Growing up a Christian, I read the Bible here and there to learn various verses or to read stories for Sunday school lessons, or to follow along during church service. I read the Bible straight through once, when I was in my early teens. For this list, I am going to read the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) instead of the Old Testament and then the Christian New Testament. I have found a website/Blackberry application which will allow me to track my progress and give me specific passages to read each day. The current timeline is set for one year but I am hoping that it will not take me that long to finish. Feel free to follow my progress by visiting my page: click here Then, each week, I will make a post with what I have read for that week (adding to it daily, or every few days), along with any specific lessons or verses which are important to me.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All Rights Reserved.

Day 1 [January 4, 2010]: Matthew 1 & 2

Matthew 2:22-23
²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Day 2 [January 5, 2010]: Matthew 3 & 4

Matthew 3:2
Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Matthew 4:10
You must worship the LORD your God, serve only him.

Day 3 [January 6, 2010]: Matthew 5 & 6

Matthew 5:3-10 (The Beatitudes)
³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:21-22
²¹ You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ ²² But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

Matthew 5:31-32
³¹ You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’ ³² But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.

Matthew 6:34
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Day 4 [January 7, 2010]: Matthew 7-9

Matthew 7:7-8
⁷ Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:12
Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Day 5 [January 8, 2010]: Matthew 10 & 11

No verses.

Day 6 [January 9, 2010]: Matthew 12-14

No verses.

Day 7 [January 10, 2010]: Matthew 15-17

No verses.

]]> http://sarahs101in1001.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/task-026-the-bible-intro-week-one/feed/ 0 serr http://sarahs101in1001.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/task-023-read-50-novels-in-one-year/ http://sarahs101in1001.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/task-023-read-50-novels-in-one-year/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:04:13 +0000 Sarah http://theserrac.com/?p=227 ]]> The majority of these are going to be novels, but some may not be novels in the traditional sense. Some of them may just be books, which is why I titled it “50 Books / 1 Year”. This list will contain more than 50 books when I am done and less than 50 until then so bear with me. If you would like to suggest books to read, feel free to leave comments or email me. Find me on Goodreads.

Titles in green, I have finished
Titles in bold I am in the process of reading

01. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
02. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
03. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
04. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
05. The Translator by Leila Aboulela
06. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
07. The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico by Sarah McCoy
08. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
09. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky
10. The Shack by W.M. Paul Young
11. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
12. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
13. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
14. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
15. The Trilogy of Morgalla, Part One: Diary of a Lonely Demon by Jon David
16. Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (completed 12-24-2009)
17. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (started 12-27-2009)

To those of you that are traveling to my page for the first time from my Ning page, welcome, and I apologize for the lack of updates as of late, Christmas is so busy for me at work. I will be posting updates regularly beginning next week or the week after New Years.

I hope you all have a splendid holiday and be safe!

Love Always,
Sarah

On 24-October-2009 I  took advantage of an opportunity to go to New York City on a bus trip with my mom and a few people that I knew. This post will document my trip with text and photos. I hope you enjoy.

We left Friday night around 11pm for our seven hour trip to New York City. We arrived in New York just shy of 7am and got dropped off at Grand Central Station for changing and freshening up and what not.

After we cleaned up, we got dropped off at Rockefeller Center and had the next twelve plus hours to do whatever we pleased. We were to meet back at the spot where we were dropped off at 8pm to head home. My mom and I headed on our way. We wanted to go to Magnolia Bakery, so we started walking. We found the bakery and it didn’t open until 8am and it was only about 730 at best so we kept walking and found ourselves in front of the Observation Deck, NBC Store, Today Show studio, etc. We stood across the street from the Today Show studios and I was looking through the window and who was in there but Suzanne Somers! I zoomed my camera in (10x optical zoom, I could have had her) but some lady walked in front of her right as I clicked the shutter, so I only got the side of her face (3rd picture below).

Since by the time we got down there, it wasn’t much later, we skipped Magnolia because we didn’t want to stand around waiting for them to open, plus there was no where to sit down to eat inside, and the benches by the skating rink were soaked from the rain. We ended up meandering down to Times Square.

Nothing in Times Square opened until 9 or 10 so we kept walking and headed toward Macy’s on 34th, which didn’t open until 10 on Saturday. I was getting frustrated at this point because nothing was open. We opted for the Empire State Building because we knew it would be open.

After we got the the bottom on the Empire State Building, it started to rain, so we ducked into the Starbucks that is in that building and had a drink and sat for a little while. We went to the Manhattan Mall on Broadway & 33rd which I don’t think is very old. It had a giant JCPenney that I loved! From there, we were exhausted, so we hitched a subway train back to Times Square to get some lunch/dinner and we settled on Red Lobster. Can’t go wrong with that, except prices were at least $5 more than they are here. It ended up costing us $70 for two of us for lunch! Nevermind the near 10% sales tax they charge you up there. After we left lunch, I took my mom to the giant Toys ‘R Us in Times Square.

When we walked outside of Toys ‘R Us, it started to rain again, and we were standing outside trying to decide where to go next when we saw The Naked Cowboy!

