appreciating saturday

i used to hate saturday. for a lone time saturday was the day that made me feel guilty or "unproductive." you know, if you have much to either catch up on or prepare for, when else are you going to do it but on saturday? yeah, that's a good enough reason to get frustrated with saturday, i think.

but this semester i decided i need to live my saturdays without getting to the end of them regretting things left undone (like unfinished, dare I say unreasonable, mile long to-do lists). i have always been over ambitious with my weekends. it is pretty great to realize that I am learning to relax about this.

for example...
this morning i slept in. no alarm clock. as mentioned in yesterday's post, this week exhausted me. therefore, i decided a sleep-in was very necessary. I woke up at 9:15 and watched an episode of Recess with a bowl of cereal. mmm.

after getting ready for the day I packed a bag for the library and bundled up. after a quick trip to the bank to deposit last week's pay check and a stop at the post office for a book of stamps (i've had to hold off on letter writing for the past week and a half...arg), i finally made it to the library. i spent a good hour and a half researching for a paper. this is the paper on a biblical theology of the violence of God. it's already very interesting--poking and prodding me in new ways. i just love digging into themes of Scripture that are at first "untouchable" but once in, a storehouse of mystery and meaning...
I got swallowed up by one article in particular for awhile before a footnote sent me on a search for a few other resources. If you are interested, check it out:
Fretheim, Terence E. "'I Was Only a Little Angry': Divine Violence in the Prophets." Interpretation 58 (2004): 365-375.
It's a short article with great insight and challenge. There is another of his ("God and Violence in the Old Testament") that is also on my list.

After the library i came back to the apartment to clean and organize. I always feel better about my Sunday and a new week if things are straightened up in my "living space." Tiffany and I have been waiting to rent Adam, which we did today. Also, I've been wanting to make fresh pasta for awhile. I decided it was time. Actually, the extra bit of motivation came from reading SouleMama's post, here, and remembering that I own The Art of Simple Food...so, what have I been waiting for?! It is cheap--flour and eggs. It's not labor intensive either. So Tiff and I took a break from Adam to roll out, cut, and boil these tasty fresh noodles. I think when I have a family of my own i might invest in a pasta press. But maybe the kiddos will enjoy helping cut...

All this to say, today has not been a waste. I am not stressed or guilty for *not* spending hours upon hours working on homework (since there is always more to do, especially for a perfectionist). Saturdays, now, are almost always a good mix of structure and spontaneity. I am thankful for this. please remember, dear reader, that life is short and we really ought to have a balanced diet of structure and spontaneity.

In other news, I am flying out Thursday night for Richmond. Yes, it's true. I get to spend five days with Jay, Kristen, Sam, and the niece-in-progress. Mmmm, I just can't wait!

Well, after a brisk night walk to the grocery store with Lace, I am now cozy in this warm little room with my cup of ginger tea, the weepies softly playing through my speakers, thinking about which article to dive into next. and I quietly look forward to reciting the Nicene Creed with a community of fellow faith-followers tomorrow because, beautifully, it has taken on new meaning for me this week. But that's for another post--this one is long enough. Here's to leaving you hanging :)