"For the Sake of the Call"

Recently the days have been very long. [Too long.]  But now, now I stop and just listen and sing and pray.  Worship is so good.  I have such few words, but they are enough.
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(Listening to "For the Sake of the Call" by Steven Curtis Chapman on the Re-creation CD).

Sirens

I drove home yesterday to a police blockade 2 blocks from my house, so I had to take a detour to get home.  As I sit at the kitchen table now, creating materials for the first instructional week of school, I hear glaring, piercing sirens flying towards some emergency not too far away.  Unsettling.  
As I sit at my kitchen table and peer out the window, I also see children playing and laughing and the neighbors mowing/trimming their "yard," planting flowers, etc.  Perhaps I need only look for the children and the flowers and everything will be alright.

I found this flower on my walk back from the Fort Totten metro a few weeks ago. 

Given 20 sheets of paper, a roll of tape, and a ruler, construct the sturdiest structure you can within 30 minutes. 

More Bethany Dillon

...because I love her songs.
Get Up and Walk.

Calm Before the Storm

(This is how I feel.)

Radical, and Growing Up

I went to the outlet mall today to get a couple teacher outfits for school.  I hadn't ventured to the Potomac Mills outlet mall until today, and I found the experience less than thrilling, though not entirely irksome.  The 30-mile drive was pleasant enough; I finished listening to David Platt's Radical on CD, which proved to be the most ironic way to prepare for a shopping trip.  He encourages American Christians to reclaim their faith from the entrapment of the American Dream, and opens up for his readers (or listeners) a world of anti-materialism, love for the poor, and radical abandonment to Jesus.  I was inspired, again, by his words and may very well take on his year-long challenge of "radical faith" that involves reading through the entire Bible, praying for every nation of the world, going on a mission trip, giving sacrificially, and engrossing oneself in a community of believers.  However, because Radical was not my first go at a criticism of the American "capital C" church, I didn't feel quite as guilty (read: condemned) as I did when I read the first several books of these sorts.  I have known intimately the self-hatred that accompanies the awakening to one's possession of excess, and since that time Jesus has been teaching me about sacrifice, service, the poor, and grace.  Anyhow, to be charged with living simply, abandoning one's attachment to stuff, giving sacrificially, and preaching the Gospel even at the risk of losing your life while on your way to purposefully spend money on clothes that could otherwise be spent on feeding the hungry and serving the poor was ironic if not satirical.

The mall was crowded.  Too crowded.  [I remembered why I don't venture to malls save one or two times per year, usually around the holidays as an outing to see the lighted Christmas trees.]  What happened between the time when I was 12, 13, and 14 and couldn't wait for a chance to be dropped off at the mall just to window-shop, eat Chick-fil-A, and hope to meet older, cute boys, and now, when I dread the shopping Mecca?  Where did the time go?  Upon arrival, I wandered into American Eagle to find a pair of jeans.  I saw teenage girls with their moms and their friends perusing the store for the latest line, and smiled to watch the handful of teenage boys being dragged along by their moms to update and improve their wardrobe in honor of back-to-school season.  I found my pair of jeans relatively quickly; AE is one of the few stores that has my size in Long, but I got out about as quickly as I came in.  On my way towards H&M, where I did eventually find a couple teacher outfits to make for a great first couple days of school, I was drawn not to Forever 21, Abercrombie, Bebe, Express, Journeys, or even Nike, but rather my attention swayed to Kirkland's.  Ha!  Kirkland's is a home & wall decor, decorative accessories and furnishings store.  My, how times have changed!  When did I grow up?  When did I begin to take pleasure in learning to decorate my home (even if it is a rented row-house that I share with 3 other girls)?  When did I become far more interested in spice bags and wall art for my kitchen that says "Good Friends, Good Times, Good Wine" than in worrying about whether I'd have to get the Medium blouse instead of the Small blouse?  I don't know when it happened, but today I laughed a knowing, proud smile when I realized I was drawn to the stores I used to call "mom stores" instead of the glitz and glam of girlhood shopping.

By the way, Kirkland's has Fall items out.  That must mean it's almost time for college football season!

I did it.

I found it.  Tonight, I found the discipline I wrote about in the 7/27 thought bubble.

Today was a rough day for a few reasons, but it ended well with a great prayer group meeting as we prayed for the church's mission teams heading out all around the world in the next few weeks.  I still needed to think through a few things when it was over, however, so I decided to go for a run around / through the National Mall before I got home.  I parked on Constitution and 14th, got out in the dark, and just ran.  (And ran).  [And ran.]  I ran up and down the length of the Mall, up the steps towards Lincoln, through the Vietnam Memorial, around the Washington Monument, and more.

It felt so good to run.

Thanks, God.