Saturday, April 17, 2010
14 Years
When does 13 years of hope turn into 13 years of weak and stupid? Maybe around 14 years. Here I am again....
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Bellydancing!
Had a hafla (party) at my house last week with dancing, henna and middle eastern snacks. Had a really good turn-out! Many of my students came and lots of my friends. Great Girl's Nite Out!! Then I performed at a bachelorette party two nights ago. Very fun!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Active Heart by Andree Seu
(parts of her last column in World Magazine that deeply resonate in my heart)
...To be tempted is to enter a cave. It's a deep cave but most of us never find that out. We bail (fail) almost at the entrance, and few ever see the dark parts of the interior, nor feel the full force of the darkness. Jesus ventured in all the way, and wrestled Minotaur and Cyclops.
"Fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6:12) has always struck me as a good slogan or political rallying song. I had no idea what it meant. Now I see that it has nothing external about it at all. You will never SEE someone "fight the good fight of the faith." It all happened when you weren't there, alone on a long country walk, just between him and the Lord. That's where the blood and sweat and the dying occurred. By the time you spotted the fellow out in the public--in the visible battlefield, or at a PTO meeting, or pushing away some lucrative job offer, or not leaving his wife--the heavy lifting was already done. One often detects a certain peace in the presence of such people.
All of which instructs me that everything that matters is internal--and so we come full circle to all those biblical teachings about the heart that we passed over as if too obvious. There are no larger battles than the private internal ones. I am almost ready to say there are no other battles at all.
And the corollary is that there is no Christian life except the moment-by-moment kind--more pointedly, the moment-by-moment choice to believe God. The Christian life is not lived on the level of doctrine, or our various observances, or our political action, though these are all required. And what that moment-by-moment faith in God looks like is a brawl. If there is no constant battle, there is probably no authentic life...
...To be tempted is to enter a cave. It's a deep cave but most of us never find that out. We bail (fail) almost at the entrance, and few ever see the dark parts of the interior, nor feel the full force of the darkness. Jesus ventured in all the way, and wrestled Minotaur and Cyclops.
"Fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6:12) has always struck me as a good slogan or political rallying song. I had no idea what it meant. Now I see that it has nothing external about it at all. You will never SEE someone "fight the good fight of the faith." It all happened when you weren't there, alone on a long country walk, just between him and the Lord. That's where the blood and sweat and the dying occurred. By the time you spotted the fellow out in the public--in the visible battlefield, or at a PTO meeting, or pushing away some lucrative job offer, or not leaving his wife--the heavy lifting was already done. One often detects a certain peace in the presence of such people.
All of which instructs me that everything that matters is internal--and so we come full circle to all those biblical teachings about the heart that we passed over as if too obvious. There are no larger battles than the private internal ones. I am almost ready to say there are no other battles at all.
And the corollary is that there is no Christian life except the moment-by-moment kind--more pointedly, the moment-by-moment choice to believe God. The Christian life is not lived on the level of doctrine, or our various observances, or our political action, though these are all required. And what that moment-by-moment faith in God looks like is a brawl. If there is no constant battle, there is probably no authentic life...
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Sanfords
I've been thinking a lot about Mark Sanford today. I read his emails to/from Maria. I think they are beautiful in a way and I'm happy for him that he felt that love for her, and then I am horrified that I feel that way. The whole thing just makes me sad. Every aspect of it. How does it happen? I guess it's just a progression, where spouses continue to neglect each others' needs, continue to let each other down.
I find it strange that his wife continues to talk about God in every sentence. You'd think a Godly, Christian wife would make her husband feel loved and adored so he wouldn't need to have an affair. (Why did I choose the word 'need' instead of 'want'?) I wish I knew more of Mark and Jenny's story. Did he neglect her for years while building his career? Did she just check out emotionally? Why was SHE not the one having the affair? Did she just put all her energy into God and her children? If he was the one who neglected her for years and then HE had the affair then he is a selfish jerk.
I find it strange that his wife continues to talk about God in every sentence. You'd think a Godly, Christian wife would make her husband feel loved and adored so he wouldn't need to have an affair. (Why did I choose the word 'need' instead of 'want'?) I wish I knew more of Mark and Jenny's story. Did he neglect her for years while building his career? Did she just check out emotionally? Why was SHE not the one having the affair? Did she just put all her energy into God and her children? If he was the one who neglected her for years and then HE had the affair then he is a selfish jerk.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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