I am watching Law and Order UK. I like Law and Order, at least the earlier episodes. I watched a lot of it with my family in high school. It's more procedural, as it focuses on the process of prosecution, so it's not as intense as some of the other shows out there. The UK version is very similar to the US version, but it is culturally different. It's hard for me to accept their use of CCTV, which, from what I gather, is a network of cameras everywhere. Makes it good for catching criminals and tracking people, but it's so Big Brother. I'm not ok with it. It's also weird to get used to the opening lines which substitute "district attorneys" with "crown prosecutors." And I'm not quite sure why they wear those ugly wigs, though I kind of like the robes. Gives it a different feel.
I am auditioning for 12 Angry Jurors tomorrow. My monologue is basically there. I need to practice a bit tonight. I just hope I don't stumble over any lines, as I think I have the emotion down. I hope I get a part, but if I don't, then I will find something else to fill my time.
It is very warm around here. I'm grateful for my air conditioner, but it's basically only good for the bedroom. And, sitting with a warm laptop isn't helping things.
I am adjusting to my job, but I still have a lot to learn. I ask lots of questions. I answered my first reference question over chat today. I'd never used chat reference before, and it was kind of nerve wracking, but I was able to find the answer.
I went to the Henry Ford Museum with a friend. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part was the farm implements. :-) There is this ridiculously awesome tractor that is basically a train engine tractor. Steam powered and HUGE! Was definitely my favorite piece. There was some cool furniture too, which I enjoyed looking at. I haven't been to a museum in a long time, and it was fun.
I should get to bed a bit early, as I was exhausted today.
TTFN
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Updates
Thank goodness for Netflix. I signed up a couple days ago, and then got sick. Blargh. I don't have cable, so it helps pass the time. I have been watching movies and Dr. Who. I just finished season 1, and I am looking forward to season 2, especially as I've been told that David Tennant is awesome as the Doctor. We'll see. I became rather partial to the first Doctor (Christopher Eccleston).
There is a church wide potluck tonight and then watching fireworks. I might try to make it out, but I'm not sure I'll last for the fireworks. I don't like feeling like a blob and having low energy. I want to go out walking and running, but my body says no, though I was able to make the short walk to and from church.
I am now officially a librarian, as the former librarian retired on Thursday. It's a bit stressful, and I am going to need to go in on Tuesday and do some work. We get Monday and Tuesday off for the holiday, which is great, but it also means that we have to work on Labor Day. Any way, since I am still learning the ropes, it takes me a lot longer to do things, and I need to catch up and prepare for some things for Wednesday.
TTFN
There is a church wide potluck tonight and then watching fireworks. I might try to make it out, but I'm not sure I'll last for the fireworks. I don't like feeling like a blob and having low energy. I want to go out walking and running, but my body says no, though I was able to make the short walk to and from church.
I am now officially a librarian, as the former librarian retired on Thursday. It's a bit stressful, and I am going to need to go in on Tuesday and do some work. We get Monday and Tuesday off for the holiday, which is great, but it also means that we have to work on Labor Day. Any way, since I am still learning the ropes, it takes me a lot longer to do things, and I need to catch up and prepare for some things for Wednesday.
TTFN
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Freedom
How does one struggle against one's sinful nature but also experience Christian freedom?
I will never be good enough. No matter how hard I try, I will never be good enough for God. I "knew" this growing up, but I realized that I didn't really understand or believe it. In the past year or 2, I have finally come to an understanding of what this means. And it is freeing. To throw yourself a the mercy of Christ and ask Him to cover everything is a relief. A release from fear. But, we are called to hate our sin and to struggle against our sinful natures. How do we do this without an accompanying guilt and fear? Are these not the motivating factors to strive against our nature? If not these, then what should be our motivation? Love for God should be our motivation, but this is sometimes forgotten or cast aside. It is easier, once the fear and shame and guilt is gone, to do whatever one desires, to use freedom in Christ as an excuse to do what I want.
It is not hard to understand legalism. It's man's way of figuring out faith. We are finite with minimal understanding and finite minds. Legalism helps us make sense, put God and faith in a big religious box. A list of dos and don'ts. But it's not that easy. God doesn't play by our rules. He cannot be contained, and for us to put limits on Him is demeaning and implies that we know better than Him. That we know exactly how this world is supposed to work and how everything is going to be revealed. But we don't. And while there are some things that are clearly noted and spelled out for us in God's word, we must be careful about the other things. Allow for grace. Allow for faith.
