What is it about Oscar season that just makes you want to cry?... oh, it's the movies! My goal this year was to see all of the big Oscar films. Well apparently, to get anywhere in Hollywood you must commit suicide, molest an alter boy, read to an illiterate Nazi, hate people from Asia, and marry Leonardo DiCaprio. Why can't we just be sweet and nice and happy? Jeez America, let's get some therapy.

Today was one of those days that you really feel like a minister.

So, I was updating my Facebook and realized that I haven't read any books lately that aren't youth ministry related. Well, I'm in the mood for reading- it must be the cold weather. Give me some recommendations. What are your favorite books? You know, the ones that you just can't put down. The ones you read in a day. And please don't say Twilight...

Something else I am pondering...
This morning the weather person said that our high temp on Sunday would be 61 and our high on Monday would be 16. Is that even possible?

So I have a pretty crazy task before me. I'm about to spend the next two months teaching a group of rowdy 7th and 8th graders how to study the bible. On the surface this many sound easy, but as I sit here preparing, I'm becoming more fearful, or confused, or overwhelmed, well I'm not sure exactly how I feel. Here's what I do know. I didn't learn how to study the bible until I went to grad school. I am confident that my exegetical material from those classes will be lost on these teens, I say sarcastically. In all honesty, that material was lost on me pretty regularly. Oh man. Wish me luck people.

Taking the Plunge

Several months ago I declared 2009 would be "The Year of the Man." I have no idea why I even said it. But I think I'll take myself up on it. I've been doing some reading on the eHarmony website, and I'm thinking I'll give it a shot. What do I have to lose right? At least I'll have more to blog about. The truth is, since I finished grad school, I don't really know how to meet people my age. One friend said I should just go to some bars. Well, that's not the best image I want to pass along to my teens. :) Everyone keeps telling me there's this whole world of single people out there. I guess I just need a little help breaking into it. So, throughout 2009 feel free to stop by here for updates on the life of an online dater.

So, I had a few problems today. Let me share.

1. I have this ear problem. Maybe an ear infection or a sinus problem. Or maybe just a build up of wax. Whatever it is, I can't hear out of my right ear and I am sick of it! I'm going to the doctor soon, so don't worry.
2. On my was home from church I hit a curb, hard. I tore up my tire and bent the rim. Great. AAA was there in 20 minutes though so I still made it home in time for a Sunday afternoon nap on this snowy winter day.
3. I got a hole in my jeans tonight during youth worship. It's a 2 inch rip right over my right butt check. Luckily, I'd already sat down when it happened. So the teens didn't see my colorful panties (I hope). Most days I think I need to just stand up in front of the teens and say- "your youth minister is the biggest dork of all time, don't expect her to ever be cool." Then I would never have to worry about being embarrassed. We would all just expect these things to happen.
4. I don't think the heat in my apartment is working and it's Sunday night so there's not much I can do about it right now. Luckily, I have way too many blankets in my apartment, so I'm toasty right now in my bed.

Tonight I led a worship time about how much God blesses our lives and how much we have to be thankful for. Ironic, eh?

ummm, it's 16 degrees.

I have a new friend. One of my bffs, Lynsey, labored for something crazy like 40 hours to bring a little cutie into the world. Welcome Anna Kate Wells. I'm so excited to meet you and I'm really glad you have red hair! I was pulling for them to name her Sue, but no one ever takes me up on that. What's the deal? Sue is a great name people! It rhymes with so many words... two, boo, do, who, eww, moo, poo... See, you can take it anywhere. But enough of this nonsense...

On to something much less important than Anna Kate. I'm talking about college football. With the recent success of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, my personal intake of college football, espn game day, and sports center has hit an all time high. Now this is a major problem. It goes against all I stand for. As soon as I moved out of the Mullican Male House of Sports I vowed to take my life in a different direction- a sports free zone if you will. And I've done a great job, with the exception of the summer olympics of course. So anyways, these past few weeks Lubbock has gone crazy and I've watched from afar wishing I was participating in the madness. So in an attempt to join the masses of my hometown, I'll do it: WRECK 'EM TECH! Don't ever expect that again on this journey of a blog.

This is a shout out to my Romanian reader. I get a pretty consistent hit from somewhere in Romania, but I have no idea who I might be connected to over there. So, my Romanian friend, leave me a comment sometime. :)

I don't have much to blog about lately. I've been feeling somewhat uninspired these days. So, I'll give you a few thoughts on death- but not what you're probably thinking. As I said earlier, I love the fall. What a great time of year. But as I watch the leaves change and fall to the ground, I can't help but think about dying. These leaves, who have provided so much beauty and shade and photosynthesis are now meeting their end. They will be raked into monster trash bags that look like pumpkins and eventually end up in some dump or landfill. This death is necessary for the tree. And as a season ends, the tree is preparing itself for something new. For new life. New blooms, new beauty, new leaves, new shade. But this new life only comes through death. And we are reminded of this each October.

