Come on over.

Here are a few peeks into our room... the golden glow we successfully achieved doesn't show up very well, but it gives the general idea!

Pictures Soon to Come; Stay Tuned.

Once I get used to the approaching storm, or when I have a moment of peace sometime, I will take and post some pictures of my home for this school year. I love the room, the roommate and we achieved the biggest of successes in dorm-room living: a lovely golden glow instead of that ugly fluorescent light.

Beat that.

Miles per Gallon of the first tank of gas on this trip:

take a guess...
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41 miles per gallon.

booyah.

To Be Done Tomorrow.

It's a usual transition, one that I've been through before. But, as always, there are parts of it that I forgot about---the chaos, the disorganization, the strange feeling of packing one's entire life for the next 8 or 9 months. Tonight I felt entirely unmotivated to get anything packed... which is evident by the utter mess I left behind for tomorrow's to-do list!

How's that for an early case of procrastination?

Profitable Yard Sales. Literally.

Mom and I ventured out to some yard sales this morning, and goodness! We found the bargains! Among them: $0.50 pants, $0.25 vases, $1.00 hassock, $0.25 little girls' clothing for a friend and...

$1.50

Yes, I found another bag... a cute one with an unknown treasure inside.


$1.75 in change!

I got the bag for free, and even made a little bit! : )

Finale.

Another season of work came to a close this evening... They were some of the dearest people I have ever met, and I will miss seeing them so often. Yet, I am so excited to be moving on once again, climbing the ladder of learning so that I don't have to do the "dirty work" for the rest of my life. The good thing about this experience, though, is that I will have more appreciation for and (hopefully) greater sympathy towards my aides someday.

But, look at the time... of course, I'm energized now (purely adrenaline, though) and not feeling sleepy. However we've gotta do some shopping tomorrow, so I need to rest up! : )

A quote I read recently (loosely translated, as I remember it):

Not every day is good, but there is something good in every day.

Zoom Zoom.

You know those time when you try with all your might to slow your thoughts and wish upon all your luck that your mind would decide to take a break at least once in a while?

Nope. Midnight is not a fun time to have a racing brain. Perhaps a post will result later though.

Terribly many things, changes, thoughts and (wonderful) challenges in life at the moment.

Wind up to Wind down.

Only a very few short weeks until I, once again, make the trek to college.

This summer has absolutely flown by, although it's been greatly different. Work was "the same," but it also brought new challenges and new joys. The break from homework meant loads more time to read what I wanted to read. : ) But again, new discoveries, challenges, thought provokers. Changes in life opened up time to spend reaching out... on a small scale, but beyond my comfort zone.

I'm gearing myself up for the routine of school again, and even looking forward to some aspects of it... I generally like at least a small dose of routine. Although, I won't need much time in school to realize how much I miss the summer break!

There will probably be more thoughts in the next several days as I pack up my life, yet again.

My mind twirls and whirls all the time; there's hardly ever a moment's rest from thinking.

Traffic.

Sitting in traffic.

Almost 1 hour, only 2 miles.

Lots of thinking time.

Lots of thoughts to think.

Got humility?

This struck me this morning. A lesson, or rather a song, on humility. . . living like Jesus means learning to be humble.

This week has held several firsts, but yesterday's first was the hardest.

I didn't know what to say, what to talk about. It was easiest to just say hi and leave it at that. I wish I could have been humble enough to admit that, yes this is awkward, but also silly. I wish I would have been humble but not so shy or scared.

I failed at being humble enough to recognize that there is another person involved in this, probably with his own uncertainties and hurts.

There's reasons, there's excuses, but it's time for me to, once again, give this burden to Jesus and let Him hold it and take care of it.

Things will get worked out. I know they will. He is Gracious beyond my awkwardness, Loving beyond my shyness, and Faithful my lack of humility. One day it will make sense; one day it will bring Him glory.

Update needed?

I guess I should update on life, although it's been typical of life: unpredictable!

Some wacky bug hit me yesterday and cut a day's work short for some much needed rest and cold drinks... I haven't had a fever like that for a long time! Today I was feeling better, although not quite back to normal, so the day off was an added blessing.

I've finished another book and started on yet another one... somehow I'm running out of time to read an incredible amount of books. Hopefully vacation time later this summer will prove mightily fruitful in the reading realm.


It's July, already??


Only 45 days of summer left for me.


woweeeee.

The Floater.

The floater saves our lives while we're at work. Or rather, our sanity.


No such luck tonight.


No floater.

I Luff My Car.

35 MPG.


nuff said.

His Beauty. My Encouragement.

My mind and my spirit are tired. I would benefit from a cabin in the woods with a porch and a chair and some hot chocolate right about now. Sometimes I just feel like that little bug... so small and hanging on during an unexpected and unpredictable ride...


But, I am so grateful that Jesus has all the time in the world to lift us up. Yet He also creates, paints, and arranges to encourage us with His beauty...

Timely.

"Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose. He himself shall dwell at ease."

Psalm 25:12-13 AMP




Jesus, please make this my reality tonight.

That Thing Called Love.

