Per Marketplace, its takes, on average, $10,000/year/child to clothe, house and feed.
Wowza.
2.16.2006
2.13.2006
Values
As I'm working through getting Mosaic's green ministry off the ground, I'm realizing that I need to make a list that is as comprehensive of my values so that I can make decisions about what I need to cut, or add, etc to my schedule. Here goes:
1) Green - being environmentally responsible, being fair, voting with my dollars, leaving less of a foot print, enjoying God's creation, not arbitrarily wasting it, etc.
2) Spriritual growth - part of my calling as a christian is to continually move forward; this involves being involved in a group that encourages discipleship and accountability. this involves me attending some sort of church gathering on a regular basis.
3) Family - family is extremely important to living a healthy life. Family requires that you spend time with them else your relationships break down and you lose that safety net.
4) Healthy - it is important to me to be healthy (not overweight, not sedentary) so that I can make better use of my time, have more energy to devote to the things that I love, so that I can be a good steward of the physical body that I have been given. This involves regular exercise and eating as healthy as possible (part of this goes back to being green as well). I'd like to exercise for at least 30 minutes/day.
5) Education - it is important to be continually learning new things. This involves reading books, watching movies, listening to radio, etc. in order to further that education. I'd like to finish at least 1 educational book/month.
6.) Friendship - having gone through part of my life without significant friends, it is vitally important to me to have and maintain quality, life-long friendships with people other than my spouse and direct family. This involves regularly spending time with them, being able to help them when they need it, as well as being able to call on them when they need me.
7.) Ministry - I am called to be a minister. Whatever that happens to be, I need to be sure to not live out my life without doing some kingdom work. right now, it is looking like my ministries fall into two categories: green and spanish, my two favorite subjects.
Not on this list is web surfing, which I plan on letting go for lent this year. I spend entirely too much of my time doodling around on the net. It stops here. Hopefully, this will free me up a little bit more to do the things I want to do.
Until next time :)
1) Green - being environmentally responsible, being fair, voting with my dollars, leaving less of a foot print, enjoying God's creation, not arbitrarily wasting it, etc.
2) Spriritual growth - part of my calling as a christian is to continually move forward; this involves being involved in a group that encourages discipleship and accountability. this involves me attending some sort of church gathering on a regular basis.
3) Family - family is extremely important to living a healthy life. Family requires that you spend time with them else your relationships break down and you lose that safety net.
4) Healthy - it is important to me to be healthy (not overweight, not sedentary) so that I can make better use of my time, have more energy to devote to the things that I love, so that I can be a good steward of the physical body that I have been given. This involves regular exercise and eating as healthy as possible (part of this goes back to being green as well). I'd like to exercise for at least 30 minutes/day.
5) Education - it is important to be continually learning new things. This involves reading books, watching movies, listening to radio, etc. in order to further that education. I'd like to finish at least 1 educational book/month.
6.) Friendship - having gone through part of my life without significant friends, it is vitally important to me to have and maintain quality, life-long friendships with people other than my spouse and direct family. This involves regularly spending time with them, being able to help them when they need it, as well as being able to call on them when they need me.
7.) Ministry - I am called to be a minister. Whatever that happens to be, I need to be sure to not live out my life without doing some kingdom work. right now, it is looking like my ministries fall into two categories: green and spanish, my two favorite subjects.
Not on this list is web surfing, which I plan on letting go for lent this year. I spend entirely too much of my time doodling around on the net. It stops here. Hopefully, this will free me up a little bit more to do the things I want to do.
Until next time :)
2.07.2006
Tuesday
Our heat pump broke. Yup, we've only owned our brand new house since October 15, 2004, and theoretically, the heat pump attached to it was supposed to be new. But, 1 year 4 months later, it decides to stop working. Of course, AFTER the warranty expires. Its going to cost us $400 to fix it, but TX winter has finally decided to arrive and we have no choice. Blarg.
Bush has submitted a ridiculous budget, increasing homeland security and the pentagon EACH by 5%, while cutting all the other important programs like EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, etc. He said that this budget represented his highest priorities. My thought: what good does it do to defend a country if everyone in it is stupid and/or sick?
Fight Club committed last night. We're tackling meditation first. YEAH! I'm needing to delve into that very deeply. Hopefully, I will be able to settle down and work on it.
I started reading Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness... so far, the introduction is good. The goal is to finish this book no later than EOM February.
Nick just IM'd me!! He's calling tonight! yeah for old friends!
Bush has submitted a ridiculous budget, increasing homeland security and the pentagon EACH by 5%, while cutting all the other important programs like EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, etc. He said that this budget represented his highest priorities. My thought: what good does it do to defend a country if everyone in it is stupid and/or sick?
