Ignorant Historian

Okay, if it weren’t for NaBloPoMo, I probably wouldn’t post today. I’ve had a busy week and not as much time on the Internet.

Today is a cooler day than the past few. I’m pretty sure this is the first fall ever I was thankful for. I’ll admit the shortening days has been rough (I love my sun!), but getting to enjoy what we get more helps (I used to have an interior office, but my apartment is quite sunny).

The good thing about it getting cooler is that I want to crochet more. Since I’ve finished my niece’s blanket, I’ve started working on a couple more. Since my hands are occupied, it allows me to listen to an audio book, so I’ve been “reading” a lot.

Okay, that’s all I have for this barely-a-post. Hope you’re enjoying your fall weather, too!

This summer seems never ending, doesn’t it? Summer is my favorite season, but I think I’ve had enough. I’m ready for a change!

But apparently summer will end. We only have 4 more challenges left. Up this week:

“That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life’s ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment choices, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God’s will, and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else’s chapter or whether it has in it what chapter five will have.”

This is the first one that I must say, I’m not sure I entirely agree with. Perhaps I just don’t understand his intent.

I don’t really think it matters how you view the years of your life, as long as you recognize that what God may be calling you to now, may not be what he’s calling you to forever. Sure, life has seasons, but like seasons do, they slowly change. I think rarely does life change abruptly and completely, though there are times that it does, which the term “chapters” implies to me.

So, now I’ve gotten my nitpickiness out of the way, let’s get to what perhaps he really was trying to say. I like that he encourages us women not to compare our lives with another’s. I may be able to do this or that, but just because I have the freedom to do so doesn’t mean that you will. A godly woman doesn’t come from a cookie cutter. In fact, God wants us to do different things, or he wouldn’t have gifted us differently.

At the same time, we aren’t to long for different seasons of our life, past or potential. For me, this can be a real struggle, as I find it easy to long to be a wife and a mother. Thankfully, I have friends in my life that can give me a more realistic picture of those roles than what I find in my daydreams. It’s healthy for me to get a good dose of reality!

Other Posts in This Series:

A Summer of Growth

Peace, Joy, and Strength

Daily Acts of Love

Women of the Book

Women of Prayer

Deep Thinkin’

No More Frittering

Exploiting Not Paralyzing

Keeping Me Honest

To Be God’s Free Agent

Photo by photon_de

Looking back, summer has always  been an important time in my life. I imagine I’m not the only one. There’s just something different and special about this season that sets it apart from the colder months.

I’ve had some summers of excessive downtime–Summer 2005 I completely caught myself up on Law and Order SVU–and some of intense spiritual growth–Phoenix 2003 and Turkey 2004 both come to mind.

I want summer 2011 to be numbered among the latter.

To that purpose, I’ve recommitted myself to my goals. I’m not stopping there, though. I’ve also decided to use John Piper’s “A Challenge to Women,” something I’ve read several times, as a jumping off point for meditation and–with your help–discussion. In short, I seek to challenge myself and perhaps you too, reader.

So each week, I’ll be talking about one point of this challenge.

Now, on to the first point of the challenge:

“That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.”

Well, that’s a doozy! Everything else Piper mentions can be summarized in this one.

When I read this point, the word that stands out to me is “devoted.” Devotion is a beautiful concept in theory, but a hard concept to pull off. Am I truly devoted to God, or are my loyalties mixed?

What do my actions reveal when I more often seek my own pleasure than to spend time with the Lord or helping others?

This goes well with the verse that I memorized last week:

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:9, NASU

I want to be a woman marked by devotion to God. I want God to be my sole love and desire. May this be my prayer and song this week.

Photo by doug8888

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

It’s fall.  As in, it’s no longer summer.

Wednesday I went to work in my usual flip flops and short sleeves and froze all day, even though I had my sweater on.

When it was time to go home, I was looking forward to walking out into the warm day, but instead, I encountered cold rain as I left my building.

That’s when I gave up.  I went home, put on socks and my mom-made warm flannel pj pants, and nestled in to a good book (okay, “good” is relative…it was Twilight).

And I’ve not worn my flip flops since.

Does any one else live in denial that it’s no longer summer?

Photo by *Micky

Look at that!  A whole weekday went by and nary a post on the Ignorant Historian.  Not that I’m proud of that–okay, I am.  As much as I love blogging and you all, I can let go for one measley day, right?  RIGHT?  Hmm.  Having a hard time convincing myself of that…

So basically the reason for my absence can be blamed on summer being over.  Once school is back in session here in NC, traffic gets busier, calls/emails keep coming in, and lots and lots of events fill up my schedule.  Spring really is my busy time at work, but September is looking like it’s trying to compete with February for busiest-month status (though it’s no where close).  Today I have my fourth appointment in 3 days out of the office, all of which are intended to prepare for even busier times.

So, all this has got me thinking…when is your busiest time of the year?  What’s the slowest?  I’ve already hinted that February is my busiest month, but the spring overall is quite busy.  Slowest is definitely the summer, especially July.  So, how about you?

Dear Spring,

I’m so glad that you are here. Know that you are fully welcome anytime. It seems like it took awhile for you to get here…did you get stuck in traffic? Did you sleep in? As much as the rain of the last two weeks was a blessing, I longed to see your face.

The only problem is, Spring, that when you are here, I don’t want to do anything but spend time with you. I no longer feel the urgency to work on my term paper, clean my room, or do anything that requires excessive exertion of mind or body. No, all I want to do is sit outside with a good book (which would not be my Baptist history textbook) and breathe in the breeze and rays of sunshine.

So while class is still in session, Spring, you will have to forgive my absence. It’s not you; it’s me. As much as I want to be with you all the time, I have to make time for my other love, School. I love you more, Spring, but you come and go. School, on the otherhand, is my constant companion and will continue by my side until I flip my tassel and throw my cap in December. By then, you won’t even bother to come and visit me anymore.

Spring, I hope you understand and will continue to allow me to enjoy your beauty from afar.

Longingly,

Ronnica