1 a.m.

Cassie came to visit me in Lawrence last night around 11:30. This is dangerous. Last time she came to Lawrence at midnight we ended up walking around Mass. Street and drinking coffee until 3 in the morning. Bad for people like me who have to get up and act awake at 7 a.m. Emphasize the word "act." 'Cause that's exactly what I do most mornings at work: coffee in one hand, face in the other hand. Ugh. BUT, I've decided that summer at 20 is too good of a thing to waste on sleep. Second semester of my freshman year in college I managed to stay up until 3 or 4 almost every week night and had the time of my life--so what makes now any different? I'm livin' it up.

ANYHOO, Cassie and I are a little obsessive about photography. We're nerds, but we're dealing with it. Cassie shows up from Kansas City with tripod and camera in hand. We head to some alleys downtown to do some timed exposure shots (I told you, we're nerds). Alas, Cassie's battery dies on her camera after one shot. Dangit (or famigt as Amy would say). We headed into Henry's for some Chai and Bible readin', a little dissapointed. After one cup of Chai, we just had to go get my camera (the one night it wasn't attached to my face, geez). So we made a detour to my house, picked up the camera, and were back on track. We settled back down at Henry's, discussing the Holy Spirit, the cool things God does (specifically in the lives of Cassie's friends who are on a mission in Thailand), and other general life stuff.


Then, this random guy walks up to our table, and this conversation follows:

Random Guy (RG): Are you guys reading the Bible....at 1 in the morning?

Us: Yeah.

RG: Is this something you normally do?

Me: Read the Bible, yes. Although I'm not sure how often I've done it at 1 a.m. But, really, it's good all times of day.

RG: That's just really wierd. Ya know, in a place like this. (gestures to extremely liberal coffeeshop in downtown Lawrence, KS.) I've never seen that happen here before.

Us: Oh yeah? (we were kinda taken aback, and couldn't think of any witty comments) It's just something we like to do...nothing out of the ordinary.

So, RG walked away and we kicked ourselves for not being more clever, and laughed at the whole situation. THEN, about 20 minutes later, RG returns, pulls up a chair and asks Cassie to look up a verse for him. We're like woah. He couldn't remember the exact verse but had an idea of what it said. We finally found it to be 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. He told us that this verse popped in his head when he saw us sitting there. Interesting.

So we struck up a conversation with this guy (who turned from RG into Joel) and found out he used to be a believer but had fallen away for one reason or another. He continued to tell us that he hadn't meant to be rude earlier but was afraid that we might catch some serious flack by reading the Bible in a place like Henry's. Not 10 seconds later another guy walked up to our table and, I kid you not, said "Woah, is that a Bible?" Cassie and I just looked at each other, puzzled that people actually found this so wierd.

So, moral of the story is it's okay to stay up til 2:30 and drag your feet the next day if it means that you could share the Good News with a couple people and hopefully re-spark some interest in a former believer. Cool.

be the reason that I live

Jesus, be the center
Be my source, be my light, Jesus

Jesus, be the center
Be my hope, be my song, Jesus

Jesus, be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live

Jesus, be my vision
Be my path, Be my guide.

--Be the Center by Michael Frye

I go to a weekly Bible study on Tuesday nights. We always begin our study by singing a few songs. Tonite, Kyle (the awesome worship leader from Heartland) played the guitar and led us in singing the song above. Something about it really struck me. I want to make this song a prayer for my life. Something I've learned a lot about in the past few months is that what I need is Jesus at the center of my life. He is my rock, my strength, my hope. The rest of life will fall exactly into the right place after this. The trick though, is being patient. It's a virtue, ya know. A very hard to learn virtue.

slip 'n slide

Back in the day my sister and I would play on our Slip 'n Slide every summer at my grandparent's house in Topeka. They had a few acres of land with a big house and an apple orchard. I loved this house. The ground slanted downward leading to the orchard so we'd set up the big yellow "slide," get out the hose and play all day. When we were done we were sunburned and covered with blades of grass. Ahhhh, it was great!

This is a random boy playing on a new Slip 'n Slide.

Mine was not this fancy...I kicked it old school.

Lately, I've really had the urge to get out the ol' Slip 'n Slide. Problem is...I don't have one anymore. My grandparents moved into town, and of course, the Slip 'n Slide is no where to be found. Boo. I have more than once thought seriously about buying a new one, but alas, I have no room for a big slide o' fun in my backyard. Hmmm... I'll have to come up with alternative resources.

He's a King!

