15 things that make my heart pulse...

God is being so gracious to me this summer. I am so appreciative of the interests He's given me to pursue this summer, although they are things I may never truly be good at doing.

So my time has been spent doing things I enjoy, and there are so many things that I love. Christ talks about coming to have life and have it to the full. What are the things that constitute a full life? Is it all big things or is it a composition of the small things?

I was reminded of this surprisingly through the Woody Allen movie Manhattan.

Within the film, the main character Isaac ("Ike") goes through a devastating break up with a woman and in probing psychoanalyst methods evaluates his life by asking:

"Why is life worth living? It's a very good question."

His response to his posed question includes artwork, film stars, and finally with the face of the woman he loves.

The audience naturally is led to question of themselves the same concept.

So here's my take on what makes life worthwhile:


1. The presence of the Gospel, and sharing it with others

Without this, I don't think I could live. Where would I channel all the energy that goes into worshiping my Creator? And I would definitely not be at my particular school learning how to transfer the gospel to other cultures. (The photo is of the cross at the Bethel Bible School in Mali, Africa).


2. Family (Particularly my brother)
Whew boy. I love this boy.




3. Comrades
I don't like doing crazy things by myself.



4. A Particular Someone
He's great. Smooth and soulful like a Nat King Cole record.


Alright. Those are the givens. Everyone has those. But these really get me:




5. History
I can't get enough. Give me useless knowledge. I love seeing the patterns of history. The motives, the passion; it's all so invigorating.



6. Literature
Or anything to read I guess. I'll take the box of Cheerios if need be. I guess another thing that could fall under this category is the library. Carver County never does me wrong.


7. Ridiculous Questions
Somebody's gotta ask. How many stars are there in the sky? How many times does a heartbeat in a minute? I need to know.



8. Far Side Mugs
I don't even know how many are out there, but I must have them all.


9. Pretending to be musical
Yeah. I did the piano lessons for 6 years, and dabbled in guitar in high school. But any musical ability, like the American dream, is gone.




10. Classic romances, as portrayed on the big screen in black and white, and sometimes technicolor
I secretly do want to be Scarlett O'Hara, and really all I need is, as Rhett Butler puts it, "a good kissin'."



11. Nerds and Custard
For the more refined palate.



12. Apes
Of all shapes and sizes. Great actors: tragic endings.



13. Body Pillows
You can't blame a girl for wanting to snuggle.


14. Coppolla's
Francis Ford and Sofia. My film repertoire would not be the same without them.



15. Ugly sweaters
I probably would not have discovered this little love if I hadn't moved to Minnesota.


That's only the tip of the ice cream sundae. I could go on and on (photos, hummus, art museums, craftiness), but a person has to keep some mystery.

To end this post, some wise words from the transcendentalist thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."