Reading, wRiting, and woRk

Early last month I found myself in the San Diego area visiting family and friends. Most of that time I laid around on the sand or next to a pool getting tan. Now THAT was amazing.

Anyways, during this vacation, I went book shopping and got three books all recommended to me by my great friend Mandieron. I bought Marley and Me, Angels and Demons, and The Secret Life of Bees. Marley and Me was my indoor reading book, for when I needed a break from the sun or was just bored at night. Angels and Demons was my mass produced paperback for outdoor reading. I figured I'd read the Secret Life of Bees whenever I finished one of the other books.

Marley and Me was sweet and I even found a few tears pricking my eyes at the end of the book (and the end of Marley's life). It's an enjoyable read for a dog lover. Sometimes I got a little annoyed with the author, but for the most part, it was a nice book to read on a vacation.

Angels and Demons kept me pretty annoyed with the author the whole time, but it was a quick, entertaining read too. If I ignored all of the things that annoyed me, it was a fun story. It even left me with a strange desire to read the Da Vinci Code.

My favorite of all three of these books was The Secret Life of Bees. I actually didn't read it until I got home from vacation, but I read it in a day. This book is something destined for high school required reading lists. I really enjoyed the author's writing style. It reminded me of the Ya Ya Sisterhood in that a great focus was on the sisterhood of women and their re-creating religion to fit into something tangible and something that they could relate to. It made me think of a class I took in undergrad called Women in Religion. In this class we often talked about the fundamental patriarchy of many religions and how women throughout history and cultures have learned to take aspects of religion and shape them into something more inclusive; something that uplifted the feminine. The two books I read for that class were the Ya Yas and Beloved. I think that the Secret Life of Bees reminds me even more so of Beloved because the characters also use their religion as a way to break free from the oppression of slavery and racism.

So while the first two books I read were entertaining, I will only think of them as vacation books. However, when it comes to the Secret Life of Bees, I am very happy I read it. It made an impact on my life and recommend it to everybody.

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I have been thinking about my time off from school and internship. How can I make this time as valuable as possible? One thing I've realized is that I can learn many lessons for my future life as a minister during my time as a waitress. Both professions are focused on service. It has been a good practice for me to consider this word, "service." I do not think one can truly serve, in any aspect of their life, no matter how they are serving another person or the world, without also serving God. What is the greatest commandment? To love God above all else and love your neighbor as yourself. This commandment is the greatest. It's a cycle. As we love God, and live out that love, we respond out of love to our neighbors and ourselves! As we love our neighbors and ourselves, we love the God who brought us together, created us, and is with us always.

This is what "church" is all about. A body of people gathered together, learning what and how it is to truly love God, our neighbor(s next door to us and throughout the world!), and ourselves.