Weekly Series

What Are You Reading Wednesday #WAYRW (6)

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whatareyoureadingwed

What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature started on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog via the link up. You can grab the image above or create your own, just please make sure you link back to IART as the host for this meme.

How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

The_Hero_and_the_Crown

1. What’s the name of your current read?

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.

Talat [a wounded war horse] followed her.  When she stopped, or grabbed a tree limb for balance, he moved a step or two away and dropped his nose to the ground and lipped at whatever he found there.  When she moved on, he picked up his head and drifted after her.  On the third afternoon since finding the recipe she was still pacing, not only because she was a slow thinker, but because her four-legged shadow with the dragging hind foot intrigued her.  It was on the third day that when she put her hand out to steady herself against the air a horse’s neck insinuated itself under her outstretched fingers.  She let her hand lie delicately on his crest, her eyes straight ahead, ignoring him; but when she took another step forward, so did he.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

Yes!  How fun to live in a world of magic and dragons!  I like McKinley’s slow burn fantasy worlds, and hanging out in the royal court with Aerin and Tor would be so much fun.

Sunday Summary #3: What’s on the Internet

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Three of my favorite topics represented today:  Christianity, feminism, and Harry Potter.  A good week for the Internet.

1|  Guillermo del Toro Interview with The Mary Sue

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Guillermo del Toro did an interview with The Mary Sue about Crimson Peak and his habit of making movies with competent women taking up most of the screen time.  I was initially interested in the movie because of Tom Hiddleston, but now I have an even bigger reason to get over my fear and watch the gothic horror/romance film!

2|  How I Pray by Nicole Cliffe

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The Toast is a new website I discovered because of my friend Elizabeth.  They cover a lot of topics, but this article by Nicole Cliffe about becoming a Christian and falling in love with prayer.  This is exactly the kind of Christian blogging I want to emulate, because she writes with passion and clarity, but never once alienates her potentially non-Christian audience.

Prayer has been one of the pleasant surprises of becoming a person of faith. It’s something I truly enjoy, and has been weirdly transformational to my life, I guess? I wish neither to oversell nor undersell it to you as something to do (I’m not a particularly talented or motivated evangelist, you may have noticed.)

When I first became a Christian (July 7th, 2015, The Jesusversary), Mallory’s dad told me that he thinks God gives a spiritual starter pack to new converts, like how sometimes you can get a way better deal on your phone plan if you’re a new customer instead of an existing one. That there will be long seasons in your life where you feel like God is ghosting you, and you’re just plaintively texting into The Void. That you just won’t feel like there’s anyone on the other end of the line. And those times will come and go, in the average life of a believer, but for this first six months to a year, many people get to feel great nearness in their prayer life, and it’s a gift.

3|  29 Hilarious Tweets About ‘Harry Potter’ 

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These kinds of lists are exactly what I want from BuzzFeed, 24/7.

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Oh Hey, Friday! #6 MEMORIES FROM UNION UNIVERSITY

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It’s another round of the Oh Hey, Friday! link-up from September Farm and 5 on Friday from A. Liz Adventures!  

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today’s five:  MEMORIES FROM UNION UNIVERSITY
Since I spent yesterday wandering around Union’s campus, meeting with old professors and coworkers and generally immersing myself into nostalgia, this topic seemed obvious!

1|  creating a Condoleezza Rice greeting dance for the 2009 Scholarship Banquet

I worked as a student aid at the Alumni Office for three years, and our biggest event was the yearly Scholarship Banquet.  Each fall someone famous came to speak to people who paid thousands of dollars for the privilege of participating….and me, a lowly aid, who went for free.  I would get dressed up (in the same black-and-white dress each year), go early to set up, and direct rich people around before getting my picture taken with the Famous Person.  One year Peyton Manning came to speak, and I walked him backstage with my boss.  He tripped on the stairs in front of me, and the enormous joy I felt from having better balance in heels than a millionaire football superstar was overwhelming.

