Yoda

Ryan and I found a turtle today. We were riding our bikes on campus and saw on the sidewalk a little baby turtle making it's way towards the science building. It was odd because there wasn't much water around. Perhaps a bird dropped him. His little scrunched up face reminded me of Yoda, so I deemed him Yoda. We contemplated taking him home, but decided to let him free in his natural habitat instead. So we picked him up and walked him to the river/creek that runs through campus. He really came to life in my hands and was crawling all over the place. He especially got excited when we neared the water. Maybe turtles can smell water? We set him free by the water's edge and he hastily scampered in and began swimming away. It was sad to see him go. The river is so big and little Yoda is so small. I hope he is okay.

Some Pictures

Yes, finally no more clouds. Today looks like it will be a nice one. Carrying around a jacket can be so cumbersome, so hopefully I can get by with my cardigan.

In the mean time, here are some pictures, fresh off the presses:
Claire and I doing the splits at her fourth-grade themed Birthday Party

The party was crashed for being too loud by our friendly neighborhood security guards. (Luckily there was no alcohol, or else we would have been in a lot more trouble. Fourth graders don't drink alcohol. We told them that there was no alcohol though, and they didn't believe us. We were having too much fun I guess. The one person who was under 21 had to take a breathe-a-lizer test. Poor girl. She passed of course.)

I had to make a self-portrait for my History of the Modern Self Portrait class. Yes, that is my real hair, I saved it from the last time I cut it. You never know when hair will come in handy.

Me and my Valentine at our Valentine's Day picnic


So there's that. Off to class.

Valentine's Day!

Man, this issue about women and Christianity sure did rack up the comments. Thanks for everyone's feedback--anonymous and not.

I love lazy Saturday mornings. I'm sitting at the kitchen table with Ryan and Claire. Ryan is studying and Claire is eating breakfast and playing with my magnetic sculpture people (thanks Santa!)

Happy Valentine's Day! We have been eating a receiving lots of sweet goodies all week because of the occasion. Also because it was Claire's birthday Wednesday.

Okay on to my day.

First here is a picture of my Valentine:

some more about women

1 Timothy 2:12-15

12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Galatians 3:28
28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35
34women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

John 4:21-26; 39
21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. . . 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he. . ."
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony . . ."


I know it's unfair to give you verses outside of their context, but you can look them up more if you are curious (NIV). This is some of the stuff we have been wrestling with in class--the writings of Paul and the life of Jesus, how to reconcile seemingly opposing messages.

Did you know that when women were trying to get the right to vote, many used verses like 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 to argue against it? A vote is a voice, and women are to be silent.

According to 1 Timothy 2:15 I'm not saved because I don't have children.

It's problematic to take all of literal scripture as eternal truth. I believe there is eternal truth in scripture, but it is oftentimes below the surface.

I have a test in this tomorrow, that's why it's on my mind. I could keep going and going but I probably shouldn't. I have class anyhow.

Laura's Hair

I'm at my little cubicle in the art building, being a TA. It smells like burnt plastic. PU. It reminds me of the smell of perms. When I was younger I really wanted curly hair and would get perms (that would last about a week). Later, like in middle school, I got a perm because I wanted to be like Felicity.

Ah hair. My hair has been burned, dyed, fried, straightened, and curled. Since I've been a Baylor though, I have let it be how it wants. Freshman year I continued to straighten my hair (which is silly because it is already relatively straight). The summer of freshman year, while working at Sky Ranch, I had the revelation that I didn't have to brush my hair, I could just let it be free. And why was everyone so deathly afraid of split ends? Split ends don't affect my quality of life. Since then I have had a pretty healthy relationship with my hair, I think. I usually let it be how it wants, unless there is a special occasion I need to tame it for. I've also taken to cutting it myself, which is pretty liberating and fulfilling.

So there's that. I don't know where that all came from.

Biblical Equality

Something that has been in my mind a lot this semester is the issue of biblical gender equality. I'm in a Women in Christian History class, and this has led to lots of dicussion about how to interpret what the bible says about women and how that has been misunderstood and applied for most of church history. I've also talked to people who are confused about the issue or uncomfortable using the words "Christian" and "Feminism
together (I can understand that. Feminism is a loaded term). I've stumbled across some cool websites on the topic. Just now, I've discovered the Christians for Biblical Equality's (CBE) website. You should check it out and see what they have to say.

I liked what Shane Claiborne had to say about the organization:

“This is beautiful work--simple, genuine, redemptive. It shouldn't seem radical... but it is. It shouldn't even be necessary to say 'men and women are equal...' but it is. Hopefully in another ten years, the saints of CBE will end gender inequality and put themselves out of jobs. Until then, may we all live in discomfort amid a booming choir of white men, while the church is pregnant with women who are ready to lead and write and preach but still get funny looks or cold shoulders.”


I have a lunch date with Linh I have to get to now. Let me know what you think.

Lightning

It's been awhile, I know I know, but here I am. I'm sitting at the breakfast table, but it's certainly not breakfast time. I'm actually a little sleepy (it's ten pm). There seems to be a battle going on in the clouds (lightning). Whoa, and I just heard some thunder that sounded like canon shots. This has nixed my plans to go hot tubbing with Elise (see post below).

Yesterday marked the six month-aversary of Ryan and I (see below).

I'm not usually one to celebrate month-aversaries, but I think six is a notable one. So Ryan took me out to a nice dinner in Dallas and I took Ryan to see a movie. We aren't usually dinner-and-a-movie people so it was special.

That's all I feel like writing for now.