Well, today is the last day of 2009. This year has seriously FLOWN by. About a week ago, I had the intention of posting a blog about how I no longer believe in New Year's Resolutions. But after Evan Wickham's message last night at church, I have changed my mind.
Evan Wickham talked about the origin of our English word "sincere." It comes from two Greek words "sine cera" meaning "without wax." Back in the old days, crooks would take broken pots and piece them back together using wax. Then they would sell them for full price to oblivious customers. When the sun would come up, the wax would melt and the pots would fall apart again.
Evan used this analogy for our lives as believers. We are the pots and God is the potter. As pots, we want to be sincere and without wax, for if we are "crackpots" [hahaha Evan is hilarious!] our wax will show when we are held up to the Son.
So here is my New Year's Resolution. I desire to be sincere—in everything.
First and foremost, in my faith. I want to live a life that is completely unhypocritical. I want people to know that I am a Christian, even if their interaction with me is minimal. And that brings me to the second thing. I want to be sincere in my friendships. I have realized that the overflow of technology in this day and age causes a lot of friendships to be superficial and surface level. I am over that. I want my friendships to be real.
Unhypocritical. Genuine. Real. Sincere.
"We are not bound to say all we think but we are bound not even to look what we do not think."
-George MacDonald on sincerity
Archive for 2009
Sine Cera.
Rainy Day.
It's a rainy day in southern California.
Perfect day to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's.
But rather than watch it, I chose to read it.
Fourth book of Christmas break.
I don't know if that's the best idea,
seeing as I'll be reading myself to blindness this semester.
Oh well.
The leaves are wet.
Makes me even MORE eager
for my Holga to arrive in the mail :)
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I like blah rainy days.
I might have to light a fire in the fireplace
and roast some marshmallows.
I wish I was in England.
I wish I was in England. I wish I was in England.
I wish I was in England. I wish I was in England. I wish I was in England.
I wish I was in England. I wish I was in England.
I wish I was in England.
Famine.
"'Behold, the days are coming,'
declares the Lord God,
'when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.'"
-Amos 8:11
Zero Sales Resistance
I love that I wrote a blog less than 24 hours ago about how I wanted a Holga. A yellow one. So much for a potential birthday gift! I already ordered it! Hahaha. I have ZERO sales resistance.
The photo in my previous blog was of a Holga 120N—lacking the colorflash feature. But I just fell in love with the yellow body! But I really wanted colorflash! After deliberating practically the whole day, I decided I was going to part with the beloved yellow Holga in order to get the 120CFN, which only came in black on Amazon.
But then, I decided to do a little extra research. Ebay came to my rescue! Ebay has seriously become my new best friend! Hahaha.
I found it. My beloved yellow Holga 120CFN. Just a tad bit more expensive, but definitely worth it. Yeeeeeeeee!! I am so excited! :)
All I want for Christmas is...
this.
My birthday is in 93 days. Hint hint :) Here, I'll make it easy for you. Whoever you are. lol.
Dream Chasing.
Christmas has passed. Wow, how time flies! Next semester is creeping upon me. My last semester of college for my entire life. Yeesh! Graduation is in 125 days. Then comes who knows what.
I can go dream chasing, I guess. Summer in England. Move someplace random. Random like Missouri (which wouldn't be so random because the Hallmark headquarters are in Missouri. I could apply there and hope I land my dream job.) Then the real who knows what.
I am glad God knows. Dream chasing isn't so much chasing after the wind when God is in control.
God, please guide my dreams—be the wind that blows me in the right direction.
Merry Christmas, Zambia!
I bought a biosand filter. Probably the best Christmas gift I ever bought.
I encourage you all to check it out. It's a small investment for the kingdom. Much more affordable than building a well—yet still helpful.
Give the Gift of Clean Water from Blood:Water Mission on Vimeo.
(They still need about 800 of them to reach their goal of 1640 filters by Christmas!)
Crowder. Wallace. Gibson.
I am currently reading David Crowder's newest book "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But Nobody Wants To Die."
In the beginning, authors Crowder and Hogan are talking about the history of bluegrass and tell a story about when they went to Scotland to do a concert.
[When I went to Scotland in 2006, I was completely amused by the William Wallace statue. Either Mel Gibson was the perfect actor to play Wallace in Braveheart, or the statue was actually of Gibson! It looked ridiculously like Mel Gibson to me, although not very many people seemed to agree.]
The guy giving the Crowder Band a ride from the airport to their hotel seemed to agree with me. "A few years ago a monument of William Wallace was erected in the town, which just so happens to look exactly like Mel Gibson! People come from all over the world to see one of our national treasures, one of the greatest Scots in history, and what do they get? An Australian in a kilt! Bah!"
What do you think?
Website.
On Monday, I took my bowling final. Currently, I am almost done with my 8-10 page paper for Christian Doctrine. All I have left is my take-home final for Christian Education. I am ALMOST DONE with the semester. It's so surreal. I only have one semester left—a semester that will be test-less. Oh how lovely this will be! That's the joy of graphic design classes.
In my graphic design class this semester, we had to create a website...it was due yesterday....so...I'M DONE WITH IT!!! Check it out and let me know what you think! :)
Cha Cha.
So, I had a FABULOUS dinner with Yvonne and Faith tonight.
We were sick of the caf so we went to Wanda's instead. The environment there just made everything nicer. On top of that, we had an epic Cha Cha texting session. It was absolutely hilarious!!
Of course, I had to ask it about a certain boy liking me. Cha Cha's answer: "Very doubtful. Sorry, but maybe he isn't worth it!" Is it ironic that Cha Cha agreed with my friends? lol. The positive side to it was that Cha Cha also told me I was going to marry a hottie. I know that hottie wont be from Cha Cha since I asked Cha Cha to marry me and they told me that we just don't want the same things. Hmmm interesting. Then Faith asked it to marry her and it answered, "I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that!"
Yvonne asked a few funny questions. First, she asked, "How is your day today Cha Cha person?" It replied, "Fabulous, Cha Cha question asker! Hope your day is going great! I'm in East Wenatchee! How are your cherry crops this season?" HAHAHAHAHA. Then she asked it what was the greatest question they every received. Cha Cha's reply was EPIC: "The other day someone asked if you could die from lighting a fart on fire. Yes you can if the fire backs up and you get an infection!"
