I have just had a gentle kick up the proverbial by Tootsie Farklepants, isn't that a great name, because I haven't blogged for a while. Tootsie's blog is Vintage Thirty, a great blog that you just know is going to be great because the header is "unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy" - funny eh?
But enough of the waffle as I am simply trying to avoid the subject of my utter laziness and inability to post! My laziness has two parts to it, firstly that I have stopped reading anything even vaguely Christian and secondly that I am too lazy to come up with a blog post.
The first bit I am reluctant to talk about because it seems quite clear that I have turned my face away from God at the moment and there is simply no reason for me to have done so, except that I obviously expected everything to come easy and for there to be no struggle in getting to understand what my faith means to me. Yes, I can hear you all saying "Duh!?", but the point is that it IS hard work and I must persevere, but when I have several channels to surf the telly with or a laptop to play with or a pile of to be read books, my chats with God (in whatever form) come bottom of the pile.
And do you know what? I feel far less satisfied with it all, simply writing this post is making me think again and wondering just what it is that I am trying to achieve by not reading or pondering on God's word. There is a glimmer of light though - a leaflet dropped through my letterbox the other day - an Alpha study is going to be starting up in my village as from the 24th September, and this will give me a lot more help and thought, not to mention likeminded people that actually live near me that I can talk to and discuss things with - I will let you all know how I get on with that.
(By the way, if you'd like to know how the canal holiday went, just pop over to my other blog and take a look here and here!)
Monday 8 September 2008
Thursday 14 August 2008
Oops!
Just to let you all know that I am indeed fine (thanks for all the enquiries as to where I am and whether I am ok!), I am just being a very bad blogger at the moment.
Inspiration is proving very elusive and as I am away on a lovely canal boat holiday next week I am going to wait until I get back before I start trying again. Of course, the hope is that some quiet time on the canals with my family will provide me with lots of good bloggy thoughts!
Rest assured, however, that I am reading your blogs and commenting on some of them too.
All I can say is watch this space, I will indeed return to a rather more normal pace of blogging sooner or later!!
Inspiration is proving very elusive and as I am away on a lovely canal boat holiday next week I am going to wait until I get back before I start trying again. Of course, the hope is that some quiet time on the canals with my family will provide me with lots of good bloggy thoughts!
Rest assured, however, that I am reading your blogs and commenting on some of them too.
All I can say is watch this space, I will indeed return to a rather more normal pace of blogging sooner or later!!
Saturday 2 August 2008
Friendship
What is one thing that you absolutely love about friendships? Why? On the other side, what is one thing that you find absolutely difficult when it comes to friendships? Why?
That is this week's question from Internet Cafe Devotions and here is my answer!
Friendships are what make the world go round! Where we would we be without our friends? Anyway, there are two things that I love about friendships, the first is that you can talk about anything and everything and assuming that we are talking about true deep friendship, then you truly can talk about anything under the moon and your friend will listen (as will you) and not judge, but engage in conversation and draw out what you really feel and help you come to terms with what it is that you're having trouble with.
The second thing I love about friendship is more to do with the fact that I don't see my closest friends very often, but when we do get together, the time apart falls away and it's as though we met just last week instead of last year. We fall into our usual conversation patterns and chatter away, we remember family names and happening and rush to catch up with each other!
The one thing that I do find difficult about friendships is how to get to that level of closeness so that you can do what I've already mentioned. I don't make close friends easily and find it difficult to get beyond the acquaintance stage. Probably because I am quite reserved and while I can be quite chatty in general conversation, getting past that into the deeper conversation takes more effort than I realise.
Plus there is the difficulty in that I tend to meet people professionally rather than socially, or at least in the last two years as I have worked more hours than I would normally. This year, however, I intend to drag myself a little further out of my shell and perhaps make a few friends in this area that are not related to work!
That is this week's question from Internet Cafe Devotions and here is my answer!
Friendships are what make the world go round! Where we would we be without our friends? Anyway, there are two things that I love about friendships, the first is that you can talk about anything and everything and assuming that we are talking about true deep friendship, then you truly can talk about anything under the moon and your friend will listen (as will you) and not judge, but engage in conversation and draw out what you really feel and help you come to terms with what it is that you're having trouble with.
The second thing I love about friendship is more to do with the fact that I don't see my closest friends very often, but when we do get together, the time apart falls away and it's as though we met just last week instead of last year. We fall into our usual conversation patterns and chatter away, we remember family names and happening and rush to catch up with each other!
The one thing that I do find difficult about friendships is how to get to that level of closeness so that you can do what I've already mentioned. I don't make close friends easily and find it difficult to get beyond the acquaintance stage. Probably because I am quite reserved and while I can be quite chatty in general conversation, getting past that into the deeper conversation takes more effort than I realise.
Plus there is the difficulty in that I tend to meet people professionally rather than socially, or at least in the last two years as I have worked more hours than I would normally. This year, however, I intend to drag myself a little further out of my shell and perhaps make a few friends in this area that are not related to work!
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend
Proverbs 27:17
Sunday 27 July 2008
Tagged for six random facts!
Edie from Rich Gifts has tagged me!! I have also been tagged with the same meme by Alice from Hello, my name is Alice and as they have both tagged me for different blogs, I am going to do the meme twice, once on this blog and once on my Life and Times of Me blog, so you should consider yourself very lucky to get twelve quirky/random facts about me (if I can even think up twelve!!)
Edie says that I have post the rules....
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Right....six things....
I am never without something to read, I get twitchy if I don't have at least one book to read and yet I sometimes cannot find anything worth buying when I visit the local bookshops - too much choice I think!
I don't like checking the tyre pressure on the wheels of my car, I don't know why but I am always worried that I will get it wrong, so I have to make myself do it.
I lived in Denmark for three months on a University exchange visit, I lived in university accommodation and fell in love with Copenhagen and think that I could quite happily live there. (But then I find that I think the same about Vancouver which I visited about ten years ago, and Australia which I visited four months ago)
I love short pajamas, one can never have too many sets of pajamas (I bought another set yesterday - gray with short shorts and little flower patterns all over!)
