It's not time to worry yet

In to Kill a Mockingbird (a new favorite of mine) Atticus Finch often tells Jem and Scout "it's not time to worry yet".

I like this.

To have the wisdom and composure of his character in the time and place he did would be of great aspiration to me.

To know when indeed it is not time to worry yet would make life so much brighter.

I devoured this book at each chance I could. Even telling my mom I would rather not talk until it is dark and I can no longer read on the ride to Ohio. (I cheated and used my head lamp and read anyway.)

It covers many issues and ideas that I have never really personally dealt with. And it covers them in such a way that a child can understand. I often forgot that the narrator of the story was around 7 years old.

Part of me wishes it had been handed to me to read earlier in life, but part of me is very glad it waited until now to make an appearance.

I hope that the mantra "it's not time to worry yet" can stick in my mind as a standard of thoughts and that as I continue to grow up I can exemplify the integrity and character that is present in this wonderful story.

Bakla-awesome

Part of my 30 by 30 challenge is adventurous eating. The parameters of this are: go to a new restaurant each month, try one new recipe from a different country each month, and eat anything offered to me that is new and different.

I haven't had all that many new and different things offered but I did get to try a secret family recipe of one David J Broughton, known as the cinnamon tea ring. It was delicious.

My restaurant of choice was Greenfield's Bagel and Deli. I was running low on time to accomplish this task, so I needed something quick and easy. While out running errands I stopped in to grab a bagel, cranberry orange was my choice. As it turns out this place has a great selection of Mediterranean things and I hope to get back to try some other things on their menu in the near future.

 

My recipe of choice was baklava. I found one titled easy baklava on the Internet and thought it was appropriate for the first attempt. I researched the history of baklava a little and it is a toss up between Greece and Turkey for country of origin. Thus I am choosing to say the country this month is Turkey. Mostly because there are other Greek things I would like to try.

 

Baklava is a rather time consuming endeavor, but I would say worth it. I think it took about 2 hours start to finish.

 

While eating it, I said to Steph, 'Is this what baklava is supposed to taste like?' And she replied, 'if it's not, then I don't want baklava.' So whether it's good baklava or not, I'm not sure. But whatever it is, it is quite tasty. And maybe a little better the second day as it has had time to absorb it's own gooey goodness.

 

And with that I can check adventurous eating off the list for April. If you have any recipe or Greenville-ish restaurant suggestions for May, I would be glad to hear them!

Seasonal Shifts

I like seasons.

Living in a place where the landscape changes every few months has always been a joy to me. Seeing that the world around us needs to go through different stages of life and death in order to be sustained is such a beautiful image.

Being a camp professional, the word season is also used to track your life. How many seasons have you worked there is a common question. I was at Camp Greenville for 6, Bonclarken for 4. Look Up doesn't quite count in seasons, but if it did I am going on 9 I think.

For a time I counted my life by seasons, and likely will continue to in some ways. The seasons shift and change.

This past season of my life has been very good, very full, very positive.

And a huge, huge part of that has been 2 lovely ladies that fell into my world about a week apart.

I had known Lindsey and thought highly of her, but never really got to spend much time with her. I had heard of Torrye and was told we were cut of the same cloth and would be great friends if ever we met.

Then one week in October I got a text from Lindsey in need of a place to live. I said, 'of course, but only if that means I get to hang out with you.'

She moved in a week later.

Such a beautiful bride!

Then the first week in Novemeber, Torrye came rolling into town for her winter off between seasons at Outward Bound.

And we indeed were fast friends, cut of the same cloth. (Whatever that means)

Post Mud Run.

Our time together was always enjoyable. Sometimes crazy. Maybe a little ridiculous. But always enjoyable. Hikes and movies and fires and mud run and fat kid Tuesday and weddings and crafts and coffee and laughs.

It has been a good season.

But.

The season of both of them in this setting and place has shifted.

Torrye headed back out to her new and old adventures on Friday. She will be back in Ely, MN for the summer season then off to the AT for the fall.

Lindsey is off to begin the adventure of the rest of her life in wedded bliss to Andrew. Their wedding was as lovely as them and I'm glad I was a small part of it.

So in a week they came and a weekend they left.

