A Couple More Headlines

Mountain Gorillas Numbers in DR Congo Growing

In Pictures: Working to Heal the Wounds

US Woman Gives Birth to Octuplets

Auschwitz Decays

25 Things

A while ago a good friend of mine gave me some homework - a 25 item list. This is not that list. However, I am hoping it will help inspire me to work on that list.

There has been a 25 Random Things About Me survey/list floating around in the blog world and on facebook lately. And today I'm feeling just inspired enough to give it a shot, and tell you 25 random things about myself...

1. I think mint flavoring belongs only in toothpaste and gum. Anything else with mint is gross.
2. Everytime I pour myself a glass of wine, I get about two sips in and then I realize "I still don't like this very much." But I won't waste a perfectly good glass of wine, so I try to pawn it off on one of my roommates. If that doesn't work, I make myself drink it anyway.
3. High heels make me feel sexy.
4. I've had tendonitis in both feet and shins since high school, making it a bad idea for me to wear high heels very often.
5. I like most peach or watermelon flavored candies or beverages, but I don't actually really like fresh peaches or watermelons very much.
6. I like tea, but mostly herbal teas.
7. I don't like black tea, but do drink it occasionally. I can name for you each of the five times and locations in the world that I've had black tea in the last year or so.
8. I love getting real mail. Even though most of it still goes to my parent's house, and I have to stop by there to pick it up.
9. I also love getting email - especially from friends.
10. I have a bachelor's degree in European history, with a specialization in post-reformation church history, primarily, but not limited to groups such as the moravians and anabaptists.
11. One wouldn't think that this particular degree would be useful in an administrative assistant job, but because I work for a Mennonite company, the historical context that my degree has provided for the group of people I deal with every day has been invaluable.
12. I pick almost all music based on the lyrics, rather than the sound.
13. Despite having a passion for and a degree in history, I cannot spout off dates like an encyclopedia. I know the approximate date for many things, and can usually get you within a century, but as one of my history professor's helpfully pointed out in my first year of university, knowing exact dates is what reference books (or the internet!) is for.
14. I'm a fan of The Body Shop, and am currently quite enamored with their (unfortunately seasonal) Warm Amber Body Butter, which is scented with Myrrh.
15. I get annoyed when someone who is much younger than me gets treated like more of an adult than me, simply because she has a husband or a child.
16. I eat colored candies, fruit snacks, chocolates, etc. in the order of my color preference, from ugliest to prettiest.
17. I own a U2 special edition Ipod video.
18. I am absolutely a Mac girl instead of PC user.
19. I love taking photos
20. I will often scrap the idea of perfectly immaculate fashion for the sake of warmth and comfort in the winter.
21. I prefer clothing or accessories that are colorful, unique and possibly a bit hippy/bohemian.
22. I have recently become convinced that taking vitamins is actually helping me get my health and sleep levels back to 100%, after years of denying that this might actually be possible.
23. If I have painted toenails, it is generally a sign that I am in a good mental and emotional space, and that I have been engaging in self-care recently.
24. My toenails are not currently painted.
25. I was a synchronized swimmer. A fairly decent one. I swam for twelve years, and volunteered as a coach and choreographer for 5 and 6 year old girls for the last five of those twelve years. And I am absolutely convinced that synchronized swimming is in fact, a sport.

There you have it. 25 random facts about me. Wanna share some random facts about yourself? Leave a comment, or a link to your blog.

Catching My Attention

This blog post on my friend Rae's blog.

This post on lighting candles at Sally's blog.

This article on a fire that killed a small dog and injured four people critically yesterday here in Calgary.

This article on a train de-railment in Canmore.

Henri on Forgiveness and Freedom

more thoughts from Henri Nouwen. These ones hit home a bit given my ongoing thought process surrouding finding freedom.

Forgiveness, the Cement of Community Life

Community is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another "seventy-seven times" (see Matthew 18:22). Forgiveness is the cement of community life. Forgiveness holds us together through good and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love.

But what is there to forgive or to ask forgiveness for? As people who have hearts that long for perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or receive that perfect love in our everyday lives. Our many needs constantly interfere with our desire to be there for the other unconditionally. Our love is always limited by spoken or unspoken conditions. What needs to be forgiven? We need to forgive one another for not being God!

Receiving Forgiveness

There are two sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving. Although at first sight giving seems to be harder, it often appears that we are not able to offer forgiveness to others because we have not been able fully to receive it. Only as people who have accepted forgiveness can we find the inner freedom to give it. Why is receiving forgiveness so difficult? It is very hard to say, "Without your forgiveness I am still bound to what happened between us. Only you can set me free." That requires not only a confession that we have hurt somebody but also the humility to acknowledge our dependency on others. Only when we can receive forgiveness can we give it.

Forgiveness, the Way to Freedom

To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, "I no longer hold your offense against you" But there is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the "offended one." As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.