Something Beautiful

Recipe for a perfect memorial day weekend... helping a friend move winning a chocolate cake a movie with friends chocolate peanut butter frozen bananas sleep over Burn Notice quiet time by the pool suntan :) yummy summer salads Lovely Pool Time Hello Summer!! I'm so happy for summer to be here. And I love being tan again. So wonderful!! And I'm excited for all that this summer has in store. Peace and Mercy. And a song for the road... What Happens (At the End) - Remedy Drive

One of the blogs I follow is a photography blog which K put me onto. Not only does she take lovely pictures, but she also offers challenges for those who are photographically inclined. You can find her blog here: thymely thoughts Well, her latest challenge is about breakfast. I know that some of my friends don't enjoy breakfast...or morning, but I actually do. Morning is the loveliest part of the day for me. The world is waking up and the light is just different in the morning. Breakfast this morning was particularly enjoyable for me. raisin and wheat muffin blueberry yogurt green tea with jasmine and a hint of honey an inspiring quote along the way this was my favorite shot but here are a few more just because some food for thought to go with my breakfast Psalm 30:4,5 this mug could make even the gloomiest person happy My whole breakfast...Yum :) I made the muffins yesterday from a recipe that I got off the back of a box of hot cereal. It was Hodgson Mill Cracked Wheat Cereal. Rai...

Newsletters = finished!! Now I've just need to head back to the post office to drop them in the mail...hoping to get them in the outgoing mail today...with many prayers accompanying them. I have a meeting with my boss at Potter's tomorrow...we are discussing what's next. I have decided that I like mornings like this morning. A nice long time of sitting with Jesus, followed by a nice long walk with K, followed by chill time to have breakfast, clean the kitchen, and make muffins... The muffins were quite good, too...I tried a new recipe off the box of hot cereal we got for breakfast. I modified the recipe a bit to make it a smige healthier, and they were quite good. I'll post the recipe later... K has been going crazy taking pictures with my camera...and she has put me onto a fantastic photography blog...all of which has been inspiring me to take more pictures...now just to do that. Well, I'm gonna head to the post office, gotta beat the clock. Peace out yo!

I was working out with K this morning and as the windows of the workout room look out over the pool, I was looking outside. There at the pool were several girls who would be considered beautiful, hot, sexy, whatever adjective you want to throw in there. They had the perfect skin, the perfect hair, and the perfect bikini bodies. And they were cookie cutters. They all looked the same. I'm not going to lie, as I was running and looking out the window, I couldn't help but be a little tiny bit jealous of their (seeming) perfect-ness. I do believe that I am beautiful, but in my own way. I do not have the bikini body, and I don't get looks and stares and whistles (which I am glad about!!). But there is a small part of a woman's heart that longs to be found attractive and beautiful and lovely. As I continued to run, I just felt like God told me to look deeper, to look at more than their skin and their sculpted bodies. Beauty does not come from having flawless skin and good hair...

I love summer days. The heat of the smiling sun soaking into my skin and my very core gives me great joy and mellows me. I think it is easier for me to relax in the summer because of the sunshine. Summer might also be easier for me to relax because there are none of the stresses of the school year like classes and finals and commitments every night of the week. Instead I can meet a friend at Ziggies for Bible talk and heart talk without thinking about what time I need to get home because of classes the next day. From a recent late night Ziggies talk "I am my Beloved's and He is mine." Also from the same Ziggies chat So here's to a Happy Summer in the sunshine. :) And late nights with friends. And long quiet times. And red wine. And backyards. And tea parties on the lawn (Alice in Wonderland style). Peace out yo!

What an interesting day this has been...full of wonderful things, people and events. Wonderful Things: driving with the windows down 88 degrees and sunny outside naps in hammocks restfulness reading in the sun red wine Wonderful People: beautiful friends who cause great laughter those same friends who enjoy coffee and donuts a church of earnest believers those same believers with giving hearts a pastor who is kind and passionate beautiful babies Wonderful Events: a friend flying for the first time that friend enjoying flying the start of a great adventure a phone call from a friend about a job a planned, but unnecessary early morning plans that have only just been thought of chats with glasses of ice water All in all this has been a delightfully restful and wonderful Sunday. Much different than I intended for it to be, and also much better than I thought it would be. I'm so glad that God is a better planner than I am. Also, I have been enjoying a new revelation of this verse: ...