Not to say our friendship is over. But alas, the season has changed. I will dearly miss the girls that have shaped the past 6 months of my life. But I look forward to what the years of new seasons will hold even if distance and life stages separate us.

Thankfully I have a few new friends that have fallen into my world just in time to help the season shift a little smoother. And I look forward to another new season beginning and what may develop in weeks and months to come.

Just Keep Running

There were a few things on a list of which I thought I would never say in life.  But, somewhat out of nowhere to me, in the past year or two, this list is changing. Some of which are seemingly drastic on many fronts.

One of those things I thought I would never say is:

I love running.

(and by running I mean jogging at a possibly slower than average pace)

Just this week I was trying to focus on some homework for a class I am taking and I just couldn't do it. All I wanted to do was lace up my lost and found running shoes and head to the trail around the lake. So, I did, because trying to read when I cannot focus is futile in most cases.

And, after that run, I was pleased to have done it.

After every run I am pleased to have done it.

With this new love of running comes a new set of activities in life. Some would call them races. I won't because I doubt I will ever be in the shape it takes to win. But races they are none the less and I have begun researching and planning and considering budget issues and how many in the next year would be feasible.

So far, I have completed one and our team came in somewhere in the middle of the crowd. Which, in my opinion, was not bad for a team of girls who had never really done anything of the sort before. We did the Goodwill Mud Run, and it was a blast! I could not have had a better team of girls to complete it with.

 

Next up on the so called race list is the Swamp Rabbit 5k at the beginning of May. This should be a fun run as many of my friends in the area will be doing it too.

 

And for the fall on the list we are toying with the idea of the Table Rock 15k. The goal for this one would be to not die and actually complete it. But I really like running on trail as compared to paved path, so this might just be my thing. Also for the fall is a half marathon. I haven't picked one yet, but will likely start the training process for that as the summer season starts up here in a few weeks. 

So to those of you that have more experience in this than I do, I would love any helpful hints or suggestions to help me continue to grow in my love of running and maybe someday be able to legitimately say running rather than jogging slightly faster than I can walk.

Next Year in Jerusalem!

One year ago today I was at the airport in Charlotte waiting to board the plane that would take me to New York to then board the plane that would transport me to a place that would carve out a spot in my heart like I never knew a place so monotonously colored could.

Israel.

Sometimes I recall it so vividly, when I wake from my daydream I am stunned I am not actually there. Sometimes it seems so distant I wonder if it really happened. I often think about the delicious food and the interesting art, hoping that someday I will see and taste it again.

The past year has been an interesting year.

The past year has taught me many things. But one thing it has not done is lessen my desire to return to that land where so much of history centers.

After a year, looking at the pictures still fills me with deep longing for something I cannot place. I stumbled upon a blog today that someone else wrote about Gethsemene and it immediately brought tears to me eyes.

So rich, so full of story and life and things that I will never understand.

Dad, Uncle Paul and I have talked of plans to return next year, in 2014. I do hope it happens.

So maybe next year in Jerusalem we will be, but for now I will just hold tight to the memories and deep longings that I cannot place until I can return again to such a beautiful land.

My First Avett

About 5 years ago, my friend Kelly introduced me to a band.

The Avett Brothers.

At the time, they weren't quite so big a name as they are now, and since they have worked their way into my heart to be a close second to my all time favorite band Switchfoot. Maybe I have a thing for bands of brothers.

Last night I saw them live for the first time. And it was fantastic, brilliant, wonderful, lovely, super!

We were rather far from the stage, which has its perks, like the fact that I could actually see over the people in front of me and it was really enjoyable to watch the crowd. It was, however, lacking in energy that comes from being in amongst a group of fanatics. But overall it was a good seat.

They performed 3 of my old favorites (which was a delight as often my faves are not the ones that get played at a show) and so many other lovely tunes that were even better live.

I do wish I could have been close enough to see their faces and expressions as they sang the songs that came from somewhere deep inside them. What a thrill it would be to be in a room with thousands of strangers all singing your words back to you! Strangers that all know something about your life, but really know nothing of it.

I want to be their friend. I want to know what those words really mean to them. I want to invite them to my home because they just seemed so stinking fun!

