New Start to a New Year…

2008 packed quite a few punches for me…and not just sucker punches. There were a lot of really great things that happened last year, and I’m hoping that 2009 will continue to build on that. So where to start to make 2009 a year to remember? With a big move, of course!!

For the past 3 years, I’ve been living in a suburb of Seattle on the east side of the city–closer, in fact, to Bellevue (Seattle’s twin city across the lake) than to Seattle proper. The commute is horrific. Not to mention being a single, almost-30 year old gal living in the ‘burbs while all your friends are living in the city! Not fun. In addition to the location, a year and a half ago I decided that living alone was too expensive, so I moved back in with two roommates and their zoo of animals. And while it was a good idea at first (because my rent has been unbelievably low), the *ahem* DRAMA that has ensued…well, I’m just over it. For reals.

So for the past 3 weeks, I’ve been packing up all my stuff and on Thursday, I’m moving back into the city! I’ve hired some muscles to help me out, and I’m getting back out on my own. The location is PRIME, just a 20 minute bus ride downtown (hallelujah!), and only blocks away from Greenlake–one of Seattle’s best urban lakes w/ a 3 mile running trail around it. Perfect for my one and only 2009 New Year’s Resolution (more on that some other time).

Even the process of packing has been revealing, brining to light something about myself that I never realized before: I am a hoarder. Not a universal hoarder mind you– I’m not one of those people that will die, crushed under the weight of a giant pile of newspapers and coffee cans that have been piling up to the ceilings of my home. No, my hoarding is reserved for very specific items:

1. Towels: I don’t know what it is that makes me hang on to towels that I’ve had since the dawn of man, but I do. That’s not to say that I don’t buy new towels–but for whatever reason, I don’t get rid of the old ones when the new ones arrive in the linen closet.
2. Lotion: Mini bottles that I’ve swiped from hotels; large Costco-sized bottles that no one on earth could possibly hope to use before it either went ‘bad’ or they got sick of the smell; horrific smelling, bright pink goo that was gifted at a birthday or Christmas who knows how many years ago. I have bottles of lotion just meant for your knees, your hands, your heels, your elbows, your face, your ears, your big toe…you name it. If there’s a lotion made for a specific body part, or concocted using a unique scent profile, I’ve got it.
3. Sylvester Stallone movies. I’m a HUGE Stallone fan, and I’m proud to admit that I own almost every movie he’s ever made on DVD. I even discovered a Rocky III poster hidden in the back of my closet.
4. Bibles (and books about the Bible). I think I have a copy of every translation of the Bible there is. From the NRSV, the NLV, the NKJ to The Message, if someone out there has figured out a new way to interpret the original Greek or Aramaic texts, then I’ve got a copy. In addition, if you ever wanted to know why bad things happen to good people, how and why to pray, or if there’s any Biblical truth behind Dan Brown’s bestseller The Da Vinci Code, chances are good there’s something in my library that can enlighten you on the subject.
5. Books of matches. I have an entire shoebox full of just matchbooks. If I go out to eat, and the hostess stand has a bowl of matchbooks on it, I’ll take more than one. I have matchbooks from locations as diverse as the 7-11 down the street, to a restaurant a friend and I ate at in Edinburgh.

Needless to say, I’m ready to usher in the New Year with a brand new start. So goodbye stinky lotions! Farewell, old towels–I have no need for thee! My new life back in the city starts on Thursday, and I don’t want all the old junk to be cluttering it up. As for the Stallone movies and the Bibles? They’re coming with me.

Oh, and the matches. Because who knows when I’ll decide to finally torch all the Jesus books…

S.O.A.P: so fresh and so clean

I often describe myself as a reformed “Jesus Freak”, which sounds incredibly disparaging, and I don’t mean for it to. There once was a time (from 1997-2006) when I attended church more than once a week, sang in a praise band, daily read one of many copies of The Bible that I own, and meditated often on my relationship with God. I haven’t set foot in a church in a year and a half (the reason why is a topic for another post altogether), I haven’t opened a Bible in equally as long, nor have I raised my voice in praise. I feel incredibly different from the girl I was then: I’ve grown, changed, evolved (this is The Evolution of Me, after all!). So I was surprised when, during a frantic search for my passport the other night, my S.O.A.P journal from early 2006 surfaced…and proved to me that while I may have grown and evolved, my relationship with Him is steadfast and unchanging.

While I’ve never been great at consistent journaling (not for lack of trying!), a S.O.A.P journal was a concept that I could really get behind back then. It takes maybe 15 minutes out of your day, but it can be incredibly profound and revealing. S.O.A.P stands for “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”, and is a method of critically reading and applying scripture to your daily life. How it works: read a small section of Scripture (usually 1 chapter from a book of the Bible), choose one or two verses that particularly stick out to you from that selection, and write them down. Next, write down your Observation from those verses. Then, think of how it Applies to your life and write that down. Finally, write down your Prayer in response to what you’ve read.  What follows is my S.O.A.P entry from February 16, 2006:

SCRIPTURE:
The Gospel of Mark 1:16-18  One day, as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother, Andrew, fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and went with him.

OBSERVATION:
Simon and Andrew are commercial fishermen…this is their job, what they do day in and day out to provide for their families. And they immediately (at once) dropped everything and followed Jesus upon His command. They didn’t ask “Why?”. They didn’t worry about making arrangements, or putting in their two weeks notice. They dropped everything where it was and obeyed Jesus’ word.

APPLICATION:
God doesn’t approach us at a time that is convenient for us. He comes in His timing…and all He cares about is our obedience! We needn’t worry ourselves with tying up the loose ends before following Him. If God was worried about them, He would have come at a different time. But God’s timing is perfect, so we should have that much more confidence in our obedience to Him.

PRAYER:
Lord, help me to remember it is my obedience you desire, not my help. God, in my simple obedience to you, remind me that I need to lay aside what I am currently doing and join you in what you are doing*. Help me to remain confident and assured that I will not only be filled with the desire to be obedient, but that You are one who will enable me to actually do it. God, you are present in the details.
*note: How is my inability to act immediately in obedience to the Lord getting in the way of his will for my life? How am I keeping God from blessing me today?

Now, I’ll admit that from where I stand, life seems pretty sweet: new job, great friends, fab place to live. And yet, this S.O.A.P redirected my mind a bit and reminded me how important it is to take a step back and evaluate things from a fresh and clean angle. In what ways am I standing in the way of my own success? How is my desire to be “helpful” and “do it myself” getting in the way of what God wants to do for me? He wants me to be free, to have all manner of good things. How am I keeping Him from blessing me today?

Jesus Yoga

Yoga. I want to do Yoga. And meditation, maybe.

Can a person practice yoga and meditation if they also claim to love Jesus? Can I really claim to love Him if I do not spend my life actively seeking to find him? I know Him, that’s for sure. And I know His enemy. My enemy. But I do not worship, I do not pray, I do not sing His praises nor seek to invite Him into my life any longer. Does that mean I’ve “lost my faith”? Is it my duty to actively seek to find it again? It’s not that I don’t believe it any more. It just…isn’t me anymore. It’s ironic, I think, that all the time I spent seeking him, I completely lost ME! I always thought that drawing closer to Him was supposed to consequently reveal His purpose for my life, in accordance with His will. Quite the opposite has happened, I’m afraid.

All I know is that I have a strong desire to be still, to reconnect with myself. I want to do Yoga.