The rooms upstairs in my house always look as though a personal shopper has gone crazy - I hang clothes from overdoor hooks to dry and never manage to put them away - every door (apart from the bathroom door) has clothes hanging from them!! I really really must put them away.
I get most of my Bible quotes from the internet, from fellow bloggers and sites like the Bible Gateway - I really must actually read the Bible!
And now I tag six others....
Meditations and Confessions of a Homemaker
Flickers of a Faithful Firefly
Journeying Forward
Drink Offering
Lily of the Valley
The Fruits of the Spirit
They are all bloggers who have recently commented on my blog!
Edie says that I have post the rules....
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Right....six things....
I am never without something to read, I get twitchy if I don't have at least one book to read and yet I sometimes cannot find anything worth buying when I visit the local bookshops - too much choice I think!
I don't like checking the tyre pressure on the wheels of my car, I don't know why but I am always worried that I will get it wrong, so I have to make myself do it.
I lived in Denmark for three months on a University exchange visit, I lived in university accommodation and fell in love with Copenhagen and think that I could quite happily live there. (But then I find that I think the same about Vancouver which I visited about ten years ago, and Australia which I visited four months ago)
I love short pajamas, one can never have too many sets of pajamas (I bought another set yesterday - gray with short shorts and little flower patterns all over!)
The rooms upstairs in my house always look as though a personal shopper has gone crazy - I hang clothes from overdoor hooks to dry and never manage to put them away - every door (apart from the bathroom door) has clothes hanging from them!! I really really must put them away.
I get most of my Bible quotes from the internet, from fellow bloggers and sites like the Bible Gateway - I really must actually read the Bible!
And now I tag six others....
Meditations and Confessions of a Homemaker
Flickers of a Faithful Firefly
Journeying Forward
Drink Offering
Lily of the Valley
The Fruits of the Spirit
They are all bloggers who have recently commented on my blog!
Saturday 26 July 2008
Book Titles
This weeks question from Internet Cafe Devotions is "what would be a title of a book about your life?"
This seems rather similar to that "your life in six words" meme that I came across a few weeks ago and I played that one on my Life and Times of Me blog and said "books, books, books, here, there, everywhere" which I thought was rather reflective of my voracious reading hobby and my career as a librarian!
I think that this question requires a bit more subtlety though; do I go for a film type title - "Samantha: the book" (like Garfield: the movie!) which seems silly, do I do go for something highbrow like....um, er, I can't actually think of anything highbrow as I am definitely not a highbrow kinda person!
Once, someone told me that my name means listener and thinking on it now, I think that this would be a great title for a book "Samantha means listener" as this could be applied in so many ways.
I am deaf, which you may think makes a mockery of the chosen book title, but actually I think that emphasises the title as although I am deaf, I strive to listen; to listen to the conversations around me, to listen to my cat meow at me, to listen to the music in my car, to listen sounds that are normal to you but unusual to me - sounds your brain has heard, absorbed, recognised and ignored are sounds that make me listen and want to know what they are.
Sometimes my whole being is focused on listening to what you have to say as it requires more than just my ears, I have to watch your mouth and body movements, I have shut out everything else in order to concentrate on you, sometimes I even have to position myself so that I am in the right place for understanding.
And I think that this is a good way to demonstrate listening to and understanding God as we need to listen to Him with more than our ears, we need to put ourselves in the right position for listening, and we need to concentrate on Him alone if we are hear anything.
This seems rather similar to that "your life in six words" meme that I came across a few weeks ago and I played that one on my Life and Times of Me blog and said "books, books, books, here, there, everywhere" which I thought was rather reflective of my voracious reading hobby and my career as a librarian!
I think that this question requires a bit more subtlety though; do I go for a film type title - "Samantha: the book" (like Garfield: the movie!) which seems silly, do I do go for something highbrow like....um, er, I can't actually think of anything highbrow as I am definitely not a highbrow kinda person!
Once, someone told me that my name means listener and thinking on it now, I think that this would be a great title for a book "Samantha means listener" as this could be applied in so many ways.
I am deaf, which you may think makes a mockery of the chosen book title, but actually I think that emphasises the title as although I am deaf, I strive to listen; to listen to the conversations around me, to listen to my cat meow at me, to listen to the music in my car, to listen sounds that are normal to you but unusual to me - sounds your brain has heard, absorbed, recognised and ignored are sounds that make me listen and want to know what they are.
Sometimes my whole being is focused on listening to what you have to say as it requires more than just my ears, I have to watch your mouth and body movements, I have shut out everything else in order to concentrate on you, sometimes I even have to position myself so that I am in the right place for understanding.
And I think that this is a good way to demonstrate listening to and understanding God as we need to listen to Him with more than our ears, we need to put ourselves in the right position for listening, and we need to concentrate on Him alone if we are hear anything.
Why spend money on what is not bread
and labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Isaiah 55:2
Thursday 24 July 2008
Thanks
It's Thursday, so it must be Thankful Thursday!
- Thank you for the fan at my feet that is keeping me cool (it's not even that hot outside, so I should probably check my temperature when I get home tonight!)
- Thank you for the lovely weekend that I had with my parents last weekend
- Thank you for two laptops that arrived from the IT dept for my lending laptop project - I have learnt patience in this matter, I will learn the skill of even more patience as I await the other six!
- Thank you for subtitles as I can understand the news that is playing on the wall at work (with the sound off - I bet I get more than other people do - ha ha!)
- Thank you for the friendship of Edie as she helps me try to understand the Bible a little better!
- and finally, Thank you Lord for keeping me out of trouble on the motorway last week
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Dissatisfaction?
Sometimes I am rather taken aback at the ways in which I am led to think about my life. I read a post today at I'm ramblin' again and it could have been written for me, right down to the little postcard that was found on postsecret
Admittedly I don't think about running away from home every day, but I am 33, I do have my own house and I do have a great job and yet I still sometimes think that if I did this or that then my life would be better.
What Justin says at I'm Ramblin' Again is that this is quite normal, we all look at the greener grass or imagine that our lives would be better if only it were different. However, Justin makes a very important point in that no matter what we did to make our lives different WE would still be the same and it is our general dissatisfaction with everything that means that even if everything were as perfect as we believe they should be, we still wouldn't be happy because we are still carrying around our baggage regarding how we feel about ourselves.
