pondering

NAV ATTACK in New Zealand before glowworms

NAV ATTACK in Arizona on camping trip

...some things are universal! :)

Alicia doesn't believe it is fall unless there are actual trees with leaves that change color around. if i see one more green palm tree...

I feel gypped by fall in Arizona. Where are the leaves to be crunched?!?

It is technically autumn, but there is no trace of it in the 100 degree heat and eye-glaring sun. I miss having seasons. Where's the fun in knowing everyday is going to be bright and sunny and when you get to school your back will be filled with sweat from biking. It's gross I know! Maybe I keep sleeping through my alarm because for even just a moment more I'd rather stay in the cool house dreaming about the fall days I remember from my youth. How do kids her have any creativity without leaves or ice to play in? There are somethings I'll never understand. Here's to my last year (hopefully) living without an actual fall.

run, run, run

I feel like now that I'm working I've started running to catch up with life again. SO remember that post about my alarm clock? It came back to attack me like a caged wildebeest who had been prodded one to many times before it's release. Yesterday, I missed two out of two classes -and an in-class quiz to boot- because I just didn't hear it! I even turned it up as loud as possible the night before so i could hear it! False. No success, which leads to my now messed up sleep schedule. I woke up for work today which was good, but now after not doing as well on an online test as I had hoped, I linger for tiredness to befall me so I can attempt to wake up for my classes tomorrow.

I feel like I should start one of those paper chains counting down the number of days until winter break. As desperately as I want out, I don't. I wish I knew what God wants me to do next year! Maybe I'll start claiming that I'm a sophomore or freshman so people stop asking what I'm doing next year.

Also, I needed (yes, needed) a Chai latte from Starbucks on my break today. As I swiped my debit card, I realized that my $4.16 was approximately 35 minutes of work time earnings I had just spent. Needless to say, no more Starbucks for a while.

Spirit Halloween

So I started my new job today at the halloween store. Funny how i keep finding seasonal jobs! Who knows, if Vikki is doing it, maybe i'll work for Santa again too! Anyways, I was just realizing how odd our conversation would sound to others.

"Hey, i need more blood hand prints over here!"
"Has anyone seen a sexy nurse?"
"Here's a few more skeletons for display."
"If I find one more unattached mullet!"
"I have an unarmed officer here, anyone seen the guns?"

That, along with cutting open hundreds of boxes never knowing what you'll find in them made for one interesting day! From a box of nice pumpkin buckets to a light-up throbing heart, I was kept on my feet! Needless to say, first test of the year in art history tomorrow! Bible study last night was amazing as well! Thanks for the prayers!

God reminds even fools.

I think way too often we get in the habit of hearing and not listening. Redundancy is important. Too often we hear the same things over and over and over, but they don't actually sink in. Like, I love you. Just because someone tells you that everyday doesn't mean you get it.

I started thinking about this because this morning I didn't wake up when my alarm went off. I got so used to the noise that it didn't affect me anymore. It became a clanging I could just tune out.

The beginning of another school year always seems to affirm me of Christ in my life. My old pastor wrote a book on the Bema seat and around a decade ago i went to a Teen Mania production of the book. Recently, i found a revival Teen Mania did of this play just last year and have been watching it online. It is such a good reminder of the power of God. You see, however human we are, when we walk in the Spirit, God will use however much we give of ourselves for his glory.

One of the things I love most about it, is the reminder that our struggle with sin will one day be over! I've never been imprisoned by some court here in the U.S. or elsewhere for that matter, but I have felt the bondage of sin. I imagine my first breath of free air being like that f the Count of Monte Cristo when he escaped his wrongly imprisonment and stood on that cliff side breathing in deeply.

I learned a lot in New Zealand, but part of me was thinking a lot about the 1000 years we'll all be back on a perfected earth. I was thinking of how I want to take my family to hike fox glacier and see bluer waters than I had ever before imagined. I was thinking about how I want to go with Mai to see Tokyo as she could show me where she lived and I was thinking about how I could retrace Paul's steps all over Europe with him and he could retell his story of God blinding him. Sure, the mountains and everything I experienced in New Zealand were beautiful, but it was nothing to the beautiful hearts of the people I met there.

There is a line in the Teen Mania production that struck me coming from the main character to his school mate, "I realized, that becasue she loved him, she had loved all of us." I only pray that I could do this reflecting Christ to those I meet.

What a difference one day makes.

my habit

My roommates think I'm funny, but there is just something about fresh, clean sheets that I love!

I feel like I sleep better. And knowing how much I love clean pillows, I decided to wash my sheets a couple of nights ago yet again. Nevertheless, I feel well rested!

Love it!