I have died to a few things in my life. At the end of my first semester in grad school my mentor asked me: "What have you died to this semester?" My answer was very obvious to me. That semester I had died to Lubbock and home. After two previous failed attempts to leave, I had finally moved away from my home and community and the safety it provided- not just physically, but emotionally too. I knew that I could be successful in a new place. Dying to my Lubbock/parents/Broadway/friends/LCU/home self gave me an opportunity for new life elsewhere. New opportunities, challenges, and joys. I'm thinking we are always dying to something. It is a Biblical idea after all.

The hard part about dying is that time between the falling leaves and the new blooms: the winter. The tree must endure a long hard cold season before it is ready to produce the new life. So, I feel as though I am in a fall stage of life right now. I am dying to something. I can feel it in my heart. And I'm bracing myself for the cold season ahead. But I know there is a beautiful spring in store full of new life and beauty.

Fall, glorious fall. It has arrived. 70 degree days, leaves crunching under my feet, campfires, hayrides, and football games. My favorite season is here and I love it!

Don't you just hate waiting... me too.

Why do people put tennis balls on the legs of their walkers? I cannot figure it out. Wouldn't it make it more slippery? Or is that what they're going for? This world has so many unanswered questions!

Anyways, a little followup to my previous diary entry...
Thank you all so much for your kind words and thoughts in response to my struggles. As a minister, I think I've forgotten what it's like to be ministered to. Following my post, a friend of mine sent me message and said she wanted to meet with me about what I had written. Immediately, I assumed she must have some similar struggle and would like me to help her through it or minister to her in some way- which is something I'm always happy and honored to do. At our Starbucks meeting, I was pleasantly surprised when she simply wanted to listen to me and help me. She sat there and offered me exactly what I needed, a friend.
As far as the food stuff goes, I'm seeking out some help and I feel better about the whole situation. God is blessing me in some really wonderful ways right now and I am filled with deep gratitude and a desire to seek Him more.

About the awkward social interaction. Although some of you have asked for a detailed description of events, I just cannot offer it. The encounter involved the ex-husband of someone close to me and it would be very insensitive of me to make light of the situation in my usual silliness. Just know that you would have laughed at me and my ridiculous show of social awkwardness. I should have just run away.

Extreme Week

In the past couple of days I've...
-Been to the biggest Starbucks I've ever seen.
-Experienced the most awkward social interaction of my life.
-Saw the biggest yorkie dog ever.
-And, heard Informer on the radio. (remember that song?!?)
Craziness, I tell you, craziness!

Two Things

I might write a book some day called The Effects of the Camp High on the Spiritual Formation of Christian Teens. I can just imagine it flying of the shelves at Borders.

My favorite quote lately:
God is a Verb
-Buckminster Fuller

More on these things later.

Good Sue Hunting, take 2

Well, I'm back. My trip to Boston was wonderful. I didn't want to take a vacation alone because I thought I'd get a little lonely, so my parents and I made the trek together. We had such a good time. I love Boston- maybe I'll move there someday! Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Pops and I sitting right outside Boston Commons. This was right before I fed the birds the peanut butter crackers in my backpack- a most enjoyable experience.

An old cemetery by Harvard. I love how life and death are portrayed in this picture.

Here is Longfellow's home. I loved all the houses on this street.

The Revere pew in the Old North Church.

Street performers at Quincy Market. They were great.

The Holocaust Memorial.

One of six towers at the Holocaust Memorial. Each tower represented one of the major camps. This was a very sober moment.

The New England School of Law- the first law school to admit women (so says our trolley tour guide who was totally crazy and almost killed us multiple times!)

The first U.S. Post Office

Sitting at Boston Harbor with a bag of tea. (Incidentally, the couple behind me were getting engaged at this moment. My dad didn't tell me this was going on though. I guess he thought I'd freak out and squeal or something. He was probably right.)

Screw your tea tax! I WILL throw this tea in the harbor.

We happened to walk upon a line of people waiting to be sworn in as American citizens. This was a highlight of the trip for my dad. It was a pretty moving sight.

Here we are on a boat tour with the skyline behind us. We were the only people on the tour so we received a lot of personal attention from the guide.

JFK lived here as he was campaigning for president...or senator (I can't remember)

Walking the Freedom Trail. I made sure to get my feet in the picture since we were walking the trail.