After that, we headed back to the subway and made our way to the South Street Seaport. As soon as we walked in the door of Pier 17 it started pouring, so I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures down that way. We wandered around there for a while, bought a few t-shirts at the one souvenir shop in there. Hopped back on the subway and headed to Chelsea Market. Or what we thought was Chelsea Market. We took the train to 14th street, like the MTA told us, and we walked and walked and walked, and then it started pouring this cold and blowing rain. After walking for about a 1/2 hour, we found a police officer writing tickets and I asked him, and the building was right in front of us. Chelsea Market is fabulous! I got some brownies at the Fat Witch, some bread for my grandma at Amy’s Bakery and we tried to dry out a little bit. When we left it was only raining a little bit, but the subway was blocks away, so we hailed a taxi to take us up to 5th and 55th. We went to the Disney store and got my dog a collar and then went to the GAP and got me some sweat pants for the ride home because my jeans were sopping wet. Then we walked back to Rockefeller Center. We sat in the Starbucks in the Concourse for a little while and around 10 to 8 we walked back to where the bus was going to pick us up (in the pouring rain).

We waited and waited for the bus to come and get us. Five after 8, no where to be found. Ten after, quarter after, 8:30… no bus. When we finally got a hold of him, he told us he was on his way. We were standing in front of a bank on 51st between 5th and 6th under scaffolding that was leaking and we were getting even more soaked. We boarded the bus and one of the ladies questioned him about where he was. He told us that the pick up time was 9pm. It was a disaster. Everyone was upset and soaked. That being said, at the first rest stop, we asked him to put some heat on for us, which he said he would. When we were getting ready to leave, one of the girls asked him if he put it on because it was still blowing cold air, and he got very smart with her and said “YES”. He never did. We froze the entire way home. I couldn’t feel my feet. I had my fleece jacket over my head because I was so cold. My mom was soaked and freezing. It was a nightmare.

If it wouldn’t have rained, I think we would have been just fine, but no. [sigh] Oh yeah, and one of the girls that was with us ended up going into labor while we were there. She was only four months pregnant and her water broke. I haven’t heard an update about that but we assume she lost the baby since she was only 4 months.

To view more pictures or the ones here full-size visit:

24-October-2009

Today I sent four postcards via Postcrossing (link in the sidebar) to:

Netherlands
Finland
Poland
& Germany

Dear People Who Drive on State Route 168 [aka West Pittsburg Road],

I’d like to begin my letter by asking if you are aware of what this sign means:

Because in my five and a half years of driving it has come to my immediate attention that MOST OF YOU HAVE NO IDEA. You see, right before the Hill House, there is one of these signs. It is an indication that the right lane ends. Do you acknowledge it? NO! One of these days, someone like myself, who can read and understand this sign, who properly drives in the LEFT LANE as I am supposed to, is going to wind up dead. I have been cut off countless times, or have had to speed up excessively so that I could avoid being SMASHED TO BITS by your STUPIDITY! Needless to say a number of the people who have almost hit me are residents of the area, and should know better. And a number of the people who have almost hit me are semi trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks. Vehicles that are a LOT LARGER than my SUV. But I refuse to back down. If you kill me, it is your fault, that sign says it all and YOU’RE ALL MORONS.

My next bit of anger with you people who drive on this road concerns the END of this road. You see, there is a stop sign. And most of you turn left or right at this stop sign because you cannot go straight. But, do you care to look DOWN Moravia Street to see if anyone is coming up the hill and GOING STRAIGHT UP MORAVIA and not turning onto W Pittsburg Rd? No. No you don’t. One day, I will hit one of you and you will bitch and moan that you are hurt and your car is totaled. It is your fault. Because you cannot see. And if you’re coming up Moravia Street while I am sitting at this stop sign, and you turn on to 168 USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL. You are TURNING. I don’t sit at the stop sign for my health, believe it or not.

So my requirements of all of you that are morons and cannot read &/or understand what a road sign means, when I hit you, don’t bitch. It’s your fault.

Sincerely,
Sarah White (disgruntled driver)

Movies I have watched have a star rating or a link to a review.

Rating System Snagged from Tara:

A :
B :
C : Carolina (2003) ***
D : Doctor Who (Tenth Doctor Series 2-4) *****
E :
F : Four Christmases (2008) ****
G :
H : Heavy Petting (2007) ***
I : I Love You, Man (2009) ****
J :
K :
L :
M : Management (2008) ***
N : Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) ****
O :
P : The Proposal (2009) *****
Q :
R :
S :
T : Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (2009) ****
U : The Ugly Truth (2009) *****
V :
W : The Women (2008) ****
X :
Y :
Z :

Other movies I have also watched that I have never seen during the challenge:

M : My Mom’s New Boyfriend (2008) ****
N : Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) *****
P : Passengers (2008) ***
P : Personal Effects (2009) ****
U: Up (2009) *****

Task #:
Original task
New task

023.
Finish read the 100 Greatest Novels according to Best100Novels.com
Read 50 Novels in one year

024.
Research & celebrate a holiday of another religion
Read the Tanakh

026.
Read the Bible cover to cover
Read the New Testament

057.
Have a Terminus reunion in Chicago, IL
Go to New York City