I switched to a new blog...
I can now be found at:
www.elcafringe.blog.com
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday, May 1, 2009
Regret
I had to write a paper for my indigenous ways of knowing class on things I might regret. This is what I came up with:
Regret. I am supposed to write about what I regret in life for this class. The funny thing is this: I have come to really reframe my attitudes about regret as I have gotten older. The thing is this: I am 29 years old and I can honestly say that I have no regrets in my life.
In reflecting over my life, yes, maybe there are things that I might have done differently if I knew some things about myself and the world that I know now. I realize that I have preferred to go to a university that had classes in some of the more specific things that I was interested in instead of going to the Luther college in Iowa. But I do not know if I really knew enough about myself at the time to know that I prefer musical theater over church music and opera, that I enjoy connecting with people but I tend to prefer going out for a quiet drink with someone instead of going to a large party or gathering, and the list could go on and on. The truth is that in my late teens and early twenties I do not think I really knew myself the same way I know myself now.
I have learned not to agonize over what did not happen, as even though I struggled with a more conservative approach to theology that was dominant in some of the campus ministry circles that I tried to run in, that it was the tears that I cried and the questions that I asked that actually made the campus pastors encourage me to come to seminary. So even though there were ways that the Luther College Community did not match up to what I would learn later that my true desires are, I do not regret going to that college because that is what lead me to want to come to a more liberal leaning seminary.
Now that I am more aware of who I am and the way that the world operates, I think that there are things I could have done differently in my personal life. However, I honestly did the best that I could with those decisions at those points in time. I always been a believer in reflecting over things before moving onto what is next so that I do not repeat the same mistakes again. For example, when I first moved out to Berkeley I lived with a roommate that I did not have a chance to get to know at all first. It wound up being a terrible experience, but I honestly was one of the last students in my class to confirm my enrollment, and I honestly could not afford to live by myself. I lived with her for my first semester, but then I was committed to moving on. After that, I realized that even though it is important to be cautious about how much I spend on housing that it is actually a very good thing to feel discerning about who I could actually live with. I knew to get out of that housing situation and I have been in a variety of living situations since then. I could look at this as a big regret as it had a large negative influence on my life at that point in time. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have practiced more of a right to say no to living with her if I went back in time and made that decision now. Yet it was almost as if I needed to have that situation in order to really learn that it is okay to be picky about who I live with. I have looked at it as a learning experience to allow myself to be discerning about who I can and can not live with.
There are some things that I would like the opportunity to do still, but I do not regret not doing them as the appropriate circumstances have never presented themselves.I would like to be married but I do not regret not being married at this point in my life, I just do not feel like I have found someone I feel like I could marry yet. I also have things that I was not happy to leave behind, but it was absolutely necessary to do so in order to do well with what was in front of me. For example, I was never enthusiastic to leave things like creative writing and theater behind, but it was necessary to do so in order for me to stay focused on getting to and through seminary. But now that my academic work is almost done, I feel more freedom to pursue these types of things again. Do I “regret” leaving them behind for the past few years? No, I needed to focus my energy on having the money to go to school and on my school work once I was in school. But I never viewed not being married or not pursuing my creative tendencies in seminary as permanent decisions, but rather as things that are not in the current season of my life.
I am coming out of a very academically oriented season of my life. Its been what I needed to do in my time in seminary. I do not know what the next “season” will bring, however, I am realizing that pursuing projects and communities that encourage my interests in theater or creative writing is something that is important to me and I would l. That is something that I will seek to incorporate somehow in my next season of serving in parish ministry outside my church. I do not know what kind of shape that this will take. I guess I do not view it as a regret of something I did not pursue more these past few years, but as an opportunity of knowing the sort of things that I do want to embrace now that I am almost done. I am just curious to see what kind of shape that it is going to take.
I think that I have come to terms with the fact that I have multiple interests and multiple things that I would like to have a chance to do while I am still on this earth. But I feel like the life that I have lead up to this point in time has been very full and that I think that I have often made the decisions that I needed to make at particular points in time. I realized that I was still learning about myself while I was in college and that while on one hand if I knew about myself now that I knew then that I would have made some different choices in where I went to school. But had I done that, I might not have felt as encouraged to come to seminary, and I might not have wound up in seminary here in Berkeley California. This is what I call the “Back to the Future” effect, and quite honestly I am happy to be where I am at right now. I realize that there are things I could have done differently had I known the effect they would have, like my initial rooming situation in Berkeley, but that was a learning experience for me as I not only got out of the situation, but reflected over what needed to happen for that pattern not to have been continued. I realize that I am only 29 years old and that the things that I wished I could have for myself these past few years are things that I still have the opportunity to make happen for myself.
These are the reasons why I can say that I have no regret. Yes, there are things that I could have done differently. Yes, there are things that I still want the opportunity to do. And I trust that as I have even more life experiences that there will always be more in each category. Yet I have come to a certain level of peace in understanding that I will never behave perfectly in any situation. I have come to a certain level of excitement in understanding that life will always bring more opportunities. I think that it has been in learning to listen to who I really am while being committed to honoring the people around me as much as possible that may have contributed to not living with a lot of regret. I think it may be because I view life as something that is not over, but there for me every day that I wake up that makes me realize that every day is a learning experience and an opportunity.
Regret. I am supposed to write about what I regret in life for this class. The funny thing is this: I have come to really reframe my attitudes about regret as I have gotten older. The thing is this: I am 29 years old and I can honestly say that I have no regrets in my life.
