The Living Room

and i feel plenty different.

thelivingroom — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:12:23 +0000

1. Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. Lots going on–I’m going to a conference in a couple of weeks and have a presentation to prepare; I just had a birthday not long ago (27! still hard to believe) and had an excellent evening with friends and music; I’ve been eliminating wheat from my diet, which has been interesting; I’ve been trying to get more structure in my life, also interesting; and there’s some exciting potentials for the future coming up. So I’ve been busy, but also thinking quite a bit, and you’re due a good blog post.

2. I’ve recently realized that I have this tendency to try and live mostly as an entirely intellectual being, because emotions/affections scare me quite a bit, given my history toward volatility in that area (to say the least). However, I’ve also realized that part of that prayer in the psalms for single-mindedness is asking God to make those volatile emotions line up with the objective knowledge we have, which in turn translates into our behavior. This is hard for me, but as I see it slowly starting to happen, it’s also astonishing in the best way.

3. Also, part of the objective/subjective unity: I am a Christian because God has committed Himself to me before I even existed, and His commitment and affections toward me always, always line up. In my own limited, broken way I have also committed myself to Him–I have made the conscious choice to follow Him no matter what–and part of His working in me is to unite that commitment with my affections. That’s sanctification. In the meantime, even though I don’t always feel it, I still work through my apathy or guilt or doubt, because I love Him, but moreover, He loves me and won’t let me sit in whatever keeps me from loving Him.

4. Furthermore, this has implications for human relationships, because all relationships are living, breathing metaphors for the bigger relationship between us and God. For example, my parents just recently celebrated their 41st anniversary. The one thing they’ve always driven home to me is that they stay together because 41 years ago they made a promise to God and to each other that they wouldn’t leave, that they would work through any difficulty, and that promise has somehow driven the love, not necessarily the other way around. I hope I have that kind of marriage someday, but moreover, I’m starting to see that in other relationships around me, which is cool.

5. So, yes. Lots of thinking.

6. Anyway, so other than that I have a bunch of projects going, and am doing life with folks, and working, and so on and so forth. Grateful for this season of my life, even though it started off difficult, because it’s brought me here and is taking me somewhere even better. Yes and amen.

50 parties/gatherings I want to host.

