Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Sharpies are poisonous and gum is gross

I apologize for the mood I might be in, which may or may not affect the humour of this blog entry, or lack thereof. It comes from paper-writing. Once again, I'm trying to write a paper, and I suddenly feel the urge to blog. Don't ask me why this happens during paper-writing. I guess I'm especially verbose, yet tired of writing in French. Maybe one day I'll write a blog in French when I'm not so tired of the language.

I thought I should update you on my progress, referring to my last blog, about thinking about God every minute. Well, I'm sure not up to "every minute", but I do think I've made some progress. I have much more frequent conversations with him. I've experimented with different ways of reminding myself to do this. Funny you should mention Sharpies, Evan, because lately I have been writing a small cross on my hand with a black Sharpie as a reminder to include God in everyday activities. When I see it, I remember to talk to him. I am sure if I continue this on a regular basis the Sharpie ink will leak into my veins and poison me. I considered tattooing my hand. This would probably be the only reason I would consider getting a tattoo - if it means making God a larger part of my life, without risk of poisoning, what could hold me back? So far, the only thing holding me back is the slight possibility I will become a secret undercover missionary to Muslim people or people otherwise hostile to Christians, in which case the tattoo could be even more risky than Sharpie poisoning. So it is a dilemma. I will continue to keep you updated.

Also, I gave up MSN for Lent. This was a big step for me, I thought, but I haven't actually missed it as much as I thought I would. The only thing I miss is being able to have open-ended conversations. It's hard to be on the phone and leave air space for 10 minutes when you have nothing to say. In general, though, I have fewer misunderstandings with friends. I don't feel like I need to be talking to them at all times. I sleep more. I am more productive with my homework. Except right now. Right now, I am not being productive. But I'm almost done, and I'll get back to productivity. Anyway, for anyone who feels addicted to MSN, like I was, I recommend going cold turkey for a while. It worked for me. Either that or get the patch or the gum. On second thought, don't get the gum. Gum is gross.

On that note, I leave you with a passage from the Message that I've been trying to memorize:

"Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that." (Eph. 5:1-2)

Love like that.

P.S. Speaking of love, cell group girls, don't forget your assignment to find a future husband. Due Monday. 10% off for each day you're late. 10% off your marital happiness, that is.

4 comments:

Smaj said...

J'aime beaucoup la langue.

I hope that I can learn to love like that. It's pretty incredible.

katevp-a said...

what is this cell assignment? you have piqued my interest. maybe piqued is not a word. anyhow, i am interested.

caricature said...

wow, your cell is definately more hard core than mine. Maybe we need more goals in our group... hmm..

rochelle laura knox said...

beth, i am so glad you have blogged again! i check your blog every once and a while to see if you have updated and often i am disappointed. this time, however, my appetite for your words has been satiated.

some responses:
1) the cross sharpie reminds me of a habit i have when i write exams. after i enter the room, find a seat, arrange my pens, pencils, water bottle and orange, i pick up a pencil and lightly sketch a cross on the top of the desk. then i pause, breath deeply, and focus. (in other words, i pray.) throughout the exam when i get frustrated or sidetracked, i often return to the cross and trace it with my pencil. this may all sound strange but it is a way for me to remember more important things (ie. JC) and to commit my work to him. and i too have drawn crosses on my skin. (and when i was 9 i once took out my swiss army knife and attempted to "cross" a scratch on my arm sutained after walking past a thorny tree. but that is a different matter and perhaps i should be telling it to my shrink and not the blog community... ;) ).
2) gum is not gross. i love gum. so much so that i once gave it up for lent. which was very hard.