In reflecting over my life, yes, maybe there are things that I might have done differently if I knew some things about myself and the world that I know now. I realize that I have preferred to go to a university that had classes in some of the more specific things that I was interested in instead of going to the Luther college in Iowa. But I do not know if I really knew enough about myself at the time to know that I prefer musical theater over church music and opera, that I enjoy connecting with people but I tend to prefer going out for a quiet drink with someone instead of going to a large party or gathering, and the list could go on and on. The truth is that in my late teens and early twenties I do not think I really knew myself the same way I know myself now.
I have learned not to agonize over what did not happen, as even though I struggled with a more conservative approach to theology that was dominant in some of the campus ministry circles that I tried to run in, that it was the tears that I cried and the questions that I asked that actually made the campus pastors encourage me to come to seminary. So even though there were ways that the Luther College Community did not match up to what I would learn later that my true desires are, I do not regret going to that college because that is what lead me to want to come to a more liberal leaning seminary.
Now that I am more aware of who I am and the way that the world operates, I think that there are things I could have done differently in my personal life. However, I honestly did the best that I could with those decisions at those points in time. I always been a believer in reflecting over things before moving onto what is next so that I do not repeat the same mistakes again. For example, when I first moved out to Berkeley I lived with a roommate that I did not have a chance to get to know at all first. It wound up being a terrible experience, but I honestly was one of the last students in my class to confirm my enrollment, and I honestly could not afford to live by myself. I lived with her for my first semester, but then I was committed to moving on. After that, I realized that even though it is important to be cautious about how much I spend on housing that it is actually a very good thing to feel discerning about who I could actually live with. I knew to get out of that housing situation and I have been in a variety of living situations since then. I could look at this as a big regret as it had a large negative influence on my life at that point in time. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have practiced more of a right to say no to living with her if I went back in time and made that decision now. Yet it was almost as if I needed to have that situation in order to really learn that it is okay to be picky about who I live with. I have looked at it as a learning experience to allow myself to be discerning about who I can and can not live with.
There are some things that I would like the opportunity to do still, but I do not regret not doing them as the appropriate circumstances have never presented themselves.I would like to be married but I do not regret not being married at this point in my life, I just do not feel like I have found someone I feel like I could marry yet. I also have things that I was not happy to leave behind, but it was absolutely necessary to do so in order to do well with what was in front of me. For example, I was never enthusiastic to leave things like creative writing and theater behind, but it was necessary to do so in order for me to stay focused on getting to and through seminary. But now that my academic work is almost done, I feel more freedom to pursue these types of things again. Do I “regret” leaving them behind for the past few years? No, I needed to focus my energy on having the money to go to school and on my school work once I was in school. But I never viewed not being married or not pursuing my creative tendencies in seminary as permanent decisions, but rather as things that are not in the current season of my life.
I am coming out of a very academically oriented season of my life. Its been what I needed to do in my time in seminary. I do not know what the next “season” will bring, however, I am realizing that pursuing projects and communities that encourage my interests in theater or creative writing is something that is important to me and I would l. That is something that I will seek to incorporate somehow in my next season of serving in parish ministry outside my church. I do not know what kind of shape that this will take. I guess I do not view it as a regret of something I did not pursue more these past few years, but as an opportunity of knowing the sort of things that I do want to embrace now that I am almost done. I am just curious to see what kind of shape that it is going to take.
I think that I have come to terms with the fact that I have multiple interests and multiple things that I would like to have a chance to do while I am still on this earth. But I feel like the life that I have lead up to this point in time has been very full and that I think that I have often made the decisions that I needed to make at particular points in time. I realized that I was still learning about myself while I was in college and that while on one hand if I knew about myself now that I knew then that I would have made some different choices in where I went to school. But had I done that, I might not have felt as encouraged to come to seminary, and I might not have wound up in seminary here in Berkeley California. This is what I call the “Back to the Future” effect, and quite honestly I am happy to be where I am at right now. I realize that there are things I could have done differently had I known the effect they would have, like my initial rooming situation in Berkeley, but that was a learning experience for me as I not only got out of the situation, but reflected over what needed to happen for that pattern not to have been continued. I realize that I am only 29 years old and that the things that I wished I could have for myself these past few years are things that I still have the opportunity to make happen for myself.
These are the reasons why I can say that I have no regret. Yes, there are things that I could have done differently. Yes, there are things that I still want the opportunity to do. And I trust that as I have even more life experiences that there will always be more in each category. Yet I have come to a certain level of peace in understanding that I will never behave perfectly in any situation. I have come to a certain level of excitement in understanding that life will always bring more opportunities. I think that it has been in learning to listen to who I really am while being committed to honoring the people around me as much as possible that may have contributed to not living with a lot of regret. I think it may be because I view life as something that is not over, but there for me every day that I wake up that makes me realize that every day is a learning experience and an opportunity.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Facebook Quizzes
Oh, facebook quizzes. I normally have avoided them, but they seem to be very mindless when I have needed something to do to clear my mind for under what it would take me to watch an episode of "Sex and the City" or "Buffy" when I need to keep going. Its funny what some of these things can say about a person, and I am always fascinated by what people choose to put on their facebook walls. And well, there are many ways I am not too surprised, but there might be a result or two that I find pretty laughable. Maybe in the long hall, I like writing better as I can interact with this kind of material more in my own way. However, for something like facebook its fun that i can leave people guessing a little bit as to which ones of these are merely to distract my mind and which ones are pretty accurate. Yet anyone who has been following this blog might not be too surprised at some of the results I have had. I thought it would be fun to share these with you all:
Betsy completed the quiz "Are You A Fundamentalist?" with the result Liberal.
You are a liberal. You don't really believe anything except that God is love. The Bible is not really inspired, but is a cool book for stories. You think the Gospel is making sure that people have personal freedom to find their own way. Non-Christians like to be around you, but Christians think you are going to corrupt everything..
