Things that I like:
1. Evanescence
2. Vegetables
3. Carrot Cake
4. Britney Knoeck
5. Some of my co-workers
6. The prospect of living through the next week
7. Options
8. Looking on the bright side
9. John Mayer [specifically because of "In Your Atmostphere"]
10. My sisters
11. Allison Hill
12. Reading my friends' blogs...whether they are near friends, far away friends, or in between
13. Lists
14. Full tanks of gas
15. Chocolate
16. Knowing how to write an annotated bibliography
17. Acoustic Guitar
18. Harmony
19. Disonance
20. Sweatpants
21. Being clean
22. Water
23. Sleep
24. Sleep.
25. goodnight.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
"Top 3 favorite albums??" "That's SOOO belmont..."
This weekend, in congruence with my unintentional plan to be gone every stinkin weekend...I went to a monastery with my Church History class. Yep. You read that right.
Saturday morning at 7:45am, we met outside the religion building to set off on our jouney. We split up into 2 vans: Dr. Bell's van and the Party Van(<<--my obvious choice). Our group was comprised of 15 students, Dr. Bell, Jacquie (our teaching assistant) and David (Dr. Bell's 18yearold son). It was quite an adventure!
Dr. Bell's van passed the 3+ hours by playing Theologian Bingo and holding a Fantasy Theology Draft. The Party Van [me, Will, Stephanie, Bennett, Michelle, Mark, David, Jessica, and Juli] passed the time by getting to know one another through listing all of our favorite things. :) I learned A LOT about my classmates. Mostly stuff about my accountabilibuddy, Will, but some about my other van-mates too.
When we arrived in Bardstown, Kentucky (ironically the bourbon capital of the world...), we parked and split up for lunch. Rest assured that Mexican food is pretty much the same everywhere you go. Our server, Victor, made our experience though.
We were supposed to be at the monastery by 2:15 for "None", the 5th prayer time of the day. We got there a little early, so we spent some time in the gift shop. [yes they have a gift shop. they also make fudge and cheese. visit www.monks.org for more info. no lie.] I recently went to "Night Prayers" at a local convent with my friend Nathan, and I am so glad that I did! I at least knew a little of what to expect when we got to the monastery.
After "None", we watched an informational video about The Abbey at Gethsemani, and then an 80+ year old monk named Brother Renee who had been at the abbey for 60 years told us a little about his experience. He was the most precious little man! He also had some valuable information to share with us. He told us the story of when he first came to the abbey. He went in to visit with his abbot one day, and the abbot said: "There are only two people here: You and Jesus." Brother Renee said he had found this to be true no matter where he was! He asked us what Jesus would say if he hit any of us with his cane. [hahaha] After answers of "stop." "don't do that." and "please don't do that again.", he told us Jesus would say "Ouch." Think about that for a second...
Brother Renee was making the point that Jesus told us whatever we do, we should do it unto Him. So he sees everyone as Jesus, especially since Christians are all part of one body of Christ. He treats everyone like he would treat Jesus. I love this. So so wise. He read us some of the things he had written about their beliefs and his personal experience, and we enjoyed our time with him very much!
After that, we still had about an hour before "Vespers" at 5:30, so we went on a hike...when I say "hike" I mean "run" because Dr. Bell is over a foot taller than me and moves briskly through the woods. haha. He took us to see these statues on the property that were donated to the abbey. They were statues of Jesus and His 3 besties: Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemani. The disciples were depicted as being asleep about 50 yards from where Jesus was praying in anguish. It was a beautiful depiction and well worth the out of breath-ness it took me to get there.
We went to Vespers, and it seemed significantly longer than None...mostly because all of us were quite hungry and praying our stomachs wouldn't growl loudly during the periods of silence. :)
Luckily, our next move was back into town to check into the hotel and then onward to dinner. A group of us ate at the Old Talbott Tavern which apparently has tons of history. Just ask their informative pamphlet. haha. The food was amazing, and Tyler and I made friends with our server, "Biz". [it's short for Elizabeth. cute, right?] Then we went back to the hotel where about 15 of us gathered in my room for "BEYOND BALDERDASH". I'll be purchasing this game soon. It's stinkin' fun! Mark and Jessica won but only because it's a "Dusing Family Tradition" and Mark has played tons and tons of times. Andrew Hill and I made up quite a team, and were most excited about our team name: AlAn. :) Get it??
After some much needed rest, we checked out of the hotel around 10am and headed for Mass at the monastery. We went in after everyone else because Dr. Bell likes to sit in the monks' stalls when he's there. ;) Those wooden seats are pretty hard, but they encourage good posture. Mass was a wonderful experience and the homily [which is the sermon portion] was really great!
After Mass, Dr. Bell has arranged for us to have lunch at a place called the Kurtz Restaurant. It was a home-cookin' place right across the street from Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home". [google it.] My grandmother would be disappointed to know that I was so close and didn't get to go visit. :( I'll have to go back. Lunch was delicious and overly filling. We definitely enjoyed the conversation and even sang Happy Birthday to my friends Nathan who turned 23 today, and Aaron whose birthday was yesterday.
