CIY thoughts

I’m finally home from CIY (www.ciy.com) Summer Conference at Lee University, TN. I haven’t been to CIY since the summer before my senior year of high school, so it was awesome to come back to it and experience it as an adult sponsor, six years later.

The theme of the week was ONES: because we were never meant to be alone. The main speakers were Jayson French, Danny Schaffner and Jeff Walling. It was kind of neat, because I’ve heard of all three of these guys before this week. I still remember Jayson French preaching about the jealousy of God back in 1999. I had never heard a sermon on anything like that (even though Ezekial and Hosea and other prophets are packed with the concept), so it has stuck with me since then. I had met with Danny on a previous occasion to discuss his multiethnic church plant project in Tampa http://thetampaproject.blogspot.com/. And I had heard Jeff Walling speak at the North American Christian Convention in Louisville, KY last summer. I honestly don’t remember anybody else who spoke in Louisville that year except for Jeff Walling… That’s how good he was!

They also did this neat thing where they featured a documentary about AIDS in Africa. I was really glad to see CIY stepping up to raise awareness about the issue and urge the church to get involved. My only problem was that the only Scriptural reference during the whole hour was ‘do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Not to downplay the importance of the “Golden Rule,” but I think the biblical foundation for serving the poor and the sick goes so much deeper than that. But then again, I guess it is up to the local church leaders to be studying and teaching about what the Bible has to say about poverty and injustice. A couple of books that have helped me understand this is Gary Haugen’s “Good News About Injustice” and Bryant L. Meyer’s “Walking with the Poor.” Gary Haugen is founder of International Justice Mission (IJM), a Christian organization which offers legal, law enforcement and rehabilitative aid to those victimized by human trafficking and other social abuses. Bryant L. Meyer is (I think) Vice President of World Vision, a well-known organization dedicated to meet the spiritual and social needs of children in Third World countries.

The truth is, AIDS at its core in relation to the church is not a moral issue (as many conservative evangelicals are quick to claim), but a spiritual issue. It is a spiritual issue because the Church has a responsibility to care for the poor and the sick, as Christ himself did and taught (Matthew 25:31-46) when He was here on earth. One thing that has always struck me is the issue of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why was judgment particularly wrought on Sodom? I had always thought it was because of defiance of God, particularly through sexual immorality. After all, that is what is emphasized in the story of Lot and his daughters in Genesis… But Ezekial 16:49 says “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”

This passage made me realize that God takes neglect of the poor and needy very seriously, especially when those in power (the “overfed and unconcerned’) supposedly have a knowledge of God.

Anyway, I think I understand why CIY didn’t delve too deeply into the Scriptural thing… It might be a lot to hit on in an hour, especially to a 1500 high schoolers. Again it really is our responsibility as leaders and ministers in our own churches to raise this issue and really study and pray about it as a community, and find out what God would have us do within our own spheres of influence…

I will hopefully blog more about CIY in the days and weeks to come… There is a lot to unpack. Figuratively;)

gustaf and irene arrived!

I am cheating, and posting here what I put on the Hananasif blog earlier this morning....

I went yesterday afternoon at Orlando International Airport, along with their host family John and Lisa Nelson, to greet Gustaf and Irene, newly arrived from the Hananasif Orphanage Center in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Although their flight landed around 3p.m., it took Gustaf and Irene nearly two hours to go through customs, due to long lines and a slight paperwork mix-up. Fortunately, a British Airways official with a walkie talkie realized we were waiting for the kids, and gave us constant updates as to their progress in customs.

Gustaf and Irene finally came through the 'arriving passengers' tunnel and looked remarkably upbeat after such a long flight! Their eyes widened in excitement as they saw us waiting for them. They both kept saying, "I can't believe I am here!" I was thankful that I had the chance to greet them, and at least give them one familiar face in what must seem like a strange and overwhelming country.

Some funny differences between the kids: Gustaf said that Irene slept a lot on the airplane, and she said he watched too many movies!:) Gustaf is excited because the Nelsons have a dog and a cat, although Irene isn't too thrilled about the dog. She said, "It will eat me!" However, Irene does like cats, so she is looking forward to having a new pet for awhile.