thelivingroom — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:27:28 +0000

1. Everyone brings their favorite picture book from when they were a kid and, if they want, reads them for the rest of us. Milk + cookies. Maybe juice, too. Books get donated to a charity at the end of the night.
2. Olympics watching party (complete with theme based on the host country).
3. Oscars party.
4. Fancy cocktail party for New Year’s Eve–get dressed up, have some mixed drinks, hor d’oeuvres, some good music and a dance floor, etc.
5. Lent fast-breaking party on Easter Monday.
6. A resource party–everyone comes with a list of five things they want to accomplish in the next year. We go around the room and read the lists, and then anyone who has resources (people, ideas, talents, etc.) for helping out shares them.
7. Regular Saturday night or Sunday afternoon Sabbath dinners.
8. Jazz Era costume party.
9. A picnic on the spring equinox or the summer solstice.
10. Get together in a public place and read something out loud together.
11. Hymn sings.
12. Once-a-month brunch.
13. Christmas cookie swap!
14. A retreat of some kind. With a speaker.
15. 10,000 day parties (for all my friends who are currently younger than 10,000 days).
16. My parents’ 50th anniversary party (January 2021).
17. Movie club! (Once- or twice-a-month movie viewings)
18. New members lunch for my church, whenever we get a new round of folks?
19. Guy Fawkes Day bonfire (maybe with marshmallows/hot beverages/s’mores).
20. Watch party for the Perseid meteors.
21. Talent show.
22. Christmas caroling (with cider/hot chocolate/whatever afterwards).
23. Backyard concert.
24. Listening party for a much-anticipated album.
25. Weekly communal watchings of a TV show.
26. Game night–I, for one, would love to have a spades tournament, because I’m a card game nerd, but there’s always Scrabble, Apples to Apples, etc.
27. Project night: bring whatever you’re in the middle of doing and hang out, ask advice, have snacks, etc.
28. Afternoon tea.
29. Regular potluck dinners.
30. Stuff swap–bring 5-10 things you have you don’t want anymore, set it all in a big pile on a table, let people pick what they want, take the leftovers to Goodwill afterwards.
31. A black-and-white ball.
32. Drive through Prestonwood Forest at Christmas time and look at the lights.
33. Christmas cookie swap (might be kind of tricky for the wheat-free people, but we can make it work).
34. Cooking classes–rotating through different people’s houses, someone teaches a particular skill or recipe.
35. Some kind of something for Pentecost. (I feel like we should have more Pentecost parties; not sure why.)
36. Church-wide pre-service Easter breakfast–giant batches of breakfast casserole, coffee, fruit, cinnamon rolls?
37. A public reading of the “I Have a Dream” speech for MLK Day.
38. Field trip to a Sacred Harp sing.
39. T-shirt-making party.
40. Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who can’t go home to their families (I’ve been on the receiving end of a couple of these and they are amazing; I figure it’s time to give back).
41. An election night bipartisan tea party…put out different kinds of tea, have folks vote for their favorite, watch the results come in.
42. Ten-year, twenty-year, etc. high school reunions.
43. I want to host a grand opening party for something. I have no idea what, but it’d be fun.
44. A tweet-up at a conference.
45. I feel like it might be kinda fun to do something for Mardi Gras.
46. If I were ever to get married, I’d want to get a bunch of people together to stuff invitation envelopes, and make a party of it.
47. Also, I want to have a rehearsal dinner like the one in Rachel Getting Married. My parents’ house isn’t that big, but I’m sure we could figure something out.
48. A spelling bee for grownups (they do this in Austin as a fundraiser for something or other and I would love to do something similar).
49. Go to a Sunday matinee of a play or a movie.
50. Go to one of the crazy events at the Alamo Drafthouse.

from the postmodern maiden to her knight

thelivingroom — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:38:39 +0000

The way you look tonight
it’s like the stars were shining in your eyes
while you rage against the dark machine
flaming sword in hand
to plunge into its mechanical guts
to salvage its heart
not so you can win the princess
but to protect your armor-bearer from its rattle and hum
so you can both keep slashing your way
through the urban jungle

the way you look tonight
it’s like you woke up this morning
and put on a wet suit beneath
your suit and tie because you never know
whether it’ll be rain or shine round here
and you just hate to be stuck with your umbrella
because it just keeps you from dancing
like you want to underneath the bass drum sky

it’s like you got no rest because
you were awake with some name breathing
from your lips, and with your name singing
from my lungs
and that is all the beauty we need

now hear me
i’m not saying you look good
that’s a compliment i save
for the ones i just like a lot

what i’m saying is that
you look like yourself
and yet you look like someone i can’t recognize
because i’ve never seen his face
but i keep hearing his voice from the other room

what i’m saying, love
is that you look like
exactly what i did not expect
to come find me in this tower of my unbelief
and like all the hero i need

things i’m pondering these days.

thelivingroom — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:28:25 +0000

How to get more fruit and veg and fewer refined carbs and less meat into my diet.

How being in community with people has me seriously reconsidering how I eat. (Lots of people at church doing juice fasts or not eating wheat [myself included] or otherwise being really intentional about their eating.)

What it means that God made us specifically gendered people–what it means for me, being a woman, to be specifically feminine in the time and place in which I live, and doing that for the glory of God.

Tim Keller’s excellent advice to single people: Start off as friends first. Don’t consider potential partners for how good they look or how successful they are or how they can further your personal agenda in being an awesome person or getting emotional satisfaction, but how well you click as people and how well you think you can serve God together and be part of sanctifying one another. Does this person make you want to love Jesus more? Could you be part of helping them love Jesus more?

Packing up and moving for the heck of it. Except not really. But still.