But this is about Condoleezza Rice.  My senior year, I managed to get a job at the Alumni Office for my friend Stephanie.  At the Scholarship Banquet that year, we were assigned the task of greeting the U.S. Secretary of State at the door and escorting her to a particular room.  This job involved waiting for at least half an hour, so naturally Stephanie and I made up a dance with which to greet her.  There was a lot of spinning and 8-counts involved.  We were in the middle of rehearsing it when her security opened the door, so we scurried into professionalism just in time to shake her hand and walk her where she needed to go. Continue reading →

Letters Between Friends: EPIPHANIES AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Trish4 Comments

Last week I wrote to Lindsay on her blog, and today she has responded!  Our Letters Between Friends series continues!

LettersBtwnFriends_LogoDearLindsay

Dear Tricia,

Can we take that road trip to DC tomorrow?!

It has been such a crazy week!  I’m sorry that you’re even getting this letter so late in the day.  I’m aching for a break from reality.

This may come off as kind of serious, but I had a mini epiphany this week that I thought was applicable to both you and me.  With you and I both about ready to go though some pretty big changes, I think our brains HAVE to be allowed to freak out a little, but Tuesday, as we were leaving for Miss Julie’s to drop the girls off before work, this was Rue’s and my conversation…

“MOOOMMMY!  The Shun-shine! It’s on my eyes!”

“Babe, the sun hasn’t even popped up yet!  But look at the beautiful colors!  Isn’t the pink sky so pretty?”

“Yeah mom, that sky is red.  You put your arm up so it not get in my eyes?”

“No, Rue.  Just look at the pretty colors and throw your blanket over your face.” (No compassion, I know.)

Then I got REAL DEEP REAL FAST!

Even the anticipation of God’s glory is beautiful.

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As you gear up for your main event in January, the anticipation and fundraising and contact you are having with people is been divine and wonderful and something that you will never forget, I’m sure.  Then, when you leave in January, it will be the icing on an already iced cake (if you know what I mean).

I’m writing all of this to convince myself as well that this is true.  With changes coming my way as well, this is a reminder I need also.  God doesn’t do anything just because.  And he also doesn’t do anything half a**.  Can I say that??

I hope you are enjoying your time, friend!  Again…sorry for the late letter.

Miss you, but anxiously await your posts every day!

Happy Almost Friday,

Lindsay

What Are You Reading Wednesday #WAYRW (5)

Trish2 Comments

whatareyoureadingwed

What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature started on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog via the link up. You can grab the image above or create your own, just please make sure you link back to IART as the host for this meme.

How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

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1. What’s the name of your current read?

Girl at the End of the World by Elizabeth Esther

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.

Papa George hands me the gift and leans forward, watching intently.  “Don’t rip the paper!” he warns.  “Save it and give it to your mother.  Maybe she can use it for another gift.”

I carefully unwrap the present.  In Papa George and Grandma Betty’s view, childish stuff like ripping open presents is intolerable.  Childhood is a time of serious preparation for Christian service and the End Times.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

NOPE.  Elizabeth Esther’s memoir is a haunting look at what happens to a child when caught in the visegrip of fundamentalist Christianity, and I want no part of that world.

Sunday Summary #2: What’s on the Internet

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My Internet browsing opportunities have been scarce while roadtripping, but I did manage to come across a couple wonderful Internet gems.  Enjoy!

Articles

1|  Felines of New York

It’s like Humans of New York, but with cats and a lot of sass.  Obviously, Felines of New York is the culmination of all the Internet has to offer the world.

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2| Ant-Man Sequel

After watching Ant-Man, all I wanted in the Marvel universe was a chance to see Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp (and, okay, a Loki cameo in every movie for no particular reason).  It looks like my wish is coming true!  The Mary Sue says we’ll be getting Ant-Man and the Wasp in July 2018!

3| Kitten + Owl 4eva!

My aunt linked me to this Facebook post of four photos of a baby owl and kitten curling up together to sleep, and it is the cutest thing in the entire world.  Look at it!!

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4| Letting Go of What’s Not Coming Back

Although I often side-eye women ministries, I really enjoyed the Beth Moore studies in which I’ve participated.  This article is a little flowery to begin, but then it gets SO POWERFUL.  Very good read if you’re grieving the loss of something, regretting something you’ve done, dreading something that’s coming, or wishing you had something that you don’t.

