A Year of (a) Biblical Woman(wearing a)hood

Today was a really special day for me. Today I took the time to walk around downtown and wander into my favourite (two story) used-book store: The Owl's Nest. It was one of the first of the city's treasures that I discovered when I moved to Fredericton four years ago. The store has funny comics, interesting posters, countless creepy owls to watch you peruse their books, and the store is even home to a cat named Pepper; talk about character! Anyway, today was a special day, because while walking through the store I recalled the last time I made the same trail to the Christian Non-fiction section. Way back in November I had made a solo trip similar to today's and found myself staring at, what looked to be, with a few additions or subtractions, probably the same books. November's visit to the shop had me captivated, but interestingly enough it was not because of the shelves upon shelves of gold worthy stories waiting to be explored, but it was largely due to the story I was hearing. 

The radio was tuned in to CBC, yet another reason to be fascinated with this place, and an interview was airing about a new "Christian book" (I use the term so that you know what I mean, and I use the quotation marks because a book cannot decide to follow Jesus, and I have a pet peeve of things being declared 'sacred' or 'secular' and the like) by a Christian woman who decided to live a year of biblical womanhood. What really caught my attention was the fact that it was banned in most Christian bookstores, because it contained the word vagina. (Well there goes my hopes of this blog ever being promoted at one of the 5 bookstores in the city.) I thought that was rather crazy seeing as Christian women have the same anatomy as non-Christian women, and you know what, bookstore owners? That word you're banning had a part in your coming to be, just so you know. 

Any who, back to what's important. I was instantly filled with the "people should read it for themselves and discern if this book should be read. I should read that book!" I paid for a copy of Eugene Peterson's The Message (so that I have one to lend), and rushed home to google the CBC interview, and scramble to remember the author's name...err Rachel something. I decided I would read this book. So, schoolwork happened, months went by, and then I came across this author's blog. Right! I want to read that book. I ordered it through my university library's documentary delivery service...and a couple weeks later I caught news of the book from a library in NJ waiting for me. 

I couldn't put it down. Seriously. The past couple days have been nothing but book for me. Book in the sun, book on the bus, book walking downtown while people dodged me on my way to The Owl's Nest. You have got to read it. By the way have I mentioned that the book is called A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans? Yeah, you should probably know that. 

It's about a woman who looks at passages of scripture addressing or pertaining to women about lifestyle, dress, and everything in between. Each month she focuses on a different virtue of biblical womanhood: January was valor, April -purity, June -submission, etc. For 365 days she didn't cut her hair,  she devoted herself to the duties of the home, and dressed modestly. You might be thinking she's crazy, but it truly is good to subject ourselves to things like this (at the very least reading about them) so that we may be aware of what it meant/means to live a life of biblical womanhood, and so that we may decide for ourselves what is relevant today for our individual lives. 

What I liked best about the book was how everything was backed up with scripture, and it wasn't one of those flip and find kind of books it was a "I'm doing this, because in this verse it says ......". I liked that the book read like a story...err...a compilation of blog posts. Rachel was honest with what she struggled with, what she didn't want, and the times that she spent crying on the kitchen floor, because yes, it happens to the best of us. Not only does she dig deep about scripture directed towards women, but she also includes stories of women from the bible who can often be overlooked. 

I'm going to be honest...there was one thing I didn't like about the book, and it was through no fault of Rachel's; there were more than a few references to the consumption of guinea pigs. My little M&Ms (Mary and Martha) have such a special place in my heart that I some how managed to forget that in some countries my little girlies would be supper. I'm going to have to work on forgetting that. 

I left The Owl's Nest and came home to finish the last few pages of A Year of Biblical Womanhood that I was savouring. Just as this journey to and through Rachel's book began with my favourite bookstore, with that it ended. 

