Raging, Ranting, Raving, and Rhapsodizing

...and you'd be right! On to the post:

Colorado is beautiful. I’ve lived here all my life, just like 3 generations before me on my dad’s side and 5 generations on my mom’s. Although it would be fun living somewhere else for a change (Stephen and I are considering it), I’ll always want to move back to Denver. The weather, the aspen, the mountains, the city, the everything. I adore it.

Yesterday was our first snowfall; we got about an inch (I didn’t read the weather report and wore flip-flops like an idiot). I love watching the big flakes floating down, in no particular hurry- it causes me to slow down and relax. I love hot chocolate, I love wearing scarves and hats and warm socks and long sleeves, I love reading by the fire with a glass of wine. I love skiing and snowboarding (I’ve been boarding on my own for a few years, and this year I’m learning for real).

But this morning, I remembered something about this season of sport and snow that I hate: scraping ice off my windshield. No on likes getting up in the morning, leaving the warmth and comfort of sleep to face the cold, cold world. It’s no fun at all leaving your house to get into your cold car/walk in the cold to the bus stop, but it’s bearable. But it’s the WORST to be already late (in my case) and have to shuffle around your car scraping all the ice off the windows. It really shouldn’t be THAT bad, but there’s just something about having to do this tedious task that I cannot abide. I always end up missing spots on my windshield so my wipers won’t work right, or screwing up the way I’ve got my side mirrors set, or getting myself all snowy and wet. It's a craptastic way to start your day.

Before I end this post I’de like to say a few words regarding recent comments by Tony Blair (UK Prime minister) and Jack Straw (UK Foreign Secretary). Jack Straw recently asked Muslim women visiting his office to remove their veils. Tony Blair said the veil is "a mark of seperation" that "makes other people... feel uncomfortable", which has led to leaders suggesting banning the veil altogether, much like France has done in its schools. This has sparked a heated discussion on religious freedom and the value of an integrated society both within and outside the Muslim community.

I will admit that the veil is little understood by westerners, and complex at best. Some say the veil is meant to protect a woman, that by wearing it she is keeping her beauty secret and sacred, and that it is a relevant and appropriate practice. Other say it is a sign of a woman’s enslavement, that her husband is exersicing control over her, and that it is an oppressive and antiquated tradition. Regardless of how any individual may feel about the tradition of the veil or the motivation behind this practice, we simply cannot mandate against it. We pride ourselves in the west on religious freedom and tolerance; taking away a woman’s right to wear a veil is taking away her basic freedom.

Most American women would be furious to move to Afghanistan or Somalia and be forced to dress in the manner of the majority of women there- it would take away their rights. Why should WE presume to do any differently? The notion of prohibiting something as simple as a Muslim veil, which does no harm in and of itself(other than make people uncomfortable) is unfounded and ridiculous. Society has always feared what is different, what it does not understand. I am not a Muslim, and I don't wear a veil. I'm a Christian and I wear normal American clothes (not counting flip-flops in snow). I'm not even friends with any Muslims, but I am irate. This controversy makes me very nervous for my own civil liberties- what will politicians think of next?

So, I was reading Melissa's blog the other day and was inspired about a recent post to lose weight. I'm at a pretty decent weight, considering my height, but I could stand to lose 10-15ish pounds and firm up a little. My problem isn't the resistance of fatty foods so much as it is the fight against hard and established habits. For instance: I love coffee. Not just plain coffee, but silly 4 dollar drinks (that's another problem: I spend way too much money). Now, I work downtown. There is literally a Starbucks on every other corner- I don't even have to leave my building to get to one. There's a Starbucks in the lobby (Tyra Banks was there a few weeks ago and there was a big local fuss about it). And if you'd rather support a local shop with better coffee, as I would, you needn't walk more than 2 blocks. There are at least 3 to chose from within 3 minutes of my office. In downtown Denver, you are never, ever out of sight of a coffee shop. This is the worst part of the city for coffee-phobes.

