Of all the liars in the world...

Whimsical Wednesday, February 15, 2012

2012-02-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

Today's Whimsical Wednesday is full of words that are speaking to my soul right now. As always, I'd love to hear if one of these images or quotes jumps out at you or speaks to your heart.

Source: wildwendes.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: crittyjoy.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: lollipops-and-roses.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: pearls-curlsandasoutherngirl.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: thingsweforget.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 178

2012-02-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

String cheese
a friend who made sure that a group meeting didn't wallow in unproductivity
still really loving turkey and cranberry sandwiches on Winnipeg Rye Bread
at least a partial solution to one of the big problems that popped up last week
the laughter that came with our first attempts to find heart rates and blood pressure readings. We're pretty sure we were all "dead" at quite a number of points, thanks to our lack of skills in locating those important indicators of life.

Tuesday Anticipations, February 14, 2012

2012-02-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

I stare at my calendar as I write these posts each week, and take a moment to reflect on the things that are coming. Sometimes it is hard to find things to anticipate, and sometimes it's easier, but I've found taking a moment to pause and anticipate the coming joys and moments to be a discipline worth practicing, one that creates space in my heart.

And so, this week I am anticipating:

Beginning to learn to take vital signs later today in class. There is something about finally donning my stethoscope that makes this nursing adventure all the more real, and worth celebrating and basking in.
Hearing the stories of how my married and dating friends and family celebrate the feast of St. Valentine. I love to hear the creative ways they find to let their partners know that they are deeply loved. I may not be much for the "Hallmark" style holidays, but I think that anything that takes a moment or two to celebrate the deep love two people share, whether that celebration is simple or extravagant, is worth participating in.
The Thursday night house church gathering that happens once a month or so where the only thing on our agenda is to eat together. Sometimes we cook and have a potluck, but with two pregnant ladies in our midst, these days we show up and order pizza or chinese or something else entirely, and spend the evening laughing, talking, and sharing life together. We have the gift of eating at our house church - it's one of the things we do best, and I love the chance to gather around a table with these friends.
The fruit of a day spent quietly on Monday. I embraced silence for much of the day - none of the usual background soundtrack - and the thoughts and prayers that surfaced were lovely. They showed me places that Jesus is at work, and spilled over into writing ideas. The fruit of that day will no doubt shape my week, and I look forward to it.
A girls afternoon out for tea, with my sister-in-law, mom and sister-in-law to be. It was a Christmas present from my brother and his wife, this girl's afternoon together, and I am looking forward to spending the time with them.
The arrival of reading break! Next week is reading break! No classes! Lots of time to move more slowly through my days, and catch up on some things that need doing.
A zoo date with one of my best friends and her daughter. Nothing like some of my favorite people, combined with one of my favorite places.

What are you anticipating this week?

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 177

2012-02-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

cozy slippers, lined with sheepskin. a gift from a dear friend, carried across an ocean at my request.
waking up to a quick email from the same dear friend, detailing the beginning of her experiences as a "mature student" - an experience we will laughingly commiserate about, though an ocean separates our physical experience of it.
a simple lunch of soup and crackers
an hour spent in conversation about Jesus with a new friend
embracing quiet for the day, recognizing that this was what my soul was longing for, and being able to meet that need
candles lit all around my space, providing warmth, ambience and light
texting with a collection of friends from school - questions about a quiz that comes early tomorrow, laughing, chatting about weekends, hoping for luck with registration and group assignments for the next semester
emerging into the outside world at dusk, and walking through a gentle snowfall to the the grocery store
listening to a new audiobook that immediately demanded my involvement in the life and words of the story-teller
finishing the school demands for the day and week ahead before dinner, knowing that would give me an evening to rest, and separating the day from the evening with my walk in the snow
Breaking the day's silence with the audiobook I already mentioned, and with the beginning of another trip through The West Wing on dvd.
Remembering just how much I appreciated the intelligent, sarcastic wit of the writers on The West Wing
Being thankful that when I cut my finger while washing out a container from lunch, it was a minor wound, easily staunched with a band-aid
recognizing moments of grace when the tendency to hear the accusations and feel overwhelmed grew strong
new thoughts emerging as I embraced silence today, whispers of Jesus speaking to parts of the journey that I am continually pondering, feeling words begin to form around those places in my heart

Rambling Thoughts

2012-02-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning and I've been awake for half an hour or so.

Usually I write these Monday posts at some point on the weekend, so they're all ready to go, long before I wake.

