out and about - go figure

shifting into the working world is not as glorious as it sounds. most days i come home just ready to be a couch potato. it is especially tempting on weekends to just sit in the house and not do anything. my last several weekends have been an unusual success for me, though, getting out and not being lazy.

Three weekends ago, on the spur of the moment i traveled to bluffton, oh. "spur of the moment" is no phrase here-- i literally found out some friends were leaving for bluffton a half hour beforehand and offered to pack really fast if i could come with them. it was so good to be back in my college town, surprise my boyfriend, and spend time with friends. i really miss being a college student-- why do we have to grow up again?

Last weekend a housemate and i decided to go to Carnegie Mellon University for a movie. the students show movies for a few bucks, so i got to feel like a college student once again and watch scott pilgrim vs. the world. (dont buy it, not worth it)

The next day, i headed to church for a womens leadership conference. to my surprise, two of my housemates were also going! the conference was titled "fearfully and wonderfully made". it started out with a meet and greet, then worship time (Presbyterian style), followed by a plenary (aka opening talk, i had no idea what that word was either), then two seminars, and finally dinner.

The plenary was probably the most interesting part of the day. "Being Fearfully & Wonderfully Made -- what would it mean to believe and live into the words of psalm 139?". She spoke through 139, breaking down the meaning of words and phrases. Then she asked how the american culture views women. After this, she talked about developing into a women and how society influences it. Finally she talked about the self-esteem movement in the 70s, 80s, 90s. She ran out of time, but she was hoping to just get us thinking about this society we try to fit into without even thinking -- and a lot of times, how much of a detriment it is to us.

The two seminar sessions i went to were titled "Our bodies: being made in God's Image" and "Stages of faith development". The bodies one talked about definitions of beauty. What i found most interesting was the acknowledgment that our society has two very opposite but directly related problems:: a society with eating disorders and obesity. The conversation curved to the thought that our eating habits have gotten out of control because we have lost communal eating. Food is such an easy commodity to obtain in our society. Coming back to the table, eating prepared simple meals not only could benefit our bodies, but also our souls.

The stages of faith development seminar came out of "Women's Spirituality: Resources for Christian Development" book. our discussion came directly from the book's resources, so if you are interested in faith development, you should check this out.

This weekend i got out and about by being connected to music. friday night a friend who is in a band was performing at a bar/lounge. So we went to support her. we got to hear several bands that night and then had a brisk walk home, since the buses weren't running as frequent at the late hour.

the following night, last night, i went to pittsburgh mennonite church and heard "sons of the day"! having been introduced to these guys a few years back, i was so excited to hear them in person! they are an all male a capella group who sing all genres-- from hymns to the beatles to renaissance to country music. (click here for their website) it was great worshiping with them not only last night, but also this morning at pmc.

so there you have it, proof that i've been out and about, at least for the past three weeks. ;)