vendredi 10 avril 2009
Around the sphere
A couple of fun things that have popped up in my feed reader:
- These little books are not only pretty but also look to be fun and brain-stimulating.
- The Telegraph lists some of the lead actors that have been cast for Emma 2009! So now I'll have a third Emma to add to my collection... (HT: AustenBlog)
- Ooh, this is a great idea for charging cell phones! It's definitely a way to avoid having to purchase yet another gadget and you can recycle/reuse at the same time :)
- I don't edit videos anymore, but wow.
- And yet another handy tip from Unclutterer: coupon organizers.
- An interesting definition of seeker-sensitive churches - I'd like to think my church is maybe more seeker-friendly than seeker-driven. I think the word 'seeker' just looks funny now.
- I still don't know what to call my professors when I see some of them from time to time; glad I'm not the only one.
- A great April Fool's Day joke from the folks at Boundless, ahem Boundful... or should it have been Bountiful?
- Hilarious/great. I didn't know such a site existed (nor should I, I suppose).
Libellés : humour, media, organization
vendredi 29 août 2008
Packed week
Perhaps it's a good thing that I only have a part-time job at this point because I sure can fill my days up with other activities! In addition to work (hooray, I'm back in ministry again!), I ended up unexpectedly house-sitting and accommodating someone this weekend. It was a lot of responsibility to handle but it was good to do something different for a change. I guess the main reason why this week feels so crammed is because it's staff retreat week. I had a wonderful time yesterday going out of town to the mountains with my co-workers and today, I had the pleasure of canoing and visiting a local attraction that I have not been to for +15 years. I have to admit that my shoulders are completely sore but I have so enjoyed the time in fellowship these past two days.
I've also been spending the last couple of evenings knee-deep (figuratively) cleaning out the basement for my parents. It'll take a while before I'm done but so far, we've been able to donate about eight garbage bags full of items to charity. I cannot express how relieved I am that we are finally going through our stuff and deciding what's important to keep and what's not. It's somewhat appropriate that I'm reading through some of Randy Alcorn's writings again on the relationship between material possessions and faith, which has been convicting as usual. It might be borderline obsessive-compulsive but I am developing such an aversion to clutter now.
The more I read about how we are so materially well-off in North America, the more I feel like I could be doing so much more to contribute my resources to the kingdom of God. It's pretty embarrassing that one of the problems I/we face is that we have too much stuff. I've written before about the wartime lifestyle and it's something that still resonates in me. I want to grow into a generous person who is not bent on pursuing the next item to own. While I definitely enjoy cleaning out and organizing things, I am thrilled that I can do so knowing that other people can use what I don't need and/or that I am reducing the number of things I have to worry about, giving me more time to focus on God and doing His work. I've been learning a lot about what it means to commit all of my time, talent and treasure to the Lord and I pray that I will keep growing in this area so that I may glorify Jesus in all that I do.
"Everything I've kept, I've lost, but all that I've given to God I still possess." - Martin Luther
Libellés : organization, work
samedi 9 août 2008
A few things here and there
Since I've come home, I have had an amazing summer. To be honest, this is partly because I haven't been too active on the job front - something that I'll need to rectify before the end of summer. But it's still August, which means I can go about and do a few things that have been piling up on my lists.
One of the things that I've finally gotten to has been the overwhelming photo project at home. My mom has never been really good at keeping our family pictures organized (ever) so over the past week, I've gone through and sorted at least 25 years' worth of pictures. Not only were they not chronologically ordered (which took about three days to do) but they were also mixed up with all of the pictures that our extended family and family friends have sent us over the years. It was a lot of work but it's worth it to be able to flip through something without seeing strange faces every couple of pages now.
Part of the inspiration behind this project was from helping put together a wedding slideshow and seeing how unorganized pictures can be a lot of work to go through. What a relief it is that the pictures are in (general) chronological order and that they are displayed in proper albums. It was so nice to throw away tons of doubles and blurry pictures as well; hooray for less clutter! In addition to organizing the family photo albums, I went through my personal collection as well. Now I can print off the more recent pictures and take a major project off my list :) (Thank goodness I don't scrapbook - that would be a nightmare in itself!).
I'm also feeling inspired to shop off of Etsy and look for some accessories to update my room with since I'm finished school. I don't need very much but my room is feeling a little bare since I've thrown out/donated a lot of the stuff I had in high school. Also, I haven't figured out the book situation yet - my current bookshelf is completely full, as are the other shelves in my room - other than to cull my collection but I'm not ready for that at this point. Perhaps I'll need to get creative with a few storage ideas.... Update: Hooray, I have finally done this and gotten rid of around fifty books and a bookshelf. Sigh, it was in me all along :)
My wardrobe is also changing, which isn't too much of a concern right now but will be once I get a job. I went shopping for black pants the other day with a friend and found that it was a more difficult task than I'd thought. Another problem I discovered is that I love clothing with prints on them but this definitely means that I need clothing without prints to balance them out - hence the black pants. In the past, I never used to pay that much attention to what I wore (unfortunately, this meant that all I wore in high school and college were t-shirts, hoodies and jeans) but after being in Montreal over the past couple of years, I'm starting to have more interest in fashion.
And for some reason, I have plenty more to write - shocking considering the record on this blog - but I'll refrain and save it for additional posts :) One of the things I might mention in the future is this: Lists of Bests.
Libellés : everyday life, organization
