Wednesday, July 20, 2011

.do first things first and second things not at all.

Well, I had great intentions of finishing my blog series this week. But blogging about my life here over actually living it doesn't seem to make much sense. So the last ten will have to be done more sporadically in order to give them their proper due of meditation as I write (totally serious).

In other news of my failure to keep my commitments,

I had concluded that it would be logical and responsible to not buy any more books before I move, based on the facts that I:

a) need to devote time to organizing and packing everything I own (aka the more things I own, the more time needed for said organizing and packing)
b) need to have everything I own fit in my car to be driven across the country
and
c) am about to move to a city which holds the largest independent used bookstore in the world,

Right? So logical.

Buuuuut...
I was just browsing at a yard sale on a walk on a Saturday morning...

3/4 of the Time Quartet, Madeleine L'Engle
Meet the Austins, Madeleine L'Engle (possibly my favorite children's book ever... ok, that's a lie, like I could pick just one- but, so important and formative for me)
The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis
I Asked for Wonder, Abraham Joshua Herschel
Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard
Collected Lyrics, Edna St. Vincent Millay (started and l.o.v.i.n.g.)
Seasons of Celebration, Thomas Merton
Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Ronald Sider

(I know, right? Wheaton yard sales are so ridiculous. I saw someone leaving right as I got there with a stack of C.S. Lewis.)

And then I dropped a bunch of stuff off at Goodwill and just happened to walk by the book shelves...


The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (have been totally wanting to re-read!! It was so wasted on me in 7th grade)
Knowing God, J.I. Packer
Charlotte's Web, E.B. White
Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Contentment, Lydia Brownback (like, on how to be content without buying every cheap book you see, maybe?)

Total for ALL of the above: $12, and that includes three picture frames and a nice mirror (the yard sale people ROCKED! They basically handed me everything I looked at.)

So... Oops.
(they're all going to look so nice organized by color on my bookshelf... *happy sigh*)

And now:
Two days left at work, eleven children's files to close, one bridesmaid dress to order, one bridesmaid dress to get fitted, several people to say goodbye to, one house-sitting job to complete, one prescription to fill, I-still-need-to-count-how-many packages to mail, one new computer battery to buy, thousands of dollars in loans to officially accept, a suitcase to pack, a rent check to write, one last small group breakfast to cherish, a year behind me to process, a passport to not lose, an international flight to take,
and a bit of peace to find on the topic of whether or not I'm going to be okay in adult life.
      

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Human Needs Global Resources Covenant, 2009

As fellow travelers on this journey, we commit to this covenant before God. Lord, in Your mercy, hear these our prayers:

When confronted with scarcity, need, and inadequacy, may we be nourished by the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation. Abundance overflows from Your table, sustaining all who come in faith. Father, help us.

When monotony blurs our vision and dulls our senses, may we encounter others as Christ did, through intentional presence in daily life, submitting as clay to be formed into vessels filled with the Spirit. Christ, guide us.

When wounded by the fractured condition of Your people, may we be united by Your Lordship in faith, hope, and love; seeing, as through the facets of a diamond, the beautiful spectrum of Your light reflected onto Your holy Church joined in praise. Spirit, empower us.

When all Creation groans, afflicted by injustice and driven to despair, may the promise of redemption root us in the hope of Your Kingdom: "Behold, I am making all things new!"

Holy Trinity, send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve You with gladness and singleness of heart.

Amen.