I recently graduated...well, one week ago today. And while that was super exciting and fun, now I am left in some mild confusion. What's next? I know that I'm going to graduate school in the fall, but what about between now and then? I have a lot to do this summer. That's not the problem. Potter's House stuff and moving and motorcycle class and other fun things I want to get done will fill my time suitably. But I'm talking about something other than filling my time. Kudos to Grandma for her great photorgaphy skills I guess what it comes down to is the same question I have been wrestling with since I was in high school: What do I want to do with my life? And what am I going to do until I figure that out? This has just really been hitting home this week because I finally have time to think about it, I am finally at a point emotionally where I can think about it, and I am applying for jobs which means I need to think about it. I feel adrift. This is part of the reason ...

Okay, most times God overwhelms me, but you know that occasional quiet time when you are just awestruck and completely humbled and overwhelmed at the same time? I had one of those today. It wasn't like a lightening bolt or a voice from heaven. It was a revelation from the word that just really got me. I'm reading in Matthew right now, and I'm reading about the birth of Jesus. Well, I've gotten to the part about the Magi, and they have always fascinated me. There's just something about these men who traveled for an incredibly long distance simply to worship a small child because He was worthy of worship and glory and honor that just gets to me every time. Today as I was reading this chapter, I had a sudden thought. The star that they followed was put in the sky specifically for them. The people of Jerusalem didn't see it. In fact, it would seem that the star disappeared while the wise men were in Jerusalem. Why? Because they stopped to ask for directions. If they...

There is something completely irresistible about confidence. I love being around confident people because they are comfortable about who they are. They are sure of what they stand for, and they aren't swayed by the thought of the moment. They, in fact, allow others to be confident in their presence. Confident people give peace and rest to those around them because they don't depend on other people for their worth. When no one expects anything from you it allows you the freedom to be who you are. I firmly believe that the most confident person to ever walk the earth was Jesus. He didn't care what everyone else thought of Him. He said things that needed to be said. He brought attention to problems that needed to be fixed. He was completely confident in who He was because His identity was found in His Father and He had confidence in who His Father was. We are so far from that kind of confidence today. People don't know who they are. There is confusion about gender and the ...

Lately I have had trouble completing my sentences, thoughts, actions. I literally will be in the middle of a sentence and completely forget what I was saying. I can understand that every once in a while, but this has been fairly consistent. Some of it might have to do with the fact that my brain has been overworked and underpaid and so it is short-circuiting. Some of it has to do with my hormones. Some of it has to do with just being me. Anyway, I will be glad to get back to a more normal routine of sleeping and waking, so my brain can get paid for it's wonderful work. Which now includes a completed senior research paper!!! :) I'm so glad to be done with my paper. I turn it in tomorrow at 1:15 when I take my last test (which I won't be graded on because it's just an assessment for the department). My last final is at 11 and then I. AM. FREE. Celebrate Good Times! Come On! My mum has been working overtime to get ready for the big day. She sent me a picture of my cake tod...

Yesterday (Sunday) was a rather emotional day for me. So many factors compounded and I ended up crying...a lot. They were all good tears, but just the fact that I was crying at everything was just a little overwhelming. I had a really good quiet time in the morning where God showed me a wonderful analogy about marriage based off of some verses from 1 Corinthians 3. Paul is talking about how everyone gets a foundation to build on, but each builder gets to choose their own materials. Some will build with gold, silver, precious stones, hay, straw or wood. But everyone's structure will be tested with fire on the day of judgment. When gold, silver, and precious stones are tested with fire, they are refined and purified and shine forth with true beauty. When wood, hay, and straw are tested with fire they burn away. That is true of our walk with God as well as being true about marriages. Those who choose to painstakingly build with precious materials will reap the benefit of their hard wo...

