Tag Archives: church

Thirty Days of Love

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Many members of my church are taking part in a social justice movement called “Thirty Days of Love” hosted by Standing on the Side of Love: Harnessing Love’s Power to Stop Oppression. This is a wonderful community of people from all religious backgrounds, faiths, and spiritual practices who are united in the common belief that love is the ultimate guiding force of our world. The Thirty Days of Love is “a period of intentional action, service, education, and reflection to focus on this essential work.” You can sign up to receive an email every day with essential questions to consider and reflect upon.

I found yesterday’s message by Alex Patchin McNeill, the Executive Director of More Light Presbyterians, to be particularly moving. I wanted to share his words with you:

“As you move through your day today, I invite you to practice an act of radical love: strive to see the beauty in all people, especially those you struggle with. Part of this practice is recognizing that whether or not we show it, each of us moves through the world hiding scars, covering up what we think the world [would] deem ugly if we were truly seen. It is easy to see beauty and practice compassion toward those we like or enjoy the company of; it is far, far harder to see beauty and practice compassion in the face of people who frustrate us, or, worse yet, actively hate us. Practicing love in the face of oppression is incredibly difficult, but it starts small, with practicing love every time we struggle with another person for any reason.”

Questions of the morning:

  • How do you define true beauty?
  • Have you ever had the experience of practicing love or kindness in the face of oppression, anger or meanness?

goals for the week of 2/2

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Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I hope you have fun plans for today. I’m off to church soon, but before I go … it’s goals time! 🙂

weekly goals

Here’s how I did on my goals from this past week:
– write 10 pages
– finish new short story I’m working on
– go to two yoga classes {I made it to three!}
– complete two chapters of copyediting project {It was a great copyediting week… I made it through four chapters!}
– finish reading all of the old Narrative Stories of the Week in my email inbox {read five of these stories + got into two excellent short story collections, Orientation by Daniel Orozco and Power Ballads by Will Boast}
– connect with three friends

And here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– write 10 pages
– finish new short story I’m working on
– go to two yoga classes
– mail Valentines
– complete two chapters of copyediting project
– start final fellowship application, due Feb. 28
– finish reading all of the old Narrative Stories of the Week in my email inbox and Orientation by Daniel Orozco
– connect with three friends

Questions of the morning:

  • What are your goals for this upcoming week?
  • What have been your highlights of this weekend?

fabulous friday #10

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Happy Friday, friends! Hope you have some fun plans on the horizon! I am pretty dang excited for the weekend. Tonight I’m going to see best-selling YA author Veronica Rossi give a talk at a local bookstore. On Saturday I’m reuniting with my lovely friend Dana for a walk at the reservoir & lunch afterwards — we haven’t seen each other for a few weeks and I can’t wait to catch up! And Sunday I’m going to church, meeting up with a friend for coffee … and of course watching the Super Bowl! The one time all year where the commercials are actually my favorite part 🙂 My aunt is having a big party at her house which will undoubtedly be a good time.

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Spontaneous trips to the park. It’s been gorgeous weather here this week, and when I spent the day with my cousins Makena & Bianca earlier this week we went over to the neighborhood park to take advantage of the sunshine. I love swinging on swings! And isn’t this tree beautiful?

swings

2. Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED talk on creativity. A friend first shared this link with me a couple years ago, and after someone mentioned it at church this week I watched it again. So inspiring! I especially love this quote:

elizabeth gilbert quote

3. Trader Joe’s! I can’t get enough of this store. I have lately been addicted to their kale & shredded broccoli chicken salad, edamame hummus, and butter shortbread cookies with chocolate in the middle. {No, I did not take home this entire stash, but I wanted to!}

shortbread cookies

4. This song, “Giddy Up” by Dragonette. My brother posted it on my Facebook wall and it is my new morning jam! Such a rousing way to start the day.

