In the last 10 years . . .

As I sit in Paul & Lindsey's home, rubbernecking at the trash guys taking the last trash pick up that will happen in my name at 1608, the day I will put my first house on the market, I am reflecting on what I have done in the last ten years.

1. I have earned, yes earned, two master's degrees.

2. I have lived in two countries, and two states.

3. I have had 4 different cars.

4. I have purchased my first home.

5. I have learned plumbing skills, including snaking a sewer system (thank you Scott Seebohm).

6. I have learned to brew beer.

7. I fulfilled a long time dream of being a barista.

8. I have had 8 jobs, 9 if you count plasma donation.

9. I guess I should add that I have sold bodily fluids.

10. I have been surrounded by amazing friends, including a surprising number of southerners, and over 20 roommates.

11. I have become a kayaker

12. I have seen friends marry and divorce, have children and lose them.  Life is harder than I thought it would be.

13. I have become a mac user.

14. The kitchen department of stores has become my favorite section.  I also like the garden section, storage, cleaning products, and home furnishings.  I get more satisfaction from researching and buying a fan, than a CD.

15. I have moved closer to knowing who I am and becoming more human.

Living Levitical Loca

I have a two friends who have taken a class on the book of Leviticus this semester, and one of their assignments last week was to live according to Levitical law.  They needed to wear clothes all of one fabric, not touch dead things, not eat meat and cheese in the same meal, etc.  I really don't know all that was entailed.  They both said they had to be consciously aware of the state of their hearts.

After a conversation with Emily (one of the participants), I have had something she said rolling around in my head.  She became aware that it is impossible for a person to remain "clean".  If you touch someone who is unclean (and you have no real way of knowing), you are unclean.  You can live under the assumption that, try as you may, at the end of the day you will need to rinse off because of uncleanliness.  God has made extremely difficult, under his own law, for his people to be clean.

This may sound defeating, but instead it's somehow freeing.  It makes us acutely aware of how much we need God's forgiveness.  We cannot make it on our own.  Forgiveness draws us back into relationship with God, unable to deny that we don't need him.  God has always been about relationship with his people, and since the fall we've been running away trying to be our own god.  Through his law he put in place a reminder system.

Emily also mentioned that if we examine what the underlying principles are behind the law, we see the character and heart of God.  It was never intended to be about dos and don'ts, but about being set apart in our character and hearts.

Thankfully, now we can slap some cheese on our burgers, and hug our friends after they have handled dirty diapers.  We don't have to rinse off anymore at the end of the day, because we are marked with the Holy Spirit to remind us of our need for repentance and for God.  And that same Spirit is transforming our hearts that we might one day know and we are fully known.

the scariness of gnomes

As my roomies and I travelled from Lakeland, FL to Huntsville, AL on Spring Break (a 10+ hour drive), we were driving via a tree-lined highway.  Mary Martha was asked to watch for deer on the sides of the road.  Wanting to be helpful, I volunteered to watch for other woodland creatures like nymphs and fairies.  It was suggested that we watch for gnomes as well.  The following conversation took place:

MM: Hey, Michelle, if you catch a gnome, can I pet it?
M: That seems scary to me.