Things have lifted a bit since the last post - the light at the end of the tunnel of this semester is quite visible and it's making me happy. God also used a women's retreat at church to help me make some friends, which helps now and will hopefully do so more in the future. Things aren't perfect, but my perspective's a bit better most days.
Anyway, since it's Thanksgiving, I sat down and made a list (in as many colors of markers as I could find) of things I'm thankful to God for. And in no particular order, I thank God...
That he's made me His daughter, His friend, His bride
That the semester's almost done!
For a warm apartment, warm clothes, warm blankets, and warm socks
That the Phillies won the WORLD SERIES!
For the luxury to give back
For abundant food
For comfort
For giving me an amazing roommate I get along so well with, have no conflict with, and just the perfect fit of it - as it was totally in His hands
For an apartment where I can find refuge & beauty & trees, in a lovely, calm, & safe neighborhood
For an amazing church with a passionate people and a passionate preacher
For breaking me on the women's retreat
For women from the retreat
For friends from home who love and pray for and reach out to me
For my lab and my new friends here and being welcomed so quickly
For fellow Philly fans
For coordinating my classes so they overlap and reducing my workload
For supportive advisors
For peanut butter and jelly and CHEERIOS
That teaching is going well
For my loving, amazing family
That I get to go home in three weeks!
That I have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving
For my "family" in Savannah
For my teddy bear
For giving me good teaching positions
That my life is in His hands
For people who understand & love me
For toesocks & pigtails & stocking caps
For my SIT's
For an amazing summer at camp
For the leadership team at camp
For letting me SCUBA dive
For friends' happiness
For placing me where He has
For good memories
That I haven't gotten hurt or sick since moving here
For the ocean
For His love
FOR SNAILS & SLUGS & INVERTEBRATES!
For healing & delivering me
For the bike from Uncle Jim
For the cabinets & computer from Uncle Bob & Uncle Mark
For sanity
For a place to play flute & glorify the Lord
For a mission field
Fora good landlord
For making ends meet
For sleep and rest
For baby carrot zombies (see upcoming post)
For play
...and the list goes on. Really it out to be infinitely long as God is infinitely good...but you know the saying about trees and pens and oceans and ink and sky and parchment.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! May God bless you richly as you reflect upon His beautiful bounty!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
la vie en gris
This is going to be a short post, so if you want more details, feel free to contact me.
I know I'm often a bit of a gloomy gus, and that probably influences this right now. But things either are not or do not seem to be going well right now. In a nutshell, I'm homesick, doing poorly in school, not plugging into community, and am questioning whether or not I'm even cut out to do this. The negative thinking enmeshed in all of this isn't entirely from me either, which I can see. In any case, if you've got some spare words when you're talking to God, if you wouldn't mind praying about it, that'd be great, because I don't currently see much of a prospect for getting myself out of this.
Thanks & love.
I know I'm often a bit of a gloomy gus, and that probably influences this right now. But things either are not or do not seem to be going well right now. In a nutshell, I'm homesick, doing poorly in school, not plugging into community, and am questioning whether or not I'm even cut out to do this. The negative thinking enmeshed in all of this isn't entirely from me either, which I can see. In any case, if you've got some spare words when you're talking to God, if you wouldn't mind praying about it, that'd be great, because I don't currently see much of a prospect for getting myself out of this.
Thanks & love.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Phillies win the World Series!!!!!!
They did it! They won! It's like Christmas in October! I wish I was in Philly celebrating with all the other fans! The curse of William Penn has been broken!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Names
Yesterday I found an awesome French name website, and after tossing around a few ideas, here are the names of those things in the previous e-mail:
(drumroll please)...
My garbage disposal: Sheol (look back to Christmas post)
My bike: Aimeric (em-er-EEK), French version of a Nordic name, it means "home ruler"...which doesn't have anything to do with a bike. But I like it.
Plants:
Tall broad-leaved - Clara (as has been named for a while)
Many small-leaved plants that tend to spread - the Borg
(so yes, in one pot it is "Clara and the Borg)
Tall and spindly - Etienne (eh-tyEHNN) (French version of Stephanos, meaning "crown")
(it's really hard to write phonetically without phonetic symbols)
I may name my oven Beelzebub if it keeps acting up.
(drumroll please)...
