Obligatory Time Jump Title Card
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30 Days of Blogging - Day 6: Recent Enjoyable Tumblr Posts
Lazy day today (especially considering I'm late again :P)
Here are 5 Tumblr posts that I recently found interesting (and also, some of the only posts I've actually reblogged because I'm new to Tumblng and I keep forgetting to not just be a stalker).
Tooooodles, Darlings
30 Days of Blogging - Day 2: I'm Weird, Episode 1
Lesson learned today:
When you have an opportunity to write your daily blog entry in the middle of the day, do it. Otherwise you will only have 30 minutes until the day is done and you will feel rushed.
Aaaanyways, on with the (rushed) show.
I am very weird. This is a fact.
3 Ways That Emmi is Weird
(not even close to a complete list, trust me)
1. I prefer my pop flat.
Seriously. I have a friend who now just immediately pours my pop in a glass and stirs it for me. It's strange, I know, hence why it is making this list.
2. Sometimes I crush my potato chips.
On purpose. I like the texture. And also, more chips! Who doesn't like more chips? I'm just going about it in an unorthodox way...
3. I like to watch all the movie credits.
It takes a village to make a movie and every single one of those names is someone who played a valuable role. I think that's really cool.
Bonuses: you get to hear good credits music, sometimes there's a secret at the end, and you get to be the last one leaving the theater which is my favorite because I'm short and crowds make me feel a little claustrophobic.
That's all for now lovelies :) I'm sure there will be more weirdness from me in the next 28 days!
Toodles!
So... How've you been?
Hello lovelies! It occurred to me today that I have been neglecting my poor little blog!
To make up for it, here is another Random Things post :)
Thing One: Movies!!!
So many movies coming out in November that I want to see!! Off the top of my head... Big Hero 6, Mockingjay, and The Imitation Game. I know that's only 3, but considering a that a typical month has maaaybe one, I think it's impressive. Such a random spread too! I feel like it gives a pretty good insight into my personality... you've got the love of disney/animated/adorable, the gotta-see-how-well-they-adapt-this-book-why-are-they-making-it-two-parts-that-seems-unnecessary, and the nerd in me wanting to see 1) Benedict Cumberbatch, and 2) the history behind the one of the coolest set of code-breaking nerds ever! I'm so excited (and I just can't hide it...etc.).
Thing Two: Singing in Public
I'm not sure how I missed this about myself before, but it has come to my attention lately that I do an awful lot of singing in public. I ALWAYS have a song in my head -- whatever I happened to hear last -- and turns out sometimes I'm not just hearing it in my head, I'm also singing it outloud too... yep, this is me, folks.
Thing Three: It's
I'm pretty sure that once upon a time, someone taught an impressionable young Emmi that "it's" could be a possessive. I am very upset with that person for confusing young Emmi (and occationally mid-twenties Emmi too...)
Thing Four: Time Until Alarm
Okay, my phone is a jerk.
Backstory: My right-before-sleeping routine includes checking to make sure my alarm is set correctly on my phone. To do this I always tap the existing everyday alarm and confirm the time is where I want it. When I hit "done" a little message pops up saying "Alarm set for [blank] hours and [blank minutes] from now."
Normally I'm all for this added confirmation that I haven't accidentally set the alarm for PM or something, but when it's after 1 in the morning, I REALLY don't want to know that I now only have "6 hours and 14 minutes" to sleep!! ...Please tell me I'm not alone in this!
Thing Five: $35 Purchases
I have discovered that $35 purchases are the weakness in my money management. For $40, I stop and think on if it's worth it, but $35 I ring through the debit card without a thought. But those sneaky purchases add up so stinkin' quickly! Makes me sad to be such a gullible consumer.
