some encouragement for today

“Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me. Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence. Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.”

Psalm 27:11-13

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books as of late

I don’t usually give up on a book but there is something about my choices as of late. I have set aside two books in a row in the past week and I am in search of one that catches my attention.

My goal this summer is to read 4000 pages. I am almost half-way through this goal and I have come to a roadblock. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man left me feeling like I was surely going to roast in hell for the rest of my life, despite the fact that I try my damnedest live in an upright way and I was surprised that A Short History of Women could make even the life of Dorothy Trevor Townsend a bore to read. (No offence to the authors of these fine novels, I’m sure they will please someone…)

I was beginning to feel guilty about my lack of appreciation for these fine pieces of literature but you know what, this is summer and I am reading for enjoyment dammit! So here goes, my new book of choice is…

A comic mystery in which detectives Jack Spratt and Mary Mary set out to solve the murder of Humpty Dumpty, notorious sitter of walls.

So here’s to summer reading lists and slight deviations from them.

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also,

you should check out this website, I spent a good 45 minutes cry-laughing because of the humor to be found in the pages.

Cake Wrecks

Trust me… just do it.

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waste not, want not

In my never-ending quest to become more hippiesque I have recently made the plunge into vegetarianism. I began this plunge with what I termed “exploring vegetarianism” but I think I am officially ready to claim my place in this world/elite group. (DISCLAIMER: I am not doing this because I want to be cool but because I like the way I feel when I eat ‘vegetarianly’)

Also a part of my quest for hippiness, I strive to be as waste free as possible. This leads me on a search for creative ways/things to cook and here is my newest find…

The radish!

First, let’s work from the beginning. First this root vegetable can be used in its entirety. That’s right, the entire thing is edible (waste not). Second, the leaves of the radish actually are quite tasty (want not) and can be added to salad, stir-fry and sandwiches. I added radish leaves to me rice and vegetables last night and let me tell you, it was very good…

My next cooking adventure will require black beans, an avocado and cocoa powder. Let’s just say this might be one of my new favorite blogs.

Avocado black bean brownies, here I come!

Blessings upon your summer!

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musings on a life lived together

I spent that last year of my life ministering to one of the residence halls on the campus of Seattle Pacific University with 14 amazing people. I served these folks as best as I knew how and I hope I did an okay job at it. Being a part of the Student Ministry Program for two years has taught me so much but lately I have been realizing how much I have learned about community and friendship.

I woke up this morning to an email from one of my SMC’s and he summed up everything that I feel very beautifully.

I miss you guys greatly, and it makes me sad knowing that my friends go home to places nowhere near me… BUT I thank God for the time that I do get with you guys and for the long-lasting friendships that have been made between us. I really do think about it a lot, and I hope and pray someday that my kids grow up excited to visit Auntie Lauren the designer in New York, or meet up with Uncle Shane the novelist/english teacher/philosopher/protective dad, or help Auntie Kira in saving the world one Indian village at a time, or have Uncle Evan show the boys how to treat a lady right, or spend some time in Oregon with Aunt Sarah the Nurse, or have a laugh at Auntie Kitty Kat’s silly jokes, or discuss theology with Uncle Trog, Uncle Anthony, and Uncle Tim (whilst climbing a tree, perhaps?), or spend time with Aunt Nicole on the shores of the Great Lake Michigan, or go to a baseball game with Auntie Allyson, or create sweet art projects (of which I would be incapable of putting together) with Auntie Hannah, or shopping with Aunt DoYeon (in Korea, maybe?), or maybe learning about gender equality from Aunt AIDs the world-renowned sociologist.
Which ever state (or country) each of us end up in, I know one thing for sure; you guys are some of my closest and most dear friends and I want to be able to share in life with you for years to come.

I never knew that I could love people so much until I came to SPU and I must say that there is something immensely beautiful about intentional community. The apostle Paul paints another beutiful picture of this type of community in the Acts of the Apostles.