Then we headed home. Most of us tried to sleep to no avail. Sometimes there's just no good way to sleep in a van unless you cuddle with your seat neighbors. We got to know each other better, but not that good!
Overall, it was an unexpectedly wonderful experience! I am so glad to know the people who went with me. We're all looking forward to the class more now. We said we wished the trip had happened sooner since we all enjoy each other's company so much! Class will be more fun now...not that church history isn't buckets of fun already... ;)
At this particular moment, I'm fighting my tiredness by heading to Bongo to eat/drink caffiene with Heather. Then it's on to AST's weekly meeting. In the morning I get to see Katherine Jones Wallace when we have breakfast at Crema!!!! So excited about her being in town and getting to see her!!!!
In the words of the monks: "Thanks be to God."
"May the peace of the Lord be with you..."
Saturday morning at 7:45am, we met outside the religion building to set off on our jouney. We split up into 2 vans: Dr. Bell's van and the Party Van(<<--my obvious choice). Our group was comprised of 15 students, Dr. Bell, Jacquie (our teaching assistant) and David (Dr. Bell's 18yearold son). It was quite an adventure!
Dr. Bell's van passed the 3+ hours by playing Theologian Bingo and holding a Fantasy Theology Draft. The Party Van [me, Will, Stephanie, Bennett, Michelle, Mark, David, Jessica, and Juli] passed the time by getting to know one another through listing all of our favorite things. :) I learned A LOT about my classmates. Mostly stuff about my accountabilibuddy, Will, but some about my other van-mates too.
When we arrived in Bardstown, Kentucky (ironically the bourbon capital of the world...), we parked and split up for lunch. Rest assured that Mexican food is pretty much the same everywhere you go. Our server, Victor, made our experience though.
We were supposed to be at the monastery by 2:15 for "None", the 5th prayer time of the day. We got there a little early, so we spent some time in the gift shop. [yes they have a gift shop. they also make fudge and cheese. visit www.monks.org for more info. no lie.] I recently went to "Night Prayers" at a local convent with my friend Nathan, and I am so glad that I did! I at least knew a little of what to expect when we got to the monastery.
After "None", we watched an informational video about The Abbey at Gethsemani, and then an 80+ year old monk named Brother Renee who had been at the abbey for 60 years told us a little about his experience. He was the most precious little man! He also had some valuable information to share with us. He told us the story of when he first came to the abbey. He went in to visit with his abbot one day, and the abbot said: "There are only two people here: You and Jesus." Brother Renee said he had found this to be true no matter where he was! He asked us what Jesus would say if he hit any of us with his cane. [hahaha] After answers of "stop." "don't do that." and "please don't do that again.", he told us Jesus would say "Ouch." Think about that for a second...
Brother Renee was making the point that Jesus told us whatever we do, we should do it unto Him. So he sees everyone as Jesus, especially since Christians are all part of one body of Christ. He treats everyone like he would treat Jesus. I love this. So so wise. He read us some of the things he had written about their beliefs and his personal experience, and we enjoyed our time with him very much!
After that, we still had about an hour before "Vespers" at 5:30, so we went on a hike...when I say "hike" I mean "run" because Dr. Bell is over a foot taller than me and moves briskly through the woods. haha. He took us to see these statues on the property that were donated to the abbey. They were statues of Jesus and His 3 besties: Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemani. The disciples were depicted as being asleep about 50 yards from where Jesus was praying in anguish. It was a beautiful depiction and well worth the out of breath-ness it took me to get there.
We went to Vespers, and it seemed significantly longer than None...mostly because all of us were quite hungry and praying our stomachs wouldn't growl loudly during the periods of silence. :)
Luckily, our next move was back into town to check into the hotel and then onward to dinner. A group of us ate at the Old Talbott Tavern which apparently has tons of history. Just ask their informative pamphlet. haha. The food was amazing, and Tyler and I made friends with our server, "Biz". [it's short for Elizabeth. cute, right?] Then we went back to the hotel where about 15 of us gathered in my room for "BEYOND BALDERDASH". I'll be purchasing this game soon. It's stinkin' fun! Mark and Jessica won but only because it's a "Dusing Family Tradition" and Mark has played tons and tons of times. Andrew Hill and I made up quite a team, and were most excited about our team name: AlAn. :) Get it??
After some much needed rest, we checked out of the hotel around 10am and headed for Mass at the monastery. We went in after everyone else because Dr. Bell likes to sit in the monks' stalls when he's there. ;) Those wooden seats are pretty hard, but they encourage good posture. Mass was a wonderful experience and the homily [which is the sermon portion] was really great!
After Mass, Dr. Bell has arranged for us to have lunch at a place called the Kurtz Restaurant. It was a home-cookin' place right across the street from Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home". [google it.] My grandmother would be disappointed to know that I was so close and didn't get to go visit. :( I'll have to go back. Lunch was delicious and overly filling. We definitely enjoyed the conversation and even sang Happy Birthday to my friends Nathan who turned 23 today, and Aaron whose birthday was yesterday.
Then we headed home. Most of us tried to sleep to no avail. Sometimes there's just no good way to sleep in a van unless you cuddle with your seat neighbors. We got to know each other better, but not that good!
Overall, it was an unexpectedly wonderful experience! I am so glad to know the people who went with me. We're all looking forward to the class more now. We said we wished the trip had happened sooner since we all enjoy each other's company so much! Class will be more fun now...not that church history isn't buckets of fun already... ;)
At this particular moment, I'm fighting my tiredness by heading to Bongo to eat/drink caffiene with Heather. Then it's on to AST's weekly meeting. In the morning I get to see Katherine Jones Wallace when we have breakfast at Crema!!!! So excited about her being in town and getting to see her!!!!
In the words of the monks: "Thanks be to God."
"May the peace of the Lord be with you..."
Friday, November 6, 2009
Alicia and Jesus
So this summer, I went to see "Julie and Julia" with my amazing friends in Atlanta [Hunter, Anna, Hutch, Noelle, and one of Noelle's friends]. It was wonderful! We all loved it and decided it made us hungry. haha. One of the things I loved about that movie was the main character. She was FAR from perfect or Hollywood's definition of "hott", but she was easy to love and relate to which (combined with her enchanted looks...lol.) made her beautiful. She was unhappy with the way her life was going, so she decided to give herself a challenge. She wanted to cook all of the recipes in Julia Childs' cookbook within a year. I won't tell you how it goes in case you haven't seen it, but it's quite an adventure!
Recently, I've been pretty stressed out and busy and crazy and running around like a chicken with no head [or a lizard with no tail...does that one work? probs not. oh well]. I've been in a funk. I can't tell you when it started, what prompted it, or what the general cause is. I just know I don't like it. So in an effort to get out of this funk...I'm giving myself a challenge. A few years ago, I was given a Bible that gives you something to read for everyday of the year. It's divided into days, not books and chapters, and there's an Old Testament and a New Testament selection for each day. They go in order...kind of, but by the end of the year, you'll have read the entire Bible. It starts [obviously] on January 1, but since this isn't January and I don't want to wait that long...I started today on November 6. I like it.
My challenge to myself is to keep it up. I want...no. NEED. to read the Bible every day. This not only gives me yet another reason to do so, but also takes out anything that could be considered work. The days are layed out for me. All I have to do is read. Sounds easy, right?? I hope it will be. Today it was: Jeremiah 50:24-51:32; Psalm 119:113-120; Proverbs 26:24-26; and Hebrews 2:10-3:11. Carrying this Bible around with me adds a little extra weight to my backpack, but hey. Jesus carried a cross. I can carry another Bible.
In other news:
Recently, I've been pretty stressed out and busy and crazy and running around like a chicken with no head [or a lizard with no tail...does that one work? probs not. oh well]. I've been in a funk. I can't tell you when it started, what prompted it, or what the general cause is. I just know I don't like it. So in an effort to get out of this funk...I'm giving myself a challenge. A few years ago, I was given a Bible that gives you something to read for everyday of the year. It's divided into days, not books and chapters, and there's an Old Testament and a New Testament selection for each day. They go in order...kind of, but by the end of the year, you'll have read the entire Bible. It starts [obviously] on January 1, but since this isn't January and I don't want to wait that long...I started today on November 6. I like it.
My challenge to myself is to keep it up. I want...no. NEED. to read the Bible every day. This not only gives me yet another reason to do so, but also takes out anything that could be considered work. The days are layed out for me. All I have to do is read. Sounds easy, right?? I hope it will be. Today it was: Jeremiah 50:24-51:32; Psalm 119:113-120; Proverbs 26:24-26; and Hebrews 2:10-3:11. Carrying this Bible around with me adds a little extra weight to my backpack, but hey. Jesus carried a cross. I can carry another Bible.
In other news:
- I'm taking a class called "Spirituality in World Religions" this semester. There are some people in my class that are seriously harboring bitterness and resentment towards God and anything that could be of Him. If you would, join me in praying for them. And pray for me to not have angry thoughts towards them or say anything I don't actually mean that could contribute to the bitterness.
- My friend Rob Adams [we work together at J. Alexander's] is dealing with the death of his mother this weekend. She has been sick for some time, and passed away yesterday morning. I'm going to visitation at the funeral home this afternoon. Rob is in his 20's and spent a significant amount of time caring for his mother before her death, so this will not only be an adjustment in his heart, but also in his daily life as well. So be praying for him too please.
- I'm working on making plans/ideas for post December. The plan so far is: Graduation, December 18. That's pretty much all I've got.
- I have an overnight field trip for my Church History class tomorrow and Sunday. We're going to a monastery in Kentucky, so it should be a good time! haha.
Love to all who read. May your lives be filled with the goodness of the Lord.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Atlanta makes my heart happy.
I was there this weekend--this MORNING even! I haven't much time to tell you all about it just now...but here's a snippet. These people made my day yesterday. Love that Haines fam. :)
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