I feel as though I know Rachel. I'm pretty sure we'd be good friends. (She retweeted me, thanking me for reading the book, so that signifies friendship...right?) I felt as though I was right along side her throughout the steps of her journey. Many of the things she was thinking, I often think. Many of the things she struggles with, I struggle with, and her river of writing is quite similar to that of mine. A good author leaves readers feeling full, but a great author leaves readers overflowing. This is what I am, overflowing. I feel so encouraged to write, so excited to read, and so inspired to live,-live a life of biblical womanhood that is, a life of figuring out exactly what that means to me. 

In other news:  "Read A Year of Biblical Womanhood" is now in my bucket.  

You can buy the book is on sale for 12ish dollars and you can buy it here! 

Here are some great quotes from the book:

"We all wrestle with how to interpret and apply the Bible to our lives. We all go to the text looking for something and we all have a tendancy to find it. So the question we have to ask ourselves is this: Are we reading with the prejudice of love or are we reading with the prejudices of judgement and power, self-interest and greed? 

      If you are looking for Bible verses with which to support slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to abolish slavery, you will find them....This is why there are times when the most instructive question to bring to the text is not, what does it say? but what am I looking for?" (296). 

"The apostles never meant for their letters to be interpreted and applied as law in the same way that the Torah had been, so careful readers must do the hard work of sorting through which instructions might continue to illuminate and guide the modern church, and which are more specific to the context..."(260).  In the same letter to Timothy that Paul writes about women not having authority over men, he also writes that 'men everywhere should pray, lifting holy hands..' (1 Timothy 2:8). There's all kinds of good stuff and historical context in this book about women and leadership in the church...which, incase you didn't know, I'm all for if they feel called by God. 

"Some rabbis say that, at birth, we are each tied to God with a string, and that every time we sin, the string breaks. To those who repent of their sins, especially in the days of Rosh Hashanah, God sends the angel Gabriel to make knots in the string, so that the humble and contrite are once again tied to God. Because each one of us fails, because we all lose our way on the path to righteousness from time to time, our strings are full of knots. So the person with many sins but a humble heart is closer to God" (303). -What a heart-warming way to look at repentance. 

"But according to Ahava, the woman described in Proverbs 31 is not some ideal that exists out there; she is present in each one of us when we do even the smallest things with valor" (90). 

"For Brother Lawerence, God's presence permeated everything- from the pots and pans in the kitchen sink to the water and soap that washed them. Every act of faithfulness in these small tasks communicated his love for God and desire to live in perpetual worship. 'It is enough for me to pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God,' he said" (29). 

"The apostle's elevation of singleness as the ideal stands in stark contrast to the modern Church's fixation on marriage and family. Singles were celebrated in the Church then, and should be now" (107-108). 

"In fact, it seems that most of the Bible's instructions regarding modesty find their context in warnings about materialism..(128). She earlier mentions that modesty is about so much more than clothing. A large part of it is presenting ourselves in a way that our inner self is allowed to shine through. It is a state of mind. It is order, self control, and simplicity. 

Enjoy Yourself

"Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think,

Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink.

The years go by, as quickly as a wink,

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think."

These lyrics have been floating around in my mind as I come to terms with the big move that I'm about to have. It't not big because I have a lot of stuff, nor due to the distance. It is a big move, because it is going to cause a lot of change in my life.

Today I reminded myself that it really is later than I think.
My four years in Freddy are almost done!!!

So today I:

+ Used up the credit I had earned at the Christian bookstore. (Woo hoo!)

+ Submitted one of my last papers (Hallelujah!)

+ Enjoyed sitting in the gym waiting for my roommate.

+ Made friends with my building's plumber. (Shout out to Jack!)

+ Made friends with the lady who runs Tae Kwon Do at the gym. (Hey new Buddy: Barb!)

+ At a cheeseburger

+ Slept in until 7:30!

+ Stepped out on to the balcony and breathed in the fresh air.

+ Was incredibly patient as I waited 22 minutes at Value Village to pick up a gift certificate.

+ Used up the rest of my Photocopy card at the library (wont be needing that!)

+ Called one of my best friends.

+ Drove around Fredericton breathing in the blessings.