Thing Six: 1 Peter 2:2-3
// Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. //
Not an unfamiliar piece of scripture, but it stood out to me in a very different way recently. There is so much more here than an analogy of how desperately we should be dependent on the Lord's provision. Being saved is so awesome, so stellar, that it's easy to think that it is the end goal. Why even search, we have achieved salvation! It's so easy to grow complacent with this attitude, but scripture here tells us that God has so much more planned for us! "Grow into a full experience of salvation... now that you have tasted of the Lord's kindness." This marvelous act of sending Jesus to die for our sins so that we can be right with Him is just a taste of His kindness, just a glimpse of his goodness to us. What if we lived, daily, allowing ourselves to crave the nourishment He desires to give us? He wants to show us SO MUCH MORE. A study I did recently had this quote in it, 'God invites us to a personal breakfast with him and says, "Come here, child. I have something special to give you today."' I'm not perfect in this (like, EVER), but I keep reminding myself to stop depending on my own righteousness to keep me spiritually nourished and to rely on His righteousness which won't just satisfy, but has the inherent ability to change everything.
Toodles my lovelies :) Have a wonderful day!
To make up for it, here is another Random Things post :)
Thing One: Movies!!!
So many movies coming out in November that I want to see!! Off the top of my head... Big Hero 6, Mockingjay, and The Imitation Game. I know that's only 3, but considering a that a typical month has maaaybe one, I think it's impressive. Such a random spread too! I feel like it gives a pretty good insight into my personality... you've got the love of disney/animated/adorable, the gotta-see-how-well-they-adapt-this-book-why-are-they-making-it-two-parts-that-seems-unnecessary, and the nerd in me wanting to see 1) Benedict Cumberbatch, and 2) the history behind the one of the coolest set of code-breaking nerds ever! I'm so excited (and I just can't hide it...etc.).
Thing Two: Singing in Public
I'm not sure how I missed this about myself before, but it has come to my attention lately that I do an awful lot of singing in public. I ALWAYS have a song in my head -- whatever I happened to hear last -- and turns out sometimes I'm not just hearing it in my head, I'm also singing it outloud too... yep, this is me, folks.
Thing Three: It's
I'm pretty sure that once upon a time, someone taught an impressionable young Emmi that "it's" could be a possessive. I am very upset with that person for confusing young Emmi (and occationally mid-twenties Emmi too...)
Thing Four: Time Until Alarm
Okay, my phone is a jerk.
Backstory: My right-before-sleeping routine includes checking to make sure my alarm is set correctly on my phone. To do this I always tap the existing everyday alarm and confirm the time is where I want it. When I hit "done" a little message pops up saying "Alarm set for [blank] hours and [blank minutes] from now."
Normally I'm all for this added confirmation that I haven't accidentally set the alarm for PM or something, but when it's after 1 in the morning, I REALLY don't want to know that I now only have "6 hours and 14 minutes" to sleep!! ...Please tell me I'm not alone in this!
Thing Five: $35 Purchases
I have discovered that $35 purchases are the weakness in my money management. For $40, I stop and think on if it's worth it, but $35 I ring through the debit card without a thought. But those sneaky purchases add up so stinkin' quickly! Makes me sad to be such a gullible consumer.
Thing Six: 1 Peter 2:2-3
// Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. //
Not an unfamiliar piece of scripture, but it stood out to me in a very different way recently. There is so much more here than an analogy of how desperately we should be dependent on the Lord's provision. Being saved is so awesome, so stellar, that it's easy to think that it is the end goal. Why even search, we have achieved salvation! It's so easy to grow complacent with this attitude, but scripture here tells us that God has so much more planned for us! "Grow into a full experience of salvation... now that you have tasted of the Lord's kindness." This marvelous act of sending Jesus to die for our sins so that we can be right with Him is just a taste of His kindness, just a glimpse of his goodness to us. What if we lived, daily, allowing ourselves to crave the nourishment He desires to give us? He wants to show us SO MUCH MORE. A study I did recently had this quote in it, 'God invites us to a personal breakfast with him and says, "Come here, child. I have something special to give you today."' I'm not perfect in this (like, EVER), but I keep reminding myself to stop depending on my own righteousness to keep me spiritually nourished and to rely on His righteousness which won't just satisfy, but has the inherent ability to change everything.
Toodles my lovelies :) Have a wonderful day!
Random Things: Episode 2
It's been a while since I've posted so I decided to do another "Random Things" post in order to tell you about all of the things that have been on my mind lately. You can find the first installment of "Random Things" here, if you are the curious type.
Here we go! In no particular order...