Betsy completed the quiz "The Political Idealogy Quiz" with the result Very Liberal.
You are very liberal. You are about as far left as you can be before heading into Stalin's backyard..
Betsy completed the quiz "Which 60's subculture would you belong to?" with the result HIPPIE.
Free Love! You belong to the Hippies. You likely hang out in the Haight and your friends are the Diggers and the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. Your motto is: Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out. Your heroes are people like Timothy Leary and Stephen Gaskin..
Betsy completed the quiz "Which book character are you?" with the result Jonas, The Giver.
You are the reciever! You like to learn new things and you are different from the others around you! You have a very senstivie personality and you care for people a lot! You are very modest and helping people is very important. You probably do some volunteer work in your free time and people appreciate what you are doing. You are very determined and heroic..
Betsy completed the quiz "What Disney Movie Song are You?" with the result "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas.
You are a creative person. You are a free spirit..
You Are New York
Source: www.blogthings.com
Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the best in food, art, and culture. You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you. You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed. Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen
You Belong in London
Source: www.blogthings.com
A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.
Betsy just took the Who Were You In A Past Life? quiz and got the result: Pablo Picasso..
Pablo Picasso: In your past life you were Pablo Picasso. In this life you continue to be revolutionary, stubborn, an active lover, enjoy breaking the rules, and reactly poorly to heartbreak.
Betsy took the Which San Francisco Neighborhood do you belong in? quiz and the result is You belong in SOMA!
Perhaps you are one of the people that did well during the dot-com boom. You are highly likely to own your residence - perhaps it's a small loft near the ballpark, but that baby is YOURS. You are familiar with all the super trendy restaurants South of Market, you might have a dog, jogging down the Embarcadero is a weekly (if not daily) ritual, and you know what the season schedule at the Ballpark it directly affects you.
Betsy completed the quiz "What breed of dog are you?" with the result Basset Hound.
The breed that best describes you is the Basset Hound. You are sweet and gentle. You are peaceful and enjoy relaxing often. You are a friendly person who enjoys being around others. You are a mild and calm and prefer to work things out rather than argue. You are often the person who will discourage a fight and calm someone down who is angry or upset. .
Betsy completed the quiz "Which Early Christian Heretic are you?" with the result Marcellus of Ancyra.
Marcellus of Ancyra (? - c. 374 C.E.) was one of the bishops present at the Councils of Ancyra and of Nicaea. He was a strong opponent of Arianism, but was accused of adopting the opposite extreme of modified Sabellianism. He was condemned by a council of his enemies and expelled from his see, though he was able to return there to live quietly with a small congregation in the last years of his life. He was accused of maintaining that the Trinity of persons in the Godhead was but a transitory dispensation. According to the surviving fragments, God was originally only One Being (hypostasis), but at the creation of the universe the Word or Logos went out from the Father and was God's Activity in the world. This Logos became incarnate in Christ and was thus constituted Image of God. The Holy Ghost likewise went forth as third Divine Personality from the Father and from Christ according to John 20:22. At the consummation of all things, however, Christ will return to the Father and the Godhead be again an absolute Unity..
Betsy completed the quiz "What Literary Time Period Are You?" with the result Medieval Period.
You resemble Chaucer, Dante, and several anonymous writers of epics. You're often read as conservative, as religious, as quaint and old-fashioned -- but you know better! Even on pilgrimages, you tell stories about chivalrous tournaments and fart jokes; your hell is cooler than your heaven, and your mystery plays double as sitcoms; and while purists quibble over the correct spelling of "judgment," you drop Latin, Greek, French, German, and more into your language, wholesale. Good job, Medieval Period! You are eormenþéod..
Betsy completed the quiz "What do your eyes say?" with the result Deep Thinker
You think deeply about things going on in the present, past, and sometimes even future. You often drift off during work or class and start thinking about other things. You always hide what your thoughts form your friends and it often takes a poke or a snap of the fingers to bring you back to reality. Your eyes often portray a different personality than you are. Your eyes are a different part of your soul..
Betsy completed the quiz "THE INNER NATIONALITY QUIZ: WHAT ARE YOU REALLY?" with the result You are German..
You are precise yet romantic, efficient yet dreamy, friendly yet somewhat suspicious of others. You rarely smile, but when you do it's very meaningful. You like it best when there is a group consensus, and yet you are easily annoyed by the slowness and/or stupidity of others. Sometimes you think that if only you could live on an island or move to some wonderful place far away where things are different, everything would be better, and if you can't realize this dream you often lose yourself in books/vacations/recipes/sports -- anything for an escape! All in all, however, you make your peace with life, and have many old friends. .
Betsy completed the quiz "Which Shakespearean Character Would You Be?" with the result Viola.
You are Viola, the disguised young lover who rightly claims, "I am not what I am." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alone in unfamiliar territory, believing all is lost, you are not the kind to give up...even if it means disguising yourself as the oppposite sex...even if it means taking a job wooing your own rival for the one you love. Witty and intelligent, you sorely feel the irony of your situation, but your honor compels you to carry through. Will true love conquer all? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shakespearean kindred spirits: Rosalind (As You Like It), Portia (the Merchant of Venice), Imogen, Perdita, Antipholus of Syracuse, Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet .
Betsy completed the quiz "Which decade are you?" with the result 1940s Glamorous Revolutionary.