There are many things here that I am going to miss, but I would have missed more if I didn't take time to enjoy myself. Time for some exam prep, and paper writing!

Enjoy your day!

No EquiveLENT

The season of Lent has come and gone, and I've been reunited with my favourite food group. Let me tell you, after 46 days without almost all of my favourite foods, the meat that I tasted Easter morning was fantastic. My roommate woke up to the smell of maple bacon and to me sitting in the living room staring at my full plate of bacon. My weekend was filled with ham, bacon, turkey, AND a CHEESEBURGER! Oh glorious cheeseburgers. Just so you know...I have a bit of a passion for cheeseburgers....one of my professors even named my Cheeseburger Girl after the first week of class. There were almost tears in my eyes when my friend Ashley suggested we make burgers. I devoured my burger, and with the last bite in my mouth, I made room for the words, "this may be the Lent speaking, but that was the best burger I've ever tasted." 

So what were the 46 days like?

The first couple of weeks were quite difficult, not because of the withdrawal, but because of the limiting food options. My first night at my mom's house with no meat, she listed off foods that she had that I could eat...one being chicken noodle soup. My breakfast sandwiches had to become "fried egg sandwiches", stir frys had to become meatless, and eating out was near impossible. Instead of my usual "2 Cheeseburgers with just ketchup"...I was left with only fries. When my grandparents treated me to a meal at the Big Stop I realized just how unaccommodating menus are to vegetarians. EVERYTHING on the menu was made with meat...even all three of the soup options. I ended up ordering a chicken salad (without the chicken), but I enjoyed the cranberries and mandarine oranges that were added. My friends didn't make it easy for me...every time we shared a meal I was always offered meat. I can still remember the 20th day of Lent. I hadn't smelled bacon in 20 days and my roommate decided to make some. I had to physically go in my room and shut the door. These 46 days were very prayerful days. 

I was surprised to learn that other restaurants have hidden vegetarian options, such as Burger King. I enjoyed my first ever veggie burger while driving home to Nova Scotia one night. Swiss Chalet also delighted my taste buds with a fancy veggie burger. Food options at Sobeys pleasantly surprised me with delicious simulated Chicken nuggets, and "interesting" veggie ground beef. But none of this really matters...because even though all these vegetarian options contained the same amount of nutrients as meat and claimed to be the equiveLENT of eating meat... there is no substitute for the real thing. I relied on prayer for energy, which worked well, but I still ended up dropped quite a few pounds, which is not something I set out to do. After looking in the mirror after my large plate of bacon, I saw noticed that I had that just-eaten-meat glow. It didn't matter how many man made "meats" I tried...nothing was an adequate equiveLENT. Nothing ever compares to the real thing. I gained a lot of respect for vegetarians, but I gained a whole lot more insight into God's love...nothing will ever compare to the real thing. No matter where I turn to find joy, peace, and love...nothing will ever nourish me like God. 

There you have it. 

If God's love is kind of like a cheeseburger, then give me a burger and call me Cheeseburger Girl. 

Photo cred to my roommate who enjoyed this moment almost as much as me. 

Indeed

It has taken me twenty two years to BEGIN to realize what Easter is all about.

For me Easter used to be about:

+my family and I sharing a meal a my grandparents’ dinning room table.

+getting a small Easter surprise Easter morning.

+spending the morning with my church family.

+singing Easter hymns at Centreville Baptist

+a restful break in Nova Scotia.

+a time to dream of making Easter dresses for all of my future daughters.

+a day to match all the church ladies by wearing purple.

+listening to the Easter Cantata.

+seeing the white side of the choir sashes, opposed to the blue.

+waking up to my mom’s voice.

+remembering Easter egg hunts in the snow.

+dishing up dinner at 12pm.

+driving to church by myself.

This year Easter is quite literally about sacrifice.

+This year I don’t have any of the things that once reminded me of Easter. 

+This year I’m spending Easter with family, just not the family that I expected.

+This year I’m spending Easter with  brothers and sisters in Christ.

+Hiding Easter eggs filled with trail mix around the apartment.

