Super Amy

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. -Philippians 2:14-15

I love this verse. I love the idea that a positive, joyful spirit can do so much to make us stand out as “children of God.” I want to shine like a star in the universe. I want to make more of an effort not to complain or to argue, even when it’s something as simple as answering a “how are you” with “tired” or “stressed.” Maybe it will be contagious.

Boy, am I missin’ me some Ireland right now. I don’t miss traveling as often as I did last year, which is a good thing, I think. I often get asked when I’m planning on going overseas again, and I don’t think I am for a while. Not that I wouldn’t love to take a trip next year (or tomorrow, for that matter), it’s just that with so many opportunities everywhere for purposeful travel, I’m not sure I could justify the expense of a massive plane ticket just to visit my favorite cathedrals and pubs and street musicians. To be honest, I can see myself being pulled more and more towards the idea of missions work. Practically, I’m not sure how a person goes about getting started with something like that. And so for right now, I’m just praying about it. (And hey, who knows… maybe I’ll end up on a particularly green island off the coast of England?)

This Grand Canyon trip is coming up more quickly than I expected. I’m not as prepared as I’d like to be — I bought some hiking shoes, and that’s about it. When I go on road trips, I like to do as much research as possible first, so that A) I never have that “where’s the internet when I need it” feeling (people with iPhones, I don’t want to hear it), and B) I can feel confident that I know what my options are and can just relax and play things by ear. I keep meaning to make a list of roadside attractions, possible hotels, detours (painted desert!), and gas stations with free showers along the way. I know I shouldn’t be so obsessive-compulsive about it. I guess that’s why I always like traveling with really laid-back people: good to have somebody to balance my type-A personality.

Can I just say, I am not at all happy about this daylight savings time thing. It feels like midnight when I get off work. I think this is the first year that I’ve been this bothered by the shorter days. As much as I love Fall, this definitely puts a damper on things.

(Does that count as complaining? Already, I’m off on a bad foot…)

listening to: The Swell Season – In These Arms