A bit of who I am

I love personality quizzes and questionnaires. I enjoy understanding why I do the things I do, what makes me tick. I enjoy understanding why I'm not naturally good at certain things (like understanding what other people feel).  But most of all, I love personality thingumabobs because it helps me understand the people around me. 

We're having a lecture week about Identity and Personality this week, taught by Anne Sloan.  I've sat through her teachings twice already, and I'm looking forward to hearing her teach again!  The week is a fantastic time of watching people understand that other people really do think differently to them, and are not just being annoying.  It's also a great week of learning to have grace for people different than ourselves, learning to work as a body.

In preparation for the week, Anne asked us to do Strengths Finders. It's all about understanding what you do well, and then working within your strengths. And because I like this sort of thing, I'm going to tell you what I came out as! My top five strengths mostly had to do with thinking and loving ideas and knowledge. What are your strengths? How does your brain work?  What do you love?

Bubbly (by Colbie Caillat)

My roommate, Shelby, used my phone to record herself singing a song for her boyfriend Jacob. Something went a little wrong when we put the recording onto the computer...

Bubbly (by Colbie Caillat)

Shelby (my roommate) recorded herself sing a song for her boyfriend Jacob.  Something went a little wrong in getting the recording onto the computer...

DSC_6795.AVI.wmv Watch on Posterous

A Valentine's Day Playlist

(With some help from Shelby Holmes).

As Valentine's day is tomorrow, and the day is all about love, I had our team write valentines to God.  I know, it's kinda weird. But it was a great way to be creative in what we say to God.  I put together a playlist of songs to play in the background while we were making valentines. The songs are secular, but they've got some great lyrics. Especially if you think about them as if you're singing them to God, or God is singing them to you.  I know, that's kinda weird too...but I hope you enjoy the music!

How do you picture God?

I'm in the midst of doing some research about the history of the Holy Spirit in the church for our teaching week on the Holy Spirit. While searching for articles that talk about that, I came across this blog post by Richard Liantonio which is a good reminder and challenge to the way I think about God. Sometimes I picture God as a calm, staid, far-off father. Sometimes I imagine him as a grandfather-like figure that I can run to and sit in his lap and tell him all my troubles. But I had never thought of God like  this before. I wish I could remember this, and remember the passion that God has for me, for us, at all times.

(I've included the first half of the post, click the link to read the rest.)

God is like a Crazy Screaming Woman

Picture the scene – a homely middle eastern woman of late antiquity runs out of her house frantically flailing her arms, the rough weave of her woolen head covering flying about. Shouting and screaming, barely able to keep her sandals on her feet amidst the scurrying through the dusty street, her voice rises to its shrillest peaks. Her friends and neighbors, who like herself don’t have a telephone and are neither routinely subject to great thrills and enthusiasms, poke their heads out their doors, with ears perked up at the seeming prospect of exciting news.  Their curiosity near boiling, one by one they lay aside their brooms, pitchers, and pestles, encircling her with eyes peeled. Out of her pocket she whips a tiny item, barely visible from a few feet away. Straining and squinting their eyes, they muster all their concentration to no avail, because she is hysterically waving it over head while jumping up and down and expectorating squeals of laughter. When she finally and ever-so-slightly calms down, she stretches out her hand for her friends to see the small silver coin she had been brandishing about — but only for a moment — because as soon she knows they are aware of what happened, she is quickly back at full throttle – bouncing, screaming, jumping and all other actions typically associated with boisterous (and mentally unbalanced) revelry. She had lost one of the ten coins in her possession, and after lighting her lamp, sweeping her house, and searching carefully, she found it. In her excitement and joy upon finding the coin, she could hardly help engaging in the — if we were honest — silly looking behavior just described.

Whether her friends joined in her excitement, or were slightly irritated on account of the interruption in their day, or embarrassed owing to her wild antics, Jesus never lets on. Rather, he gets right to the point:

I tell you: there is joy like this before the angels because one sinner turns… (Luke 15:10)

 

Psalm 55:22

I was talking to God about finances for outreach this evening, and beginning to worry about them. I know that it's two months and a couple weeks before we leave on outreach, but the $1500 seems like so much money to see come in during that time. God has blessed me richly with supporters, so I don't have to worry about the day to day expenses like rent and food and all that.  But still, I struggle to remember: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Anyways, while I was talking to God, this song came to mind. I hope that it blesses and encourages you!

 

Nautical Rules

I know this is completely off my normal topic, but I've been enjoying this particular blog called Bowsprite a lot recently.  I wish that I could have had these illustrations for flash cards when I lived on the Next Wave and was learning all the lights, signs and signals for my theory certification!

three black balls:
"Aground. Displayed aloft."

Balls; Bowsprite: A New York Harbor Sketchbook