You are quite the glamorous revolutionary! You have a sense of pride in everything that you take on, whether it's filling in to do a man's job during wartime or raise your daughters to step up to the challenge of helping to establish women's rights, you take things head on! You are a hard worker and are always looking out for others. Your style centers around clean lines and timeless designs. Women in the 40s had the same sense of pride in their bodies and dressed in a way that accentuated their figures! You are not one to stand by and let things happen to you, you go after what you want and you are respected and admired for it! .
Betsy took the What kind of historian are you? quiz and the result is Gender Historian
Learning about the past through facts and quantative data is all very well, but for you, like Catherine Hall, or Leonore Davidoff, the real stuff of history is to be found in relationships, and where better to start than the fundamental social relation: the battle of the sexes? Women have been written out of 'HIS-story' for centuries, and gender historians, following on from their polemicist predecessors, the feminist historians, attempt to balance the scales by stressing the importance of the relationship between the sexes, and how the one cannot be defined by the other. This is important work, but recently, many gender historians have taken a new direction in their work, choosing to embrace the tenets of post-structuralism in order to problematise the concept of gender as pre-set, choosing to present it instead as fluid and culturally defined. Have a look at the work of Judith Butler if you want to explore new concepts.
Betsy took the What State should i live in? quiz and the result is Florida
You like the sun all the time with slight rain you like the beach but not much monuments
Betsy completed the quiz "Which 80s movie defines you?" with the result Princess Bride.
It's as real as the feelings you feel. Take the quiz!
Betsy took Who Is Your Soulmate? quiz and the result is Belongs With Someone With Class
Your future lover should be someone with class. You belong with someone polite and never afraid to admit their mistakes. They will help you see the good in life and appreciate everything.
Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Are You?
Buffy
You are a loyal person with tragic circumstances, but yet you still remain strong for others, a leader. In older times you would be known as a knight.
Which Sex and the City Character are You?
Carrie
You're quirky, witty, and every guy's perfect first date.
Betsy just took the "Which Desperate Housewife are you?" quiz and the result is Bree Van de Kamp Hodge.
Bree Van de Kamp Hodge may very well be suffering from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, the character herself refers to her “quirks” in terms of anal retentiveness and not obsessive-compulsiveness. Bree is known for her cooking, cleaning, ironing, gardening, doing her lawn, and reupholstering her own furniture, on the level of Martha Stewart. She is also known for making gourmet meals and breakfast treats, including her pineapple bran muffins. Besides being a dedicated homemaker, she also is well-versed in regards to firearm training: she owns four guns and is a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association.
Betsy completed the quiz "Are You A Fundamentalist?" with the result Liberal.
You are a liberal. You don't really believe anything except that God is love. The Bible is not really inspired, but is a cool book for stories. You think the Gospel is making sure that people have personal freedom to find their own way. Non-Christians like to be around you, but Christians think you are going to corrupt everything..
Betsy completed the quiz "The Political Idealogy Quiz" with the result Very Liberal.
You are very liberal. You are about as far left as you can be before heading into Stalin's backyard..
Betsy completed the quiz "Which 60's subculture would you belong to?" with the result HIPPIE.
Free Love! You belong to the Hippies. You likely hang out in the Haight and your friends are the Diggers and the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. Your motto is: Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out. Your heroes are people like Timothy Leary and Stephen Gaskin..
Betsy completed the quiz "Which book character are you?" with the result Jonas, The Giver.
You are the reciever! You like to learn new things and you are different from the others around you! You have a very senstivie personality and you care for people a lot! You are very modest and helping people is very important. You probably do some volunteer work in your free time and people appreciate what you are doing. You are very determined and heroic..
Betsy completed the quiz "What Disney Movie Song are You?" with the result "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas.
You are a creative person. You are a free spirit..
You Are New York
Source: www.blogthings.com
Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the best in food, art, and culture. You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you. You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed. Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen
You Belong in London
Source: www.blogthings.com
A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.
Betsy just took the Who Were You In A Past Life? quiz and got the result: Pablo Picasso..
Pablo Picasso: In your past life you were Pablo Picasso. In this life you continue to be revolutionary, stubborn, an active lover, enjoy breaking the rules, and reactly poorly to heartbreak.
Betsy took the Which San Francisco Neighborhood do you belong in? quiz and the result is You belong in SOMA!
Perhaps you are one of the people that did well during the dot-com boom. You are highly likely to own your residence - perhaps it's a small loft near the ballpark, but that baby is YOURS. You are familiar with all the super trendy restaurants South of Market, you might have a dog, jogging down the Embarcadero is a weekly (if not daily) ritual, and you know what the season schedule at the Ballpark it directly affects you.
Betsy completed the quiz "What breed of dog are you?" with the result Basset Hound.
The breed that best describes you is the Basset Hound. You are sweet and gentle. You are peaceful and enjoy relaxing often. You are a friendly person who enjoys being around others. You are a mild and calm and prefer to work things out rather than argue. You are often the person who will discourage a fight and calm someone down who is angry or upset. .
Betsy completed the quiz "Which Early Christian Heretic are you?" with the result Marcellus of Ancyra.
Marcellus of Ancyra (? - c. 374 C.E.) was one of the bishops present at the Councils of Ancyra and of Nicaea. He was a strong opponent of Arianism, but was accused of adopting the opposite extreme of modified Sabellianism. He was condemned by a council of his enemies and expelled from his see, though he was able to return there to live quietly with a small congregation in the last years of his life. He was accused of maintaining that the Trinity of persons in the Godhead was but a transitory dispensation. According to the surviving fragments, God was originally only One Being (hypostasis), but at the creation of the universe the Word or Logos went out from the Father and was God's Activity in the world. This Logos became incarnate in Christ and was thus constituted Image of God. The Holy Ghost likewise went forth as third Divine Personality from the Father and from Christ according to John 20:22. At the consummation of all things, however, Christ will return to the Father and the Godhead be again an absolute Unity..