I was glad to have a chance to talk with them a bit before they left with the Nelsons for Gainesville. We ate some Chik Fila in the food court at the airport, and spent a lot of time looking at the aquarium in the middle of the rotunda. Even though he claimed not to be that hungry, Gustaf ate plenty of Chik Fila;)

Gustaf and Chik Fila

Gustaf and Irene with the Nelsons, looking at the aquarium.

Irene fascinated by the fish

I was pleased at how much Gustaf in particular seems to have progressed in English. And Irene was taking great care to make sure their baggage was in order and neatly packed--I had forgotten how organized she is!:)

My time with them was too short, but I hope to travel up to Gainesville sometime in the next few weeks to visit them.

back home

I flew in from D.C. really late on Sunday night. It was kind of annoying, because even though I was totally exhausted, I still went to work the next day. The first thing my supervisor said to me was, "oh, I thought you weren't coming in until tomorrow?" :P

Which means I could've stayed home an extra day. Bleh.

Oh well.

I added only a couple of pictures in my previous D.C. post, so you can check those out if you want to..

Here are some pictures of the National Cathedral. I have been to D.C. many times before... I 've visited the Capitol (multiple times), the White House, the Smithsonian, the National Gallery, the Holocaust Museum, the Vietnam memorial, the new WWII memorial, the Korean memorial, Iwo Jima, the FBI building, the Pentagon, Abe, Tommy and of course, good ole' George. So I was trying to figure out some place that I had never been to before while Miriam was visiting her friend Jamie in the city. I realized I had never been to the National Cathedral before, so that's where we went!

I think this may have actually been my most favorite part of the trip (other than the food;). I felt like I was transported into another world, or at least another country. It actually reminded me a lot of Austria. There was a cottage and some gardens surrounding the cathedral, which was set atop a large hill that overlooks Georgetown.

I know when you're traveling throughout Europe, you kind of develop cultural-overload, and after awhile, all the cathedrals, churches, sculptures, stained glass windows, arches all started to look alike, and you kind of don't care anymore and all you're thinking about is where to eat lunch.

But this time it was actually nice to wander around the cathedral and the grounds. There were hardly any tourists there, surprising for a Saturday. The weather was absolutely perfect.

I found some stained glass windows that depicted many parables, and some that were just pretty.


I also wandered down to the crypt and there wasn't ANYBODY down there. That was creepy. I felt like I was in a horror movie--my least favorite film genre. Anyway, luckily, the crypt led straight upstairs into the gift shop (weird, no?) and I could have easily spent the rest of the afternoon in there because of the insane amount of books they had in there. My aunt and uncle continually made fun of me because I just kept buying books.

We also went up to the observation deck, only about seven floors up, but enough to give a spectacular view of, not only Georgetown, but all of D.C. You can definitely see the Washington memorial.. Can't miss it:

I took this picture on the observation deck. I had it all lined up and I thought it was going to be this amazing shot that highlighted the cathedral's architectural attributes, and then this random lady wandered into my shot at the last second.

But I actually like it better than it would have been. I think it actually helps make the picture...

This whole cathedral thing reminded me so much of Austria. I would like to go back... Someday.

steinbeck on the mind

In an effort to better understand human flaws—particularly parental failure—I have taken to reading John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. This is my first foray into Steinbeck which might be a bit ambitious for an amateur reader such as myself, but I simply feel drawn to the story at this phase in my life. It might have to do with my current boredom with The Amber Spyglass, a supposed reinvention of Milton’s Paradise Lost. I find Pullman’s inversion of biblical allegory and myth to be too unrelatable and disjointed to my own experience of the metaphysical and spiritual. Maybe I simply need someone to explain it to me (Billy, anyone?). The suspense and character development of the first two installations and the only subtle beginnings of a Milton-esque drama made me forgive the first two novels’ flaws, but the irreverent inversion of biblical allegory thus far in the third book has made me lose interest momentarily, hence my Steinbeck detour.