My garbage disposal: Sheol (look back to Christmas post)
My bike: Aimeric (em-er-EEK), French version of a Nordic name, it means "home ruler"...which doesn't have anything to do with a bike. But I like it.
Plants:
Tall broad-leaved - Clara (as has been named for a while)
Many small-leaved plants that tend to spread - the Borg
(so yes, in one pot it is "Clara and the Borg)
Tall and spindly - Etienne (eh-tyEHNN) (French version of Stephanos, meaning "crown")
(it's really hard to write phonetically without phonetic symbols)
I may name my oven Beelzebub if it keeps acting up.
Monday, September 29, 2008
wanting more time
**I will add pictures to this later, but it's been a long day and I'm missing friends, so I'm posting it now, sans pictures**
So I’m aware that it’s been forever since I wrote. I don’t have internet at home, and I often feel bad using the internet at work for non-work purposes (although I’m getting more used to it, especially because I work at home, so why not home at work, right?). I’ve been here in Atlanta for 6 weeks at least now, which is a long time. It’s been bumpy, but there have been some good things, and it’s growing on me.
I cooked an awesome dinner this week. It was the first time I’ve gotten to do real cooking since I’ve been here (pasta and sautéed everything and pb&j clearly do not count). It was vegetable tian with breaded chicken and rice. I could have picked a better combination of foods, but individually they weren’t too bad (and they weren’t bad together either, but it could have been a little more perfect). The tian was possibly one of the most attractive dishes I’ve made yet, and it was French, which was even better. It also caused me to fall in love with Gruyere cheese…so delicious. Mmm.
These are my plants. I’ve been really stuck on naming things here and haven’t been able to come up with fitting names for them yet. The one with large leaves is Clara; she used to live with Rufus and George the cacti, but Rufus rotted out and George is slowly passing away (yes, I am skilled enough to kill a cactus). The tall spindly one is male (I decided), and I think the smaller ones surrounding clara are female…but I just can’t name them. They make me happy, though. *Tall one may be Edsel or Giuseppe, and the short ones may be Elsa. Still taking suggestions.
I am also having a horrid problem naming my “new” bike (my uncle found it in a dump and fixed it up for me, and I love it). It’s an old Schwinn Worldsport, and just looks so lithe (elegant, slender, athletic, graceful, agile – lithe). I feel a little weird riding it because I’m not the world’s greatest city rider, nor have I really ridden hills before. I’m getting used to it, but the gears are a little messed up on it still and that makes hills more difficult of course. Riding in the city is definitely something else. I love not having to drive to work, and my 25-30 minute walk to campus cuts down to 5-10 on my bike (depending on traffic and construction). I feel much more environmentally friendly this way. Most of the way in, there’s a bike lane, so that helps greatly. I have ridden on more crowded streets, and that’s still nervewracking. Maybe I’ll work my way up to that. People tend to ride on the sidewalks a lot here too, which is less than optimal for the pedestrians. I try not to. But this is my bike. I think it deserves a good European or Asian name, but I’m not coming up with much that fits its look. Any suggestions would be very very welcome. *Currently mulling Didier, or maybe Loic.
Classes have been going well, although it’s of course hard and more than a little overwhelming. I feel like I’m never getting enough done, but, as I’ve been told, they’ll let you know if you need to work harder, so don’t stress too much about it. I’ve so far gotten a good reaction from my advisor about the research that I’d like to do, so that’s really exciting. Yay sea slug defenses! I really like my labmates, they’re all really friendly and it’s been great getting to know them.
I may have found a church, as well, but will give more details on that as it develops in terms of small group and all. I feel like I really heard from God there in the sermon and worship the past few weeks, and the people are so warm and friendly (some my age, but lots of other generations too). And it's a nice, humble, real church. And it's one of very few within walking distance of my apartment. I like it a lot so far.
Contra dancing has been fun, but people are less friendly than they were in Savannah and the men are a bit more forward, which makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s because there are more northerners in Atlanta (and they don’t have as much respect I suppose).
I read Howard Pyle’s version of Robin Hood recently, and absolutely adored it. It was immediately preceded by Peter Pan, which I also found thoroughly delightful. After I finish rereading the Princess Bride (yes…again…) I plan to find some T.S. Eliot at the library. I did read Cyrano de Bergerac as soon as I got to Atlanta (in French), and really liked the satire and playfulness of the play. Speaking of puns, I’m starting to fall back into that niche here (there was a category of puns on Jeopardy the other night!), and that’s good for me; as I get more comfortable, I start to become more of who I really am (something I really miss about this summer).
