(3) Book Blogs

I have been doing a lot of reading. So here goes...

A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren (I think is his last name.) This book was basically talking about how we are transitioning into the Post Modern era and that the church has to respond to that. He (Brian) and his friend talk in this book about what the Post Modern church will look like. This book is pretty progressive I would say but honestly it is nothing I haven't heard or thought about myself. I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone that is searching for answers about church. Somethings that it addressed was: heaven and how it is not us versus them, that we shouldn't look at people who aren't like us as going to heaven or not, basically that it isn't our place to decide that and we need to stop acting like it. He also talked about how Jesus talks of the Kingdom of Heaven being here now and we need to start acting like it. We need to bring the kindgom to others, especially those that aren't as fortunate as us.

Larry's Kidney by Daniel Asa Rose (again, I think that is his name.) So the synopsis on the front cover is this, and I think it describes the book pretty well: How I ended up in China with my Black Sheep cousin and his Mail Order Bride, to try and get him a kidney transplant to save his life. The book is pretty funny and his cousin is probably one of the worst, bravest, dumbest person I have ever heard of. Good book but just very quirky. Also, in the end, what eventually happens I don't agree with on a moral basis so that was hard to get over as well.

The Lassa Ward by Ross Donaldson, M.D. This was a good book. This book is about Ross (then a medical school student) who goes to Sierra Leone to help in a hospital ward that specializes in Lassa Fever. Lassa Fever is a hemorrhagic fever found in a certain species of rats. If a person eats or comes in contact with the bodily fluid of a rat that is infected, they can contract the disease. It is highly deadly and highly infectious. The people that work in the ward are incredibly brave for doing it especially since the facilities and equipment are outdated and poorly supplied. It was amazing to see the stark difference between medical practices there versus the US. It makes you grateful to live here. Death is a constant figure in their lives. I am very blessed to live here where medicine and health education is so widely distributed.

Whew! So that's it! I just realized how random all these books are! Something for everyone...

Christmas and New Years!

This year, once again, was lots of fun. Clint and I traveled to Corsicana, to see all of his sisters and their husbands and kids. It was great to spend several days with them. We had great food and conversations. I think Christmas Eve, it snowed a little while we were in Corsicana. Clint and I were a little bitter because Fort Worth apparently got a few inches and we totally missed it! Oh well...We also went to Waco and saw my family and cousins. This year, my immediate family Christmas was pretty short. It made me sad, but sometimes that's just what happens. We came back from traveling the Monday after Christmas. I went ahead and took off that week from work to spend more time with Clint before he hit the books again.

New Years was alot of fun. My brother and Lacie, and some of our other friends came over. It was a blast. We talked, played games and then talked some more. It was a great way to bring in the new year.

So here are some pics:


Not a great pic. These are the desserts at mom's house. Yikes!!
Uncle Nathan and his namesake.
Snow! Okay, you have to look closely but I promise it is there.

Merry Christmas!

One of my most favorite things to do on Christmas is seeing Christmas lights! Clint and I made a date night out of it. We first went and ate at our favorite Tex-Mex place, then went to Starbucks and picked up coffee. I got the Hazelnut Latte. YUMMY! Then we hit the streets! The first neighborhood we went to was actually just houses around a lake. It was really beautiful because the lights bounced off the water and made the whole neighborhood light up. Then we went to the house pictured above. It was so cool! When we pulled up, we turned our radio to a certain station and as you listen, the lights light up to the beat of the music. It lasted about 20 minutes and was the neatest thing ever! We will definitely be making it a tradition to go see those lights. We had so much fun and it really felt like Christmas.

We have stayed really busy this month, as most people do around this time. We've gone to a few Christmas parties, a wedding and a birthday party. It's been so much fun spending time with friends. This week is going to be pretty busy. I am in Fort Worth and working the next 2 days. Clint is in Corsicana shadowing a doctor for 3 days. Then we will meet up and begin our rounds of family stuff. I am looking forward to spending time with our families. It is always nice to catch up with people you don't get to see much of. I am also looking forward to spending time with Clint. Next semester is going to be crazy so I am going to try really hard to just sit back, relax and enjoy the next 2 weeks.

I hope everyone has a good Christmas. I think sometimes this is the most stressful time of year and can be pretty hard for some. So even though I hope everyone has a good time, I guess I just want to recognize that it is okay if it's not for everyone.

Here's to a good new year, full of learning, growing and loving.

