Kite Festival

The Kite Festival at the Washington Monument was a little underwhelming because of the poor weather, but I still enjoyed walking around and people watching. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day (or, check out the whole album here).

Implanted Word

I've been on retreat this week. Every semester, Campus Ministry offers a Prayer in Daily Life retreat, which I also made last semester. I was in a less stressed mental state this time around, which made for a peaceful and helpful week of prayer and spiritual direction. There was one experience in particular that I wanted to share from the retreat.

While I was praying with James 1:19-27, verse 21 stuck out to me. The NRSV refers to the "implanted word"; similarly, in the NAB we are told to "humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls." As I meditated on the phrase "implanted word" Lectio divina-style, an image popped into my head of a seed, representing God's word ("and, the Word was God"), implanted in my heart when I was baptized as an infant. Over time, that seed has sprouted and grown into a tree. The tree has wide, overarching branches. When the tree is well-tended, its leaves are full, and it provides much shade. In fact, the shade is so abundant and the tree is so strong that all of the weeds growing out of the heart--such as pride, sloth, and other sins--suffer from lack nutrients and wither away. Furthermore, the tree bears fruit that nourishes others and spreads seeds to other hearts. This is the implanted word to me. In this Lenten season, I pray that we might open our hearts to God the arborist. Amen.

Sauntering About Town

It's been 10 days since my last post. Rather than writing a really long post covering everything in minute detail (as I am wont to do), I thought I'd post 10 points summarizing the notable things that have happened as of late. Thus, in no particular order:

• There was a mouse nibbling a hole in my wall, who was quite cute but nonetheless had to be evicted (so to speak).
• I have been praying for my grandmother a lot these past couple of weeks.
• I went out to a bar for St. Patrick's Day for a little while, and discovered that watching college freshmen use fake IDs to get beer is at once bemusing, annoying, and sad.
  
• My ADX lil sis Sarah was in town last weekend, and we took advantage of the Sunday afternoon sunshine to go for a five-mile walk to and through Georgetown.
• I went for a hike on Theodore Roosevelt Island.
• I saw elephants walking the streets of D.C. after a Barnum & Bailey circus got out at the Verizon Center.
• My Contracts professor made me officially happy when he told us that, because the UCC has a provision against disclaiming good faith, “tort law has trumped contract law. I am officially sad.”
• The Terrapins made me angry... again.
• We played "Jurisdiction Jeopardy" in my International Law class.
• It is currently Student Appreciate Week at Georgetown Law, the highlight of which thus far has been fresh cotton candy.
  

Some little blossoms hint at the start of spring on Teddy Roosevelt Island.