Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from January, 2009

Psalm 86:1-13

A Prayer of David. Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly;save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord,for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant,for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you,for you answer me. There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord,and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things;you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord,that I may walk in your truth;unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me;you have d

the "awesomeness" book list

One more thing... I want to share with you guys some of the awesome books I am reading these days. First book on my "awesomeness" book list: The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology. Edited by Kevin Vanhoozer. I totally recommend this book if you are looking for a more academic look at the theology that is coming out of the next wave of society. Really really good stuff. But definitely not a lite read.

And an extra side of wisdom please

In this morning's bible study (which I love!) I found myself experiencing something I'm sure most seminary trained students experience. I was listening to people, discerning their theology, seeing the dangers in their theology, the holes, and feeling the need to correct them, but not sure when or how. One of the girls was sharing about the book The Shack (which is next on my "fun" books to read). She shared about how the book explored the humanity and divinity of Jesus and as she was sharing I heard, what were in my mind, HUGE holes. The theology behind the discussion was something that had been lettered as heresy in the early church, and now here we were sitting in a coffee shop in Manhattan, two young women, discussing this concept. And I wanted to throw my arms up and stop my new friend from going any further into this heretical discourse, to lead the group in a short and succinct, yet theologically sound, lecture on the early church's formation of the dual nat

Some photos of the Room

My bed, with Charlie chilling Lots and lots of stuff And my desk. with an awesome view

a new "do"

I promised some of you a picture of my new haircut. I love it. It was inspired by a combination of Carrie Bradshaw's short hair and a few too many hours watching the moveover shows on cable.

lessons learned from boys

So it's late, but I have to write this blog. I am reading a book, an excellent book, called when Life and Beliefs Collide (by Carolyn Custis James). It is my bedtime book this week. I have read a plethora of other books for my thesis, but this book is a personal fun one. It's about women and theology. The chapter I am on right now is exploring the reasons women stay away from theology and I have to say, it has struck a chord. The Lord has placed me in a season of life where I am truly learning what it means to be a theologian. A woman theologian. And not to fear being a theologian. It's odd to me that I would even hesitate to be one. Being raised by my feminist mother, I can't imagine much that men can do and women can't. But this season, I have been confronted by people, friends even, who seem to espouse the idea that women should be wives and mothers and that having any dreams that are larger than that means you must be called to singleness. As I was reading the b

a people in Egypt

At this mornings bible study, one of the girls commented on the phrase "You alone are God" and how the people of Israel being surrounded by all the nations, saw the other gods and were proclaiming the superiority of the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And we pondered as a group on how we can understand this concept in our own times. I made some quick comment about the "wilderness of Manhattan". But I've come back to this thought now and realized just how applicable this concept is. We may not have many wooden and clay statues being worshiped throughout the city, but we do have clothes, jewelry, and shoes. What is a god if not something that we worship. Something we give the right to define who we are. What kind of shoes do you wear? So this got me thinking. Is it wrong to wear name brand shoes? Well, let's look back to our brothers and sisters as they lived in the land of Egypt. The Egyptians worshiped many things in creation, even the sun and the riv

Thursdays thoughts

What a time of change in my life. I can almost feel the thoughts running through my mind and I know some of the thoughts will become dreams, which will become plans, which will turn into actions, and before I know it, these thoughts will turn into my life. Not all of my thoughts will take this course, but I know each thought has that possibility. Some reflections for a Thursday morning: I love this city. The same way you can judge extroverts and introverts by where they gain energy (people or solitude), I think you can judge people based on whether they get energy from the city or the country. I am a city girl through and through. I love the city, the business, the sounds, the people, the diversity, the architecture, the food, the rhythm. Don't get me wrong, I love the park too, but my favorite part of the park is along the outskirts, where you have trees around you but you can see the buildings shooting up from behind the trees, an ever reminder of the city that lies just yards aw

one week

Today marks the end of my first week in New York City. I came to New York with a lot of hopes and a few reservations. One of my greatest reservations (in fact it is the one thing that I thought might drive me back to California) was the cold. And the truth is, this last week has been the coldest in years and while I can attest to the bitterness of the cold, it hasn't been unbearable. Not at all. In fact, I like the snow here in the City. I'm not a huge fan of the slippery sidewalks, but it is worth it for the amazing view from my favorite window seat in Starbucks. These huge flakes fall in crazy patterns unto the busy sidewalks where people with bright colored jackets, scarves, and mittens are quickly walking to get to their warm destination. It's one of the best sights you can get from a Starbucks window. So my fears of cold aside, there is little that is stressing me here in New York. Of course there will be things that frustrate me or hardships that I will face in the fu