5. Soaking up time with my super-fun cousins. This week I’ve gotten to spend lots of time with these beautiful girls and it’s been so great! Last night Arianna and I had a total girly night: pizza, watching 17 Again, doing face masks, talking about boys. It was wonderful! I feel so blessed that my cousins are not just cousins, they are truly my friends, too 🙂

arianna and rocca

makena bianca

Questions of the day:

  • What are you loving right now?
  • Do you have fun plans for the weekend?
  • Are you going to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday?

goals for the week of 12/29

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And just like that … we’re into the final days of 2013. Hard to believe!

This morning at church the sermon was all about letting go of your preconceived notions and the stories you tell yourself about what your life “should” look like or what “should” happen, and to open yourself up to all the incredible possibilities around you. We each went up to the front and released a small square of flash paper into a candle flame to symbolize something we want to let go of in this upcoming year. It was a surprisingly moving and empowering exercise. I actually got tears in my eyes when I watched my little square of paper burst into flame. I want to let go of my desire to control every aspect of my life and to be more open to the joy and excitement of the unknown — to embrace life’s adventures instead of being afraid. 

weekly goals

Here’s how I did on my goals from this past week:
– take cookies & cards to the nursing home
– finish reading The Tea Rose
– soak up time with my family and friends!
– journal/reflect on this past year
– set my goals for 2014, wooooohoooo! {post on this coming soon!}

And here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– write 10 pages
– donate purged clothes, books and magazines
– mail thank you notes & happy new year cards
– finish reading Edible Stories and MWF seeking BFF
– phone dates with two friends

Question of the day:

  • What are your goals for this week?
  • What is something you want to let go of in this new year?

year of kindness challenge: week 42

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year of kindness button

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope your week is off to a good start. 🙂 The BART strike continues up here in the Bay Area, and I feel so bad for all of the commuters into the city who rely on BART and now have to find other means of transportation. Please send good thoughts that the issues get resolved soon and the trains will start running again!

My cousin Arianna went to the Homecoming Dance this weekend and she looked absolutely gorgeous! I love this photo of her and my grandma … we were calling them our two ladies in red:

arianna homecoming

Yesterday was another family-filled day, and I loved it! In the morning I headed over to cheer on my cousin Makena in her soccer game — not only did her team win, but she scored three goals! I was so proud. She is quite the soccer star!

Then I headed over to the U.U. church a couple towns over {the closest one to where I live now} … it was my first time going to this particular church, and everyone was so welcoming and kind. The church itself is stunningly beautiful, on top of a mountain, and the chapel has a ton of windows looking out over the green hills and the valley below. I was definitely happy I made the drive, and I plan to go back next Sunday! It can be intimidating to walk into a new church, and it takes me a few weeks to feel completely comfortable and to start recognizing familiar faces.

In the evening, we got together for dinner with my other aunt’s family. Grandma and I made an apple cake with cinnamon crumb topping and brown sugar glaze … YUM! It was actually a very easy recipe, and was a big hit with everyone. Grandpap even went back for thirds! I’ll have to share the recipe on here soon.

apple cake

Now … on to the kindness! Last week’s kindness challenge was to advocate for someone, particularly someone younger or newer or just starting out on their career path. I sent a dozen or so emails to young writers with contest information I came across, and I also spoke on the phone to a few high school students about their writing and college applications. I always come away from these conversations inspired myself — I hope they felt the same way!

The Week 42 Kindness Challenge is to buy someone else’s morning java fix or afternoon caffeine boost. This might mean paying for the person behind you in line at Starbucks or bringing lattes to your coworkers as a mid-week treat. Whatever strikes your fancy!

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn AT gmail DOT com.

Now I’m off to work on fellowship apps and then go for a run at the gym. Have a wonderful day!

❤ Dallas

P.S.: The archives were getting pretty loooooong below each new post, so head on over to this Year of Kindness Challenge page to see all the archived posts from the previous 41 weeks!

Questions of the morning:

  • What kindnesses happened in your life this past week?
  • Have you ever moved to a new town and had to start out at a new church? Do you have any advice about making the transition?