Looks like both vehicles need a bath now...Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Breathe out...
Nestled among the periodicals, warmed by the sun-a favorite niche that I have (and have not) missed...
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Rhythms
I should explain something.
I promise you, I'm not hyperventilating. (I suppose it might look that way if all you see is, "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out...)
I also promise you that my actual respiratory rate is not that low. I take more than one breath every day or so. :-)
Last year, I made an attempt at participating in one of the many 365 photo projects floating around the web. It seemed all well and good - an opportunity to look at my world through a creative lens on a regular basis - however, the pace was not sustainable. I got behind, and then I gave up. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was just one more thing to do. After a while, it felt forced, ingenuine. If you know me, you know I hate that.
There had to be some way to incorporate the looking and listening that I was hoping for with 365, without the frantic, guilty feeling I'd get (give myself) for skipping days.
Last month, I came across a blog that captured this, and I love their description:
I may never be invited to participate in the habit postings (one can be invited as a guest contributor), but I see great value in the rhythms of the project itself.
After some thought, I decided to adopt it as a discipline, of sorts. My hope is to capture the rhythms of my own life and experience - to listen to the Lord and to listen to my heart more gently. I've spent far too much of my life tossing it around senselessly.
SO. I want to give credit where credit is due. Go visit habit, and maybe dive in yourself.
I promise you, I'm not hyperventilating. (I suppose it might look that way if all you see is, "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out...)
I also promise you that my actual respiratory rate is not that low. I take more than one breath every day or so. :-)
Last year, I made an attempt at participating in one of the many 365 photo projects floating around the web. It seemed all well and good - an opportunity to look at my world through a creative lens on a regular basis - however, the pace was not sustainable. I got behind, and then I gave up. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was just one more thing to do. After a while, it felt forced, ingenuine. If you know me, you know I hate that.
There had to be some way to incorporate the looking and listening that I was hoping for with 365, without the frantic, guilty feeling I'd get (give myself) for skipping days.
Last month, I came across a blog that captured this, and I love their description:
"welcome to habit. a place to capture and celebrate the bits of our daily lives. it is our intention to make this capturing and celebration a habit, so we will be here regularly.
we'll be inviting friends to join us here. and in some small way, we are hoping to capture the collective life of a community of women who are artists and writers, photographers and bloggers, mothers and sisters and daughters and granddaughters, and thinkers and seers and wonderers.
we believe that there will be something extraordinary about holding these pieces of life together in one place."
I may never be invited to participate in the habit postings (one can be invited as a guest contributor), but I see great value in the rhythms of the project itself.
After some thought, I decided to adopt it as a discipline, of sorts. My hope is to capture the rhythms of my own life and experience - to listen to the Lord and to listen to my heart more gently. I've spent far too much of my life tossing it around senselessly.
SO. I want to give credit where credit is due. Go visit habit, and maybe dive in yourself.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Breathe out...
Not picture perfect, but still accurate.Seems we were always on the move,
inching along.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Breathe in...
We spent the whole afternoon chatting, knitting and working a puzzle.We were also periodically puzzled...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Interwebz.
Note to self for future trips: the Denver International Airport (DIA) appears to have free wireless interwebz.
I would've been content to sit here and knit for an hour, but curiosity got the best of me as I counted the laptops in our boarding area. (Five are in visible use from where I'm sitting.) It boggles my mind (just a little) how widely "connected" we are with or without smartphones. On the way back to Denver two weekends back, our flight itself had wireless. Not free, of course, but internet in flight. I'm not sure what to think, really. I waste enough time on the internet at home!
Time to shut down & board the plane... a few hours, and we'll be in DALLAS. :-)
I would've been content to sit here and knit for an hour, but curiosity got the best of me as I counted the laptops in our boarding area. (Five are in visible use from where I'm sitting.) It boggles my mind (just a little) how widely "connected" we are with or without smartphones. On the way back to Denver two weekends back, our flight itself had wireless. Not free, of course, but internet in flight. I'm not sure what to think, really. I waste enough time on the internet at home!
Time to shut down & board the plane... a few hours, and we'll be in DALLAS. :-)
Breathe out...
My wheels are true, yes,but Christ alone is Truth.
(Photo: an angel made entirely of bike parts & sheet metal, found at Any and All Bikes in Englewood, CO.)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
Looking forward
Oh, life's a jumble... as usual. A strange, lovely mess.
This week has been one of getting rest, of getting organized, of getting excited.
