Thankful

25 things I am thankful for this year:

• a faith that is sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see
• my salvation that I know I do not deserve
• a fiance who supports me and encourages me
  
• my family who have always been there for me
  
• loving and uplifting relationships with my friends
• a full-time job
• the education I'm receiving at NYU
• books
• freedom
• God's creation
• the people in my fellowship group
• Apple products
• Google
• Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Tim Keller
• the chance to live in New York and my awesome house
• great roommates
• the Tahoe
  
• the Internet
  
• triangle eared dogs
  
• delicious creamers that make my coffee tasty
  
• cell phones
  
• the colors of fall
  
• piano lessons at home
  
• great deals at Ikea
  
• Netflix
  

Book Review: The Faith of Barack Obama

Title: The Faith of Barack Obama
Author: Stephen Mansfield
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Non-fiction

My Rating:***
There is no shortage of information out there about president-elect Obama, but I really appreciated Stephen Mansfield's fairly objective pre-election portrayal of our 44th president and his faith. Mansfield provides well-reserached details about Obama's life, family background and encounters with different religions, and he describes to the best of his ability what it is Obama believes and has faith in. The fact is, we all have faith in something, and Mansfield makes it pretty clear that Obama does believe in God and Jesus, and to him that means carrying out Jesus' mission to help the poor and needy and to fight social injustice. Mansfield tackles the controversial issues of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's influence on Obama as his pastor of many years and Obama's voting record and stance on abortion rights. He tries to highlight both sides of the arguments and provides a foundation of facts for the reader to make up his or her mind. One of my favorite chapters profiled the "four faces of faith in politics:" Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush. Though Mansfield tries to stay objective about Obama's faith, he does make the point that the political landscape in regards to faith and religion is changing, including the emergence and growth of the Religious Left.

Halloween and Sweeney Todd

On Thursday before Halloween, there was a costume party at work. Dustin went as Indiana Jones, and I went as Snow White the Avenger. Neither of us won an award, but we had fun all the same.


This Halloween, I stayed home with roommates, passed out candy to the very few trick-or-treaters who came by (w00t for leftover candy!), watched Sweeney Todd and made chocolate ghost lollipops. We still have leftover ghosts, which is fine by me as they make great after school treats :-) Also, I have since been listening to the Sweeney Todd soundtrack practically non-stop at work, at home, on runs. I only bought a few songs from iTunes, so I listen to the whole thing on imeem whenever I'm online. I wonder which will come first: will I eventually learn all the words or get sick of it?

Smelly knowledge

Two things:
1. Admire the irony that I am posting this quote on a blog
2. Forgive me for indulging in watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I was watching an episode from season one of Buffy, "I, Robot... You, Jane," and I really liked this conversation about books vs. computers. Jenny Calendar is the computer teacher, and Rupert Giles is the librarian.

Jenny Calendar: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?
Giles: The smell.
Jenny Calendar: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no texture, no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.