Love is handing your heart to someone and taking the risk that they will hand it back because they don’t want it. That’s why it’s such a crushing ache on the inside. We gave away a part of ourselves and it wasn’t wanted.

Love is a giving away of power. When we love, we give the other person the power in the relationship. They can do what they choose. They can do what they like with our love. They can reject it, they can accept it, they can step toward us in gratitude and appreciation.

Love is a giving away. When we love, we put ourselves out there, we expose ourselves, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

Love is giving up control. It’s surrendering the desire to control the other person. The two—love and controlling power over the other person—are mutually exclusive. If we are serious about loving someone, we have to surrender all of the desires within us to manipulate the relationship.

...

You don’t need a man by your side to validate you as a woman. You already are loved and valued. You’re good enough exactly as you are. Do you believe this? Because it’s true. You have limitless worth and value. If you embrace this truth, it will affect every area of life, especially your relationship with men.

You are worth dying for.

Your worth does not come from your body, your mind, your work, what you produce, what you put out, how much money you make. Your worth does not come from whether or not you have a man. Your worth does not come from whether or not men notice you. You have inestimable worth that comes from your creator.

You will continue to be tempted in a thousand different ways not to believe this. The temptation will be to go searching for your worth and validity from places other than your creator.

Especially from men.

But you don’t have to give yourself away to earn a man’s love. You’re better than that. You’re already loved.

When you give too much of yourself away too quickly, when you show too much skin, you’re not being true to yourself. When you dress to show us everything, then in some sense we have all shared in it, or at least been exposed to it. There is a mystery to you, infinite depth and endless complexity…

Your strength is a beautiful thing. And when you live in it, when you carry yourself with the honor and dignity that are yours, it forces the men around you to relate to you on more than just a flesh level.

You are worth dying for.

If you’re dating someone, what kind of a man is he? Does he demonstrate that he’s the kind of man who would die for you? What is his posture toward the world? Does he serve, or is he waiting to be served? Does he believe that he’s owed something, that he’s been shortchanged, that he’s gotten the short end of the stick, that life owes him something? Or is he out to see what he can give? Does he see himself as being here to make the world a better place?

These are big questions you need to ask yourself.

Take him to a family reunion. Do some sort of service project with him. See how he interacts with people he doesn’t like.

Does he have liquid agape running through his veins? …

Can you tell him anything? Is he safe? Can he be trusted?

Can you open up to him, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, knowing that he will protect, not exploit that vulnerability?

Are you opening up like a flower?

When you live in your true identity, when you find your worth and value in your creator, when you live “in Christ,” in who you really are, you force him to rethink what it means to be a man.


Sex God, Rob Bell

The Dog in My Life

I've got . . .

friends in...

low places...

p.s. kudos to mom for the idea! : )

Your Book is In.

The library called to say that one of my requested books was on hold, so now I am reading Amish Grace. I am thoroughly enjoying it; plus, it's helpful to read more about my neighbors especially when it comes to "explaining" their lifestyle and beliefs to people who ask me if I am Amish. Ha.

I recommend this book!! It's not difficult reading, but definitely thought-provoking!

Summer Update

Time for another update. However monotonous it may be.

Life continues to sail along, of course. Thankfully, I've been given many more hours of work than I was expecting at the beginning of the summer. It's still not the amount I'd prefer, but since it's about 4x as much as initially given, I am extremely grateful!

I am enjoying work a bit more than I did last year; probably because I'm not at the end of the summer yet. It's still challenging and frustrating at times, and my patience is constantly being stretched and grown. But, it is a nice change to feel like I know at least a bit more what is going on... more confidence in my own skills and abilities.

I realized today that one+ month of summer vacation has already vanished! I've been doing a lot more (fun!) reading than I accomplished during the school year. Although in the last week or two the reading has slowed, so I need to pick up the pace a bit. I've finished a few of the books on my ever-growing list, and am looking forward to reading more.

I am most definitely looking forward to finally enjoying a complete weekend off! I have worked the last three weekends, so it will be nice to relax and hang out with family... maybe a fire pit and smores some night???

That'll have to do for now.

Laugh Lines are the Good Kind of Wrinkles

*One note: I think this probably came as an attachment on an email or something. I'm not condoning all lifestyles or opinions, but thought the majority were worth a smile.

• If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?
• Why do we say something is out of whack? What's a whack?
• If a pig losses its voice, is it disgruntled?
• If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
• When someone asks you "a penny for your thoughts?" and you "put your two cents in," what happens to the other penny? Or do you get change?
• Why is the person who invests all your money called a broker?
• Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with.
• Why are a wise man and wise guy opposites?
• Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?
• Why isn't 11 pronounced "onety one"?
• "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence? (again, sad...)
• If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?
• If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?
• Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
• What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
• I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older, then it dawned on me. They're cramming for their final exam.
• I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks. So I wonder, what do Chinese mothers use? Toothpicks?
• Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they delivered the mail?
• If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
• You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
• No one ever says, "It's only a game," when their team is winning.
• Ever wonder what the speed of lighting would be if it didn't zigzag?
• Last night I played a blank tape at full volume. The mime next door went nuts.
• If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?