Last Friday Carol came over (yay! she's back from Europe... again! and away from creeeeeepy Italian men!) and we cooked dinner and watched the presidential debate.
Since there is more than enough internet information and commentary on that matter, I'll spare you all but to say that I was pleased to find that I really respect both candidates. I feel that this frees me up to really vote on issues and not on personalities. Also, I think I'm discovering that I really am financially and socially more on the left of the political spectrum, with the exception of the traditionally right-sided pro-life belief.
I'm excited for the vice prez debate on Thursday, as it is possible that either Palin or Biden could become our nation's leader at some point in the next four years, and I want to know more about them.
Last night I went to hear a great speaker at Guilford College. He's a Colombian presbyterian pastor and he came to talk about the peace process in Colombia, giving historical background and currently what he's invovled in, as well as encouraging us to be global citizens and remember that the world's problems are our problems.
But I find myself frustrated with governments. With the concept of government. With the human tendency to place our hope in powerful people, elected officials, and legislation, instead of hanging that weight on the only one who is really in power. Psalm 146 says it perfectly:
Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end.
But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the one who keeps every promise forever, who gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever. O Jerusalem, your God is King in every generation! Praise the Lord!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
the roaring twenties
Sometimes I feel like roaring. Being a twenty-something can be more difficult than I imagined.
It seems that the whole point of this period in life is to find out and solidify who I am. i.e., to Grow Up.
Not only do I have to try different views on for size, to see how they fit, I have to test out the beliefs I hold in the varied company of friends, coworkers, family members, acquaintances, strangers... and learn to be the same in whichever social setting I find myself.
It may be a delusion that this time of tension and trial will end once I cross the thirty line.
Also, the fact that I take for granted the twenties as the time for self-definition is probably largely due to my location in history and geography. Lots of people are theorizing that we post-modern Westerners have succeeded in streching out our adolescence further than anyone in the past. We also no longer have any established rites of passage into adulthood to help us know who we are and how we fit in...
Which leaves me thinking and talking about it a lot, and writing a blog about it. The ontology -- the metaphysical study of being -- of Emily -- me, myself, and I.
It seems that the whole point of this period in life is to find out and solidify who I am. i.e., to Grow Up.
Not only do I have to try different views on for size, to see how they fit, I have to test out the beliefs I hold in the varied company of friends, coworkers, family members, acquaintances, strangers... and learn to be the same in whichever social setting I find myself.
It may be a delusion that this time of tension and trial will end once I cross the thirty line.
Also, the fact that I take for granted the twenties as the time for self-definition is probably largely due to my location in history and geography. Lots of people are theorizing that we post-modern Westerners have succeeded in streching out our adolescence further than anyone in the past. We also no longer have any established rites of passage into adulthood to help us know who we are and how we fit in...
Which leaves me thinking and talking about it a lot, and writing a blog about it. The ontology -- the metaphysical study of being -- of Emily -- me, myself, and I.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Be careful what you wish for...
Or in this case, be careful what you pray for. I asked for opportunities to help me learn to deal with conflict and confrontation, and it's already beginning.
Or maybe it's just my attitude that's changing. Instead of fleeing the situations, or squirming uncomfortably and hoping they'll go away if I stay passive long enough, I'm finding that I want to have a voice, I want to be honest, to learn to be myself instead of a doormat.
Still, ugh! I knew this would happen when I said that prayer. I can at least be thankful that I'm starting off with calm confrontation and not explosive conflict. I have that to look forward to!
Or maybe it's just my attitude that's changing. Instead of fleeing the situations, or squirming uncomfortably and hoping they'll go away if I stay passive long enough, I'm finding that I want to have a voice, I want to be honest, to learn to be myself instead of a doormat.
Still, ugh! I knew this would happen when I said that prayer. I can at least be thankful that I'm starting off with calm confrontation and not explosive conflict. I have that to look forward to!
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