Betsy completed the quiz "What Literary Time Period Are You?" with the result Medieval Period.
You resemble Chaucer, Dante, and several anonymous writers of epics. You're often read as conservative, as religious, as quaint and old-fashioned -- but you know better! Even on pilgrimages, you tell stories about chivalrous tournaments and fart jokes; your hell is cooler than your heaven, and your mystery plays double as sitcoms; and while purists quibble over the correct spelling of "judgment," you drop Latin, Greek, French, German, and more into your language, wholesale. Good job, Medieval Period! You are eormenþéod..
Betsy completed the quiz "What do your eyes say?" with the result Deep Thinker
You think deeply about things going on in the present, past, and sometimes even future. You often drift off during work or class and start thinking about other things. You always hide what your thoughts form your friends and it often takes a poke or a snap of the fingers to bring you back to reality. Your eyes often portray a different personality than you are. Your eyes are a different part of your soul..
Betsy completed the quiz "THE INNER NATIONALITY QUIZ: WHAT ARE YOU REALLY?" with the result You are German..
You are precise yet romantic, efficient yet dreamy, friendly yet somewhat suspicious of others. You rarely smile, but when you do it's very meaningful. You like it best when there is a group consensus, and yet you are easily annoyed by the slowness and/or stupidity of others. Sometimes you think that if only you could live on an island or move to some wonderful place far away where things are different, everything would be better, and if you can't realize this dream you often lose yourself in books/vacations/recipes/sports -- anything for an escape! All in all, however, you make your peace with life, and have many old friends. .
Betsy completed the quiz "Which Shakespearean Character Would You Be?" with the result Viola.
You are Viola, the disguised young lover who rightly claims, "I am not what I am." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alone in unfamiliar territory, believing all is lost, you are not the kind to give up...even if it means disguising yourself as the oppposite sex...even if it means taking a job wooing your own rival for the one you love. Witty and intelligent, you sorely feel the irony of your situation, but your honor compels you to carry through. Will true love conquer all? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shakespearean kindred spirits: Rosalind (As You Like It), Portia (the Merchant of Venice), Imogen, Perdita, Antipholus of Syracuse, Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet .
Betsy completed the quiz "Which decade are you?" with the result 1940s Glamorous Revolutionary.
You are quite the glamorous revolutionary! You have a sense of pride in everything that you take on, whether it's filling in to do a man's job during wartime or raise your daughters to step up to the challenge of helping to establish women's rights, you take things head on! You are a hard worker and are always looking out for others. Your style centers around clean lines and timeless designs. Women in the 40s had the same sense of pride in their bodies and dressed in a way that accentuated their figures! You are not one to stand by and let things happen to you, you go after what you want and you are respected and admired for it! .
Betsy took the What kind of historian are you? quiz and the result is Gender Historian
Learning about the past through facts and quantative data is all very well, but for you, like Catherine Hall, or Leonore Davidoff, the real stuff of history is to be found in relationships, and where better to start than the fundamental social relation: the battle of the sexes? Women have been written out of 'HIS-story' for centuries, and gender historians, following on from their polemicist predecessors, the feminist historians, attempt to balance the scales by stressing the importance of the relationship between the sexes, and how the one cannot be defined by the other. This is important work, but recently, many gender historians have taken a new direction in their work, choosing to embrace the tenets of post-structuralism in order to problematise the concept of gender as pre-set, choosing to present it instead as fluid and culturally defined. Have a look at the work of Judith Butler if you want to explore new concepts.
Betsy took the What State should i live in? quiz and the result is Florida
You like the sun all the time with slight rain you like the beach but not much monuments
Betsy completed the quiz "Which 80s movie defines you?" with the result Princess Bride.
It's as real as the feelings you feel. Take the quiz!
Betsy took Who Is Your Soulmate? quiz and the result is Belongs With Someone With Class
Your future lover should be someone with class. You belong with someone polite and never afraid to admit their mistakes. They will help you see the good in life and appreciate everything.
Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Are You?
Buffy
You are a loyal person with tragic circumstances, but yet you still remain strong for others, a leader. In older times you would be known as a knight.
Which Sex and the City Character are You?
Carrie
You're quirky, witty, and every guy's perfect first date.
Betsy just took the "Which Desperate Housewife are you?" quiz and the result is Bree Van de Kamp Hodge.
Bree Van de Kamp Hodge may very well be suffering from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, the character herself refers to her “quirks” in terms of anal retentiveness and not obsessive-compulsiveness. Bree is known for her cooking, cleaning, ironing, gardening, doing her lawn, and reupholstering her own furniture, on the level of Martha Stewart. She is also known for making gourmet meals and breakfast treats, including her pineapple bran muffins. Besides being a dedicated homemaker, she also is well-versed in regards to firearm training: she owns four guns and is a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Newsweek Article on Abortion
Here is an article on language, politics and abortion that I recently read. I think that the ideas are helpful in considering the perspective that I am struggling to find on homosexuality:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/194637
http://www.newsweek.com/id/194637
Reconciling In Christ
Its official: My seminary is now a reconciling in Christ seminary!
I do endorse a theology that struggles with viewing erotic love of any kind as sinful. I am an advocate for making sure that people feel welcomed and respected within a context of a church community. I do not think that people should be judged by the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their gender their economic status, physical capabilities, age, etc. I also do not believe that people should be judged for their spiritual or religious beliefs either. I firmly believe in living out an ethic that Paul states in Galatians 3 that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free. Inclusion is a wonderful thing to practice and I think that I have been blessed to be a part of a very accepting community these past few years.
