I’ve been fasting from caffeine and Valheim during Lent. It’s the first time I’ve ever participated in Lent. Graham was the instigator; after he learned about it, he wanted to do it. Comically, he never did settle on something. He only roped Amie and I into it!
We’re breaking our fast on Saturday’s, which has made our day of rest even more special. Coffee day!!!
Yesterday’s rest day we went to the cultural expo at the School of Mines. We enjoyed food from all over the world (Amie and Graham loved the Bangladesh chicken curry, while Royal and I loved the dumplings.) There was a stage with presentations, such as a woman from China presenting a peacock dance, a sari wrapping competition (I went up for that one), and belly dancing.
After the cultural expo, we stayed at the School of Mines for a small dinosaur presentation at their Paleontology department.
We came home and relaxed after that, mostly by playing Valheim/Paper Mario, reading, and playing guitar. Then we went to Sioux Park to enjoy our beautiful weather.
Royal wanted special time with me (awwww!), so Amie dropped he and I at home and took Graham to Red Lobster. Royal and I played Bloons TD6 and talked about Star Wars. He was so sweet and happy.
We’ve been sick since last week (though it feels like it’s been several weeks). That’s annoying. Also, we’ve hit a big milestone–the first full read-through of The Chronicles of Narnia! We’re starting Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time series next, woohoo :)
In the past week I’ve had the joy of reading the Bible with three people!
First, last Saturday, Mark and I read the first half of Genesis 9. We had a fulfilling conversation about how much God loves humans and wants them to multiply. We reflected how our hearts expand to love all the children we have, and how more children means more love!
Second, during the week Courtney and I read the end of Proverbs, about the rare and treasured woman. We considered what such a treasure might be found, and I was humbled to consider how industrious and full of foresight is my own treasured soulmate.
Third, Amie and I reflected on the calling of Andrew and Peter at the end of the first chapter of John. It was a joyful and emotional experiment to envision myself in the story; hearing John’s message, going after Jesus, his turning and asking “what are you looking for?” Then going to be with him where he’s staying, but running off first to get my brother. I’ve written a song about it actually; perhaps I’ll share it here when I’ve finished.
Unless I can’t get an enrollment exemption, it’s looking likely that I’ll begin a DMM PhD program this Fall! I’m going to take a couple self-paced courses to gear up before I begin; I’m so excited!
I’ve heard from Dr. Blair about PhD next steps! He found Dr. Hutchcraft and learned what he needed about my MBA program. While I’ll need an exception to start a PhD program (no surprise), I can move to the next step: discovering if I can find a sponsor with Ephesiology. I’m stoked that the road continues!
