Where I'm At...

I think I might be perfectly happy playing Boggle with my sister for the rest of my life.

A Thorough Going Over

Today is my brother's birthday. He hasn't been around much; he went to work, went to some lacrosse games, and out to lunch with friends. Those of us at home, however, have been getting ready for his party this evening. We are making some cakes and my mom has cleaned up the house. She seems to be taking the cleaning pretty far. The party will be in the upstairs living room and the back yard. Right now she is scrubbing underneath the washing machine and dryer in the downstairs bathroom. I guess once she got started she decided to give the whole house a thorough going over.

Alumni

I went to my high school's Alumni Day today. Wow, was that weird. No one from my graduating class was there. I saw a few people that I was really happy to see. But a lot of the people who were there were from classes so far above me that I didn't know them. They all had kids... lots of cute adorable kids. I felt a little out of place, but it was all pleasant and happy.

The Streets of Iraq...

So my friend Ibid asks about the streets of Iraq in my last posting. The lead in for the request was dirt. Hmm... Well the streets are paved where I live because it is a city. There are a few gravel roads and plenty of roads under construction as well... but I haven't run into any dirt roads.

That said, there is plenty of dirt on the roads. The whole air is full of dust and it rains mud in the spring so there is always plenty of dirt on the roads. In addition there is also plenty of trash on the streets. That has been reduced somewhat over the past year by the importation of Bangladeshi workers to clean the streets, but really it is nearly impossible to keep up with the amount of trash that people throw out the windows.

Now I'm not sure if this is what you asked for Ibid... in fact, I'm thinking it isn't. But there you go... the streets of northern Iraq.

The Summer Whirlwind

I booked my tickets to Nashville today. I have a month before I'll be flying back half-way around the world and it all seems so fast already. My summer has been a busy rush of projects and trips. I just got back from my grandparent's cabin up at Loon Lake, a lovely place with sun and sand and water. Now I'm starting to feel more of the dullness that comes with changing cultures. I wonder what to do with myself and I fight apathy. Despite my need to practice the piano , I loathe the embarrassement of how rusty I've become after a week away from the instrument. I need to pack up my things (there's going to be a girl living here this next year) and that means going through all my papers, journals, and keepsakes. After all, I don't want to box up stuff that I'm just going to throw away next time I have to open the box.

Other than that... meditating on holiness. I figured out that that was a word that I didn't really know what it meant. After hearing it my whole life thrown around in the Christian community, it had become just another word. And if I'm supposed to be holy--I had better have a really good idea of what that is. I mean, I know some of what it is, but it is a bigger and more spacious concept than it's dictionary definition. I've been reading through a book by Andrew Murray called "Holiness" and would recommend it although I'm not sure I understand it all yet. Maybe more on this later as I discover and understand more.

Anyway, there it is...