This is, of course, exceptionally long. Hopefully I’ll be better at regular updates from here on out.
So I’m aware that it’s been forever since I wrote. I don’t have internet at home, and I often feel bad using the internet at work for non-work purposes (although I’m getting more used to it, especially because I work at home, so why not home at work, right?). I’ve been here in Atlanta for 6 weeks at least now, which is a long time. It’s been bumpy, but there have been some good things, and it’s growing on me.
I cooked an awesome dinner this week. It was the first time I’ve gotten to do real cooking since I’ve been here (pasta and sautéed everything and pb&j clearly do not count). It was vegetable tian with breaded chicken and rice. I could have picked a better combination of foods, but individually they weren’t too bad (and they weren’t bad together either, but it could have been a little more perfect). The tian was possibly one of the most attractive dishes I’ve made yet, and it was French, which was even better. It also caused me to fall in love with Gruyere cheese…so delicious. Mmm.
These are my plants. I’ve been really stuck on naming things here and haven’t been able to come up with fitting names for them yet. The one with large leaves is Clara; she used to live with Rufus and George the cacti, but Rufus rotted out and George is slowly passing away (yes, I am skilled enough to kill a cactus). The tall spindly one is male (I decided), and I think the smaller ones surrounding clara are female…but I just can’t name them. They make me happy, though. *Tall one may be Edsel or Giuseppe, and the short ones may be Elsa. Still taking suggestions.
I am also having a horrid problem naming my “new” bike (my uncle found it in a dump and fixed it up for me, and I love it). It’s an old Schwinn Worldsport, and just looks so lithe (elegant, slender, athletic, graceful, agile – lithe). I feel a little weird riding it because I’m not the world’s greatest city rider, nor have I really ridden hills before. I’m getting used to it, but the gears are a little messed up on it still and that makes hills more difficult of course. Riding in the city is definitely something else. I love not having to drive to work, and my 25-30 minute walk to campus cuts down to 5-10 on my bike (depending on traffic and construction). I feel much more environmentally friendly this way. Most of the way in, there’s a bike lane, so that helps greatly. I have ridden on more crowded streets, and that’s still nervewracking. Maybe I’ll work my way up to that. People tend to ride on the sidewalks a lot here too, which is less than optimal for the pedestrians. I try not to. But this is my bike. I think it deserves a good European or Asian name, but I’m not coming up with much that fits its look. Any suggestions would be very very welcome. *Currently mulling Didier, or maybe Loic.
Classes have been going well, although it’s of course hard and more than a little overwhelming. I feel like I’m never getting enough done, but, as I’ve been told, they’ll let you know if you need to work harder, so don’t stress too much about it. I’ve so far gotten a good reaction from my advisor about the research that I’d like to do, so that’s really exciting. Yay sea slug defenses! I really like my labmates, they’re all really friendly and it’s been great getting to know them.
I may have found a church, as well, but will give more details on that as it develops in terms of small group and all. I feel like I really heard from God there in the sermon and worship the past few weeks, and the people are so warm and friendly (some my age, but lots of other generations too). And it's a nice, humble, real church. And it's one of very few within walking distance of my apartment. I like it a lot so far.
Contra dancing has been fun, but people are less friendly than they were in Savannah and the men are a bit more forward, which makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s because there are more northerners in Atlanta (and they don’t have as much respect I suppose).
I read Howard Pyle’s version of Robin Hood recently, and absolutely adored it. It was immediately preceded by Peter Pan, which I also found thoroughly delightful. After I finish rereading the Princess Bride (yes…again…) I plan to find some T.S. Eliot at the library. I did read Cyrano de Bergerac as soon as I got to Atlanta (in French), and really liked the satire and playfulness of the play. Speaking of puns, I’m starting to fall back into that niche here (there was a category of puns on Jeopardy the other night!), and that’s good for me; as I get more comfortable, I start to become more of who I really am (something I really miss about this summer).