Book Blog

I finished "The Time Traveler's Wife" this past week. I can't think of the authors name right now... Anyway, to be honest I wasn't a huge fan. I think if you like that type of writing, it probably would have been really good but I just couldn't get into it. It is being made into a movie and I'm not sure if I will watch it either. The book is about a man who is able to time travel but he is unable to control when, how, or where he goes. But he generally only goes to his past. It is also about his wife and how they deal with his time traveling. That is really all I can say without giving anything away. It is a popular book so I'm not going to say never read it, but just saying it wasn't my "cup of tea".

Thanksgiving!

The good news: Thanksgiving was great. The bad news: I didn't take any pictures!

I love anytime that I get to spend time with family and this year was no different. We spent a lot of time with my family this year, not really by design but because Clint's family didn't really do much because everyone was going to be out of town.

I thoroughly enjoyed having some good stress free time with Clint. That doesn't happen often, so we took advantage of it this weekend. Saturday I got to spend time with some of my friends from high school. Man, I forgot how much I miss being with those girls. I would love to go back in time and hear our conversations 10 years ago versus our conversations now. It would be hilarious. Those girls helped me through a very hard time in my life and am so thankful for them. They were a God send.

Sunday we were back in Fort Worth. We went to church and had lunch with some friends that we hadn't seen in a long time. It was great catching up.

Clint and I are at a really great place right now. God has answered so many prayers in the last month that have really weighed on Clint and I. It's like He is telling us that He is behind it all because so many things have happened so close together. Fort Worth in itself is a huge blessing. The friends we have met here are lifetime friends. In fact, the 2 couples that we have community with each week, both live less than a half mile from us (which was on purpose) now. It is so nice to know that we have a family here. God has been good. He has heard my prayers. What more can I ask?

Now on to Christmas!!!

First, update then , Book Blog

Well, I am writing this blog entry at 10:45 at night, which is late for me, because I cannot sleep! It could be that cup of coffee I had at 7 but whatever....It was worth it! Tonight we had our small group at our house. I fixed manicotti with meat sauce, dinner rolls, salad and cookie cake for dessert. It was yummy! And as usual the conversation was great. It's really cool because there are 2 other couples and they are all about to live within walking distance of us. We have always joked about living in community with each other and now, I guess it's pretty close to it. Tonight we talked about a lot of different things and we also walked down to Daniel and Claire's potentially new house. I love those guys!

So I just finished Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. I read Blue Like Jazz back in college (with everyone else!) and I have started this book several times but just couldn't get into it. Finally, I think my spiritual journey led me to this book. It helped answer a few things. I really enjoyed this book a lot. Clint and I were just talking to Bill and Jennee (Clint's parents) about what we felt like church should look like and lots of other things and I think this book helped me with those things. I love Miller because he is a lover of literature and stories. He relates, in this book, how the relationship we have with Jesus is more like a relationship between two lovers (namely Romeo and Juliet). He also talks about how since the Fall, we basically are walking around looking for acceptance, love and intimacy from others because we are separated from the One who provides that for us in a perfect form. I am no expert on theology or theologians but I feel like his ideas are very original. He relates things in a way that is easy to understand even though it is not the easiest concepts. I would recommend this book for sure!

New Goals!

I was reading my friend Kayla's blog and she was talking about some goals she has set for herself to complete before she turns 25. I thought that was a great idea and came up with some of my own. So here goes!

1. Take a knitting class
2. Go camping (like tent, sleeping bag, etc. kind of camping).
3. Blog at least once a month. (Hopefully more, but lately that has been difficult for me.)
4. Pay off a student loan. We have paid off some of them but we have the 2 biggest left. I am hoping to knock out at least one of them.
5. Train for a half marathon. WHAT?? Yes, you heard right. I have been running since June pretty consistently and the other day I was thinking, why am I doing this, I have no goal. Clint is running a full in the Cowtown (the Fort Worth marathon) so I thought, what the heck! Jokingly I have said that I will run a full when I turn 30 just to prove to myself that I am only as old as I let myself be. So, I am 5 years away from 30 so I better prove that I can at least do this much!!
6. Have my wedding pictures made into an album. At this point, I really don't care about it being fancy or anything. I just want an album that can at least prove that we are married!
7. Volunteer at the Humane Society.
8. Get re-certified in CPR.
9. Take a dog training course with Cherry.
10. Make an apron.
11. Maintain my current weight or lose another 2-3 pounds. I have lost like 6 pounds this last year and I really want to be sure I don't gain that back. And, if I can muster some more self control, I want to go for another 2-3 pounds. This would bring me down to my high school weight!
12. Take a multivitamin everyday. I take them some times but not very consistently like I should.
13. Finish decorating my room and the guest room.

Well, I hear a crying baby so I better go!

Oh, and why 13? Because it is half way to 26!