Until we I get to the bottom of my dissatisfaction and allow myself to find happiness in the life that I am living then I am always going to see that greener grass and yearn for it. So, instead of looking at the outward trappings of success I need to focus on my inner happiness and draw out my faith and my joy in the simple things and learn to be happy instead of saying to myself that if I had a bigger house I'd be happier, if I moved to Australia (or Canada or America or wherever the fancy takes me!) I'd be the social bubbly person that I always wanted to be, if I did this or that then I'd be happier.
But, I know deep down inside that no matter what I did I would still be the same person - vaguely unhappy but not entirely certain why, and I know that I need to work on this and I do believe that I am taking baby steps towards understanding myself and where I should be in my life.
Saturday 19 July 2008
Priorities
This week's question from the Internet Cafe Devotions is all about priorities and it goes like this...
Naturally there are things that if I don't do then life becomes difficult, for instance, if I don't make my family my priority then we could become estranged and I lose contact with them; if I don't make work my priority then I could lose my job and struggle to maintain my house (and other luxuries!), if I don't make myself one of my priorities then I lose self-confidence and energy; and so the list goes.
But I don't actually consider any of them to be a priority in that they are just a part of my life and I get on with the business of living - making sure I chat to Mum online regularly, making sure that I get to work on time, making sure that I have time to pamper myself. So, by default those are my priorities, except that God and my faith do not automatically appear in that list of priorities and this is definitely something that I need to work on. Although, having said that, I actually think more about that at present than I do anything else in that I am considering what to read, study and think on when it comes to my faith.
So....what this question has revealed to me is that I really need to stop and think about what my priorities are and how I can actively work to truly make them (whatever they may be) my priorities. Clearly I need to "work" at life rather than just float through it aimlessly and doing whatever comes my way!
Name what you think should be your first 5 priorities in life? Then order those priorities the way they actually are at present in your own life. Do they match up? Why or why not? If needed, what is one thing that you can do today that will help your two lists match up?This question opens up a whole can of worms for me because I don't think that I have any priorities, or at least none that I can pin down, which sounds strange but if by priorities we mean things that are important to me and are at the forefront of my mind constantly, then I can't actually think of any. This may mean that I am simply floating through life without any real direction and should actually sit down and think about what my priorities are and so this question is quite timely!
Naturally there are things that if I don't do then life becomes difficult, for instance, if I don't make my family my priority then we could become estranged and I lose contact with them; if I don't make work my priority then I could lose my job and struggle to maintain my house (and other luxuries!), if I don't make myself one of my priorities then I lose self-confidence and energy; and so the list goes.
But I don't actually consider any of them to be a priority in that they are just a part of my life and I get on with the business of living - making sure I chat to Mum online regularly, making sure that I get to work on time, making sure that I have time to pamper myself. So, by default those are my priorities, except that God and my faith do not automatically appear in that list of priorities and this is definitely something that I need to work on. Although, having said that, I actually think more about that at present than I do anything else in that I am considering what to read, study and think on when it comes to my faith.
So....what this question has revealed to me is that I really need to stop and think about what my priorities are and how I can actively work to truly make them (whatever they may be) my priorities. Clearly I need to "work" at life rather than just float through it aimlessly and doing whatever comes my way!
Wednesday 16 July 2008
Word Filled Wednesday
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him Iwill trust.....then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
Psalm 91: verses 2 and 10.
I had to rummage around to find this particular verse, but it means so very much to me today as I came very close to an accident on the motorway on the way to work this morning. The car in front of me started to pull out into the middle lane and then changed his mind (probably saw another car in the way!) and swerved back into our lane, but in doing so lost control and started weaving across the road until the car ended up crashing against the central divide and facing oncoming traffic.
Fortunately, although it looked bad, it did not appear that anyone was hurt, aside from the driver's credit card which will be needed to realign the steering and straighten the bodywork. I have seen the aftermath of many accidents but have never actually one happen right before my eyes and so I was rather shocked, in fact much to my surprise I started shaking and crying a little bit once I realised that I was safe.
We have just contacted the police and found out that it was just one car involved and no injuries and the police know that I am happy to be a witness if necessary but at present they don't believe that to be necessary.
The rainbow in the above picture reminds us of the Lord's covenant and His protection and the keeping of his promise that He will always protect us and I thought that this was rather apt for today's Word Filled Wednesday. Incidentally the photo was taken from my bedroom window in July 2007.
Saturday 12 July 2008
Lord of the Dance
There is so much inspiration out there in the bloggie world in the form of carnivals. I am not sure that this is the right word, but what I mean is a blogger who has an idea and then makes it a regular post and invites other people to join in and connect their post to the one that started it all!! For example, I did a Thankful Thursday the other day, and my Saturday question from Internet Cafe Devotions is the same sort of thing.
However, I have discovered that there is so much inspiration out there that they can't all have their own day as there are more than seven of them!! So.....I am now going to mix and match according to how I feel and what I fancy writing about and today I am not answering the Cafe Devotions question because it asks us to choose a woman from the Bible that we relate to, and as I have said before, I haven't read the Bible in any great depth so I can't really make that decision.
But enough waffling, today I am going to join in with Then Sings My Soul Saturday!
Basically the idea is to blog about a song, a song that makes my soul sing! As a child, my favourite Christian song was Lord of the Dance, and it stood out because all the other songs we sung tended to be very traditional and slow with unpredictable (to me) emphasis on words. That will make more sense to you when you realise that I am deaf and much prefer lyrics that have a very regular rhythm rather than lyrics following a tune that means that you stretch out that word but not that one - it gets very confusing when I find myself a word or two behind everybody!!
Hence, my favourite Christian song when I was about ten was Lord of the Dance..."Dance then wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance said He". I have just done a bit of research and have discovered that the author, Sydney Carter, also wrote "One more step" and "When I needed a neighbour" - both of which are also strongly embedded in my memory as songs that I can sing and clap and dance to!
Today though, the Lord of the Dance has a stronger meaning for me as the chorus shows me that no matter where or how I may be dancing, He is the one who leading me. Naturally that seems quite an obvious statement, but to me it resonates because for all those years that I didn't think that I was dancing or being lead by the Lord, I was - He has led me to the point where I am now trying to listen to what he has to say rather than deliberately not paying attention.