This is, of course, exceptionally long. Hopefully I’ll be better at regular updates from here on out.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Church searching
I've been looking for a church home here in Atlanta for about 3 weeks now, and I still feel the need to keep searching. The first one wasn't welcoming; beautiful building, decent sermon, but not welcoming. The second one was good worship, decent teaching, and somewhat welcoming, but the church body was quite large (to the point where 2 long-time members just met for the first time that morning. Not a great sign). Today was a church planted by a campus church at Penn. It was a nice service, but again not welcoming. I think this time it was because it was mostly students. As a student I too wasn't so concerned about newcomers, I suppose, or didn't know how to handle them. I did recognize some people from Penn, but I don't think they recognized me. I might still try the latter two churches again, but I'm not sure.
I suppose I'm really looking for something smaller with a good community. Maybe I've been spoiled by my last few churches - I'm really missing the ones in Savannah and Lansdale right now. But I would really like to have a church family to be a part of for the next few years. Dealing with the transition is of course much harder without that community around me, and it's a bit discouraging. I don't know what plagues most churches that they don't reach out to new people. Maybe it's complacency and self-focus, as plagues me too. I just wish that it wasn't there.
So yes, if you could keep in prayer my search for a church home and family, I would appreciate it very much. For me to listen to God when He says "stay" and "go" with different churches. And openness to His leading.
I suppose I'm really looking for something smaller with a good community. Maybe I've been spoiled by my last few churches - I'm really missing the ones in Savannah and Lansdale right now. But I would really like to have a church family to be a part of for the next few years. Dealing with the transition is of course much harder without that community around me, and it's a bit discouraging. I don't know what plagues most churches that they don't reach out to new people. Maybe it's complacency and self-focus, as plagues me too. I just wish that it wasn't there.
So yes, if you could keep in prayer my search for a church home and family, I would appreciate it very much. For me to listen to God when He says "stay" and "go" with different churches. And openness to His leading.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
revoir et prevoir
I realize it's been a while, so I'll fill in on a few things that have happened over the past month. It will also be a while till I post again, because I'll be living in the woods for the next 2 1/2 months. So, here we go:
- I got to see Stars of the Lid play on Penn's campus a few weeks ago. It was amazing, transcendent, meta-music. I'd say to listen to them - which you should - but it's not nearly as transfixing as being surrounded by the music and the projection.
- I saw the movie "Expelled". Decent movie, a little concerning for me when I look at the state of scientific close-mindedness. It's largely true, from my experience, although it is a bit slanted towards being propaganda. All about how science is now closed to intelligent design, and the breakdown of intellectual freedom. It's interesting to me to see academia in the position of control and oppression - the same role the church used to have over science.
- I finished my SCUBA certification - wuhoooooooooooooooo! I also saw a hydra and either a baby snail or arthropod or something (I was supposed to be doing a skill and couldn't full investigate) during my training :D. I'm doing the advanced training in August.
- I'm working at my old summer camp again this summer. I'm going to be the staff-in-training leader (high schoolers come for 2 weeks and are semi-staff, I help lead them). I'm really looking forward to being immersed in wilderness and Christian community again. Pray for wisdom & care to be poured into me by God to be poured back out on these kids & my fellow staff.
- I'm moving to Atlanta right after camp!
- I got to see Stars of the Lid play on Penn's campus a few weeks ago. It was amazing, transcendent, meta-music. I'd say to listen to them - which you should - but it's not nearly as transfixing as being surrounded by the music and the projection.
- I saw the movie "Expelled". Decent movie, a little concerning for me when I look at the state of scientific close-mindedness. It's largely true, from my experience, although it is a bit slanted towards being propaganda. All about how science is now closed to intelligent design, and the breakdown of intellectual freedom. It's interesting to me to see academia in the position of control and oppression - the same role the church used to have over science.
- I finished my SCUBA certification - wuhoooooooooooooooo! I also saw a hydra and either a baby snail or arthropod or something (I was supposed to be doing a skill and couldn't full investigate) during my training :D. I'm doing the advanced training in August.
- I'm working at my old summer camp again this summer. I'm going to be the staff-in-training leader (high schoolers come for 2 weeks and are semi-staff, I help lead them). I'm really looking forward to being immersed in wilderness and Christian community again. Pray for wisdom & care to be poured into me by God to be poured back out on these kids & my fellow staff.
- I'm moving to Atlanta right after camp!
