A critique on beauty
February 15, 2012
Just a glimpse into what I’ve been up to this semester for my digital photography class! I am learning, and have a long way to go!
Enjoy!
It’s coming…
December 30, 2011
Can you hear it? The Christmas bells aren’t chiming outside every store, the lights are twinkling for the last few days, everyone is making plans for the big night – the night the world changes. For just a moment, it will be midnight. It would seem that time stands still. We count down – 10, 9, 8, 7…we get to 1 and then all scream, “Happy New Year!” There are kisses and giggles and blushing girls and tipsy gentleman. But what about that moment when we take a breath? In between the 1 and the screaming and kisses and giggles and so forth? That’s the moment we take to reflect. We have made our resolutions, we’ve reflected on the past and this is the culmination of those moments moving from one to the next. One moment to the next, one year to the next. All in a fraction of a second that comes and goes so quickly we barely have time to notice it’s passing. But it’s the breath. The deep breathing in before we let out our cheers and our hands are raised in the air and we’re listening to music and singing along and dancing and bringing in 2012 the ‘right way’. In the moment, the fraction of a second, what will you be thinking about?
I’ll be considering last years resolution. I’ve decided to keep it the same for this year. It’s an ongoing process…
To laugh often and much
to win the respect of intelligent people
and affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and
endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best
in others; to leave the world a bit
better, whether by a healthy child
a garden patch or redeemed
social condition; to know even
one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
See you then.
Love,
Morgan
Guilt Trip.
November 27, 2011
This morning in church we talked about guilt…Have you ever felt guilty? What a silly question. We have all felt guilty at one point or another. The guy who spoke this morning (I even feel a little guilty that I can’t remember his name…he said we could call him Shef I do believe…) brought up a few instances we learn from our childhood about feeling guilty – things our mom or dad may have said along the way to remind us that what we’ve done is just plain wrong and we should feel shameful or guilty about having done them! Phrases like, “Didn’t I teach you better than that?” and “How am I supposed to show my face after what you’ve done?” Been there, done that. Quite frankly, I was feeling a little guilty after Thanksgiving dinner, knowing the scale would tip 4 pounds (not in my favor – obviously). Haha – oh but that turkey was so good…and then they brought out the pumpkin pie!
So from there we began to talk about two different kinds of guilt – worldly and Godly. And I seriously began to realize something. There are things I feel guilty about that I shouldn’t. Like saying no. How many times are we asked to do fifteen million things that we feel obligated to say yes to, when we really should just say no? For instance, someone recently asked me to commit my time volunteering in a certain way – I know that I am already over committed when it comes to volunteering and flat out said no in as polite a way as I could muster. They looked at me as though it was a tragedy that I had so much time and was so unwilling to give it in service to others. Truth is, I know my schedule – and I know that I already volunteer in places that I feel my time is well spent and incredibly worthwhile. I don’t need to overcommit and stretch myself so thin that I become unproductive for the Lord in what I am doing. I was feeling a little bit guilty – but the thing is, I shouldn’t. I should not feel guilty for being honest and ensuring that I am doing what I need to do.
This morning he specifically brought up dating and single people. He mentioned that there are plenty of people in relationships who just don’t need to be in them. They aren’t doing what they need to be doing – and they know it needs to end. So why not just end it? Because we feel guilty. Guilt. Are we going to hurt their feelings? I don’t want to be that person! What excuse should I use? I could say all the cliche phrases: It’s not you, it’s me. I am just so busy, I can’t handle being in a relationship right now. I’m sorry but I think we should see other people. Or worse, go into all the reasons they just aren’t right for you. It would seem there is no good way to do this whole…breaking up thing. (If this discussion doesn’t apply to you, feel free to skip to the next paragraph – I promise, you don’t have to feel guilty!) So if there isn’t any good way to do this – then what? Get real. If you aren’t supposed to be together? Just say so. Don’t go skirting around the subject. It doesn’t matter how involved you are, or how long you’ve been together. If you know the relationship isn’t going to work and isn’t what God has in mind for you – then don’t waste time feeling guilty and worrying yourself into a tizzy. Just be honest. Say what you really think. Now be tactful! But don’t waste your time. Just move on and hope that they know you well enough to understand. That’s really just not something you need to feel guilty about. And don’t let them make you feel badly about it either.