I was too tired last night to accomplish that. It was the last thing on my list, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So I'm writing now, propped on pillows, still semi-reclined in bed.

This is one of those Monday's when I don't have anything burning to say. No story from the deep internal moments of my life. No half rant, half exposition of my thoughts on something I've learned at school, and why I can't quite agree with it. Today there's just my slightly sleepy ramblings.

I'm thinking about how much I appreciated the quiet of the weekend. How much I enjoyed the silent spaces that I sat in, even when I filled those silent spaces with work.

I'm thinking about my body, and long-term health goals. About the moments when I see little bits of progress towards those goals. About the ways that I am working to change my thinking, to make these goals long term habits, and not about short term gain.

I'm thinking about the fact that life threw major bumps at me last week, all in twenty-four hours. Major financial challenges, the emergency hospitalization of a couple people very close to me, all while I was battling illness. I'm thinking that I'm proud of how I handled those 24 hours. That I'm thankful for the friend who let me rant a bit in the midst of them, and the friends who hugged me and prayed with me at house church. I'm thinking about how the way I would have weathered this a year ago would have been different, and how I see immense healing and growth in the way I handled it now. And I'm proud of that, and thankful for it. I'm thinking about how it reflects my word for last year "heal" and my word for this year "still" in that I see healing in my response, and I was able to hold onto that internal peace and stillness even amidst the tossing of life's waves.

I'm thinking that there is always something to think about, and that I'm thankful for a Monday ahead of me with very few scheduled commitments, and lots of space - even space from school work, since I accomplished most of the homework and reading for this week already, and don't have to devote more than an hour or two of today to it.

I'm thinking that slightly sleep thankfulness and exploring rambling thoughts feels like the perfect way to begin this day. And so, I'm off to crawl out of bed and begin it in earnest!

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 176

2012-02-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

Sleeping in
an email inbox at zero
baking muffins (love having time alone in the kitchen - tried a new low calorie banana chocolate chip recipe and they taste great)
a new USB hub for my laptop, that works great, and supports the peripherals I need when I'm working at home
a turkey and cranberry sandwich on rye
the combination of chocolate and hazelnut
the Starbucks cup with a straw that I bought a while back, and use for drinking water when I'm working at home
plowing through large chunks of the assigned readings for the coming week, and studying for a quiz that's happening on Tuesday
seeing a bit more progress in a goal to move towards greater health
being able to watch television shows for free online

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 175

2012-02-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

sleeping in
fruit bread
a long hot bath
making a bit of progress on homework for next week
a turkey and havarti pannini with cranberry sauce

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 174

2012-02-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

slightly better news about some challenging financial situations
a midterm that went quite smoothly
bus drivers who turn the heat on (especially after experiencing one who didn't again)
a room to do group work in that had the necessary technology AND windows with a view, rather than the usual claustrophobic, cement walled, windowless rooms
news that mom was released from the hospital
coming home to a quiet evening
encouraging texts from a couple of classmates, assuring me they're praying for some of the crazy that has shown up in my life the last 24 hours or so
chocolate
the smell and feel of freshly washed sheets
catching a bit of a concert my friend Karla was playing on a livestream online

Friday Reflections, February 10, 2012

2012-02-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

Today's Friday Reflection comes from The Brave Girls Club, which sends out (almost) daily emails that are so encouraging. When I opened this email this morning, I knew it would be the perfect thing to share with you here today:

Dear Extraordinary Girl,

Something wonderful that happens to us as we are paying more attention to our souls...and that might not seem like such a wonderful thing.....is the day that we get flat out, undeniably SICK AND TIRED of the way things are.

If you find yourself in this place, lovely friend, take heart and know that this is the catalyst for deep and meaningful change and for the resolve it will take to get from where you don't want to be to exactly where you want to be, and never go back.

There must come a day when ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, when all of the excuses finally lose their power. There must come a day when things are so far from the path that feels like yours that you will do anything to get on the right path. THIS is a very good day, a day that deserves a thankful heart and serious consideration, attention and some of your undivided time.

So if you are sick and tired of the way things are, this is the doorway to the way things are meant to be. We must step out of what we don't want to be able to step into what we do want. It is SO WORTH IT.

Keep going, beautiful girl. You are going to get there. You are going to be ok. Everything is going to work out and this will be worth every tear you cry, every mile you walk, every hurdle you overcome.