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord;s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity–all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

So often I feel like I am beating a dead horse (which I wouldn’t do because I am a pacifist) when I talk about how much these 14 people mean to me but I will say it again… You mean the world to me ATKHDNSLKETSJA. Literally, the world.

Also, I am reminded that there is power in community, especially the kind that lives together for a common purpose. So, LSKPLS, I am ridiculously excited to live with you this next year. That is all…

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summer is here… at least in the afternoons

Summer is finally here and my season in Seattle has officially begun. I am working as a nanny which is turning out to be pretty fun. Who knew you could have so much fun with 5-month olds. I also landed a job with one of my professors who needs help preparing his statistics textbook for publishing. Yes this sounds very nerdy but I have resigned to that fact and I am having quite a lot of fun. Here is just a little taste of what I have been doing for this…

One of the greatest parts of my summer is that I am living with some awesome girls, one of which just happens to be the wonderful Kathleen Smith. Yesterday we had our last official required meeting for school leadership and this is just a glimpse of the most wonderful hot air balloon ride one could ever experience…

…well, it wasn’t really a hot air balloon ride but it was still fun to pretend. Who knew that having a balloon tied to your pants would actually be a super enjoyable experience? Our ride ended with my balloon coming untied and flying away–this is why it is good we were on a fake hot air balloon ride. Otherwise, I would be dead.

Oh yeah, I also knit these socks…

Blessings on your summers…

AB

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a summer of books

I have decided that this summer I am going back in time to the days of Pizza Hut summer reading charts. Remember those days? When every child big and small came together to keep up with their reading during the summer months. Our goal was one and the same–pizza. Everyone pushed themselves until they read enough pages to warrant a warm, hot, gooey, child-sized personal pizza. Well, this year the goal has changed and I have upped the ante.

My goal: 3000 glorious pages

My prize: various reading related goodies that I wouldn’t buy otherwise.

Here is where I am so far:
One Hundred Years of Solitude, 448 pages
Anna Karenina, 150 pages
A Clockwork Orange, 165 pages
The Great Divorce, 146 pages

All for a grand total of 909 pages. More to come…

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the world is in venice…

…and it is quiet there.

Well folks, I have returned from Italy and after not so much deliberation I have come to the conclusion that Venice is one of my favorite places in the world. First, everything is surrounded by water and as it stands, water is one of my favorite things to live by. The power, beauty, and simplicity that it embodies really is quite amazing if you really think about it.

Reason number two is the fact that there are no cars in Venice. It actually took me a while to realize this fact but when I did. I was hooked on this city. Cars, in contrast to water, are one of my least favorite things in the world. They are loud, they smell bad, they are expensive, and they make life pretty darn hard for us pedestrians… walking streets are clearly the better option. In Venice, boats rule in transportation.

The final reason I will leave you with is the fact that all the buildings are old AND there are no single family dwellings in Venice. I LOVE multi-family buildings and houses… in fact, living in a commune is on my list of life goals. I just love cooperative living, what better way to encourage strong community life.

One day, while walking and searching for a bathroom (something that doesn’t exist in Italy) we stumbled upon a graveyard of sorts. The buildings were deserted, a little rundown, and surrounded by overgrown weeds and paths that had not been walked upon in quite some time. As we continued to search this buildings for a bathroom we noticed that they had names. These names were the names of countries and it seemed that we had come across the end of the world in village form. As we continued to explore our excitement continued to build as we found “Venezuela,” “Francia,” “Giappone,” “Cecoslovacchia,” and one small building hidden in the corner called “Stati Uniti D’America” which, surprisingly we were excited to find.

Walking along these untrodden paths we felt like explorers or super sleuths (just like Nancy Drew), searching for hidden treasures and discovering a long lost secret. We found the world in Venice and it was spectacular.

Exploring further brought more clues and eventually we found that this was not the end of the world but this–La Biennale di Venezia, a modern art exhibition the showcases the works of people from around the world.

Venice, the city of simplicity. Venice, the city that brings people together (in many different ways let me tell you). Venice, the world is here, and it is quiet.

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