How to love my family and friends better.

Coffee. Always.

The rather traumatic ending to Doctor Who season 2. (“Rose Tyler, I–”)

50 things: the year in review.

thelivingroom — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:46:04 +0000

1. My friends got a lovely new house.
2. Going to Austin for TLA Annual, making some connections, seeing some old friends.
3. Housewarming/birthday party at my friends’ house.
4. New people, new friends.
5. Getting my gig at HPB.
6. *Not* moving to Kentucky.
7. The last Harry Potter movie at midnight with Hannah.
8. Mexican food + margaritas with the girls.
9. Post-church lunches, all the time.
10. S’mores night at Mayberry Manor.
11. “Hey, Greg.” “Hi, Amanda–” *double take*
12. Easter at the Stroms’.
13. Matthew Smith concert with C-Dub and Impero.
14. Meagan’s art show.
15. Discovering The Hunger Games.
16. Work nicknames: Amandapants, Mandar, Amanda Panda, Amandaconda.
17. David Crowder Band show w/some Kaleoians; the discovery of Gungor and their beatboxing cellist.
18. My church’s anniversary shindig.
19. Watching the BBC Sherlock with Steph in one sitting.
20. Blasting music before opening and after closing the store.
21. Catalina Coffee, Empire Cafe, and not one, but two Cowboy Coffees at Common Grounds in Waco.
22. Systematic Theology with Joel Burdeaux.
23. Wilco concert at the Verizon Theater in March.
24. The discovery of Doctor Who.
25. Abraham Lincoln, commie hunter (don’t ask).
26. Paul Simon and STOMP on Jimmy Fallon.
27. Funerals for the parents of people I love–community, joy, and hope amidst grief and sorrow.
28. Road trip to Austin with Hannah for one SXSW show with Hannah–coffee cupcakes, Marc Maron, barbecue, Italian ice, and driving through the hill country at midnight.
29. Laughing hysterically with Steph at our dining room table about this and this.
30. “That’s a lot of cast iron.” “…Really. A lot of cast iron?”
31. The discovery of Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather saga.
32. “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.”
33. Praying on Sunday nights.
34. Praying before church with the boys (for some reason I think I am the only girl who shows up and does this).
35. Mia and Elaine’s housewarming party.
36. The Muppets.
37. Miscellaneous randomness at work.
38. “What are we going to do tomorrow?” “The same thing we do every day. Try to take over the world.” “B***s***! We are not!”
39. All my friends who got married and had babies or got pregnant.
40. “I think you might have been a cat in a past life.” “If I actually believed in reincarnation, I might agree with you.” “Maybe in a past life you were a cat who believed in reincarnation…?” “…” “Maybe you were a Buddhist cat?”
41. Company at the movies with Steph and Dave.
42. The Sing-Off, y’all. The Sing-Off.
43. The possibility of joining forces with Bellaire Central Baptist Church (I feel like it’s been part of most of our conversations in the past three months at church). The meetings, the joint services, the discussions, everything.
44. Miscellaneous shenanigans at band practice.
45. Oh, so, I got a Tumblr.
46. Bin-Laden got killed, the Middle East erupted (not in that order), the economy went to heck (not to hell, necessarily–we still *have* an economy, after all), Gaddafi, Liz Taylor, Kim Jong-Il, Andy Rooney, and Amy Winehouse died, and the world keeps spinning on.
47. Getting sick and missing my friend’s birthday party.
48. Getting to listen to my whole church sing when I help lead the music. It’s a beautiful sound.
49. Being prayed for.
50. A God who keeps His promises to me, to all of us; the healing of a lot of hurt and fear; the ability to trust and follow; the opening up of my heart. Here’s to a 2012 full of more of that.

the 2011 book review…

thelivingroom — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:16:37 +0000

Here begins the shortest book list I think I have ever blogged. This year was light, at least for me, partially because of my misguided attempt to read nothing but books that were over 100 years old (an attempt I abandoned about halfway through the year), partially because I was kind of lazy and unfocused (as long as we’re being honest). But still, I did manage to read a fair amount, so here we go. An asterisk before it means I’ve read it before…