You are so very loved.
xoxo

A message from your friends at the Brave Girls Club - www.bravegirlsclub.com

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 173

2012-02-09T22:54:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

a beautiful moon
the colors of sunrise
an extra hour of sleep (I forgot last night in my cold medicated haze that I could sleep later this morning, so when my alarm went off at the usual time, I had the distinct pleasure of rolling over, resetting it, and grabbing another full hour of sleep)
laughter with friends and finishing our house church study of Mark
a kiss and hug goodnight from my favorite little guy

Wine-Stained Hands

2012-02-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot this week about one of the most powerful encounters with Jesus that I've ever had. I've shared in this space before about my story of healing (I share it every year on the anniversary, November 1st), and that is a pivotal moment. But, there is one other pivotal moment. One that I've carried inside my heart for quite a few years, choosing not to share it publicly, to protect it, and process it, and let it make itself truly at home within me.

This week I realized that I might not ever be fully at home with this experience. That it is an experience that will probably shape me for the rest of my life. And as I realized that, I discovered that I am ready to share it.

It feels risky, sharing this here. I prefer to talk in generalities in this space about my life with Jesus - to talk in quiet tones about the ongoing dance that I do between the conservative church upbringing that shaped me, and the charismatic experiences that have defined the last ten years of my life or so. It's easier to talk in generalities than to be specific about realities. It's easier to talk in generalities that it is to risk judgement, confusion, or misunderstanding. And yet, this week, as I reflect on that moment, and on things that have flowed from it in my life, I can't help but feel it demand to be expressed. And so, I'm going to try.

It's no secret to those who know me even a little that I have an active dream life (waking, but particularly sleeping). Dreams have been a part of my reality for as long as I can remember, from the earliest nightmares as a child, to the dark, earth-shattering dreams I experienced at the height of my battle with depression, to the dreams that are oddly close to reality. When I first encountered the idea taught by charismatics that dreams are still a primary way that God speaks to his people, I was horrified. At the time, in the throes of depression, I slept minimally, and what little sleep I had was marked by nightmares so vivid that I would wake and lay in the dark, wondering why my bed was shaking until it would hit me that the bed was shaking because of the trembling of my body due to residual fear and adrenaline. With this as my primary experience of the dream world, I couldn't imagine why anyone would actually pray, asking God to cause them to dream! (In fact, I remember agreeing to pray that for one friend, since it was her specific desire, while at the same time only quasi-jokingly informing her that I thought this was an absolutely crazy request!)

And then, then God stepped in. My moment of healing happened, and that night was marked by the first time in years where I managed six straight hours of sleep uninterrupted by either waking or nightmares. I assumed that my years of dreaming were about to give way to years of peaceful sleep, free from dreams of any sort.

I assumed wrong.

By the fall of 2007, I was coming to a grudging acknowledgement (acceptance was still far away) that dreams, this time falling into four categories, were going to be a long-term part of my life. I developed four categories, "god dreams," "bad pizza dreams," "processing dreams," and (for lack of a better descriptor) "demonic nightmares." The vast majority of the dreams I was experiencing still fell into the latter three categories, and I was choosing to simply be thankful that the last category was rarer than it ever had been in my life. I was definitely not asking Jesus for an increase of dreams of any sort, and I continued to be highly skeptical of those who celebrated their dreams as encounters with a living God.

And then, one night, that fall, in the midst of a season in which I was experiencing a myriad of new things in my walk with Jesus, I went to sleep.

You knew that was where this was going, right? I mean, could it be going anywhere else?

I went to sleep, and dreamed the following:

I entered a room, set for a formal banquet with snowy white table linens, gorgeous china, and sparkling crystal. People milled around, finding seats at the table, but I held back, shy - afraid even. The only one in the room that I recognized was Jesus and I would have done anything to escape his notice. Slowly it dawned on me that everyone was now seated, and the only seat left at the table was in the center, directly across from Jesus. It was the opposite of the invisibility I craved. But, knowing everyone was watching, and desperate to have their attention turn elsewhere, I quietly made my way to my seat, keeping my eyes down. Once seated, I refused to look up, but again somehow knew that I was being watched. This time, it was Jesus watching me. He was clearly waiting for something, for a blessing of sorts, I thought. Instinctively, still never looking up, I knew how to respond. I rested my elbows on the edge of the table, and tilted my wrists towards him, cupping my hands over the center of the table, and burying my face quietly against my wrists. He took a carafe of red wine, and poured it over my hands, until it pooled and spilled over, contrasting against the sparking white linens.

And then I woke.