Edited to add: And in the lengthiest of lengths! Sorry... maybe I should have tackled these in separate posts... too late now!!
Thing the First: No-Poo (is a horrible name for this)
No, I'm not constipated, but thanks for the concern. No-Poo is basically not using commercial shampoo, hence "No-Poo". However, I think that is a terrible name and if I use it (which is rarely) I always follow it with "is a horrible name for this". Not to be confused with not washing my hair (which I still do), this is simply not using the shampoos available on everyshelf, everywhere. Those shampoos pretty much across the board have Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) as the second ingredient (water is the first). Now I'm not one of those people who is typically concerned with the "chemicals" I'm putting on my body (because EVERYTHING IS CHEMICALS), but when researching my loss of natural curl, greasy everyday, frizzy, and itchy scalp issues, I came across this alternative which claims that SLS is the cause of my problems. I think it's pretty hilarious that the most common No-Poo (is a horrible name for this) method is baking soda (as shampoo) and apple cider vinegar (as conditioner)... which is SUPER harsh on the hair of like half the people who try it! My method currently is a shampoo from the health food store, and once that runs out I'll be trying J.R. Liggett's Shampoo Bars because they seem totally awesome :)
Thing the Second: Camping
It's finally summer!! I really want to go camping!!!! ... The End.
Thing the Third: School
I'm going to be applying for Graphic Communications & Print Technology. AAAAAAHHHHHH (is the sound my anxiety makes). I'll keep you posted on that journey.
Thing the Fourth: Communication Fail
I read (actually listen to, because audiobooks are conveniently hands-free) a lot of Young Adult Fiction. I generally find them to be more engaging, entertaining, and diverse (also, less pornographic and/or wild west) than Adult Fiction, so they are my go-to. But right now, I'm listening to a series that is basically "The Bachelor" for determining the wife of a Prince in a dystopian America-esque place. [For the record, this is a bad way to prepare for marriage.] The characters are young and for the most part have not had very much relationship experience -- which isn't in itself bad... after all, neither have I -- but OHMYGOSH their communication with each other is horrible!!! I just listened to a whole conversation (probably the fourth of this type in this book alone) between two lovebirds where neither of them is willing to be the first to admit that they love the other, both are no-at-all-subtly trying to steer the conversation so the other would say it, and the scene ended WITH NEITHER SAYING "I LOVE YOU" (or even "I really like you", or "I can't imagine life without you", or some other way around saying any kind of commitment to how they were feeling)!!!!!! No, no, no. Bad, bad, bad. Based my years of collecting do's and don'ts of communication (of which I am still not an expert): If you can't even communicate the nice things in a relationship, how do you expect to be able to constructively communicate the negative. Say what you feel, and say it as eloquently as you can; if the other person has to read between the lines, you have not communicated effectively. </Rant>
Thing the Fifth: Packaging
I recently saw this new packaging of Tic-Tacs...
Which at first glance makes the average person go, "Holy Stink!! That huge container must hold so many Tic-Tacs!!! It says 200 and that this is limited edition!!! And isn't so cool how they made this little window so you can see all the lovely uniform pieces?!?"
But it makes me go, "Holy Stink!! Those product designers are geniuses!!! They have perfectly created a product that looks super tempting to the consumer!! Isn't it so brilliant how they made this huge container and this little window to manipulate the average person?!?"
Don't be fooled average person. That container is only half filled with Tic-Tacs. I'm tempted to say "Packaging: Win", but it makes me sad that people are so easily manipulated in our society. And that members of that same society actively work to deceive people, and go even so far as to wrap it up in a pretty package.
Thing the Sixth: The Endeavor
So yeah... about that Endeavor that only happened for two days... oops. It was a cool thought (possibly overshare-y?) and I may or may not bring it or something similar back. I'm still in need of something to help keep me accountable to myself... we shall see!
Thing the Seventh: The Purse
I finished the purse! Quite a while ago actually...
I did take pictures! I'll make a post of it soon, I promise.
(Part 1 and Part 2 if you need to catch up)
On a related note: I have a lot of crafty projects on the go and will probably post about those as well...
