Updates, Books, and Home

I hate the way that time seems to run away from you before you even realize it. I’m not so good at updating this blog more than once a week. The sad part is that I have so much to blog about, but there doesn’t seem to be enough time to get all of the thoughts down. I will be better about this.

Update:

1. So, I watched Whip It! Ellen Page is phenomenal, and the story is good. But for me, it was hollow. I read half of the book. If you know me, you know that rarely do I only read half of a book. But the story wasn’t captivating enough. And the author is the same person who wrote the screenplay, so I think it’s more that I don’t like her writing. I mean, I love the idea of a young and quirky woman with a lot of spunk decides to challenge herself with roller derby. But I kept waiting for something deep to happen, for there to be some amazing and profound line. It never did. Unfortunate.

2. I saw Rob Bell on Tuesday in Tampa. He released a new book in August called Drops Like Stars. It’s about creativity and suffering and love and Jesus. The book was amesome as was his talk. But his talk simply added an interactive element to the book. I expected it to be somewhat like a lecture because I’m forever a student. :) It was good, and I still took away pockets full of wisdom even though I had read a lot of what he said already.

3. Zach Williams is amazing. He is a musician who lives in Brooklyn. His music is raw and honest. Sometimes he wails so much passion that I get chill bumps. Normally, that only happens with live music. His music is inspiring me lately. I haven’t felt inspired by music in a long time, so it is beautiful to be in that once again. You should check him out: www.myspace.com/zacharywilliams

4. Have I mentioned that Florida did not get the memo that it is fall? Because it didn’t. And it is HOT. I am a North Carolinian who enjoys ALL of the seasons. Want to know my least favorite? You guessed it: summer. Oh the sacrifices we make to do the things we love. Haha. jk. I listened to Christmas music on pandora.com today just to feel cold. Haha. It didn’t work, but it was nice.

Thoughts:

I started Donald Miller’s new book the other day. It’s called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It’s a spiritual memoir and kind of a sequel-ish thing to Blue Like Jazz. I read that one at a pivotal time in my life in college and got me thinking about Jesus in new ways. This one is doing the same thing.

The book focuses on the journey Don was on when two guys asked if they could make his book (BLJ) into a movie. Of course, the story had to be edited. So, Don learned a lot about story and that in good stories a character goes on a search for something. Don says that to have a meaningful life, we need to live a meaningful story. And I wonder if I am living a meaningful story. I think I am. I will let you know how the rest of the book goes.

I miss home. I mean, almost everyone who leaves home misses it at some point. I am no different in that regard.

I miss the kids,

and the way Meredith looks in the fall,

and my conversations with Luke about movies,

and listening to Noah while he reads,

and playing barbies with Isabel,

and drinking wine and talking with my mom,

and watching LOST and hanging out with my sister,

and my apartment and the four of us who made it a home,

and the living room that was “my room” for a month and a half before I left,

and walking the halls of Joyner on the way to class,

and helping students in the Registrar’s office,

and my wonderful professors and their wealth of knowledge,

and Shakespeare,

and reading Chaucer in Middle English,

(not so much Jane Austen, haha),

and Raleigh with roads I know and the random late night drives they took me on,

and my snobby Barnes and Noble in Cary where all the booksellers know me.

Home.

I’m not sad; I just miss it. Remember what I said in the last blog about learning how part of loving someone means that there is a part of you that aches when they are not around. Well, I ache for home. I don’t want pity. I simply wanted to share.

That’s all I have for now. But I promise to write another blog before 7 days pass.

so much love.