30 Days

I'm a sucker for things like this:

So, I'm taking on some 30 day challenges. Nothing entirely intense as I hope to finish my Master's by January, which requires doubling up in October...so a 'soft' 30 days for now.

Drum roll please...

For the next 3 days I will...

• Drink a glass of water after I brush my teeth/after every meal (that's 3 more glasses than I usually drink!)
• Use the Misso de Brievery to engage in a morning and evening prayer while stretching out on my yoga mat
• Do a mere 12 sit-ups and 12 push-ups everyday

Three days in and doing good! Stay tuned for the final results and let me know if you choose to do a 30 day challenge any time soon ;)

(Typed while thinking about boiling water for a evening cup of rooibos before bed ^^)

Book: Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Perhaps I under rated this...not sure. I really knew a lot about the story before reading it, perhaps that is why it did not grip me to it's full potential...)

At this point, I feel many people are familiar with the basic set-up of the 'Life of Pi'. A boy. A boat. A Bengal Tiger. Lost at Sea. Survival.

Of course, there is so much more that is honestly riveting, challenging and good fodder for discussion and the processing of personal beliefs, etc. I enjoyed the story thoroughly and take with me the following quotes and passages as particularly poignant and thought-provoking.

"It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same after-wards, even unto our names." (p. 25).

"Why do people move? What makes them uproot and leave everything they've known for a great unknown beyond the horizon? Why climb this Mount Everest of formalities that makes you feel like a beggar? 98Why enter this jungle of foreignness where everything is new, strange and difficult?

The answer is the same the world over: people move in hope of a better life." (p.98)

For so many reasons, this stood out to me. This is my constant line of questioning. Why live where we do, away from a community we know, love and were known and loved by?  I struggle to accept that the answer is 'in hope of a better life' but haven't thought of any better alternative, so perhaps it is so.

"Don't bully me with your politeness! Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?" (p. 375)

"The world isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story?" (p. 380).


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Above is obviously what I posted on my Goodreads, with italicized  additions adding further insight/thoughts. However, there are numerous additional passages which stuck out to me, passages that I plan to really work through and connect to where I'm at, where I've been and where I'm going.

To all my dear friends and faithful readers, what were your thoughts on the Life of Pi?

(Typed having recently finished a sweet yellow teacup filled with Korean 3-in-1 coffee mix)

Book: Heaven is For Real

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really love Heaven and stories/ideas/thoughts regarding what Heaven will be. The book is a quick read with the ability to challenge, encourage or perhaps enrage depending on where one is at in regards to faith and/or Christianity. For me, it came at the closing of a year when many upstanding men of faith have passed away and I hope that they have entered a Heavenly Kingdom such as what is described biblically and within the pages of this book.

Favorite quotes/passages:

"What is childlike humility? It's not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It's that precious fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think." (pg. 75).

"I had to die on earth so people could come see my Dad" (pg. 111)

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I really can't explain how much I enjoy thinking about heaven and hearing stories that resonate with what I believe to be true about the Kingdom of Heaven. I just love it and there are things stated in this book that are hard to believe and come from the lips of a child and I'm honestly not sure how many details regarding heaven the human race should be afforded, but I'm a dreamer, so I'll take the bait.

I really love heaven. It's one of the things I 'learned' about early in my faith journey and that I just love and I look forward to it and I believe in it and I'm frankly not ashamed  about this fact of myself. I really love heaven.

This book encourages me to keep loving heaven and really love children.

I recommend it. That's all.

(Typed while sitting at 519 Clark wanting to go to bed and for unexplainable reasons not drinking a mug of tea - go figure)

Book: Born to Run

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've only had the smallest of desires to run in the past, however, reading Born to Run has given me much deeper motivation and desires to run. Considering the scientific base of this book, it is impressive how well the story reads. I went through this book with surprising speed and ease which I attribute to it's readability. If you want some convicting facts and stories for becoming a runner - I recommend the book. If you're interested in anthropology, history, ancient tribes, etc. - also recommended. Absolutely a fantastic read.


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I really, REALLY loved this book. I'm such a sucker for this kind of thing. In the past, I always thought of running as inappropriate to the human body - walking or swimming be less hard on joints and the body and therefore more appropriate. Born to Run makes me question such logic.  I'm discovering I receive joy from questioning. From my blacks and whites making grays. This book blended my blacks and whites and leaves me with the most sincere and genuine desire to exercise, specifically run, than I've had in a long, long time. And I appreciate that. I need conviction in my life. This book is convicting. I think I'll start running. I've been 'practicing' my non-heel-strike run through the apartment, warranting strange looks from the dog and the hubs...but heck, I'm down. I like bare-feet too, added bonus. (Secretly hoping to convince the hubs a pair of Vibram 5Fingers are in order while we're home...we shall see ^.^)

If you think running could be fun or like the idea of running being fun - I recommend this book. Either way, it's an interesting read.

Not ready to read? Check out this TEDtalk by the Author, Christopher McDougall

Book: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I appreciated the real-ness of this story. Real in the sense, that I kept expecting a redemption that was grand and reuniting amongst all characters, however the depth of pain and betrayal and hardship were deep and I believe the author dealt with these components in a compassionate, redemptive yet very real way. Not that I didn't want redemption to win, that I didn't want a Savior to undo the hurt and the pain, I want that, I've seen that and I love that. I just didn't feel it in these characters. I didn't feel it was their time or their place and I was grateful that the author felt and allowed for the same.

The synopsis of twins, one without complication the other with a diagnosis of Downs Syndrome made for an engaging read. It is difficult to imagine being placed in such a situation where giving away one of two seems like the best choice. I cannot imagine the regret felt by David, the grief felt by Norah nor the shock felt by Caroline. The story is full of such complexities that are reflective of all people.

Lines that stand out:

"This was her life. Not the life she had once dreamed of, not a life her younger self would ever have imagined or desired, but the life she was living with all its complexities. This was her life, built with care and attention, and it was good." (p.322)

"Grief it seemed, was a physical place." (p. 388).

"He'd poured his story out to her in such a rush, the first and last time he had ever told it, and she had listened without judging him. There was freedom in that." (p. 395)
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Burned Out

I usually have decent stamina with my employment situations.

However. my current situation. is. destroying me. (exaggeration).

But seriously.

This year, I've discovered some strengths and gifts in teaching that were surprising and welcomed.

As the first year of TEFL in Korea winds down...I'm burned out.

And not because it's hot and humid and monsoon season.

Because my work load is heavy. i have two schools. my students are giving up. or yelling. always. or fighting. or...or...or...

And it feels like I'm the only one who sees it
or cares.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I can't come back to this, in August.

Therefore, I will come back to a new school.
One school. A middle school.
Fingers-crossed.

Over at This is 27...

I just posted or actually re-blogged, something that is crucial to my heart right now.

I have some of the greatest friends and conections a girl could ask for.