Check out these verses in 2 Corinthians 7: “…you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”
So what kind of guilty is acceptable? The kind where we’ve sinned and feel repentance. The kind where we’ve done something actually wrong in God’s eyes, not the world’s eyes…that kind of guilt is okay. It gives us the opportunity to develop our own desire for justice and innocence. And before I get to feeling unnecessarily guilty about writing this blog for too long instead of doing things I should be doing – I’ll leave you on that note.
Love,
Morgan
140. Or less.
November 21, 2011
Let’s just take a quick minute here to talk about Twitter. Not so coincidentally, this will not be in 140 characters or less. If so it would have ended at the word ‘it’ about ten words ago.
So I’m a little bit confused. First off, I love social media. I think it’s an absolutely fantastic personal marketing tool, not to mention the great expanse of opportunities for businesses, non-profits, community leaders, etc…but Twitter? It’s basically a play by play of my brain. And I’ll admit – that is a little bit terrifying! Who says my brain is ‘tweeting’ anyway? Maybe it’s giggling or barking or something…yeah probably not. Tweeting is as good as anything else I suppose.
A lot of people say they use it to follow celebrities, or their friends…I think there are some seriously hilarious accounts out there for sure. A few examples:
Love,
Morgan
P.S. This would have been about 7 tweets…just sayin’…
The shore along your ocean
October 17, 2011
I’m learning, slowly but surely, that disappointment comes in many shades. Sometimes, you know it is coming and you prepare for its arrival with some level of anxiety. Sometimes, disappoint is all together easy – you get a slight let down, acceptance sinks in and you move right along to the next thing. But what do you do when disappointment comes in an inundated fashion? How do you rise above and overcome when you are downright beleaguered?
Andy Stanley is in the middle of a series right now called “When God?” and it’s all about dealing with life when you feel like God is inattentive, uncooperative and late. This morning he talked about Paul, who suffered from some sort of illness off and on throughout his life, that he ‘pleaded’ with God to remove from him – to which God said no. Flat out – No. And the disappointment sinks in…right? The next line gives it all away and gives God the opportunity to say, “Yes; but my way – not yours.”
A portion of second Corinthians 12:9 says: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” His grace…The grace of God…The grace that saves me from myself, from my sin, from my own demise. That grace is sufficient. It meets and exceeds all of my needs. It carries me so far beyond anything else I could possibly desire. Sometimes it is helpful for me to read different translations of the Bible. The message version says: “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”
So in my moments when I am weak, when I’ve done all I can, given all I have, tried everything I know…in those moments? I am weak. And in my weakness it is imperative that I learn to let God be my strength, and give Him the chance to use that opportunity to overpower all else and let His grace truly be sufficient for each and every situation.
So what about that disappointment? It’s easy enough to feel as though you’ve been slighted isn’t it? Misery sure does love company. The number of times I have felt as though a wrong has been done to me and just couldn’t wait to get on the phone and talk to somebody about it, anyone who would listen and feel my pain or accept my plight and say to me, “Yes, Morgan. You’ve been wronged!”
I can’t do it. I have to stop. I have to just take it in stride, and realize that when disappointment hits me like a tidal wave I have to take a deep breath and remember that eventually the wave subsides, and if I’m still standing in the end – it certainly isn’t because of anything I’ve done, but because what God has done through me, for me and with me. But I never could have done it for even a second without Him. He could have done it all without me. So, I am blessed beyond belief to be so well loved and cherished. To be chosen to endure disappointment, pain, suffering, whatever it may be…I am grateful for every moment.
Love Always,
Morgan
No place like it…
October 17, 2011
I’m home!