However, despite the fact that I am a huge advocate for what it means to be reconciling in christ, I do not feel like this title has any place at a seminary in the ELCA Lutheran church.
Currently, as a church whole, we are still living in a lot of division over the issue of homosexuality. Already, people who tend to have the same view point on homosexuality as I do tend to come to seminary in PLTS because it is a welcoming, accepting enviornment on this particular issue. However, within this, I have seen a large tendency to place people who do NOT hold this same opinion to be hateful and ignorant. In my time in really engaging people who disagree with me on this issue, however, I find the opposite to be true, as I have encountered a real sense of wanting to be loving and respectful of people who are homosexual, even if they find homosexuality itself to be wrong. Its almost as though the hatred that is perceived from people who have a more conservative stance on this issue is targeted towards any tendency toward conservatism in itself. In the end, if I had to choose I would much rather be an advocate for people who are gay and lesbian than for people who uphold a more conservative stance on homosexuality if it were that simple. But the truth is it is not that simple. And the other truth is that people from both extremes consists of where the church is currently at. To have a seminary that directly favors only one camp of thinking on this issue is only going to attract people who are more liberal on this issue, which is not going to adequately prepare people for the realities of the spectrum of attitudes that people truly do hold on hoomosexuality. Even though I have a liberal stance on homosexuality I am not in favor of a church split, and I fear that an RIC status may be the equivalent of seminex in my generation.
One of the other big reasons why I am opposed to PLTS being a Reconciling in Christ seminary is that I fear that it might automatically disqualify people who agree with this particular stance from serving in a more multicultural setting. We have been taught to be readers of our surrounding culture in addition to being a public voice in this context. In my time working at Resurrection Lutheran Church, I found that it was an amazing congregation in terms of dealing with the needs of this large African population that was there. It truly was concerned about addressing the real concerns about race and poverty in that particular neighborhood. However, as a large percentage of the congregation were immigrants from African countries, a more conservative stance on homosexuality was held. And to come out in strong favor of homosexuality right away would have been to alienate the people who this congregation was trying to serve. There was a similar sentiment at a church in LA that I visited that had a lot of immigrants from Mexico as well. Would we be taking away the possiblity of people serving in more multicultural settings BECAUSE we are a reconciling in christ seminary???
PLTS has been concerned with making sure that we are given a variety of ways to practice what it means to be readers of the culture that we are in. It has become very apparent to me that while the church could be more welcoming to homosexuals, I think that we have a longer way to go when it comes to things that are related to race and poverty. Perpetually, I find that it is well educated, white, middle class settings that are wanting to have statements about accepting homosexuality. And oddly enough it is the voices of people who are going hungry or are still oppressed by racism that are ignored if their rhetoric on homosexuality is one that the church does not want to embrace.
I am an advocate for congregations becoming reconciling in christ. This is because they are usually having a consensus about being RIC before they make the decision and this generally has a community with more continuity. But I am not an advocate for a seminary being reconcling in christ because 50% of the student body changes every year. I am not an advocate for a seminary being reconciling in christ because it only embodies one way of thinking about homosexuality when there is a wide spectrum of beliefs about this in the church.
However, I have not felt like this is a perspective that I would have been able to endorse publically this semester. For starters I think I would have said more at the beginning of my career in seminary than at the end as I would have felt more invested in what my community would say. Also, there has been a general consensus of enthusiasm of the seminary being Reconciling in Christ and to speak up too much on the issue would have been social suicide in a year that I have felt a little more isolated than usual already. And my work load I have from school work and internship prep has been intense enough that haven't had a lot of emotional energy left. I have been a big believer in choosing my battles wisely. It would have taken too long to describe to a lot of people why I beleive in what RIC stands for but I do not think that it has a place in a seminary. Yet that sounds like somehing I would do, have an unconventional third option in a land of black and white...
I do endorse a theology that struggles with viewing erotic love of any kind as sinful. I am an advocate for making sure that people feel welcomed and respected within a context of a church community. I do not think that people should be judged by the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their gender their economic status, physical capabilities, age, etc. I also do not believe that people should be judged for their spiritual or religious beliefs either. I firmly believe in living out an ethic that Paul states in Galatians 3 that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free. Inclusion is a wonderful thing to practice and I think that I have been blessed to be a part of a very accepting community these past few years.
However, despite the fact that I am a huge advocate for what it means to be reconciling in christ, I do not feel like this title has any place at a seminary in the ELCA Lutheran church.
Currently, as a church whole, we are still living in a lot of division over the issue of homosexuality. Already, people who tend to have the same view point on homosexuality as I do tend to come to seminary in PLTS because it is a welcoming, accepting enviornment on this particular issue. However, within this, I have seen a large tendency to place people who do NOT hold this same opinion to be hateful and ignorant. In my time in really engaging people who disagree with me on this issue, however, I find the opposite to be true, as I have encountered a real sense of wanting to be loving and respectful of people who are homosexual, even if they find homosexuality itself to be wrong. Its almost as though the hatred that is perceived from people who have a more conservative stance on this issue is targeted towards any tendency toward conservatism in itself. In the end, if I had to choose I would much rather be an advocate for people who are gay and lesbian than for people who uphold a more conservative stance on homosexuality if it were that simple. But the truth is it is not that simple. And the other truth is that people from both extremes consists of where the church is currently at. To have a seminary that directly favors only one camp of thinking on this issue is only going to attract people who are more liberal on this issue, which is not going to adequately prepare people for the realities of the spectrum of attitudes that people truly do hold on hoomosexuality. Even though I have a liberal stance on homosexuality I am not in favor of a church split, and I fear that an RIC status may be the equivalent of seminex in my generation.
