lots to consider and ponder

so i've been blogging a lot recently. i've come up with 3 reasons why:
1) i'm lonely! i haven't met a lot of people here yet that i'm willing to sit and have a conversation like this with. or at least they're not ready for it. ;-)
2) the time zone difference sucks! i got out of a meeting at 1030pm here tonite and wanted to call someone and verbally decompress the events of the evening, but no one i know is still up! stupid time zones!
3) i want to keep my friends and family back east in the loop of my life, and instead of repeating myself over and over, i can do it once here and refer them all back to it. so it's a time saving measure. that way, when i do speak with them, we can talk about things the whole world doesn't need to know.
4) ok, i lied, here's a 4th. i like the opportunity to verbally process things in a way that allows me to organize my thoughts and process them without interruption, and it allows me the time to stop and find the right word.

so here's the processings from the day:
i went to a lunch discussion with a guy who does microfinance stuff in africa. he's ugandan, and has an awesome personal story of how he came to do what he does. it makes a lot of sense, but i don't know how to respond.

in class today, we talked about how we in the west like to make 2 very different definitions, sometimes opposites, and define everything in terms of those 2 things, saying everything is either one or the other. we give one power over the other and marginalize anything and anyone who doesn't exactly fit in between. it's an interesting thought, and i'm glad we talked about it. in most cases, the best thing to do is to find exceptions to the rule and celebrate them, not diminish them.

it's true, i like to think of things in terms of black and white. it has only been in the past few years that i've learned the value of relating to things on a spectrum, from one side to the other. i've learned how most things are in process, and it's impossible to strictly define them as one or the other without losing some aspects or characteristics, thereby limiting them. like if something is 90% one way, i'd rather cut off that last 10%, but now i'm learning to get used to that 10% and even like it.

i got an email today from a friend who responded to something on my blog, and she sent along part of a book as something else to consider. i spent a while reading the first bits of the book, about the way church should really be, and making comments. some parts i wholeheartedly agreed with, other parts i could see his point but didn't agree with the reasoning or the example he gave. other parts i disagreed with entirely. i realized that i really enjoyed engaging myself with the book, not just accepting it blindly, but analyzing the points made and comparing them to my own context. which is, i realize, what i've been doing in class thus far, which is kind of exciting to realize. it means that i actually like the readings for school! at least i do when i understand what is being said (not always the case) and it's balanced enough that there's something i can agree and disagree with.

then tonite, i went to a missions testimony night. about 10 fuller students who went on missions trips this summer reported briefly on their trips. 2 of them actually did their practicum (which is required for the program i'm in), so i especially enjoyed their stories and experiences. they both gave me plenty to think about! each experience was unique in just about every way, but both were awesome. it will be so exciting to see where i end up on my practicum, and what results because of it. i want to talk to more students about their experiences, whether they're still planning their practicum and figuring things out or have already gone and done it. and for the record, i want to hear about them for the sake of the whole story, not just for the practical tidbits i can glean.

so yeah, today was a good day in terms of learning and thinking about things that stretch me in a good way. i enjoyed it. there were a lot of good stories that remind me of the greatness and awesomeness of God. as scott would say, good stuff.