Fight Club committed last night. We're tackling meditation first. YEAH! I'm needing to delve into that very deeply. Hopefully, I will be able to settle down and work on it.
I started reading Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness... so far, the introduction is good. The goal is to finish this book no later than EOM February.
Nick just IM'd me!! He's calling tonight! yeah for old friends!
2.06.2006
The Historian
This weekend, I was able to finish the book The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I give it an *eh* rating.
This book was an interesting take on the vampire novel. Kostova takes the reader through the history of the vampire myth and manages to make the vampire story that much creepier and realistic. I have to say that I was unable to read this book alone in my house at night. However, it took a long time for me to become involved in the book. The characters were interesting, but not intriguing. I didn't feel a lot of empathy for any of the characters. Part of this was due to the fact that the book was set (for the most part) in the mid 20th century and the characters were very much steeped in academia. The language in the book was remiscent of the language in Bram Stoker's Dracula and it reminded the reader that we were talking about a time past. However, the descriptions of old books and locations was sufficiently interesting that I would be interested in travelling to some of the locations in the book so I can see them for myself. I didn't expect the ending. Right up to the very end, I was expecting Kostova to leave herself some room for a sequel. It seems that she did not. Because I was expecting there to be an open ending, I felt like the ending itself was rushed. We spend all this time weeding through historical documents and locations, and the end happens in one chapter. Granted, it was a tense chapter, but I was left wanting more.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, I would recommend it to others, but its entirely possible that many would probably not be able to finish it simply because it takes so long for the book to take off.
This book was an interesting take on the vampire novel. Kostova takes the reader through the history of the vampire myth and manages to make the vampire story that much creepier and realistic. I have to say that I was unable to read this book alone in my house at night. However, it took a long time for me to become involved in the book. The characters were interesting, but not intriguing. I didn't feel a lot of empathy for any of the characters. Part of this was due to the fact that the book was set (for the most part) in the mid 20th century and the characters were very much steeped in academia. The language in the book was remiscent of the language in Bram Stoker's Dracula and it reminded the reader that we were talking about a time past. However, the descriptions of old books and locations was sufficiently interesting that I would be interested in travelling to some of the locations in the book so I can see them for myself. I didn't expect the ending. Right up to the very end, I was expecting Kostova to leave herself some room for a sequel. It seems that she did not. Because I was expecting there to be an open ending, I felt like the ending itself was rushed. We spend all this time weeding through historical documents and locations, and the end happens in one chapter. Granted, it was a tense chapter, but I was left wanting more.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, I would recommend it to others, but its entirely possible that many would probably not be able to finish it simply because it takes so long for the book to take off.
2.03.2006
Take 2
So, I have already NOT posted every day... however, the idea is that although we stumble, we keep trying. So, attempt #2 to be a regular journaler.
Why am I doing this online?
1) it takes too long to write things out by hand. Seriously. I type faster than I can write things, so by the time I actually get through the preamble, my hand is tired of writing. And then I quit. I'm keeping this journal online because I'm tired of starting things and not finishing them.
2) I will eventually want others to be able to peek in on my life. What better way to do that than online?
3) I can post here from anywhere and don't have to remember to bring my journal.
Happy Friday!
Why am I doing this online?
1) it takes too long to write things out by hand. Seriously. I type faster than I can write things, so by the time I actually get through the preamble, my hand is tired of writing. And then I quit. I'm keeping this journal online because I'm tired of starting things and not finishing them.
2) I will eventually want others to be able to peek in on my life. What better way to do that than online?
3) I can post here from anywhere and don't have to remember to bring my journal.
Happy Friday!
1.27.2006
A time to get your ass kicked
So last week we were studying Ecclesiastes 3 (the chapter where solomon goes through and tells all the times for stuff) and one of the questions that we were supposed to answer was what time is it in your life? I didn't actually answer that question during fight club because, well, I just didn't. Anyway, on Tuesday, Holly send us an email that shocked me out of my funk... basically, she said that we need to be jesus to people and that the people at work shouldn't have to wonder if you're a christian or not.
That's all well and good, except that I've been in a really shitty mood for the last month and I can guarantee you that the people at work definitely had not been seeing jesus in me. I read that email first thing in the morning, so as I'm going through my routine, I'm musing on how I can manage to be jesus, but still get my work done. For some reason, I equate being unkind and bitchy with being succesful in the business world... but my vision of jesus definitely wasn't one of him being a raging bitch... that's for sure... at the same time, I know that providing for my family is important... so how to do this... Well, about 4:00 that day, Randy calls me into his office. Randy is at a higher level in the company than I am, but I don't report to him (a fact which causes alot of weird tension and politicking between us). He called me into his office to talk about my attitude. So, he goes off on this long speel about how he doesn't feel like he can work with me, the other ppl in the office are starting to avoid me, blah blah blah. Normally, I would just start to tune him out because... well, I can. He's not my boss, and whether my attitude can be rough some times doesn't affect how well I do my job... so usually when he has these kinds of conversations with me I just blow him off.
