Art anyone?

So I've decided to open up an etsy shop! Click here to browse my paintings:

Time Management

As much as I don't want to admit it (having refuted this idea about a year ago) it is true: the more you pile onto your plate the more time you find you have.

This isn't ultimate-- there is certainly a limit as to how much "piling" is healthy-- but lets look backwards at the seasons.

Having a child, I now think that before I had a baby I had a lot more time on my hands than I handled efficiently. When I first got married, I marveled at how life got so much busier than while we were dating & working.  I remember that while I was dating & working, I talked to college students about their lives and resolved that when I was in college I had a lot more time on my hands than I handled well. And of course once one enters into the crazy world of university, they realize that maybe high school wasn't so crazy after all.

What does this pattern tell you? It tells me that I better use my time more efficiently before more children come along!

I'm pregnant

This is a bit of an old picture, but you can see my baby bump here! I'm pregnant. Our baby girl will Lord-willing be coming in August.

Weirdiknow

I do my best to not be inspired by anyone I know. I'll only let complete strangers & whims produce creativeness. One of those days.

New Blog

Hey hey all!

I have a new blog that is currently under construction. You can get a taste and PREVIEW of what it's like by clicking on that link, but I am still working on the format and more posts as we speak.

No, I am not abandoning this lovely blog, but I have a particular ambition with this new one that I will be focusing most of my time on.

Love always,
Jaclyn

Marriage

I have made a sacred covenant with Ryan Patrick Hoselton. It's something worthy of muse. I have musings; I'll share them soon.

I know what you're thinking...

I get engaged and I forget all about you. It's okay blog, I still love you and we will catch up soon.

Xoxo,
Jaclyn

Albert Einstien, William Faulkner, & Paul Tripp

As previously posted, I shall explain the title and subtitle of this blog.

This sentence might be familiar to you, Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." When I first read this, two thoughts crossed my mind. First, did Einstein really say this and is it recorded in a book? Naturally, I  looked up the quote and found that there is no legitimate source that cites these words ever actually crossed his lips. (A website that calls itself Quote World can't be too creditable, right?)

But secondly, whether he did or not, whoever came up with this sentence hit a concept that speaks to me. The combination of curiosity and passion thrust together is extremely inspiring to me. I desire to be a life long learner and in continuing this blog, I hope to use it to log the results of my curiosity.

Recently I've run across another quote that appears to be a bit more credible. It is taken from the speech William Faulkner gave after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. He said,

"...the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat. He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid: and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed — love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands."

Even if I don't agree entirely with Faulkner's ideology, this immediately, deeply, resonated with me because I desire from my soul, to muse and understand what is universally true. Not only does this extend to what I believe about religion and eternity, but also the sort of conversation and the sort of literature that moves me from the very depth of my being. I want this blog to include musings that have significance over the universe and across generations. I want to consider the question of : why is this universally true? According what authority?

A few months ago I was reading Paul Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands and I wrote this post sharing what I have learned from Tripp so far:

"Human beings were created to be interpreters. We don't just respond to the facts and experiences of our lives, but we respond to our interpretations of those facts. This is why it is very important to make sure our interpretations are always filtered through scripture. If our interpretations are not biblical, then our responses will not be biblical either. Keep guard."

Thus, I included the phrase "life impressions" in the subtitle because I would like to make sure the readers are pointed to the fact that these posts are merely interpretations through my lenses of life. Although not all interpretations are universally true, we all do see life through a certain worldview and I think it is important to try to understand our worldview in an unbiased manner.

I hope that you will enjoy this blog and please feel welcomed to comment--I would love to hear your thoughts!

Live Provocatively

Although this isn't my latest read, my thoughts wandered to a journal entry I made on 04/30/12 and I want to record it on my blog as well.

Points I received from reading Mark Dever's The Gospel and Personal Evangelism book:

To the Church, Beloved,

• Learn to ask good questions in order to provoke self-reflection.
• Question the orgin of life, how one understands the "bad things" in this world, thoughts on death, Jesus, God, judgement, etc.
• Listen AND make suggestions on what you believe is the case.
• Be provocative in your conversation.
• Live in a distinctly salty way--through words and actions. Make others thirsty. Make your whole life before others provocative.
• The message that you are sharing is not merely an opinion--but a fact!
• Islam has a shallow understanding of man's problems because it teaches that our problems are basically a matter of behavior, that the solution to our problem is merely a question of the will.
• We [Christians] don't think that our real problem can be dealt with by political power. I could put a sword to a person's throat and make him a sufficiently good Muslim, but I can't make anyone a Christian that way.

A Mother as Artist

"Just as an artist who paints pictures and portraits exercises great care in his work, so each of you, mothers and fathers, must be attentive to these wonderful images [children]. Each day, a painter adds what is necessary to the picture. Sculptors do the same, removing excess stone and adding what is lacking. You should do the same: as makers of images, devote all your time to the task of fashioning wonderful images for God. Remove the excess; add what is lacking. Each day, examine the images closely. Cultivate the natural excellence that each one has, removing what is by nature inferior….[T]each them to be sober, vigilant, watchful in prayer, and to place everything that is said and done under the sign of the cross."

-John Chrysostom, On Vainglory and the Education of Children

Cited from: http://www.girltalkhome.com/blog/a-mother-as-artist

Pitch hurs

Trip to Cali

Ryan and I took a lovely little vaca to Cali last week. For the first time in one year and three months, I actually questioned why I would leave such a hip state for Kentucky. However whenever such a doubt would arise, I'd look at my travel partner and realize that even my life decisions were bigger than me, and out of my control.

An interesting phenomenon

It's an interesting phenomenon that heads turn immediately to find the sound of bursting laughter. There is hardly a sound more beautiful.

eBooks

It occurred to me today that eBooks and Kindles disgust me because they have no integrity.

Real books have integrity. eBooks are shallow ghosts that will never encompass the organic joy of what reading a book fully means.

Kiss the wave

"I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages."

-Charles Spurgeon

I am still learning.

It hit me like a semi

I've finally come to accept it. You must have the mundane if you want to have the exciting.

If everything is spontaneous and great then nothing is. So I'll work these slow paced work weeks, spice them up as much as possible and look forward to the exciting.

Is that how it goes?

Jay Gatz

I read this book, with this guy, this weekend.

Splendidly spectacular.

How are you doing?

It is interesting to observe the variety of responses one will get from asking the question, "How are you doing?"

Some reply, as a reflex, "I'm fine, how are you?"
Some proceed to fill you in with the details of their day as if what they do is connected to how they are doing. 
Some give a vague answer like, "Oh, you know, life is crazy but things are good."
Some will undergo to actually ponder the question and give you an honest response.

What does the question mean, anyways? What kind of answer are you looking for when you ask it? Is it merely a greeting?

I think it's important to challenge people to really think about how they are doing and wait for them to give you an honest, thought-out answer. Dig deep.

My journal

My journal and I often have dialog about what is on my mind.

I anticipate some productive blog updates to post soon.

Don't fight it

Believer:
Upon facing difficult circumstances, put effort into hourly checking your heart and joyfully driving your will to act and think more like Christ.

In the end, this is God's will and intention for every circumstance: your sanctification. So don't fight it. Pain will be lessened if effort is put into conforming to the image of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:3
Philippians 2:12-13