Smart is hot

Awkward moments ... do you have them? (If you've read this blog for awhile, you know I do!) Let me tell you about a little awkward moment that happened today...

Here's the scene: I'm at work. I've just finished a meeting about a project with a colleague and my boss' boss. My boss' boss (a woman about my mom's age) turns to me and says, "I've just got to say one more thing...you are so pretty...those eyes, that smile. I don't understand why you're not married."

Awkward silence. I smile and say, "Thanks." (How exactly are single people supposed to respond to that question...especially in the office?)

"Pretty and smart...that combination just must scare guys."

I'll be fair and say that I really like my boss' boss--she was trying to compliment me. And I like compliments no matter where they come from or however oddly they surface.

But I will be honest--part of me is a little scared that her final statement may be accurate.

(Sidenote: I'm not saying I agree with her assessment of me specifically--to some degree, I think beauty and smarts are in the eye of the beholder).

But are people (and guys in particular) afraid of a "pretty" and "smart" combination? Why? And what in the world can we do to change that?

Can beauty and brains coexist? In a woman?

When was the last time you saw a woman on TV or in a movie who was portrayed as both extremely beautiful and really smart? Anyone?

For some reason, Hollywood has reduced most women to caricatures--you're either really hot and dumb (see Jessica Simpson and Pam Anderson) or smart and not that cute.

I haven't seen it yet, but there's a new movie out called the "House Bunny" that appears to illustrate this point. The concept of the movie is that there's a sorority of smart girls who are frumpy, out-of-date, unpopular and unattractive. Who comes to save them? The classic former Playboy bunny (read: shapely, thin blonde) who is also caricaturized (misspelling intentional) as an idiot. Ugh.

Can you imagine if men were constantly pigeonholed like that--as hot bumbling idiots or geeky brainiacs? At one point in time, African-Americans were portrayed similarly in the media ... and many are still fighting the stereotypes associated with those horrible portrayals. Why in the world do we still allow the media to continually portray women this way in the 21st century?

I wonder if some people have tried to stifle the beautiful power of brains.

How would the world be different if women were unashamed of their intelligence?

The media has shown us that it's okay to flaunt our sex appeal--but smarts? Not unless you want to branded as a woman who's crazy ambitious, witchy (or something that rhymes with that), unpopular or ugly.

I'm sick of it. So how do we turn the tables? Somehow, I think we need to convey the idea that smart is hot. Here are a few of my own personal ideas ...

Why smart is hot

• Smart women are kind to others. Contrary to the soap opera diva or manic businesswoman image, truly smart women are actually nice. They're kind to others because it's the right thing to do ... but also because they know that kindness leads to good relationships ... and good relationships are essential to any kind of success in life (with God, their families, colleagues, customers, etc.).
  


• Smart women are interesting. Let's face it--external beauty is appealing to people (and guys in particular). But physical attraction can only last so long. If a woman isn't smart, she probably doesn't have much of interest to say ... and that gets old quickly.
  


• Smart women make good decisions--take is as a compliment if they
  choose you. One thing I've heard repeatedly about guys is that they like to be respected and admired. But most smart women do not give away their respect and admiration lightly. If you're a guy dating or married to a smart woman, you can take it as a serious compliment that she has chosen you.

Smarts, like looks, vary...

It's also important to point out that there are several different kinds of intelligence. Most of us aren't geniuses at all of them. But I think it's amazing that God created us with different types of smarts--some have people smarts, others have creative intelligence and others may be just plain logical.

I just Googled "intelligence" and "types" and found this piece of interest--it talks about nine different types of intelligence!

In addition to this list, I would argue that there may also be a type of spiritual intelligence--a kind of inexplicable wisdom that comes from God, knowing His Word and applying it to your life--to the point where it almost becomes intuitive, where you're living in tune with the Holy Spirit and His direction.

And that's definitely hot.

P.S. I also previously wrote a related (more guy-driven) topic called "Why bold is hot"

Cool things lately...

I have a confession--I have not been good at keeping up my blog lately. I do think it’s a bit funny that my “Cool things of the week” postings have morphed into “Cool things of the month” and now “Cool things lately”.

Oh well. I will not live ashamed … or deprive loyal readers of reading about some of the things I’ve loved lately. So here goes:

Celeb crush - Jeff Dye: (Sigh) Not only is he adorable, but he’s also hilarious. And that, my friends, is a deadly combination. If you didn’t get to see him on Last Comic Standing, check out this clip.