Cha Cha also told me some funny your mama jokes and Chuck Norris jokes:
"Yo mama's so stupid that she thought Boyz II Men was a daycare center!"
"Chuck Norris runs Windows 7 on his etch-a-sketch."
Basically, I love Cha Cha.
Early Death Theory
I have a new theory...I think I am going to die young.
Maybe it's God's plan for me to die at like 28 or something and that is why He hasn't brought me my man. After all, it would totally suck if I married a guy and died a few years later. God's sparing this man from heartbreak. Sounds logical enough, right?
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
I am a BIG fan of Christmastime. I love the mood of the season. I love the smell of Christmas trees and cinnamon apple candles. I love Christmas lights. So naturally, I was heartbroken when I found out that CBU was not going to light the big tree this year due to—oh how it pains me to say this—the budget cuts. We do not have money for lights. And since we don't have money for the big Christmas tree, we aren't lighting the palm trees either.
Sorry city of Riverside, sorry Magnolia Avenue, sorry neighboring community. You will have to drive by the utter darkness because some grinch decided it would be a better investment to water (and flood) the grass than it would be to have SOME festivities.
Merry Christmas.
Baaaaah humbug.
Dear CBU officials, for the sake of the spirit of Christmas, I forgive you. Though I am heartbroken, I cannot not remain bitter forever.
I LOVE MY FAMILY!
EPIC facebook chat conversation, if I do say so myself.
I LOVE my cousins.
I LOVE my family.
It is officially Thanksgiving.
I get to see all these lovely people in like 12 hours.
I couldn't be any happier!
(Yes, I know I started four out of six sentences with a personal pronoun.)
Few Things:
- I got my phone fixed last Saturday. It's amazing. I love that it rings. I love the text message tone. And I love that I can watch youtube videos and listen to music. :)
- I wanted a hard case for my phone since my green silicone one was too lose. Problem is, they don't make very many for the 2g. I found a coach one really similar to Susie's and after gaining permission to be a copycat, I got it. Pretty cute if I do say so myself :)
- Aimee cut my hair on Tuesday. I love it. And I can't believe how many other people do too. I even got compliments on THIS picture, even though it is my I-just-got-out-of-the-shower hair and I didn't even do it! I am truly flattered.
Destroy my darkness.
"Destroy my darkness, rise my perfect joy;
Love primal, the live coal of every night,
Flame out, scare the ill things with radiant fright,
And fill my tent with laughing morn's delight. "
-George MacDonald
Music Recommendations.
I've bought more cds in the past month than I have ever bought in such a short period of time!! But I have to say, I recommend every single one of them.
1) Chris Tomlin's christmas cd "Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship" - best Christmas cd EVER. Buy it. You wont regret it.
2) David Crowder Band's new cd "Church Music" - EPIC. Makes me want to dance. And I don't even dance.
3) Shane and Shane's new cd "Everything is Different" - Shane and Shane are revolutionary. EVERY cd they release is SO worshipful. Makes you wanna have an entire DAY of worship.
4) Justin Barnard's cd "Fightsongs" - This guy is Shane Barnard's brother. Got the cd free with Shane and Shane's cd, but basically, I would pay for it. It's amazing.
5) Phil Wickham's new cd "Heaven and Earth" - Beautiful. I can listen to it over and over and over.
6) Evan Wickham's new cd "Above the Sky" - Well, this cd actually doesn't come out til next Tuesday, but if you pre-order today, you get a free ep!! The ep is amazing so I can't even imagine how good the cd will be, especially since I've been waiting about 3 years for it!
7) Bosh's new ep "The Gloaming Hour" - I have a theory. You can never go wrong with British bands. And since I am their "American manager" I'm going to take an extra step and link you to the site. Go buy it. Here: http://www.risen-records.com/thegloaminghour.html
So yeah, go take my recommendations and buy ALL these cds right now. You'll be pleased.
I need coffee, I need sleep.
I thought this semester was going to be relaxed. Oh boy, oh boy, was I wrong!
I have been busier than I ever thought I would be...even with only three classes (four if you count bowling—oh how I love saying that)! Maybe I am taking on too many tasks...or not.
I downloaded a To Do List app on my iphone. The number of things on it hasn't gone below five. Every time I finish one task, I add at least one more. Yeesh.
I. Need. Coffee.
I. Need. Sleep.
When it rains, it pours.
EVERYTHING has been freaking out on me lately. If I decided to blog about all of them, I'd be here forever. So, I'll just keep it down to the top two.
iphone fail.
loudspeaker blew out.
i can talk on the phone, but it doesn't ring and i can't use speakerphone.
sucks cuz i JUST got it.
was supposed to get it fixed tomorrow, but the lame repair guy wont have the part til thurs.
thursday's out—wont miss shane and shane for anything.
car fail.
fuse for the radio and charger blew out last week.
got it fixed.
blew out again yesterday.
car overheated yesterday.
went to get it fixed today.
car didn't pass the block test.
later found out the head gasket went out.
i wish money grew on trees.
i wish sanity was sold in grocery stores.
Foamy Hand Sanitizer.
The swine flu has hit CBU.
Just from hearing my friends talk about people they know at CBU who have had it, I have counted 6 cases. I am sure there have been more. But nevertheless, the school is remaining hush hush about it. Instead of sending us high priority emails like they usually do about these "serious things" they have adopted a new method—documentation of sick people.
It's strange. They interview all the sick people and fill out these ridiculous forms about what kind of sickness they have, what their symptoms are, where on campus they have stepped foot on since being sick, and who they have been in contact with. Talk about humiliating!
In addition to that, all the CBU staff and faculty have been forced (or kindly coerced) to make sure no one sick comes to their classes or offices. It's pretty bizarre hearing students talk about how their teachers made them leave class. If feels like elementary school all over again. Pretty much all the offices on campus have huge things of lysol and CBU has put up these really nifty (yes, I used the 1980s word nifty in a blog) foaming hand sanitizer things ALL OVER campus. Mind you, I don't like using hand sanitizer very often ever since I heard about the study that said it causes autism in kids, but this hand sanitizer is very hard to resist. It FOAMS! And it smells YUMMYYYY!
