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christmas in india
tuesday i'm heading off to kerala to
spend almost 2 weeks with some missionary friends. i'm beyond excited
about this random opportunity that popped up. i think i'm quite happy to get away for once from the american version of christmas with all its buzz and displaced focus. what a way to end the year
off. 2007 has been the strangest of years for me. much like a
roller coaster - one that hasn't stopped since i woke up and climbed aboard on
january 1st. coming to the final weeks of the year, i've come full circle
in my heart it seems back to that place of profundity as gratitude sweeps over
once again. a couple of weeks ago, i had a conversation with a dear
friend that punched my attitude in the face. i had completely checked out for
the year numerous ways. ready to be done and start over, hoping for a break
somewhere along the way. amid sharing frustrations, struggles, concerns,
difficult lessons learned, it began. hearing her speak of trust and joy,
i was convicted of the joyless state of my heart. the drudgery of duty,
commitment, responsibility had taken the place of joyful service. at
first i defensively shrunk away from facing truth. how hard it is to be
confronted with your own brokenness. as the hours passed that day, i sensed
Christ in His ever gentle ways compelling me to examine the ugliness of my
heart. i'm so thankful for the merciful mornings that have met me since.
in light of the season i suppose, my
mind’s been swimming with thoughts of the miracle of Christ's incarnation - the
coming of the long awaited Savior to a people yearning for a King. Emmanuel
- God with us. the desired of nations come to redeem mankind. what a thought that this one moment altered the course of history for eternity. i can't help but be stirred with the most beautiful mixture of hope, excitement, gratitude, and longing.
...so speak, isaiah - prophet of judah
- can you tell of the One - this King who's going to come? will he be a
king on a throne full of power with a sword in his fist? prophet, tell us
will there be another king like this? full of wisdom, full of strength,
the hearts of the people are his. prophet, tell us will there be another
king like this?
(Isaiah speaks) "He'll bear no
beauty of glory - rejected, despised - a man of such sorrow, we'll cover our
eyes. He'll take up our sickness, carry our tears - for his people he
will be pierced. He'll be crushed for our evils, our punishment feel - by his
wounds we will be healed."
"from you, o bethlehem, small
among judah - a ruler will come, ancient and strong." - andrew
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| it's simple
in a day and age when the masses are constantly embracing the newest better thing - i have chosen to update the look of my xanga blog. i consent to the notion that blogging on this here site is not perceived as cool as being a part of other online communities, but i have found xanga to be my trusty canvas where which i'm able to paint the array of thoughts swimming through my head in a given moment. its simple, user-friendly approach to blogging, uncluttered by needless stimuli, has been a source of calm within. sometimes i don't want to get on and read a detailed log of every movement my friends have made, i just want to clear some thoughts and move on with the day. and this is why friends i am letting my toes sink deeper into the sand that is xanga. and now the life application. simplicity is such a dying art. but alas the herald of freedom. in our ambition-driven lives we're tossed about by the clang and clatter of so many things we justify as necessary to living. but fullness in living is always found in simplicity. my favorite quaker richard foster has insightful things to say about simplicity. "simplicity is freedom. duplicity is bondage. simplicity brings joy and balance. duplicity brings anxiety and fear...the christian discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle...simplicity begins in inward focus and unity...it means to live out of the 'divine center'...because we lack a 'divine center' our need for security has led us to an insane attachment to things..." today amid providing a place for my random thoughts, xanga brings me a gentle reminder to embrace simplicity in life and thought. to close, a line from an old song that's been a prayer of my heart over the years..."simple heart beat in me until i can see a simple heart will set me free to let extraordinary things flow through this ordinary heart of simplicity."
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| week one without coffee
last tuesday i quit drinking coffee cold turkey, a decision taken based on how phyisically and psychologically addicted i'd become over the past few months. while the headaches have lessened, now the craving is just there for that black liquid goodness to welcome me in the mornings. i'm not sure how long i'll abstain before i pick it up again, but i do know this: i badly would like a cup right now. | | |
| bobby pins and truth
as it were, my original bobby pin wearing was correct. bobby pins are in fact worn with the wavy side up. furthermore, the story of the bobby pin itself is quite fascinating. please enjoy the discription below (thanks wikipedia!) followed by a few important reminders/thoughts as we all move forward with life, generally speaking.
" A bobby pin (or kirby grip) is a type of hairpin.
It is small pin
or clip,
usually of metal, used in coiffure to hold hair in place. Typical bobby pins are plain
and unobtrusively colored, but some bobby pins are elaborately decorated or
jewelled. The "bobby pin" was invented for use by men during the late
1800s trend of complex masculine hairstyles. Bobby T. Plympton manufactured and
sold them out of his own home for years before selling the patent at the turn
of the century.
This pin is a used to put you hair in different styles. The "bobby
pin" came into wide use as the hairstyle known as the "bob cut"
or "bobbed hair" took hold. This trend gained popularity in the
1920s, and the bobby pins kept the bobbed hair in place. Bobby pins are
inexpensive and tinted to match various hair colors which led to the fashion
trend being adopted by 90% of North American women by the end of the decade. The
correct way to apply these pins is to keep the bumpy side on the top and place
your finger between the two bars and push through your hair. They are also used for lock picking."
i had to let this all marinate before
bringing closure in my heart to the 'discussion' began in my previous
post. while it might appear that i did not have a life-altering moment
after all, i did learn a couple of valuable lessons as my beliefs were
pushed through the wringer.
1. never allow just
anyone to contradict a belief that's shaped the person you are. it's a
big deal to have a way of life questioned. get your sources backed
up. google it at least, i bet it's on wikipedia. (example from my
bobby pin induced search for truth - BPISFT): i let my 3 misguided
roommates be the determining factor for me, and before i researched it for
myself, i passed on the misguided information to you my unassuming reader)
2. DO allow your perspectives to be challenged and changed when necessary by what
is true. TRUTH is supreme, and aligning your life to truth is the perfect
middle road between a strong belief system, and a malleable heart. (example
from my BPISFT: instead of stubbornly holding to my belief that bobby
pins were worn wavy side up, i was willing to let this challenge what i thought
i knew)
3. when faced with a truth contrary to what you've known and held, be willing to
make necessary life changes irrespective of difficulties that may abound in the
decision. (example from my BPISFT: if i was wrong, i was more willing
to make the adjustment in order to be correct, even though i would have had to
unlearn 26 years of a different way of life)
thank you Bobby T. Plympton, for the chance to struggle through this and come out a stronger person! 
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| all my life...
...i've worn bobby
pins incorrectly! i stumbled on this
fact just yesterday, after having spent 26 years and 27 days as a member of the
race we call humanity, i’m just now realizing how wrong i’ve been! where was i when this lesson was taught? how did i miss this? i feel like simple things that brought adhesion to my life have begun to fall out one by one. assumptions i've held and built life on have been brought out and exposed to scrutiny – now leaving me
with the question: what do I know after all? 
what a way to find out too. i was pointing out to my roommate hee young that she had hers in her hair the wrong way. to my dismay she responded that no she had them on correctly, and i in fact have been misguided. the wavy side is to be under the hair, and the straight side above it. a statement confirmed by a few ladies standing around the conversation. i felt like a bafoon. who sits people down and teaches these valuable lessons?
in other news, while i've been away for the past 3 months, i traveled the world and oklahoma, entered my 26th year of existence, painted my room stone rose, had my office remodeled and rearranged, inheirited a comfy reading chair, said good-bye to a sister/friend who moved away from 1.4 miles within my reach, gave semi-serious thought to running away, had 2.5 emotional breakdowns, celebrated with a couple of friends who got married, grieved with another over a lost loved one, began year number 5 of ministry, took yoga for the first time, and have taken up a strange obessession with cleaning.
amidst these defining moments, i've come to terms with holding permanent residence in huntsville, tx. oh, huntsville, texas. it’s official on so many levels. this tiny prison town has won my heart. one of the strangest mysteries of life i tell
ya. i wonder if given the chance to step
to the previous pages of life when the decision to move here weighed in the
balances, would i run? and now it seems
i’ve crossed the point of no return, with my voter registration in walker
county, the official address change on the drivers’ license, and the faintest
of east texas accents making surprise appearances in my words. which brings me to the theme word of my life in its present season: obscurity. while i’ve finally relinquished hopes of
relocation, and even found odd contentment and pride in this little town, a
sense of obscurity i’m not always able to describe falls over me at times along
with the feeling of being swallowed up by a life so far from five-year plans of
the past. that's all i have to say about that for now. and somehow i'm held in the fiercest grip of grace which brings all the fragmented pieces of my life to its unified center in the person of Christ. and the whole of life is put in perspective. AND now i'm wearing bobby pins correctly.
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