I realize as I am only a third of the way through, my opinion will likely change. I find Adam a frustrating protagonist. I just finished the part when his twin sons are born, and I am absolutely appalled at his inability to read his wife, which is quite possibly the point. Samuel—the wise prophet character embodied in a lusty, good-hearted Irishman—sees through Cathy’s machinations within a few minutes of their meeting. The character of Cathy is actually really the only gripe I have with the novel. She is far too malevolent and inhuman from even a young age to be plausible as an actual person. But it’s Steinbeck’s world, and he can make a metaphor out of a person if he wants to. He’s earned it, for Pete’s sake…

Anyway, this novel has certainly made me rethink the Cain and Abel story, and I’m not even halfway through yet. We are always told that Abel was the good son, the obedient son because of his willingness to sacrifice his lamb. Cain’s offering of the harvest—no less sacrificial in the economy of toil and sweat—is unequivocally rejected. God accepts Abel’s sacrifice, so we assume—as Sunday school conditions us to assume—that Cain was the “inferior” brother. In fact, his immediately defensive response to God’s rejection suggests underlying jealousy and bitterness that may have taken root long before the story takes place.

Despite that assumption, I think this story is more of a commentary on free will and the knowledge of good and evil to which their parents have been newly introduced. What does it mean for the human race when Cain, the first man born into creation—fully equipped with intellect, passion, conscience and free will—brutally and premeditatively murders his own brother? What are the ramifications of that realization?

In his book Story, Stephen James had a remarkable reimagining of this scene that evokes Hitchcock. I think that this psychological foray into Cain’s mind for the first time de-demonized Cain for me and also stripped Abel of his sainthood. Now Steinbeck for me has caused me to revisit that paradigm, for it was Charles (the Cain figure) and not Adam (Abel) who professes to deeply love their flawed father. Adam professes only fear and respect. It is love that evokes this deep jealousy.

We must ask ourselves though, what happens when love—by definition intertwined with the glory and perils of free will—translates into action. It is love—twisted and demented—that drove Cain to murder.

Love inextricably mixed up with self-love can destroy… or it can, I suppose, give life in one redemptive blaze of glory.

But the choice must be made.

The choice is the thing.

And that is actually, strangely, quite empowering...

D.C.

I've been in D.C. for the past two days, and I've had a lovely time eating food and visiting monuments. I've been here quite a few times, but there is always something new to see.



When I arrived, my sister and uncle and aunt met me and we immediately went to Maggiano's, a family-style Italian restaurant, and it was AMAZING. We order two appetizers, two salads, two pastas, two entrees, and two desserts and then we share it and then the waiters keep bringing you as many refills as you want. Which, incidentally turns out to be not that many, because our stomachs are not that large!:P



To walk off all that food, we visited the new Air Force Memorial which was just completed last year. It offers a spectacular view of the city.. you can see Arlington National Cemetery, the National Cathedral, Washington Monument and the Capitol from there.



Yesterday, we visited the Marine Corps Museum and the National Archives, both places I had never visited before. The National Archives is the place in National Treasure which houses the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and even the Magna Carta, which a nerdy former history major such as myself loved.
I stole a Marine rifle. hehe:D Nah, just kiddin'....


We visited a German gourmet stores which excited me because it felt like I was back in Salzburg. They have Milka bars and Rittersport! Hooray!:D So we stocked up on German food, then we went to a Chinese restaurant than George W. himself is known to frequent. There are pictures of him and other government officials dignitaries plastered all over the walls. We had the specialty Peking duck which was delicious.

Then we went to Old Town, this fabulous part of D.C. known as Alexandria. There are streets lined with shops and restaurants--Indian, Greek, Lebanese, Moroccon, Spanish, seafood, Italian, Irish pubs. We walked by the waterfront and then wandered to (or actually I made a beeline for) a bookstore. This store was amazing, because not only was it basically trimmed down, more intimate version of Borders, they also had a used book section on the top floor and sell 8 tracks and LPs on the first floor.

I bought enough books to reasonably last me through the rest of the summer. Well, combining that with the other books I already have waiting in line to be read...

I'll post pictures when I have more time, but the computer is being a bit capricious at the moment, so I'll hold off...

Breakfast time!

youth party

Last night we had a youth group party. We played some volleyball by the lake. Check out the "blue team" below. Oh yes...



And then despite the heat and humidity, I remembered why I love Florida.





We also played a couple rounds of Mafia after dinner. I am proud to say that my fellow Mafia member Chet and I successfully killed all of the townspeople. Even though Josh killed me off in the next round after I foolishly confided in him that I was the medic. Or doctor. Whatever:P My friend Jordan happened to be there, visiting from out of town, and we reminisced about the good old days of playing Mafia at Tri-State Christian Camp.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to going to D.C. this week, and then Tennesssee for CIY this month. It'll be good to get away...

