Posts

Showing posts from February, 2013

A Small Hiatus

My dearests, I think that perhaps I will not be posting super often for a little while. Yes, my trials, tribulations, rants, and emotions are still my constant companion, and I will most likely still be posting at points, but I think I need to take a little time to work through this next transition with the Lord and with myself. In four months I head somewhere else, and when I know where I will tell you all of course. And in the next quarter I will most likely be impassioned with something that I cannot help but share. And perhaps as soon as I post this I will be flooded with phenomenal ideas for blog posts (I still owe you all one on my experience on the Ellen Show) but don't be alarmed if I go a little while without a word. I am still alive and well, and still committed to posting my rambling mind on the internet for all little eyes to see. For now I just need a little break to take in my surroundings, spend time with those I have come to love over the past year and a half, an

Productivity has flown away.

Today I am being woefully unproductive. Holed up in my friend's apartment (because she has internet, and this couch I am sitting on, and some crackers that I have eaten hoping she won't notice) I am supposed to be working on a research paper. Old Meredith keeps knocking on the doors of my brain saying "This paper is due Monday! You should be almost done by now!" But new Meredith drowns her out with iTunes and says, "I'll do it later." New Meredith is lacking in time-management skills. Outside it looks like a once-in-a-blue-moon cloudy day and I think it maybe rained. So I think that gives me permission to curl up on this sofa and not worry about anything. Perhaps I will do a little reading for this paper and then calmly contemplate how I am going to freak out on Friday but then be done with it on Tuesday. Because really graduate school is just a crazy cycle to get used to. Procrastinate, Stress, Nap. That is how it goes. In fact, I think I will skip s

A Post About Love Love Love.

Do you realize how much love we are capable of? Who do you love? I think of my niece. I haven't seen her in almost a year but I look at pictures of us together and I love her so much I know that in a heartbeat I would take her in to live with me, no matter the challenges. I would do anything for that little girl. Or I think about my only brother. He might be my favorite person in the world. I was so sad when he left after his week visit because spending time with him is so fun.  And I will be honest, I did a heck of a lot of dishes while he was here and I hate doing dishes. But I didn't mind because I love him and I was so happy to be with him. And then there are the people that aren't family. The little one that I nanny- I love that little boy as if he was my own. Or my friends that take time to visit or call, I would defend them with my own life.  When I am with these people I feel a sort of love that changes my actions, that leads me to serve and to have grace

Standing Back Up on my Soapbox

If I were to tell you that this post was on heresy, coercive Christianity, martyrdom, and “Christianity by sword” would you be interested? These have been just a few of the topics brought up for discussion in my mission history class over the past week and a half. It has been interesting and sometimes discouraging to listen to the perspectives of my fellow students as we talk through these serious and consequential issues. The truth, as we have come to see, is that as Christians we cannot deny our history, both good and bad. No matter how we turn the coin we have to face the fact of the Crusades, the terrible destruction of indigenous communities, and the burning of so-called “heretics” were all real things that real Christians really did. If we face the truth, the history of Christianity ever since Jesus ascended into heaven hasn’t always been all that great, and that in itself can be pretty discouraging. It always makes me wonder, are we still getting it wrong? 100 years from now

Relevancy Vs. Irresponsibility

I was once told that in regards to politics I had very strong opinions for not knowing very much. Harsh, right? Part of me was thinking, lie to me people! Don’t tell me the truth! But I guess I want the truth, this one just hit me in the gut. I immediately put on my defensive I-can’t-believe-you just-said-that face and yelled “I’ll show you you know-it-all!” Ok the first half is true. I think my actual response was something closer to, “yea, whatever.” As I stomped away (or more than likely sat for a few more hours pondering my revenge) I decided to actually discover the reasons behind my beliefs and come back spitting fire made out of hard facts and strong evidence. About an hour of that and I was bored. Politics made me feel itchy so I decided that it would really just be easier for everyone to realize that I am never wrong. Isn’t that how it works? Or is it, say it with confidence and pretend you know the details? Who knows. At any rate I survived the political season held up by

Licenses, Poor Planning, and Why Its Cool that I am still in the US.

Life dilemma number 547.3: My license is about to expire. Sure, that seems  like a normal happens-every-six-years kind of problem, but it turns out to be a little more complicated for a nomad. Yes, I probably should have realized that this was going to happen soon since my license says I am an inch shorter than I am now and still has the red ring that warns people I was once under the age of 21, but alas, I just left the little guy in my wallet and now I stare at my 18 year-old-self wondering the best course of action. The best course of action is, well, unknown, as is my location in six months. Ah yes, just six short months and I am on to the next adventure. To be honest I have spent the last year-point-five freaking out  calmly searching for options, until finally I slowed down enough to hear God say "Just wait." Just calm down, be quiet, and trust. Sure, I have to do some work too, seeing what doors open and what doors close, but I know that God will take me where I nee