+Having no specific time to cook a turkey.

+Driving to church with friends.

+Celebrating the end of the Lenten season with a big plate of bacon.

The past few holidays have been different for me. Mom and I have celebrated them early. Christmas and my birthday were celebrated almost a month before the rest of the world celebrated them. Easter and my mom’s “Big” birthday were celebrated a few days before the calendar told us to.

This Easter was about sacrifice.

My mom gave up her turkey, and the fixins,

She gave up time with me,

She gave up the small easter gifts she had set aside for me, to give to someone who needed them more. She gave up a few hours of her Saturday all so that I could be with a friend who needed me. I gave up all the things that Easter used to mean to me. Easter now means love, sacrifice, and presence. This Easter God used situatins in my life to show me one one millionth of what Easter is about, and what Jesus did. The world has such a way of twisting things, and it is so easy, even for Christians to get confused in the tangled web, but this Easter is different. This Easter is different indeed. This Easter is better. This Easter is better indeed. This Easter is about Jesus. This Easter is about Jesus indeed. Christ has risen. Christ has indeed. 

Christ is risen from the dead

Trampling over death by death

Come awake, come awake!

Come and rise up from the grave!

Pause

I graduate in less than a month. Pause.

I have a lot of school work to do. Pause.

I start my next degree in about a month. Pause.

Soon I will be moving provinces...again. Pause.

I have to finish this assignment, but tea and a kitty are more important. Pause.

I'm getting older. Pause.

Things are staring to skink in. 

Right now almost every aspect of my life feels like it is moving too fast. I feel like someone has the remote control of my life and is skipping through the channels, without letting me just sit down and watch one entire show. 

The reason why I haven't been blogging a lot lately is because I sit down, write half a post, and then never return to it. I have three essays started, but no motivation to take them any further. I have tentative plans with friends, but I haven't actually gotten around to seeing them. I'm having a really hard time soaking up where I am, and what I am doing. I feel like I'm in line at the grocery store and the person behind me is invading my personal space, pushing me almost in to the person infront of me. 

Monday afternoon/evening I hit Pause. My roommate and I were both in a weird mood, and long story short we ended up whipping out the Nintendo. We hit Pause on adulthood. In those few hours we didn't think of school work, graduation, or other concerns. It may have been a highlight of mine while here at STU. A highlight of STU that wasn't at STU at all. I know, crazy eh? Super Mario Bros. triumphed over most of the knowledge I gained, because Nintendo taught me the importance of pause. Our lives may not literally be like Nintendo, able to pause and pick up where we left off, but what I think we can do is pause certain aspects of our life. Homework is always going to be there. Worry about the future can wait, and most concerns of life can wait until a bit of time is invested into the life of Mario and Luigi. It's okay to admit that you "need a minute" (no matter how long a minute is to you). It's okay to say "no" to socializing and to say yes to an evening of crocheting, or Criminal Minds. In fact, I may go so far as to say it's healthy to hit pause once in a while, and gain rest for the journey. What I'm going to miss most about Fredericton is not the cool classes, the mad adventures, or the hustle and bustle. I'm going to miss the times I sat down and hit pause, reflecting on my time, and spending quality time with the people here that I love. Being busy can be a blessing. I find that it is in my busiest times that I appreciate my Pause button the most. 

My Phirst Fone

Cellular Phones. Ugh. 

One of my friends is on her 5th Cellphone.

One of my friends bought a brand new phone because it was blue, 

and then realized that the blue was really just a sticker. 

One of my friends left his phone on the bus and never saw it again.
One of my friends is forever complaining about her phone contract. 

You probably have a story too. 

Well last week was a rather gloomy one for me, 

as I said goodbye to, and reflected on My First Phone. 