AS I WAS SAYING, habits: I love to get a hot americano on a chilly morning, or a cool, sweet, syrupy iced coffee beverage on a warm afternoon. I have a favorite for every season, and as coffee is practically as available to me downtown as the air I breathe, I am having significant trouble breaking my habit. I am drinking a hazelnut mocha as I write this. Another dubious one is my will-kill-everyone-who-looks-at-me-if-I-don't-get-some-chocolate-immediately-habit, which only afflicts me about a week a month. (Like I said, hazelnut mocha) I like a soda when I get home, while I'm cooking, or with dinner, and I always end up feeling totally crappy afterwards.

I want to develop healthier habits- water instead of coffee, a glass of wine instead of soda. In general I even like healthy, whole foods better than junk foods- I just eat too much. I love to eat! I love to cook, I love to bake, I love food! If I trimmed my portions down, and changed a few habits, I could probably lose this weight pretty quick. We're working out 3 times a week now, and ski season is coming up. If I discipline myself, maybe I can be where I want to be by Christmas (just in time for ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, buns, pie, and traditional German family-recipe Christmas cookies).

Self-control is a virtue I really want to develop in myself right now. Most importantly, I want spiritual discipline. I feel like this is a foundation for discipline in eating, exercising, time, school, chores, entertainment, etc. I feel strongly that God is working in my life to nurture and develop self-control in me.

It has been quite a while since I have made any new posts- I've been busy working, going to math class, going to bible study, going to small groups, singing on the worship team, and trying to maintain my relationships in the midst of it. I feel so stretched!

One night I go to a book study, which I probably shouldn't have signed up for, given my already high level of stress. Anyway, we're reading selected passages from Devotional Classics, which I enjoy. It's a comfortable setting, a pretty small group, and I am liking the book. It includes exerpts by a lot of classical christian authors, everyone from CS Lewis to Martin Luther to Francis of Assisi. It's refreshing to read these, especially the older stuff. I feel many of the newer devotionals I've read recently (the kind under the 'christian inspiration' section at barnes & noble) are superflous, meandering, and soft.

CS Lewis and AW Tozer are my favorite authors. I've been ruined for typical Christian literature ever since I read the first page in Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy. Every sentence is heavy with meaning, straight to the point, unflinching, clear, profound, and beautifully written. He did not back down from unpopular or unpleasant truths- he wrote about what was really important in a time when much of the church was focused on trivialities. Tozer pointed out the irreverance of the church and their wrong beliefs about God, and his resulting work is an enduring classic which continues to impart revelation to those with ears to hear and eyes to see.

Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy is a thin little volume which I think every Christian should read at least once. It has changed my perception of God and changed my relationship with Him- the revelation I've gotten during my reading of this book has changed my thinking and transformed my faith.

CS Lewis's Mere Christianity is another of my favorites. It's such a well-known classic that it almost seems cliche to recommend it, but I do anyway. Lewis's writing style is simple, funny, and resolved. He has a way of articulating common thoughts in a new and "aha!" kind of way. I love all his work.

I've read the Narnia series dozens of times (and thought the movie was weak, but good), but my favorite selection by CS Lewis is a lesser known sci-fi trilogy chronicling the adventures of a character named Ransom. Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength are books I could, and do read over and over. Like Tolkien, Lewis creates a complex, phantasmal world, and you can't help but get lost in it. I never was able to read Tolkien, though I have a great respect for him. He's so descriptive, almost too complex- every attempt I ever made on his work was abandoned early on because it bored me (keeping in mind my relatively short attention span).

I love books that make you forget where you are. I'm in the middle of an historical fiction set in the 1600's in Hindostan (India and the surrounding areas). I'm just fascinated by the customs and culture- I get so caught up in the story and the setting. I can almost taste the chai, smell the jasmine, feel the smooth, brightly colored silks, and see the elegant architechture glimmering through the desert heat waves.

Next on my list: Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers, Feast of Roses (the sequel to the book I'm reading now), and a book of short stories about "surviving the extremes" (stranded on everest, lost in the desert, stuck in a cave, etc.).

I should read the Dune series. I've heard they're good. I've also never read Dracula.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'll read almost anything.