Living Biblically

It's humbling when someone does something better than you at first attempt than you have in your entire life. After finishing Crime and Punishment, a very good but very Russian book, I went to Barnes and Noble to find my next read. Since Dostoevsky's was a very heavy book I decided some humor would be nice; I took home The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs took on the task of living according to biblical law for a year -- the first 8 months adhering to the Old Testament law and the last 4 months following the New Testament.

He was constantly discussing the difference between taking the bible completely literally or acknowledging metaphoric and symbolic content. He spent 4 weeks before his year started reading the bible cover to cover, notating any rules along the way (quite the feat in and of itself). Then he began his journey. Not a religious man in general, this project took over his entire life. He began praying everyday, eventually 3 times a day. He acknowledged menstruation laws that denied him access to his wife even in any physical capacity. He even grew out his hair to biblical standards.

His year was an incredible one of learning and submitting. As I read I became more and more aware of my lack of commitment. I go to church and try to read my bible, when I remember to I pray, I try to help others, but as I look on my cross-bearing days I feel as though I half-assed it. Of course, I have to acknowledge a litany of factors: Jacobs was being paid to attempt this, his was a year-long journey not a lifelong, etc. I get that. But do I monitor the words that come out of my mouth? Do I only speak truth? Do I give God the time or commitment he deserves? I could keep going. I am humbled.

For all you mercy lovers I know what you're thinking, "You cannot work your way into heaven." And you're right. But I always remember James, "I will show you my faith by what I do." Needless to say, this book got me thinking and hopefully I act on what I've learned. Don't worry I won't be stoning any adulterers or deviant children. But I do think that God deserves more than what I've been giving him. Living out faith religiously always gets a bad rap. I've always thought, though, that there is beauty in the familiar and strength in repetition.

Ate, Prayed, Loved?

I must be the only american female who didn't enjoy the book Eat, Pray, Love. To be fair, I didn't finish it. I read through Italy and India and about 2 pages into Indonesia I gave up. I didn't know this was a "personal growth" story; I thought it was a travel story. Needless to say I was very disappointed in the India portion since I am in love with the place, spent time there, and desperately can't wait to go back. Spending your entire time in an Ashram in India does not seem to me a good picture of what India is.

I went to see the movie for a couple of reasons: (1) because one of the reasons I disliked the book was it just dragged on, I hoped the transition to film would help speed things up, (2) because I was now fully prepared that this was a "personal growth" story, and (3) because I love Julia Roberts. So, I rode my (new, red) bike along the pier to downtown newport and went to the local movie theatre. This movie theatre was converted from an old opera house and the main theatre is amazing -- Dan and I saw inception there and I was itching for a chance to go back. I decided I wouldn't make Dan go see this one (mostly because I want him to see The Kids Are Alright with me and I was scared Eat, Pray, Love might jeopardize my movie-picking abilities in his eyes). Boy, was I glad I didn't drag him along.

To quote a dear friend "Yeah. It was pretty. The food looked awesome. Julia was good...but...meh." My thoughts exactly (one of the reasons that friend is a dear friend). It made me want to go back to Italy for pizza. Right then. I didn't need to finish the movie. I just needed to eat

a whole thin crusted pizza by myself -- yes, i did that a few times while in Italy. But the one scene that really spoke to me? It was a split second long. Julia had just arrived in India, she pulled up to the Ashram and is headed in to meditate with the other followers of this particular guru. However, neither Julia nor the Ashram caught my attention. It was the man who welcomed her and showed her in and ran before her to find her a mat to sit on and a place to sit. You never see that man again, but he almost made me cry. I miss those people. Those people were so eager to help and show and welcome. I also enjoyed the scenes between Julia and the young indian girl. My heart broke, as it has before, as I listened to this girl's dreams and hopes for her future. There were so many young women and girls I met while in India and I wanted nothing more than to give them the chance to do whatever they dreamed of. For some of them that would be marriage, for others learning English, or going to University.

I love India. It's so colorful and exciting and loud and smelly. It's amazing. I just don't think Eat, Pray, Love did it justice, whether in book or film. There's just more to it than that.

New Red Shoes. New Red Bike.

We are in Newport, RI for the next 7 or so weeks and the weather is AMAZING.

BUT, not as amazing as my new red shoes (so comfy)

AND my new(ish) red bike

The bike needs a little love, a little T.L.C. The rims are terribly rusty from years of neglect and we bought new tires and tubes but she is beautiful. Everything is original on bike (even the tires, though we are replacing them). I love it! A weekend of some serious sandpaper and some steel wool and she'll be ready to take me downtown.

As for the shoes, they came ready to wear, no assembly required!