*January 7: Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
*January 17: Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
February 5: Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
May 1: Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles
May 22: Dante Aligheri, Inferno
July 4: Paul Harding, Tinkers
July 9: Bill Bryson, At Home
*July 13: J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
August 3: Jennifer Egan, A Visit From the Goon Squad
August 18: C.S. Lewis, God In the Dock
August 29: Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
*August 30: Lauren Winner, Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity
September 10: David Mitchell, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
September 13: Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
September 14: Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
??? (sometime at the beginning of October)- Tim Keller, King’s Cross
October 22: Bede, A History of the English Church and People
October 23: John Piper, When I Don’t Desire God
October 23: N.T. Wright, After You Believe
November 2: Andrew Peterson, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
November 16: Scott Thomas and Tom Wood, Gospel Coach
November 20: Andrew Peterson, North! Or Be Eaten
*November 30: Molly Wizenberg, A Homemade Life
December 17: Brad House, Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support
December 30: Tim and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage

Five best books of the year: I’m going to cheat a little bit, but The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, and On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson. Now, these five books are part of two series, and yes, they’re young adult novels, but good lord, if you haven’t read them, what are you waiting for?

They’re very different–The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian future North America and involves war, torture, and teenagers fighting one another to the death on national television; Andrew Peterson’s books, part of a series called the Wingfeather Saga, tell the story of a family of two brothers and a sister who are on the run from the law because of their ties to an ancient kingdom. But both deal with themes of loss, courage, family, love, and healing, and both will take you on major rides. Of course, I think they come to two different conclusions about where that healing comes from, but I would commend both series to you. There are actually two other books in the Wingfeather Saga, one of which hasn’t even been written yet, so you’ve got some time to catch up.

Honorable mentions: When I Don’t Desire God (great resource for folks like me who lose sight of their joy easily, and the people who love them), A Visit From the Goon Squad (which won that Pulitzer for a reason, kids), The Meaning of Marriage (which I would commend to single and married people alike) and At Home (fun for history buffs and anyone curious about where things come from).

I’m currently in the middle of two which should be finished in the next couple of weeks or so, which I’m looking forward to. Here’s to a good reading year in 2012.

What did y’all love reading this year?

goals for next year.

thelivingroom — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:48:18 +0000

I don’t want to call these resolutions; I want to do something concrete and real instead of having a vague, abstract idea (which is kind of the thing I’ve been hammering all year, right?). It looks like a lot, I think, but I’ve seriously been thinking about reining in my life and actually acting like a grown-up. I mean, I’m about to turn 27. I’m in my late twenties now. If I were in an earlier generation, I would be married with a ton of kids by now. It’s time I at least wore something besides jeans and t-shirts every day.

So here we go:

* Actually dress like a grown-up: What do I mean? At the very least, I’d like to shed this slacker college student thing I have going now and get more professional-looking clothing. Nice tops and pants that aren’t jeans and dresses and such. Some jewelry. Nice shoes. That kind of thing.

* Fit back in my prom dress: Why? One, it’s a super-cute dress, and I’d like to get more than one wearing out of it, and I’d also like to find an event to wear it to. Two, that was about thirty or forty pounds ago, and so if I can fit in it, that means I’ve lost thirty or forty pounds. Which is good. Also, it’s #15 on my bucket list, so that’s one crossed off.

* I am not allowed to buy any books until I’ve read all the ones I own. This could mean that this spills over into 2013.

* Kick my caffeine addiction. It’s just time.

* Move out of my parents’ house. Again, it’s just time.

* Get a library job. Here’s hoping.

* Go to SWTX PCA/ACA, ALA Annual Meeting, and The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference, if I can.

* Write for at least 30 minutes a day.

* Get through five whole television series on DVD/Netflix Streaming. This is going to be a feat for me, believe it or not.

