Anxiousness

What a beautiful day in DC! Despite the late hours I kept last night, I managed to wake and go to church this AM. I was tempted to skip and work on schoolwork or sleep since I know I will be up late tonight and working on it. But, man, I am so glad I didn't. The mile walk to church was refreshing. The weather is crisp today, but by the time I had arrived, my overcoat and scarf had been peeled away and my sleeves were pushed up.

The message was taken from Genesis and focused on Abram. The subject matter was "alters" and my pastor mentioned four kinds that we can make for God: thanksgiving, epiphany, dream, and decision alters. The epiphany ones are those where God reveals something to us. Be careful what you ask God to reveal, because He may reveal something pretty big! Are you ready to take it on? The thanksgiving ones should be built so that we have a place to go back to and offer thanks. Modern thanksgiving alters may be pictures (scrapbooking, anyone?), trinkets from events, and similar items. Thanksgiving alters remind us of where we have been. Dream alters are where God gives us promises. To Abram he promised descendants and land. To us it may be anything: children, a job, a home, a life partner, etc. It's something He places in our hearts and tells us we will have if we trust him. The last one is the decision alter. Are we willing to give up what's most important to us? Are we willing to manage the major decisions we make? It's up to us to place our hopes, dreams, decisions, and promises into God's hands. He knows what's best and provides. All we have to do is trust and work with diligence and thanksgiving.

My anxiousness about school work was appeased when this familiar verse from Philippians 4 was read: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The challenge to us was to turn our worries into prayers. Take each anxious thought and turn into thanksgiving and petition it to God. It's a cool thought to think about people not walking around worried, but walking around prayerful. It also makes for a much lighter mental load.

So, here I go. I'm going to dive in and work on some homework. The sun is shining through my window for a couple more hours. And I am thankful.

Some New Additions to My Palette

Well, I thought I'd jump on the blog bandwagon and add some new items to My Palette. As you can see, there's a handy new search tool on the left side that you can use to search through older posts. I was excited to see this tool as an option since I was recently looking for a previous post that I wanted to link to a newer one. I failed in my earlier quest, but can now take advantage of the search tool in the future.

A second new item on the left is a "Followers" button. I'm not quite sure if I'll keep this. It depends on the activity that I get, because it's all generated by you, the readers! So, if you sign up as a "follower" then you will appear on the left (hypothetically).

At the bottom, I have added a statistics counter. If you click on it, you will be able to see stats on people who have visited My Palette such as their geographical location, page they linked from, and where they went after visiting here. So, while it may not be that fascinating, it will be fun for me to see where people are from who are reading my blog.

Additionally, there is a "subscribe to" button that you can click to get updates. Again, not sure how popular this will be, so it may be a temporary addition.

Finally, I'm looking into featuring ads on my page. Not sure if I will yet. If you are interested in a product featured in an ad and click on the ad, then I get paid for it! Pretty sweet. If the ads are extremely tacky and I'm not feeling the vibe, then I can remove them at anytime.

OK, that's all I have for now. I've played on my blog enough tonight. I'm off to work on some schoolwork!

Legacy

Life can be boggling, overwhelming, and mountainous at times. I'm feeling a bit of that lately. School is just beyond nuts. The house is being shaken up again. I feel like I could work 50+ hours at work and not catch up.

I was reminded earlier this week that I am not alone. I was also reminded that it's up to me to make leaps of faith. It's up to me to finish what I start, even if I'm not sure exactly what I'm starting when I begin! I'm also feeling like I'm being prepared for something, but can't put my finger on it. I just faithfully trudge along, with hope that I'll make a difference- even if it's small. Here's a quote I heard earlier this week with which I really identified:

"I'm not sure where I'm going, but I think I hear a call." -David Wilcox

Additionally, here's a song that I love to have stuck in my head (as it is now): "Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman with the lyrics-

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthly list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one.

My personal challenge is to seek deeper, ask the tough questions, and be willing to get gritty if I hear the answers.

Life Comes at You Fast

So, I was pretty slack in my posting during October. What's even more slack is that I almost wrote "March" instead of October. Guess that's a Freudian slip. Where did the time go since March?? We're well into November. The holidays are pressing at the window and I'm still wondering where summer went.

Somewhere in the past month was a trip to Mississippi and Louisiana. I experienced my first solo site visits as I checked out some hotels where we're hoping to host a conference. I saw Mal and Dave's new home. It really is a home now. Their apartment is completely decorated (as only Mal can do) and now full of memories. They're both enjoying their jobs, have made new friends, and are settling into their life as newlyweds in the military. It was quite a different trip than the one I made in August, where Mal was finishing rooms, walls were bare, her job was a big question mark, and not a local friend had been made. It was a joy to go down there again and see smiles and know that they are both content.