Dark Sunglasses I pass you on the sidewalk. Don't look me in the eyes. I can't lie. My eyes are windows to my soul. You can see my heart, if you care to look. But only if I let you in. This is a poem I wrote for my English class this semester. I was thinking about how when I walk on campus I feel vulnerable because people can see my eyes. Normally I don't have a problem with people looking me in the eye. However, when I walk on campus I generally tend to have conversations with God which is always when I am at my most vulnerable, when I have my walls completely down. I always feel like if someone were to look me in the eyes they would see straight into my heart. So I like to hide...behind big, dark sunglasses that cover most of my face. I like to hide my heart from people. I'm always afraid if I let people see my messiness that they won't like me, understand me, accept me. I don't like people to see the pain in my heart, so ...

Today has been a day of domestic-ness. Banana pancakes, fresh pineapple and mimosas for breakfast in celebration of my beautiful roomies's birthday. A clean kitchen makes my heart happy. Laundry folded and put away. Quiet time. Baking date with a lovely friend. She made Kahlua truffles. I baked coffee scones. And banana bread. Delightful conversation. A restful nap. Oven baked salmon and veggies with lemon butter sauce. Dinner with the roomies. Now work for the evening. What a simply delicious Saturday... in more ways than one. ...also an observation the last three times I have been asleep, someone has either called and woke me up or they have called me directly after I have woken up. Out of the 16ish hours during the day I am awake people manage to call me when I'm asleep. Interesting. I'm so excited for a Sunday. Rest, refreshment, church, and my cousin's graduation. Peace and Mercy.

While I'm doing my laundry and waiting for time to pass so I can go to my next event for the day, I decided to listen to some Train...their song This Ain't Goodbye just seemed so aptly fitting to my life at this moment... I'm so glad that I'm not saying good-bye to SGF, my friends, and college life...how about if I hang out for another 2 years? I think graduating would be so much more traumatic if I was moving and leaving this place. I have often prayed that if God wanted me to move on after I graduated, that He would prepare my heart to leave. That hasn't happened. If anything I am more attached to this place than I was before. I think my heart would literally break if I were to leave. I love living in Springtown. The only thing I would change is the distance to my family. I wish Abilene and Springfield were a little closer. The unfortunate thing with falling in love with a specific place is that you can't just pick it up and move it with you. If you fall in l...

You know that sense of accomplishment when it really sinks in that you actually just did whatever you did. Like the first time you tie your shoes all by yourself. Or when you ride your bike without training wheels for the first time. Or when you drive you car without your mom or dad in it. Or when you make your first flight by yourself. Or when you move to a city where nothing is familiar and start a life there. Or when you finish your last class of your undergraduate college. Yep...that's what I did about an hour ago. I finished my last college class. I have one paper and 2 finals standing between me and graduation, but I will be graduating (New Zealand here I come!!) in a week and a day. My family will be down here in a week. In a week I will have handed in my paper and finished my last final. This is the verse that has been rattling around in my exhausted brain all day: "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and...

Every season has it's own particular smell. Today, I smelled summer...it was...delightful. Spring is probably my favorite smell. It smells of dark, rich earth waiting to be planted. It smells of new life and freshness and green and flowers. So even though Spring is my favorite season, Summer is my next favorite. I love summer because it smells hot. It smells of sunshine and sprinklers and cut grass. It reminds me of hours spent in the sun relaxing and enjoying the world. It reminds me of afternoon naps in a hammock with a good book for company. I am excited for summer this year. There are going to be wonderful adventures, work, sun soaking, moving, park trips, and it will all be wrapped up by a lovely trip to New Zealand...so much to be excited for. Most of all I'm excited to have good, long chats with God. Delightful mornings spent soaking up His presence along with the sunshine streaming through my window. I had a lovely quiet time this morning. I was reading John 21 where Pe...

Most times I have a filter in between my brain and my mouth. It keeps me from saying things that probably shouldn't be said, and it keeps me out of trouble. Depending on how comfortable I feel around you depends on the level that I filter my conversation. Trust me, you are glad that I filter. Anyway...this has been a crazy weekend...part of the reason I haven't blogged in so long. It's hard to believe that it is already May 3!! I graduate in 11 days...so exciting!!! I can't believe that college graduation is finally upon me...it seems like just yesterday I was an insecure freshman trying to make friends and find a place where I fit. And here I am four years later (which trust me was a mere blink of the eye) confident, sassy, and belonging. I feel like I have been on an emotional roller coaster for the last several days. There have been so many ups and downs, and me trying not to place too much emphasis on my heart probably hasn't helped matters any. But I feel like ...