There's something else I should mention. At that stage in my life I'd never tasted wine. I feared alcohol, having seen it's affects on the lives of some I loved. And knowing that my own personality tended to extremes, and to addiction, in fear I'd made a choice to abstain. It was beyond odd that wine would be a defining characteristic in my dream.

When I woke, I felt baffled. I was astounded to have encountered Jesus in a dream (something that has never happened before or since), but was confused by the sequence of events, by the wine.

As the day went on, I puzzled over the dream, wondering at it's meaning. A few lines from a song recorded by Steve Bell stood out in my heart and played through my thoughts:

Come back to me

with all your heart

Don't let fear keep us apart...

long have I waited for

your coming home to me

and living deeply our new life

I puzzled over the connection of the song to what I had dreamed. Years later I see the lyrics as a description of the invitation being offered to me as I settled into my place across from Jesus.

That same day, as was often the case, I was listening to a sermon as I walked home from the train. On that particular day, I wasn't paying very close attention as I walked, thinking instead about the dream, and the events of the day. It suddenly occurred to me that the pastor speaking (I think it was Rob Bell) was talking about wine! Odd, and timely. I started paying attention just in time to hear the pastor speak the following: "Wine is about the shalom of God, the wholeness of God, the healing of God."

I tuned the sermon back out as I began talking to Jesus, my words spilling over each other in their haste. "Did you pour your shalom over my hands last night? Did you pour your wholeness and healing over me, until it overflowed?"

Years later, that is the question I'm still asking. Months after the dream, while I was in Malta, I asked someone to pour wine over my hands in reality, needing to experience in waking what I had known in sleeping. That moment in Malta was four years ago this week, and both the dream and that time in a Maltese field have continued to work on my heart.

A view of Maltese fields taken from the walls of Mdina

When I read this post about healing earlier this week, I found myself again pondering that dream that I've quietly held all these years, telling very few, and pondering the ways it has worked in my heart since then. I found myself thinking again in new ways about what it means that one night, in a dream, Jesus invited me out of fear, and blessed me, pouring his shalom over my hands until they overflowed. I still ask that question of Jesus, "what does it mean that you poured this out on me?" And I still find different answers on a regular basis. I find partial answers in the moments when my heart travels as I pray, and in the moments my hands begin to burn as I lay them on someone and ask for healing. I keep walking, journeying, asking questions. I study healing, and sometimes I despair, finding it hard to believe that it is something Jesus desires. And yet, in those moments, I close my eyes and feel the wine in the dreaming, splashing onto my hands. I picture the color of the wine staining my skin as it overflowed my hands in Malta, spilling onto the soft, dark dirt on which I stood. And I am reminded that however it looks, this is a moment that changed and will continue to change me, and that Jesus is constantly pouring out his shalom, his healing, his wholeness on this earth, and simply asking me to be a vessel for that, to notice and point it out.

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 172

2012-02-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

a full moon
Vietnamese noodle bowl
knowing the fruit of being prepared
finishing early today, a blessing since I'm battling a cold and wanted nothing so much as to be in bed
a helpful group study time for an upcoming midterm

Whimsical Wednesday, February 8, 2012

2012-02-08T08:34:00.002-07:00

Today's Whimsical Wednesday feels entirely random. I scrolled through my most recent pins and picked the ones that immediately caught my eye to share with you today. You'll have to let me know if any of them move you in the way they grabbed me.

Source: streetbutterfly.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: bookmania.me via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: lacedinweddings.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: kindawonderful.typepad.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: wickedgoodblog.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 171

2012-02-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

a gorgeous view of the full moon early this morning
seeing my breath in the cold air, and remembering how fun it was to see it as a kid
finding a quiet spot to rest and study with a friend over lunch break
tylenol cold and sinus and advil cold and sinus (please don't tell anyone I'm mixing OTC meds!)
dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in ages

Tuesday Anticipations, February 7, 2012

2012-02-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

This week I'm anticipating:

sharing a meal with an old friend
the chance to write about some things that have moved me or are challenging me
quiet mornings on the bus, completing some lectio divinas, and carving out a space to meet with Jesus
Being a week closer to reading break
finishing the book study of Mark that our house church has been working through for months
hugs from a few good friends
A spiritual direction session
finishing school a bit earlier than usual on Friday

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 170

2012-02-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

A much needed third day in a row of sleeping in
Oatmeal (apple and cinnamon) for breakfast
watching last night's second season debut episode of The Voice
iMessage and the free and easy texting it provides
a really productive day
writing out parts of my heart for the first time
encouraging blog comments
listening to my body
a mid-afternoon walk
just a bit of chocolate to end the night

Feminism, Nursing Classes, and Jesus

2012-02-06T07:42:00.001-07:00

I've found myself thinking a lot about feminism over the last week or so. I suppose it's a bit of an inevitable topic when you're enrolled in a program that has a student body that is something like 90% female. Particularly when you have to sit through lectures that emphasize that the most important part of nursing is not the care we give to our patients, but the specific scientific education and skills that we bring to the table.

