autumn is in my heart

everything about today was beautiful.

i woke up today by getting rained on. my window was open and the head of my bed is next to the window. it was a pleasant surprise that was welcomed. i sat up and just thought and prayed for awhile.

went to work. it went by quickly and there were some good conversations with my co-workers. the new guy who whistles all the time is my favorite.

when i came home i decided to try to cook something fancy for dinner. i'm not often motivated to do this since i'm only cooking for me. on a typical day a peanut butter sandwich would suffice, but today i was compelled to try something new. so i made a pasta dish with italian sausage, onions, green peppers, in a chicken stock sauce with various seasonings. it was soooo good, and went well with the last blue moon in the fridge.

afterwards, i wanted some coffee. free coffee specifically. so i drove up to the library to fill my thermos with some tasty liquids there. the walk from my car to the library was notably pleasant. the air was delicious. it was crisp and cold. the wind gave me goosebumps. autumn has truly arrived with all its splendor. my favorite season. i just stood outside and smelled it for awhile.

after much lingering i headed back to my place, hot thermos in hand, because caitlin and i made plans to watch a chick flick. since i was still in my unexplainable cooking mood i made some blueberry muffins! nothing like blueberry muffins and library coffee to have while knitting and waiting for cait to get out of play practice (she's the lead!).

after the movie (which was definitly a typical chick flick, but it gave me some things to think about nonetheless. i am not usually a fan of formulaic, dull, uninspiring movies of this genre) caitilin read some james joyce (whom i can only hope to understand someday) while i kept knitting. we didn't talk, but it is so good just to have someone sit with you. it mitigates the loneliness.

can't wait to embrace tommorow. my dad is visiting and i'm so excited to show him around beaver falls. also, he comes bearing a gift from my grandparents: a refridgerator. what a blessing! we've been using a mini fridge for awhile and it just does not fit everything for three people. i'm happy, and i hope it lasts for a little while.

appropriate lyrics from a yo la tengo song:

"Hey Mr. Tough
Don't you think we've suffered enough?
Why don't you meet me on the dancefloor
When it's Toddophonic time?
And if you need to tell me something once
You won't have to say it twice
And if you ask for a nickel
I'm gonna hand you a dime
And we'll forget about our problems
Ignore them for a little while
And leave our worries in the corner
Leave them in a big big pile
Pretend everything can be alright
Pretend everything can be alright
Pretend everything can be alright"

christians and government: an update

here are some updates on my thoughts that were posted in the july entry entitled "anabaptists, capitalists, communists, libertarians, anarchists, and more!".

in july - i mentioned that i was inclined to anarchism because it is only effective through force or the threat of force.
now - i think that force is not the only reason that a government is effective. our government also works because it is a group of people coming together saying "hey, this is how we want to live as a society. these are our values." i no longer think anarchy is practical or desireable. anarchy also moves away from the idea that we are redemptive agents of our current culture because people completely withdrawl themselves from the system rather than engaging it and changing it.

in july - i referenced that anabaptists view that christians should not be engaged in the government because the government is only needed for those who do not adhere to the laws of Christ.
now - i am starting to think that christians are required to engage government with hopes of reconcilling it to Christ's vision rather than trying to build a separate Christian government. rather, we should redeem the government that is in place.

in july - i considered communism as a direction to push for in u.s. politics.
now - i'm still confident in communist ideals as the direction christians should push for the government to go. granted, we will screw this up because we're sinful humans. but i feel it is better to have an impractical ideal than to push for a government based on a faulty ethical premise (that of selfish consumer capitalism.

in july - i expressed concern about the influence of corporations in american politics.
now - i am even more concerned about this. all christians can do is vote for the best candidate. and i am more inclined now to think that voting is a good idea in contrast to my former anarchist tendencies.

special thanks to the following friends for helping me work out some of these ideas by making reading suggestions, disagreeing with me fervently, sharing a piece of scripture, asking good questions, playing devil's advocate, or sharing what the Holy Spirit has put on their own heart (even if you don't read this blog): krista, caitlin, adam, sam, and dan.