I think it a little silly that it took me this long to see them live, but it was worth the wait. Hopefully I will see them again in the not so distant future.

Good show brothers Avett. Good show.

(And that's one of my 3 concerts for 30 by 30.)

30 Books: Book #1 [The Holy Wild]

Reading 30 books in a year is a mildly lofty goal for my usual reading speed. However, if I choose well, as I did with my first book, it should be a piece of cake.

My first book for my year of 30 by 30 was The Holy Wild be Mark Buchanan. This book was recommended to me by my friend Ashley, and I must thank her for the recommendation as it was a lovely, encouraging, challenging and just plain good book! I read it rather quickly so that I can hand it off to a few friends, but I look forward to reading it again in the future and letting it soak in a little more.

Sometimes I have thoughts that I cannot quite articulate or don't really know that I have until someone else says something just right. That is how I felt while reading most of this book. It was as if the author was peering into my soul and coming back with exactly what I needed to hear or articulate.

It may or may not have brought me to tears multiple times.

The book focuses on various aspects of God's character:
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Love
- Wrath
- Mercy
- Victory
- Holiness
- Creativity
- Wisdom
- Rest
- Glory

Each chapter uses his personal experiences in life and ministry and examples from the Bible to display God's character in a way that is so simple that I wondered why I had never understood or thought of many of the ideas before.

Here are just a few of the words that particularly hit deep down:

"What marks Jesus' disciples from His enemies is not theological acumen; His enemies often had the edge there. It's this: Disciples follow Him, bewildered as they often are, while enemies oppose Him, clear-minded though they be."
- This one spoke very much to me as the future holds many more question marks than periods as do many theological ideas, but question marks or periods, we follow, bewildered as we may be.

"God's wrath, in its worst and fullest form, is God turning us over. It's God letting us have our own way. It's God leaving us alone."
- I don't think much on God's wrath. That's too dark and scary. But this thought, God leaving us alone, is utterly terrifying. Choosing my own way, although I do it more often than not, is not worth spending eternity separated from the God of the universe.

"Books often talk about God as Creator - the maker of heaven and earth - but not as Artist - the maker of dragonflies and pussy willows. We extol His power in creation, but ignore His extravagant, exuberant creativity, His sheer inventiveness and playfulness."
- Deep down I long to be a starving artist and creator of things. Thus, the chapter based on the creativity of God was my favorite. I could write a whole post on this idea, and maybe I will, but for now just think about all the things God took the time to create that we will never see. What exactly is at the deep dark bottom of the ocean, or out in the universe floating around? Whatever it is, God created it. I like to think that sometimes, He is just showing off.

"It never comes from pushing. There are some things that only grow in stillness - or silliness - that only flourish in rest, or laughter."
- On speaking of Sabbath and resting in God. We try to push things, to make them happen on our time table, but sometimes all we need is to laugh, to be silly, to sit still, to rest. I like this.

"And faith is finally this: resting so utterly in the character of God - in the ultimate goodness of God - that you trust Him even when He seems untrustworthy."
- Bewildered, questioning, not knowing, but somehow believing that trust is better than not trusting. I hope my faith shows strongest even when He seems untrustworthy.

Those are a very minimal selection of the things in the book that stuck out and struck a cord deep down somewhere inside. I highly recommend reading this book if you need refreshed or are longing to think more on the character of God.

Less to Love?

Today makes 6 months on Weight Watchers. (I still sort of feel lame for using Weight Watchers, but daggonit the system works!)

Today also makes a weigh in with 40 lbs less of me!

40 lbs!

Go try and carry around 40 lbs of something for a while.

Really, go.

Ok, are you back?

Here are some things that weigh 40 lbs:

5 Gallons of Water

 

 

These precious pups, once full grown, combined

 

Bags of stuff

 

Your average backpacking pack.

 

This fish

 

 

These hilarious and adorable girls.

 

 

 

Just ponder life with one of these things attached to you, all the time. No wonder I hated running and got winded walking up small hills. I was carrying a small child with me everywhere. Or a slippery fish!

 

All this to say, I feel great, I like running, and I am so glad there are 40 lbs less of me to love!