Greeks, crazies and Garden State

I went to Status last night at Discovery Church for the first time in weeks. I went because my sister told me that A.J. was back in town from L.A. and would be speaking. His teaching style is definitely one of the main reasons I started going to Status last year, so I was excited to hear him speak again. Josh Loveless does a phenomenal job, but there’s just some nuance or slightly tilted facet about the way A.J. processes and expresses things that really resonates with me.

He talked about the relevatory pattern of God being funnel shaped. First, He created the universe and our world. That in itself speaks volumes about God attempting to have a “conversation with humanity” about who He is. All of creation started out as a conversation. Then eventually, He reveals more of Himself in the Torah, the Jewish Scriptures. This points more to the precision of God’s nature and what kind of people He wanted to create. Then there’s the living Torah—the living Word—Jesus Christ himself. Again, the funnel narrows and we receive a more precise picture of who God is. This concept of progressive revelation is not new to me, but it certainly was refreshing to hear the metanarrative of God described in these simple and honest terms.

As A.J. discussed the text in John 1—including railing at how many average Americans fail to see how Grecian culture has penetrated our construct for thought processes—we live under assumptions based on Greek philosophy and we don’t even realize how deeply these old Greek dudes have influenced Western civilization (which, incidentally if you’re into that sort of thing, you should check out Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey—great book on the history of philosophy and how it has shaped the modern/postmodern evangelical church).

One of the ways we have appropriated Greek culture is our embrace of the “either/or” mentality. In Western culture, we accept that if there are two options, it is “either” this “or” that. It cannot be both. In Hebrew culture however, it is perfectly natural to assume a “and/or” mentality. But because we are influenced by the Greeks, it is difficult for us to accept things like the fact that light is both a wave and a particle. It’s got to be either one or the other, right? Which is why it is also difficult for us to accept Jesus being both God and man. And the Word being both with God and being God Himself.

Our apparent acceptance of things being plausibly one and/or the other is a new phenomenon, generally the result of philosophical laziness rather than real engagement with the issues at hand. And you’ll find that the embrace of inclusivity of all worldviews (tolerance) actually excludes every other stream of thought, because pretty much every other stream of thought claims to be exclusive…

A.J. also spent a few minutes discussing John the Baptist. To be honest, John the Baptist has always freaked me out a little bit. Let’s be honest. The dude ate locusts and honey and wandered in the desert and screamed insults at religious people and offended pretty much everybody so much that some spoiled princess wanted to chop his head off at some birthday shindig. He also is the one who said, regarding Christ “He must increase, I must decrease.” That is a tough thing to say and actually mean. I have always found it difficult to relate to John or to want to be remotely like him.

But A.J. reminded us that John is described as a “witness.” I hate how this word has become trivialized and sod over with layers of triteness and cliché. Honestly, I feel embarrassed using that word, especially when we toss it around like “it will hurt my witness” or “he’s got a good witness” as if “witness” were some trinket or Tamagachi that you can pull out if and whenever you wanted. But the fact is, the reason “witness” sounds distasteful to me is because I’ve forgotten the meaning of the word. A witness is not just someone who casually says, “oh yeah, I saw that.” Nor is it someone who overspiritualizes what it means to “share Jesus” with people.

In a court of law, a witness had an experience in the reality of the moment, and therefore can communicate that to the people who need to hear it. The Christian life as experiential. This is when we move from philosophy into the reality of life… when knowledge translates into an attitude, a way of life.

So in Acts 1, when Christ says “you will be my witnesses,” in a way he’s mirroring John the Baptist’s mission. He’s telling us, “you have had this incredible insight into the precision of who God is—namely Me. All those hours I spent with you, showing what God really is like and what kind of community He wants to create…This is reality. This is your experience. And you are going to enter into a conversation with the rest of the world about me, helping to finish out a task that started at the creation of the world.” This is what John was called to, and this is also reflects my own part in this metanarrative--or epic story, as my good friend Josh would say.

I have started to become apathetic to things up until recently. My whole world has been turned upside down in a lot of ways these past few weeks. Actually, A.J. sounded fairly cynical and jaded about a lot of things during the rest of his message. I think if I had been in a different frame of mind, I probably would have been annoyed at his attitude. But I appreciated his honesty and refusal to gloss things over. A lot of crap—and terribly tragic things--have gone down in the past few months in L.A. and it was clear that things are not going well. There is a lot to be sad and broken about. But he drew attention to the human experience… if we don’t feel alive we’re not living. He said “I’d rather feel pain than be numb.” Garden State moment…

Americans in general are so insulated and consumed with so many things that are not important, and I will put myself at the top of that list of guilty names.

