Weekend Snippet

I had a fun weekend, blogging friends.  Friday evening brought scrumptious desserts with my fiance and two friends at the Grand Luxe.  I dedicated Saturday morning to my second-ever photo spree with a rented Nikon D70!  (I took pictures at this adorable, local bookstore.  I will post the rest of the photos soon!)

Before tromping to work on Saturday, I enjoyed this latte and chocolate chip cookie indulgence at Joe's.  And, finally, Sunday afternoon was spent relaxing with my fiance and friends.  We spent nearly the entire day at my fiance's apartment, eating pizza, rearranging furniture, half-heartedly completing minimal amounts of homework, attempting to install Linux on my laptop, and fixedly watching Minority Report.

Life is good.

Fridays

I like Fridays.  I have time to breathe on Fridays.  I slept in until 10:00 am, went to class, ate lunch, and came back to my apartment two hours of free time.  Free time!  Time to complete homework, sip coffee, listen to First Aid Kit (I'm still obsessed), and catch up on emails.  And, in this case, to post something rather meaningless and fun.



I wore my red shoes (again) today.


 
My assigned reading for drama class has been utterly fascinating.  Check out The Empty Space by Peter Brook, Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle, and The Actor's Art and Craft by William Esper and Damon DiMarco.

I was washing my hands in the bathroom and realized, "Hey, there's two of me!"  Wouldn't that be a nightmare?  There's my pointless photo (or, based on my recent post, my narcissistic photo) of the day.

Well, I'm off to work soon.  Happy Friday!

I won something! Eeeee!!!

Remember the giveaway I posted about last week, the one hosted by the flowerchild dwelling and a beautiful journey?  I won it!!!  This never happens to me, and I am stoked.

Kelly Ann will be posting more giveaways in February.  You should check out her blog, not only to check out the free crafts, but to discover her eclectic music recommendations and breathtaking photography skills!  (Isn't this picture exquisite!  You can see the rest here.)

Also, here is the link to a beautiful journey, the blog from which I won the lovely tree necklace.  In addition to being a wife and mother, Arielle is a professional photographer!  Check out her photography website here.  (Aren't she and her hubby adorable?)

That is all for now!  Hope that you also receive an unexpected, happy surprise today!

Are bloggers narcissists?

My favorite professor at Moody Bible Institute recently presented a compelling critique of the "clamoring, competing autobiographies" which plague the Internet.  I listened, spellbound, furiously scribbling notes and prayerfully examining my heart.  Questions flooded my mind.  Why do I blog?  Who am I attempting to impress?  Is my little web page of autobiography a petty invention, a misguided outlet of my creativity?  Most importantly, does it glorify my God?

Those who keep diaries and scrapbooks are rarely accused of self-absorption.  However, these creative disciplines are generally kept private, perhaps even sacred, laid inconspicuously on a bedside table.  Blogging is a less graceful art.  We craft our posts and edit our photographs, meticulously preparing ourselves for the public eye, and we cast our lines as fishermen, hoping to "hook" more readers who will stroke our egos with gushing comments.  (These comments consistently include adjectives such as "lovely" and "delightful," words dreadfully overused by the women of Blogger-land.)

Fellow bloggers, we must, we must re-examine our motives for blogging.  Despite our innocent desire to inspire others, our posts often do nothing more than propagate the self.  Through blogging we can find our very identities re-molded and neurotically maintained, all for the admiration of followers.

How can this be avoided?  We must prayerfully examine our hearts.  Mine is ridden with pride.  I want people to read about me, to admire me, to think that I am creative and beautiful, to believe that my life in Chicago is perpetually  marvelous.  I am the star of this little website, and the influx of comments boost my ego.

This is foolishness.  Oh, that I would write and photograph in order to glorify my God, in order to serve my smattering of readers!  I must speak of him more honestly, and the "little things" photographed must not be posted for the preservation of my image, but for the humble purpose of inspiring and delighting others with the beauty of the ordinary.

Ah, this, this sort of creativity produces a joyous optimism. It is the healthy outflow of a grateful heart, a heart which recognizes its own unworthiness of anything good.  Despite my wretched pride, my gracious God patiently prods me to repentance, and I can set about my daily doings with renewed vigor.  His existence defines all that I do and all that I am.  It is my goal that this "clamoring autobiography" will strike my readers with beauty.  Beauty not of myself, but of my God.