Tonite, I had this conversation with a 4 year-old, John:

John: I went to Vacation Bible School last week!

Me: Really? What did you learn about?

John: Jesus.

Me: Oh yeah? Who's Jesus?

John: He's a King!

Me: A King huh? That's pretty cool. So what does He do?

John: He loves us.

Me: Yes, He does.

John: He used to be here, but then He died.

Me: That's right, He did that to save us.

At that point, John announced that he was thirsty and needed more milk. So, the conversation ended there, and we finished our Mac & Cheese.

Leave it to a 4 year-old to come up with such a simple summary of Jesus in such a perfect way. It reminded me of what's really important in life: Jesus is King, He loves us, and died to save us. Amazing!

lucky!

I found this verse today. I think it's so great. I love how God reveals things to me a little bit at a time, all in different ways. He gives me little reminders as I need them...right when I need them.

GOD takes the time to do everything right--everything.
Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones. Isaiah 30:18

God is tight...for reals.

3rd Annual All-Nighter

Back in 2003, my buds Josh, Stephanie, David B., and I decided that since we had such busy schedules the only real time we had to hang out was overnight. Our days were full of school, work and life in general...so we figured why not give up sleep for some good ol' quality time with friends. So, the rest is history. Last night we held the 3rd Annual All-Nighter. We loaded up on Dr. Pepper, threw on our pj's and let the fun begin...

Laura, Josh, Steph, and Me

Our night was made complete by:

• One game of Scene It! (we found out I can't hold a staring contest tie breaker...turns out you can't blink!?!?)
• 1 rousing game of Catch Phrase--the game that turns violent very quickly
• 1 fast game of Clue--David apparently has become a detective super-genious.
• 1 donut run at 2:30am in the Mom Mobile!
• XBox, wrestling, and flip-flop beatdowns for the boys
• lots of random conversations made even wierder by the fact that we were all half-coherent due to sleep deprivation.

James, Josh, and David showing their brotherly love.

Our goal was to make it to 7AM without falling asleep, and we all suceeded! We capped off the night, er...morning with pancakes and watching the sunrise, after which most of us promptly fell asleep.

Thanks for the good times friends!

And this picture of Steph & Josh's daughter Aubrey was just too cute not to post. She would have loved to stay up with us, but instead she took a bath and went to bed. Isn't she the cutest!?! I'm a proud honorary Aunt!

Signs

Have I mentioned how much I love Signs of Life? Well, just in case I haven't told you, I do. It's fo sho (or for sure, for our non-Ebonics speaking audience members) on my top 5 favorite places to be list. Last night I packed up my Bible, a good book, & my journal and headed down to satisfy my craving for coffee and time with The Man.

I used to frequent this coffeeshop about 3 times a week, if not more. Yes, I was obsessed...okay, okay, I am still obsessed, but I don't make it down there as much as I used to. So, it was good to be back.

I purchased 16 oz. of pure joy (a double Iced Honey Americano w/ soy) and headed to the back to lay claim over my usual spot, the couch. Of course, the one night I wanted to use it, someone else was sitting there and refused to leave, no matter how many times I walked by. All the while I was sending them "hello! that's my couch!" vibes. Apparently my vibe-sender is broken, or they were just ignoring me. So...

I settled for the little blue stool on the floor in the children's section. Well, I really shouldn't say settled, because I love this spot. There is something so great about being surrounded by kids Bible's and Veggie Tales movies. I love it...Veggie Tales and this spot on the floor, that is.

Oh! I almost forgot..the picture above is brought to you by my sweet new digital camera! Thanks to Mr. Kodak Z740, my blog will now be graced with ALOT of pictures, because the camera has pretty much been attached to my face since it was purchased. Yea for digital cameras! :o)

let go & let God

I feel changed. Something is different. My heart is being refined & renewed. This past week I have come to many conclusions, and now find myself at the beginning of a new path. A good path. I don't know where it leads--but the joy is in the journey, not the destination. This journey is joyful because of who I'm walking with...you guessed it--Jesus. I realized recently that I had unconsciously sort of shut Him out, trying to solve my problems by myself, figure stuff out on my own terms. Now, I see that this won't do me any good. The only way in life is to give it all to God, the One who created me.

"For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God."

Galatians 3:3 (MSG)

I have alot of questions about life--where God is leading me, what I'm supposed to do, etc. These questions have been hindering me from living NOW, and just being...being me. This past week has been different though. This week, God has granted me peace. I have felt an inner calmness stronger than I have felt in a long time. It's such an amazing feeling to know that God is with me always. Always. Think about that for a minute. That is amazing. He is constantly here for each and every one of us. He is a big God!