Thing the Eighth: TV Show Finales
Why are all the shows I've been watching lately ending at the same time?!?! No, no, no. Bad, bad, bad.
Thing the Ninth: Feelings Chart (where have you been all my life?)
Found this on the internets... Wish I could physically refer to it in every conversation about "feelings" without that being weird....
Thing the Tenth: Hyperlinks
... Is it obvious that I just learned how to properly use hyperlinks? I'm sorry that I'm a little obsessed, I promise to try to be less hyperlinky in the future.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's Thing the Eleventh: Teal In My Hair (must be read in the tone of Finding Nemo's "Fish in my hair!!!") Just highlights, but boy am I stoked!!! I'm sure there will be pictures on Facebook :)
Toodles, my lovelies!
I may have to make a legitimate gold star for anyone who actually reads all these page-and-a-half posts. If this be you, comment and I will at the very least give you a virtual high five, and quite possibly work on a way to actually give you something (possibly handmade)... ;)
Here we go! In no particular order...
Edited to add: And in the lengthiest of lengths! Sorry... maybe I should have tackled these in separate posts... too late now!!
Thing the First: No-Poo (is a horrible name for this)
No, I'm not constipated, but thanks for the concern. No-Poo is basically not using commercial shampoo, hence "No-Poo". However, I think that is a terrible name and if I use it (which is rarely) I always follow it with "is a horrible name for this". Not to be confused with not washing my hair (which I still do), this is simply not using the shampoos available on everyshelf, everywhere. Those shampoos pretty much across the board have Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) as the second ingredient (water is the first). Now I'm not one of those people who is typically concerned with the "chemicals" I'm putting on my body (because EVERYTHING IS CHEMICALS), but when researching my loss of natural curl, greasy everyday, frizzy, and itchy scalp issues, I came across this alternative which claims that SLS is the cause of my problems. I think it's pretty hilarious that the most common No-Poo (is a horrible name for this) method is baking soda (as shampoo) and apple cider vinegar (as conditioner)... which is SUPER harsh on the hair of like half the people who try it! My method currently is a shampoo from the health food store, and once that runs out I'll be trying J.R. Liggett's Shampoo Bars because they seem totally awesome :)
Thing the Second: Camping
It's finally summer!! I really want to go camping!!!! ... The End.
Thing the Third: School
I'm going to be applying for Graphic Communications & Print Technology. AAAAAAHHHHHH (is the sound my anxiety makes). I'll keep you posted on that journey.
Thing the Fourth: Communication Fail
I read (actually listen to, because audiobooks are conveniently hands-free) a lot of Young Adult Fiction. I generally find them to be more engaging, entertaining, and diverse (also, less pornographic and/or wild west) than Adult Fiction, so they are my go-to. But right now, I'm listening to a series that is basically "The Bachelor" for determining the wife of a Prince in a dystopian America-esque place. [For the record, this is a bad way to prepare for marriage.] The characters are young and for the most part have not had very much relationship experience -- which isn't in itself bad... after all, neither have I -- but OHMYGOSH their communication with each other is horrible!!! I just listened to a whole conversation (probably the fourth of this type in this book alone) between two lovebirds where neither of them is willing to be the first to admit that they love the other, both are no-at-all-subtly trying to steer the conversation so the other would say it, and the scene ended WITH NEITHER SAYING "I LOVE YOU" (or even "I really like you", or "I can't imagine life without you", or some other way around saying any kind of commitment to how they were feeling)!!!!!! No, no, no. Bad, bad, bad. Based my years of collecting do's and don'ts of communication (of which I am still not an expert): If you can't even communicate the nice things in a relationship, how do you expect to be able to constructively communicate the negative. Say what you feel, and say it as eloquently as you can; if the other person has to read between the lines, you have not communicated effectively. </Rant>
Thing the Fifth: Packaging
I recently saw this new packaging of Tic-Tacs...
Which at first glance makes the average person go, "Holy Stink!! That huge container must hold so many Tic-Tacs!!! It says 200 and that this is limited edition!!! And isn't so cool how they made this little window so you can see all the lovely uniform pieces?!?"
But it makes me go, "Holy Stink!! Those product designers are geniuses!!! They have perfectly created a product that looks super tempting to the consumer!! Isn't it so brilliant how they made this huge container and this little window to manipulate the average person?!?"