Friday, April 18, 2008
le printemps
Spring has been beautiful this year. Maybe I'm not used to seeing it on such a grand scale anymore, as I was in GA last year and in the city the 4 years before that. Maybe this is the first midatlantic spring I've gotten to see since I've known God and His fingerprints. It's just amazing to see everything coming back to life after a long winter, and so refreshing to get out in the sunshine again after the cold and the rain. Spring is glorious, in the true sense of the word: give-God-the-glory-ous.
I recently finished reading "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller. What I appreciated most about that book was the author's emphasis on God's passion for a relationship with us, and that it's real - not just something to make us feel better. It's hard to explain, but it does make relationship with God far more tangible and important, and less formulaic.
One last thing, I've been listening this week to Lifehouse, and find a crazy amount of hope in this song, particularly with a still-hazy future in Atlanta:
How long have I been in this storm,
so overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form?
Water's getting harder to tread
with these waves crashing over my head.
If I could just see You,
everything would be alright.
If I'd see You,
this darkness would turn to light.
And I will walk on water,
And You will catch me if I fall.
And I will get lost into Your eyes,
and everything will be alright.
and everything will be alright.
I know you didn't bring me out here to drown,
So why am I ten feet under and upside down?
Barely surviving has become my purpose
'cause I'm so used to living underneath the surface.
If I could just see You,
everything would be alright.
If I see You,
this darkness will turn to light.
And I will walk on water,
And You will catch me if I fall.
and I will get lost into Your eyes,
and everything will be alright.
Monday, March 31, 2008
drumroll please....
..........
it's official!
I will be headed to Atlanta to study sea slugs at Georgia Tech for my PhD starting in August!
WOOOOOOO!!!!
If you're in the Philly area, I'd love to hang out before May 30 (since I'll be at camp this summer).
Regardless of where you are, you should come visit me in Atlanta (just take a really long layover because we all know that you've got a good chance of flying through there no matter where you go in this country) - once I get there of course.
It still seems unreal - I ACTUALLY get to do this! I'm ACTUALLY going to grad school! I'm ACTUALLY going to study my slugs! Wild!
I'm very excited to see all my friends in GA though, and settle down, and make some new friends, be in a new church, and live in a new place where I can live for more than 6 months. Oh, and go square dancing again. And regain my drawl. And wear Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers jerseys with the added bonus of being "that irritating Philly fan" in a mildly antagonistic city. Oh, and I'm glad I'm not moving to Dallas.
I'm excited to see what God's got for these next 5-6 years in Atlanta.
it's official!
I will be headed to Atlanta to study sea slugs at Georgia Tech for my PhD starting in August!
WOOOOOOO!!!!
If you're in the Philly area, I'd love to hang out before May 30 (since I'll be at camp this summer).
Regardless of where you are, you should come visit me in Atlanta (just take a really long layover because we all know that you've got a good chance of flying through there no matter where you go in this country) - once I get there of course.
It still seems unreal - I ACTUALLY get to do this! I'm ACTUALLY going to grad school! I'm ACTUALLY going to study my slugs! Wild!
I'm very excited to see all my friends in GA though, and settle down, and make some new friends, be in a new church, and live in a new place where I can live for more than 6 months. Oh, and go square dancing again. And regain my drawl. And wear Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers jerseys with the added bonus of being "that irritating Philly fan" in a mildly antagonistic city. Oh, and I'm glad I'm not moving to Dallas.
I'm excited to see what God's got for these next 5-6 years in Atlanta.
Friday, March 7, 2008
future stuff
Summer plans:
SIT leader at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp (where I counseled for 3 summers).
Grad school:
Turned down by: William & Mary, Univ. of Calif. Davis
Likely to be turned down by: UNC-Wilmington and Univ. New Hampshire
Waiting to hear from: Georgia Tech & Univ. of Georgia
In a horrid mental/emotional/spiritual mess over:
guidance, life direction, and goals/identity at cross-purposes to where my life is currently headed (which may be nowhere if grad school doesn't work out). feeling like Jonah because I either don't hear or don't listen to directions and/or God keeps changing his mind. And fish guts smell bad. hating that i have to be "strong" and "functional" and "composed" in interactions with, well, everyone, due to societal compulsion to have a facade of wholeness and contentedness no matter what's going on.
SIT leader at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp (where I counseled for 3 summers).