One of the other big reasons why I am opposed to PLTS being a Reconciling in Christ seminary is that I fear that it might automatically disqualify people who agree with this particular stance from serving in a more multicultural setting. We have been taught to be readers of our surrounding culture in addition to being a public voice in this context. In my time working at Resurrection Lutheran Church, I found that it was an amazing congregation in terms of dealing with the needs of this large African population that was there. It truly was concerned about addressing the real concerns about race and poverty in that particular neighborhood. However, as a large percentage of the congregation were immigrants from African countries, a more conservative stance on homosexuality was held. And to come out in strong favor of homosexuality right away would have been to alienate the people who this congregation was trying to serve. There was a similar sentiment at a church in LA that I visited that had a lot of immigrants from Mexico as well. Would we be taking away the possiblity of people serving in more multicultural settings BECAUSE we are a reconciling in christ seminary???
PLTS has been concerned with making sure that we are given a variety of ways to practice what it means to be readers of the culture that we are in. It has become very apparent to me that while the church could be more welcoming to homosexuals, I think that we have a longer way to go when it comes to things that are related to race and poverty. Perpetually, I find that it is well educated, white, middle class settings that are wanting to have statements about accepting homosexuality. And oddly enough it is the voices of people who are going hungry or are still oppressed by racism that are ignored if their rhetoric on homosexuality is one that the church does not want to embrace.
I am an advocate for congregations becoming reconciling in christ. This is because they are usually having a consensus about being RIC before they make the decision and this generally has a community with more continuity. But I am not an advocate for a seminary being reconcling in christ because 50% of the student body changes every year. I am not an advocate for a seminary being reconciling in christ because it only embodies one way of thinking about homosexuality when there is a wide spectrum of beliefs about this in the church.
However, I have not felt like this is a perspective that I would have been able to endorse publically this semester. For starters I think I would have said more at the beginning of my career in seminary than at the end as I would have felt more invested in what my community would say. Also, there has been a general consensus of enthusiasm of the seminary being Reconciling in Christ and to speak up too much on the issue would have been social suicide in a year that I have felt a little more isolated than usual already. And my work load I have from school work and internship prep has been intense enough that haven't had a lot of emotional energy left. I have been a big believer in choosing my battles wisely. It would have taken too long to describe to a lot of people why I beleive in what RIC stands for but I do not think that it has a place in a seminary. Yet that sounds like somehing I would do, have an unconventional third option in a land of black and white...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
Will I stay this way forever, sleepwalk through my life's endeavor???? Because lately when it comes to my school work, I kind of feel like I am going through the motions.....
My studies just don't seem to penetrate my heart the same way these days....hence, this wonderful video of "Buffy"....
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
"Decade List"
On face book someone recently had a potential "note" you could write that involved the top ten things you want to do in the next ten years. As I started writing, I found myself going in reverse and I realized that I have accomplished ALOT in these past 10 years myself of things I wanted to do. And I guess that It seemed more appropriate to me to put this on my blog instead of facebook. (As my internship supervisors are both on face book I am kind of proceeding with a lot of caution right now. Also, I think that this is more of the audience that is legitimately interested in what I have to say than if I put it on face book where everyone can see this)
THINGS I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE PAST 10 YEARS
(one item for every year that I am alive...)
1) I have been proposed to three times, yet I am still single. I feel the night is longer when the lad’s not right! This does not mean I won't give someone a chance though nor does it mean I want to ultimately be alone, but I must have done something right to have had three proposals...
2) I have a bachelors degree from Luther College in sociology
3) I had always wanted to work at Good Earth Village in Spring Valley when I was a kid because I loved Bible Camp, and I worked there during the summers in college
4) At my time at Luther I managed to stay in the vocal music department while not being a music major my entire time there and I was elected to church council, which I realize were probably not as easy as they might have felt at the time
5) I survived a car accident that should have killed me. And I got back on my own two feet, able to live independently.
6) I bought a car after I got back on my own two feet instead of letting the experience paralyze me with fear and moved into an apartment with a friend
7) I used time on disability when I started to feel better to do things that I had wanted to do: I helped at a food shelf, I performed in community theater, self published a book and I helped out with a confirmation program.
8) I worked at Target again after all of this was over, and in missing community and church involvement, was pro-active and decided to go to seminary.
9) I moved all the way across the country to Berkeley California to go to grad school
10) I served as a chaplain at Mayo Clinic
11) I interned at a nonviolence organization called Pace e Bene
12) I served my contextual requirements in two vastly different congregations. While I did prefer one over the other, having both experiences was eye opening to me.
13) I have taken classes at the graduate theological union where I have been exposed to a variety of ways of thinking about Christianity and spirituality
14) I moved into my own apartment
15) I have learned how to cook most of my food from scratch
16) I have learned how to get rid of books and movies when I feel like I do not need them around anymore (although they still somehow seem to accumulate)
17) I have went from being a very messy person to being a bit of a neat freak
18) I have been wine tasting in Napa several times
19) I sang “Creature of the Night” at a karaoke bar
20) I have had interesting conversations with people walking down Telegraph in Berkeley on the weekend
21) I got a tattoo
22) I have spent an entire day at the Chicago Art Institute
23) I had a conversation with Barbara Ehernreicht at a workers justice conference.
