I was a writer once...
Lately life has been crazy busy with holidays and all, compounded by the weather mania this month. It doesn't look like things are slowing down either-pretty much every Saturday in January is already booked, I'm going to be busy at work training a new teller, and I've got to get on the ball planning Life Together activities at church.
In the midst of all this, I agreed to write a piece for the new newsletter at church regarding said Life Together ministry. Something about why I'm involved, what the ministry is for, and why the name. The last one is kind of tricky-does everyone really want to know the torture that was (and continues to be) the name change? I think I'll give the abbreviated version of that.
Problem is, I'm finding that I am out of practice with writing a piece for publication. See, in college, I could pump out a 5 page literary analysis in about 3 hours. A 600 word newsletter blurb would have been a piece of cake. But now I can't seem to get it together. How do I start? Do I make it super funny, or a little bit heartfelt with a side of schmaltz? Do I talk more about the logistics of what we are doing, or my heart for community and relationship development? Sigh...too many choices, too many decisions. My writing machine is a little rusty.
I've decided that this blog is good because it at least keeps me in the habit of writing. It doesn't give me the challenge of writing on a specific topic for a certain audience, but it at least keeps me typing. Someday I do want to start writing for real, maybe even publish something. That's a long way off, but this situation is teaching me that I have to keep my skills sharp, whether it's journaling, blogging, or writing for the church newsletter.
Now to go work on that...
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Life together continues, boat or no boat!
It's amazing what happens when a modern society loses electricity for a few days. Insanity ensues, stores run out of ice and matches, and everyone forgets that when the stoplight is out, you treat it like a four-way stop.
This particular storm was frustrating to me personally for many reasons. Let me enumerate them for you:
1. My family lost power for three days. We are electric only, so not only was there no light, but also no heat and no hot water. This meant that my family sat around in an extremely cold house getting smelly. And I have four brothers. You can imagine.
2. My branch actually had power, so I had to go to work (without a shower, so I was already a little cranky). All the other branches south of me had no power, so guess where all those customers went? You guessed it: my branch. I've never seen it that busy. I didn't stop all day. It was also a payday Friday, so everybody and their mother wanted to cash a check. So I ran out of money. No kidding. People came up to cash $1,000 checks, and I offered them tens. I barely made it through the day.
3. My branch had planned a trip to Snoqualmie to go intertubing as a Christmas present from my boss. We've been planning this for weeks. Everyone was excited. I drove up to my boss' house Saturday morning, ready to go throw myself down a snowy hill, when my mom called and told me that the pass was closed. Sure enough, my boss tried to call the place, and the phones were out. No snow fun for us.
4. But most disappointing was Thursday night. See, I am now the co-leader of the ministry formerly known as the symbol of PCPF, aka Life Together. I know, I know, don't ask about the name situation. Anyway, we had tried to plan a cruise around Lake Washington in October, but due to miscommunication, the boat and captain of said boat did not show on the appointed night. So we rescheduled for this past Thursday, thinking that if we were going to freeze our arses off anyway, we might as well look at the pretty Christmas lights while doing it. Now, what do you think happens when the worst windstorm in the past couple of decades decides to hit Thursday night? Yep, cruise cancelled. Again. I'm starting to think this cruise thing is not such a good idea after all.
So, my weekend, which was full of great plans, was completely turned upside down. But if there is one thing I have learned these past few years, it is to be flexible, and look for the blessings that God has in the midst of a sucky situation. So, here are some blessings I can count from this weekend:
1. I got to break out all my fun, yummy-smelling candles and put them to good use.
2. We had family bonding time over tea, ramen (cooked over the campstove), and reading Swiss Family Robinson by aforementioned candlelight.
3. I was able to bum a shower off of my boss, who lives in Ballard and never lost power, and my staff all went out to breakfast and then bowling, and I actually got a couple of strikes.
4. I was still able to go to the Quest Christmas party, which is very special to me because it was my first Quest event. What is so great is that last year, I was the new girl, who got invited to a C group and found great community there, and this year, I met a new girl and got to invite her to the C group that I co-lead. Things do come full circle.
5. After C group, I was invited to hang with a good group of Questers and share a couple pitchers of beer and hard cider and some good conversation. I was also taken in by my good friend Tina, who always insists on making me sleep in her bed (while she suffers on the floor), even though I am the one crashing her place. So not only did I get another hot shower, but I also was able to sleep in a warm bed, instead of the ice tray I had slept in the night before.
6. Sunday I spent the entire day with my church community. I sang in the morning, and George brought out my favorite Christmas carol (What Child is This) and let me sing most of it. I busted out the first soprano pipes and my good friend Grace told me I sounded "angelic" (I think she is trying to butter me up for something, I don't know what yet). Samantha and Lindsey, two hostesses extraordinaire, had everyone over for homemade soup and fellowship after church. A group of us went for a walk, and I got to experience University Village for the first time (I may be a native, but there are still places I have not been and things I have not done in Seattle.