So, if I am risking the health of my future children, I better not get swine flu!
iPhone.
I am part of the cool club now. I got an iphone monday night. There is nothing else to say—the excitement has left me speechless.
Although, I DO have to say that it's been incredibly fun taking pics on this new toy :)
The Daily Accomplishments of a Senior Slug.
Today has been kinda a weird day. I finished classes for the week yesterday...so that left me in a semi-sluggish mood. Thankfully I had work this morning to get me up and moving, but still!
After I got off work, I had lunch with Amber...then I came back to my apartment and did pretty much nothing. I DID make a very worthwhile $10 purchase though—Chris Tomlin's new Christmas cd. It's EPIC. So, I sat listening to Christmas music for a few hours. Then, Elizabeth and I made a trek to Target in search for boots. I didn't find the ones I fell in love with online, but I still managed to spend $20. When we came home, I ordered those boots online. There goes $30 more.
So, my semi-sluggish-sit-on-the-couch-and-do-nothing-listen-to-Christmas-music-day left me $60 more broke.
And that is how proper senioritis is lived out. Go and do likewise.
Caterpillar.
Diagnosis: I am codependent. I am a caterpillar. I don't know how to break out of my cocoon.
This is why I like people to make decisions for me and this is why I absolutely CANNOT make decisions completely on my own.
Problem? Yes.
Will I break out of my cocoon and fly one day? Yes. Someday.
(See Yvonne, I blogged it. Hahaha, and I have a feeling that everyone who reads this will be confused....except for you of course!)
Unintentional Senioritis.
I swear it's unintentional. I don't PLAN on being late to all of my classes and late to work. What's my problem?! I'm usually the one who's early to everything.
I blame my senioritis.
Question: Is senioritis a physical disorder or a psychological one?
All for the Sake of Blogging!
I thought my previous "stalker blog" posts were acts of bravery on my part. After all, I WAS taking the risk that out of the 25,000 members at my church, my stalker whom I had written about would come across the blog written by him. My roommate informed me that rather than an act of bravery, this was an act of stupidity. Well here I am, taking an even greater act of stupidity. I am taking the risk that out of the 4,000+ CBU students, the one person this blog is about might read it. But oh well. All for the sake of blogging!
It all happened yesterday. I went to my spot to have some much needed time with Jesus. With my Bible and journal in hand, I plopped myself onto my comfy chair, making myself completely comfortable. After sitting there for maybe 45 minutes, some guy walks into the room and makes himself comfy on the couch next to my comfy chair. Hmm, awkward. I continued to read. Within a few minutes, he was laying down and looked like he was asleep. A few minutes went by and April walked in. "Lizzy!" she said, and then she noticed him there and made a confused facial expression. It was mutual confusion at this point.
We talked for a bit...about a lot of stuff...random stuff....weight loss, my desire to ring the giant bell, April's hip pain, etc.
A few minutes after April left, he sat up. He turns and looks at me and says, "Just so you know, neither one of you need to lose weight."
"Uhh thank you," I said.
The he said, "And...I have rung that bell before and it IS loud. And...if her head really hurts that bad, all she needs to do is crack her lower spine."
"Oh thanks," I replied semi awkwardly, "but it's her hip that hurts, not her head."
"Oh."
Awkward silence.
I went back to my reading for a few more minutes. And then he told me how he was awake the whole time. I asked him if he heard our whole conversation and he said that he had. Then I said how I was glad I didn't say anything incriminating and we both laughed. It was a good way to release some of that laughter that I was holding in. Especially since I had texted April and that made me laugh even more.
My phone rang and it was April. I made some awkward small talk with her since he was still there. As I was talking to her, he got up and decided to leave. He smiled and said goodbye and that was it.
Should I have asked him what his name was?
Off Day.
Today has been a MAAAAAJOR off day...and it all started at work.
First, the printer went psychotic. At first, it wouldn't even print the letters Tiffany ran for me. It kept saying to load the paper tray even though the thing was FULL. Then, when it finally decided to print, it was printing a letter to girl that wasn't even in my stack of inquiry cards! I donno where the computer was getting her info from! So annoying! Well, it fiiiinally worked and then I headed back to my computer.
As I was sitting there, error messages kept popping up. Even when I wasn't touching the computer, they would still pop up. I decided to restart the program and try again. Alas, when I restarted, it told me my username and password were invalid. I walked over to tell my boss, who actually found the situation a little humorous. After several phone calls to IT, I was finally able to get back on the computer. Yeeeeesh.
Not my day. Thank God for a gracious boss though!
Instant Cameras.
This is the new thing I want...
Instant cameras may have been a thing of the past, but I can definitely see them staying around in the future. This one is just WAY cute and comes in so many different colors! It prints pictures out in little credit card sized polaroids. Ohhhh I want it! I found a deal on the blue and white one! $65—what a bargain!
Growing Upward.
Pharisee: (noun) one who believes more than they do.
I absolutely love my Christian Doctrine class! Dr. Morgan is amazing. I kept wishing I could handwrite as fast as I type because I wanted to jot down almost everything he said! Scripture references are like periods at the end of his sentences. That's another thing I love.
Since today was our first actual class session, he spent the hour and a half talking about why theology is important and the attitude we need to approach theology with. I felt like I was sitting in Conviction 101 when he said his definition of a Pharisee. It was good conviction though, conviction that stirs me to action.
I feel like I can be a Pharisee. Head knowledge doesn't always turn into action in my case. So instead of just sitting here and moping about my pathetic pharisaical nature, I am making it my goal for the semester to grow up and to grow upward.
So here we go! The semester has started and I have set a new goal! (It doesn't have to be new year's day to have a resolution!)
My life is like a movie...
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." -Miss Piggy
Hahaha one of the best quotes. Love it!