Originally, Jer and I had planned on taking a January term class this week. We were really looking forward to the class, but we ended up dropping it just before Christmas, sensing that we needed rest (not more books and papers to fill up all the empty space). Seems God knew what we needed.
In about a week, we'll be heading to Dallas (unexpectedly) to spend some time with my mom. Mom has had multiple sclerosis for MANY years and it's become steadily more restrictive for her in a lot of ways. It's a wretched disease, and I'm realizing that I haven't really grieved well over all the moments and memories that it has stolen from my family. Now that I'm aware of that, I intend to listen closely to the Holy Spirit, to my heart, to my family, and to my (several, amazing, wise) companions.
I also intend to not sit on my rear any longer.
Bike riding (for more than fun) has been a part of my life since I was about 12 or 13, though there have been extended seasons where I haven't ridden as much. I'd intended for it to be a major part of my marathon training, as riding become the best prevention for injury. This week, it occurred to me that riding is perhaps the most natural way for me to be more actively involved in the life of my mom, even though we live hundreds of miles apart.
Enter the MS 150.
The MS 150 is not a new event; it's been going on for years - I've just never been in a good place to participate in it. Despite the fact that I've been planning on running a marathon this fall for more than a year now, I'm willing to let that go if need be. Perhaps I'll manage to do both... if not, the riding wins out because it's about more than just my interests.
It's one small way that I can fight for my mom, so here goes...
This week has been one of getting rest, of getting organized, of getting excited.
Originally, Jer and I had planned on taking a January term class this week. We were really looking forward to the class, but we ended up dropping it just before Christmas, sensing that we needed rest (not more books and papers to fill up all the empty space). Seems God knew what we needed.
In about a week, we'll be heading to Dallas (unexpectedly) to spend some time with my mom. Mom has had multiple sclerosis for MANY years and it's become steadily more restrictive for her in a lot of ways. It's a wretched disease, and I'm realizing that I haven't really grieved well over all the moments and memories that it has stolen from my family. Now that I'm aware of that, I intend to listen closely to the Holy Spirit, to my heart, to my family, and to my (several, amazing, wise) companions.
I also intend to not sit on my rear any longer.
Bike riding (for more than fun) has been a part of my life since I was about 12 or 13, though there have been extended seasons where I haven't ridden as much. I'd intended for it to be a major part of my marathon training, as riding become the best prevention for injury. This week, it occurred to me that riding is perhaps the most natural way for me to be more actively involved in the life of my mom, even though we live hundreds of miles apart.
Enter the MS 150.
The MS 150 is not a new event; it's been going on for years - I've just never been in a good place to participate in it. Despite the fact that I've been planning on running a marathon this fall for more than a year now, I'm willing to let that go if need be. Perhaps I'll manage to do both... if not, the riding wins out because it's about more than just my interests.
It's one small way that I can fight for my mom, so here goes...
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Breathe in...
Minor mistakes don't have to ruin an evening...but they do necessitate a (literal) run to the local bike shop!
Looking back
Last year around this time, I did a little bit of a year-in-review complete with a handful of my dids and didn'ts for 2008. Don't have much of a review for this year... for the most part, it seems to have been utterly consumed by school. As I look back, the highlights of this year were mostly little things.
... an hour here or there in the company of a friend
... a breath of fresh air, by bike or foot
... recognition of a few unexpected fellow travellers
... the opportunity to show love through creativity
... the rhythms of liturgy
... the hard questions of messy ministry
... little gestures of love & commitment from my amazing husband
... God's steady invitation to become awake and alive with him
My desires for this coming year haven't really changed...
I want to listen well.
I want to love well.
I want to work hard.
I want to play hard.
I want to rest when I rest.
I want to give... life, encouragement, time, money, creativity.
I want to trust... God, my husband, my friends, myself.
And this year, I want to run a marathon. :-)
... an hour here or there in the company of a friend
... a breath of fresh air, by bike or foot
... recognition of a few unexpected fellow travellers
... the opportunity to show love through creativity
... the rhythms of liturgy
... the hard questions of messy ministry
... little gestures of love & commitment from my amazing husband
... God's steady invitation to become awake and alive with him
My desires for this coming year haven't really changed...
I want to listen well.
I want to love well.
I want to work hard.
I want to play hard.
I want to rest when I rest.
I want to give... life, encouragement, time, money, creativity.
I want to trust... God, my husband, my friends, myself.
And this year, I want to run a marathon. :-)
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