7: FOOD pt 2

Well days 5, 6, and 7 of the FOOD challenge were a bit easier, or I just got lazier. It's hard to say. Remember on Day 1 when I rationalized that if coffee was given to me then I could include it in my food that day? Well the same thing happened just before Easter when I went to stay with my grandmother. She is very hard to say no to and she's consistently asking you if you're hungry, followed by 6-7 choices of your favorite foods, she keeps on hand in her refrigerator (including a lot of cheese which I gave up for all of Lent). I was officially done with the challenge by Easter morning and thoroughly enjoyed the choices for our brunch. One of the tastiest parts was the bunny cake competition which is included below:

Conclusions thus far:
I value choices and variety far above many other things.
Food is easily an idol in my life given the struggle this challenge was.
Food is easily an idol in the lives of my friends as well. We all did our share of complaining, justifying, rule-bending, and excuse-making in our first week.
This book is seriously messing with my life.
Grocery shopping has a different meaning for me now and I try to remember how grateful I am for the choices, flavors and recipes I can enjoy.
I will revisit this idea of fasting, limiting food choices, or simply reducing (by eating what is already in my house) more often in the coming months. A good habit doesn't develop in only 7 days. In some ways, our altered challenges might be setting us up for more frustration than if we did 30 days.

To end this section in full irony, enjoy this song from Chris August on his love of Candy :)

So the next chapter is on Clothes and we've accepted the challenge. I will commit to a clothes audit (truthfully counting up all my current articles of clothing and sharing that number with my small group) and wearing 7 items of clothing for 7 days (as an adaptation we agreed 7 items for work and 7 items for non-work, since we all have dress codes to abide by and the author did not). Stay tuned :)

7: FOOD part 1

Day 1: My weekend in Asheville was a blast with my two good friends from high school. Like any good girl's weekend, we had snacks in our room and on Sunday, the day I was to start my fast, I woke up and ate a chocolate chip cookie because I was hungry. FAIL. Then I went down to the free hot breakfast and added a banana and brown sugar to my oatmeal. FAIL. I also had coffee. Then drive home and got Panera black bean soup, hoping that would count. It came with a baguette. How luxurious. How pampered I am simply by living in this country. This is going to be hard! Just on day 1 I find myself ready to jump down other people's throats to get them to understand how awesome we have it in our communities and in this country. My word for day one is simply "Privileged."

Day 2: I stuck to plain oatmeal for breakfast and plain rice and black beans for lunch. As I looked at the demands of my day I was already hurting thinking I wouldn't have coffee. Then I decided that if someone offered me coffee, I could accept since that's even what someone on the street would do. Coincidentally I met with my State Farm agent early this morning and they were a hospitable group :)I had extra time this morning to read the Bible and to almost fall back asleep. When I realized the extra time in my morning came from already eliminating my options for lunch and breakfast, I felt fortunate. This wasn't a great feeling - I felt fortunate that I didn't have to spend my precious time choosing between all the varieties of lunches I could make with the contents in my fridge. FAIL.

Then later that afternoon I considered if I could get home in time to go to one of my favorite fitness classes - body combat. You can sweat off almost 750 calories in that class. I got home a little too late and thus eliminated the option, but as I considered working out at all I realized I'd only consumed about 500 calories. That got me thinking about the amount of calories people in other countries consume and I ran across this infographic visualizing the world's food consumption

"Today, one in eight people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide -- greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined." - www.wfp.org/hunger/faqs

Below are 2 photos of what families in NC and Chad eat.  See the full TIME slide show.

A family in North Carolina, USA

A family in Chad, Africa

My word for day two is "inadequate."

Day 3: I didn't have coffee today. I also got a terrible headache. After leaving the office a little early, taking a quick nap and some Aleve, I felt much better. I also was convicted about how comfortable my life is. Many people work in jobs that don't allow them to leave early, don't have the free time to nap and recover, or don't have running hot water to take a rejuvenating shower. Lots of people can't afford the luxury of pain medication, or it's not even sold in the vicinity. My word for day three is "uncomfortable."

Day 4: My word for today is "monotony." I caught myself complaining about the morning oatmeal and boring beans and rice. Eating the same thing everyday is awful to me. Someone recently asked me, "Linda don't you think you were born in America for a reason?" This question has stuck with me and caused me some frustration. Since I don't know with certainty the reason (and all the ones I could think of are quite superficial and entitled), I decided the only appropriate response is gratitude.

• Gratitude for variety and access to foods that taste delicious. 
• Gratitude for this project that has left me with the space to consider how others live. 
• Gratitude for the extra 20 minutes I slept in this morning because I didn't have to decide what to eat for breakfast or lunch (no lie).

Freedom of singleness

Today I'm exercising my "rights" as a single person. I woke up around 9:30am to a quiet house, and then went back to sleep for another hour. I went for a run leisurely then browsed the free movies on netflix for about 10 minutes. I drank my coffee at noon and am still considering my next move. It's a Saturday without plans and since I'm single (no husband, kids or pets) - I can do whatever I want. It's quite a liberating feeling in this season of life.