“We’re here too brief a time on this finicky soil to spend days on end grieving what could have been. We’ll talk to Jesus about that when we get Home. We’ll have forever then. For now…
Let it go.
So something new can grow.
Water it with your tears if you must but release your fears that nothing but nothingness is ahead for you. Is God your God? As sure as He is, new life is coming.
All the deadness did not manage to kill you. You are stronger than you thought. Stretch out your arms like mighty branches even if, for now, they’re as thin as sticks. It is to your Father’s glory that you bear much fruit.”

Videos

After eating as much Asian food as possible with Elizabeth in and around the DC area, this BuzzFeed video felt very timely.  I can’t say the black bean soup is something I want to try, but everything else looks potentially delicious!

Oh Hey, Friday! #5 THINGS I MISS

TrishLeave a comment

It’s another round of the Oh Hey, Friday! link-up from September Farm and 5 on Friday from A. Liz Adventures!  

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TODAY’S FIVE:  things I miss while roadtripping

1|  Rory

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No surprise here:  I miss my cuddly little furbucket every single day.  Life is just so much more enjoyable when I wake up to a purring cat sitting by my head, who follows me around during the day, sits on me whenever possible, and puts his tiny beanfoot on my face to get my attention.

I had partially planned that this month-long separation would prepare me to leave him for a year when I move to Greece, but instead I’m just dreading it even more.   Continue reading →

What Are You Reading Wednesday #WAYRW (4)

TrishLeave a comment

whatareyoureadingwed

What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature started on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog via the link up. You can grab the image above or create your own, just please make sure you link back to IART as the host for this meme.

How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

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1. What’s the name of your current read?

Call of the Mall by Paco Underhill

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.

Suburban subdivisions segregate people based on how much they can spend on real estate.  Everybody knows that wealth and poverty exist, but many suburbanites get no closer to either end of the spectrum than their television screen.  We humans seem to find comfort in economic homogeneity, and the mall does its best to preserve that condition.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

Underhill is a shopping anthropologist, so… a world exactly like ours but where I can get paid to over-analyze human behavior?  YES.

Oh Hey, Friday! #4

TrishLeave a comment

It’s another round of the Oh Hey, Friday! link-up from September Farm and 5 on Friday from A. Liz Adventures!  
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TODAY’S FIVE

1|  Letters Between Friends

LettersBtwnFriends_LogoDearLindsay

I love creatively collaborating with friends.  Lindsay is one of my nearest and dearest, and since she has a blog, we’re going to start a weekly series writing back and forth to each other called Letters Between Friends.  Originally we were going to wait until I was in Greece, but we got so excited we decided to launch early!  And since I’m traveling the month of October, it’s great practice.

2|  Fall Is Coming

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Autumn is my favorite season.  I love the jackets, scarves, rainboots, and changing leaves.  I hoped that by traveling east, I might get an early glimpse of the best of seasons, and I have!  So far, western Pennsylvania has the best red/gold/green tree combinations.  Yesterday in Maryland it rained, so I outfitted myself with umbrella, boots, and jacket.  IT WAS SO DELIGHTFUL.

3|  Asian Everything

I’m staying with my friend Elizabeth for five days, and more often than not, we’re doing something Asian related.  We had an entire Japanese-themed trip to Washington DC, we’ve visited an Asian supermarket in Rockville, and we spent the afternoon hanging out at the Asian Bakery Cafe drinking bubble tea yesterday, then ate Vietnamese bahn mi for dinner.  I wish it weren’t so expensive to go to Asia (Japan specifically).  Of course, spending money to go to cheaper places in the meantime isn’t helping me save up or anything.

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4|  Fundraising

This monthlong road trip is for “fun and fundraising.”  Every day so far, I’ve had someone contact me to let me know that they want to donate to me, which has been so hugely encouraging!  I was praying especially that God would connect me to people I wasn’t expecting, and so far I’ve seen one friend excitedly tell me that her boss is very interested in ending human trafficking, and could she take some of my info to show him?  Um, YES.  I still need to raise about $10,000.  If you haven’t given already, please consider it, and donate online here!

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5|  Sleeping In

Admittedly, this is stretching things in terms of “what ought to be blogged about.”  But I’m using my best material in my daily blogs about my adventures!  Having spent the last two months working as a secretary, getting up at 6:40 am in order to be at church by 8:00, it is SO GREAT to sleep in until 9:00.  The life of a couch-surfer is a good one.