Moving!

I have purchased a portion of the internet (well, technically, I guess it's more like renting). The edhyndman.com portion, specifically. 

Therefore, I am moving this blog there. The new one is powered by Wordpress, which I hear is the best ever, so we'll see. 

I hope all my blogger "followers" will continue to read about my adventures over on the new site. All the posts here are already on the new blog (with the exception of this post right here) and I'll start posting there permanently this week. If you want to know when I post, it'll probably be best to do that RSS feed thing or follow me on twitter @edhyndman.

Thanks for reading!

Friday Reads: January 28 Edition

I read a lot of online content.
Some of it is not absolutely wonderful. Some of it is. Sometimes, when I read something, I am amazed to find that someone thinks the same as I do, and expresses it so brilliantly. Sometimes, I read something that I would have never thought of, but is lovely all the same.

I thought I’d share these reads with you. Every so often, I’m going to post a list of links to the articles/blogposts/whatever that I have read and enjoyed that week/month/time period between these posts. Just for you.

And sometimes there will be videos.


http://shawnsmucker.com/2011/01/26/a-free-hotel-refrigerator/
This is about taking a fast from judging. Convicting. Maybe because I am also a first-born?

http://donmilleris.com/2011/01/26/a-creator-doesnt-just-talk-about-their-work-they-work/
About actually working instead of just talking about working. I am so guilty of the latter.


So funny. So true.

http://makeitmad.com/2010/06/16/consider-this-your-new-pornography/#more-243
This guy can write. He strings words together thoughtfully, beautifully. This is his first post in a blog I have only recently begun to read, but already love. And if I wasn't a fan before, one look at the About page with the chalkboard wall converted me.

http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/
Cool site that let's you see how your life would have been different you had been born in another country.

http://shegotjokes.blogspot.com/2011/01/inspiration-week-day-4.html
Great little post about actually doing what inspires you. Funny. So true. Exactly what I'm working on in my life...maybe you've noticed a trend.

Did I miss anything?

why I blog

The past couple of months I have really began thinking more about this little blog. 

For a year or so now, I have been regularly reading several blogs of people I don't even know (I'm aware of my own nerdiness). I would somehow find a link to their blog somewhere, read a few posts, and enjoy them. This would get me to come back to some of them daily. I read a lot of funny blogs, because I like to laugh. I read blogs by published authors. I read several blogs that are written by people similar to myself--women in their twenties or thirties, single, just trying to figure out why God put them here and what He wants them to do about it. Most, if not all, of the blogs I read are wonderfully written. As I began to read more and more of what these complete strangers were writing, I began to write more on my own blog. While all the blogs I read of people I don't know have hundreds of readers, if not more, my little blog here has mostly family and friends. (I love that y'all read the blog!) I decided I wanted more readers. I read a few articles on how to make this happen--a few of the tips ended up in my To Do in 2011 list. Then, I really started thinking about what I was trying to accomplish. Why do I blog and why do I want more readers?

It seemed pretty narcissistic to me. 

Then I thought about it more--which began as an attempt to justify my actions, I admit--and I realized that there are a few reasons I blog:

1) I am a writer.

You know how sometimes people say art or music is healing or clarifying or relaxing? Writing is my art; writing is my music. I can't really paint or draw and I definitely can't sing or dance. I write as a means to process things, to express things, to share things. Quite simply, I can't function well without writing. It sounds dramatic, but it is true.

A blog is simply an outlet for this.

2) I want to be a writer.

Like anything, writing gets better with practice. Blogging is excellent practice.

Also, I would like to be published (in print) at some point--to become a "real" writer (if such a thing exists). Saying "hundreds of people already read my writing every week" is probably a better selling point to a potential publisher than "25 of my closest friends and family read my writing whenever I decide to post something."

