These are a few of my favorite things

Here is my list of Top 10 favorite things in the world. They're in no particular order.

1. Sunday afternoon naps when I get home from church
2. The bargain section of Barnes and Noble where I can get a novel for $5. It's particularly exciting when I can find a new author to read. If I were to piggyback on this one, I would have to say trying a new author is one of my favorite things.
3. Perfume in all the right places
4. Unwrapping a new cd or dvd
5. Writing for the fun of it
6. The perfect pair of jeans that make you look just right
7. Isaiah 41:10
8. Wearing my grandmothers jewelry, particularly her pearls
9. The smell of fresh laundry
10. My mom's cooking
11. *here's an extra: Black and White photography and Coldplay

"Slavery Still Exists" Local Action Project Collage

The joy of the Lord is my strength

If I said that this week has been interesting, would I sound too cliche? Well then, I guess it would be better to say that this week has been thought provoking. Do you ever get so consumed with life and your schedule that you forget to really live and breath? Happens to me all the time, perhaps too much.
Last week was rough on me because I had found that I had not spent a consistent amount of time in the throne-room of my Jesus. Hebrews 12:29 says that God is our consuming fire. He is our everything. If I don't talk to him in a week, its like being brought away from his love, which is something that I don't think I could really handle. I was really run-down and tired. I was on Spring Break, and yet I didn't feel very relaxed. My heart wasn't fixed on the Lord.
What I found odd is that this week, I went back to school, went back to the mundane, and yet, it was anything but mundane. It was like the Lord kept saying to me, "Here I am."
He was so sweet to me, after I had spent such a long time pushing away from him. God kept showing me little things that would make me happy. For instance, I went to Walmart and had some pictures printed out to put in some frames in the Boca High School room. The guy was very nice to me and helped me however he could (which in and of itself is something to be said). Anyway, he handed me the envelope with the pictures and the minute I looked at them, I got the biggest grin on my face, and he said to me that he must have done a good job if I was smiling that big.
I had seen those pictures so many times, but it was like, by seeing them on actual paper, it's like they came to life and the personalities and lives of the kids I loved so much were captured by a picture that I took. It brought me so much joy.
There were countless things that happened this week that reminded me of how excited I used to get in the little things in life (like someone paying for my dinner, or seeing the look in a high schooler's eyes when I told them that I had went to their play and they were marvelous).
I want that feeling all the time. I want to remember to be content in the little things as much as in the big things.

hey God.....thanks.....

Passions?

I like taking pictures. I don't consider myself a photographer. I don't ever want to accept money for taking pictures for people. Because for me, it's not a job, it's a hobby. I'm not that good, but if somebody is blessed by a picture that I took, knowing that they are blessed by it is enough for me.

I was at the gym yesterday and after the class, my mom and I did some weight stuff. The instructor for the class was talking to a lady and her (presumably) husband. Well since they were right behind me, I decided to do some slight eavesdropping. They were talking of their jobs and I overheard something that made me sad. The husband is a photographer. Naturally, my ears perked. However, he revealed that he no longer likes taking pictures, that it's just a job to him and he doesn't enjoy his work anymore. I got so sad for him. If you are making money while taking pictures of beautiful (and sometimes quite the contrary) things, then why wouldn't you be happy with your job? If you are a photographer but no longer enjoy taking pictures of things, then you should no longer be a photographer.

I was recently turned onto an AMAZING photographer by the name of Jessica Claire (thanks Jess!). Anyway, through reading her blogs, I realized that this woman was born to take pictures for people. Every time she posts pictures from an event or a wedding, she gets so excited. She comments on all her pictures and talks about each and every couple in such an exuberant way. When she takes engagement pictures for people, she always comments that she cannot wait for their wedding day when she gets to shoot for their wedding.

That woman is passionate about her work. Try and be passionate about your work, your school, anything you do. Deuteronomy 30:9 says "The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers."

I have to constantly remember that any work that I do, I should do fully for the Lord, no matter how meager or low that work may be.

Midterms=Stress

I can honestly say that even though writing papers is hectic...I seriously prefer it to in-class essays. I'm so much better with words when I am able to think things through, edit, and really formulate my argument and my sentences.
In class essays are so stressful. What is he going to ask? What am I going to write on? What if I don't remember everything and I can't write?!
But then I really think that in-class essays test your real knowledge of the information. It tests your ability to quickly recall information and write on it in a fluid, cohesive manner.

This weekend was the worst weekend I've had in a while. I did not leave my house since Friday say for going to school and work. I did not shower, I lived in my pajamas, I smelled. My hair stood on it own and constantly argued with me. Bobby pins were used to shove things in place. I felt like junk and had a constant migraine that no amount of ibuprofen could subside.

I finished the bear at 6:40pm on Sunday evening. Just enough time to soak in the tub and head out to celebrate a friend's birthday.

No matter what I endured this weekend to write this paper...I still prefer it to in-class essays.

Reading List...

So I'm reading this book "Do Hard Things" written by two 19 year old kids. It's pretty inspirational. Of course, I'm no longer a teenager but that does not mean that I can't inflict change.
In the beginning of the book, the boys describe how their father slammed a large pile of books in front of their face in the beginning of their 16th summer. He said, "read it before the summer it done." it seemed daunting yet not impossible. These were substantial books, some I have read, many I have not. It got me thinking...when was the last time I read a substantial book? I'm not talking Harry Potter or another fictional book (which i do love by the way), I'm talking about substantial books that would get me thinking, or the classics that I had so vehemently ignored when I was in high school.

Therefore, I am putting together a reading list. Books that I want to read before I die. I want to start in the summer because that seems to be the only time when I will HAVE time to read. Please let me know of any if you so think. I'll begin with some of the ones that these boys read during their 16th summer:

The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey
The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Green
Blog by Hugh Hewitt
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

New Freckles??

The weirdest thing has been happening to me over the past couple months. I continue to find new freckles popping up on various odd parts of my body. For instance, I now have a small, light freckly on the knuckle of my left ring finger. I also have a freckle on my right second toe. There are three new freckles that form a line across my back, which oddly enough, is in the same place where my sister had a line of freckles. Maybe they really are angel kisses.

I did some cooking tonight. I made spaghetti for boca's high school friday night fellowship. It was pretty fantastic. I miss spending time in the kitchen, especially when my mom is in there cooking and I can bounce ideas of her. Have I mentioned how amazing she is? I'm pretty sure that I could talk about how awesome she is all the time. Anyway, the pasta turned out great and the kids liked it which made me happy. I'm really starting to fall in love with the high school ministry at Boca. These kids are so fantstic, even if they are a little competive. I'm starting to find out what makes certain ones tick, and which ones that I know will do AMAZING things for Christ. What amazes me even more is the idea that God has given me an opportunity to interact with them. They touch my heart.

I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic tonight. I was presently surprised. It was enjoyable to watch and actually quite clean. Isla Fisher is rapidly becoming an actor that I enjoy to watch.