I love playing tourist in my hometown). I even got invited to go hang out with some ESL students and learn new Korean words. I can't remember them all now, but it was a lot of fun.
7. And last of all, when I got home after my awesome Sunday, the power was back, and my mom had prewarmed my room. This morning, I got a hot shower.
So really, my blessings far outweighed my frustrations. It was still an awesome, fun-filled weekend. I experienced community with myriad groups of people from Quest, was impressed with the outstanding hospitality of my friends, and got to see Pastor Eugene's face when he opened that stunted giraffe figurine (thank you Tre, that was priceless). I deepened existing relationships and began new ones. I ate good food, drank good drinks, and laughed a lot. So I guess the lesson is that every cloud has a silver lining, and every tree-toppling, cruise-cancelling, power-stopping windstorm has its blessings.
It's amazing what happens when a modern society loses electricity for a few days. Insanity ensues, stores run out of ice and matches, and everyone forgets that when the stoplight is out, you treat it like a four-way stop.
This particular storm was frustrating to me personally for many reasons. Let me enumerate them for you:
1. My family lost power for three days. We are electric only, so not only was there no light, but also no heat and no hot water. This meant that my family sat around in an extremely cold house getting smelly. And I have four brothers. You can imagine.
2. My branch actually had power, so I had to go to work (without a shower, so I was already a little cranky). All the other branches south of me had no power, so guess where all those customers went? You guessed it: my branch. I've never seen it that busy. I didn't stop all day. It was also a payday Friday, so everybody and their mother wanted to cash a check. So I ran out of money. No kidding. People came up to cash $1,000 checks, and I offered them tens. I barely made it through the day.
3. My branch had planned a trip to Snoqualmie to go intertubing as a Christmas present from my boss. We've been planning this for weeks. Everyone was excited. I drove up to my boss' house Saturday morning, ready to go throw myself down a snowy hill, when my mom called and told me that the pass was closed. Sure enough, my boss tried to call the place, and the phones were out. No snow fun for us.
4. But most disappointing was Thursday night. See, I am now the co-leader of the ministry formerly known as the symbol of PCPF, aka Life Together. I know, I know, don't ask about the name situation. Anyway, we had tried to plan a cruise around Lake Washington in October, but due to miscommunication, the boat and captain of said boat did not show on the appointed night. So we rescheduled for this past Thursday, thinking that if we were going to freeze our arses off anyway, we might as well look at the pretty Christmas lights while doing it. Now, what do you think happens when the worst windstorm in the past couple of decades decides to hit Thursday night? Yep, cruise cancelled. Again. I'm starting to think this cruise thing is not such a good idea after all.
So, my weekend, which was full of great plans, was completely turned upside down. But if there is one thing I have learned these past few years, it is to be flexible, and look for the blessings that God has in the midst of a sucky situation. So, here are some blessings I can count from this weekend:
1. I got to break out all my fun, yummy-smelling candles and put them to good use.
2. We had family bonding time over tea, ramen (cooked over the campstove), and reading Swiss Family Robinson by aforementioned candlelight.
3. I was able to bum a shower off of my boss, who lives in Ballard and never lost power, and my staff all went out to breakfast and then bowling, and I actually got a couple of strikes.
4. I was still able to go to the Quest Christmas party, which is very special to me because it was my first Quest event. What is so great is that last year, I was the new girl, who got invited to a C group and found great community there, and this year, I met a new girl and got to invite her to the C group that I co-lead. Things do come full circle.
5. After C group, I was invited to hang with a good group of Questers and share a couple pitchers of beer and hard cider and some good conversation. I was also taken in by my good friend Tina, who always insists on making me sleep in her bed (while she suffers on the floor), even though I am the one crashing her place. So not only did I get another hot shower, but I also was able to sleep in a warm bed, instead of the ice tray I had slept in the night before.
6. Sunday I spent the entire day with my church community. I sang in the morning, and George brought out my favorite Christmas carol (What Child is This) and let me sing most of it. I busted out the first soprano pipes and my good friend Grace told me I sounded "angelic" (I think she is trying to butter me up for something, I don't know what yet). Samantha and Lindsey, two hostesses extraordinaire, had everyone over for homemade soup and fellowship after church. A group of us went for a walk, and I got to experience University Village for the first time (I may be a native, but there are still places I have not been and things I have not done in Seattle.
I love playing tourist in my hometown). I even got invited to go hang out with some ESL students and learn new Korean words. I can't remember them all now, but it was a lot of fun.7. And last of all, when I got home after my awesome Sunday, the power was back, and my mom had prewarmed my room. This morning, I got a hot shower.