Perhaps these reasons are still pretty narcissistic. I think, at least to some extent, most art is. The thing is, though, I hope to glorify God in everything I do, not the least of which is writing (in a blog, in a book, in my prayer journal, in an email). I also want to help others glorify Him. Most of what I write (here and everywhere) may not be particularly helpful or what you might consider traditionally worshipful, but my hope is that it is, at least, encouraging. I have read many a blog post (from humor writers, from people-like-me writers, from "real" writers) that have made me think, laugh, or even cry. Some are good for a little laugh, a smile in my day. Some let me know I'm not alone. Some challenge even my personal belief system (in a good way). My hope is that my blog does those things for my readers, or will do those things--at least one of them!

That is why I blog.

Things I Like Tuesday: Clementine Oranges

From Wikipedia:
A clementine is a hesperidium, of a variety of mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) so named in 1902.

The traditional story is that it was "originally an accidental hybrid said to have been discovered by Father Clément Rodier in the garden of his orphanage in Misserghin, Algeria."

But it might have originated in China much earlier.

Here's why I like Clementines:

1. They're sweet.

2. I don't notice the pulp. I don't like pulp. At all. So, I usually don't like oranges. I know Clementines have pulp, but I don't notice it.

3. I really like peeling oranges of any kind. Even though I don't eat most oranges, I'll still peel it for you to eat. It's always my goal to get the entire peel off in one piece. Clementines are known for peeling easily, so that's a bonus.

Peel Success!

4. They're just darling. (Oh, my darling Clementine! I had to.) Small and cute.

5. They remind me of England. I lived with a bunch of Californians. I think they thought the oranges were a substitute for the sunlight they were missing. I don't know. All I knew was that Clementines were delicious and cheap (cheaper than they are here, oddly enough). We were constantly eating them.

6. They smell delicious. My office has consistently smelled like oranges since last week. Mmm.

why I tweet

I signed up for a twitter account for two reasons:
1) I had heard it was the new thing to do and I didn't want to be left behind, technology-wise.
2) I wanted to stalk celebrities and semi-celebrities (authors, singers, bloggers).

Once on twitter, I found it to be fun. I got a bunch of free music, found out about concerts and blogs and fun events. I follow friends and people who would never actually friend me on facebook. It's both fun and challenging to come up with witty and interesting things to say in 140 characters or less.

I definitely understand that it is a little narcissistic. I can't really argue against that. But, I think it is more than that. Also, no one I follow tweets about what they're eating for lunch, unless they're eating something interesting or especially delicious. It's really more of a way to share things--funny things, thoughtful things, challenging things, interesting things.

For a little while, my people-pleasing-ness did take over. I began to rate my sense of humor/how interesting I was on how many people "liked" or commented on my tweet once it hit facebook. So, I decided to delete my tweets from facebook. That didn't work...at first. [It was insane how much that twitter app clung to my facebook account.] But, just being aware changed my attitude about it a little. I finally did delete that stubborn app today. Twitter is less acknowledging, so I send out a tweet not really expecting a cyber high-five. Somehow, this keeps it in perspective for me. If someone replies or retweets, great. If not, I didn't expect it.

As far as the point Brett made about constantly thinking of your next tweet, it is somewhat true. But, to be honest, I did that anyway. I am constantly crafting stories and sentences and phrases in my head. Twitter just makes me try to craft it in 140 characters or less. If I fail at that, I blog it. Or say it outloud during a conversation. Or text it to someone.

So, why do I tweet?
It's fun.
I get free stuff and helpful information.
Also, I hear it's good for writer-y stuff.

[A funny gmail chat conversation with Mary while attempting to disconnect my twitter account from facebook:
Me: I wish my twitter wasn't connected to my facebook
Mary: delete immediately (Mary deletes all her twitter updates from facebook the moment they go through.)
Me: too risky
Me: I may have disconnected it! Lemme test it out...
(I tweet: "I love Sundays." Immediately, it shows up on facebook.)
Me: crap.
Mary: That just made my day HAHAHA
Mary: I just wish it had been something a little more racy]

Friday Reads: January 21 Edition

I read a lot of online content.

Some of it is not absolutely wonderful. Some of it is. Sometimes, when I read something, I am amazed to find that someone thinks the same as I do, and expresses it so brilliantly. Sometimes, I read something that I would have never thought of, but is lovely all the same. 