Grad school:
Turned down by: William & Mary, Univ. of Calif. Davis
Likely to be turned down by: UNC-Wilmington and Univ. New Hampshire
Waiting to hear from: Georgia Tech & Univ. of Georgia
In a horrid mental/emotional/spiritual mess over:
guidance, life direction, and goals/identity at cross-purposes to where my life is currently headed (which may be nowhere if grad school doesn't work out). feeling like Jonah because I either don't hear or don't listen to directions and/or God keeps changing his mind. And fish guts smell bad. hating that i have to be "strong" and "functional" and "composed" in interactions with, well, everyone, due to societal compulsion to have a facade of wholeness and contentedness no matter what's going on.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Escapades at work
My new job has been going pretty well. Although I'm primarily kept in the reptile department and haven't gotten much experience at all with fish, inverts, or aquarium set up yet, I'm still having fun. Handling snakes is way better than folding clothes. Working with hundreds of reptiles leads to some interesting happenings, though:
- I had 3 snakes snap at me one night. I was wearing gloves, so they couldn't have bit if they tried. I think they also realized that I was bigger than them so latching on wasn't a good idea. It was still interesting, though.
- A blue gliding tree frog leaped out of its cage onto my hand when I opened the door to the cage. The next night he latched onto the water bowl and stayed there while I took out, rinsed, and refilled, the bowl. Adventurous little guy.
- I got impaled by a large iguana's lovely claws my second night at work. Blood running down my arm and everything. To date that's actually my only injury, surprisingly.
- Last week I got bit by a caiman (nasty little alligator relative, worse temperament than gators). I was wearing gloves, so it didn't hurt, but I'm not eager to find out what that bite would feel like without gloves.
- Last night I lost a frog. I was supposed to move him from "inventory" to the show room and had to clean his cage first. Most frogs at work are slow, sedentary, and nocturnal - you open the cage and they don't go anywhere. Not so with this guy! (Actually, I think the throat was white, it may have been a girl). Anyway, so when I opened the lid to reach for the water dish, the frog shot out of the catch and leaped behind the freezer. Ohhh, boy. So, I moved the freezer a foot out from the wall, as far as it would go, sat on top of it, and started rummaging around in the random crud that had fallen behind it over the last year. Tried to catch the frog with a little net, numerous times, but unsuccessfully. After an hour of on-and-off looking, I eventualy gave up, cleaned up behind the freezer, and had pushed it back when: there's the frog, sitting in the middle of the floor. Surprisingly, he let me put a net over him, and I got him back into his cage. I put a different lid on it and a VERY heavy rock to keep him from getting out. It was quite the adventure!
Lots of other interesting and random things happen at work. Most people think I'm slightly crazy for it, but I think it's a fun place to work.
- I had 3 snakes snap at me one night. I was wearing gloves, so they couldn't have bit if they tried. I think they also realized that I was bigger than them so latching on wasn't a good idea. It was still interesting, though.
- A blue gliding tree frog leaped out of its cage onto my hand when I opened the door to the cage. The next night he latched onto the water bowl and stayed there while I took out, rinsed, and refilled, the bowl. Adventurous little guy.
- I got impaled by a large iguana's lovely claws my second night at work. Blood running down my arm and everything. To date that's actually my only injury, surprisingly.
- Last week I got bit by a caiman (nasty little alligator relative, worse temperament than gators). I was wearing gloves, so it didn't hurt, but I'm not eager to find out what that bite would feel like without gloves.
- Last night I lost a frog. I was supposed to move him from "inventory" to the show room and had to clean his cage first. Most frogs at work are slow, sedentary, and nocturnal - you open the cage and they don't go anywhere. Not so with this guy! (Actually, I think the throat was white, it may have been a girl). Anyway, so when I opened the lid to reach for the water dish, the frog shot out of the catch and leaped behind the freezer. Ohhh, boy. So, I moved the freezer a foot out from the wall, as far as it would go, sat on top of it, and started rummaging around in the random crud that had fallen behind it over the last year. Tried to catch the frog with a little net, numerous times, but unsuccessfully. After an hour of on-and-off looking, I eventualy gave up, cleaned up behind the freezer, and had pushed it back when: there's the frog, sitting in the middle of the floor. Surprisingly, he let me put a net over him, and I got him back into his cage. I put a different lid on it and a VERY heavy rock to keep him from getting out. It was quite the adventure!