Don't be fooled average person. That container is only half filled with Tic-Tacs. I'm tempted to say "Packaging: Win", but it makes me sad that people are so easily manipulated in our society. And that members of that same society actively work to deceive people, and go even so far as to wrap it up in a pretty package.
Thing the Sixth: The Endeavor
So yeah... about that Endeavor that only happened for two days... oops. It was a cool thought (possibly overshare-y?) and I may or may not bring it or something similar back. I'm still in need of something to help keep me accountable to myself... we shall see!
Thing the Seventh: The Purse
I finished the purse! Quite a while ago actually...
I did take pictures! I'll make a post of it soon, I promise.
(Part 1 and Part 2 if you need to catch up)
On a related note: I have a lot of crafty projects on the go and will probably post about those as well...
Thing the Eighth: TV Show Finales
Why are all the shows I've been watching lately ending at the same time?!?! No, no, no. Bad, bad, bad.
Thing the Ninth: Feelings Chart (where have you been all my life?)
Found this on the internets... Wish I could physically refer to it in every conversation about "feelings" without that being weird....
Thing the Tenth: Hyperlinks
... Is it obvious that I just learned how to properly use hyperlinks? I'm sorry that I'm a little obsessed, I promise to try to be less hyperlinky in the future.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's Thing the Eleventh: Teal In My Hair (must be read in the tone of Finding Nemo's "Fish in my hair!!!") Just highlights, but boy am I stoked!!! I'm sure there will be pictures on Facebook :)
Toodles, my lovelies!
I may have to make a legitimate gold star for anyone who actually reads all these page-and-a-half posts. If this be you, comment and I will at the very least give you a virtual high five, and quite possibly work on a way to actually give you something (possibly handmade)... ;)
Random Things...
Hey there! I've just come off of a week of cold-and-flu and my brain is still a little bit mush so... this is going to be random. These are all things that have been floating around in my brain lately, in no particular order...
Thing Number One: Puffs Tissues
With my fore-mentioned cold-and-flu, I have become very attached to these wonderfully soft things! I haven't really expressed my love very nicely (think about it for a second...), but I hope that they know how important they are to me.
Thing Number Two: Crayola Twistables
I have long wanted to be one of those people who highlights and makes notes in their Bible, but I've been too chicken to actually do it. UNTIL NOW!!! I have discovered the perfect highlighting tool! These crayon-not-crayon things are amazing! No bleed through, no rub off, not too dark, no page ripping or rippling, so cheap (yet essentially the same thing as what is marketed as a dry bible highlighter) ...I can't think of anything much else to say about them, all I want to do is use exclamation marks! !!!!!
Now that I've got the highlighting part down, I feel like my next step is to work up the courage to use my pen. I've researched it to death and have my archival ink pens (temporarily misplaced, but somewhere in my room)... soon, I think I'll bite the bullet soon.
Thing Number Three: Missions
I have some friends who were just on (I have trouble keeping track of dates in general and it goes completely out the window when I get sick, so... possibly still on?) a mission trip, and it's got me thinking about missions again. I haven't been on one in a couple of years and would love to go on one again, but even more than that, I've been thinking about the impact they've had on my life already.
I never did have the same reactions that most have on their mission trips. The only culture shock I experienced was in the airports and possibly with the food, I didn't feel my heart breaking at every turn, and I have always been disappointed with my lack of ability to communicate through the communication barrier.
But that's the bad news.
I always just saw people who were filled with more JOY than most people up in North America can claim to have, who loved Jesus more ENTHUSIASTICALLY than any Christians I had ever met, and who lived with more UNDERSTANDING of what evangelism is than I had ever understood. Rather than giving all of the blessing, I always felt more blessed -- I was the one receiving the life-changing!
Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that my assistance in building their church, painting their pews and shutters, doing some children's features, and heartily thanking the ladies that cooked every meal for us, was a blessing for them, but... I can't help but feel that I still got the long stick, and that is what I've been thinking about...