24) As I referred to in #7 I self published a book this one deserves its own category
25) I managed to sucessfully drive my car all the way across the country after my first semester of Berkeley
26) I survived a whole year of New Testament Greek. (I can no longer say its greek to me all the time, although I wont pretend to be profiecent at it either)
27) I have learned that it is okay to prefer to watch "Buffy" or to do well on my schoolwork over going to a large party with my precious spare time
28) I have started to view looking young for my age as an asset instead of a liability
29)I am almost done with the academic component of my masters of divinity
I realize that I have had a very full life that God has blessed me with so much. I have learned that some of the best things are not necessarily planned, but it is still a good idea to have an idea of things you want to do in this life. So I could think of a few things for my own "decade" list:
1) Do a Spanish immersion trip so that I can say more than “habla no espanol” and so that I really can have a deeper understanding for south American culture.
2) Take dance classes…if I do this, I will be able to say that I have trained in voice, acting AND dance just because I wanted to.
3) Take acting classes again… honestly I have always been thrilled by every aspect of the theater for as long as I can remember, its just that I set it aside when I realized that I did not want to do this professionally. But I still dream of being in a musical and I do need some kind of hobby!
4) Live somewhere for at least 5 years! That’s long enough to provide continuous pastoral care and leadership to a congregation, to possibly buy a house, to really shop for furniture, to be open to being in a long term romantic relationship, to watch friends’ children grow up, to be involved in a variety of aspects of a community theater or music program. I guess that this is more than just one thing in this statement, but its very much a vision that I have for myself.
5) To take a trip to New York so that I can say that I have hung in every corner of the country. (I have already done Florida, Washington and I currently live in CA, seriously, I just need one more to say BINGO)
6) To go from living off of loans to paying off loans
7) Start working on a phD in sociology of religion
Maybe I will check many of these off my list in the next ten years, and I will probably also have a few things that I will add to the list as to what God has blessed me with in terms of experiences that I have had!!!
THINGS I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE PAST 10 YEARS
(one item for every year that I am alive...)
1) I have been proposed to three times, yet I am still single. I feel the night is longer when the lad’s not right! This does not mean I won't give someone a chance though nor does it mean I want to ultimately be alone, but I must have done something right to have had three proposals...
2) I have a bachelors degree from Luther College in sociology
3) I had always wanted to work at Good Earth Village in Spring Valley when I was a kid because I loved Bible Camp, and I worked there during the summers in college
4) At my time at Luther I managed to stay in the vocal music department while not being a music major my entire time there and I was elected to church council, which I realize were probably not as easy as they might have felt at the time
5) I survived a car accident that should have killed me. And I got back on my own two feet, able to live independently.
6) I bought a car after I got back on my own two feet instead of letting the experience paralyze me with fear and moved into an apartment with a friend
7) I used time on disability when I started to feel better to do things that I had wanted to do: I helped at a food shelf, I performed in community theater, self published a book and I helped out with a confirmation program.
8) I worked at Target again after all of this was over, and in missing community and church involvement, was pro-active and decided to go to seminary.
9) I moved all the way across the country to Berkeley California to go to grad school
10) I served as a chaplain at Mayo Clinic
11) I interned at a nonviolence organization called Pace e Bene
12) I served my contextual requirements in two vastly different congregations. While I did prefer one over the other, having both experiences was eye opening to me.
13) I have taken classes at the graduate theological union where I have been exposed to a variety of ways of thinking about Christianity and spirituality
14) I moved into my own apartment
15) I have learned how to cook most of my food from scratch
16) I have learned how to get rid of books and movies when I feel like I do not need them around anymore (although they still somehow seem to accumulate)
17) I have went from being a very messy person to being a bit of a neat freak
18) I have been wine tasting in Napa several times
19) I sang “Creature of the Night” at a karaoke bar
20) I have had interesting conversations with people walking down Telegraph in Berkeley on the weekend
21) I got a tattoo
22) I have spent an entire day at the Chicago Art Institute
23) I had a conversation with Barbara Ehernreicht at a workers justice conference.
24) As I referred to in #7 I self published a book this one deserves its own category
25) I managed to sucessfully drive my car all the way across the country after my first semester of Berkeley
26) I survived a whole year of New Testament Greek. (I can no longer say its greek to me all the time, although I wont pretend to be profiecent at it either)
27) I have learned that it is okay to prefer to watch "Buffy" or to do well on my schoolwork over going to a large party with my precious spare time
28) I have started to view looking young for my age as an asset instead of a liability
29)I am almost done with the academic component of my masters of divinity
I realize that I have had a very full life that God has blessed me with so much. I have learned that some of the best things are not necessarily planned, but it is still a good idea to have an idea of things you want to do in this life. So I could think of a few things for my own "decade" list:
1) Do a Spanish immersion trip so that I can say more than “habla no espanol” and so that I really can have a deeper understanding for south American culture.
2) Take dance classes…if I do this, I will be able to say that I have trained in voice, acting AND dance just because I wanted to.
3) Take acting classes again… honestly I have always been thrilled by every aspect of the theater for as long as I can remember, its just that I set it aside when I realized that I did not want to do this professionally. But I still dream of being in a musical and I do need some kind of hobby!
4) Live somewhere for at least 5 years! That’s long enough to provide continuous pastoral care and leadership to a congregation, to possibly buy a house, to really shop for furniture, to be open to being in a long term romantic relationship, to watch friends’ children grow up, to be involved in a variety of aspects of a community theater or music program. I guess that this is more than just one thing in this statement, but its very much a vision that I have for myself.
5) To take a trip to New York so that I can say that I have hung in every corner of the country. (I have already done Florida, Washington and I currently live in CA, seriously, I just need one more to say BINGO)
6) To go from living off of loans to paying off loans
7) Start working on a phD in sociology of religion
Maybe I will check many of these off my list in the next ten years, and I will probably also have a few things that I will add to the list as to what God has blessed me with in terms of experiences that I have had!!!
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