I've been a constant state of annoyance this week and I don't even know why. Well, actually, that's a lie. I know why. My life is amusing, to say the least. Honestly, I didn't know it was possible for a real life to be SO much like a movie. But I'm telling you, if you've seen "The Holiday," Iris' character pretty much lives my life. It's bizarre. The monologue in the beginning—genius script writing. Reading it may give you a little insight into my life...minus the tears and valium part. I don't cry about this stuff. And I most definitely do not take drugs. Oh, and I don't drink my problems away either, fyi.
Dominic Episcopo
This guy is genius—really.
I mean, seriously, United Steaks?! Hahaha. LOVE IT.
Check his out his portfolio. He's even in museums! Now THAT'S accomplishment!
(Photo credit: http://ohjoy.blogs.com/)
8 am
I am NOT a morning person.
Anyone who has spent at least one night with me knows that. Buuuuut, this semester may very well convert me.
I hate 8 o'clock classes. I do my best to avoid them. This semester, I only have one (it's a graphic design class) and it is only one day a week. Not too bad...or so I thought. Then came my work schedule. Three days a week, just like last year. But then, each of those days, I begin at 8! Howwwww sucky! Of course, when I told my parents, they were both pretty happy about it. "Oh good. You'll learn how to live in the real world now." "Oh good, you'll be sleeping and waking at normal human hours." Bleh.
I'm not too excited about this. But I guess that's life!
Whateverrrrr. I WONT let this ruin my excitement for the semester! Who cares if I have to wake up at 7, five days of the week?
Humble Sheep.
"Help me this day to be thy humble sheep,
Eating thy grass, and following, thou before;
From wolfish lies my life, O Shepherd, keep."
-George MacDonald
Nothing Worthless.
A Psalm of David. And a goal for the rest of my life.
"I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless."
Psalm 101:2-3a
♥
Pub Ministry.
I guess I'll humor everyone. I'll share an England story.
It was the day of the last roadshow before Creationfest. This roadshow was going to take place in Wadebridge at the Town Hall. The flyers had been passed out and we hoped that this roadshow would really reach the people of the community. Funny thing was, as the clocked ticked, it didn't seem like very many people from the community were showing up. There was a crowd, but that was mostly people from our church and from Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and a scattered bunch of local believers. So much for outreach—or so we thought.
Rachel hears of an open mic night just two doors down at the local pub. All of a sudden, people from our team are heading over to the pub. Talk about being lights in the darkness! It was incredible! The night ended out with the full Scott Cunningham band leading worship at the pub! Who would have ever thought that would even be possible?! God is SO good!
Life is like a wheelbarrow...
There are 252 days until graduation. No, I am not counting down out of pure bliss. It's more like depression. I don't want to leave CBU. It has been an amazing chapter of my life that I do not wish to turn the page on. But alas, life must go on.
I don't even want to leave Riverside. Yes, I said it. Stone me.
I have NO CLUE what the next chapter of my life entails. I almost feel like my life is coming to an end. Especially because I remain single. Haha.
But there is good that comes out of singleness. There are SOOOOO many opportunities I can jump onto only because I am single. One of them being the job opportunity in England I mentioned in the last blog. Another one being Summer of Service at the Bible College in Hungary. How cool would that be?! A whole summer in either England or Hungary! Any non-single girl would have strings holding her back from opportunities like this. I, on the other hand, do not.
We'll see what God has in store for me! I'm ready to take on anything He throws my way!
"Life is like a wheelbarrow. Hop in and let God push you around."
England.
I don't even know what to say about my England trip this year. It was everything. It was amazing, tiring, fun, exhausting, exciting, a blessing, a frustration, rainy, sunny, long, but too short.
I want to go back. Already. I just got home yesterday, but I already miss England. I left my heart in England this summer. Really, I did.
I used to say, "I could so live in England!" but that statement is closer to reality now than ever before. Kris offered me a job for next summer. He had mentioned it last year too, but I didn't think he was too serious about it. Then he mentioned it again this year. Again, I thought he was joking. But he kept saying it over and over. He even told his wife, who got super excited at the mention of the possibility. Then he told me exactly what I'd be doing and how much he'd pay me. It was then I realized how serious he was. This would be such an amazing opportunity. I really want to go. The praying starts now!
Anyways, I may share some specific stories in the near future...but for now, enjoy the funny quote of the trip: "How am I conceited? I'm fully clothed." -Lance
And...in agreement with my good friend Hannah, a blog is much more exciting if it includes a photo, so enjoy my polaroid from England :)
Someday...
"But one kiss levitates above all the others. The
intersection of function and desire. The I do kiss.
The I'll love you through a brick wall kiss.
Even when I'm dead, I'll swim through the Earth,
like a mermaid of the soil, just to be next to your bones."
from "The Archipelago of Kisses" by Jeffrey McDaniel
Camp.
I am trying to think of the perfect word to describe this summer's Jr. High Camp. I can't seem to think of the right word.
Camp was definitely a blessing—but that was only after being faced with TOOOONS of spiritual warfare and having to deal with ridiculous amounts of ridiculous Jr. High drama. Satan is definitely on the prowl, which makes it even more ironic that our theme verse was Ephesians 6:12 ("For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places").
God definitely pulled us through though. We had great little prayer sessions as counselors and that was definitely amazing. Our night devotions as a cabin were pretty amazing too! All the speakers were amazing, and the small groups were too! (Sorry, I cannot think of any other descriptive adjectives lol.)
I love camp SO much. It's so incredible when you can witness God working. There were countless God things that happened at camp. Thank You, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to go to camp!
(6 days til England! soooooooooo excited!)
Engagement Shoot!
On Tuesday, I went on Engagement Shoot with Miray and Scott! It was tons of fun! :) Here are some of the pictures!
Sunburned.
I am DEFINITELY sunburned.
When I got back from the beach on Thursday, I claimed I was toasted, not burned. And that's what it felt like then. But after a couple days, I can no longer deny the truth. My whole body feels like one giant bruise. Showering has become one of the most painful things in the world. I woke up like 200 times in the middle of the night last night cuz the pain of rolling over. Whatever. I'm a big girl. I can handle this. I have a very high pain tolerance—so honestly, it isn't THAT bad. I'm just totally not used to it. This is only the 4th sunburn of my life.
