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Annsie
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Name: Annie
Birthday: 10/19/1984
Gender: Female
Interests: I like books, poetry, coffee, good music, good cinema, and good friends to share them with.
Expertise: Moxie
Occupation: Barista
Industry: Coffee
Message: message me
AIM:  GreenMoxie
Member Since:
9/20/2003
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| http://typeandtsp.blogspot.com/
New blog. Probably better than this one. I'm not sure I'll update this for much longer.
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| Every year come early November, my folks start asking for a Christmas list. And this year was no exception. A copy was given to my brother and sister-in-law and the only gifts I received this year where from the list. The surprise of Christmas has been completely changed for me. Instead of being surprised in what I do find under the tree, I'm surprised at what isn't. My Christmas list is not interesting but I've heard of a couple that are.
My brother emailed his father-in-law, we'll call him "Ike", a list containing hyper links directly to Target's toy department. The list was for my almost-two-years-old niece, Emma. Ike and his wife, we'll call her "Melinda" don't really like to go to stores so my brother thought this would make their Christmas shopping easier. A couple days before Christmas, my brother gets a call from Ike and Melinda. They're at Target and can't figure out the password to check Emma's Christmas list. My brother was pretty confused but in talking some more to his in-laws figured out they were at the gift registry computer and trying to access the list he emailed them. Ike and Melinda are not the brightest bulbs in the pack.
My housemate's sister writes her Christmas list in code. I guess she's done this for years. For example, an item on her list might be something like "not pretty but cuddly, hard too look at but soft" the actual gift suggestion would be "Uglydoll" (which was on my list). This writing in code business makes it more interesting for the gift giver and reciever. If the codes are decifered correctly, fantastic. If not, it could make for one interesting Christmas morning. My housemate dicifered part of one clue to know that the intended gift was located at Bath and Body Works but beyond that, she didn't have any idea what it could be. She even asked the overly helpful folks at Bath and Body Words and even they couldn't figure out the second half of the clue. I just hope my housemate's sister is happy with the aroma therapy difusers she got.
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| Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:
I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.
Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.
Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?
I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.
The origional HERE
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| I went to church twice today. Going to church more than once on any give Sunday is not something I've done since my mom made be go to the evening service with her. Just to give you a time reference for this, after the evening service we'd get home just in time to watch "Life Goes On". Yeah, a long time ago.
The church I attended every Sunday is near and dear to me. The congregation is very committed to be a part of the non-white community around them. As a congregation we support several outreach and service-based ministries. The people who attended are mostly of the traditional "reformed" sort: white, middle class, and educated. However, the congragation is diversifying because of the heart this community has for eachother. I've never felt like a more welcomed stranger than I did when I started attending back in September. They learned my name quickly, I jumped into helping with youth group and Sunday school, they have fed me and prayed for me. These people are what the church is supposed to look like.
The morning services are long. We sing a bunch in the beginning. I'm all about singing, but it is a good day when I recognize the songs. Mostly, we are led in ultra-contemporary songs up on the power point behind the praise team. The drums and electric instraments remind me of high school chapel and youth conventions. Every once in a while we'll sing a hymn which practically brings me to tears because I hunger for those songs. The sermons are always challanging and dynamic. This is why I go to this church, because I get spiritually fed every week. I take notes so if I ever become a preacher, I can just steal all of Paster Reggie's sermons. (just kidding)
With all the good things going on at my church, I still find myself missing a more traditional service. The church I attended tonight is also 'reformed' but heavily Anglican in it's litergy. The use of any sort of litergy is drastically different from my home church, let alone one from such a "high church" tradition like the Anglican. But it felt good tonight to hear a familar collect from the Common Book of Prayer. We sang a call to worship that I remember from my Episcople days in Oregon. We actually used the hymn book. The congregation was peppered with professors I had at Calvin and children adopted internationally. This church has a great reputation for work with refugees, which I'm sure is just the tip of their out-reach iceberg. I know if I visit there too often, I my passion for my home church will diminish. I think I feel more at home in such an intellectual setting. The building for this church is new and organized. Their members are good people with good conversations. And I'm sure their youth group wouldn't give me migrains like the one I'm currently working with.
So why don't I change churches? Firstly, my roots have started to grow where I am now. These people love me. Secondly, not liking how we do singing is not a good reason to leave a church. There is no perfect churcn no matter how many times the church splits pursuing it. Third, if I'm going to deepen my passion and skill for urban ministry, I should go to a church that does that sort of ministry work. Sure, my youth group girls have smart mouths and major attitude issues but they need consistancy in their life. I may be the only person challanging them to be/think about something more than themselves. Sure, the building may feel a little rag-tag and pieces together from the several remodels and additions, but it is my church. I've claimed it these last few months and this has made me feel more adult in my faith than anything else I've done this year.
I recognize that this is a fairly long post, longer than the last few but it's probably equally as boring. Next time I post, I'll try to come up with some funny stuff that happens at school for you. | | |
| I've been watching HBO's "true blood". My housemate introduced me to it. I've been watching it the last couple of days. "true blood" combines three of my favorite things- vampire lore, sware words in southern accents, and Anna Paquin.
In other news, I'm going to be in a praise dance at church on the last Sunday of advant. I am not that sort of girl nor was I raised in a church that had praise dances as a part of the service. But since all the girls from my youth group are a part of this and I'm a youth group leader, I will be on that stage with bells on. Literally. Bells on my wrists and ankles. I don't know about you, but I find this hilarious. | | |
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