After we downed a few at Cheers. Not really.

This trip hit me at the perfect moment. It was exactly what I needed. I had a lot of time to think and read, and simply listen to my iPod. I've returned feeling renewed.

Trip Soundtrack:
So Are You to Me by Eastmountainsouth
North Dakota by Lyle Lovett
Somewhere Only We Know by Keane
The One Who Knows by Dar Williams with Allison Krause
Down in the Valley sung by The Choral Project
Pills by The Parishers with Sarah McLachlan
I Try sung by Ben Taylor
Plus lots of Amos Lee, Sigur Ros, and Alanis Morissette

Good Sue Hunting: vacation update.

(If you don't know, I'm on vacation in Boston right now)

Boston is the bomb. And I never use that phrase.

Well, blogger isn't letting me upload my pictures so this post is postponed. (postponed- get it!?)

Anyways, tomorrow I'm off to see the witches in Salem. I think I'll wear all black.

More to come...

The Diary of a Fat Woman

...another entry.

If I was an alcoholic, I’d say I’ve fallen off the wagon. But I’m not addicted to alcohol, I’m addicted to food. So, I don’t know what to call this place I’ve found myself. Something happened. I’m not sure when it happened. Like most things, it came on gradually and quietly. About the time I’d hit the 100lb. mark is when it started, I guess. I went out for a walk tonight and it all really hit me. This was the first walk in months.

Here’s the journey. 300 pounds was my rock bottom which I hit around the fall of ’06. Gastric bypass is a fat person’s trip to rehab in the desert to dry out and learn how to live again before they rejoin society. Unfortunately, during the rehab process you know that even though this truly is the best option for you and things are going perfectly, it might not last forever. There will be a day when you stop fighting for it, when it doesn’t seem worth it anymore. One strike against me was that I had the surgery in a city where I didn’t live, which meant that visits of accountability with my doctor required a trip to Lubbock. I didn’t have the weekly support groups he offered. Once I went back to school I felt very far from help. This meant that I was on my own. Certainly I could have found an avenue of support where I was and I really intended to, but I didn’t. Why did I even need that? I was doing so great on my own. Walking two miles a day. Eating right. Lots of water and vitamins. Plus I had great support from family and friends. But at the end of the day none of these people knew what I was actually going through. Being addicted to food is so humiliating and demeaning. You hate the body you must live in each day. You want to stay home everyday so no one will see you. And you sure don’t want anyone to know you are struggling, because somehow they’ve managed to learn to say no to excessive sugar and carbs and to stop eating when they’re full. Why can’t I do the same?

So, fast forward a bit to strike number two- becoming a youth minister. While youth ministry fills my life with immeasurable blessings, it does bring about certain challenges to the food addict. My life consists of going from meal to meal. I mean constant eating out- every meal. Pizza, hot dogs, cookies, Mexican food, crap, crap, crap. Not to mention very little time for exercise, personal development, emotional health, peer relationships, Sabbath or prayer. Tack on an unbelievable amount of stress to the equation and you start to see the picture.

So, tonight I find myself in this place with no name- this fallen off the wagon place. The compliments about how nice I look or how much weight I’ve lost actually sting as I think about the lifestyle I’ve slipped back into. I cringe when someone mentions my weight or the way I look. There’s so much fear here in this place. Have I done permanent damage to my body? Will I ever get back on the wagon? Will it always be this hard? There’s so much regret for the time lost and this great opportunity I’ve adulterated. And so much shame. I feel as though I’ve let so many people down. I think back to the rehab experience of the surgery. All the prayers given on my behalf. The indescribable support from those who love me and even from those who barely know me. And the roller coaster I put my parents on as they’ve had to witness their only daughter endure such a war. A war I created. All of that effort from others in an attempt to help me succeed- and where am I now: back on the losing end of this fight.

I can’t end this post with a declaration that tomorrow will be the first day of the rest of my life, because I don’t know if it will be. I only know how I feel tonight. Tonight I’m dying to be that other person again. Experiencing the confidence, personal victory, and mental clarity that exercise brings. Finding the strength to make the desired choices about the foods that enter my body. And as a person of faith, if my body truly is a temple of the Lord, what does this lifestyle say about the value I have placed on such a dwelling place?

Perhaps this post is far too personal for a simple blog typically devoted the joys offered by current tv shows. But I have chosen to be a person who can be vulnerable in the presence of others. Please respect my vulnerability here.

Anybody wanna talk politics? So, do you think a presidential candidate can really do everything they say they will in their nomination acceptance speech?