After fall break, missing two days of classes to have a wonderful time in Chicago and making it back late Thursday night – I enjoyed my one-day-week of school. If that made any sense at all…Chicago was wonderful! Tuesday and Wednesday the weather was beautiful, Thursday not so much – but obviously I was there to talk about so much more than the weather.
When I arrived, on Tuesday, I was absolutely delighted to have a few hours to myself before everything kicked off – so after checking in to the absolutely beautiful Palmer House Hilton, I headed out into the Windy City (which really wasn’t all that windy in my humble opinion). Two blocks down I arrived at the Art Institute of Chicago and went in to see the Impressionist Art. They were exhibiting some of my favorite works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and so many more incredibly talented artists of the Impressionist Movement! Downstairs in the basement were miniature rooms…imagine peering through a 12 inch by 24 inch glass window and you see this room (keep in mind it is all so tiny!)
Absolutely incredible! Anyway, after the Art Institute I headed back to the hotel and we kicked off Vision 2020′s annual congress! We talked all about the benchmarks in women’s leadership over the last year and what this year’s congress would entail. From there over the next days and hours and minutes, we discussed our state initiatives that align with the 5 goals and who we can work towards achieving those goals on a national level. Amazing things are coming and as soon as there is more information that is available on all that we did and worked on, I’ll be sure to write more on that!
I’m so glad to be home – as they say, no place like it. Of course, I missed you all terribly.
Love,
Morgan
2011 of 2020
October 10, 2011
Ah, October! I love it. October is the moment that the world stands just on the cusp of fall breaking loose in full force. It’s chilly at night, and cooler during the day. We can play outside without getting smelly and its the perfect time for picnics! I’ve spent a little bit of extra time sleeping – it’s been wonderful, to say the least.
This weekend, plus today and tomorrow, is the Oglecastle’s fall break (major yay!) and tomorrow morning, I’ll be headed to Chicago! Last year, I went to Philadelphia and wrote about Vision 2020: Making History [edit:Herstory]. Now I’m headed back, this time to the Windy City, and I can’t wait to get started on this year’s agenda!
Just a quick recap from the Vision 2020 website:
Vision 2020 is a national initiative developed by the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine to make equality a national priority through the shared leadership among women and men. These goals are the result of the October Congress that convened in Philadelphia on October 21-22, 2010.
Vision 2020’s Campaign for Equality will work to achieve the following five goals by the year 2020, when the centennial of women’s right to vote is celebrated:
• Achieve pay equity.
• Increase the number of women in senior leadership positions in American life to reflect the workforce talent pool and demographics.
• Educate employers about the value of policies and practices that enable men and women to share fairly their family responsibilities.
• Educate new generations of girls and boys to respect their differences and to act on the belief that America is at its best when leadership is shared and opportunities are open to all.
• Mobilize women in America to vote, with particular emphasis on a record-setting turnout in 2020, the centennial of the 19th Amendment.
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Hopefully, I will have internet in Chicago – in which case I’ll update you from there! Otherwise, we’ll catch up in a few days! I’ll be sure to represent you well, Georgia!
Love,
Morgan
In London Yesterday…
August 16, 2011
Hello! Finally…
So I thought I would be updating all about England from England, but every day was packed and when I was typing on WordPress I couldn’t see what was being typed on the iPad so that didn’t work out! So here I am in Atlanta, and this is going to be a long one, sorry it’s a little bit delayed…enjoy!
I’ve flown a bit in the last few years, to different places in America. Never in my life have I flown to another country. Little did I know that I would be in a plane for 9 hours, that they would feed us slightly gross food four times, or that I would not be able to sleep for more than thirty minutes the entire time…when we got to London I was exhausted! We all headed for the hotel. At some point you get beyond the exhaustion and you’re just ready to keep going. That was me.