On a more serious note, going to his comedy show with some amazing friends may have been the highlight of last week—all of the comedians we saw with him were fairly clean and provided some much-needed laughs for my friends and me.

Musician – Rob Blackledge: Thanks to Pandora, I discovered the musical stylings of Rob Blackledge. He’s kind of like a cross between Justin Timberlake and John Legend …high voice, but smooth piano guy stylings. Love.


Night out – BJ's with Anthem girls: Get your friends. Go to Southcenter. And check out BJ's restaurant. It’s got your basic American grub (fried and cheap), but save room for a pizookie. Wow. It’s basically a blend of chocolate chewy goodness (translation: a warm chocolate chip cookie that melts in your mouth) with vanilla ice cream. And if you’re not a chocolate chick (or guy), you can order other flavors.

• Volunteer day: Facepainting foster kids: Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to help at a Justice Project event providing school supplies for foster kids. It was about 95 degrees and we were all scorching in the sun, but seeing their mile-wide smiles after I painted their faces was priceless. So cute!
  
  

Girl power moment: Repainting my bedroom and bathroom (in greens) and reaffixing shelves to the wall. Me + power tools + paint. Wow. :)

Cheap chic shopping finds:
Jewelry from XXI Forever at Southcenter.

Yes, you will have to brave the crowds of 14-year-old shrieking (or angst-ridden teens. But necklaces for $6.80? I'm in! Don't expect diamonds or high quality, but if you're just looking for trendy cute pieces that won't break the bank, this is the place!

• New-to-me restaurant: Check out Cafe Divino in North Tacoma. It's a cozy cool place that's perfect for "ladies who lunch" (grab your friends, sisters, mothers and go) or a great date off the beaten path (guys, I promise it's not too girly!).
  
  
• Quirky Olympic sport: Racewalking. Oh. My. Word. My sis and I were channel surfing and happened to see one of these racewalking competitions in process (kind of like this, but minus the background music. And picture a whole pack of these people walking in sync together). Hilarious!
  
  Can you imagine the post-competition interview? "Yes, Bob Costas, I train every weekday by walking from Macy's to JP Penney...it's about 2K...brutal stuff. What was that? No, I'm not gay. But the hip action I've perfected in my training has helped me to become a stellar salsa dancer. And yes, I do wear shirts with ruffles." :)

With everything

It's been a crazy cool, incredibly powerful, life-changing week. As I'm sitting at this laptop writing, there are so many words I'd like to write...but mere words could not describe the last week at Team Church Conference 2008.

If any song captured the heartbeat of this year's conference, it was "With Everything," one of the latest songs from Hillsong's new album "This is Our God" (seriously, get it now!).

"With Everything" is a prayer. And in that same spirit, I thought I'd make this post a prayer of to God highlighting some some the nuggets that grabbed me at conference this year ... and things I need to work on.

Dear God,

• With everything ... I will worship You. Because you are the indescribable God who blows my mind with Your love.
  
  
• With everything ... I will chase the lions that are impossible to fight without You.
  
  
• With everything ... I will serve You and the leaders in my life with excellence. (Even if it means I am the lone single girl at the front of the room at the sex track session--because I was asked to help with it.) :)



• With everything ... I will lead with confidence where I'm called to lead and be a super sidekick where I am not.
  
  
• With everything ... I will stand united with the rest of Your kids in this family called the Church.



• With everything ... I will live a life of love. Help me to really see people as You see them. Help me to listen. Help me to see and love those who don't know You yet.

Amen!

Beautiful mystery

There are so many mysteries I will never understand (see this post for more).

Why do some guys feel the need to spit in public?

Why did people ever think Hammer pants looked cool?

Why so some people actually like Bob Dylan's music?

Joking aside, mysteries can both perplex and intrigue me. Like great music, movies, art or a message that you can listen to or watch over and over again and find something new and interesting each time. Or people who have basic surfacey stuff in common with you, but also have some mysterious depth that's interesting to discover.

Last Sunday at the Truth Project we talked about beautiful mysteries--the mystery of God's "adoption" of you and me into His family. That kind of love is, in the words of Will Ferrell (circa Blades of Glory), "mindbottling." It's beyond any love I've ever known or imagined on this planet. It doesn't make sense to my logical brain. But honestly, what truly great things ever do?

If something totally makes sense to my limited mind, it has lost its mystery...and perhaps that is the kiss of death in my book. Mystery is intriguing. It's worth pursuing. It's exciting.

I just have to remember that--instead of trying to wrap my head around everything (especially a God that can't be contained). There is beauty in mystery--and I am a little like Nancy Drew trying to discover some of the answers.