Weird and Totally Pathetic.
Weird...
Someone googled "how to attract a creepy guy" and landed on my blog. I know this cuz I have a tracker. And I have to say, why would anyone in their right mind google that?! Weirdo. Anyways, the blog entry they landed on was the blog I wrote about my stalker titled "It's always the creepy guys..." so that explains why their search landed them on my blog. I was curious though...what page of their search results was the link to my blog on? So I decided to look it up myself.
...and totally pathetic.
The totally pathetic part is the predictive results that showed up on Safari when I started to type into the google search box.
I have nothing left to say but WOW.
My Three Night Owls.
My friends are a blessing.
I had a bad night. I posted a pretty emo status after midnight, not really expecting anyone to respond, considering what time it was. But I was wrong. I got a response—actually THREE! Three of my friends were there for me.
I wanted a hug and a shoulder to cry on, which are totally impossible considering no one even lives near me, but I definitely received words of comfort and encouragement. (See, technology CAN be a good thing! :) Yay for texting and facebook chat!) Totally made up for the lack of hugs and shoulders. Haha. It was great! They even stayed up to make sure I was okay. They let me talk it out for over an hour! Basically, I love my friends.
Thanks guys! You know who you are! :)
God, thanks for sending me my three night owls :)
Extravagant Beauty.
Old English has this extravagant beauty to it.
I wish I was born in a time where Old English was the only English—back in the day when hymns were written, where people poured out their hearts to the Lord in gorgeous rhymes of love.
Thankfully, there are still books. Ones filled with this beautiful language. My new favorite book is George MacDonald's Diary of an Old Soul. It just brings a smile to my face every time I read it. I feel like a sponge, absorbing its every word.
Soak this up:
Not now for any cause to Thee I cry,
But this, that Thou art Thou, and here am I.
Distractions.
I wordled my blog today just for fun...and I was surprised at the big words. Haha. My life is definitely interesting right now.
Psalm 34:19
Realist.
Milk bottles are very durable. Jen, Janette, and I learned that yesterday. They make for an excellent way to relieve frustration - just bang them on a table! Waaaaay better than squeezing a stress ball and way better than breaking pencils.
I had a great day with Jen and Janette yesterday. It's kinda cool to catch up with the high school besties. They know the new me, yet they also know the old me. We had a little talk about that, how we all feel like we have changed since high school. The weird thing is, a lot of people like the change, whereas I feel like I have changed for the worse. I kinda miss the old me. The old me was known to be super optimistic all the time and always happy. Where have those days gone?!
I clearly remember taking the strengths quest freshman year of college. My top strength was positivity. A couple people who don't know the old me actually laughed at that. How sad! Has my optimism gone? Or am I just growing up and getting a grasp on reality? I guess I am a realist now...
Here's a line from Jen's play that is VERY applicable:
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optimist sees the glass as half full. Now, the realist says, "Why did you use such a big glass?"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Folk Fast.
I haven't listened to one second of folk music for the past week. 7 days. 168 hours. 10080 minutes. 604800 seconds. Not even one second out of those six hundred and four thousand, eight hundred seconds. And my do I miss it! I can't even decide if this folk fast is even helping me with anything.
Oh how I miss you, Dave Barnes! Til we meet again!
Lost Souls.
Look at the twitter trending topics...
What is this world coming to?! Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both die on the same day?! WOW. Jesus, please touch the hearts of the lost!
My friend Josh said it best, "God has been making death so real to me lately, it's comforting to know we are secure. Pray that people will wake up."
Crazy Like Van Gogh.
I have come to a strange realization the past couple days. I do not cry about my own emotional rollercoasters. Yes, I am a sucker for a good movie and I will baaaaallllllll my eyes out. And yes, I do cry when I am extreeeeemely stressed. But when it comes to anything dealing with my own emotions, I am a brick wall. This is semi-problematic, seeing as I need some way to "let it out." Since I do not cry, I end up with major anger release issues. I end up going crazy! Crazy like Van Gogh! Good thing I have friends who make sure I don't do any damage. lol. You know who you are...Thanks!
Someone analyze me!
Goodbye for now. But see you again!
I'm taking a fast.
Not from food, but from folk music—my favorite music in the whole world. If you're a girl, you should understand.
Goodbye Dave Barnes. I will miss you.
Technically, we didn't trespass...although we almost got murdered.
A week ago today, Yvonne and I were in a scary movie.
It all began during our quest to find pretty vineyards to photograph. I had never been to Napa before and Yvonne knew I would like it. Donna drove us there. Somehow, we ended up on a mountain. A very windy mountain. But there were vineyards there too. Who knew?
Yvonne spots an abandoned barn. Immediately, we are both intrigued. Trespassing is my guilty pleasure. After passing it, we convince Donna to take us back. There's a gate in front of it and a fence that is falling apart, but there is no "No Trespassing" sign, so technically we weren't doing anything illegal.
We climb through a broken part of the fence and walk a little closer. We immediately begin taking pictures. It looked like a scene from a movie!
But as we continued walking around, it began getting creepier and creepier. First, there were TONS of snake holes. That made us a little nervous...but to make matters worse, we started noticing the MASSIVE snake eggs. This place was definitely deserted.
Then, to make matters even worse, we found a noose. Yes, you heard me—a noose—an object used to murder people. Don't believe me? I have proof.
And near it was a metal thing sticking out from a tree to hang the noose on. How convenient.
Still, we were here for the adventure so we didn't escape after seeing all the bikes of the children who had been murdered or the piles of rocks under which they were buried. (We come up with superb stories, if I do say so myself!)
Still, one of the three building remained—the scariest one. A dirty white house(?) with doorways but no doors. We walk up close to it, cameras in hand. At first glance, it seemed safe enough. Yes, it was rundown, but nothing too horrible.
But then we noticed them—more piles. Definitely shaped liked body piles. With our hands lifted in picture taking mode, and our fingers on the shutter buttons, we were SO ready to take more pictures...until we heard it. The erie scary movie whisper of the wind. It blew through this haunted house causing a creak from the door that was non-existent. And we dashed off faster than we have probably ever ran before. As we were running towards Donna's car off in the distance, another scary movie moment took place. My shoe fell off. "Ahh! My shoe!" I yelled, as I turned around and ran in the opposite direction to go get it. Yvonne, being the great friend that she is, risked her life and waited for me. I put my shoe back on and we ran to safety, panting.
