After last week’s monster post of gratitude, this week has been pretty quiet. So here’s a glimpse at what’s going on in my brain:

1. I really, really want to get out of debt. I’ve managed to accumulate a fair bit of credit card debt in the past couple of years (due in large part to being underemployed for the first nine months we lived in Chicago, but in larger part to the fact that I like to spend money…it’s a problem). It’s been hanging over my head and I’m sick of it. So starting in October (because this month I have to worry about paying for the name change), I am going to begin aggressively paying down the balance on my credit card, with a goal of having the whole thing paid off by next October. It’s a big goal, and I’m going to have to seriously cut back on frivolous spending, but I think it’ll be worth it. I’m also going to try to start building my savings (which currently amounts to approximately $20).
2. For the first time since college, I’m starting to think about and plan for my future. When I started college, I had this ridiculous five-year plan that involved getting both my BA and my MSW and becoming a social worker. For many reasons (including the fact that it just wasn’t a good plan for me), that all went up in flames…and I never really replaced my dreams with something new. It’s been years since I planned for much of anything more than six months out. But that’s starting to change. The future is more enticing than terrifying, and there are wonderful things on the horizon.
3. I’ve been thinking about faith a lot lately. I was raised believing that salvation was this deeply personal, unshakable thing that had very little to do with one’s own merit or power. I personally can’t believe in a God who would send people to hell for asking questions (or worse, for dying oblivious to the existence of some “perfect” religion). I believe that grace extends to everyone, regardless of where they were on life’s journey when they reached their finish line. I may call myself “functionally agnostic”; I may not belong to a church. But that doesn’t mean I lack a spiritual life.