I wanna go out tonight...

I've been listening to the song "Out Tonight" on the RENT soundtrack, and it reflects my current sentiments to a tee (minus the sexual innuendos). As I'm making progress on my fellowship application, I realize that I haven't been out with my friends in a while outside of the weekly viewings of Veronica Mars and Grey's Anatomy. I've been feeling really emotional and angsty, and the Asian side of me is feeling victimized and abandoned by the people around me in Ann Arbor. So finally I decided to step out from wallowing in self-pity and have a few things to look forward to this week:

1. Dancing at LIVE with my girls G. and L.
2. Apple orchard if it doesn't rain on Saturday
3. Taking pictures with S. when the weather is nice

Other things I want to do with my girls before Christmas:

1. Spend a day at Frankenmuth
2. Outlet shopping at Birch Run
3. Girl's night out at a martini bar

Also, I was pleased to find that my gym moved up their Yoga classes to half hour earlier, meaning that I'll be able to make it to classes again and still be able to watch my TV shows. =) I'm pleased as pie.

On another note, I've been reading through Leviticus this week as a result of Sunday School homework. We're examining the tenants of worship as outlined in the book and discussing what they cost the Israelites. I noticed a few things while studying.

First, in order to follow the rules of cleanliness, etc, worship really has to be a priority for the Israelites over productivity or anything else. Holiness comes before anything else: if the Israelites touched something unclean or had a disease, they would have to put everything aside and follow the cleansing rituals. This is such a visual demonstration of the holiness of God and the isolation that results from sin. Also, the idea of engraving the law on our hearts take on a whole new meaning when following the law is so salient for society as a whole. In the world we live in today, it's so easy to fall into believing God is irrelevant to our lives and forgetting about Him outside Sundays or prayers of desperation. Although as a whole, I do not envy the laws and regulations the Israelites had to follow, but I do envy the constant focus on God they result in.

Secondly, God provided the Israelites with wealth and asked them to put it towards sacrifices and the tabernacle. The tabernacle is created with their most precious metals and gems, while burnt offerings consisted of the finest animals and grain. Although the priests were able to partake in some of the offering for food, the choicest part of the animals (organs, fat) were burnt and not to be eaten. It made me think about the heart with which I give. I always want to know where my money is going and only give toward something that I feel will benefit this world the best. But here, the Israelites' gifts aren't "doing" anything. Have we lost sight of worshiping God as an end to itself? I feel that I have.