It helps to hurt.

book and movie review

I am in the midst of taking a break from Philip Pullman and His Dark Materials and instead reading my newly-arrived-from-Amazon.com book entitled "Confessions of a Reformissionary Rev." by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. For those of you who read Blue Like Jazz, this is the pastor whom Donald Miller affectionately refers to as Cussing Pastor Mark.

Although I am only halfway through, I've realized that this is the book I have been waiting to read this first year of my post-college life. I have been caught in the tension of wanting to return to my theologically conservative background but also wanting to embrace the more culturally engaging--and therefore liberal--perspective that seems to flourish among the postmodern generation--the young and passionate twentysomethings who care about issues in Africa, the education system in America, changing public policy, feeding the homeless, and also like to download music off of iTunes and read Ayn Rand.

This book stands in a sharp contrast from Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell, which I read earlier this year. I often felt like Rob would often bring up points and you have absolutely no context for what he seems to be communicating. Don't get me wrong--Velvet Elvis--the 2/3 of it anyway definitely resonated with me.

But Mark seems to be giving me a clearer perspective of where he's coming from--it's obvious that he has read and studied a lot, he affirms the authority of Scripture, he is up front and brutally honest about the day-to-day in ministry--both its exhilarations and frustrations and the mundaneness in between. In the opening chapters, he absolutely nailed a tension that I had been feeling but did not know quite how to verbalize.

The word "Reformission" he describes is starts by "a simple return to Jesus, who by grace saves us..." Reformission "seeks to determine how Christians and their churches can most effectively be missionaries to their own cultures." Jesus called us to 1) the gospel 2) the culture (loving our neighbor ) and 3) loving our Christian brothers and sisters.

The problem is that more often than not one of these mandates is neglected within local churches, so one of three streams of thought emerge: parachurch, liberalism and fundamentalism.

Gospel + Culture - Church = Parachurch

Mark Driscoll actually names Campus Crusade for Christ within his description of parachurch organizations--organizations that love the gospel and want to share it with the world, but often neglect building up the church. This is a tension I have often felt working for CCC--bringing the gospel into a culture without the means to effectively create a community of believers, namely the church--CCC has obviously taken measures in recent years to amend that, but the mindset is definitely still there. But that might just be another post...;)

Then there is:

Culture + Church - Gospel = Liberalism.

This is a kind of thinking I noticed a lot in college and often a lot among people my own age. These are people that are so concerned with being culturally relevant and engaging the real, hard issues in the world but they negelct the gospel and the person of Christ.

Lastly, we have:

Church + Gospel - Culture = Fundamentalism.

As Mark says, this is "classic fundamental Christianity, which flourishes widely in more independent-minded, Bible-believing churches." These are people who love the Lord and their brothers and sisters, but not their neighbors. This is definitely what I grew up in, and I always sensed that there was something incomplete... which I am ever-awakening to as God ever-widens my perspective...

A complete picture of a life of reformission would be

Gospel + Culture + Church = Reformission.

Mark does not offer any simple solutions to the problems facing Christ-followers today. But it's clear to me that things like repentance, prayer, study of the Word, authentic community, spiritual awareness have all carried enormous weight on his life experiences and faith. Over the past year, I've had plenty of time to seriously reflect on these issues and engage more personally with them by allowing the truth and God-created framework behind them to be internalized and translated into action. I guess that's a fancy way of saying I've actually tried putting them into practice;) And I am continually humbled at the breaking and building that takes place... But anyway this book causes me to further reflect on these things and be re-awakened to their importance in a life bent on following Christ...

I appreciate Mark's book because it paints a picture of one who has not let cynicism dampen his belief in the church as God's bride. He fiercely believes Christ is who He said He was. And many things proceed from that...

Still thinking through things and still not finished with the book.

