Tuesday, September 25, 2007

17:29 and i am clock-watching at work. the rain is coming down outside and all i can hear is the traffic below and ad speaking russian at the next desk. i love listening to him on the phone though i've no idea what he's talking about. otherwise all is quiet, as if the day - like me - is getting tired and ready to wind down. it's been one of those days where you want someone to take care of you. for no real reason... perhaps it's the melancholy weather that does it.

today i've been pondering the idea of delighting ourselves in God (is this the same as being delighted by him, i wonder?) and the promise that if we do so he will give us the desires of our hearts. it sounds so easy. and perhaps it is - perhaps i shouldn't complicate things. it's a good reminder to me of what is fundamental, and most important in my life - passion for God, and closeness to him. that was the theme (or one of them) of the incredible weekend i've just had in Paris, organised by the wonderful people at la fonderie. the guest speaker, erwin mcmanus, was one of the most inspiring people i've heard in a long time. check him out - read him, listen to him. he reminded me of all the things i'm passionate about, all the things i dream about, the things that make my heart beat and make me (even me) want to jump up and down. so even though the coffee and the pain au chocolat were wonderful, and the picnic on the pont des arts just divine, nothing was better than being reminded of all the things that i love, and all the people who are dreamers like me.

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 5:28 PM

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

18:32 and i am still in the office. not really working but waiting for miss sl to call me so that we can walk home together. it's the best part of the day. everyone else has gone home and i'm staring out of the window at the evening sun just catching the tops of the buildings on our street. there are cloud trails in the sky making me think of travel and holidays. i feel as if summer has completely bypassed us this year. it's as if we've leapt over a whole period of the year and suddenly find ourselves facing autumn. strange. still, i've always seen the autumn as a point of new beginnings, even though the natural world is winding down for winter. not that there are any great plans afoot for me as yet. but i feel as if the potential for new beginnings is there. and that's exciting.

speaking of exciting, i am off to paris this weekend for a conference on faith and the arts. can't wait. although i'm looking forward to the content of the weekend what i'm most excited about - predictably - is being back in the city that i love, surrounded by the pains au chocolat that i love. it's the simple things.

miss sl has now decided that she's ready to go home. i can hear cars on the street below, and someone laughing. there are few feelings nicer than knowing it's home time and you're finally allowed out.

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 6:31 PM

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

sneaky blogging at work, so can't write much. but this verse struck me yesterday and has been on my mind since:

“This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”

Isaiah 48:17

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 10:03 AM