I am reminded of how every time I came back home I was even more grateful for the abundance that I already had, and that I didn't care at all about gaining MORE. I was abundantly grateful for the love of family and friends and church. I felt inspired to live joyfully and simply, thanking God for each day.
Those feelings had faded (some quite a bit) until I was praying for my friends and their trip. I'm grateful for these reminders and I'm trying to live by those understandings again.
Thing Number Four: My Youth Group <3
We've had some younger teens join our group in the last couple of weeks and I gotta tell you, it has given me a brand new perspective on how awesome my "regulars" are! I am so proud of those teenagers, I feel like a parent, looking at them and thinking, "That's my kid!" The amount of growth and maturity I see as they welcome these younger (and more annoying) kids and make them feel like a part of the group... I just can't stop telling them how awesome they are and how proud I am of them. They rock and I'm so lucky to get to witness that!
Thing Number Five: Meaningful Friendships
Friends I can have deep talks with, do stupid things with, and be my usual quirky self with, all within a couple of hours, are awesome. I'm grateful for every one of those friends and what they add to my life.
Thing Number Six: Sherlock
I was introduced to BBC's Sherlock over Christmas break. I watched the season 2 finale with the same "WHAAAAAT!?!" reaction as everybody who has seen it, and resigned myself to waiting in sorrow for who knows how long until season 3 became a reality.
BUT I have recently discovered something that has sparked my excitement again! I won't bore you with the details (if you want to know them, ask me sometime), but the short story is that I realized while watching an episode of Murdoch Mysteries that the BBC show is not just a loose interpretation of the character known as Sherlock Holmes, but that each episode very closely ties into a specific Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writing! !!!!!
Needless to say I am preparing to get a little nerdy about all things Sherlock :)
Plus! The creators of the BBC show just released three words as clues for what is coming up in the 3rd season (one for each episode, I assume) so... yep, (of course) now I just HAVE TO figure out which original story they refer to.
And lastly...
Thing Number Seven: Preparation
God is always teaching me something, but there are moments in time when I suddenly realize how several different things in my life (friendships, sermons, Bible study, etc.) have been combining to teach me the same thing.
I just had that "Aha!" moment yesterday in church, when I realized that God has been teaching me what He expects of me in relationships.
I'm not really sure how to put this next part... What I've been learning is certainly useful right now, but all of the learning has been specifically... wife-related...
Uh... you may recall that I am not currently in (nor have I really ever been) in a relationship, so... perhaps you will join me as I say "????" (with just a little bit of "!!!!!" thrown in there)!
I'm not really sure what to make of this yet, but I've always been convinced that God will lead me into a relationship when I was "ready", so it's been kind of fun to learn about and embrace (more now, than ever before) His design for marriage.
And maybe (just a little bit) begin to get excited about what He has in store for me.
Though I should mention that, even with this "Aha!", He hasn't really given me (or I haven't properly understood) any indication of who/when. I'm just in the preparation stage :P
That's all for now my lovelies :) I hope you've enjoyed this snippet into my brain. It's a little crazy, even to me, that ALL of those things were simultaneously on my mind! Brains are amazing, God is amazing.
// 2 Timothy 1:12 // ...for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him... //
Thing Number One: Puffs Tissues
With my fore-mentioned cold-and-flu, I have become very attached to these wonderfully soft things! I haven't really expressed my love very nicely (think about it for a second...), but I hope that they know how important they are to me.
Thing Number Two: Crayola Twistables
I have long wanted to be one of those people who highlights and makes notes in their Bible, but I've been too chicken to actually do it. UNTIL NOW!!! I have discovered the perfect highlighting tool! These crayon-not-crayon things are amazing! No bleed through, no rub off, not too dark, no page ripping or rippling, so cheap (yet essentially the same thing as what is marketed as a dry bible highlighter) ...I can't think of anything much else to say about them, all I want to do is use exclamation marks! !!!!!
Now that I've got the highlighting part down, I feel like my next step is to work up the courage to use my pen. I've researched it to death and have my archival ink pens (temporarily misplaced, but somewhere in my room)... soon, I think I'll bite the bullet soon.