This time, however, he really got to me. Not because he said anything new, but because I'd already been called on the carpet for not being jesus to my coworkers. And, in case I had let myself off the hook earlier, here was a raging example, that yes, hannah, you have been a bitch and we're not sure we like working with you. Randy, as he was confronting me was saying that I had failed in being jesus to him.
I left his office very contrite. I apologized to him for my attitude and brusqueness (which I think really threw him off - he thought I was being sarcastic again) and I left knowing that I really needed to change. It was no longer just about me feeling like I needed to change... here was one of my coworkers crying out because I had hurt him. I feel like an ass.
The good news is that the rest of the week I have been very conscientious of how I interact with others in the office. Its not about me and my success and my peace of mind. If I take care of them, they will take care of me. And if they don't, jesus tells us to count it all joy... its time to learn how to be a servant. I've allowed my own short-sighted mirages to get in the way of the kingdom dream and I don't even have anything to show for it. No more. its time to be jesus as best I can to those around me... including the ones that I work with.
That's all well and good, except that I've been in a really shitty mood for the last month and I can guarantee you that the people at work definitely had not been seeing jesus in me. I read that email first thing in the morning, so as I'm going through my routine, I'm musing on how I can manage to be jesus, but still get my work done. For some reason, I equate being unkind and bitchy with being succesful in the business world... but my vision of jesus definitely wasn't one of him being a raging bitch... that's for sure... at the same time, I know that providing for my family is important... so how to do this... Well, about 4:00 that day, Randy calls me into his office. Randy is at a higher level in the company than I am, but I don't report to him (a fact which causes alot of weird tension and politicking between us). He called me into his office to talk about my attitude. So, he goes off on this long speel about how he doesn't feel like he can work with me, the other ppl in the office are starting to avoid me, blah blah blah. Normally, I would just start to tune him out because... well, I can. He's not my boss, and whether my attitude can be rough some times doesn't affect how well I do my job... so usually when he has these kinds of conversations with me I just blow him off.
This time, however, he really got to me. Not because he said anything new, but because I'd already been called on the carpet for not being jesus to my coworkers. And, in case I had let myself off the hook earlier, here was a raging example, that yes, hannah, you have been a bitch and we're not sure we like working with you. Randy, as he was confronting me was saying that I had failed in being jesus to him.
I left his office very contrite. I apologized to him for my attitude and brusqueness (which I think really threw him off - he thought I was being sarcastic again) and I left knowing that I really needed to change. It was no longer just about me feeling like I needed to change... here was one of my coworkers crying out because I had hurt him. I feel like an ass.
The good news is that the rest of the week I have been very conscientious of how I interact with others in the office. Its not about me and my success and my peace of mind. If I take care of them, they will take care of me. And if they don't, jesus tells us to count it all joy... its time to learn how to be a servant. I've allowed my own short-sighted mirages to get in the way of the kingdom dream and I don't even have anything to show for it. No more. its time to be jesus as best I can to those around me... including the ones that I work with.
1.26.2006
First post in a new place. I've decided to switch over here because I need a place to post my thoughts, musings etc., but I need a bit more privacy than I get at LJ.
So, me. I'm 24, stuck in a job that some days sucks, and others is ok. I want to do something meaningful with my life and am tired of just winging it. I want to be jesus to others and I'm trying to figure out what that looks like. I think that my life will be better if I can cut out the busyness crap and do a few activities that are meaningful. I'm currently attempting to find more meaning in the activities that I do by studying yoga and buddhism and incorporating those calm practices into my christian walk. I am participating in a women's discipleship group that is challenging me to be better and hopefully it will propel me forward. I love my church. I love my husband. I'm putting in a garden in my backyard so I can spend more time outside when I'm home :) I love photography. and music. and movies. and spanish.
I will attempt to post something here everyday, however small... I need the discipline. So lets dive in!
So, me. I'm 24, stuck in a job that some days sucks, and others is ok. I want to do something meaningful with my life and am tired of just winging it. I want to be jesus to others and I'm trying to figure out what that looks like. I think that my life will be better if I can cut out the busyness crap and do a few activities that are meaningful. I'm currently attempting to find more meaning in the activities that I do by studying yoga and buddhism and incorporating those calm practices into my christian walk. I am participating in a women's discipleship group that is challenging me to be better and hopefully it will propel me forward. I love my church. I love my husband. I'm putting in a garden in my backyard so I can spend more time outside when I'm home :) I love photography. and music. and movies. and spanish.
I will attempt to post something here everyday, however small... I need the discipline. So lets dive in!
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