Can I whisper a secret to you?

I don't identify myself as a feminist.

Whew. I'm glad I got that off my chest. Are you still with me? Still breathing? Not going to attack me?

Early in the days of my first university degree, I shared that secret with a classmate as we rode the bus together. She attacked me. "Well then why are you in university?"

"Excuse me?"

"You wouldn't be able to get a higher education if it wasn't for feminism!"

Sigh.

As someone who is currently embarking on the journey to a second university degree and a professional designation, let me say that I'm thankful for those who blazed the way for me to participate in educational opportunities. As someone who is headed into a profession that has been predominantly the field of women for the last couple of centuries, I'm grateful for the women who paved the way and established themselves as respected leaders in the field.

But I still don't identify as a feminist.

I texted a friend during a particularly feminist in slant class last week, and commented, "I'm all for equality of men and women, but I sure don't subscribe to the view that women are better, and I don't think that women should rule the world."

We laughed, since she is trained in a female dominated profession, but currently working in a male dominated profession, and just that morning had completed a task that she would have been more than happy to pass off to a man.

Can I tell you another secret?

I think men and women are different, and that there are things that women generally do better than men, and things that men generally do better than women.

I'm not actually all that into traditional gender roles. And I'm not really going to talk about them in this post.

What I actually wanted to talk about is the fact that I feel like a failure, sometimes, as a woman, by not identifying with feminism. By not picking the female candidate for a job or in an election, just because she's a woman. For believing that things like jobs and elections need to be about skills, giftings, education and qualifications, and not about gender.

The class that stirred this quagmire within me carried on, and the professor mentioned several times that the thing responsible for this incredible subjugation of women is "European Christianity".

Sigh.

My already tumultuous insides began to ache in earnest. As a historian, I can tell you that this is an unbalanced opinion. That yes, at times Christianity has been responsible for the subjugation of women, but that it has also empowered women throughout history in incredible ways. And more than that, the Jesus I've fallen more and more in love with over the last couple years, well, he loved and empowered women.

I found myself thinking again of a poem titled "The Woman's Creed" written in 1978 by Rachel Conrad Wahlberg that I've shared here before. As I pondered feminism, nursing classes and Jesus this week, I felt it worth reposting Walhberg's poem, because it so beautifully reflects the Jesus I've come to know, and his heart towards me as a woman.

I believe in God
who created woman and man in God's own image
who created the world
and gave both sexes
the care of the earth.

I believe in Jesus
child of God
chosen of God
born of the woman Mary
who listened to women and liked them
who stayed in their homes
who discussed the Kingdom with them
who was followed and financed
by women disciples.

I believe in Jesus
who discussed theology with a woman at a well
and first confided in her
his messiahship
who motivated her to go and tell
her great news to the city.

I believe in Jesus who received anointing
from a woman at Simon's house
who rebuked the men guests who scorned her
I believe in Jesus
who said this woman will be remembered
for what she did -
minister to Jesus.

I believe in Jesus
who acted boldly
to reject the blood taboo
of ancient societies
by healing the audacious woman who touched him.

I believe in Jesus who healed a woman
on the sabbath
and made her straight
because she was
a human being.

I believe in Jesus
who spoke of God
as a woman seeking the lost coin
as a woman who swept
seeking the lost.

I believe in Jesus
who thought of pregnancy and birth
with reverence
not as punishment - but
as wrenching event
a metaphor for transformation
born again
anguish-into-joy.

I believe in Jesus
who spoke of himself
as a mother hen
who would gather her chicks
under her wings.

I believe in Jesus who appeared
first to Mary Magdalene
who sent her with the bursting message
GO AND TELL...

I believe in the wholeness
of the Savior
in whom there is neither
Jew nor Greek
slave nor free
male nor female
for we are all one
in salvation.

I believe in the Holy Spirit
as she moves over the waters
of creation
and over the earth.

I believe in the Holy Spirit
as she yearns within us
to pray for those things
too deep for words.

I believe in the Holy Spirit
the woman spirit of God*
who like a hen
created us
and gave us birth
and covers us
with her wings.