When prayers are blocked

The Truth Project always makes me think. Always. And Wednesday night was no exception (and as a sidenote, here's what I posted the last time after I saw the very same lesson--completely different than this post).


Wednesday's lesson focused on sociology--God's view of relationships. The amazing speaker (Del Tackett), illustrated how the concepts of unity and diversity are embedded in God's very triune nature.


He also illustrated how God's systems for social order in the family, the church, etc. include similar concepts to those illustrated in the Trinity (e.g. Christ is the head of the Church, Church leaders submit to Christ and members are instructed to honor their leaders--just as the husband is the head of the family, wives submit to their husbands and children are told to honor their parents).


Among other things, one of the verses Del brought up was this:

Husbands, in the same way be considerate

as you live with your wives,

and treat them with respect

as the weaker partner

and as heirs with you

of the gracious gift of life,

so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

(1 Peter 3:7)

Whoa. That's pretty harsh. If husbands don't love and care for their wives, it hinders their prayers?

Perhaps it was because of the earlier discussion, but I started to wonder, "If this concept is true and applies to husbands and wives, could it possibly apply to other scenarios or spheres of God's design for social order?"


For example, if I'm dishonoring my parents, does it hinder my prayers? Or if I cease supporting Church leaders and reject their authority in my life, does it in some way block my prayers from reaching God's ears?

Honestly, I don't know the exact answer. But it definitely made me think (admittedly about some stuff that's not really that fun to think about!).


The bottom line? God designs and orchestrates so many of our relationships--and He takes them pretty seriously, especially those described in the Word as covenant relationships (e.g. family, Church worldwide). When there is a barrier between me and those I'm in a covenant relationship with, it can create a block between me and God. Why? Because God is part of my covenant relationships--He designed them.

I think it's pretty cool that God is a God of relationships--that He creates and lives in mine. I just have to remember not to allow anyone or anything to stand in the way of my relationship with Him.

30 days of worship music

Recently, our pastor challenged our youth and young adults to listen to nothing but praise and worship music for the next 30 days.

There are so many good reasons why it's a great idea--worship makes God bigger in our lives (than problems or gas prices!), helps us stay focused on living right, keeps our minds centered on the positive (and not criticism), etc.

But from a practical standpoint, I heard some people comment, "What am I going to listen to for the next 30 days?" or "That's going to be a lot of Hillsong!"

So...I decided to break out my CD collection and look for praise and worship music. I thought I'd use this post as a forum to let you in on some of the worship bands and CDs I like...and if you think of others, let me know:

Hillsong and Hillsong United: I'm probably more of a Hills United girl myself--and have been listening to the "I (Heart) Revolution" and "All of the Above" CDs lately.

Starfield: Starfield is a worship band out of Vancouver, BC (discovered them back in my days at Trinity Western!). "Beauty in the Broken" is an awesome worship CD--love the songs "The Hand that Holds the World" and "Unashamed". I don't have their latest CD "I Will Go" yet (I'm going to buy it on iTunes tonight!), but have been listening to some of the singles on their MySpace page. It's great!

Sonicflood - "Sonicflood" - I broke out this "oldie" worship CD (circa 1999!) in the car this morning. It's still a great CD to me with songs like "Heart of Worship" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever."

Delirious? "The Cutting Edge" - Delirious' album, "The Cutting Edge" is also an older CD (1997), but I think it really sparked a lot of the modern worship revolution we've seen in the Church worldwide. It's a 2-CD set packed with some of my all-time favorites like "Lord, You Have My Heart" and "Oh, Lead Me." Simple. Beautiful.




Champions Centre - "Nothing Compares": Our own worship CD includes some great tracks with the heartbeat of our House.





Others worth noting? (Though not completely my style):

• Lincoln Brewster "Amazed"
  
• Third Day "Offerings" and "Offerings II"


• Lakewood Church


• Reuben Morgan


• Planetshakers


• Darrell Evans


• Chris Tomlin


• Vineyard (e.g. the "Breathe" song on the "Hungry" CD is one of my faves)


• Matt Redman

Others? I'm sure there are a ton more. I'm sure the next 30 days of worship will be amazing...but I'm more excited to live a life of worship (beyond just music) forever.

Quote of the day: Risk

I found this while I was doing a search for a work project. Hope you enjoy it:

“To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To hope is to risk pain.

To try is to risk failure,

but risk must be taken

because the greatest hazard in life

is to risk nothing.”