However, I have discovered that there is so much inspiration out there that they can't all have their own day as there are more than seven of them!! So.....I am now going to mix and match according to how I feel and what I fancy writing about and today I am not answering the Cafe Devotions question because it asks us to choose a woman from the Bible that we relate to, and as I have said before, I haven't read the Bible in any great depth so I can't really make that decision.
But enough waffling, today I am going to join in with Then Sings My Soul Saturday!
Basically the idea is to blog about a song, a song that makes my soul sing! As a child, my favourite Christian song was Lord of the Dance, and it stood out because all the other songs we sung tended to be very traditional and slow with unpredictable (to me) emphasis on words. That will make more sense to you when you realise that I am deaf and much prefer lyrics that have a very regular rhythm rather than lyrics following a tune that means that you stretch out that word but not that one - it gets very confusing when I find myself a word or two behind everybody!!
Hence, my favourite Christian song when I was about ten was Lord of the Dance..."Dance then wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance said He". I have just done a bit of research and have discovered that the author, Sydney Carter, also wrote "One more step" and "When I needed a neighbour" - both of which are also strongly embedded in my memory as songs that I can sing and clap and dance to!
Today though, the Lord of the Dance has a stronger meaning for me as the chorus shows me that no matter where or how I may be dancing, He is the one who leading me. Naturally that seems quite an obvious statement, but to me it resonates because for all those years that I didn't think that I was dancing or being lead by the Lord, I was - He has led me to the point where I am now trying to listen to what he has to say rather than deliberately not paying attention.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
Thursday 10 July 2008
Thankful Thursday
A great little blog has a Thankful Thursday meme every....well....Thursday!! Just click on the pretty photo above to find out what it's all about. There are quite a few blogs taking part in this, there are 75 links posted today for you all to rummage through when you have a moment!
I could certainly do with being reminded to be thankful every now and then as I moan and groan and grumble and mumble about this and that and of nothing of consequence and need to remember to be thankful for what I do have!
- I am thankful that despite my hearing loss I can still crank up Madonna in the car and bop down the road!
- I am thankful that I am still (and always will be) close to my parents and am looking forward to spending a week on a narrow boat with them and my youngest brother.
- I am thankful that Phoebe cat eventually came home last, yowling for her food!
- I am thankful that I finally have someone coming to look at the leaky gutter, and am thankful that we do indeed have water to wash and clean and drink and bring the garden to life.
- I am thankful that I am exploring my faith and beginning to understand just what a great thing Jesus did for me.
- and finally....I am thankful that I didn't actually go to work in my slippers this morning even if I did step out of the house with them on!! ;-)
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Women Bishops
If you live in the United Kingdom it couldn't possibly have escaped your notice that is great deal of commotion currently going on up and down the country with regards women being Bishops. I don't know what the news or blog coverage has been in other countries so I don't know how much you all know about this particular issue.
But.....I just wanted to add my tuppenny worth, even though I cannot profess to understand all the theological issues regarding the ordination of women as Bishops. All I know is that I personally see no reason why women shouldn't be Bishops or even Arch-Bishops (I can only hope and pray that this will happen one day!) as we all have the ability and the call to spread God's Word.
There are many that argue that there are Biblical and theological arguments as to why women should not be Bishops, but I believe that this is a very limited viewpoint as women have different qualities to offer congregations and communities whether as lay-readers, vicars, or Bishops. We have different view points and outlooks on life, not to mention a different way of tackling various problems.
The Church of England's General Synod have indeed voted for the consecration of women Bishops, but they have also voted to draw up a code of practice meant to reassure opponents of the vote, although the Synod have stated that this will not include establishing so-called male "super-Bishops" in order to cater for those that will not go to women Bishops. And rightly so as this would be likely to lead to the thinking that women Bishops are of less stature than the men, and as such, would be wrong - at least in my eyes.
Despite all the arguments and counter-arguments that are being discussed I believe that this is not about equality, not about traditionalist Church movements, not about increasing congregations, but it is about answering the call of God whether you are male or female.
At the end of the day, I would argue that we should be putting far more energy into spreading the Gospel rather than arguing who the best person to do the job is!! Besides, if the head of the Church of England is the Queen, how can you possibly argue against women Bishops!! ;-)
But.....I just wanted to add my tuppenny worth, even though I cannot profess to understand all the theological issues regarding the ordination of women as Bishops. All I know is that I personally see no reason why women shouldn't be Bishops or even Arch-Bishops (I can only hope and pray that this will happen one day!) as we all have the ability and the call to spread God's Word.
There are many that argue that there are Biblical and theological arguments as to why women should not be Bishops, but I believe that this is a very limited viewpoint as women have different qualities to offer congregations and communities whether as lay-readers, vicars, or Bishops. We have different view points and outlooks on life, not to mention a different way of tackling various problems.
The Church of England's General Synod have indeed voted for the consecration of women Bishops, but they have also voted to draw up a code of practice meant to reassure opponents of the vote, although the Synod have stated that this will not include establishing so-called male "super-Bishops" in order to cater for those that will not go to women Bishops. And rightly so as this would be likely to lead to the thinking that women Bishops are of less stature than the men, and as such, would be wrong - at least in my eyes.
Despite all the arguments and counter-arguments that are being discussed I believe that this is not about equality, not about traditionalist Church movements, not about increasing congregations, but it is about answering the call of God whether you are male or female.
At the end of the day, I would argue that we should be putting far more energy into spreading the Gospel rather than arguing who the best person to do the job is!! Besides, if the head of the Church of England is the Queen, how can you possibly argue against women Bishops!! ;-)
Monday 7 July 2008
A bit of fun!
I thought that I'd have a bit of fun today, so I stole this from A Magnolia's Heart Beats!
You, too, are welcome to steal this from me!
A is for age.
Hmmm, I should say that I am as old as my tongue but a little older than my teeth!!! ha ha - I always liked that saying! I am 33!
B is for burger of choice.
Would rather have a sausage thank you!
C is for what car you drive.
A silver Ford Puma, which I love because it such a step up from my old clunker, which was really starting to fall apart by the time I got rid of it.