Oh, and I watched Transformers last night. The action was great, but Michael Bay's direction and camera angles often just give me headaches when I watch in the movie theater. As soon as the action sequences started, I actually thought to myself, "this must be a Michael Bay film because I know by the end of this movie I will have a headache." And it's not because it was a bad film. It's just that I should know by now that I should rent Michael Bay movies and not watch them on the bigscreen. For instance, I saw The Island (also a Michael Bay film) on a regular homescreen and I thought it was great. But I definitely would have gotten sick had I seen it in a theater.

Also, I was slightly offended by how sexed up the women in the movie were, and how the script treated women in general. I just kind of kicked myself and thought about how I once again succumbed to Hollywood's debased scheme/conspiracy of reeling in moviegoers into theaters during the summer by offering big-special-effects spectacles that are completely devoid of characters with warmth, relatability and honesty. I'm pretty sure that whoever wrote the dialogue figured throwing in a scene or two of the loving wife with the baby somehow canceled out the disrespect to and degradation of women that the film seemed to insinuate.

Oh, why do I do this to myself?

I also have nothing against these beautiful actresses themselves, I was simply offended at how blatant the sex appeal was portrayed. When the female characters were introduced, I kind of rolled my eyes the same way I did when Denise Richards was in a Bond movie... Of COURSE the brilliant analyst who tapped into the alien signal code just happened to be a twentysomething hot blonde girl with an Australian accent. Although I do admit that the Australian accent definitely made her sound cooler. But that's BESIDE the issue....

It was also just too obvious that the producers/directors/TBTB behind the film were trying to market the film to as many people as possible. That was my main gripe. Unapologetic capitalism in fine form...

But other than that, it was a good movie.

;)

Seriously, I used to watch the cartoon AND play with Optimus Prime as a kid, so it definitely was spectacular to see him duke it out with Megatron.

Or actually, I would "borrow" it from my cousin because I didn't really have any of my own Transformers...

OKay well this post was definitely too long and I am too hungry so I need to end this. RIGHT NOW.

Cheers,

The amazing sparkler star picture as promised... This photo was taken by Serenity Johnson.
Props to her for her superior photographic skills...

busy weekend

I was in Jacksonville for Katie and Billy’s wedding on Friday, which was actually pretty funJ I think the ceremony was 19 minutes long, and I’m pretty sure the only other kind of wedding ceremony that can beat it in length is some kind of elopement in front of a judge. So that was pretty awesome. Plus, as they were leaving the reception, we used sparklers instead of rice (which makes birds explode) or bubbles (which is sticky) or flowers (which I guess is okay but it reminds me of Gladiator when—SPOILER ALERT--Maximus dies…).

Serenity showed me how to make sparkler art which I had never experienced before. You outline a shape of some sort with a burning sparkler and with her masterful photography skills, Serenity captured it on camera. I did a star. I hope she puts that picture up on facebook or something, because it is basically amazing.:D

Also, I am thrilled that I finally got to hear and see the legendary performance of “Joy to the World” by the former roommate brotherhood of apartment 410. I have only heard rumors of this spectacular performance, but I had not seen the glory of it with my own eyes. This may also be possibly be making its way to YouTube. Stay tuned…

Our Oaks show Saturday night at the Peacock Room—something was a little weird about everything that night. I’m not really quite sure what the deal was. It probably didn’t help that the sound guy left at several points during our set, and wasn’t really paying close attention to the mix at all. I felt like my vocals were up too high and Ryan’s weren’t loud enough. Plus I felt a little crammed on the side of the stage—I could even feel the “whoosh” every time Matt crashed the cymbals. Odd sensation. It’s hard to get into the music when you feel crammed and also at the mercy of an ADD sound guy.

Other than that—we did record and videotape the performance, so it’ll be cool to see how that turns out. My parents actually came to the show which was unexpected, since my mom generally doesn’t do well around any amount of cigarette smoke. So it was fun to see the ‘rents at a bar at midnight in Orlando. Haha.

I decided that a bowl of soup and a cappuccino on a rainy Sunday afternoon/evening is simply one of life’s little pleasures. It was wonderful to have a lazy Sunday after such a busy weekend.

Now, if only I had gotten further along in my book…Ah well.

If you want to read something interesting, check out sydneyschaef.blogspot.com

This is my good friend Sydney’s blog. She recently moved out to L.A. to teach for Teach for America in the inner-city for 2 years. We used to sing and write songs and travel together back in the day (I am so old).

She’s a fantastic writer and quite the old soul;) So consider yourself privileged!:D haha