I was 19 when I bought my first cell phone. I was the last of all of my friends and most of my peers. When it comes to technology I'm a late bloomer. With such a large university campus, in such a large city, and such a large number of friends (I had almost 40 contacts.. woah!), it became quite important for me to have a cellphone if I wanted to have relationships with new people. Lately my phone has been developing new features every week. First it decided to stop showing me who was sending me text messages, then it stopped saving messages to my outbox, and last week the speaker stopped working and I was unable to hear incoming calls. Features, not flaws. It added some mystery to my life. 

I caved. I went to the phone store and asked them for a non-fancy phone that was just like the one I was ready to retire. Would you believe that they ONLY have fancy touch screens or super basic flip phones? What happened to the phones with buttons? I like buttons. I like sewing buttons, big red buttons, and buttons on my phone. In fact the sales lady looked at my as if I had three heads when I told her I wanted a basic phone with simple features. I had to explain to her that I'm not a "phone person". 

Long story short, I bought the simplest phone that wasn't a bulky flip phone. It is, I regret to inform you, a touch screen, and apparently it is an "Android" which I think means it can use the internet? maybe? Anyway, it only stays charged for about a day, and it looks pretty fragile. It is also much more difficult to use, I even did the grownup thing and sat and read the ENTIRE user manual. The manual, for the record, did not come with the phone, you have to look them up on the internet now, but the good news is you can do it on your phone...if you KNOW HOW! For those of you who know me well, you know this is terrible news, as I lose my phone ALL THE TIME. Either the couch starts ringing, or the pillow buzzes, or I find it in the car a week later. 

My old phone lasted 4 years, stayed charged for a week, was petite, and never had a scratch (even though all it went through), and it properly texted all of my messages. My new phone is built not to last, stays charged for one day, is much bigger, has a thin screen, and often mistakes "I"s for "Os" and "K"s for "L"s. My old phone was so simple to use. For a so called SmartPhone this one isn't a very smart phone, it can't even open the lovely picture text messages my mother sends me of my guinea pigs without being on the internet. I just fail to see how this is progress. Sure my new phone looks prettier than my last, but that's about the only positive difference, and I don't really care about looks. Shouldn't phones be progressing to stay charged longer, to be sturdier, and for each letter to have it's own button? I guess this is just a reminder that newer, flashier, and fancier isn't always better. 

I'm sorry I'm so sour. I'm going to miss my old phone, but I guess an "upgrade" (if that's realllly what it is) is good once and a while.

Welcome, new phone :) 

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Today my Blog is one year old! It's hard to believe that what started as a few thoughts in my head has turned into such a fun and exciting experience!

It is interesting that:

~That my blog has had over 4000 views.

~That people in Canada, the United States, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Romania, the Ukraine, Sweden, and Thailand have read what I thought was important to write.

~My most viewed post has been my "Assumptions" post. This is exciting, because it is a pretty recent one.

But these are not the things I'm celebrating. Today I'm celebrating the fact that I've stuck with this project for a whole year! I'm celebrating the fact that many people have gotten to know me a bit better, and I them, through my blog. I'm celebrating the fact that my writing skills have been improving because of this activity. I'm celebrating that my blog has positively influenced my life. It has given me the desire to reflect on even the small things in life. My blog has helped me to share advice, experiences, encouragement, and achievements. I'm celebrating the several times I've gotten bitten by the blog inspiration bug and have had to run and get paper or open up a new note on my phone.  I'm celebrating the late nights that my blog and I have spent together, carefully weeding out words, and perfecting pictures. Today I'm celebrating the variety of viewers I have. The first compliment pertaining to my blog that I had was in the locker room of the fitness center, and the second one I received was from a friend at my Wesleyan church. Since then, it has been a great conversation piece at church, at the mall, and even over the internet. I'd like to share a quote I found not too long ago. Although about art, I think it pertains to blogging. "Don't think about making art. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they like it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." -Andy Warhol.

I'd like to share the fact that my blogs are just the random thoughts and observations that happen to run through my head like the breeze through an Eolian harp. I share them so that you are less likely to make the same mistakes that I make, and so that you may just learn a little something about me, or more importantly, a little bit about life.

Happy Birthday, Blog!  

You've come a long way since your humble beginning.