Lots of other interesting and random things happen at work. Most people think I'm slightly crazy for it, but I think it's a fun place to work.
Friday, February 1, 2008
490
What do you do when someone dislikes/resents you? Do you ask for forgiveness...or pray for God to allow you to forgive them for disliking you? Or both? I think usually we just stop associating with that person and move on.
What if it's a close family member?
Maybe this is just practice for if I ever have teenage children of my own; if it is, I don't think I do well with family disliking & resenting me, and I'll be in trouble then.
Jesus declared new siblings and parents for himself; somehow I don't think that's the model he had in mind for us.
So what do we do? How do we reconcile within ourselves an irreconcilable relationship?
What if it's a close family member?
Maybe this is just practice for if I ever have teenage children of my own; if it is, I don't think I do well with family disliking & resenting me, and I'll be in trouble then.
Jesus declared new siblings and parents for himself; somehow I don't think that's the model he had in mind for us.
So what do we do? How do we reconcile within ourselves an irreconcilable relationship?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wheeeee!
In a more-complete update on the last post and some previous ones:
I've found an awesome church where lots of people I know go (which I didn't know before I go'ed), and I'm very much looking forward to getting to know them and getting closer to God again and not having to carry things myself as much anymore. Definitely feel like it was God's doing that I ended up at that specific church.
After being turned down from jobs again and again and severely moping on Monday because of getting turned down again because no one wanted a short-term hire, I resigned myself to retail and working weekends (no dis on retail, and it's a pride fault that makes me see it as less, but also because I just don't want to work Sundays). So I printed off a stack of resumes and was about to go knocking on doors, when my mom suggested I take a look at this aquarium store about a half an hour away. So I printed off my "aquatic husbandry" resume and went down there. And, though they said they had no openings, we got to talking, I got to interview with the store owner and...hired! It was amazing. And they've got all kinds of delightful aquatic creatures there, including a 9' diameter tank with sharks! I think they'll probably have me primarily work with turtles, but hopefully I'll get well-versed in lots of aquatic creatures and how to care for them.
And then...I got the doc's ok to get my SCUBA certification this weekend! Wooooooooooooo! I've been studying like whoa, and start tomorrow evening.
And then...all my grad apps are done (except one mysteriously missing set of GRE scores). AND I heard back from a potential grad school about interviews. YAY!
I'm pretty incredulous over it all. So much tohu bohu before, so many grace-given surprising resolutions to it all within this week. There aren't really words for it, just sitting here grinning like a little kid who got a plesiosaur in the swimming pool for Christmas.
And really, this was deserved even amidst the tohu-bohu (it's just much easier to see when the darkness is lifted):
Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
The LORD is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
upon the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
Ps 113.
I've found an awesome church where lots of people I know go (which I didn't know before I go'ed), and I'm very much looking forward to getting to know them and getting closer to God again and not having to carry things myself as much anymore. Definitely feel like it was God's doing that I ended up at that specific church.
After being turned down from jobs again and again and severely moping on Monday because of getting turned down again because no one wanted a short-term hire, I resigned myself to retail and working weekends (no dis on retail, and it's a pride fault that makes me see it as less, but also because I just don't want to work Sundays). So I printed off a stack of resumes and was about to go knocking on doors, when my mom suggested I take a look at this aquarium store about a half an hour away. So I printed off my "aquatic husbandry" resume and went down there. And, though they said they had no openings, we got to talking, I got to interview with the store owner and...hired! It was amazing. And they've got all kinds of delightful aquatic creatures there, including a 9' diameter tank with sharks! I think they'll probably have me primarily work with turtles, but hopefully I'll get well-versed in lots of aquatic creatures and how to care for them.
And then...I got the doc's ok to get my SCUBA certification this weekend! Wooooooooooooo! I've been studying like whoa, and start tomorrow evening.
And then...all my grad apps are done (except one mysteriously missing set of GRE scores). AND I heard back from a potential grad school about interviews. YAY!
I'm pretty incredulous over it all. So much tohu bohu before, so many grace-given surprising resolutions to it all within this week. There aren't really words for it, just sitting here grinning like a little kid who got a plesiosaur in the swimming pool for Christmas.