D is for Dog's name.
Mum and Dad have a dog - Poppy, but I have a cat - Phoebe.
E is for essential item you use every day.
Computer - whether a desktop at work, or my laptop at home, it is rare that I don't use the computer each and every day!
F is for favorite tv show at the moment.
NCIS! Found this a few years ago and am loving it!
G is for Favorite game.
Don't really have a favourite game, I like playing them all, although I am far more fond of the traditional type games than computer games!
H is for Hometown.
Nuh-huh! That's confidential information! I will go as far as to admit that I live in Wiltshire in the United Kingdom.
I is for instruments you play.
None, unless you include playing the stereo!! Tried all sorts as a teenager - recorder, guitar, flute, and I can't remember if I tried anything else!
J is for favorite juice.
Orange - there is nothing quite like tasty orange juice (not from concentrate of course!)
K is for who you'd like to kiss.
Oooh, now you're asking!! But I am not going to pick some famous good looking guy, instead I pick my little niece, she's snuggly and cute!
L is for last restaurant you ate at.
It's been a while, in fact, it may have been when I was in Australia - a little fancy pizzeria on Hamilton Island, I sat by myself with a good book, a great glass of wine (or two!) and ordered a fancy four cheese pizza and by fancy I mean it had Boccacino, Brie, Smoked Cheddar and something else that I couldn't remember even at the time!!
M is for your favorite Muppet.
Other than Kermit and Miss Piggy I can't actually remember the others so I can't really be objective here!
N is for number of piercings.
Just two, one in each ear!
O is for overnight hospital stays.
A couple - mostly for grommets in my ears when I was a child. I don't remember much about the hospital stays as I was very young, but the one thing that I do remember is eating something like a mars bar and shaking it on my blanket to get the loose bits of chocolate to fall out so that I could lick my fingers and pick them up - I must have gotten into trouble for that but can't remember that bit!
P is for people you were with today.
My library colleagues, plus the people in the library, which included a bunch of student paramedics who needed to know that the library is not a scary place!
Q is for what you do with your quiet time.
Read, blog, stroke the cat!
R is for biggest regret.
Although I am happy with my degree choice and thus my career choice, I do wish that I had taken a different degree instead, like history or archaeology and then done a postgraduate library course if I still wanted to do that. (but at the time I had no idea that you could do a postgrad library course)
S is for status.
Quite single! (and mostly happy about it)
T is for time you woke up today.
Don't remember, but it was before the alarm clock, probably because I was wondering why Phoebe hadn't poked at my face to wake me up (she was fine - most likely just out hunting some innocent creature as I leave the bedroom window open in the summer)
U is for what you consider unique.
Each and every one of us, we may share experiences and feelings, but we are all totally unique!
V is for vegetable you love.
Carrots - they taste so much better steamed!
W is for worst habit.
Severe procrastination
X is for number of x-rays you've had.
Have never counted, but have had one on my wrist and a few on my teeth!
Y is for yummy food you ate today.
Chocolate doughnut! (naughty!!)
Z is for zodiac sign.
Scorpio, but surely the horoscope cannot possibly be the same for the one twelfth of the population that shares the same zodiac sign as me, so it's all bunkum!! ;-)
You, too, are welcome to steal this from me!
A is for age.
Hmmm, I should say that I am as old as my tongue but a little older than my teeth!!! ha ha - I always liked that saying! I am 33!
B is for burger of choice.
Would rather have a sausage thank you!
C is for what car you drive.
A silver Ford Puma, which I love because it such a step up from my old clunker, which was really starting to fall apart by the time I got rid of it.
D is for Dog's name.
Mum and Dad have a dog - Poppy, but I have a cat - Phoebe.
E is for essential item you use every day.
Computer - whether a desktop at work, or my laptop at home, it is rare that I don't use the computer each and every day!
F is for favorite tv show at the moment.
NCIS! Found this a few years ago and am loving it!
G is for Favorite game.
Don't really have a favourite game, I like playing them all, although I am far more fond of the traditional type games than computer games!
H is for Hometown.
Nuh-huh! That's confidential information! I will go as far as to admit that I live in Wiltshire in the United Kingdom.
I is for instruments you play.
None, unless you include playing the stereo!! Tried all sorts as a teenager - recorder, guitar, flute, and I can't remember if I tried anything else!
J is for favorite juice.
Orange - there is nothing quite like tasty orange juice (not from concentrate of course!)
K is for who you'd like to kiss.
Oooh, now you're asking!! But I am not going to pick some famous good looking guy, instead I pick my little niece, she's snuggly and cute!
L is for last restaurant you ate at.
It's been a while, in fact, it may have been when I was in Australia - a little fancy pizzeria on Hamilton Island, I sat by myself with a good book, a great glass of wine (or two!) and ordered a fancy four cheese pizza and by fancy I mean it had Boccacino, Brie, Smoked Cheddar and something else that I couldn't remember even at the time!!
M is for your favorite Muppet.
Other than Kermit and Miss Piggy I can't actually remember the others so I can't really be objective here!
N is for number of piercings.
Just two, one in each ear!
O is for overnight hospital stays.
A couple - mostly for grommets in my ears when I was a child. I don't remember much about the hospital stays as I was very young, but the one thing that I do remember is eating something like a mars bar and shaking it on my blanket to get the loose bits of chocolate to fall out so that I could lick my fingers and pick them up - I must have gotten into trouble for that but can't remember that bit!
P is for people you were with today.
My library colleagues, plus the people in the library, which included a bunch of student paramedics who needed to know that the library is not a scary place!
Q is for what you do with your quiet time.
Read, blog, stroke the cat!
R is for biggest regret.
Although I am happy with my degree choice and thus my career choice, I do wish that I had taken a different degree instead, like history or archaeology and then done a postgraduate library course if I still wanted to do that. (but at the time I had no idea that you could do a postgrad library course)
S is for status.
Quite single! (and mostly happy about it)
T is for time you woke up today.
Don't remember, but it was before the alarm clock, probably because I was wondering why Phoebe hadn't poked at my face to wake me up (she was fine - most likely just out hunting some innocent creature as I leave the bedroom window open in the summer)
U is for what you consider unique.
