If you’ve spent much time with me at all, you probably know
how much I love reading other people’s blogs.
It’s kind of like someone giving me permission to read their diary,
because people tend to be more honest on the internet than they would in real
life, hiding behind a perceived curtain of anonymity. I love stories about real people, and reading
blogs gives me little glimpses into the lives and stories of men and women who,
like me, write in order to make sense of life.
The subscriptions on my blog reader range from the
day-to-day accounts of real-life friends, to the musings of well-known, modern-day
theologians and students of culture, to snarky tumblrs that find the snippets
of humor in everything from grad school to singleness to pastoring. I read a lot about culture and theology and
the millennial generation and women in church ministry, and in my reading I
find a lot of perspectives I agree with and many others that I don’t. I appreciate reading the words of intelligent
people who fall on a different side of controversial issues than I do, because
it makes me have to think hard, do my research, and really study Scripture to
find answers, rather than just accepting opinions blindly.
But all of that to say, several of my favorite blogs do
something fun where they share what they’ve been reading/watching/listening to
on a regular basis (once a month, once a week, every once in a while, etc.) and
I decided to give it a try! I’m titling
it “Current Obsessions” for a couple reasons.
First of all, when I find a new thing I like, I get a bit obsessed with
it. Examples: playing songs on repeat
until I can’t stand them anymore, watching an entire season of a new show on
Netflix in a very, ahem, short amount
of time, or transporting myself into an alternate reality with a book series
that I can’t put down until I’ve simply run out of pages to read. Also, “Current Obsessions” is the title of my
iTunes playlist where all my fun, new music lives. This playlist is constantly changing as I
shuffle songs in and out of it based on what genre or artist I currently can’t
live without. So without further ado, I
present:
Carrie’s Current Obsessions,
August 2013 Edition
WHAT I'M READING
In all honesty, August was a slim month in the book department. With the madness of RA training and the beginning of school, reading fell to the bottom of my to-do list. I'm still hoping to complete my "50 Books in 2013" challenge, but we'll see how the rest of the semester pans out. I may be scrambling over Christmas break trying to log pages before the year ends!
I've been working through Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders whenever I have a chance (or when I'm logging long hours in the local ER with students!) and it's definitely one of those books that I'm having to read slowly with a highlighter and pencil in hand to soak in all the wisdom contained in its pages. I was assigned this book to read for one of my practicum classes in college, and I'm really enjoying getting to read it again. The leadership principles are so applicable to everyday life, even for those who would not consider themselves to be in leadership roles. The things I'm learning from this book are applicable to any believer who is trying follow Jesus holistically.
I haven't started this book yet, but it's one I will be going through with a group of RAs this semester. I can't wait to start reading and discussing it though, so stay tuned for my thoughts!
WHAT I'M WATCHING
I don't know how I've made it through 24 years of life without watching Friends, but I'm making up for it now! My friend Suzie owns all 10 seasons, so I started borrowing them from her bit by bit over the summer and yes, I've totally jumped on the Friends bandwagon. So. Stinking. Funny.
And to all my friends who have told me over the years that I'm "Monica," I get it now. It's nice to have a TV personality who shares my OCD-tendencies.
Guys, it's the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, it's football season! I've been watching a lot of my man Russell Wilson and the Seahawks kicking some rear in the pre-season, and I can't wait for the real games to start next week. GO HAWKS!
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO
I used to think that Lewis County was the Mecca of country music, but I have been proven wrong. Lewis County was close enough to Seattle and Portland to have a good smattering of indie/folk and hip hop/rap influences thrown into the mix, but I have never experienced country music like I have in southwest Missouri. It's nearly impossible to find a non-country radio station.
That being said, my musical obsessions as of late continue to be all over the map, ranging from Love and Theft (I listen to "Angel Eyes" on repeat!), Andy Grammer, Macklemore, and of course, the hauntingly beautiful new Civil Wars album, with some Eminem thrown in for good measure on my workout playlist. Because Eminem always makes me run a little faster.
And finally, "One Thing Remains" by Jesus Culture has been my go-to song this summer. So so good.