And really, this was deserved even amidst the tohu-bohu (it's just much easier to see when the darkness is lifted):
Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
The LORD is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
upon the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
Ps 113.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Stagnancy
So things back here in the ol' homestead have been fairly dull and stagnant of late, and so many things are still up in the air. We usually think of stagnancy as being in a rut of activity, but I'm in a stagnancy of uncertainty. It's like being stuck in Limbo (see: Rasputin in "Anastasia"). Nothing is certain, there is no direction, yet the lack of direction and solidity is unchanging.
I'm hoping, though, that something, anything, will change soon.
- I'm still looking for a job and had some interviews before Christmas. One seemed very promising but I still haven't heard. I hate applying for jobs, too, and have pretty much been constantly looking for a job since leaving college. Now that I've got an end time limit on my availability due to grad school, it's hard to find anything above retail. Pray for a job, any job, to work out, and for God's direction (and my listening, and for me not to be too proud about what kind of work I do).
- Even if I get a job in downtown Philly, I may just try to carpool with my dad rather than get a new apartment for just 3-5 months. Need direction with that one, too. And if I do live at home, lots of prayer for sanity and flexibility and humility. Living at home is something else entirely after having lived on one's own.
- I had been waiting to find a new church until I knew where I was living, but the job/housing stuff is taking too long and I'm going to seriously start looking tomorrow. I'd like to find a place solidly rooted in the Word and that has a welcoming community. I'm also hoping to find someplace with a young adults ministry or Bible study, because being out here in the suburbs is lonely as all get out, and I'd like to make a few friends. It's been a long time since I felt connected to a church. So yeah, prayer for that would be super.
- And, of course, grad school. I still have no idea where I'm headed, if anywhere. If I don't get in, the current idea is to just move back to Savannah and start over from there. Definitely need prayer for God's will to be evident in grad school decisions.
Oh yeah, and I'm incredibly bored, as evidenced by the carrot creations.
>{EDIT 1/6/08: God found me a church this morning, and surprised me with lots of people I know well and the potential to make friends of some folks my age. God is a good God, yes He is, wu-hoo!}<
>{EDIT 1/8/08: I got a job today at an aquarium supply store with fish and herps and inverts and sharks! They said they weren't hiring, but then there was a shift change with a new manager, and he liked my resume (which I just happened to have with me and it piqued their interest), and then he took me back to meet the store manager and they hired me then and there and they'll let me have Sunday mornings off and WUHOO!}<
I'm hoping, though, that something, anything, will change soon.
- I'm still looking for a job and had some interviews before Christmas. One seemed very promising but I still haven't heard. I hate applying for jobs, too, and have pretty much been constantly looking for a job since leaving college. Now that I've got an end time limit on my availability due to grad school, it's hard to find anything above retail. Pray for a job, any job, to work out, and for God's direction (and my listening, and for me not to be too proud about what kind of work I do).
- Even if I get a job in downtown Philly, I may just try to carpool with my dad rather than get a new apartment for just 3-5 months. Need direction with that one, too. And if I do live at home, lots of prayer for sanity and flexibility and humility. Living at home is something else entirely after having lived on one's own.
- I had been waiting to find a new church until I knew where I was living, but the job/housing stuff is taking too long and I'm going to seriously start looking tomorrow. I'd like to find a place solidly rooted in the Word and that has a welcoming community. I'm also hoping to find someplace with a young adults ministry or Bible study, because being out here in the suburbs is lonely as all get out, and I'd like to make a few friends. It's been a long time since I felt connected to a church. So yeah, prayer for that would be super.
- And, of course, grad school. I still have no idea where I'm headed, if anywhere. If I don't get in, the current idea is to just move back to Savannah and start over from there. Definitely need prayer for God's will to be evident in grad school decisions.
Oh yeah, and I'm incredibly bored, as evidenced by the carrot creations.
>{EDIT 1/6/08: God found me a church this morning, and surprised me with lots of people I know well and the potential to make friends of some folks my age. God is a good God, yes He is, wu-hoo!}<
>{EDIT 1/8/08: I got a job today at an aquarium supply store with fish and herps and inverts and sharks! They said they weren't hiring, but then there was a shift change with a new manager, and he liked my resume (which I just happened to have with me and it piqued their interest), and then he took me back to meet the store manager and they hired me then and there and they'll let me have Sunday mornings off and WUHOO!}<
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