9 Reasons I Am Thankful I Am Not An Elementary School Student
1. I can slouch in my chair all I want.
2. Ending sentences with prepositions is where it’s at. For substantiation on that matter, check out: http://grammar.about.com/od/grammarfaq/f/terminalprepositionmyth.htm 
3. I have extreme difficulty raising my hand quietly before speaking (seriously, ask any of my profs).
4. Having both feet on the ground when I sit is a near impossibility.
5. Chewing gum in class is what makes me feel like both a kid and a (slightly rebellious) adult.
6. I already did my time asking permission to do EVERYTHING. Read the rest of this entry »
Meeting the Mayor
Today I met the mayor of Murrieta.
I was meeting a friend for coffee at a local independent cafe, Village Java (http://www.villagejava.com/), when I noticed in my peripheral vision a small throng of adults gathered outside the doors. Nothing too unusual.
Except two of them were holding video cameras and another was carrying a mic.
Already this mellow Murrieta afternoon was looking a tad more interesting.
This most conspicuous group made their way to the cafe bar and my friend and I heard the gentleman with the mic reassure the staff saying, “Oh it’s okay. We have permission.” Permission to do what?
Then this most unusual band of adults made their way toward me. They asked if I would be willing to answer a few questions about Murrieta. Read the rest of this entry »
Jesus Gets Frustrated Too.
Have any of you ever had this moment? A moment where you saw a person (or a whole group of people) mis-representing God and what the heart of Christ really is?
As I walk through this life, I’m certain that I’ve been an unknowing recipient of this sentiment. I fail. I totally screw up. And I certainly don’t have to look hard to find examples of the Word of God being pulled grossly out-of-context or someone claiming to come in God’s name, but mis-representing Jesus and leading many people astray. Read the rest of this entry »
Who Follows You?
I am an individual often given over to nostalgic episodes. I immensely enjoy remembering past experiences and often have to reign myself in to the present and submerge my recollections for a more appropriate time and place.
That being said, though I have since returned from Austria well over three years now, still a plethora of memories occasionally surprise my mind. There is one recollection in particular that has returned to my mind again and again. Each time the memory pops into my mind, I smile at the recollection, try to curb further thought on the matter and continue about my day. Read the rest of this entry »
Finding Your Purpose: Staying Home
It comes in different forms of expression, with varied nuances and authoritative tones. Yet despite all the different ways I have heard it – from women at every church I have ever attended, to pastors and preachers, from various books speaking of the Christian life, to the patient I took care of in the hospital five years ago – it has been presented to me time and time again: a woman’s place is in the home.
With each hearing of this timeless expression, a piece of me has been irritated to my very core. Looking shamefaced at my irritation and concluding that it was nothing more than a secret dose of feminism that my subconscious keeps locked away in my heart, I sigh and try to push it out of my mind. My place is in the home taking care of my family, taking care of my family, taking care of my – what?!?! Again my heart is exasperated as I remember (as though it is possible I could forget!) the fact that I am 29 and not married, not engaged and not dating.
After church one afternoon, I began cooking a random recipe. I enjoy such things, yet as I cooked I unintentionally relived a conversation I had recently witnessed.
“So,” she began confidentially, “It’s like none of the things I was passionate for have any meaning to me anymore. I just want to stay home with my little boy and take care of my husband.”
As she spoke I smiled, as this was a beautiful passion to have. It is sometimes hard to accomplish in our current economy, but it’s possible and something wonderful to aspire to as a new mother.
A louder, obnoxious voice cut in, interrupting my inner monologue. Read the rest of this entry »
You ARE So Beautiful
I am a task-oriented person. Give me something do. If I have nothing on my agenda, I feel useless. If I have free time, you may be assured that I have also gained a deep sense of guilt. Time has always been a precious commodity and I am acutely aware of that fact.
Never have I felt more pressure to be productive with my time than now. Recently graduated from college, all the realities I observed with detachment from the towers of academia are now mine to own. The world seems larger and more daunting than before. With every job advertisement, my prospects seem to grow increasingly dismal. I have begun to devote an ever-increasing amount of time to that all-important question: what do I want to do with my years? Read the rest of this entry »
Missing Out
At first glance, my dog Faith appears to be the most A.D.D. dog that ever was. She runs from person to person, staying only a few moments before something else catches her attention and she rushes to the next room to get the scoop on what people are doing there.
I can never keep her attention for more that a few moments before she starts to look restless, with her eyes straying to another room, where invariably, there is some type of activity occurring.
Recently, I saw her napping with my father one Saturday afternoon. Well, rather he was napping; she was lying next to him with a tortured expression on her face. There was activity in other parts of the house and she could hear it – she simply could not slip out of her current situation to investigate it.
Before I lose you on the perennial habits of my compulsive dog, I’ll get to the point. One day while watching her bounce from person to person, I realized that she is terrified of missing out on something. You may be thinking that this revelation is not revolutionary at all; you deduced it from the first paragraph. This may be true, but I plan to take this conclusion regarding my crazy dog further and contend that in some respects, she perfectly represents the human condition. Read the rest of this entry »
Three Ceaseless Cycles
I am currently in the thick of a major life shift. Like any life shift, it will involve my time, efforts and finances. In my eyes, there is something romantic about a new chapter. It’s completely pure and untouched, full of possibilities, heartbreaks and triumphs. Though I certainly don’t comprehend the end, my mind is continually captured by the intrigue of what could be.
One evening while driving home I was contemplating that unknown future that lies very near to all of us, when I was filled with excitement at the sheer volume of potentialities that lay before me. Though it was quite late into the evening, I was flooded with energy. I was ready! Let’s go! New chapter! It’ll be fantastic!
The Sasquatch Soul: wandering, searching deeply, and avoiding photos. 
Observations from the Sun
January 16, 2011 at 11:41 pm (Completion, Devotional, Philosophy, Religious Commentary, Social Change, Uncategorized) (change, cycle of history, decisions, heart, inner transformation, life, love, nothing changes, original, outer transformation, philosophy, Social progress, Solomon, sun, Wisdom)
There is a huge part of me that would like to believe that this is a false statement. I’d like to think of humanity as progressing. I’d like to think that if I could look back in time 1,000 years, I would be able to perceive INTERNAL human progress in our present day and age. Obvious inventions have come about that have transformed our outer lives, but according to Solomon, whether your point of comparison is 50 years or 5,000 years, the same scenarios keep repeating themselves. The problems may look wildly different, the settings have changed, the lifestyles are unrecognizable, yet the philosophical issues that are at the root of this ceaseless cycle of all humanity are identical no matter how much time has gone by. Read the rest of this entry »
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