I am reading "On Christian Liberty" by Martin Luther. I bought it for one of my classes in college, but we never read it. I kept it though, and it is, so far, a good read. He makes a really interesting point using the metaphor of Christ as the bridegroom and us as the bride of Christ. Luther says,
"Christ is full of grace, life, and salvation. The soul is full of sins, death, and damnation. Now let faith come between them and sins, death, and damnation will be Christ's, while grace, life, and salvation will be the soul's; for if Christ is a bridegroom, he must take upon himself the things which are his bride's and bestow upon her the things that are his." (pg 19)
Luther also says 2 pages later, "Here this rich and divine bridegroom Christ marries this poor, wicked harlot, redeems her from all her evil, and adorns her with all his goodness. Her sins cannot now destroy her, since they are laid upon Christ and swallowed up by him. And she has that righteousness in Christ, her husband, of which she may boast as of her own and which she can confidently display alongside her sins in the face of death and hell and say, 'If I have sinned, yet my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned, and all his is mine and all mine is his.'" (pg 21)
I know that the Church is the bride of Christ, but I had never thought of it in the way that Luther phrases it. But if we are the bride of Christ, then we are one with Him, and our sin and shame is put upon and taken away by Him, and His goodness and righteousness is given to us. It is a wonderful, unfair exchange that I do not really understand, but I am grateful.
I will never be good enough. No matter how hard I try, I will never be good enough for God. I "knew" this growing up, but I realized that I didn't really understand or believe it. In the past year or 2, I have finally come to an understanding of what this means. And it is freeing. To throw yourself a the mercy of Christ and ask Him to cover everything is a relief. A release from fear. But, we are called to hate our sin and to struggle against our sinful natures. How do we do this without an accompanying guilt and fear? Are these not the motivating factors to strive against our nature? If not these, then what should be our motivation? Love for God should be our motivation, but this is sometimes forgotten or cast aside. It is easier, once the fear and shame and guilt is gone, to do whatever one desires, to use freedom in Christ as an excuse to do what I want.
It is not hard to understand legalism. It's man's way of figuring out faith. We are finite with minimal understanding and finite minds. Legalism helps us make sense, put God and faith in a big religious box. A list of dos and don'ts. But it's not that easy. God doesn't play by our rules. He cannot be contained, and for us to put limits on Him is demeaning and implies that we know better than Him. That we know exactly how this world is supposed to work and how everything is going to be revealed. But we don't. And while there are some things that are clearly noted and spelled out for us in God's word, we must be careful about the other things. Allow for grace. Allow for faith.
I am reading "On Christian Liberty" by Martin Luther. I bought it for one of my classes in college, but we never read it. I kept it though, and it is, so far, a good read. He makes a really interesting point using the metaphor of Christ as the bridegroom and us as the bride of Christ. Luther says,
"Christ is full of grace, life, and salvation. The soul is full of sins, death, and damnation. Now let faith come between them and sins, death, and damnation will be Christ's, while grace, life, and salvation will be the soul's; for if Christ is a bridegroom, he must take upon himself the things which are his bride's and bestow upon her the things that are his." (pg 19)
Luther also says 2 pages later, "Here this rich and divine bridegroom Christ marries this poor, wicked harlot, redeems her from all her evil, and adorns her with all his goodness. Her sins cannot now destroy her, since they are laid upon Christ and swallowed up by him. And she has that righteousness in Christ, her husband, of which she may boast as of her own and which she can confidently display alongside her sins in the face of death and hell and say, 'If I have sinned, yet my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned, and all his is mine and all mine is his.'" (pg 21)
I know that the Church is the bride of Christ, but I had never thought of it in the way that Luther phrases it. But if we are the bride of Christ, then we are one with Him, and our sin and shame is put upon and taken away by Him, and His goodness and righteousness is given to us. It is a wonderful, unfair exchange that I do not really understand, but I am grateful.
Monday, June 20, 2011
I Grow Old, I Grow Old, I Shall Wear the Bottoms of My Trousers Rolled
I don't know if I'll ever get used to a "real person" schedule. I am so tired in the evenings that I take naps around 7 or later, which is a bad idea. Because then I stay up later and perpetuate the cycle. Also, kitty making noise in the mornings doesn't help either, though my sleep schedule is by no means her fault.
