Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire

Yes, I read Vanity Fair. And yes, I am a Christian. I love lists-if you've ever read this blog, you know that about me. This is a great list...

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. What is your greatest fear?
3. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
4. Which living person do you most admire?
5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
7. What is your greatest extravagance?
8. What is your favorite journey?
9. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
10. On what occasion do you lie?
11. What do you dislike most about your appearance?
12. Which living person do you most despise?
13. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
14. What is your greatest regret?
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you the happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. What is your current state of mind?
19. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
20. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
21. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
22. If you were to die, and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
23. If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
24. What is your most treasured possession?
25. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
26. Where would you like to live?
27. What is your favorite occupation?
28. What is your most marked characteristic?
29. What is the quality you most like in a man?
30. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
31. What do you most value in your friends?
32. Who are your favorite writers?
33. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
34. Who are your heroes in real life?
35. What are your favorite names?
36. What is it that you most dislike?
37. How would you like to die?
38. What is your motto?

January Expectations

I love January.
Not the (usual) cold and ice and snow...
especially THIS year,
but the expectation, the newness,
the planning and organizing and sweeping clean
and starting new.

This month I've already been so blessed-
I know this year will be a year of the Lord's favor on my life,
and I'm already seeing it, with meals with friends,
the loan of a car for the last four weeks and the next,
free tickets to Sydney tourist spots...
God is good.

I look forward this month to
a new job-time to get back on a work schedule,
starting my second term of college at Hillsong,
voice lessons with Dee,
writing regularly,
photo blogging,
and digging into the Word of God.

I am excited in January about
establishing goals and
working out my vision for the year.

This will be a good year.
A VERY good year.

Frohe Neues Jahr!

Or "Happy New Year" in German, as I learned on New Year's Eve. Sooo much fun to spend the day with about a dozen German friends, enjoying the sun, playing games, reading, swimming, sunning, grilling, eating, chatting, sleeping, learning German, listening to music and waves, watching fireworks...it was SUCH a perfect way to spend the day, and to welcome 2011.

And so...2011 is here! It promises to be a good year of growth and favor. I was thinking about new year's resolutions, and looking over last year's goals on New Year's Eve. I think I've had two big revelations about this for 2011: discipline and completion. I really feel like it's important for me to focus on completing some of the things that did not get finished last year. With this in mind, some things I want to accomplish this year are as follows...

1. Read the books I've begun/bought/brought to Australia. These include:
~Fasting, by Jentezen Franklin
~Songs From Heaven, by Amanda Fergusson
~Talent is Never Enough, by John Maxwell
~For This I Was Born, by Brian Houston

Also, the Kindle books I've bought:
~Self Study Bible Course, by Derek Prince
~10 Principles for studying your Bible, by Charles Stanley
~The Daniel Fast, by Susan Gregory
~Getting the Pretty Back, by Molly Ringwald
~Dreaming of Dior, by Charlotte Smith
~The Message Solo, b y Eugene Peterson
~Shoeless Joe, by WP Kinsella

2. Listen to my Podcasts and have a clearout.

3. Develop my music:
~Practice piano
~Review theory
~Practice voice, and continue lessons with Dee

4. Develop my writing:
~Journal (PS. Also keep a photo journal of a photo a day)
~Blog
~Bible Study
~Letters and Postcards home
~Songwriting

5. Work on self-disciplines:
~Establish a reasonable bedtime pattern
~Limit Facebook time
~Read my Bible more
~Exercise regularly
~Eat more healthfully
~Write regularly


Enough already...more to come~