SLR

I rented a Nixon D70 this afternoon.  And it was one of the most frustrating, exhilarating afternoons of my life.  To begin the journey, I spent an hour alone with the user manual and my photography textbook, desperately trying to grasp the basics of manual exposure settings.

(These are little books I made for my middle school girls at youth group!)

I eventually ventured out into the freezing cold for a photo spree.  I stopped at numerous corners, squinting through my viewfinder and haphazardly scrolling the aperture and shutter speed wheels.  It was so much fun.

These are only a handful of my shots today.  They are amateur, to be sure, and I had to delete over half of my exposures (some were embarrassingly awful!).  However, the Nikon and I became well-acquainted today, and I cannot wait for our next date!

For once, good Starbucks!

My friend Chloé recently recommended the caramel salted hot chocolate from Starbucks.  Now, I hate Starbucks, but this particular drink sounded too scrumptious to pass up.

I moseyed over to the closest [bad] coffee establishment for some quality homework time.  I read about the pitfalls of "deadly theatre" and the basics of photography, all the while listening to First Aid Kit and sipping my decadent drink.

I devoured the assigned chapters, for I know absolutely nothing about photography!  (All of my photos are taken with a 7.2 Mega pixel, Sony Cyber-shot.)  Tomorrow I am renting a digital SLR from my school.  I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!

To my photographer friends in the blogging world, do you have any advice for me as I fiddle with my first SLR?

Check out this blog!

A Beautiful Journey is a blog about a girl who is a photographer and a young momma who loves her husband and all things vintage.

Connect with Arielle:
Website // Blog // Twitter 

 Arielle is giving away this sweet silver tree necklace... so lovely.

To enter, visit Arielle's blog and leave a comment at the flowerchild dwelling.

For extra entries, tweet/facebook/blog about this giveaway and leave a comment, again, at the flowerchild dwelling.

Make sure you leave a separate comment for each one.

:: A winner will be chosen on January 27th ::

"I'll pirouette upon mine grave..."

These past few days, I have frequently sat down to blog, only to move onto completely different tasks.  I have no shortage of things to write about.  That is precisely the problem!  My soul overflowing, and my weekend has certainly been eventful.  How can I sum it up in one brief entry?

  
It is a new semester, a new season, already a period of personal growth.  My mind has been working ceaselessly, mulling over new ideas presented by eloquent professors, soaring blissfully between the measures of long-cherished songs, ruthlessly examining the depths of my own wicked heart, hoping to discover a glimmering jewel amidst the rotting garbage.  My sins are petty, predictable, and all too frequent.  I feel trapped by my own indulgences.

These past few days, Christ has been wooing me back to Him.  He whispers to my soul as I slosh mop water onto tiled floors, as I scribble lecture notes, as I sing hymns during chapel services.  He loves me.  He is pursuing me.  And I am somehow still trying to deserve Him.

My relationship with my Savior has been strained for almost two years.  I cannot begin to articulate how loudly my addictions screech and wail against Him, how my heart has been clawed to tatters by the warring desires of the flesh and Spirit.  My foolish remedy has been to fiercely examine myself, to find every fault, to somehow fix myself through a guilt-ridden face and sheer willpower.  I deeply thirst for Him, but I do everything but trust in His grace.

He has taken me into His home, given me His name, and guarded me with His Word.  How can I resist such compassionate love?

Oh refuge of my hardened heart
Oh fast pursuing lover come
As angels dance 'round Your throne
My life by captured fare You own

Not silhouette of trodden faith
Nor death shall not my steps be guide
I'll pirouette upon mine grave
For in Your path I'll run and hide

Oh gaze of love so melt my pride
That I may in Your house but kneel
And in my brokenness to cry
Spring worship unto Thee


"Hymn" by Jars of Clay

(The photos were taken by myself, in downtown Chicago.)

Mail Time

Josh and I received several Target gift cards for Christmas.  (We created our wedding registry there.)  I had asserted with fierce frugality, "We will save these cards for June," but $6.00 for a pair of shoes is rather irresistible.

The box arrived yesterday, a welcome treasure amidst the steady influx of used textbooks.  Oh, of course, assigned reading is fascinating and beneficial, but I occasionally lapse into a shameful fit of excitement over material things.

