Thanksgiving!

It has been somehow on my heart lately how much of a Negative Nancy I have become. What do you do when you have realized that you fester on all the things that go wrong, all those things that are not working, all that which is broken? Fix your heart on those things that are good, true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy....









1. My thanksgiving was a hit! Great Food. Amazing Friends. Beautiful Weather!
2. I only had to work until 12 o clock today.
3. Bethany and I spent all afternoon together. Gossip. Advise. Coffee. Cookies.

4. I love my brother enough to miss him like crazy now that he is not here.
5. My mom and I can disagree but are quick to admit wrongdoing and extend grace/forgiveness
6. My mom always supports me as much as she can
7. I have a job, and a job that will generously accommodate my upcoming school schedule
8. I have a boyfriend that pushes me to expand my bubble of comfort. (as much as I hate it sometimes)
9. Whenever I think about John Stager I smile.
10. I get to read about adventures my brother is entangling himself in almost daily. And I am reminded how much I long for something to challenge me like he is being challenged.
11. I own my car (and all the new noises it makes)
12. The dogs are finally being quiet... not a peep from either one of them
13. My cold has finally surrendered to my immune system.
14. I am reading two books at once
15. I really love my church. The music is great. The sermons are thoughtful and penetrating. The coffee is hot.
16. I finally switched to gmail.
17. Apparently I feel good enough about my microbiology class to procrastinate studying for my final another night.
18. It didn't rain today and my feet stayed dry all day.
19. Jacob Zuma is going to take an HIV/AIDS test "soon" to promote AIDS awareness day.
20. I am seriously contemplating bed at 930 on a tuesday. Shower first maybe.
21. There are so many generous people out there
22. Its 40 degrees outside and I have a warm bed to sleep in.
23. Its 40 degrees outside and I can get in a warm shower before climbing into a warm bed.

well, its a sad little list... but I suppose I got to start somewhere.

i heart michigan

I suppose my draw to michigan should have started with Chris (he is from michigan). But my endearment of michigan started with John Stager. John was a patient of mine. and I LOVED him. I mean I loved him. He lit up my entire day. And every time i spent time with him, he would tell me about michigan. He wove elaborate stories of a long life lived on lakes, with family and friends, adventure and quiet moments alone with his thoughts. i loved the michigan he painted.

then, Chris and I went to michigan. it was early summer. The temperature didn't get above 78. It was blue skies and sand dunes, lakesides and adventures. and hiking. TONS of hiking.

then there is the whole plummeting automotive industry. Poor michigan is always in the news: 15% unemployment, bankrupt auto industy, and a dying city, detroit. and so michigan is kind of this underdog that I can't help but sympathize with, and that somehow pulls at my heart strings, so that I want to watch it come back out of the ashes and be a great city again.

And so I love michigan. I mean I really love michigan.

eat, pray, love

So, for one reason or another, my sleeping pattern is all kinds of off kilter. (probably nerves-related). So the last two nights I have woken up around 3 in the morning and have not been able to go back to sleep. So, I read a book in three days. Which is not terribly fast for the amount of time that I was reading it, but fast for me. It usually takes me at least a week to get through a book (and that is when i am dedicated.)

So the book was called (I am a little embarrassed to admit): Eat, Pray, Love, a very pop-culture book. It turns out it was very entertaining and moderately infused with some nuggets of wisdom and eloquence. I have never really been drawn to India, nor Indonesia, but after reading this book, I would love to go visit both. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from the book:

"the resting place of the mind is the heart."

"There is a literal anatomy and a poetic anatomy. One is made of bones and teeth and flesh, the other is made of energy and memory and faith. But they are equally true."

"...in a beautiful place of worship, surrounded by grace."

"you gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."

"What is the alternative? To quit whenever something gets challenging? To futz around your whole life, miserable and incomplete?"

"Congratulations to meet you!"

"So now I take time every morning to search myself for specifically about what i am truly asking for. I kneel there in the temple with my face on the cold marble for as long as it takes me to formulate the authentic prayer. If I don't feel sincere, than I will stay there on the floor until I do. What worked yesterday doesn't work today. Prayers can become stale and drone into boring if you let your attention stagnate in making an effort to stay alert. I am assuming custodial responsibility for the maintenance of my soul."

"People follow different paths, straight or crooked, according to their temperament, depending on which they consider best or most appropriate- and they all reach You, just as rivers reach the ocean."

"Fear-- who cares."



Next Book: Three Cups of Tea