Ignorant Historian

1.  What’s your favorite holiday?

Christmas.  Followed closely by Easter and Valentine’s Day (yes, single girls can love Valentine’s Day).

2.  Least favorite?

Halloween, by far.  I’m also rather ambivalent towards the summer holidays.  And Groundhog’s Day…could care less. ;)

3. What’s your favorite not-for-profit?

Excluding the obviously fab one that I work for and my church, I’d say our local food bank.

4. What’s the happiest political moment of your life?

Perhaps when Mike Huckabee was doing well in many of the primaries and caucuses in 2008.

5.  What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

I’d become a full-time blogger.  I’d love for my job to be to learn about and comment on cultural, political, and spiritual issues.  But since I’ll never allow advertising on my site, the only way this would happen is if a company paid me to blog for them.  And even then it’d have to be the just-right opportunity.

1. Are you “proud to be an American”?

I’m not very patriotic, but I am happy to be American-born. I don’t think that America is irredeemable, and I’ll continue to pray and work for positive change. I think that we have a good thing going for us and shouldn’t forget where we’ve come from.

2. What is the best fireworks display you’ve ever seen?

I don’t know about best, but I can tell you worst. I was in DC in 2000, and had what we thought would be a good view. Unfortunately, there was no breeze, so after the first few fireworks, all we could see was lit-up smoke. That was a first for this Kansas girl (usually the concern there is that it might be TOO windy for fireworks).

3. What is your biggest patriotic moment?

Voting in my first presidential election (2004…I was a month too young for the infamous 2000 election). My parents had just moved so I didn’t have enough time to request an absentee ballot (I was going to school in Oklahoma), so I drove up just to vote. I missed a quiz that morning, but my professor gave me a 100 because she felt like that was an excellent reason to miss.

4. What is your favorite patriotic song?

I’ve always enjoyed Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” but perhaps not all the sentiments behind it.

5. What is your favorite D.C. monument?

The Vietnam Memorial. I think that the symbolism is the easiest to get and therefore the most meaningful.

Still Remembering Jesus’s Death and Resurrection

No FQF today, in honor of something much bigger.

ETA: Check out this fitting post on the Cross and Christianity in our present culture.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how if Easter were Christmas, this would be Easter season right now.  Granted, I know that there is Lent, which is kinda like an Easter season, but I don’t see Christ being the central figure in most Lent sacrifices and activities.

For whatever reason, Resurrection Day*–just as important to the Christian faith (if not more…that’s a debate to have)–doesn’t have the same weight to it as Christmas does.  Though it’s still taken over by commercialization and secular celebration, which is certainly not a blessing.  Yet we know that Christ’s death and resurrection is a big deal.  I want it to be a big deal in my life.

So, in this Resurrection Season, I’ve chosen to spend more time with God through Bible reading and prayer (which I hope will be a permanent change).  I’ve gone on walks in the beautiful spring weather listening to praise music and praising Him.  I’ve spent more time in heart-searching conversation with those I love and trust.  I’ve read some great authors who are helping me–along with the Bible and the Holy Spirit–to plumb the depths of wicked, sinful heart.

If you’re a Christian, I encourage you to spend some extra time considering the Cross and our need for it.  If you’re not, why not take some time to research what Christianity is all about?

*While I do use the term “Easter” because more people understand and recognize it, I actually prefer “Resurrection Day” as it not only highlights the resurrection, it doesn’t confuse the Christian holiday with the ancient celebrations of fertility goddesses.

Photo by mtbjohn

I love January.  Everything’s so fresh and new.  Christmas decorations, though beautiful, are rather cluttery.  I always make an effort to clean through my things in January, too, after being abundantly blessed at Christmas and my birthday.   Though I haven’t completely tackled my desk and its stack of papers (which I saved for last), I feel much more comfortable in my apartment now that almost everything is in it’s place.

January also comes with a fresh start.  Sure, it’s rather arbitrary what time of year we decide is the start of a new year, but I like having it in the dead of winter, the season I naturally have the least motivation.   I think if we celebrated New Year’s some other time, I’d likely fall into a funk after Christmas.  I look forward to having longer days (actually seeing more than the 20 minutes of sunlight I drive in to work) and more natural energy that comes with it.

I suppose I should talk about my lofty goals for this year, if this was a proper New Year’s post.  But of course it’s not, being 4 days late, and I don’t have major goals for this year.  While I have a hunger to learn and grow, I don’t necessarily have resolutions tied to those ambitions.   Really, the only thing I have laid out as plans for this year is my book goals, of which I have a few.  The only other two resolutions/goals I could come up with is to exercise three times a week (which was my goal anyway) and to wear a skirt/dress once a week (since I’ve gotten rather lazy, and really do love to wear a skirt).

More than anything, I want this to be a year where I grow closer to God and more obedient to His word.  For me, one of the hardest things about living for Christ is the living for others.  As my book goals can attest, I’m a bit of a loner. Like every other fallen human being, I tend to live for myself, seeking my own desires and pleasures.  May God show me the needs of the people around me…and may I open my eyes to them and make it a priority to meet those needs.

Photo by Ryan McD

I’m back.  Primarily to tell you that I’m extending this bloggy break until January 4th.  I’m just enjoying a break from the ordinary too much not too.  I promise some trip- and holiday-inspired highlights when I get back.

The trip back from Kansas was rather lacking in anything to make it special.  As far as air travel goes, that’s always a good thing!  I’m back safe and sound and looking forward to a day of catching up at work and a few days of cleaning, organizing, and all-around preparing for a month of weddings and a season of tax-induced craziness.   I hope you had a blessed Christmas and will have a safe and fun New Year’s!

Being that my brain’s all birthday-fied this week (thanks for the birthday wishes, BTW), I’ve been thinking about how there seems to be something special about people who have December birthdays.

I mean, I don’t think we’re something special just because our birthdays fall into a certain period of time (I mean, that time period is arbitrary anyway), but that we share a special bond.  Perhaps others who share birthday months have this, too, but I doubt it.  Or at least it’s not the same.

People with December birthdays share a special camaraderie because we know what it’s like to have our birthdays overshadowed by Christmas.  Presents wrapped in Christmas paper (or combined with Christmas presents or not given at all).  Parties with low attendance as schedules are already overcrowded.  Excitement over the coming holiday greater than your own day.

I’m not trying to complain…I’ve been more than blessed.  But those of us who are in this club simply “get” it.  We tend to make more of a fuss over each others birthdays.  We’re more likely to remember other December birthdayists even though we forget our closer friend’s birthdays.

So, to all my December Birthday Club members, happy birthday!  Thanks for understanding!

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt