happiness list

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1. PastrixNadia Bolz-Weber‘s memoir.  Not only did it make the trip back from NYC painless, but it’s inspired me to take on a project for NaNoWriMo. Somewhere on the internets last week, I read the suggestion to write about whatever you want to for NaNoWriMo, to write in any way you want–this first-born rule-follower hadn’t thought of that!  My plan is to insert God anywhere I can in my lifetime of memories, especially in my relationships.  Nadia’s witness has made me reflect on the person of Jesus and his particularity more than I have been recently, and I’m excited to find and insert Jesus in all the dear people whose relationships have made me who I am.  Thank you, dear people in my life, for being used by God, whether you knew it or not! (whether I knew it or not!)

I’d love for you to join me–thinking about your past, considering how God might have been at work in events, people, relationships, and times in your life–maybe we could even post some here to share.

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2. A super sweet surprise box of bath-time fun when I arrived home, a week out from the accident (I’m fine; the car is not so much).

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3. Sisters on the Runway–last week in NYC, my super fashionable brother took me to my first ever fashion show!  It was icing-on-top that SOTR is a charitable group that both helps young designers (students at Parsons) get their work out in the world, and supports good work in the world, last week, we raised money for domestic violence awareness.

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4. This past week hosted National Cat Day, or some such; I celebrated with our used-to-be scaredy-cat, Lion, who has come to be super sweet and affectionate in the last year (since she and her litter-sister, Frances, found us last October).  Good pictures are hard to find!

What’s making you smile this weekend?

Happiness List

Another Friday, another Happiness List!  (the first, second, third...) Keeping our focus and continually remembering good things cultivates gratitude and helps our minds get used to seeing goodness and beauty around us–I’m using these weekly lists to train my mind and heart to see light.

1. Seeing Grandma & Grandpa

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(1a. being in the Twin Cities, 1b. St. Paul having a heat advisory at 78 degrees)

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2. After a long week, a bit of encouragement in Jeremiah 1:7:

“But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.”

Not least evidenced in my post this week on the Covenant Blog…

3. a trip to Lush while in the Cities…

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Since there isn’t a location of my favorite cosmetics store at home in South Carolina, I tried out lots of new products and loaded up…

I fell in love with their solid shampoo when I bought some in Canterbury this summer; so I tried Seanik.  I also grabbed Jungle, a solid conditioner, to try (I’m flying, so I couldn’t get lots of liquids).  Angels on Bare Skin is one of their most popular cleansers, its scent and exfoliating ground almonds were amazing, but I wanted to try something with a little more power, so I got Dark Angels.  It’s intense!  But I haven’t experienced the tightness and itchiness that usually accompanies cleansers that are too powerful (like salicylic acid cleansers–for me at least).

I was unexpectedly taken in by a jasmine scent and decided to try some solid perfume, “Lust“!  In my defense, I thought I wanted “Karma,” because I so love the smell of the Karma Koba, but when I tested the other few solid perfumes, the flowery-yet-grounded jasmine scent did me in.