This was definitely an adventure! All to see some vineyards...
At least we got to see them! :)
Lessons Learned and Facts Discovered.
You can learn a lot during an eight hour drive!
1) The grass really IS greener on the other side.
2) Squirrels are NUTS. They run across busy roads without even looking both ways.
3) 99% of cows are NOT black and white like the media likes to tell us......oh wait, we found them. They are all at the million cow farm!
4) There are NO crows at Crow's Landing.
5) We saw 116 blown out tires AND we even saw one happening on a big rig! Scaaaary.
6) Pyramids, yes. Egypt, no. But we DID see where Moses struck the rock.
7) We saw a metrolink on the right lane of the freeway.
Today's Untweeted Tweets!
There were like a MILLION things i wanted to tweet today but i thought i'd spare my tweeps. So i figured i'd just write a blog of tweets instead. Enjoy! :)
• 1-800-GOOG-411 never understands yvonne but it always understands me. She said it's because i sound automated. Lol.
• "i wish i could smack people on facebook." -yvonne
• "listing, city, and state please" "PAPA MURPHY'S, CALIFORNIA!" Yvonne can't tell the difference between listings and cities apparently. Lol. (No, she did not mean papa john's. This is norcal's papa.)
• Paul Cardall's cd titled "Primary Worship" is classified on iTunes as new age. Strange.
• "I love stopping crazy with you in my car cuz then it's like i have my own personal bobblehead." -yvonne
Red Lightening, Van Gogh, & Tornado Watches.
Indiana is different. Haha. But I think that's what makes it so enjoyable!
I feel like I am in the Bible Belt here. I mean, I know I'm not in the south, but it is definitely country here. Way more country than I have ever experienced. And way more churches. Country churches. Haha.
And the first day we got here, I saw RED lightening. It was kinda cool and kinda freaky at the same time. I didn't hear any thunder though, so I felt safe. That was, until the middle of the night. I was awakened twice by the loudest, fiercest thunder I have ever heard. Then it started pouring rain.
It was bright and sunny by the morning though, so my dad and I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. And that's where I saw it—an ORIGINAL van Gogh! It was there right before my eyes, hanging on the wall, and NOT encased in glass, even though it is worth $400 million! I was SOOOOOOOOOOO excited! I even took a picture next to it to prove it to all you doubters (and I will upload that as soon as I get home on friday). =] Pretty much, that made my day. It totally surpassed the glory of both the original Picasso and the original Rembrandt I also saw.
Anyways, after three hours at the museum, my dad and I came back to the hotel to wait for my mom. That's when the rain started up again. Crazy rain and crazy winds. They even had a tornado watch! Bizarre weather changes amuse me. But the rain subsided and we went to dinner with my mom and her work people later on. The place where she is being trained, which is only 8 miles from our hotel, apparently had a crazy hailstorm! One lady said it left a ton of marks and scratches on her car and then one guy couldn't even make it cuz his car got completely flooded! Craaaaaazy!
We'll see what tomorrow holds! This is definitely an interesting and exciting vacation!
OUCH.
It's a battle. One between my brain and my body. Love/hate relationship. Honestly, I didn't know that was even possible. Choppy sentences. That's how this blog is cuz that's how my brain feels right now. Bleh. OUCH. Ohhhhh U Crappy Heart. That's the descriptive acronym for the day. Make that for the week. Nah, life in general. Life is DEFINITELY not dull. Loopy. That's how I feel. Slept at 3:30 the past I donno how many nights. Whoa. Lack of sleep getting to me? I drink way too much caffeine. Wow.
Testing.
It's interesting to my how God can speak a whole new truth to you through something you have read hundreds of times!
I reading Romans right now. Got to chapter 12. (This is my first time reading through Romans in ESV.)
Verse 1-2 are very well known verses. I know them by heart. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (NKJV)
However, the ESV squeezes in a couple of words to verse 2. Kind of caught me off guard. "...that by testing you may discern what is the will of God."
I'm being tested right now. Oh man! But such is the life of one who desires to walk with the Lord!
Four Vacations.
My brain is going at about 200 mph. It's gonna overheat—I know it.
I am SO ready for a vacation!
12 days til Indiana!
20 days til Norcal with Yvonne!
60 days til Jr. High Camp!
74 days til England!
Praise the Lord for FOUR vacations! =]
Some lessons take years to learn!
It was July 17, 2007. Wow. I didn't realize it was so long ago. That's when God started teaching me my tough lesson. Strange thing, I'm reading today and come across the verse my friend gave me that day. It's been almost two years, and I still have contentment issues. I am so thankful the Lord remains faithful even when I falter.
God, please be my everything. And please help me to learn my lesson.
Your vote is important to me!
I need everyone's votes. I am extreeeeemely indecisive.
My credit card is expiring soon. For my replacement card, I either get to pick a new design or stick with the one I have. Change is good...I want a new design. I have narrowed it down to four. (Obviously, if I get one of the monogram ones, it'll have my initials on it though, not an "a.") Anyways, I need your help picking. So let me know which ones you like best. I numbered them for your convenience.
1) orange with lighter orange polkadots,
2) green with a spriraly/floral design.
3) self explanatory. lol. i like green. and sunflowers.
4) once again, i like green. and i like polkadots.
Alrighty, time for votes!
Eyeshadow.
Just for Yvonne and Faith...
I bought some eyeshadow today. Are you proud? =] And it was waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy cheaper than Mary Kay. hahahaha!
Let's see how this goes!
Lord, please give me strength.
Prayed my 5 word prayer again.
The hardest prayer of my life.
Is it really that hard?
Or am I just a fleshly loser?
There are so many things I wonder.
And yet, I can only wait and see.
Lord, please give me strength.