While many might read the description of my day and think - she's got it made, I have other thoughts. I have to intentionally remind myself of the joys of singleness. The freedoms it provides and opportunities it gives for spontaneity and acting carefree are here right now, in this moment. I need to embrace them and enjoy them. Soak them in. Today was one of those days it was easy to embrace my life stage. I'm grateful for that.

It's funny how I long for a season of life where I am forced to concede and share my days with others, as a wife and mother. Those roles are desires of my heart and yet it's giving up a lot! I am in a great season - one that teenagers crave when they have curfews and rules. But now that I've been at it for 10 years I vacillate between perfecting it and longing for it to end.

 So while I lean into my current life stage as a single woman, I pray I would soak in the quiet moments alone, the spontaneous moments with friends, the flexibility of plans and the ability to say yes or no without having to check with someone. I pray those future roles of wife and mother are one day mine, but until then - I will try to heed the words of Paul to the Corinthians

I want you to be free from the concerns of this life - an unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities. His interests are divided. In the same way an unmarried woman can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and spirit...I am saying this to you for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best with as few distractions as possible. - 1 Cor. 7:32-35

Run

Today was beautiful. It is most certainly Fall weather and I love every second of it! I want to drink it in and hold onto it all through the winter. The colors are the most vibrant and alive. I find myself saying out loud - are you serious!  And thanking God for such creativity.

I went to Salem Lake today and went for a run. True confession, it's been a while since I did a long run. But today was awesome and reaffirmed my decision to run a 1/2 marathon in December.

Salem Lake and I have a relationship. I mean really, I LOVE being out there on a trail and smelling the leaves and listening to them crunch beneath my feet. I love that I'm out doing something good for my body and taking time away from busyness. I love that everyone I see I find myself smiling at simply because we are sharing an experience. The colors are glorious and sometimes I even have a heart to hear with God. So I'm going to plan for more time with Salem Lake, because quality time is my love language :)

Status Update - on my list

I have a list. A "30 before I'm 30" list. And I'm currently 28, 10 months and 11 days old. Recently I took a look at my list. I am pretty aware of what I put, but I needed to just look over the whole list together. Here are some highlights thus far:

• Goal #14 - Blog weekly. Clearly the time between Sept. 16 and Oct. 11 is longer than a week. But I am blogging right now. 

• Goal #9 – Be a counselor for missionaries – Thanks to many of you, that happened this July when I served on the member care team for a missions conference.

• Goal #16 – got to an amusement park – Did that twice this summer. Kings Island with family and Carowinds with Kate. 

 

• Goal #13 - Visit my friend Lauren in MO. I got to visit her on frequent flier miles at the beginning of September. It was quite the cultural experience to go to the public library with a 2 year old...to a Zumba class. And it was great fun to reconnect with a friend while visiting a new place.

• Goal #6 – Get paid to train a team in the MBTI – Thanks to Heidi and her study abroad staff, I was their professional development training in September.

• Goal #15 - I said I would read 2 books a month. I'm actually do great with this one given that I've traveled some (which gave me time to read) and I've included audiobooks on my commute. I've even kept track of the books I read on Pinterest here:

It’s pretty cool to see the progress I’ve made so far. And I’m struck by how intertwined my goals are to the lives of the people around me. Relationships are such a critical part of my life and I am grateful for the life I’ve been blessed with.

Spring - hope floating up

Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad but it's the middle that counts most.
 ~ Hope Floats (1998)

Spring is full of endings and beginnings and I feel like I'm surrounded by them. May is one of the fastest moving months in the year, every year. No matter what season of life I've been in, May has been busy.

In the last few weeks I've celebrated alongside people who were graduating both high school and college, getting engaged, announcing pregnancy, and having babies. Last year at this time I was celebrating my dad's retirement and I know many people who have anniversaries in May. This is also the time when many people in their 20s assess where they will live the following year. Those who just graduated from UNCG are in the middle of that transition right now. I've seen quite a few of them in my office. Those in high school are anxiously awaiting summer break and the freedom of school being out.

Despite the festive nature of spring time, I've also been on the side that is
being left
             left out
                       neglected
while everyone else is celebrating. It can feel isolating to be the one not moving on. I'll be honest, when every weekend is booked with a baby shower, wedding or graduation party I can get in my head about playing the supporting role in my own life. God and I have rather intense dialogues regarding timing and waiting (topics that any type-A personality has trouble with) in the spring.

When will it be my turn for this or that? 

Why hasn't A or B happened for me? 

Did you forget? 

Do I matter? 

*I realize how self-focused these questions are and the funny thing is - the joy I have for all the people in my life who are celebrate doesn't diminish because I feel left out. The two feelings can co-exist which is weird.*

I call this train of thought the "shadow side" of all the good events mentioned previously. And I can't help but be reminded of Jonah (thanks God for the gentle nudge toward your Word). God brought Jonah through a lot, most famously in and out of a big fish :) but at the end of the book of Jonah God has a final illustration to teach about God's nature. He sends a tree to provide shade one day and the next - the tree dies. Jonah basks in the shade one minute and is wishing he'd die the next when he's suffering in the hot sun. God blesses and takes away. His glory is the bottom line.