*the Hebrew word for Spirit is feminine

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 169

2012-02-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

A quiet Sunday
a restful sleep last night
playing on pinterest
a Harvey's burger and fries with dad
coming home, cleaning, and enjoying quiet space

Some Things Worth Reading

2012-02-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

This post at Deeper Story explores healing, and made my heart leap in recognition. I know this story, I've lived and I live it, and reading it this weekend, well, it was timely. It falls into the place of anniversaries and moments that are close to my heart. I insist all of you read it, and then come back and share your thoughts about healing with me.

And then, there's this. Duane asking the question, "Why do we shoot our wounded?" Positing the story also near and dear to my heart, the story of mental illness, of brokenness, of causing scars. And he challenges us to commit quietly within us to be the ones who heal scars instead of causing them. And so, I ask you to read this, too, and share a story about scars caused or scars healed, when you come back here to comment.

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 168

2012-02-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

A quiet, lazy morning
pinterest inspiration
A super sunny, warm winter day
Sun and more sun
A borrowed car that let me accomplish important errands quickly
Working quietly
pausing to remember a significant anniversary
a hot bath
some favorite television and watching some of the Jesus Culture conference live online
an ice cream cone

Weekend Rest

2012-02-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

I'm spending this weekend resting and catching up. The first month of school has demanded more from me than I expected, or at least demanded something far different from what I was expecting. Usually, when I get home on Friday nights, I do some homework, to protect the days of the weekend from also being fully over-run by school. Last night I declared homework off-limits, and spent the evening doing a bit of cleaning, and a whole lot of relaxing and catching up on all my television favorites.

These are some of my goals for the rest of the weekend:

hunt for my crockpot in the boxes of kitchen stuffs that are still packed away
begin to study for the midterm that I have at the end of next week
catch-up on emails that are waiting for replies
hit the library and grocery store
Reflect on a series of anniversaries that begin today - ones that have been bittersweet
Work on blog posts for the coming weeks

Emails are the biggest one. Emails and the midterm. And maybe the shopping. But basically I have a quietish weekend planned, and I'm really thankful for that!

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 167

2012-02-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

Awesome guest lecturers on pharmacology topics
studying in a comfy sunny spot with friends
working with productive partners
cupcakes
a sunny day
a Vietnamese noodle bowl
birds singing as I walked home from the bus
jello (love me some red jello)
flexible and quiet evening plans
a banana with peanut butter
freshly painted toenails
candlelight
turning off my 5:30am alarm for the weekend
plowing through a number of little things on my to do list
crawling into bed and knowing sleep is close behind

Friday Reflections, February 3, 2012

2012-02-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the email below was the daily reflection in the email of the Daily Texts from the Moravian church. I found it timely as I've been praying this week for several who are ill, and noting a huge prevalence of cancer around me at the present. And so today, I reflect with the Moravians on a God who heals.

O Lord, restore me to health and make me live. Isaiah 38:16

She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well."
Mark 5:27-28,34

God of wellness, we know fear when disease strikes us hard. We seek cures from doctors and pray for healing. Most of all, we lay our lives in your hands. Make us whole in spirit and touch our bodies. Amen.

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 166

2012-02-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today's Daily 5:

Jenn Johnson's song "Come to Me" which has been playing constantly through my head and heart this week, even sometimes waking me as I sleep
Long distance encouragement
seeing the sunrise
Carving out a circle of quiet on a noisy bus
a view of the mountains
a day that started a bit late, and ended a bit early
a friend who is consistently willing to feed me on Thursday evenings
playing with M. - tickling, chasing, laughing, naming and identifying body parts
The sound of M's giggle
reflecting in new ways on the Last Supper as we studied it together tonight at house church

Make Me Laugh?

2012-02-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Y'all, I had great intentions of writing a nice, long, reflective style essay in this space today. It was tentatively titled "Feminism, Nursing, and Jesus" and I was excited to pour it out. (I still will, by the way.) But, life happened. A day that normally ends at 4:00 pm ended instead at 6:15 pm, and was followed by my usual lengthy bus commute. It was 8:00 pm by the time I made it home and settled in, and I still hadn't prepared to teach at home church tonight. Exhaustion was rampant, and the brain cells needed for reflective essay writing were long since killed off for the day!

So, feminism, nursing and Jesus will have to wait, and instead of a long essay I'm stopping in to say hi, and asking you to share something in the comments that has made you laugh over the course of the last week. Anything really. I'd love to laugh with you today!