I thought I'd share these reads with you. Every so often, I'm going to post a list of links to the articles/blogposts/whatever that I have read and enjoyed that week/month/time period between these posts. Just for you.
And sometimes there will be videos. 

I decided to post them on Friday, because it's the end of the week, and also because my stats show that y'all like to read stuff on Friday. 

http://tomywife.tumblr.com/
Notes for my future wife. [Not mine, the author's. I'd like a husband thankyouverymuch.] These are sometimes funny, sometimes sweet. Cute idea.

http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/article_JAN11--asking_the_wrong_question--jon_acuff/
Good article for anyone trying to gain followers/clients/readers/fans. I actually just asked myself this question last week (well, not exactly this question, but the "Why?" question). I wrote down the answer and I was planning to post it next week. So...stay tuned..or something.

http://mcintoshbrett.tumblr.com/post/2860759069/i-am-really-being-challenged-by-twitter-i-joined
This is by my friend Brett. He has a great point and I think it's one everybody should think about. Similar to the article above. Perhaps I'll add a line about twitter in the Why? blog I post next week.

This week's reading list is a little short. Is there anything I missed out on? What did you read/watch/write (that's right, pimp your blog--we won't judge) that was good this week?

Talents

In the last month, I have been told that I am good at two things:
Beyond Balderdash and talking to people about things I don't care about.

[Beyond Balderdash is a game where you make up stuff:

definitions of words, what abbreviations stand for,

what happened on certain dates,

what people are famous for,

plots of movies.]

This means that I am good at lying and at feigning interest.

So, you know, deceiving people.

Things I Like Tuesday: England

This time five years ago, I was navigating cold, damp, cobblestone roads and trying not to say y'all too much in public. I was listening to lectures about British history and culture and rowing on the Thames (and learning that it's pronounced "Tims").
Also, I was falling in like with England. [I would say falling in love, because, really, I was, but this is Things I Like Tuesday. I'm trying to stay true to the title.]

Here are a few things I love..like...about England:

I like that they love their tea. With cream. As do I.
I like their food, too. Not all of it, but they have excellent scones and pastries and these things that are called "pasties" that are like hot pockets if hot pockets were homemade in the 18th century and delicious and bigger than a hand. Okay, so not really like hot pockets. They're more like pot pies to go. By far my favorite food there.
I like their little markets and that you have to specify whether you want a pound weight-wise or money-wise.

I like that they still use pounds and pences. They refuse to join the rest of Europe with the euros. Stubborn, but admirable.

I like their libraries. And that the whole country seems to love reading and writing and books. [yes, this is a vast generalization, but look at all the authors from there: C. S. Lewis, Jane Austen, J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and some guy called Shakespeare, among many, many, many others.]

I like their vocabulary. They call people "love" in the way some Southern women call people "hun," except this time it's everybody, not just big-haired ladies. Surprisingly, when a big, scruffy man you've never met before calls you "Love," it is only endearing, not creepy. I like that they say "brilliant" similar to the way we say "cool," but it's so much richer than "cool." While I lived there, I did manage to incorporate this one into my vocabulary, but it has since died out--I'm going to work on bringing it back. I like that they call the letter Z "zed," as in, "Do you spell your name with a zed?" ummm.....yes. (my exact response when asked the first time).
Obviously, I like their accents.
I like how very polite everyone is.

I like their old buildings, and the "new" ones built before my country was founded.
I like that there are castles and colleges and cathedrals everywhere.
I like that a lot of people walk or ride bikes or buses around. I like that every single person on the road/sidewalks believes they have the right-of-way. It makes life more interesting when you're walking along the sidewalk and a bus slightly brushes the bag on your shoulder or a bike practically runs you over. I like that they have tandum bikes for five--they're full on the way to school, and only have one rider on the way back home after the kids are dropped off. Adorable.
The public transportation is also wonderful.
I like that they have a queen. And that her name is the same as mine.
I like that they have such a fantastic, long history, rich with traditions that are still practiced today.