Each and every one of us, we may share experiences and feelings, but we are all totally unique!
V is for vegetable you love.
Carrots - they taste so much better steamed!
W is for worst habit.
Severe procrastination
X is for number of x-rays you've had.
Have never counted, but have had one on my wrist and a few on my teeth!
Y is for yummy food you ate today.
Chocolate doughnut! (naughty!!)
Z is for zodiac sign.
Scorpio, but surely the horoscope cannot possibly be the same for the one twelfth of the population that shares the same zodiac sign as me, so it's all bunkum!! ;-)
Saturday 5 July 2008
A godly woman
Do you have a godly (woman) mentor in your life? If so, describe your relationship with her…
If you don’t have a mentor, would you like one and what would you hope to gain from the relationship?
In my mind the word mentor suggests an older person counselling a younger because they have a lot of experience and knowledge to pass on, which is a great thing, but I also see this as a teacher-student relationship which to me is not an equal relationship. So, I would actually prefer a more equal relationship based on the fact that we have a great deal to learn from each other.Perhaps this is based on the fact that I find that my respect for the teacher/mentor gets in the way of my ability to question and discuss because I am in awe of their knowledge and tend to accept what they say as correct without thinking about it.
As it is, I don't actually have anyone who I would consider a mentor (or like-minded friend) that would help me to get the most out of my faith. Having said that, as I've said before, I am enjoying and using all those blogs to spark my thinking and steer me down paths that I may not have considered before.
It would, however, be nice to find someone I can talk to in real life as well as reading all those blogs as good conversation is always far better in person. So I have to find myself a Church that I can relate to...make a few friends...and get some conversation going!!
Friday 4 July 2008
Understanding the Word
At the moment, I am reading pretty much everything except the Bible. I am reading other people's opinions and perceptions of God, the Gospels and the rest of the Bible.
While these other insights are very interesting and offer me a gentle way into the Bible and what God means for me to hear, I wonder if I am avoiding the Bible itself as it is rather a hefty tome with somewhat small print!!
I have bought a book with a study guide at the back as some way of getting me started, it's called Victory over the Darkness and it has about 120 pages in the back that asks the reader to think about their identity in Christ and what the Bible means to them.
As I am still reading the Harry Potter Gospel book, and the Invisible God by Yancey, I am reluctant to start another book without finishing those first; and yet I wonder if I am missing something here. Of course I am missing something, but I get the feeling that I shouldn't be too eager to read God's Word if I am not quite ready for it; in the meantime though, I am enjoying reading all those blogs out there - who knew that were quite so many of you!!
I am interested to know how you first approached the Bible - had you always read it since you were a child? Did you attend a study group that enabled you all to find your own way through discussion with like-minded people? Did you find an appropriate book that made you think about your own Christianity and how you yourself related to the Bible? I'm curious!
While these other insights are very interesting and offer me a gentle way into the Bible and what God means for me to hear, I wonder if I am avoiding the Bible itself as it is rather a hefty tome with somewhat small print!!
I have bought a book with a study guide at the back as some way of getting me started, it's called Victory over the Darkness and it has about 120 pages in the back that asks the reader to think about their identity in Christ and what the Bible means to them.
As I am still reading the Harry Potter Gospel book, and the Invisible God by Yancey, I am reluctant to start another book without finishing those first; and yet I wonder if I am missing something here. Of course I am missing something, but I get the feeling that I shouldn't be too eager to read God's Word if I am not quite ready for it; in the meantime though, I am enjoying reading all those blogs out there - who knew that were quite so many of you!!
I am interested to know how you first approached the Bible - had you always read it since you were a child? Did you attend a study group that enabled you all to find your own way through discussion with like-minded people? Did you find an appropriate book that made you think about your own Christianity and how you yourself related to the Bible? I'm curious!
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Word-Filled Wednesday
It's been a while since I last wrote something and although I do have a post in progress I am still working on it, so I went for a look around the internet to see if I could find something to fill this gap as otherwise this blog looks as though I only write something once a week!!
Anyway, I found a blog called 160 Acre Woods and every Wednesday they have a Word Filled Wednesday where people are encouraged to upload a photograph and add a Bible verse.
Anyway, I found a blog called 160 Acre Woods and every Wednesday they have a Word Filled Wednesday where people are encouraged to upload a photograph and add a Bible verse.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Gen 1:1-2
I thought that this verse went quite well with this photograph that was taken in Adelaide during my trip to Australia in March! Besides, it reminds me that I only at the beginning of my faith journey and I have to start somewhere and where better to start than Genesis!!
Saturday 28 June 2008
Lies
Today's question from Internet Cafe Devotions is about LIES. Most of us are or have been plagued by lies, some from just being a woman. Lies are destructive and defeating. Lies about priorities, marriage, family, emotions or sin invade our spirits if we let them.
After some thought I have decided to talk about the lie that is very pervasive in today's society, which is that the only way to be happy is to have the biggest and best in the way of material possessions, or to have as much as possible in order to feel happy. You see it all the time in the more affluent societies as people earn more and more they then feel as though they have to own more and more (or bigger and better); and I am no exception to this as I have things like a nice car, a new laptop, piles of books, more clothes than I need and so the list grows!!
As a child it is easier to think that a pile of goodies on your birthday or for Christmas will make you happy and yes, perhaps you are happier on that particular day than you were a week ago because you have lots of new things to play with. But that feeling doesn't last does it? It is to be hoped that as we grow up we begin to realise that that feeling doesn't last and therefore stop looking for material possessions in order to make us happy.
But that's not true is it? No matter how old we are, we fall into the trap of thinking that owning the best car, the brightest jewelry, the latest iPod, or the fastest laptop will make us happy. As much as I am particularly enjoying my new laptop, I know that it is not making me happy in myself, which is a different kind of happiness. If anything, I am more content because I am answering this question and learning more about myself spiritually and personally.
Indeed, the Bible says that Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves (Proverbs 11:28), which is just what I have been talking about - if you trust your possessions to give you what you need then you are not going to get very far!
