It is the week of Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for! I'll list some of the things I am thankful for and maybe you can post things that you are thankful for as well!
I am thankful for:
a wonderful husband
not having to worry about food or shelter or heat
house sitting in this nice big house with a dog to keep me company
opportunity to get an education
Nate's job
this beautiful place by the mountains
that I can run again
for people God places in your life when you think you have no one
Christmas songs and lights and cider
I think that thankfulness can be contagious, so leave a post of what you are thankful for, or write a thank you note to someone who has been helpful or influential in your life, or give back a compliment. Spread it around!
-Elizabeth
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
A running post
Its hard to not define yourself by the things you do. Our society is constantly putting labels on people based on their job, hobbies, political affiliations, and lots of other things. I mean even back going into junior high youth group. It seemed like all the older kids had a "thing" that they were known for or a place that they fit in. A comfortable spot, if you will. People knew them and what they were about. When you first joined you weren't known for anything, but I worried about what I would be known for. Same thing happened in college, but since I ran and I joined a team of people that ran and loved Jesus, we had a lot in common anyway, so you just accept each other and feel comfortable waiting to be known. And if you worked hard people would respect you even if you weren't known for anything else.
When I graduated from college, I was injured. I have a bad hamstring, so I couldn't run. Now running means a lot of different things to me. It keeps you in shape and feeling good, it relieves stress, I was a part of a team with a goal, I had friends who loved me just because, and honestly I was good at it- I loved competing, and I could compete well. So not being able to run was difficult for me. I was stressed about a lot of things this summer and I couldn't run plus not being able to run was stressing me out and I had no outlet for that. But besides that, I like being known as a runner, I'm proud of it and proud of what I've accomplished, but I still think I could accomplish more.
Then coming to grad school in a new state where I don't know anyone is hard. I've never really had to make friends from scratch before. So I can be known for whatever I want now. But I like being known as a runner and I can't be. So I've thrown a lot more effort into school, which is good.
I guess I should just want to be known as a follower of Christ. Its hard to put all my worth in Jesus. Plus it seems like when you do that a lot of people judge you based on other experiences they have had with people that call themselves Christian. Plus there are a lot of people that are good people that aren't Christian. What makes Christians different?
Plus I have been reading Shane Claiborne's "Irrisistable Revolution" which just seems like unless I live in poverty or devote my life to helping those in poverty and am a missionary then I'm not really following what Christ preaches. So I feel like there are just so many things I should be doing and its overwhelming and I have no idea where to start.
When I graduated from college, I was injured. I have a bad hamstring, so I couldn't run. Now running means a lot of different things to me. It keeps you in shape and feeling good, it relieves stress, I was a part of a team with a goal, I had friends who loved me just because, and honestly I was good at it- I loved competing, and I could compete well. So not being able to run was difficult for me. I was stressed about a lot of things this summer and I couldn't run plus not being able to run was stressing me out and I had no outlet for that. But besides that, I like being known as a runner, I'm proud of it and proud of what I've accomplished, but I still think I could accomplish more.
Then coming to grad school in a new state where I don't know anyone is hard. I've never really had to make friends from scratch before. So I can be known for whatever I want now. But I like being known as a runner and I can't be. So I've thrown a lot more effort into school, which is good.
I guess I should just want to be known as a follower of Christ. Its hard to put all my worth in Jesus. Plus it seems like when you do that a lot of people judge you based on other experiences they have had with people that call themselves Christian. Plus there are a lot of people that are good people that aren't Christian. What makes Christians different?
Plus I have been reading Shane Claiborne's "Irrisistable Revolution" which just seems like unless I live in poverty or devote my life to helping those in poverty and am a missionary then I'm not really following what Christ preaches. So I feel like there are just so many things I should be doing and its overwhelming and I have no idea where to start.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Update on Life in Boulder
Well , I guess I haven't been great at keeping up with this, but here's an update on my life in Boulder so far.
My parents and Nate's dad visited a little while back. It was really nice to see some family and catch up with everybody. We got to show them where we live, which was fun because we are so busy its hard for us to get out and explore. We visited the Celestial Seasonings factory in Longmont where they make all their tea. I'm excited to try lots of different varieties. We showed them Chatauqua, where you can hike up the Flatirons or just see the entire area. We live right up against the Rocky Mountains to the west, but to the east is flat, probably til you get to the Appalaichians. We ate at a great little Italian place, so if anyone else comes to visit we know where to eat! We also ate at the Dushanbe Tea House, which was a gift from Boulder's sister city in Tajikistan. We saw the farmers market with Nate's dad, and the Denver zoo, and had dinner with the family Nate stayed with all summer. We also spent a night up at the Keystone ski resort in Nate's dad's condo, walked around Breckenridge, explored Red Rocks Park, and saw a buffalo. We've also tried out some thai recipes with spices we bought at a spice shop downtown, they turned out great! and we also made chicken parmasan and a pot roast!
I'm allowed to run a little bit. I can walk for a bit, jog for a minute or two, then walk for a couple minutes, then jog another minute or two, etc.. I'm also still biking to stay in shape at the rec center.
School is going well, I just started a design project for earthquake engineering, its amazing how much we have learned already.
I'd like to start growing my own tea. But apparently you want your tea plant to be at least three years old before you harvest any leaves, so I'm still working out the details.
My parents and Nate's dad visited a little while back. It was really nice to see some family and catch up with everybody. We got to show them where we live, which was fun because we are so busy its hard for us to get out and explore. We visited the Celestial Seasonings factory in Longmont where they make all their tea. I'm excited to try lots of different varieties. We showed them Chatauqua, where you can hike up the Flatirons or just see the entire area. We live right up against the Rocky Mountains to the west, but to the east is flat, probably til you get to the Appalaichians. We ate at a great little Italian place, so if anyone else comes to visit we know where to eat! We also ate at the Dushanbe Tea House, which was a gift from Boulder's sister city in Tajikistan. We saw the farmers market with Nate's dad, and the Denver zoo, and had dinner with the family Nate stayed with all summer. We also spent a night up at the Keystone ski resort in Nate's dad's condo, walked around Breckenridge, explored Red Rocks Park, and saw a buffalo. We've also tried out some thai recipes with spices we bought at a spice shop downtown, they turned out great! and we also made chicken parmasan and a pot roast!
I'm allowed to run a little bit. I can walk for a bit, jog for a minute or two, then walk for a couple minutes, then jog another minute or two, etc.. I'm also still biking to stay in shape at the rec center.
School is going well, I just started a design project for earthquake engineering, its amazing how much we have learned already.
I'd like to start growing my own tea. But apparently you want your tea plant to be at least three years old before you harvest any leaves, so I'm still working out the details.
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