This week has been a flurry of activity, moving from one class to another, to work, to the ATM, to youth group at my beloved church in the suburbs.  Have I mentioned that I am unduly blessed?

I am studying the book of Genesis, the book of Romans, photography, drama, and forbidden knowledge in literature.  My professors are brilliant and engaging, and I often sit shell-shocked as my presuppositions are blasted into oblivion.  My readers, rest assured that I know nothing, and that I deserve less than nothing.  My education is precious, an undeserved crown, and I intend to write to you more intelligently.

I blog about snowfalls and thrift shops, Chicago and Christmas decorations, but of what importance are these things?  Why do I take pictures and post narcissistic blurbs about my fleeting existence? The things of God deserve more mention than my daily doings.  I am quite negligible, but He... He is enchantingly beautiful.  Christ haunts me with His faithfulness, pursues me with intensity, and His Word sharply slices through my delusions of grandeur.

On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand 

[More] Snow

It snowed all day.  No, really.  All day.  And it was beautiful.

Another foot picture (I couldn't resist).  L.L. Bean crafts impeccable boots, by the way.

It is very late, so I am writing very little.

My one thought for the night: my classes are phenomenal, and I am grateful to be studying at Moody.

Elaborations to come.  Goodnight, all!

Walking to Work

One of my New Year's resolutions has been to take more photos.  More photos, less timidly, more often.  So, while marching to work yesterday, I decided to break my brisk pace to unabashedly point and shoot.

I cross Chicago and Michigan almost every day!  The street itself was rather dim, so I have no picture of the bustling shoppers.

These signs are all over the place.  My first impulse is to cover my head, duck, and run away screaming.  No, really... 

I try to look focused and confident when I hustle along the busy sidewalks.  But sometimes the pretty buildings distract me, and I end up looking like a tourist.  A badly dressed tourist, for that matter.

Thank you, Panera Bread, for funding my edu'ma'cation.  I will forever be a bread snob.

I live here?

I have been walking more than usual.  My magical, student U-Pass (my unlimited access to public transportation) expired at the semester's end, and I have been sentenced to pay cash for bus and subway fare.  So, I just walk.  A lot.  And tromping back and forth from my apartment to Panera and back again, I have been struck with a sense of wonder at this city.

This just a snapshot from my street.  I pass that soaring, black skyscraper on my way to Panera everyday.  It is the John Hancock Center, located downtown on Michigan Avenue, a street continually bustling with tourists and wealthy, fashionable Chicagoans.

The city was graced with a light snowfall yesterday.  The gentle layer gives the buildings and sidewalks a fresh, wintry look.  (I wear those moccasins everywhere, even in the snow.)

This was taken from the top floor of my apartment building.  What an incredible city!

Quiet Days

The spring semester has yet to begin!  Though my every evening is spent at work, my mornings are filled with sleep and quiet lounging.  Free time is lovely, and I am trying to savor it.

(I am addicted to Panera sandwiches.)  Both of my roommates have returned to Chicago, and the apartment feels normal again.  I relish alone time, but it is admittedly wonderful to be greeted by two sweet friends when I walk in the door!

All those dishes... we are definitely back to normal!  Despite my general laziness, I demonstrated mild productivity by ordering some textbooks.  They arrived from Amazon (in six packages) yesterday.

Isn't that an awesome reading list?  The literature course is designed to study the "idea of forbidden knowledge and how uncontained curiosity can lead to the monstrous." It will be undoubtedly interesting, and I am stoked!

Cheesecake and Chicago

Josh and I had a marvelous date last night!  We see each other often (he always picks me up from work) but I usually look disheveled and reek of restaurant aromas.  Preparing for a "real" date was delightful.

Our first stop was dinner at the Grand Luxe Cafe.  We were seated next to a window facing Michigan Avenue!

We have visited this restaurant before, and I have always coveted the window seats.  We enjoyed people watching as we waited for our food.  I ordered lemon chicken over pasta (complete with mushrooms and artichoke hearts), and Josh ordered shrimp scampi.  Delicious!

We then made our way to Shops at the North Bridge.  We bypassed the boutiques and marched into the LEGO Store!

The Darth Vader statue was taller than me!

Next stop, the Cheesecake Factory!  This was my favorite part.  Josh ordered the brownie sundae cheesecake, and I dark chocolate raspberry.

Happy girl!