Happiness is to be found in other ways as the Bible points out; Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) If you are always thanking God for your blessings and thinking of those blessings how can you be anything but happy as your spirits are lifted! It is hard to be unhappy when you're saying thank you for the cat that curls up next to you, thank you for the sunshine that streams through the window and thank you for everything!
P.S The Internet Cafe Devotions is having a give-away!! I seem to be a bit late in the game to know about this, perhaps the day the give-away was launched was the day that I clicked on the wrong button on Bloglines and cleared my list of posts to read! Anyway, hurry on over to find out more about the give-away as it includes lots of lovely things to help you in your faith journey; like a journal, a bookmark to save your place and a candle to get you in the mood for listening to God!
What is a lie that you have believed in the past (or even currently), and why do you think you believed that lie? Find a verse in God’s Word to combat the lie.This question seems to me to be quite similar to one we had some time ago about lies about women that contradict God's word which I answered on my other blog. This question is more wide ranging though in that it covers lies about anything and specifically asks me to seek out a verse from the Bible that combats this lie and so helps me become more familiar with God's Word.
After some thought I have decided to talk about the lie that is very pervasive in today's society, which is that the only way to be happy is to have the biggest and best in the way of material possessions, or to have as much as possible in order to feel happy. You see it all the time in the more affluent societies as people earn more and more they then feel as though they have to own more and more (or bigger and better); and I am no exception to this as I have things like a nice car, a new laptop, piles of books, more clothes than I need and so the list grows!!
As a child it is easier to think that a pile of goodies on your birthday or for Christmas will make you happy and yes, perhaps you are happier on that particular day than you were a week ago because you have lots of new things to play with. But that feeling doesn't last does it? It is to be hoped that as we grow up we begin to realise that that feeling doesn't last and therefore stop looking for material possessions in order to make us happy.
But that's not true is it? No matter how old we are, we fall into the trap of thinking that owning the best car, the brightest jewelry, the latest iPod, or the fastest laptop will make us happy. As much as I am particularly enjoying my new laptop, I know that it is not making me happy in myself, which is a different kind of happiness. If anything, I am more content because I am answering this question and learning more about myself spiritually and personally.
Indeed, the Bible says that Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves (Proverbs 11:28), which is just what I have been talking about - if you trust your possessions to give you what you need then you are not going to get very far!
Happiness is to be found in other ways as the Bible points out; Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) If you are always thanking God for your blessings and thinking of those blessings how can you be anything but happy as your spirits are lifted! It is hard to be unhappy when you're saying thank you for the cat that curls up next to you, thank you for the sunshine that streams through the window and thank you for everything!
P.S The Internet Cafe Devotions is having a give-away!! I seem to be a bit late in the game to know about this, perhaps the day the give-away was launched was the day that I clicked on the wrong button on Bloglines and cleared my list of posts to read! Anyway, hurry on over to find out more about the give-away as it includes lots of lovely things to help you in your faith journey; like a journal, a bookmark to save your place and a candle to get you in the mood for listening to God!
Friday 27 June 2008
Reading matter
When I want to find out about something, I naturally reach for a book, when I want to enjoy myself my first instinct is to look for a book to read!
So, when I want to find out more about Christianity the first thing that I do is seek out books to read. There is the Bible of course, but I have decided to try and find the right Bible study tools first before I try and read something that is a bit heavy and in the meantime I looked for other books.
I have a pile on my shelves already, but want to talk about the book that I found last weekend which is "The Gospel according to Harry Potter: the spiritual journey of the world's greatest seeker" as written by Connie Neal. I am about half way through the first chapter and am thoroughly enjoying this book. More so because I have read the Harry Potter books and can remember the bits in the book that Neal points out and uses to illustrate sections of the Gospel.
Yes, I realise that the Harry Potter books are reviled by some as being tools to teach witchcraft to children. To which I peer over my glasses in a manner very very familiar to my family as the "are you being stupid" look!! It's just a story and is meant to be enjoyed as a story! Indeed, Connie Neal has chosen the HP books almost for that reason, in order to show that it is possible to find anything you want in a book if you are selective enough!
As a librarian, I am particularly aware that it is very easy to pick and choose the perfect sentence in order to support or disprove your point. Anyway, by selecting the right sentences from HP books one through seven, Connie is able to reveal the Gospel to me in a way that makes sense to me by using examples that I can understand, especially as I have yet to read the Gospel myself!
I am certainly enjoying this book and would recommend it to anyone who would like to have a starting point to the Gospel without getting too bogged down in theology whilst having something enjoyable to read and still manages to get the point across!
So, when I want to find out more about Christianity the first thing that I do is seek out books to read. There is the Bible of course, but I have decided to try and find the right Bible study tools first before I try and read something that is a bit heavy and in the meantime I looked for other books.
I have a pile on my shelves already, but want to talk about the book that I found last weekend which is "The Gospel according to Harry Potter: the spiritual journey of the world's greatest seeker" as written by Connie Neal. I am about half way through the first chapter and am thoroughly enjoying this book. More so because I have read the Harry Potter books and can remember the bits in the book that Neal points out and uses to illustrate sections of the Gospel.
Yes, I realise that the Harry Potter books are reviled by some as being tools to teach witchcraft to children. To which I peer over my glasses in a manner very very familiar to my family as the "are you being stupid" look!! It's just a story and is meant to be enjoyed as a story! Indeed, Connie Neal has chosen the HP books almost for that reason, in order to show that it is possible to find anything you want in a book if you are selective enough!
As a librarian, I am particularly aware that it is very easy to pick and choose the perfect sentence in order to support or disprove your point. Anyway, by selecting the right sentences from HP books one through seven, Connie is able to reveal the Gospel to me in a way that makes sense to me by using examples that I can understand, especially as I have yet to read the Gospel myself!
I am certainly enjoying this book and would recommend it to anyone who would like to have a starting point to the Gospel without getting too bogged down in theology whilst having something enjoyable to read and still manages to get the point across!
Wednesday 25 June 2008
different faiths
Jennifer at the Gathering Grace blog picked out an interesting article to read. Do go and read it, but essentially the article suggests that while many follow a particular faith, they no longer think that theirs is the only way to eternal life.
This is a long way from the times when Cathars were persecuted for their faith, when Jews suffered the Holocaust, when Catholics fought with Protestants; and shows a definite increase on our levels of tolerance for other religions and traditions.
However, there are some that say that such tolerance goes against your own religious beliefs. What they mean to say is if your religious teaching reveals that your tradition is the only way to eternal life, how can you then say other religions can also lead to eternal life - either you believe that your religion is the truth or it isn't!
Personally, I think that this increasing tolerance is a very good sign and we should work to be even more tolerant of other ideas, faiths, traditions and thoughts! Does it matter that we may all believe different things as long as we decide what it is that we believe and work to deepen our own beliefs.
There is one section of the article that does really annoy me though and it's where it says
Thus I believe that it is statements like that that are more damaging than it is to suggest that many people believe that there is more than one way to eternal life. Which at least shows that we are more open-minded and willing to accept that ours is not the only way. As the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy is quoted in the article this shows "a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone".
This is a long way from the times when Cathars were persecuted for their faith, when Jews suffered the Holocaust, when Catholics fought with Protestants; and shows a definite increase on our levels of tolerance for other religions and traditions.
However, there are some that say that such tolerance goes against your own religious beliefs. What they mean to say is if your religious teaching reveals that your tradition is the only way to eternal life, how can you then say other religions can also lead to eternal life - either you believe that your religion is the truth or it isn't!
Personally, I think that this increasing tolerance is a very good sign and we should work to be even more tolerant of other ideas, faiths, traditions and thoughts! Does it matter that we may all believe different things as long as we decide what it is that we believe and work to deepen our own beliefs.
There is one section of the article that does really annoy me though and it's where it says
The Catholic church teaches that "one church of Christ...subsists in the Catholic Church" alone and that Protestant churches, while defective, can be "instruments of salvation"Surely these two religions are not so far apart as, say, Buddhism and Catholicism? In which case, I might have had more sympathy for such an outrageous statement. Despite the history between the Protestant and Catholic religions, the two are surely closer than that statement would suggest! Both religions use the same Bible, teach the same Holy Trinity, celebrate the same religious dates, and so on.
Thus I believe that it is statements like that that are more damaging than it is to suggest that many people believe that there is more than one way to eternal life. Which at least shows that we are more open-minded and willing to accept that ours is not the only way. As the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy is quoted in the article this shows "a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone".
Tuesday 24 June 2008
Comfort
So, my earlier post begs the question...why don't I feel comfortable about detailing my faith journey on my main blog?
Well, while I recognise that many orthodox Churches believe that there is a mandate to spread the Word and to encourage people to follow the Christian faith, I personally feel that everybody should be able to make up their own minds without having other faiths thrust in their faces.
According to the BBC website (I'd have to check this out for myself) what St. Paul said was that each of us should be ready to give witness to the faith that is within us, St. Paul apparently saw no need to seek to convert but to simply be clear on the origins and dimensions of one's own faith.
So, although I do want to talk about my own faith and get some conversation going, I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. So my plan is that although I will occasionally direct people to this blog from my main one, I wont post about my faith in any great detail on the Life and Times of Me. That way I will feel freer to say what I want about Christianity on this blog, otherwise I think that I would deny myself a voice at all! (or at least be far more hesitant about saying what I really want to say!)
Well, while I recognise that many orthodox Churches believe that there is a mandate to spread the Word and to encourage people to follow the Christian faith, I personally feel that everybody should be able to make up their own minds without having other faiths thrust in their faces.
According to the BBC website (I'd have to check this out for myself) what St. Paul said was that each of us should be ready to give witness to the faith that is within us, St. Paul apparently saw no need to seek to convert but to simply be clear on the origins and dimensions of one's own faith.
So, although I do want to talk about my own faith and get some conversation going, I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. So my plan is that although I will occasionally direct people to this blog from my main one, I wont post about my faith in any great detail on the Life and Times of Me. That way I will feel freer to say what I want about Christianity on this blog, otherwise I think that I would deny myself a voice at all! (or at least be far more hesitant about saying what I really want to say!)
Saturday 21 June 2008
My journey
Some of you may know me through my other blog, but as I don't feel particularly comfortable blogging about my faith journey on my 'anything goes' blog, I thought that I'd set up a new one. One where I will discuss Christianity and chat about my ups and downs as I learn just what my faith means to me.
Although I have been brought up in a Christian faith, I didn't consider myself to be particularly aware of Christianity means to me, after all, we only really went to Church at Christmas and Easter and did not discuss faith issues at home. So, up until a few weeks ago I always knew that there was a God - how could I not when the beauty of the world around me revealed his Hand in it!
But I never really gave it much thought, 'it' being the Bible, the Lord, my faith, the Church and so on! I forget where the original desire to find out more came from, but a few weeks ago I became conscious of a fierce need to know more. That being so, I dug out the Bible, bought a few books and found a lot of online stuff (not to mention all those blogs!) and have started to experiment with a few local Churches to see which one suits me.
Having said that, I am finding it difficult to get going with the Bible as I have no idea where to start, or how to read it with thought instead of just reading for the sake of reading if you see what I mean.
And that, basically, is what this blog is about - my grappling with my faith and just what it means to me and how I can live my life according to that faith, and I hope that you will accompany me, guide me, pick me up when I stumble, and smile with me when it begins to make sense!
Although I have been brought up in a Christian faith, I didn't consider myself to be particularly aware of Christianity means to me, after all, we only really went to Church at Christmas and Easter and did not discuss faith issues at home. So, up until a few weeks ago I always knew that there was a God - how could I not when the beauty of the world around me revealed his Hand in it!
But I never really gave it much thought, 'it' being the Bible, the Lord, my faith, the Church and so on! I forget where the original desire to find out more came from, but a few weeks ago I became conscious of a fierce need to know more. That being so, I dug out the Bible, bought a few books and found a lot of online stuff (not to mention all those blogs!) and have started to experiment with a few local Churches to see which one suits me.
Having said that, I am finding it difficult to get going with the Bible as I have no idea where to start, or how to read it with thought instead of just reading for the sake of reading if you see what I mean.
And that, basically, is what this blog is about - my grappling with my faith and just what it means to me and how I can live my life according to that faith, and I hope that you will accompany me, guide me, pick me up when I stumble, and smile with me when it begins to make sense!
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