New Year

So I just finished Surrender to Love by David Benner which took me over a month to read, Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell which took me 30 minutes to read, and now am reading Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen. All three are pretty amazing writers. All three are very different writers. But all three are passionate about God, Christ, and life lived in Christ. I'm gleaning some pretty cool stuff from them - and am enjoying my times of resting my mind from everything around me to read word by word the stories these men have written. Quotes from these amazing men: "Jesus invites us to abandon the isolation and rigidity associated with our egocentricity." -David Benner. This totally describes a place I can go with out Jesus: isolated, rigid, and egocentric. "When we try to resolve things too quickly or pretend that everyone is there when they aren't or offer hollow, superficial explanations...it's not honest and it's not right and it's not real. It's not how life is." - Rob Bell. Seriously Rob Bell has the ability to look into my heart and pick out the words it is trying to say. He also has the ability to say words that reveal the rawness and the ugliness and then point out Jesus' power in the midst of it all. "You are free to do what you want - that is if you really want it." - Henri Nouwen. That is from the first chapter and I haven't finished Henri's book...but I think I will love it! I am wanting to dream a lot right now. Dream, plan, hope, pray, and make my dreams a reality. More writing to come on those dreams I'm sure.

Tomorrow we take down Christmas in our house. I try to leave everything up for 12 days after Christmas...that was Thursday and tomorrow is the first chance I'll have. I always get sad when I have to take it all down. But I do like putting the normal decorations back up and setting things in order again.

I have taken up running as my regular exercise. I go about 3 times a week and so far have LOVED it! I go either at 6:45am...just after the sun makes it safe for me to be out :) or I go after work right before the sun goes down. It is really fun feeling my body change and become better at running. I can go for lots longer than I could when I started about 4 months ago and I feel so good! I love that my running is dependent on nothing other than me. When I would go to the gym sometimes I wouldn't want to be around other people. When hiking was my exercise I wouldn't have time to drive to and from the mountain, hike it, and still get to work on time. When I rode my bike I would get flat tires and then be discouraged. Now, all my work out depends on is my effort to get up, there being enough light to see where I'm going, and Kofi not to eat my running stuff (which so far she has only eaten shoe laces). I think I will enjoy my life as a casual runner. I'm slow but steady for the few miles at a time I can run right now. I'm adding more time to my runs each week to see how long I can go...we'll see!

I'm starting this sorbet faze I think. I made mango sorbet on New Year's Eve and I LOVED it so much! I just got some more fruit to make into sorbet...and I might do it tomorrow. But first on my agenda is cleaning my entire house, laundry, putting Christmas away, and choosing paint for our bedroom (which hopefully we can paint SOON!)

So...I think that about wraps up for tonight. Kofi is ready for bed so I'm gonna go.