I like that they row. I like that they play football (soccer) and get so into it. I like that they call our football "American football" and think that it's mostly like rugby. I like that they play cricket and croquet enough to have a croquet course on the college campus. I like that they're not very good at "hoopball" and that they don't care. I like that they think curling is the Olympic sport that most people want to watch 87hours of during the Winter Olympics.

I really like England. I would not mind visiting there again, or living there again.
[There's also a pretty good chance you'll read more of my adventures there on this blog at some point.]

Prayer Calendar

This is item #25 on my To Do in 2011 list (well, part of it).

this is my prayer calendar

I got the idea for a prayer calendar from my pastor. I suppose that wasn't the first time I had heard of the concept, but it was what made me want to do it.

Mine's pretty simple. I picked one big thing to pray for each day: my church, the nation, my family, missionaries, the Church, my friends, and news/world events. Underneath I wrote out some little prayer points, just in case I get stuck sometime.

This doesn't mean that I can only pray for my church on Monday, or that I can't pray for my church any other day; it's simply a method to focus my prayers and pray for those things that I sometimes forget. I will probably keep a running list of post-its with prayer requests from friends, small group, etc., near the calendar, so I can remember them, too.

Pray continually --1 Thessalonians 5:17

Friday Reads: January 14 Edition

http://blog.beliefnet.com/omeoflittlefaith/2011/01/blessed-are-the-peacemakers.html
The story at the end hasn't received enough news coverage, in my opinion. I've been watching the news all week (because of the weather) and have only heard this story via two links posted on Twitter. It's beautiful. And challenging--if the situation was reversed would Christians have the same reaction?

http://criticscubby.blogspot.com/
My sister started a blog last week. It's a movie review blog. She's pretty critical about movies--cares about camera angles and music and accents--so you know if she gives a movie a good review, it's probably worth checking out.

http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2011/01/prayer/
short, sweet, and to the (lovely, thought-provoking) point.


Like he says, "stinkin' genius" and hilarious.

http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/the-unspeakable-in-its-jammies/69369/#
You've heard about the recent changes to "update" Huck Finn, right? This article is about that. There's some mild (mild as in, in the KJV) language at the end, well, and throughout I suppose (not appearing in the KJV), which you could probably figure out because of what it's about... Anyway, I liked this article.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/24107-the-tested-faith-of-matt-chandler
This is a story of Matt Chandler, the pastor/speaker, and how he is dealing with his cancer diagnosis. I knew a little about this story before, but really appreciated this article.

Uncle David

I have this theory that 75% of Americans have an uncle named David, or at least someone they call Uncle David. (Dave and Davey count, too)

I came to this conclusion after an informal poll taken one summer in the camp store, along with the usual amount of life experience.

I have an Uncle David and an ex-uncle named David.

Bob is also a common uncle name (I have one of those, too).

Hello, 2011!

Nice to meet you. (I guess we were formally introduced 10 days ago, but I've been a little busy. Sorry.)

I kind of haven't done "New Year's Resolutions" in...a really long time. Maybe elementary school? And I think I resolved to brush my teeth once a day--I set myself up for success by setting the bar pretty low. The definition of a resolution, as was pointed out to me, is "a firm decision to do or not do something." I'm not great at making decisions, so instead I made a to-do list for 2011. I would love to get all these things accomplished in 2011. I work well with lists, so maybe this will help me actually get things done. But then again, I often find half-finished lists around my desk/car/nightstand. Therefore, I am making no promises to myself or to you. If any of these things do get accomplished, I'll probably blog about them and I'm sure I'll revisit this list at the end of the year for a little re-cap post.