So while plenty of people took showers, naps, etc, after stopping into our first pub with a few people – I headed out with some of the guys – Weston, Christo, Beau and Ben. We didn’t really know where we were going, but our hotel (Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel) was in the middle of some really awesome looking things! In one direction you could easily see the London Eye, and to the left you could see Big Ben and Parliament! We started walking, crossed the Westminster Bridge (which goes over the Thames River) towards Big Ben and we just kept going! Realizing that Buckingham Palace would not be on the schedule during this trip, we took the opportunity to find it. Along the way we, of course, got lost…best decision ever quite honestly! We walked through Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, a great shopping district, down a few random alleys to stop in a pub, etc.
As we were meandering along we came upon a little party…it was a garden party hosted in the Buckingham Palace Gardens! There were beautiful party tents filled with wine, incredible antique decor, a pianist, etc. People were lounging about on the grass, barefoot and dressed to the nine’s. It was incredible! And of course there were swag bags! By the time we left we had a few minutes to glance at Buckingham Palace, take a picture, and head back towards the hotel for dinner. Day 1? Success.
Over the next few days in London we visited Tate Modern, the Globe Theater, ‘As You Like It’, a delicious Greek restaurant, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, riverboat tour of the Thames, saw The Tower of London, etc. During free time I also had the opportunity to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral – which was absolutely incredible! There were just over 500 steps to the very top…which I managed with a sprained ankle – thanks to a lovely British woman pushing a crazy baby stroller, known as a push buggy.
May I just say that I am not particularly a fan of fish and chips? So while that’s the cheapest, easiest thing to get in England - there are plenty of other options, too! There’s a delicious chain in England called Gourmet Burger Kitchen, another wonderful place called Pret a Manger, and lots of fantastic little cafe’s!
After a few wonderful days in London, we headed west to Oxford. It’s just over an hour away from London and it’s definitely a ‘college town’! My roommates and I spent over an hour traipsing around Oxford looking for our house…completely lost, no directions, asking a million different people for help and being told that we were ‘in a bad area of town’ and that we should ‘get out of this area with all of our luggage’ … We finally found it! No. 6 Thames Street. Home sweet home for the next week or so.
We took a walking tour of Oxford, saw a few of the colleges. One of the coolest experiences was probably visiting Corpus Christi College – which Oglethorpe is modeled after since it was James Edward Oglethorpe’s alma mater. That night we went to eat dinner with a lot of people at the WISC/OSAP office and afterwards we all went to a very cool pub called Jude the Obscure. It had an awesome outdoor patio area, just a pretty cool atmosphere in general!
Next morning we were off to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace. Stratford was amazing… upon Avon means on the river…and it literally was! There were awesome little riverboats docked around, the whole city was small and sweet. My ankle was still killing me – as evidenced below by the ankle brace in front of Shakespeare’s birthplace - so I went to the hospital. It was free! Can you believe that? I just walked in, gave my name and phone number and they saw me. It was…weird. To end a wonderful day spent in all the shops of Stratford, we saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The next day we went to Glastonbury, visited the Grail and Chalice Well, climbed The Tor, and we were headed back to Oxford. The following day we went to Stonehenge followed by Salisbury! We went to the Salisbury Cathedral – which was kind of surreal since I just studied a little bit about it in Art and Culture (thanks Oglethorpe Core…) so that was definitely neat! While in Salisbury I had to buy a jacket – did you know it’s pretty much either cold or rainy in England? I loved the cold! Not so much the rain…back to Oxford!
We spent the next few days in Oxford – our first opportunity to sleep in late. We visited the Bodleian Library, went to the Natural History Museum. And for all my Chi O’s out there – I touched a hootie (meaning an owl…see below)!!! We also went to see a few of the other colleges, ate lots of delicious food (not fish and chips), did some shopping and found England’s version of TJ Maxx/Marshall’s – it’s called Primark. We also went back to Stratford (yay!) and saw Macbeth at the RSC. It was INCREDIBLE!
On our last day in Oxford we were all very English…we went to High Tea at the Randolph Hotel! Swanky, bougi…use whatever word you’d like…we were all dressed up and enjoying every moment! Little sandwiches, scones and (mmmm!) the desserts!