A despedida.... for Charlie

Here are some of the photos from my goodbye party last Saturday night. It was such a sweet time of hanging out with all the random people who were my life in Philly. I made people take pictures with Charlie, my beloved hippo. Extra brownie points to whoever can tell me who Charlie is named after. Joel, or "ho-el" Laura Andrews, all smiles Grahame liked me scarf, a little too much Katie practicing her mothering skills Mellis showing Charlie some cheese Michelle and Brooke Stephen Lu, abusing Charlie of course! Seth and Nate, and Charlie nudging Seth, he is a cuddler Steve Light doesn't mind the cuddling Laura says, "you're pretty cute!" Bobby is sad to see Charlie go, or wait, is it ME he's sad to see leave? Chris Martin chillin' Me and girls Eric cuddling with Charlie So this could be awkward, but somehow not much could be awkward between Chris and I. Laura and the Pennypacker Lexie and Jason Kmack and Megan... my girls! Adios!

Heart and the City, a new Carrie Bradshaw

The window in my 5th floor apartment bedroom over looks 31st street. More than the street itself, when I sit at my desk to work, I look out upon the tops of the surrounding buildings and watch the snow falling onto the rooftop patios, and the twilight slowly paint the sky a golden red. And I feel like some younger (and christian) version of Carrie Bradshaw. I think every girl who watches Sex and the City identifies with Carrie. The constant search for a man who will love you and even accept you. It seems easy for Carrie to find men who will love her (in the one night stand kind of way) but it isn't quite as easy to find the man who will accept all of her. Not that I have had any one night stands, nor am I planning on picking up that habit, but I understand the string of men that come in and out of Carrie's life as quite similar to the string of men that come in and out of my heart. They all seem to have so much potential, until we are up close the personal. Then it becomes quit

Big Apple Livin'

So I've finally done it. I've moved to New York. I remember dreaming of living in New York when I was in college. I imagined the coffee shops I would go to, the street fairs I would shop at, and the parks I would read in. And now I am here. I moved up here yesterday and am almost done unpacking. I walked up to Redeemer Church offices today, near Herald Square and turned in my resume for a job. Actually, it's my dream job and I am shocked by my calm concerning this job. The Lord has given me faith to see that if I get it, it was His work. If I don't get it, it was His work. As I walked back to my apartment, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the walk along 36th, down Madison, further along 34th. The buildings rise up around you, tucking you in, each unique and telling a story. And finally I made it back to my apartment, checked my email, and crawled into bed for a midafternoon nap. Hard life, I know. But in all honesty, either it hasn't hit me that I live here, or fo
So the new year. This past year was filled with so much growth and more than ever, I look back and can recognize work the Lord has done over this past year. This is particularly true with my heart. I am more content in my singleness than ever, and yet feel like relationship could be just around the corner. I have been a little confused these past few days. Hopefully the guy I am referring to in this blog doesn't ever read it, but in any case I'd like to give a little insight to the madness and confusion that is my heart. So I've gotten to know a few of the guys here at school and there is some awesome genuineness among them. So one of them and I have talked a bit outside of class and decided to go to lunch. Well, our lunch date turned into a dinner date, which ended up feeling more like an actual "date" than just a hanging out time. It wasn't a date. But it threw my heart into a state of confusion. And I'm moving to New York in a few days, so really nothin

A recap on end of the year goodness

My hot date, second year in a row The hostesses enjoying the champagne, even though one of them is on call with the hospital Jello shots! Me and the Pennypacker dancing it up! First blog for the new year. Before I write on the topic for the morning (my confused and twisted heart), I wanted to mention that this past Christmas was the best Christmas ever. I arrived in California on the 21st and spent a few days with my friend Sarah, cleaning her apartment so she could move out and enjoying each others company. I got to see Leah, Melinda, Katie, Carleigh and Chubs. I didn't expect to get to see so many friends in those short two days, so it was a super blessing. Then I went to my mom's house and had an awesome Christmas Eve. We're Swedish, so we do the whole candle lighting tradition. I got to meet my sister's boyfriend who won my approval almost immediately and had some cool conversations with my brother about God and religion. Then, Christmas day I headed back into the c