finally!! the rain is gone and it's summer-like outside!!
yesterday i sat out on the balcony on our thai cushions listening to jane eyre and knitting. i finished jane eyre. i loved it. i have to admit, i was quite surprised actually, and the last line in the book just killed me. this evening b, nancy and i are going to see the film at the screening room and i can't wait! i'm really looking forward to it. i actually think it will be better than the book because the book is quite long and a little slow moving. when i rewatched the trailer (for the 5th time) last night i was blown over.
this weekend shannon and i went to a social justice conference at the sally ann. it included 3 workshops and 2 speakers. we found the first speaker offensive and aggressive in his presentation (he was from the RCMP). a lot of his terminology was hateful and kind of condescending to those directly impacted by human trafficking. however, the women speakers were great, inspiring, hope-giving, faith-based. really great. as i debriefed with brendan later i felt almost overwhelmed and unsure of what to do with my new information. and he reminded me of the mother teresa quote that i used in my sermon last week "we can do no great things, only small things with great love". so i'm putting on my thinking cap and finding ways to demonstrate great love. i think it may start (as usual) in my own neighbourhood. how can i be warm, loving, and inviting with strangers when i'm a bit stand-offish with the people on my own street! it's hard because i'm shy AND introverted. i LOVE time alone, i love to retreat into my own world. but yesterday as i sat on my balcony, many neighbours and community members passed by and some stopped to speak with me. i chose to set aside what i was doing to make room for them in my day. i'm starting small, even though it's challenging for me.
a number of years ago i had several friends who were reading or had read "the irresistible revolution" and it made a big and positive impact on their lives. i didn't want to read it. i didn't want to be told by someone else what i could and couldn't resist.
when i started dating beardy certain topics (related and unrelated to that book) would come up and cause arguments. brendan felt if i read the book i'd have a better understanding of where he's coming from. i knew if i read it before i wanted to that i would not be open to new perspectives and get my back up constantly. but recently, with many issues surfacing (ObL's assassination, the foul election, the census, my sermon, the conference i went to this past weekend) i finally felt interested in reading the elusive irresistible revolution. so far i'm enjoying it, and i like discussing it with brendan. there are a few things i don't necessarily agree with the writer on (i feel there is an absence of grace theology, and a lack of explanation that the writer is driven by love and not to earn brownie points - even though i believe love and devotion are his motives) but i like disagreeing with him. i feel that by identifying differences between our views i have confidence that i'm reading the book objectively, and as a result appreciate our points of commonality even more so. i'm neither defensive (often an indicator of conviction) nor forsaking everything (spontaneously rejecting my current situation). he's sharing his story, and reading it makes me think about my own story and how it could or might unfold. which is good and i like that.
this entry is longer than i thought it would be. funny. i guess writing less frequently lends itself to writing more.
yesterday i sat out on the balcony on our thai cushions listening to jane eyre and knitting. i finished jane eyre. i loved it. i have to admit, i was quite surprised actually, and the last line in the book just killed me. this evening b, nancy and i are going to see the film at the screening room and i can't wait! i'm really looking forward to it. i actually think it will be better than the book because the book is quite long and a little slow moving. when i rewatched the trailer (for the 5th time) last night i was blown over.
this weekend shannon and i went to a social justice conference at the sally ann. it included 3 workshops and 2 speakers. we found the first speaker offensive and aggressive in his presentation (he was from the RCMP). a lot of his terminology was hateful and kind of condescending to those directly impacted by human trafficking. however, the women speakers were great, inspiring, hope-giving, faith-based. really great. as i debriefed with brendan later i felt almost overwhelmed and unsure of what to do with my new information. and he reminded me of the mother teresa quote that i used in my sermon last week "we can do no great things, only small things with great love". so i'm putting on my thinking cap and finding ways to demonstrate great love. i think it may start (as usual) in my own neighbourhood. how can i be warm, loving, and inviting with strangers when i'm a bit stand-offish with the people on my own street! it's hard because i'm shy AND introverted. i LOVE time alone, i love to retreat into my own world. but yesterday as i sat on my balcony, many neighbours and community members passed by and some stopped to speak with me. i chose to set aside what i was doing to make room for them in my day. i'm starting small, even though it's challenging for me.
a number of years ago i had several friends who were reading or had read "the irresistible revolution" and it made a big and positive impact on their lives. i didn't want to read it. i didn't want to be told by someone else what i could and couldn't resist.
when i started dating beardy certain topics (related and unrelated to that book) would come up and cause arguments. brendan felt if i read the book i'd have a better understanding of where he's coming from. i knew if i read it before i wanted to that i would not be open to new perspectives and get my back up constantly. but recently, with many issues surfacing (ObL's assassination, the foul election, the census, my sermon, the conference i went to this past weekend) i finally felt interested in reading the elusive irresistible revolution. so far i'm enjoying it, and i like discussing it with brendan. there are a few things i don't necessarily agree with the writer on (i feel there is an absence of grace theology, and a lack of explanation that the writer is driven by love and not to earn brownie points - even though i believe love and devotion are his motives) but i like disagreeing with him. i feel that by identifying differences between our views i have confidence that i'm reading the book objectively, and as a result appreciate our points of commonality even more so. i'm neither defensive (often an indicator of conviction) nor forsaking everything (spontaneously rejecting my current situation). he's sharing his story, and reading it makes me think about my own story and how it could or might unfold. which is good and i like that.
this entry is longer than i thought it would be. funny. i guess writing less frequently lends itself to writing more.
shakes me,
makes me lighter.
makes me lighter.
1 comment:
I can't wait to discuss the book a bit more with you once you're done reading it. (Claiborne, not Bronte)
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