The Crime of Living Cautiously by Luci Shaw

I was given this book a few years ago because the small group I was in at the time was going to read this book together and then have a discussion each week. I started reading it at the time, but didn't really have the time or motivation to keep with it, after our group disbanded and melted into other small groups. This last year I decided I really needed to finish it, so now I have. I finished it this last week. In the beginning of the book I was excited about the idea of living life boldly instead of cautiously, and I think Ms. Shaw had some really good points.

"Because God loves us and wants to fulfill his ardent plans for us, he invites us to broaden our horizons. He longs to expose us to riches we never dreamed of, to realms we've only guessed at. There are barriers to be broken down. They fill us with apprehension at our profound inadequacy. But as we face our fears and trust his love, we can welcome the opportunities and dare the risks. If I fear failure and the possibility of looking foolish, I cut myself off from reward."

I definitely struggle with the fear of looking foolish, or stupid or stepping into the middle of something I'm not comfortable with. However, if I just sit at home afraid of looking foolish then how can I really serve the King? Some of the things the author wrote in the middle chapters of the book, I wasn't sure if I understood very well or agreed with, but in the last couple chapters she talked about the 5 women in Matthew's record of Jesus' geneology, and how they were normal women who took risks and did extraordinary things.

"It's either the safe, secure life, living within the box without enterprise or resourcefulness, or it's the risk of initiative and faith, the road less traveled. Jesus wasn't willing to live the contented, predictable, unremarkable existence of a small-town carpenter. He knowingly abandoned that role and 'set his face toward Jerusalem' and what he knew would be abuse, rejection, torture, Golgotha, death, the grave, resurrection and ultimately heaven so that his Father's purposes would be fulfilled in him. And the five women in Matthew's record didn't just exist, waiting in the shadows to be told what to do, even in the overwhelmingly patriarchal world of their day. They believed. They obeyed. They risked. They acted. They made a difference. And God thinks that is worth mentioning."

If you have a moment also look up 2 Timothy 1:7-10

[All quotes are taken from The Crime of Living Cautiously written by Luci Shaw]

The House

during the last few weeks, I've realized that my current living situation doesn't seem normal to people outside of it. I also realized that I never explained what my living situation is since I've moved to TN. Maybe if you knew what it is, then some of my other posts would make more sense. I will try to briefly explain...
The Redding Brothers have a friend who is also now their band manager, and she (I'll call her Lady Dee) is leasing a house here in the Nashville area. Its much too large just for her, even when her daughter stays with her. Lady Dee did this on purpose so that two of The Redding Brothers (Josiah & Gabriel) could also live here, including Josiah's wife (BarlowGirl) and kids. I had the pleasure of meeting Lady Dee in 2007 at Micah Redding's wedding, and we hit it off right away. Lady Dee is so full of energy, and has a very generous heart. When she heard that I was wanting to move here to TN, she immediately told me that I could stay at her house as long as I needed. So this is where I landed! I live in a 4 bedroom house with 6 other people, and I'm not related to any of them. However, I feel quite at home here. I think in a way its comforting to all of us to live in a full house. All of us, except Lady Dee, have grown up in families with several kids and are used to living with the noise of other people in the house. Its also interesting that with all these people in the house - I'm the only person who owns a PC and also the only person who eats meat (the rest are all vegetarians). Weird eh? Hopefully this lends you some insight into my environment. :)

Life Goals, Resolutions and more

In August of 2007 I traveled east to visit my friends in Indiana [from the Common Room], and my friends in Tennessee. During my time in Indiana, my friend The Equuschick told me of something that she does which helped her in making some life decisions. She told me that several years ago she started a list of Life Goals. This concept was intriguing to me as I had never done something of that nature. Here is an excerpt from my journal about our conversation:

“She started telling me about things that were on her list of Life Goals. Things she wanted to accomplish or see before she dies. In the end I understood that her job at the Animal Shelter was a means to an end. She needs money to help her accomplish some of these things, and what she ultimately wants to make a living at isn’t ready yet. All her talk about goals & dreams, and plans of how to accomplish them, inspired me. I realized that I had nothing like [Equuschick’s] ‘list’ of goals. I’ve just been floating along since graduating [from college]. For 4 long years my goal was to finish school. Now that I’ve done that, I haven’t found anything to replace it.”
I was so inspired by Equuschick, that I wrote my own list of Life Goals on the airplane coming home. I broke up my list by periods of time I would like to accomplish these tasks, here is what I came up with:

1 yr goals:
Get my scrapbook up-to-date
Form habit of walking 3 mornings a week
Take Microsoft Office training and get certification
Attend a Photography class
Read Harry Potter book series
Finish “friendship” quilt
Get Business License [?] (not completely sure about this one)
5 yr goals:
Read all of Gene Stratton Porters books
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a ‘We Care’ Campaign
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Live in a different state than WA
Visit New York City
Trip to East Coast (including New England and Florida)

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you will have already noticed that one of my goals can be crossed off due to a recent change in my living situation.
Earlier this week my friend Micah Redding (of The Redding Brothers) and his brother-in-law Ryan Hogan, started a list of New Years Resolutions. However, this list is not full of your typical New Years Resolutions, such as ‘lose weight’ ‘exercise more’ or ‘watch less tv’. They decided to come at it from a different angle and aim high instead of aiming low and not accomplishing anything. They told me that if we aim for the stars we might at least hit the moon. Their original list included such gems as “Get Bubble Tea with Barack Obama”, and “get accepted to Yale”, however, they asked each of us who went to the New Years Eve party at Micah’s house to add a couple ourselves. After we all added to the list Micah posted a blog about this new adventure called The Resolution Begins, with an organized version of the list. Hearing Micah and Ryan’s thoughts on this new year refreshed my interest in my Life Goals list, so yesterday I flipped through my journal to find it. I’ve done some updating, and I will probably do some more as I feel that I need a couple more big ones on it, but here is what I have so far:

1 yr goals:
See the Atlantic Ocean
Visit New York City
Find a church family to place membership with
Finish reading the Harry Potter book series (only 2 out of 7 left!)
Finish reading Gene Stratton Porter’s books
Read the Twilight book series
Finish a quilt
Refresh old friendships through new correspondence
5 yr goals:
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a Mission Trip
Trip along East Coast (including New England and Florida)
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Start Landscape Design business

You will notice that some things got moved around as I now live closer to some of the places I wanted to visit. I’ve also changed some items completely. Anyway… maybe this will inspire you as Equuschick did me… or maybe not! Whatever your reaction, I hope your year is filled with love and joy and that you make a positive impact on the people around you. Happy 2009 everyone!

Life is changing... a lot.

I'm sure most of you know this by now, but I thought I'd share some thoughts about my impending move cross country.

Yesterday a friend and came and bought my two large bookcases and my bed. This is the first time its really hit me that I'm really moving. I know this might sound weird, but its true! I've been planning for several months now, but in my mind I still had a lot of time before I leave. Now its only 3 weeks away... and its hitting me. This is for real. I've been reassuring my friends of this fact, but apparently I hadn't convinced myself yet...