We can wrestle like Jacob with the seemingly unfair life circumstances we're dealt. He can withstand our frustrations. He's also got a WAY bigger perspective on our situations than we do. And self-pity does nothing but delay God's work. I pray to learn from Jonah's stubbornness at learning God's ways. I pray I could be more pliable and willing to be molded into a willing vessel. And for all those going through joyful or isolating circumstances, I pray you would grow in gratefulness and acceptance of God's good work in our world.

It's Christmas time

In lieu of sending Christmas cards this year I decided to create a Christmas letter. It can say a lot more than what I could write individually in cards, saves time and gets there immediately. I hope I saved some trees and I know I saved some money. This may sound like an easy way to get out of sending Christmas cards or that I've just become more inconsiderate, but that's not the message at all. This year I've had opportunities to examine who I am as a consumer and I want to make some changes. I also highly value connectedness and historically love Christmas cards, so this choice was a struggle. I'm not "writing them off" forever, but at least for Christmas 2011. I hope everyone will understand and can enjoy the full-color version of parts of my letter posted here. Have a more green Christmas - a merry one and a blessed one! 

Dear friends and family,

I’m declaring this season a time of Gratefulness.

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Here's to another year of so many things to be grateful for!

Thanks and giving part 2

I have several friends who've posted each day in November a status update on Facebook that says something they are thankful for. I appreciate those friends who remind me how important gratefulness is in our daily lives. I know I overlook it often and tend to settle my thoughts on things I want to be different.
TI says at the beginning of Live Your Life -

You gotta be grateful for what you got / 

Stop lookin at what you aint got  / 

and start being thankful for what you do got /

So here are my 30 things to be thankful for in November*
*(although I do want to try to increase my own awareness of the blessings in my life more often than this one month of the year)

I am thankful for:

1. The use of my body in ways it was created - hands for helping others, mouth for speaking love and eyes for seeing others as unique individuals (Thanks Margot Starbuck for that reminder in Unsqueezed)
2. My new appreciation for beer so that occasionally I can buy it instead of the more expensive wine option.
3. Friends like Matt and Tara Brown who love me well, host great get togethers and are preparing to go to Burkina Faso to identify further ways to love people well. I'm so excited for them to go. 
4. Friends like Ryan and Erin Bennett who are faithfully preparing to serve God in France through church building. They are also just great people and I wish I saw them more often. 
5. The Kiva Loan program that provides micro-loans to people with business ideas in impoverished nations like Kenya.
6. Lazy Saturday mornings that allow for reflection, delicious food and quiet moments to simply 'be' (with a cup of hot coffee in hand)
7. Twin City Diner that I affectionately call "Cheers" because I want to have a "local hangout." Their food is always good.
8. The 2 pair of house slippers I got from my mom and sister when I moved into a house with hardwood floors. They make my house cozier :) 
9. My friend Lisa Tandan and her husband for wanting to get different furniture. I am satisfied with my couch and chair, all thanks to them! 
10. The beach, which I'll soon see again with my own eyes - yay for Thanksgiving with family
11. My family that lives on the beach - you chose well and I am grateful
12. Seeing Susannah at Elon. Such a blessing to see my former high schooler loving college life. 
13. Our farm share co-op that has made me healthier and more creative. I've also been forced to slow down and cook so as not to let anything go to waste. 
14. The Peace Sign magnet on my car. I got it to support the Hunger Site, but it also helps me quickly spot my car in parking lots.
15. My notebook I'm keeping lists like this in. 
16. A good pen 
17. The NCCDA conference I recently attended. It's always confirming that I'm in the right profession for me.
18. My roommate's family mountain house, Ben Haven. It's really a great place to get away.
19. CNN's breaking news Twitter feed, otherwise I might not know what's going on.
20. Children's books like Max Lucado's Wemmicks series. 
21. Freshly shaven legs.
22. Days like yesterday where it occurs to me that I love NC. The weather was positively splendid.
23. Visiting college campuses. This weekend I actually saw Elon, NC State and Meredith within 48 hours.
24. My lavender and chamomile neck warmer. It's wonderful after a long day. 
25. Salem Lake where I do my long runs. My soul finds peace there. 
26. First Pres and how every night in December they commit to volunteering at Samaritan Inn
27. Tent camping and how I got to do it twice this year :) 
28. Pumpkin muffins of only 2 ingredients - spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin
29. Walking across a college campus between classes. I love observing the life happening around me and feeling part of something much bigger than myself.
30. My advisory board of undergraduate students, Bryan Career Leaders. I'm enjoying having their insight and ideas to help all the business students. 

Hey that wasn't so hard! I could keep going. That's something else to be thankful for!
Do you have a list too?