Wren's conjunctivitis has cleared up, which is good. Things are settling down and speeding up. Not a whole lot to report. I'm starting to have things to do, which is nice. :-)
I spent a wonderful birthday with a very close friend in the area. We went shopping, ate good food, and had good conversation, and that's all I wanted. The best part was just spending time with her. And, I will say that it is so much more fun to go shopping with someone else. When I shop by myself, I often shop like a guy: go, find what I need, leave. Having someone else to give input and laugh at the hideous styles you find in the store is so much more fun. We found some pretty awesome/ridiculous shoes. I wore a pair of 5 inch army surplus heels. The tops of the shoes were army surplus canvas and they laced up, like peek-toe boots or something. Army surplus meets fashion. They were the most impractical awesome shoes. I probably would have bought them if they weren't so tall and the fabric didn't rub wrong. :-)
It's crazy how much of our lives is online. This never really bothered me that much before, and I don't know why I am just now thinking of this, but there is so much online. I'm not going to get all conspiracy theory-y, but if someone wanted to know about someone, and they find the right info sources, they can find out a lot.
I also wonder if part of the online thing is we all have an inherent desire to feel/be important. To be noticed or noted, and the online forum is perfect for that. Have a blog. Post status updates for all your friends on facebook/Twitter (which, btw, I have no plans of caving and tweeting). But, it's also a good way to keep up with people, especially people you are friends with, but not necessarily close with. Though we may like to think otherwise, we are only able to have a finite number of close friends, and there is a definite hierarchy and levels of contact between ones friends and acquaintances. This is nothing that hasn't been said before, but just some stuff I've been thinking about.
TTFN
Wren's conjunctivitis has cleared up, which is good. Things are settling down and speeding up. Not a whole lot to report. I'm starting to have things to do, which is nice. :-)
I spent a wonderful birthday with a very close friend in the area. We went shopping, ate good food, and had good conversation, and that's all I wanted. The best part was just spending time with her. And, I will say that it is so much more fun to go shopping with someone else. When I shop by myself, I often shop like a guy: go, find what I need, leave. Having someone else to give input and laugh at the hideous styles you find in the store is so much more fun. We found some pretty awesome/ridiculous shoes. I wore a pair of 5 inch army surplus heels. The tops of the shoes were army surplus canvas and they laced up, like peek-toe boots or something. Army surplus meets fashion. They were the most impractical awesome shoes. I probably would have bought them if they weren't so tall and the fabric didn't rub wrong. :-)
It's crazy how much of our lives is online. This never really bothered me that much before, and I don't know why I am just now thinking of this, but there is so much online. I'm not going to get all conspiracy theory-y, but if someone wanted to know about someone, and they find the right info sources, they can find out a lot.
I also wonder if part of the online thing is we all have an inherent desire to feel/be important. To be noticed or noted, and the online forum is perfect for that. Have a blog. Post status updates for all your friends on facebook/Twitter (which, btw, I have no plans of caving and tweeting). But, it's also a good way to keep up with people, especially people you are friends with, but not necessarily close with. Though we may like to think otherwise, we are only able to have a finite number of close friends, and there is a definite hierarchy and levels of contact between ones friends and acquaintances. This is nothing that hasn't been said before, but just some stuff I've been thinking about.
TTFN
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Happenings and Non-Events
Kitty has conjunctivitis, so I have the enviable task of trying to put gel in her eye 2 times a day. She is actually being very good about it. Surprisingly, she sticks around to let me try again after each failed attempt, and she doesn't scratch me, though I'm not sure if that is because the vet clipped her nails or because she's keeping them in.
I went to see The King and I at the community theater. It was a good production. Some parts were cast better than others. The guy playing the king was wonderful. At times he reminded me of Yul Brenner, who played the part in the movie. Anna, the main character, was ok. She was best during the songs. It was a rather elaborate production, and they did a good job with it. It was a good way to spend the afternoon.
I've been watching a lot of movies recently, as I got my TV hooked up, but don't have cable. The library has a good selection, and I (finally) watched The Princess and the Frog. Friday night was 80s movie night with Ghostbusters and Crocodile Dundee. I did not remember the Stay Puff marshmallow man part of Ghostbusters. It is hilarious! I also watched a French Canadian movie called Seducing Dr. Lewis. The movie isn't what it sounds like. It's about a small town trying to get a factory built in their area so there will be jobs and they can get off welfare. But, to do that, they have to have a Dr. in town. It's a very good movie, and I really like the characters. Everyone looks "normal." No one is movie star good looking, and the characters are funny and real and they mean well and try hard. Yvon was my favorite, as he is this funny old codger.
My battery is almost out of juice.
Good night.