* Cross five things off of my bucket list. Some of you readers will be involved, so you have been warned.

So that’s it! What are yours?

advent, week 3.

thelivingroom — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:33:31 +0000

(a meditation on Isaiah 61:10)

I am, as yet, unmarried,
just like hundreds of other women
my age, in my socioeconomic bracket,
with my education level,
which I suppose should be comforting,
but most days, and especially
on the days when I am most honest,
it is not,

because I have listened to all the
fairy tales, the ones with princesses
and the ones with the waitresses who marry
millionaires, the ones in the books
and at the big picture show,
the ones that promised me my prince would
come someday–

but the longer I live the more
I realize that they were just fortune-cookie
papers that were directions to
the feast of love that is waiting for me
and all the daughters of Zion,
when we shall be clothed in stars,
we will be crowned with righteousness,
and we will be better than married:

We will be His.

the living room recommends

thelivingroom — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:09:32 +0000

Cardiphonia
If you love hymnody or want some ideas about faith and art, check out this group of folks from Christ the King Presbyterian in ~~Durham~~Raleigh (thanks, Kristen), NC. They have a couple of albums for free download on the site, and they’re both really good.

Praying scary prayers
Mine recently: Lord, until I can serve You better as someone’s wife, keep me single. (As someone who tends to make idols out of relationships, this is FREAKING ME OUT.)

Empire Cafe (Houston, TX)
I can’t speak for their food, but they make excellent coffee (and you get cookies with it) and the atmosphere is really laid-back and conducive to conversation or reading or whatever you want to do at a cafe.

Sleeping with socks on
Seriously, when it’s cold out like it is now, it makes more of a difference than you think it will.

The Layover
This is a show on the Travel Channel in which Anthony Bourdain spends 48 hours in a city and eats and shops and hangs out and gives his recommendations on where to go with the usual aplomb and snark.

Terriers
I’ve praised this show briefly before, but a refresher: It was a (sadly very shortly-lived) show on FX about two private detectives who get into miscellaneous misadventures. Really smart writing, really great dynamic between the two leads, lots of fun secondary cast. The reason I bring it up now is that it is now on Netflix Streaming, so now you have no excuse.

fa la la.

thelivingroom — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:55:06 +0000

1. A lot of you who read this also follow me on Twitter, but just in case you don’t, I am happy to announce that I am the production editor for Achtung!, an online journal for the emerging field of U2 studies (yes, seriously). I’ll be making sure everything gets up on the Internet in good time and in the right format.

2. So I’ve had a stomach bug the past few days and have been more or less miserable (and missed what was apparently an epic birthday party for my friend, boo, hiss). However, it feels Advent-appropriate–I am groaning for the redemption of this body, and further learning to live as an embodied person, too. (I am feeling better by now, thankfully. Hungry, but better.)

3. Not sure what it is, but I’m not feeling Christmassy just yet…still very much in Advent/waiting/longing mode. Maybe that’s appropriate, too.

4. Actually, it might be the fact that I haven’t had any peppermint bark yet this year.

5. Houstonians, if you haven’t been to Ruggles Green, go. It is awesome. They have excellent veggie sandwiches, among other things.

6. …can you tell I haven’t eaten anything more substantial than toast the past couple of days?

7. Also satisfying is that time that we went to The Tasting Room and had community group there a couple of weeks ago. Our waiter: “Are y’all having a Bible study?” “Yeah.” “…I don’t think I’ve ever seen that here before.” *laughter* “…where do y’all go to church?”

8. I wish I could convey in words just how deep my affection runs for the people of my church, how wonderful the things are that the Spirit is doing in, through, and for them, how much these days make me want to love Jesus and hate my sin even more. I wish I could show you the sight of my pastor crying in his seat today after preaching; I wish I could play you the sound of us singing together on Sunday mornings; I wish you could come sit on my friends’ living room floor and eat with us. Words can’t express it; my life will have to do.