as is my style lately, i’m updating in bullets. here’s what’s on my mind:
- josh ritter makes me smile. i had only heard his music a few times before jon got tickets to his show at the high noon last month. wow. maybe it was my lack of expectation,
but the show kicked a$$. i can’t remember the last time i saw an artist peform so enthusiastically. it was contagious. watching him and his band fully give themselves to their performance and love every second of it, well, it was only natural that we loved every second of it. i highly recommend the two cds i now have of his: the historical conquests of josh ritter and the animal years. i wish that everyone could enjoy their work as much as it appears josh does. who knew such joy could come from idaho?
- i spent last week during jon’s absence getting together with a number of girlfriends i haven’t caught up with in a long time: erin, jen, mary, paula, marcy, kort, and melissa. so wonderful. each conversation took on its own unique identity, discussions ranging from wedding planning and authentic worship to spiritual leadership and sex. i thank god that women are so complex, so multi-layered, and so eager to move towards honesty.
- i’ve been reading a book by tom wright (n.t. wright for you smarties out there) on the letter to the ephesians and am surprised by how profoundly it affected me yesterday. he was commenting on the way christians talk about inviting jesus into your heart (for a great message on this, check out donald miller’s message on brightness) and shared that the paul apostle paul more often wrote about being IN Christ than Christ being in our hearts. i was moved to think about how all too easy it is too believe that christ is like a little doll i drag around in my heart. instead, i spent most of the day in joyful wonder that the God i love would let me live in Him, be a part of His kingdom work and a part of his church body. i love how beautiful He is.
- i’m incredibly bummed to be missing our church’s july 13th service on following christ with our worship. ARGH!
however, i’ll be in honduras with an incredible group of middle school students and 5 fabulous adults parterning with local hondurans to put on 2 weeks of english-speaking camps for middle and highschool age students there. you can stay up-to-date with our travels by visiting www.honduras-08.blogspot.com. i can’t believe that’s only 4 days away!
- speaking of the trip, we visited the doctor yesterday (yes, late, i know) to update shots and get vaccinations. i discovered two things: 1) i’m way tougher than i thought. hep a and tetnus shots have nothing on me and 2) jon keeps incredibly poor records of his medical history (“no, i had my shots recently enough … no, i don’t need them cause i got everything in 2001 … no, i’m sure it’s there … no, you don’t see my hep a booster in there? or my tetnus? wait, why are bringing out a needle? for real? i didn’t have them?”)
- along those same lines, i can’t imagine how much life changes for moms and dads when they’re suddenly responsible for helping keep track of shots and vaccinations and what not. seriously, i called my mom two days ago to ask her if i’d ever had any kind of hep b shots and she responded with a detailed email of every shot i’d ever had “for my records.” wow, i can’t believe she loves me that much. i wonder if i will ever love my kids that much.
- my birthday is a mere 34 days away! holy smokes! that means i’m only 2 years and 24 days away from being 30. i can’t wait. 30 seems so glorious to me (with a few exceptions – if my 30th year is anything like my sister’s, i don’t know if i’ll be able to handle it with as much grace. seriously, a little skin cancer, a ruptured appendix and a baby. that’s crazy). but i want to kick off my 30th in a big way, so i’ve been looking around a bit and found a couple of ideas, but this is the one i like the best. what a beautiful thing. maybe i’ll do 28 random acts of kindness for my 28th birthday. hmm, maybe i could start to blog them as soon as a i get back … hmmm …
- i need to read a fiction book. i need an escapist read. it’s time.
- i love rice and beans. that is one heck of an excellent meal.
- i miss our friends james and paula. wherever they are now i hope they are having lots of fun galavanting around the U.S. i miss my friend janelle in San Fran. i miss my friend allison in Phenomenal Menomonie.
- okay, time to go make more real lists of the things that have to get done in a matter of days (and once again, make sure you check out josh ritter. for real, you’ll be happy you did).