I went to see The King and I at the community theater. It was a good production. Some parts were cast better than others. The guy playing the king was wonderful. At times he reminded me of Yul Brenner, who played the part in the movie. Anna, the main character, was ok. She was best during the songs. It was a rather elaborate production, and they did a good job with it. It was a good way to spend the afternoon.
I've been watching a lot of movies recently, as I got my TV hooked up, but don't have cable. The library has a good selection, and I (finally) watched The Princess and the Frog. Friday night was 80s movie night with Ghostbusters and Crocodile Dundee. I did not remember the Stay Puff marshmallow man part of Ghostbusters. It is hilarious! I also watched a French Canadian movie called Seducing Dr. Lewis. The movie isn't what it sounds like. It's about a small town trying to get a factory built in their area so there will be jobs and they can get off welfare. But, to do that, they have to have a Dr. in town. It's a very good movie, and I really like the characters. Everyone looks "normal." No one is movie star good looking, and the characters are funny and real and they mean well and try hard. Yvon was my favorite, as he is this funny old codger.
My battery is almost out of juice.
Good night.
Monday, June 6, 2011
If Only I Had an Enemy Bigger Than My Apathy I Would Have Won
(title quote from a song by Mumford and Sons)
I am now realizing the need to be proactive. I'm readjusting to a small town and a smaller church, and though I like the small town feel and atmosphere, it is a bit harder to find things to do in regards to volunteering and other activities, especially ways in which to meet other people, preferably people around my age and walk of life. Community theater will be a welcome activity, but it doesn't start until July, and that's if I make it past the audition.
In church yesterday, I realized that it is so easy to make everything about me. But it is not about me. I can wallow in loneliness and self pity, or I can do something about it. Focus on other people. I don't think it's a good idea to join things or do things for the sake of doing, but I really need something to take me out of myself, as it were. Help provide a different perspective. So, we'll see where God leads and what the summer holds.
I am now realizing the need to be proactive. I'm readjusting to a small town and a smaller church, and though I like the small town feel and atmosphere, it is a bit harder to find things to do in regards to volunteering and other activities, especially ways in which to meet other people, preferably people around my age and walk of life. Community theater will be a welcome activity, but it doesn't start until July, and that's if I make it past the audition.
In church yesterday, I realized that it is so easy to make everything about me. But it is not about me. I can wallow in loneliness and self pity, or I can do something about it. Focus on other people. I don't think it's a good idea to join things or do things for the sake of doing, but I really need something to take me out of myself, as it were. Help provide a different perspective. So, we'll see where God leads and what the summer holds.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Life So Far
My kitty has her days and nights mixed up. I am trying to keep her up right now, as I do not want a repeat of last night. I did not get much sleep, as she is loud and decided that I needed to be up at 5 AM. I do not need to be up at 5 AM, and I do not appreciate meowing and crashing about at that time of morning. I understand, though, as she is home alone all day and doesn't have much to do except sleep. I'm going to try to leash train her, so we can go on walks. That way she can get out of the apartment and have a change of scenery.
Tomorrow is my 1st full week of work. The first three days have been full and rather overwhelming. I have so much to learn. This month is going to be a month of cramming before the current serials librarian leaves. There are so many things to keep track of. All the databases and the journals and the journals included in the databases. Plus vendors and the consortium, etc. It's a lot. I think I'll pick up on it, but it's a steep learning curve, as I knew it would be.
Summer is kind of a down time, and I'm hoping for some opportunities to serve and get involved in the community. I'm feeling a bit isolated right now. I miss being around people my own age and in the same walk of life. I feel like everyone at church is in a different part of life right now, which isn't a bad thing, but it would be nice to be around other young professionals/singles. I really do like the intergenerational feel of church though. It's nice to be around people who are older and younger than I, as I can learn from them and hopefully contribute to the conversation as well.
Tomorrow is my 1st full week of work. The first three days have been full and rather overwhelming. I have so much to learn. This month is going to be a month of cramming before the current serials librarian leaves. There are so many things to keep track of. All the databases and the journals and the journals included in the databases. Plus vendors and the consortium, etc. It's a lot. I think I'll pick up on it, but it's a steep learning curve, as I knew it would be.
Summer is kind of a down time, and I'm hoping for some opportunities to serve and get involved in the community. I'm feeling a bit isolated right now. I miss being around people my own age and in the same walk of life. I feel like everyone at church is in a different part of life right now, which isn't a bad thing, but it would be nice to be around other young professionals/singles. I really do like the intergenerational feel of church though. It's nice to be around people who are older and younger than I, as I can learn from them and hopefully contribute to the conversation as well.
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