To Do in 2011:
(in no particular order)
1. Make a T-shirt quilt out of my camp shirts.
2. Learn to make delicious macaroni and cheese.
3. Run! in a 5K race.
4. Find a charity to passionately support
   4.5 Support it.
5. Travel. as much as possible.
6. Prepare a book proposal.
    6.5 Send it off.
7. Give up something for Lent.
8. Complete my first year of grad school.
9. Finish making my throw pillows.
10. See the moonbow at Cumberland Falls, KY.
11. Blog often (3 times a week? Is it possible?).
12. Exercise more.
13. Learn to make paper cranes.
14. Make some art for my office.
15. Write Bible Study curriculum with Mary.
16. Film DaddyJim telling his stories from childhood.
17. Finish reading The Brothers Karamozov.
18. Make a Quotebook scrapbook for my college roommates (and myself).
19. Send off some poems for possible publication.
20. Volunteer.
21. Procrastinate less!
22. Try to grow some veggies (then eat them!)
23. Get dental insurance.
    23.5 Go to the dentist.
24. Comment more on the blogs I read.
25. Make a prayer calendar (and follow it).
26. Do my taxes before April.
27. Guest blog on a blog I read regularly.

[Also, just a side note: I was going to write these out all fun and cool with little doodles and quirky handwriting, then scan it and put it as a picture on this post. The first draft was kind of rough and then I added things to the second draft and it got smudged somewhere between Nashville-Little Rock-Louisville. The third and, I thought, final draft was looking pretty good until I realized I had skipped numbers 10 and 11. Then I gave up. Maybe I should add "Learn to count" to the list.]


Do you have a to do list for 2011, or some resolutions, or maybe just opinions about them?

Louisville by the Numbers

I spent last week in Louisville, taking a class for my master's degree. Being a houseguest, reuniting with old friends, and getting my first taste of live-and-in-person seminary class made for some fun times. If I had to describe the week in one word it would be: amusing. Here are just some of the amusements, by the numbers:

3 credit hours earned in 5 days? Yes, please.


50 pages of notes taken in class (because I'm old school and learn better by writing things, not typing them).

26 hours spent listening to lectures/taking tests.

I met up with 3 different "old" friends. For dinners/movie/staying at their house.

Approximately 6 times my mother implied that one of my top priorities this week should be looking for a potential husband.

2 times I had conversations about breastfeeding in mixed company with almost complete strangers
(and just in case you read this blog and don't know me, please understand that I am not currently breastfeeding, never have, nor am I planning to in the near future--so this was not normal. And it happened twice.).

1 time I had a conversation about timing "it" so as to determine the gender of your baby in mixed company with almost complete strangers.

I overheard 3 conversations involving the scheduling of having babies around semesters or vise versa.

Apparently, Louisville loves babies.

breaking news

My mom just made a facebook album for pictures of herself in clothes she's bought at Goodwill.
The pictures feature her modeling the outfits and the captions feature information on how much she paid for each item.

I love my family.

at work...

I get asked some fun questions at work...who knew people expect church secretaries to know everything? Good thing I do know how to use Google.

Deborah [the receptionist/ministry assistant] was out of the office for a few days last week, so I got to answer the phones. Here is just a glimpse of some things I was asked:

--a senior adult: "Where can I find a video of your rap?"

--on the phone:
    Church Member: "Is Deborah there?"
    Me: "No, she's out."
    Church Member: "Okay, well, weird question: Do you know what they make stencils out of?"
    Me: "Like, the plastic?"
    Church Member: "Is that called mylar? or mylemar?"
    Me: "I have no idea."
   My question is, would Deborah have known the answer?

--on the phone, after a confusing discussion about preschool programs/early childhood education:
    Lady: "It's been a while since I've been in the Southern Baptist church. The miracles in the Bible--you all believe they're true?"
    Me: "Yes, that's what we believe."
    Lady: "Okay, good. Just making sure."

--a church member's mother passed away this week at the age of 108. At least three people told me how old she was. She was born in 1902. She retired in the 50s. She has definitely seen some crazy stuff.

--Church Member: "You work here now?"
   Me: "Yes, sir." (since last year)
   Church Member: "Several new people working here, now."
   Me: polite laugh.

This week.

So, I'm in Louisville for my first real-live grad school class. It only lasts a week, which means I will be in class all day and reading/studying much of the night. Therefore, probably no blog this week.

I'll probably publish some little thing I wrote last week at some point. Only because it's already written.

When I come back, on Saturday, get ready for the inevitable New Year post. It will be a week and a half late, but maybe you will enjoy it more that way?