thawing out

The stories she told to 'cheer me up' had no meaning or warmth to them....lots of action. Everything seems like that when you're depressed. 

As you recover, you find that you can really fill empty spaces. There are whole worlds that depression keeps you from and you have no interest in, but you begin to realize that there is meaning and value there. 

gogicality

One of the problematic things about school is that it's all about getting good at studying, and being successful at studying doesn't necessarily translate into success at work, which school is supposedly preparing you for. 

honoring context

The first few times I encountered 'The Message' Bible translation by Eugene Peterson, I liked it and wanted to read more. Later on, I went off it because it introduces modern elements that don't fit. To drive home the meaning, he tears the text away from its original context. 

I like the New Living Translation. It does what 'The Message' is trying to do but maintains the connection to the original context. So, it's quite different from say, the NIV, but in a good way. 

I think the NET Bible also does this very well because it uses words that are distinctively modern to describe things, without changing the essential meaning. So, it gives the text a new kick and immediacy - it speaks your language, while still being the Bible that speaks. 

surprising differences between Australia and America

1. * Our main right-wing party is called the 'liberal party', but, in the US, liberal means left wing
2. * In Australia, the color for labor (left wing) is red and the color for the liberals (right wing) is blue. In the US, the color for Republicans (right wing) is red, and the color for the democrats is blue.

heavy is the mantel

English was my worst subject in high school, but I had a friend who did 3 unit English, and I remember him studying Such is Life by Joseph Furphy and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Only years later, having read Such is Life and knowing something about Catch 22, did I realize what a huge ask our English teachers were making in selecting those texts. I've known PhD students that found Such is Life challenging and I've had smart adult friends who didn't get Catch 22 at all. 

what writing is about

My disordered thinking is replete with closure...it's all about ending and decline and defeat, but writing is all about possibility and potential. You can write about anything, and as soon as you do, you're creating meaning, even if you write about something negative.  

rights and wrongs

This morning I read Philippians chapter 2. Verse 3 and 4 read:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

That's an attitude that is rare even among Christians. We hold onto our views tightly, and if someone thinks differently, we argue with them. We have to be convinced to change our view, if we do at all. But imagine having the attitude that others know better than you. Imagine if that, rather than telling people when you think they're wrong, was your default reaction. 

It might sound a bit illogical or even foolish, but it's the attitude that Christ had. He was in the right, and we're not, but he took on all the wrong so that, through his sacrifice, we could be made right.