"a Sinner on: shutting up and listening" —Julianne Varcie
My friend Julianne, a very gifted writer, posted this on her blog the other day. It was honestly one of the greatest blogs I have read in my entire life. Totally hit home with me. I desperately wanted to share it with the world, so it was pretty much a dream come true when she granted me the permission to repost it. Read it and enjoy. Let it simmer.
It won't take many words to get across my main thought for this one.
I dare to suggest that one of the reasons that we do not stop to listen to God is because we are terrified of what He will say to us.
Sure, maybe we pray about things, perhaps even fervently. And maybe we look around for "signs" that may indicate that our prayer has been answered in a certain way. But think about how flawed this is.
If we were having a conversation with any human person, would we not wait for their reply? Would we ask for something, be it physical, or maybe advice and then walk away before the person had processed or begun to speak?
Obviously, the answer is no.
That would be rude.
But why do we do that to God?
"God, I really need guidance in Situation A, B, and C. Please guide me and show me what to do."
Perhaps it is that we see God as only giving us physical signs. By that I mean, a friend giving us godly counsel, or something that just seems odd or out of place, so we take it as a sign.
Sean Durham recently blogged a Richard Selzer quote- "One is not bold in an encounter with God."
I think this quote perfectly illustrates my point.
While we can come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16), if we were to just shut up and listen for once, what great, terrible, terrifying things would we hear?
How many times have I complained about wanting to know God's will? Or how many times have I prayed about it, said "amen" and moved on to the next thing?
Perhaps the answer comes from listening and the reason we feel that our prayers are never answered is because we don't hear the answer.
Classic example: we women often accuse men of not listening to us. Whether they are busy or really just not focusing, how many times have we thrown out a complaint over their lack of comprehension over what we have to say?
I'd love to know if this makes God laugh. Not only because of our lack of understanding the opposite sex, but because maybe God is talking to us all the time, but we never stop and listen to Him. Rather, maybe it makes him sad.
This principle is true for me.
Sure, I can blame not listening on never having realized that I should stop to do so. Or I can continue to plan (or rather not plan) my time and let it sift by.
But ultimately, maybe it comes down to being afraid of what He will say.
If we were to encounter what He would say, what would happen?
Our lives would never be the same.
The Red Sea had an encounter with God: it was parted.
Moses encountered God: he glowed.
Saul met Jesus: he was blinded and changed.
Fear and trembling.
What are some things you fear He will say?
Unwinding with Jesus.
Today is May 5th and this is my first blog of the month. I just wanted to justify myself to Jacob who claims I "post a blog every day." I do not. lol.
Today was very relaxing. I spent THREE HOURS with my journal, some coffee, and my Philip Glass pandora playlist. Then some more time with my Bible added onto that list. It was lovely. Unwinding with Jesus. Seriously, I felt like there was sooooooo much I was holding on to. I pretty much just dumped it all on the Lord today. It's awesome cuz I KNOW He is always listening. So yeah, he're my short and sweet blog. The day is not over yet...so here's to the rest of the day! =]
Prayer.
I have a FAT stack of books on my dresser. And on my desk. And on my bed. And on the floor along the wall. There is NO ROOM for them all all in my bookshelf. Reality hasn't sunk in—the fact that school is over and that I am home for four months. I hate unpacking.
To start off my break, I went to the hospital tonight to visit my cousin. Please pray for her. She pneumonia reeeeally bad. She can't even breathe on her own and has an oxygen mask giving her 100%.
Being in a hospital breaks my heart. Every open door that I passed and every patient I caught a glimpse of softened my heart. It kinda gave me a new passion to pray. I want to be a prayer warrior. I know I don't pray enough. I hate hospitals, but I almost wanna go to one and just go room to room and pray for everyone. God has the power to heal. And even though He sometimes finds it best not to heal people physically, He can heal their hearts and their souls.
God, please refuel my prayer fire.
Today's Nugget - April 30, 2009
"Confession does not create a relationship with God, it simply nourishes it. If you are a believer, admission of sins does not alter your position before God, but it does enhance your peace with God." —Max Lucado
Hard to Believe.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
School is over. I am now a college senior.
I thought if I said it enough, maybe I'd believe it.
Mooney Final and Car Ad.
DONE WITH MY MOONEY FINAL! PRAISE THE LORD!
That was seriously the final I was stressing about the most. I even had a dream about it last night. I dreamt that Dr. Mooney felt super gracious and decided to give us the dates on our timeline and all we had to do was fill in the authors and their works. I told a couple guys in my class about my dream.
When we got to class, Dr. Mooney was holding the stack of finals. He begins passing them out, starting at the front of the class. Immediately after Paul gets his, he turns, looks at me, and declares, "Liz, you're a prophet." [Insert excitement here.] "Oh my gosh! My dream came true?" I yelled. "What dream are you talking about, Mousa?" Dr Mooney says. Then it clicks with him as well as the rest of the class who had all received their finals by then.
Dr. Mooney was gracious. He gave us some dates, some authors, and some of their works. We just had to fill in the blanks. TOTAL relief. I missed about 4 and a half of them, I think. Whatever. It's over. And I'm relieved.
Now I just gotta revise my paper when he gets my rough draft to me!
On a different note, I finished my car ad. It wasn't as epic as I imagined in my head, but I think it's cute. What do you think? (Just click it and it'll show up a little bigger.)
Obama. And Wanda.
So, I had the most random dream EVER. It honestly makes no sense.
I dreamt I was totally hanging out with Obama. There were these big buckets of money—just coins. And I was like, "Let me count them! I bet I can count them super fast and get into the Guinness Book of World Records!" And Obama was like, "I bet I can beat you!" So we both started this crazy race to see who can count coins the fastest. SO WEIRD.
On a different note, Wanda is the cutest woman in the whole world! Yvonne and I are totally her buddies! She loves us. Anyways, the other day, she was like, "What size shirts do you girls wear?" So we told her. Today, when we walked into the caf, she was like, "Girls, wait right here." She walks away and comes back with two bags all pretty with tissue paper and everything!
She got us Wanda's shirts! She's soooooo cute! I can't believe she gave us gifts! I love Wanda!
Photo of us in our Wanda's shirts WITH Wanda coming soon.