His tie below is a gorgeous flower made out of a scarf.
After high tea we headed straight over to Freud’s for dinner – the English sure do like to eat one meal right after another. Freud’s was an old church, turned into a club? And they serve delicious pizza! They still have lots of gorgeous stained glass pieces in the windows…
The next day we headed back to London. By this time we were all aware of the riots going on…and I think we were all at least a little bit concerned. But the area we were staying in was relatively unaffected by the looting, rioting, fires, etc. And since we were back in London with a bit of free time – I paid 24 pounds (nearly $40) and was driven to Pax Lodge! As many of you know I’m kind of a Girl Scout…this will be my 15th year? I’m a leader now, obviously, but that’s beside the point. Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout. So Pax Lodge is one of the four world centers! It was pretty neat – a large white house tucked away in a neighborhood in North London. Little did I know there was a tube station literally 100 yards from the front door and I could have gotten there for free on my Oyster Card instead of that 24pounds…hindsight is 20/20 right?
Spent the night back at our lovely hotel, woke up to head straight over to the airport and then we went home! I officially have the travel bug and am totally ready to go lots of new places ASAP!
There’s plenty more I could say, but this is so incredibly long already! If you’d like to know more, hear more, etc, feel free to give me a call or send me a message via facebook. Also, there are plenty more pictures you can check out on my facebook!
So what did you do today?
Love,
Morgan
Summer?
July 18, 2011
Summer…say what? I can’t believe it’s already July 18th and in just over a month I’ll be headed back to the castle. But before then I have a ton to do and see! Tomorrow night I am leaving for Charleston with my mom and sister for the rest of the week. I’ll be back Friday night and on Saturday it’ll officially be one week until I leave for England! Yeah, you read that right – I am going across the pond and I am way excited! And I plan to update while I’m gone…hopefully that is! Has anyone been there before? I’m going to be starting in London, then Oxford…if you’ve been, what is the best thing to do? And what’s the best thing to buy?
One of my favorite things to buy here in Atlanta is Groupons and Living Socials! Recently I purchased $10 for $20 worth of chocolate at Schakolad Chocolate Factory of Atlanta! Talk about amazing…check these out:
You should most definitely check it out if you’re ever in Sandy Springs!
Love,
Morgan
Wanting to Know.
May 18, 2011
If you do not want the answer – then you shouldn’t ask the question.
I’ve always asked questions. As a little girl my mom would always tell me about things as we drove past. She’d tell me about buildings and land art, people and places. On one particular drive she began talking to my great-grandfather, and feeling ignored, I said to her, “Tell me, Mama!” I have always wanted to know everything.
There are a lot of things (ideas, thoughts, etc) in life that you need to question and contemplate. This is how we learn and develop our own sort of ‘sense’ of things. While many times, after questions, I’ve felt that my knowledge was broadened or my suspicions confirmed, I’ve also realized that sometimes asking the questions gives you the chance to hear the answer that you don’t want.
We ask silly questions that we already know the answer to like, “Does this make me look fat?” What a miserable question. If you think it does, then just…change clothes! Don’t give someone the chance to say…”Well if it were me, I don’t think I’d wear that particular article of clothing.” Or better yet, don’t give them the chance to lie to you. Just don’t even go there.
Sometimes things are a lot harder than that…Is this going to work out? Did I chose the right path in life? Have I failed? These are questions that, perhaps, we need to ask…sometimes the outcome is great. But sometimes, we wish we hadn’t ever brought it up. Have you ever felt like that?
Recently I’ve been working on some things in my own life, trying to just evaluate the things that are working and the things that are not working. It’s incredibly difficult trying to figure out if I need to make changes to things that have been the way they are for nearly 10 years. It’s a scary and treacherous task. It requires all sorts of questions and some of them I really don’t like. I’m working on asking the questions. I guess the point is that I better be ready for the answers…
Morgan
