baby i'm amazed

Not only do I LOVE that Paul McCartney song, but I am truly amazed for two reasons this week.

1. Ravi Zacharias, an internationally renowned apologetics speaker, was remarkable thursday night as he spoke to a packed out house at the atlanta civic center. i mean it. He's currently speaking with John Lennox on the question "is faith delusional?" Both are two of the most intelligent men on the face of the planet right now and debate the foremost thinkers and philosophers about religion and the legitimacy of Christ. While incorporating years of studies, books, debates, theories, models, and intellectual rhetoric into their talks, they somehow simultaneously maintain an incredible humility, groundedness, and universal connection with the simple ideas of faith and the simple/ complex listeners in the audience. People are absolutely captivated as they discuss and explain why it is quite delusional in this world to conform your mind to secular atheism, and combine faith and reason in such a seamless manner that you can't help but believe in the resurrection. Their two talks--so intensely and articulately conveyed--were so effective you could hear a pin drop as people listened, mused, took notes, and stared in awe. At the end, there was a Q&A session, where people (mainly non-believers) would get up and seek out answers to their many questions. There were a few quotes I took note of that blew me away:

"The New Atheists undermine their own arguments ironically with their stance on Reason: they claim that we developed from evolution, relying on instincts and survival, and somehow reason came from this need to survive rather than from any outside source of truth. How can a reason that came, not from Truth, but from human experience be trusted? and if so, how is that universal or logical?" Furthermore, "How can blind selection produce any oral conviction at all? How can basic survival result in the creation of a moral code by which one can reason?"

Both having multiple PhD's in the Sciences, they find that the question of Science or God to be ridiculous. They say, Science is a mechanism and God is an agent. Trying to explain the world in terms or either Science or God is like trying to explain the motor engine of a car in terms of either combustion or Henry Ford--the explanation requires both, and one is a mechanism of how the process works and the other is an agent, creating the motor and the process. Science and God, mechanism and agent, are on such different levels, different calibers, trying to compare them on equal footing is laughable, they say.

Furthermore, they explained that Scientists do have faith--they believe in Laws and they believe that there is a formulaic design or order to the world that can be explained and contained in scientific research--and that they, on some level, must believe in a Law Giver or Intelligent Designer... or else their research is no more significant than random actions without design.

Reductionism is a popular theory among Scientists right now that states that all complex things can be broken down into simple terms/ formulas and that those simple things can explain the larger complex things. John Lennox gave the example of language: words written on a page: r-o-a-s-t. Breaking that word down into it's elemental level--paper and ink--reveals nothing of the meaning of the complex version: roast. The meaning of the letters placed together cannot be deduced from the study of paper and ink. One Reductionist recently dumb-founded by this example surprised John with his answer: "it so obviously cannot explain the meaning of the complex; it requires an Author."

Another Reductionist example: you cannot take anything physical and section it, cut it up, dissect it to a point to determine or find the reason for its existence within itself. To discover the meaning behind anything, you cannot find it by studying the object itself, but it always points to Something Else for meaning/ explanation.

As one former Communist stated after the fall of the Berlin Wall: "We thought that you could, but you cannot get rid of God and keep the value of Man"--meaning without God, without purpose, without a Creator for all of creation, the value placed on creation, on human life, on human ability/ responsibility here on earth is non-existent.

Ravi even explained that most spiritual concepts are evident here on earth, for us to be able to better understanding. God the Father is apparent sometimes in the relationship between parent and child. Jesus the Bridegroom is evident in the way a man loves a woman. The Holy Spirit is in the gut feelings and instinct-like reactions we have within the relationships we have--like a maternal instinct or a 6th sense. And the Trinity is evident in the moment a woman conceives a child: she is 3 and yet she is 1; she contains three scientifically distinct DNAs--hers, her husband's, and the newly created baby--and yet she is still simply a woman--one physical organism as visible from the outside. She is both. It is incredible how the spiritual world is mirrored in this world, in nature, in all that surrounds us.

There's so much more that they said that touched my life and opened my eyes to rationality of our faith, though it is founded and grounded on the miraculous (I hope I have conveyed their ideas with a fraction of the clarity they did; if not, forgive me, they were incredibly clear in their explanations). And looking at the present state of affairs--in America, the economy, celebrity crap, AIDS, globally--why would you embrace the ways and thoughts of this world and expect any reasonable fulfillment? The only hope comes from Christ alone and in knowing that death is not the end but the beginning.

2. the second thing that amazed me was how many people in my office are Christians. We had a group go from EAL--the firm I work for. Out of 13 coworkers, 5 bought tickets and brought their spouses, and 8 are open with their faith. The other 5 are more veiled about everything personal, so it's hard to gauge their response to religion, but still. In the corporate world of downtown Atlanta, it is such an encouragement to work in this office with so many believers. I love it!!

