Alissa have already heard me raving about the mint.com app, but what can I say? I'm a girl obsessed.
Mint.com is a free budget planning tool (you can use it online if you don't have a smart phone, too). You set budgets for different categories, like rent, car payment, insurance, groceries, restaurants, gas, etc, and enter in your monthly income. You can also add in one-time purchases, or go bi-weekly if you're really fancy. It syncs with your bank account(s) to itemize your spending, and also allows you to record cash purchases. It sends you alerts when you're nearing your budget max for a specific category, lets you know how much you have left for the month and gives suggestions on ways to save. What I really like about it is the "goals" feature. I have goals of a trip to LA and apartment furnishings, and it helps you calculate how much you'll need to meet your goals, and how much you should save each month based on your time frame (or in how much time you'll meet your goal based on how much you can put aside). I love this feature because it automatically subtracts your goal money from your expendable dough. That way, you don't even feel like you can spend that money, but if it were an emergency, you'd still have it.
I cannot recommend this tool enough! I think it's going to make it so much easier to keep track of what I'm doing and have fun, too.
Mint.com is a free budget planning tool (you can use it online if you don't have a smart phone, too). You set budgets for different categories, like rent, car payment, insurance, groceries, restaurants, gas, etc, and enter in your monthly income. You can also add in one-time purchases, or go bi-weekly if you're really fancy. It syncs with your bank account(s) to itemize your spending, and also allows you to record cash purchases. It sends you alerts when you're nearing your budget max for a specific category, lets you know how much you have left for the month and gives suggestions on ways to save. What I really like about it is the "goals" feature. I have goals of a trip to LA and apartment furnishings, and it helps you calculate how much you'll need to meet your goals, and how much you should save each month based on your time frame (or in how much time you'll meet your goal based on how much you can put aside). I love this feature because it automatically subtracts your goal money from your expendable dough. That way, you don't even feel like you can spend that money, but if it were an emergency, you'd still have it.
I cannot recommend this tool enough! I think it's going to make it so much easier to keep track of what I'm doing and have fun, too.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Work and Such
I started my new job! They have a very intense training process, so I will begin teaching my own classes in July. My off days are likely going to be Friday and Sunday. I will be working in the recreational gym, with all ages. The cool part about SGA is that they have a recreational team program as well. It's different from what I'm used to, but I think it's really exciting. With USAG, a lot of girls fall through the cracks. They can't get their backhand spring, and they never get to compete. Or they can't get their kip and end up quitting. SGA provides a fun and challenging space for girls who are never going to be great to be able to practice, set goals, and compete.
Stay tuned on that.
I had a fun time tonight chatting with the other girl who is subletting, Cat. She's from Ohio but goes to an arts school here. She also doesn't really know anyone here because her friends went home because it is summer.
But Seattle is nice. It is for sure the most pedestrian friendly place I have ever experienced. The summers are nice and mild, and everyone warned me about how everyone freaks out when it snows a few inches in the winter.
I am also out of shape. I don't know if it's this place or re-reading eat and run or coaching or the combo, but I want to be healthier. But I'm not going vegan anytime soon, folks, don't worry.
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