saturdays

ahhhh. saturday.

i have to admit as of late i live for the weekends. i enjoy my saturday routine. weight watchers, body pump or running, abs class and then turbo kick. and then my afternoon.

today noemi and i went to migun massage therapy for what we thought was a short informational meeting, free food and a free massage. it ended up being a 2-hour event...and an hour and some change of a sales pitch. the combination of empty stomachs and sore muscles, sitting still for over an hour wasn't a good idea. the massage was pretty nice..it was this table thingy, hard to explain, but the background noise made it not so relaxing. so you're basically on a bed, on your back...in the middle of a room with other beds and just people. so we heard all of the conversations behind us while we were trying to relax.

it was a funny experience. we both decided that we are on a reality show: the adventures of noemi and jara. we couldn't make this stuff up.

i enjoyed being out driving on the road and enjoying the good weather. i'm now waiting for liz. she's bringing dinner over for us. i'm looking forward to seeing what she vegetarianized for us for dinner. :)

i've appreciated her new friendship. i'm still trying to figure out how to honor my friendships that have been long-standing and have made my life sustainable...while also nurturing new friendships. i think that's been a struggle of my life. and probably something that comes along with being a 6.

i have to remind myself. it will be okay.

this was a random blog. i haven't blogged in awhile. i want to try to do that more soon.

keep me to my word.

3 weeks. 3 weeks. 3 weeks.

until i get to show the world what we've been working on here at wmf.

we're so excited for our new visual identity. i hope you are, too.

until then, pray for us, we're working hard!

love. me

multiculturalism

this past sunday, chris shared at our beggars society. we'll post the video shortly.

this is part of a prayer that daphne led us in. i thought it was really beautiful.

Jericho Road by Martin Luther King Jr.

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's road side, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. Compassion sees that an edifice that produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.

peace

i stole this from liz' prayer letter.


Last week as I was folding and mailing our staff’s W-2s I kept thinking about quickly finishing so
that I could move on to the next urgent, pressing task. Then I realized that I’d never thrive trying
to be Martha until I have time to be Mary. All of life feels like urgent, pressing tasks. It seems like everything needs to be done now, especially when it comes to finances. This urgency makes me wonder what would have happened to the party if Martha would have been hanging out with Jesus like Mary, instead of getting the food around for a meal? Maybe it’s not about sitting down with Jesus or working in the kitchen, but finding I stopped my frenzied folding.

I took a deep breath and I invited Jesus into the kitchen with me. If I could go back to that scene in Luke I can easily imagine Jesus sitting in the kitchen helping Martha cut the vegetables if she would have asked him. I decided to enjoy my moments folding and mailing the W-2s. As I
folded I prayed for each staff member. I prayed for all their needs to be met. Some of them have
low support accounts, I prayed for their financial needs. Some may be lonely or missing family, I
prayed for emotional needs. I took deep, long breaths and I was really aware of the presence of
Christ with me in those moments and a sense of peace from the rushing and frenzied activity.
I think that being peaceful in the midst of frenzied activity is so much more difficult this
year with anxieties about the economy.

joy

i'm really happy today.
i guess i'm joyful today.
i'm really joyful.
and i'm hopeful.

i'm not completely sure why. but i imagine that people are praying for me. i love that feeling when you know that someone must have just prayed for you.

i get stressed out a lot about most things. if you've thought about something stressful today, i bet i already thought of it. for instance, this morning when going to my car to the gym, i saw a raccoon, i was sure it was going to attack me. and today i've thought about the ways that i would outrun it. seriously.

but i will write what i'm thankful about.

- i'm thankful liz has a work journal. because i stole the idea. i keep a journal with me. brent gave us journals at his going away dinner. so i decided i would keep that gift with me as i traveled around. it's allowed me to complain, celebrate, reflect and write as i need to throughout the day. i have a daily journal at home and other ones scattered around, but this one stays with me and i've enjoyed it.
- the weather. it's so beautiful today. i'll enjoy it for a bit today.
- my brother's birthday is today. ken and i are going to take him out to dinner and give him his bday gift. i love birthdays.
- sarah landreth's birthday party is saturday! and so is mine! sarah will be one! she's a bit younger than me.
- two people have offered different free items for jonathan's apartment. mattress/box spring and a desk.
- i'm going to an after-party after work with liz. i'm looking forward to mingling with strangers for a moment.
- i had a really good meeting with daphne this afternoon.
- i'm glad people are back from the field forum. it was lonely without them
- i am thankful for the food i had today. there are people without food today.
- blog commetns from brent in bolivia. so many Bs.
- my gym friends. they are always fun.
- introducing noemi to sushi tomorrow.
- caleb's art opening tomorrow! i love art!
- jason visiting omaha to help us with the redesign! yeah!
- red shoes. i'm wearing red shoes. they make me happy.
- and i'm not wearing a winter jacket.
yeah.

mahogany cards

target has its own brand of mahogany cards. their brand is called EBONY.

i usually get a kick out of the messages on mahogany cards. they are geared towards african americans and are: 1) very poetic, 2) inspirational 3) too poetic and/or 4) too inspirational.

kenley and i were looking for a birthday card for my brother and came to the conclusion that the ebony brand is a little too much.

on the outside:
brother, on your birthday, it's all good...

on the inside:
just keep doing your thing, and handling your business.

you know how we do.

happy birthday.


reaaaaaally.

birth days

i was born at 12:31 am march 1, 1981.

and my dear friends, the brandts, welcomed their newest child at 12:14 am march 1, 2009.

i was able to sit in on their labor and observe a new life entering the world. and i even held the baby...and the baby was less than an hour old.

i will let the brandts announce all the baby details! stay tuned!