Back in DC, I've just begun my final class for grad school. Tonight I met my last professor and reviewed the final syllabus I'll have as a student. There was an electricity in the air as my fellow cohorts and I recognized where we'd arrived. Although the celebration is still in the distance, I can't help but see the light. How has it passed so quickly? Time is really a blink.

As school wraps, I've started training for the half-marathon that I'm doing in March. The 13.1 miles is on the distant horizon, but my training schedule is posted on my bedroom wall. It will be the longest run I've done and I'm looking forward to tackling it. Mal has signed up for it as well. Plus, I have a couple DC friends who are running the full marathon (26.2 miles) that is the same day. I'm looking forward to the change in my body that comes with training for an event. Mentally, there's something that sparks. When the muscles are tired and hot, the brain kicks in and provides the extra drive to make it to the next sign or that hydrant or just past that car. A game begins, with the distance and time being the other players. Can I beat my time? Can I push myself an extra few blocks? Running can be boring, but it's also quite therapeutic. Not as therapeutic as writing, but it's pretty close!

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the first "adult party" I'd been to in a while. The attendees were a mixture of ages, a "real meal" was served, and there were conversations filled with purpose and aimed at bettering society. My "DC parents" (Rich and Kathy) hosted a party in their home and invited about a dozen of us over to learn about Act One, a writer's and executive training program for people in Hollywood and the film industry. I was invited because of my relationship to the hosts and for my appreciation for film and the arts. I met some really interesting people, such as the writer/director of a film I saw two years ago called As We Forgive, which focuses on healing and forgiveness being done in Rwanda after the genocides. Laura Waters Hinson is a beautiful woman who studied at American University and created the film as a student. She's since graduated and is using it to promote healing and racial reconciliation. Our worlds got smaller as we talked and I realized that she is married to a guy with whom I went to high school! Besides Laura, I also met Ben Lobato, a writer for the show The Unit and a graduate of the Act One program. He spoke extensively about the program and gave some of his life story. He came to know Christ later in life, while doing some time in the military, and has been a Christian in Hollywood. His story is fascinating and it was interesting to hear how God has worked in his life and in Hollywood.

I can't promise that my postings will be more frequent than the rate they were last month, but I can write this: I've at least tied the number! Here's to hoping I'll up it...

Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act

While I need to update My Palette with personal snippets, I can't help but first write about an issue on my mind this morning. I was able to join a conference call hosted by Dr. Joel Hunter, a pastor at Northland Church in FL, that featured Senator John Kerry. Kerry and Barbara Boxer, both Democratic Senators will have a bill on the Senate floor once the health care bill is tackled (who knows when that will be!).

The Kerry-Boxer bill, known as the "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act," is a step in the right direction for better emissions controls and better alternative energy programs. You can read a little more about it in the NY Times article if you want.

The bottom line is we're damaging the environment faster than scientists have previously estimated. The Arctic shelf, once estimated to melt by 2030 is now estimated to be gone by 2013. Sea levels are rising. Nations are fighting over decreased water supplies. The earth is warming at alarming rates. The air quality gets worse every year.

Meanwhile... we wait.

The United States is one of the highest carbon emitting countries and we have to start claiming responsibility and DOING something about it. Kerry urged all on the call today to start talking and acting. He claims that many people tell the Senators and House Reps that they are concerned about climate change, but don't act.

So, instead of waiting, ACT!

Look up your Senators and write him/her to urge them them to support the Kerry-Boxer bill when it goes to the floor. For those who are caught up in the we-versus-them, the bill is being crafted by Republicans and Democrats. Besides, don't all labels fall away when it comes to the earth we share? So, click here... it's the page where you can find your Senators. Write a letter (or you can copy and tweak what I have written below) and urge your rep to support this bill. Some action is better than no action.

In the time it took you to read this, you can look up and write your Senator. Let me know if you do, because I'd love to hear about what you're doing! We're all on this earth together and each person plays a part in protecting it. This is just one way that you can!

(What I wrote that you can copy and tweak to fit you):

Dear Senator ,

Thank you so much for your work and service to residents.

As a moderate Republican concerned about our environment, I am writing to urge you to SUPPORT Senators Kerry and Boxer's "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" bill that will be on the Senate floor very soon.

We need to increase our efforts when it comes to environmental stewardship and be an example to other nations.

While the bill omits some details, I trust that those details will responsibly be negotiated by the moderate Republicans and Democrats who have are uniting for this cause. I believe that SOME action is better than NO action. This bill is one step forward in the right direction.

Thanks for considering my opinion and representing me.

Sincerely,