And everything You hold in Your hand/Still you make time for me/I can't understand/Praise You God of Earth and sky/How beautiful is Your unfailing love.

--Chris Tomlin

I feel good about letting go and letting God. I'm not worried anymore about the future. God's in charge, and he knows exactly what is best for me. I am resting in that and stepping out in faith.

"Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that." Galatians 2:20-21 (MSG)

I started a new book recently called Enjoying God by S.J. Hill. In it, the author quotes John Piper and his version of what man's reason for existence is. Piper concludes: "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. (fyi: he adapted this from what 17th century theologians said about man's reason for existence).

So, that's where I'm at right now. Enjoying God, and His plan that is rolling out before me. Right now, it's a little mysterious, but that's okay. I know in the end, it will all fall into place: every event happening for a reason, every person who touches my life, and every lesson I learn.

Thank you Father!

"Cease striving and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 (NASB)

the gentlemen adventurers

Let me just say that Waterdeep is the coolest. Saturday I spent the day in Kansas City with Steph, baby Aubrey, Janon, and Laura B. These girls are great, I love them. After an awesome day at the plaza (complete with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory--yum!) we made our way down to the Westport Coffeehouse Theater. Don Chaffer (of Waterdeep) was putting on a concert with his new band The Gentlemen Adventurers. These guys rock. I was super impressed with their song lyrics, but even more impressed with their funky jam sessions they had in between songs. So good! Anyhoo, they were also joined by Gerram Mathews, and it turns out, he rocks too! I mean, how can you not like a guy when one of his CD's is called "Five O’clock Charlie and the Lost Art of the High Five"? Awesome.

To top it all off I bought the Waterdeep Worship album "You are so Good to Me." This is an amazing song, so that's what I leave you with now:

You are so good to me

You heal my broken heart

You are my Father in heaven

You ride upon the clouds

You lead me to the truth

You are the Spirit inside me

You poured out all your blood

You died upon the cross

You are my Jesus who loves me

You are beautiful my sweet, sweet, song

I will sing again
You are my strong melody

You are my dancing rhythm

You are my perfect rhyme

And I want to sing forever

i love getting mail. who doesn't really? if you don't like getting mail (i mean real mail, not annoying credit card apps or bills), then that's just plain crazy. Anyhoo, when I came home from an extremely boring day at work, I was greeted by a package with this in it. that's right, a Guster t-shirt complete with sweet breakdancing people. it can't get much better than that.

Chris Tomlin rocks my socks.

God rocks my socks even more...life is good! :o)

good quality quote

"I wake up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day a little difficult."

E.B. White

My jeans. Hangin' on the line in Winfield, KS. Yes, this town is so boring that the only fun thing to do is take pictures of your laundry.

"Kodachrome/they give us those nice bright colors/they give us the greens of summers/makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah/I got a nikon camera/I love to take a photograph/So mama don’t take my kodachrome away" –-paul simon

thunderstorms

They have arrived: the hot, humid, muggy, & thick Kansas days of summer. The question that always pops up in my head around this time is "remind me why we live here again?" Granted, I've lived here for all 20 years of my life, so I'm pretty used to the fact that during the summer it may be 75 degrees--but it will feel like 95, my hair will be one big fro of frizz, and even the carpet in my house will feel sticky because of the crazy amount of moisture in the air. Anyways, tonite my answer to the question was answered. Thunderstorms. Ok, no, it's not the only reason we live here, but it's a pretty darn good bonus. Tonite proved that to me:

After eating some amazing phad thai at Zen Zero, I had to walk to my car which was about a block and 1/2 down. I didn't want an umbrella, I just wanted to walk in the rain. soak it up. enjoy the drops. i didn't mind that my feet were soaked or my straightened hair was quickly turning to curls. driving home, i realized how cool some music sounds when you listen to it while driving in the rain. the music blends in with the sound of raindrops, and just makes you happy. (try "New Slang" by The Shins or "Begin" by Ben Lee).

when i got home, i stayed out on the porch watching the lightening and listening to the rain. it was the kind of lightening that goes off constantly with barely a break between flashes. it reminded me of how much i really do love thunderstorms. we have the best kind here in Kansas, I'm sure of it.

"some people walk in the rain... others just get wet..." –roger miller

Right now, I really want to:

eat some Rudy's pizza, listen to Johnny Cash, and watch Veggie Tales.