Today I am thankful for:
-My spontaneous dad, who decided yesterday that he would get on a plane from TX this evening to come see Harry Potter with me and hang out for the weekend
-The generosity within my church community
-My workplace, where I feel equally appreciated and challenged to grow
-The cold-front that is moving in
-A husband that wants to help me cook
-That today I have a relaxing dinner with good friends to look forward to
-The ability to resurrect one of my FAVORITE recipes from summer camp as a girl, thanks to a former camp friend's blog
-Having one of my closest friends as one of my closest neighbors
Hope you all have a restful and fun weekends!
-M.E.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Introverts
My own introversion is something I think about quite often (as an introspective intorvert will do). In a culture that is extrovert-loving, it can be difficult to be an introvert.
Although I was never overtly told that being an introvert is negative, I have often felt that way. Our society seems to value extroverted qualities such as assertiveness, out-goingness, ability to make friends easily, networking, and loud leadership more than it values the introverted traits of thoughtfulness, insightfulness, and quiet leadership.
As I've grown up and learned to love myself I've been able to see the value of my introversion and to recognize that some of the things I love most about myself stem from this very personality trait. I get lost in comtemplation, I think before I speak, I am calm, conscientious, compassionate, and introspective. I excel at individual tasks, enjoy time alone and in small groups, and love getting lost in the worlds of books, movies and TV. I don't have a million friends, but the friendships I have are deep and long lasting.
I recently found an amazing blog about introversion called Quiet that can be found here
On that blog I recently saw a post about Introversion in the chuch and I found it valuable and interesting and I wanted to share a quote from it here:
"Even more dangerous is the tendency of evangelical churches to unintentionally exalt extroverted qualities as the “ideals” of faithfulness. Too often “ideal” Christians are social and gregarious, with an overt passion and enthusiasm. They find it easy to share the gospel with strangers, eagerly invite people into their homes, participate in a wide variety of activities, and quickly assume leadership responsibilities. Those are wonderful qualities, and our churches suffer when we don’t have those sorts of people, but if these qualities epitomize the Christian life, many of us introverts are left feeling excluded and spiritually inadequate. Or we wear ourselves out from constantly masquerading as extroverts."
Reverend Adam McHugh, author of the book, “Introverts in the Church,” and the blog, http://www.introvertedchurch.com/
There have definitely been times when I have felt inadequate spiritually because of my personality. But it is at those times that Moses has been the greatest comfort to me - the greatest Christian example of a servant of God, a great prophet who when asked to convince Pharoah to let his people go replies, "“Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10. Moses was unsure that he could lead, but the Lord assured him that introverts are powerful with God by their side.
-M.E.
Although I was never overtly told that being an introvert is negative, I have often felt that way. Our society seems to value extroverted qualities such as assertiveness, out-goingness, ability to make friends easily, networking, and loud leadership more than it values the introverted traits of thoughtfulness, insightfulness, and quiet leadership.
As I've grown up and learned to love myself I've been able to see the value of my introversion and to recognize that some of the things I love most about myself stem from this very personality trait. I get lost in comtemplation, I think before I speak, I am calm, conscientious, compassionate, and introspective. I excel at individual tasks, enjoy time alone and in small groups, and love getting lost in the worlds of books, movies and TV. I don't have a million friends, but the friendships I have are deep and long lasting.
I recently found an amazing blog about introversion called Quiet that can be found here
On that blog I recently saw a post about Introversion in the chuch and I found it valuable and interesting and I wanted to share a quote from it here:
"Even more dangerous is the tendency of evangelical churches to unintentionally exalt extroverted qualities as the “ideals” of faithfulness. Too often “ideal” Christians are social and gregarious, with an overt passion and enthusiasm. They find it easy to share the gospel with strangers, eagerly invite people into their homes, participate in a wide variety of activities, and quickly assume leadership responsibilities. Those are wonderful qualities, and our churches suffer when we don’t have those sorts of people, but if these qualities epitomize the Christian life, many of us introverts are left feeling excluded and spiritually inadequate. Or we wear ourselves out from constantly masquerading as extroverts."
Reverend Adam McHugh, author of the book, “Introverts in the Church,” and the blog, http://www.introvertedchurch.com/
There have definitely been times when I have felt inadequate spiritually because of my personality. But it is at those times that Moses has been the greatest comfort to me - the greatest Christian example of a servant of God, a great prophet who when asked to convince Pharoah to let his people go replies, "“Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10. Moses was unsure that he could lead, but the Lord assured him that introverts are powerful with God by their side.
-M.E.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Back in Action
We're back from an amazing Canadian vacation/road trip to Quebec City and Montreal.
Both cities were beautiful and enchanting in their own ways. Quebec City is a very sleepy town filled with history. It was quaint, charming and quite relaxing. Plus we had a view of the whole city from our hotel room, can't get much better than that.
On the third day of the trip we headed over to Montreal. It is a vibrant, fun and culturally rich place which we really enjoyed exploring. Here are some of the trip highlights:
1) Shopping along cobblestone streets in buildings from the early 1800s
2) Watching soldiers march in funny hats
3) Enjoying a drink on our terrace overlooking all of Quebec City
4) Exploring the archeological ruins of old Montreal
5) Climbing to the top of Mount Royal
6) Seeing a waterfall that is taller than Niagara Falls!
7) Playing with giant chess pieces
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8) Seeing an incredible cathedral all lit up!
9) Going to the beach without leaving the city
10) Learning that I LOVE ESCARGOT!
11) Enjoying some of the best french/quebecois food we've ever had
12) Seeing Cirqu Du Soleil in the famous blue and yellow tent
![]()
And much much more! More photos to come later via facebook and flickr as Zach uploads them. Glad to be back, but really enjoyed the vacation!
-M.E.
Both cities were beautiful and enchanting in their own ways. Quebec City is a very sleepy town filled with history. It was quaint, charming and quite relaxing. Plus we had a view of the whole city from our hotel room, can't get much better than that.
On the third day of the trip we headed over to Montreal. It is a vibrant, fun and culturally rich place which we really enjoyed exploring. Here are some of the trip highlights:
1) Shopping along cobblestone streets in buildings from the early 1800s
2) Watching soldiers march in funny hats
3) Enjoying a drink on our terrace overlooking all of Quebec City
4) Exploring the archeological ruins of old Montreal
5) Climbing to the top of Mount Royal
6) Seeing a waterfall that is taller than Niagara Falls!
7) Playing with giant chess pieces
8) Seeing an incredible cathedral all lit up!
9) Going to the beach without leaving the city
10) Learning that I LOVE ESCARGOT!
11) Enjoying some of the best french/quebecois food we've ever had
12) Seeing Cirqu Du Soleil in the famous blue and yellow tent
And much much more! More photos to come later via facebook and flickr as Zach uploads them. Glad to be back, but really enjoyed the vacation!
-M.E.
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