Chipotle Issues - Part 2
I get to Chipotle, stand in the terribly long and slow line, finally get to order. Mind you, ALL I wanted was a lemonade. No food. Not after the overpriced guacamole issue. I order a small soda, walk over to the machine, and attempt to get a lemonade. Water comes out. I dump it out and try again, as if that would really do anything. Still, just water.
I resort to getting a Dr. Pepper. (Insert frustration here.)
But, I forgive Chipotle. Do you know why? Only because the company made it worth it. I had fun, despite my lack of lemonade. So thank you Allison, Nick, Davey, Josh, Peter, and guy whose name I can't remember. lol. (Names have been arranged in clockwise order of seating to assure that there was no preference.)
Nikon. Polaroid. Argus.
I just ordered it. My Nikkor 55-200mm lens for my Nikon.
Man, I am SO stinkin excited!
I didn't take enough pictures this semester. I regret that. But I will fix that this summer. You'll see. Geez, I'm gonna carry around way too many cameras everywhere I go.
I still need to go on my polaroid shoot.
And, if I win the bid on that Vintage Argus, I will be an even happier camper! Whoop! =]
The Carrot Battle.
Carrots are the infamous allergy.
I thought I was the lone soldier of the carrot war in this world. Then I found out Andrew was allergic to them too!
Today, we decided to be brave and march right into the front lines of battle. After all, we do like carrots. At our graphic design dinner, we each ate one.
Now, we are dealing with the battle wounds. Andrew is suffering from a crazy cough and a bloody nose, while I am suffering from a developing stomachache and a slight inability to breathe (wishing my allergy inhaler was here at cbu rather than at home 50 miles away).
Don't worry. We will survive! We are tough soldiers!
Dwindling Stress and Epic Car Ads.
Just when I thought the stress was dwindling (who could I fool? stress doesn't dwindle!) I learned that I have yet another paper...8-10 pages long...due next Wednesday! ahhhh! I have soooooo much to doooooo! The only thing I am actually excited about is my car ad for one of my graphic design classes. Wait for it, wait for it. It's going to be epic.
The end.
Countdowns.
If you know me even the least bit, you should know that I am very fond of countdowns. And since that is the case, I will share my current ones with you...
17 days until the last day of school.
59 days til I go up to Norcal to visit Yvonne!
99 days til Jr. High Summer Camp!
113 days til England!
Notice, the countdown to the last day of school does not have an exclamation point at the end. And that is due to the fact that I cannot fathom actually being able to finish all the work that I have to do before that day. I know I keep venting about school, and for that I apologize. Please pray for me. Thanks friends.
mypolaroidobsession.blogspot.com is calling out your name!
He is waiting in the midst of the storm.
Maybe it's a good thing I am over a month behind on my daily devotional. God totally wanted me to read the March 5th one today.
"Sole Provider, Sole Comforter" by Max Lucado
As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option.
As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he wont be taken half-heartedly.
But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm.
Crazy Break!
Easter Break is here. But it doesn't really feel like it. I have sooooooo much homework to do. And my rate of productivity is kinda sucky. It took me like two hours to write one paragraph of my OT Theology paper. Ugh.
To do list:
- catch up on my 470 pages of reading I am behind in
- prepare for my Beale test
- do my calendar/budget project
- do my supervised ministry contract thing
- write my 25 page paper
Possibility of survival - 10-20%
On a different note, if you haven't already done so, check out (and follow!) mypolaroidobsession.blogspot.com =]
Too stressed to sleep...
It's almost 2 a.m. and I am too stressed to sleep. Ridiculous, I know. Especially since I have to wake up at 6:45 tomorrow to get ready for work at 8. Bleh.
Today was a rough day. This [short] week was a rough week. I donno what I'd do if I didn't have Jesus.
Psalm 73:23-26
"Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
You hold my right hand.
You guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward You will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
and there is nothing on earth I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
entertainedw hilev enting!
Toe ntertainm yself, thisi showI amt ypingt oday. Getu sedt oit. Lol.
Ia ma tadb itf rustrated. Peoplea rea nnoyinga ndI ama lsoa nnyoyedw ithm ygraphicd esignp rojects. Ij ustw annab edonew iths choola lready! Ugh!
21 mored ays! Yesss!
I sat in a smart car today, and I fell in love.
That's exactly what happened.
For one of my graphic design classes, we are working on car ads. So today, we went to the Mercedes and Smart Car Dealerships.
The day started out really slow. I was half asleep. (Probably because I had to wake up at 6:30 to work spring preview day.) But once we got to the Smart Car dealership, I was wide awake. Those things are adoooorable. Mike had me get in one and I gladly agreed. Then Trever shot a bunch of shots. I CANNOT wait to get ahold of those! They are totally gonna be facebooked! Pretty much, after sitting in that car, I did not want to get out! Those cars were made for people my size! I want one!
Anyways, that made my day.
On a different note, I have created another blog dedicated specifically to polaroids. I think you all should subscribe! =]
http://mypolaroidobsession.blogspot.com
World Famous.
I never meant to get myself into this habit of posting more than one blog per day, but I just couldn't resist this time.
My back is soon to be world famous.
Here I am! That's me! Yay!
Polaroid/Donkey
I finally got the polaroid film I won on ebay. Turns out the lady that shipped it accidentally wrote "Rancho" instead of "Ranchito" for my street. No wonder it took forever to get to me!
Anyways, I tried it in the polaroid Ashley gave me RIGHT when I got home...and it worked! I was SO excited! So I ran out to the living room to proclaim my joy.
"I'm so excited! I have a polaroid camera!" I said.
In the words of my wise father, "You're crazy! You are like someone who has had a car for years. Then one day, someone gives you a donkey. And you yell, 'Yay! I can't wait to ride my donkey!'"
Hahaha. I love my dad.
The Ugly Turned Pretty.
Housing signups worked today! And they worked from the first try!
I saw it...UP216 (a townhouse for all you non-cbu lingo speakers). I clicked it.
"Congratulations. Your room selection has been completed," it told me.
Praise the Lord! We got the townhouse we wanted! Next year is gonna be a marvelous year! Great way to end my CBU experience! I am SOOOOO excited! =]
Cheers!
