Still Alive in New York City.

Oh Blogging World, I have missed you!

Well, kindof.

I mean, let's be honest, if I'd really really missed you I would have, umm, blogged. And I didn't. Which means... maybe I didn't miss you as much as I think I missed you...?

My blog absence is due in large part to travels: an unforgettable trip to Charleston! Home to D.C.! A family vacation in the Adirondacks! A spontaneous trip to the Poconos! In between travels I celebrated a birthday, finished reading a couple of books, saw Anne Hathaway perform in Twelfth Night in Central Park (brilliant!), and entertained a friend visiting from Sweden. Whew.

Just another average, boring, ho-hum sorta summer in New York City.

Kidding, of course.

One of those books I finished reading was too fantastic not to mention here. Carolyn Custis James wrote, "The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules." I thought it was going to be another one of those Ruth books that encourages women to take the initiative with men, pursue someone all the way to the threshing floor, grab the bull by the horns, etc. etc.

Not even close. It was incredible. It was insightful. Yes, it made me want to break a few of my own rules. But, it also made me want to walk closer with Jesus. Here's a few quotes:

"Naomi is here to remind us that--in these long, bewildering phases of God's silence-- our struggles are real and we can be honest about the state of our hearts. Her full story reminds us that our struggles are also important and that, even when there's nothing left but rubble, God is mysteriously at work in the mess."

"I have to ask myself how I can possibly expect to know Jesus as he would want to be known if my life remains unscathed by trouble and grief. How can I hope to grasp anything of God's heart for this broken planet if I never weep because its brokenness touches me and breaks my heart? How can I reflect his image if I never share in his sufferings? And how will any of us ever learn to treasure his hesed and grace if we never experience phases where these blessings seem absent? I wish I could learn these lessons vicariously, but I'm afraid that isn't the norm for any of us. Without knowing suffering and confusion firsthand, we're stuck in the superficial and we cannot know, much less express, the heart of Christ for others."


"Ruth is a breath of fresh air in a world where 'good' is good enough and God's people settle for small visions of themselves and what God will do through them."