what i'm reading (august 2005)

i love books. summer is a great time to partake (since i'm probably somewhere hiding from the sun anyway!) so many people are asking me what i'm reading, so i figured i'd put them all out there!

Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
i've wanted to see the musical forever, and it looks like this fall i'll actually have a chance! of course, i can not have the book experience marred in any way, so i'll be finishing this puppy before October 6!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (JK Rowling)
i've seen the movie, and yes, i realize i'm doing it contrary to how i like to do things, but at least i've held off on seeing the other movies until i can get the books under my belt. there's nothing like being transported to a place that can never exist. i hope i never outgrow my love of children's books!

Searching for God Knows What (Donald Miller)
Donald Miller is a superb writer. in the Laundromat this morning i read a chapter of this book, and simultaneously was tranported back to my grade school days and convicted in my present day life. if you haven't read any of his work, i would be remiss to not mention that before you start working on this puppy, you need to read 'Blue Like Jazz'. you won't be sorry.

The Barbarian Way (Erwin McManus)
i've never been a fan of neatly packaged, pretty Christianity. it would appear that Erwin is not either. it's a small book, but packed with greatness.

Rumors (Philip Yancey)
i don't think i've ever actually finished one of Philip Yancey's books, for one reason or another. but that fact notwithstanding, i'm beginning another one. something about "grappling honestly with major life questions" has me intrigued. i'll keep you posted! :-)

The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell)
this book has been as enjoyable as i had hoped it would. the real-life examples of how little things, little changes can make a world of a difference are stellar. social epidemics have never been so fascinating!

The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel
on my last trip to calgary to visit the family, mom bought me this book when they dropped me off at the airport. the cover appealed to me initially (i'm such a sucker for a good marketing idea!), but the book is a gem. it's loaded with idea for travel of many different kinds. i can't even get started here, i won't stop.

The Power of Full Engagement (Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz)
earlier this month i attended the willow creek leadership summit, and one of the speakers (Jim Groppel) talked about the concept of managing energy rather than time in an effort to gain control of "life". this book is a more in-depth look at what he spoke of. now if only i can put some of this great stuff in action!

cruel, cruel summer

50 days until labor day. as far as i'm concerned it's 50 too many.

i hate heat. i truly dislike summer. actually, the only good thing about summer is the fact that it precedes fall. ah, fall. that glorious season of stunning colors, good coffee and cooler weather all wrapped up in the excitement that always preceeds the holiday season.

but again, i'm getting ahead of myself. sometimes it's so difficult to live in the moment; to embrace even the little moments. i'm sure that i've missed some during one of my "i hate summer" tirades over the past few days.

this is my challenge for this week: to live, regardless of temperature.

"Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them." ~Dion Boucicault

about me

in her timeless book, gift from the sea, anne morrow lindbergh wrote,

i began these pages for myself, in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my own individual balance of life, work and human relationships. and since i think best with a pencil in my hand, i started naturally to write...

and here, in my blog, i cannot hope for more.

i am a girl with a mission to live, write, laugh, read, create, travel, inspire and be mistaken for a native parisienne, all while loving God to the distraction of her life.

taken by my friend nour aziz, at the auschwitz museum
poland, july 2009

contact me

should you want to email me, you can do so at misunderstood {at} sympatico {dot} ca.

or you can find me on twitter.

or, if i'm really, really lucky, you can find me in paris.

good luck.

time flies

this weekend i was one of the chaperones for the student ministries grade 8 trip to niagara falls, and it was a blast. being my family's favorite vacation destination, i've spend a good amount of time there over the years, and going back is always a pleasant assault of memories. some things have changed so much (the huge hershey's chocolate store is a definite plus!) and some things haven't changed at all, and that just makes me so happy. the flying saucer restaurant is still there...gosh, how much did john, doug & i love eating there? dad & his meatball subs...

what a fun life it's been so far.

"We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it." George Eliot

ill-matched threads

since the moment i first read rainier maria rilkes' 'the man watching', i knew i had found my favorite poet. it's been confirmed again with the reading of "the book of hours: love poems to God". i have not yet finished the book, it has a way of decimating me when i least expect it.

here is a highlight.

she who reconciles the ill-matched threads
of her life, and weaves them gratefully
into a single cloth--
it's she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
and clears it for a different celebration.

where the one guest is you.
in the softness of the evening
it's you she receives.

you are the partner of her loneliness,
the unspeaking center of her monologues
with each disclosure you encompass more
as she stretches beyond what limits her,
to hold you.

this is my prayer for today: to stretch beyond what limits me...

pursuing beans

okay, so i'm a coffee addict.

if i had to defend myself i would say that i am addicted to the experience, and i merely enjoy the substance. but i don't have to defend myself.

one morning not long ago, i had some extra time to kill before i needed to be at work, enough time to make the trek down to starbucks. it was a grey, nondescript kind of day, and a caramel macchiato would have definitely made an improvement. as i pulled in to the only starbucks with a drive-thru in the area i noticed it was uncharacteristically dark, and while the sign next to the door clearly stated that this cafe opened at 7am, someone had neglected to get the memo to everyone involved.

by the time i had gotten out of my car to pull on the door to see if, perhaps, this was just a cruel trick, and there was indeed coffee brewing inside, four other cars had gathered in the parking lot, all with the same goal.

the only logical thing to do at that point was to travel the 34 seconds west, to the next closest starbucks, so i got back into my car & did just that, the lead camel in this coffee caravan. as i cut through the theatre parking lot, marveling at my enterprise, and planning to be the first into the store so that no more time than necessary would separate me from my coffee, i couldn't help but feel a little bit smug.

as i pulled up to the second darkened cafe, i couldn't help but think that perhaps it was some sort of conspiracy. five cars had turned into seven. seven cars carrying people who just wanted their morning coffee. seven cars shot down again.

it was as if the coffee gods were throwing a challenge: how far were we willing to go? never one to back down to a challenge, for me, in that instant it became not about the caffeinated substance itself, but rather the quest to attain what had been so far denied. i watched as some gave up, driving away defeated, to whatever their day had in store. but i wasn't about to let it beat me.

the next starbucks was about six minutes down the road, so i headed off in that direction, now with only two cars behind. but it was no longer about winning, now it was about the simple quest for coffee and the refusal to be denied.

twelve minutes later i was back on the road and headed for work, coffee firmly resting in the drink holder of the car and proud of accomplishing what had turned into a journey of sorts when it hit me.

what if i pursued God with the same tenacity that i did that caramel macchiato? what if i refused to let discouragement and set backs derail me, and just doggedly refused to be satisfied by anything less than truth, justice and the passionate pursuit of my Creator? what if i refused to let the way things are determine the way they could be?

what if...

grande non-fat caramel macchiato.