Thing Number Three: Missions
I have some friends who were just on (I have trouble keeping track of dates in general and it goes completely out the window when I get sick, so... possibly still on?) a mission trip, and it's got me thinking about missions again. I haven't been on one in a couple of years and would love to go on one again, but even more than that, I've been thinking about the impact they've had on my life already.
I never did have the same reactions that most have on their mission trips. The only culture shock I experienced was in the airports and possibly with the food, I didn't feel my heart breaking at every turn, and I have always been disappointed with my lack of ability to communicate through the communication barrier.
But that's the bad news.
I always just saw people who were filled with more JOY than most people up in North America can claim to have, who loved Jesus more ENTHUSIASTICALLY than any Christians I had ever met, and who lived with more UNDERSTANDING of what evangelism is than I had ever understood. Rather than giving all of the blessing, I always felt more blessed -- I was the one receiving the life-changing!
Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that my assistance in building their church, painting their pews and shutters, doing some children's features, and heartily thanking the ladies that cooked every meal for us, was a blessing for them, but... I can't help but feel that I still got the long stick, and that is what I've been thinking about...
I am reminded of how every time I came back home I was even more grateful for the abundance that I already had, and that I didn't care at all about gaining MORE. I was abundantly grateful for the love of family and friends and church. I felt inspired to live joyfully and simply, thanking God for each day.
Those feelings had faded (some quite a bit) until I was praying for my friends and their trip. I'm grateful for these reminders and I'm trying to live by those understandings again.
Thing Number Four: My Youth Group <3
We've had some younger teens join our group in the last couple of weeks and I gotta tell you, it has given me a brand new perspective on how awesome my "regulars" are! I am so proud of those teenagers, I feel like a parent, looking at them and thinking, "That's my kid!" The amount of growth and maturity I see as they welcome these younger (and more annoying) kids and make them feel like a part of the group... I just can't stop telling them how awesome they are and how proud I am of them. They rock and I'm so lucky to get to witness that!
Thing Number Five: Meaningful Friendships
Friends I can have deep talks with, do stupid things with, and be my usual quirky self with, all within a couple of hours, are awesome. I'm grateful for every one of those friends and what they add to my life.
Thing Number Six: Sherlock
I was introduced to BBC's Sherlock over Christmas break. I watched the season 2 finale with the same "WHAAAAAT!?!" reaction as everybody who has seen it, and resigned myself to waiting in sorrow for who knows how long until season 3 became a reality.
BUT I have recently discovered something that has sparked my excitement again! I won't bore you with the details (if you want to know them, ask me sometime), but the short story is that I realized while watching an episode of Murdoch Mysteries that the BBC show is not just a loose interpretation of the character known as Sherlock Holmes, but that each episode very closely ties into a specific Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writing! !!!!!
Needless to say I am preparing to get a little nerdy about all things Sherlock :)
Plus! The creators of the BBC show just released three words as clues for what is coming up in the 3rd season (one for each episode, I assume) so... yep, (of course) now I just HAVE TO figure out which original story they refer to.
And lastly...
Thing Number Seven: Preparation
God is always teaching me something, but there are moments in time when I suddenly realize how several different things in my life (friendships, sermons, Bible study, etc.) have been combining to teach me the same thing.
I just had that "Aha!" moment yesterday in church, when I realized that God has been teaching me what He expects of me in relationships.
I'm not really sure how to put this next part... What I've been learning is certainly useful right now, but all of the learning has been specifically... wife-related...
Uh... you may recall that I am not currently in (nor have I really ever been) in a relationship, so... perhaps you will join me as I say "????" (with just a little bit of "!!!!!" thrown in there)!
I'm not really sure what to make of this yet, but I've always been convinced that God will lead me into a relationship when I was "ready", so it's been kind of fun to learn about and embrace (more now, than ever before) His design for marriage.
And maybe (just a little bit) begin to get excited about what He has in store for me.
Though I should mention that, even with this "Aha!", He hasn't really given me (or I haven't properly understood) any indication of who/when. I'm just in the preparation stage :P
That's all for now my lovelies :) I hope you've enjoyed this snippet into my brain. It's a little crazy, even to me, that ALL of those things were simultaneously on my mind! Brains are amazing, God is amazing.
// 2 Timothy 1:12 // ...for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him... //