So really, my blessings far outweighed my frustrations. It was still an awesome, fun-filled weekend. I experienced community with myriad groups of people from Quest, was impressed with the outstanding hospitality of my friends, and got to see Pastor Eugene's face when he opened that stunted giraffe figurine (thank you Tre, that was priceless). I deepened existing relationships and began new ones. I ate good food, drank good drinks, and laughed a lot. So I guess the lesson is that every cloud has a silver lining, and every tree-toppling, cruise-cancelling, power-stopping windstorm has its blessings.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
"But for joy, all is well, even in the midst of specific suffering and loss." ~Dallas Willard
I had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I took the entire week off, spent a lot of time with family, friends, church events. Sure, there were a couple of things that could have marred the week, but I was strangely able to move past them and focus on the blessings in my life.
The past two weeks have been in direct contrast with that week. One thing after another has pulled me down: a mess at work to clean up, involving serious phone calls from my district operations manager (who I am trying to impress, considering I want a promotion from her); the stress of the snow and ice and the havoc that creates here in Seattle, causing a whole lot of staff to not show up for work; my manager coming down sick and leaving me with a pending file that was out of control; a drunk, angry, overdrawn customer yelling and screaming in my branch and telling me that not only am I racist, but also Satan; and to top it off, a good friend going through one of the worst things a person can go through. Enough stuff for me to email a group of girls from church to pray for me because I didn't have the emotional strength to get through another awful day.
It's amazing how life and circumstances can change so quickly. Talk about the emotional rollercoaster. But my friend and pastor Leah replied to my email for prayer with Psalm 77, reminding me that "what god is so great as our God?" (v13). I spent some time reading that night from Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart, a wonderful book that I have been trying to get through for a couple of months (I'm a fast reader, but you can't read Willard quickly, he's too thought-provoking). The section I happened to be on was entitled "Joy" in a chapter on transforming the mind and feelings. Willard reminded me that joy is not passive, that we don't just acheive joy and then we never have to struggle with circumstances or negative feelings ever again. Joy takes work: we must actively choose to focus on God's love and faithfulness and the reality of His overwhelming desire for our good, which overcomes all circumstances.
Weeks like these remind me how hopeless life would be without Jesus. I was frustrated enough with my situation, but so many people go through struggles more insanely difficult than any I have ever experienced. And the only thing that keeps me going is remembering the grace of God in my life and the lives of those around me. Remembering that He has brought me through tough things before, and I have grown as a result, grown in my ability to persevere, to hope, and to share that hope. So I will join Dallas Willard in praying Psalm 92:4: "For Thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by what Thou has done, I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands."
I had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I took the entire week off, spent a lot of time with family, friends, church events. Sure, there were a couple of things that could have marred the week, but I was strangely able to move past them and focus on the blessings in my life.
The past two weeks have been in direct contrast with that week. One thing after another has pulled me down: a mess at work to clean up, involving serious phone calls from my district operations manager (who I am trying to impress, considering I want a promotion from her); the stress of the snow and ice and the havoc that creates here in Seattle, causing a whole lot of staff to not show up for work; my manager coming down sick and leaving me with a pending file that was out of control; a drunk, angry, overdrawn customer yelling and screaming in my branch and telling me that not only am I racist, but also Satan; and to top it off, a good friend going through one of the worst things a person can go through. Enough stuff for me to email a group of girls from church to pray for me because I didn't have the emotional strength to get through another awful day.
It's amazing how life and circumstances can change so quickly. Talk about the emotional rollercoaster. But my friend and pastor Leah replied to my email for prayer with Psalm 77, reminding me that "what god is so great as our God?" (v13). I spent some time reading that night from Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart, a wonderful book that I have been trying to get through for a couple of months (I'm a fast reader, but you can't read Willard quickly, he's too thought-provoking). The section I happened to be on was entitled "Joy" in a chapter on transforming the mind and feelings. Willard reminded me that joy is not passive, that we don't just acheive joy and then we never have to struggle with circumstances or negative feelings ever again. Joy takes work: we must actively choose to focus on God's love and faithfulness and the reality of His overwhelming desire for our good, which overcomes all circumstances.
Weeks like these remind me how hopeless life would be without Jesus. I was frustrated enough with my situation, but so many people go through struggles more insanely difficult than any I have ever experienced. And the only thing that keeps me going is remembering the grace of God in my life and the lives of those around me. Remembering that He has brought me through tough things before, and I have grown as a result, grown in my ability to persevere, to hope, and to share that hope. So I will join Dallas Willard in praying Psalm 92:4: "For Thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by what Thou has done, I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands."
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