God is good and He is faithful and in response, I am left in awe, grateful and satisfied.

new job

ok. I STARTED MY NEW JOB TODAY AND I FREAKIN LOVE IT!!!

wait, but seriously. i love my job. it fits me so very well. it not only speaks to my master's degree in about all that i do, but it is so perfectly matched with my bizarre need to draw order out of the chaos i'm quite ecstatic over the whole thing, really.

i don't feel entry-level or bottom rung at all--tho i assure you, by all accounts ("salary" and job description) i am ;). i love the people i work for/ with. the three partners only come in a few days a week [sweet]. and while i was worried it would be stressful--implementing systems of organization into a jungle of case files--the systems are already in place, and the other secretaries need no convincing on my part about the need for change/ knowledge management. it's awesome. i went in expecting to have to fight an uphill battle and here i am: coasting down a wonderfully underwhelming hill. let's hope it stays that way.

plus the whole office has that "it's-a-marathon-not-a-sprint-mentality" so no one works too hard/ too crazy/ too long. and when they get sick of one task, they put it aside and work on something else for a while. the time flew by and i was surrounded by different things to do all day long--never a dull [read: bored] moment. i love it.

we'll see if this enthusiasm lasts, but i'm thinking i've somehow cheated the system and have it made... that is, of course, until i think about how much--how little i make ;)

in all seriousness: i love my job and life couldn't be sweeter.

techno meltdown

i should not have "promised" to post pictures of sweet Ndi, hannah, aswan, and our trip to charlotte b/c [gasp!] my mac claims that it has no space for pictures/ music!

that's total crap b/c i really don't have much of either... but i'm taking it to the doctor [apple at lenox] soon so it should quit pouting and load photos soon enough until then...

Ndi

Grant had to come to charlotte for business [or "biddness" as Aswan would say ;) ] and I decided to tag along and meet a certain little man. I say little man because he is no baby, he's awesome and huge and happy and beautiful--he's a little man. Anyway, the four of us (plus Ndi) ate sushi Monday night at the coolest place in the sweetest building--the pink building. we had some great convo and some even better sushi and edamame! and hung out till almost midnight!

Tuesday, the boys had to work, so Hannah, Ndi, and I headed uptown to check out the sights and walk around. We got coffee and tea, before stopping in two museums FOR FREE!! check them out here and here. can you believe it??? That was awesome. We also stopped into this precious little chapel for some quite time (and for Hannah to feed little Nile), before heading back to their place--which, btw, is ballin. seriously. awesome house.

Today, I'm having lunch with a lady I met this past weekend on retreat--awesome! And then grant and I are headed back to the city. Our little visit, vaca, (and work, for grant) has been so nice, I just had to write about it.

There will be pictures coming soon, I promise ;)

big news

So. Drum roll, please.......

I GOT A JOB IN A LAW FIRM DOWNTOWN!!!

I interviewed for the job a few days ago and they offered it to me today! I'm really excited! The office is in the Hurt Building, one of the oldest (and antique chic) in Atlanta. It's gorgeous. I get free parking and a lot of other great stuff, but it's a bitter sweet ending to my time at Bulloch Hall. They've been like family to me--to us--here. They've shown so much love, have mama'd me when I've been sick, have bought extra desert for me to take home for grant, basically been the arms and legs, hearts and hands of family for us here in this new place. It's sad to have to say goodbye--or at least, see you sooner or later--to them. To Bulloch. To my first real job. To the job that spoiled me rotten. To Pam, Gwen, and Janice.

Deadlines

Bittersweet or not, I now have deadlines to meet before my start date: Feb 17th.

I need to buy work clothes (they wear suits all the time... omg ;) we're semi looking for a house to rent (so Ga can have a yard) etc, but here's my schedule between now and then:

1. I'm doing some work and house cleaning and washing clothes and packing tmrw (thurs) and friday am
2. Friday at 2:00pm I'm leaving on a women's retreat with my new bible study; get back at 6 in time for couples bible study at our apt at 6:30 sunday night
3. Wash and repack because Monday we leave for Charlotte! grant has work and i want to see hannah, aswan, and little man Nile; we'll be there monday night through wednesday.
4. Thursday is my last hurrah at Bulloch Hall and lunch with my three wise ladies (they're like family) soooooo sad to be leaving bulloch, but like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives ;)
5. Friday I wash again (are you seeing a pattern) and hopefully buy some work clothes... we'll see
6. We'll leave friday after work for the lake (grant has that monday off for presidents day, so it's a three-day weekend for us! yay!)
7. We get back Monday at a somewhat decent hour because I start my job on Tuesday!!
8. Tuesday morning I get up and head downtown for my new job starting at 9:00 am.

not sure how i'm going to get everything done, but am so so thankful i have a job. the Lord provides. and I love it.

chaos as usual

So, last weekend was crazy.

Grant planned a guys night for Saturday:concert tickets to see Pat Green at Wild Bill's for ten bucks! (and that included a new cd). awesome.

So I get this call at about 8:00: "Hey, the guys are being lame and inviting girls... so ... do you wanna come?" After being sick last week with what felt like the plague, I wasn't sure, but after quick deliberation I decided to go.

One girl brought another who brought two more and suddenly the 8 guys going to the concert with ten tickets turned into 14 people going... with ten tickets. No one wanted to drive (grant and I were the only ones sober) so what did they decided to do? RENT A STRETCH HUMMER LIMO... who does that??? So, of course we went along! It was fabulous! Several guys pitched in and paid for the whole thing... our friends are ballers. what can we say?

We pull up to the door with lines of people going out and around the building... ridiculous. We almost decided to leave when we heard that it may take another hour in line before getting inside to the show. But then, someone says they know a guy, and we all get out, cut the lines, walk right up to the front and straight in (I think someone slipped the door man some serious cash... anyway). The concert was awesome and the night was random. Pat Green's new cd rocks. Check it out.

Oh, and ps. One of the guys in this crazy group was Colter Bean. You might know him from the Big Leagues (literally): he was a pitcher for the Yankees. How did he end up in our mix? Who knows? He knows a guy...

We returned home hours later in the limo, still not believing the ridiculousness of the night. I just had to show and tell.

PS: grant and I are going to Charlotte next week and we get to see Hannah!! yay!! Can't wait