{sacrifice.}

I’ve been reading in the Old Testament a lot lately--not to mention surprisingly loving it more than I thought I could. It’s so neat. So many great stories and once you dig a little and get into the culture and time of the stories it’s amazing. How amazing it is to see the different ways God has worked into the details and how poetic it all is.

Well this morning I was reading finishing up 2 Samuel at the end David is told to make a sacrifice to God on a certain piece of land which is something else's. David tells the guy he is going to make an alter and sacrifice to God. The dude tell David, “you can have any of my animals to sacrifice.” But David refuses. David insists that he pays the guy for his animals, not just just pay him but fairly pay him. David explains he wishes to do this because it’s not really a sacrifice unless David has to put up a sacrifice.

How many times we get this wrong. Sacrifices look so different to so many people because it’s what is a sacrifice to YOU. Don’t give God something that doesn’t require you to sacrifice, that’s not what he wants. He wants YOU and that requires you to show that you want HIM. If your sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice to you then it’s not really a sacrifice.

2 Samuel 24 (The Message)

17 When David saw the angel about to destroy the people, he prayed, "Please! I'm the one who sinned; I, the shepherd, did the wrong. But these sheep, what did they do wrong? Punish me and my family, not them."

18-19 That same day Gad came to David and said, "Go and build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." David did what Gad told him, what God commanded.

20-21 Araunah looked up and saw David and his men coming his way; he met them, bowing deeply, honoring the king and saying, "Why has my master the king come to see me?"

"To buy your threshing floor," said David, "so I can build an altar to God here and put an end to this disaster."

22-23 "Oh," said Araunah, "let my master the king take and sacrifice whatever he wants. Look, here's an ox for the burnt offering and threshing paddles and ox-yokes for fuel—Araunah gives it all to the king! And may God, your God, act in your favor."

24-25 But the king said to Araunah, "No. I've got to buy it from you for a good price; I'm not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice."

So David bought the threshing floor and the ox, paying out fifty shekels of silver. He built an altar to God there and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. God was moved by the prayers and that was the end of the disaster.

{femininity.}

i've, finally, been reading Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. it's amazing. i knew she was great already, so i'm not surprised i like it. what's really awesome is that it's pretty much my views and thoughts on the same ideas already. but i'm still learning and it's really great to hear her talk about her and Jim's love story.

here's a passage i read just now and really loved.

By the grace of God we have not been left to ourselves int he matter of who is to do the initiating. adam needed a help. God fashioned one to the specifications of his need and brought her to him. It was adam's job to husband her, that is, he was responsible--to car for, protect, provide for, and cherish her. Males, as the physical design alone would show, are made to be initiators. Females are made to be receptors, responders. it was not arbitrarily that God called Himself Israel's bridegroom and Israel His Bride, nor Christ the Head and the Church the Body and the Bride. He woos us, calls us, wins us, gives us His name, shares with us His destiny, takes responsibility for us, loves us with a love stronger than death.

-Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity

melon salsa

my mom's recipe for melon salsa

normally watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew

3 melons in fine dice
Vidalia Onion
fresh jalapeno
chili powder
cumin
lime juice and zest
vinegar of your choice(I like something light like rice or white wine but Aunt Lori likes Balsalmic. I think that gives it an unpleasant color but does give it a little sweetness)
salt

Mix all to your taste and heat requirement. I remove the skins and seeds from the jalapeno to remove the heat and then add hot sauce to taste depending on the crowd. You can also add some fresh cilantro but I usually don't. I go easy on the onion and cut it up really fine but be sure to use a really nice sweet one. It can be served immediately if your ingredients were already cold. Tip: Get 3 melons off the salad bar at the grocery to save time. Love ya!!!

self .vs. old testament

i have a confession to make.

i work in college ministry but have never read the old testament in it's entirety.

i know, what a slacker. sure i've read the important stuff, well some of it anyway. but i've been on a mission. read it. and don't give up this time or skip over "boring" parts to jump back to the new testament. my favorite trick seems to be to skip over parts of it to read about baller women like ruth and esther or to the warm fuzzies of song of solomon.

but it is on. for reals. i am so gonna do it this time. and lucky for me today marks me being a fourth done! a fourth! :)

i felt bad but honestly part of me was sooo ready to be done with Moses. i mean he's a killer fella and all but after hearing the same things that happened in his life multiple times i was way OK to put that part behind me.

my mission is to get a big picture of what's going on, and honestly some of the chs are so long but the time i finish the book i don't want to forget what happened at the start. to prevent said flaw in myself i read at least 5 chapters a day, i even read the whole of leviticus in three days, i think if i had stretched it out i would have disliked it or been discouraged but since i did read it so fast i found new appreciation for it. specifically how God wants us to be pure. and what proof it was for that truth to me.

here's to enjoying the remaining 75% :)

head. band.

here is the headband i made to wear in whitney's wedding...

6:16:2010

My grandparents recently had their 50th wedding anniveary party. for the part they asked me to do the slide show {and my papa only assigned this task to me two years ago...glad i could finish on time! ;)}. i ended up burning the show to a dvd and there is the dvd menu, the record spins and it plays the song "unforgettable". i thought it was uber cute!

Also this is a random asian kid picture i found that i thought was cute. love it.

MOH speech

Dangggg! Ms B!! You’re married!

I have known Whitney since we were freshmen in high school but it wasn’t until we started living together in Donovan Hall our freshmen year at UK that we became best friends, and we have lived together ever since. So 5 years. 5 years we lived together as bffs.

That’s a lot of runs to Dairy Queen for blizzards (in which whitney gets cappuccino heath! Always. Or she gets disappointed when she tries something new.), that’s also a lot of spontaneous trips to Cici’s pizza, pints of Ben & Jerry’s, field trips to Sephora, meanderings around the Arboretum, batches of freshly made kettle corn, crash courses on how she can be a sous chef, Redbox movie rentals, and many many laughs.

I have been truly blessed to have a friend like Whitney, and it has also been a blessing to get to know Ben. But since Ben and I are so much alike I can’t say it’s been a challenge becoming his friend.

I’ve just been preparing Whitney these past 5 years to live with Ben--and Ben you can thank me for that later if you want! Also Ben since I do have a crowd of witnesses I would like to restate that you better continue to be good to her, or I may take her back!

Now lets back up just a little to last summer...I remember when I first heard the name “Ben Stroup”, and here in whitney’s words is a little bit about how they met in a message I received from her last summer...

“this week i met an interesting individual. and i have no idea what will occur, or if we'll ever talk again. his name is ben stroup and he’s hysterical...anyhow. he has my number--we'll see if he uses it...i think i would like to get to know him better outside of camp---anyway, i just thought i should tell you, since we pretty much tell each other everything. who knows.”

Well. I think it’s save to say that he used her number.

All and all I can say I fully support the new Mrs. Ben Stroup. Ben did after all properly suck up to Whitney’s girlfriends--which is a requirement, obviously, cause when you wanna date a girl you’re not just getting the one girl, the best friends come with the complete package. How awesome is it that we can all get along like great friends, and that is how it should be.

I don’t feel like I’m losing a friend, even though I’ve been asked that before. I am so happy for the two of them, even though I may have teared up or cried every time I talked about Whitney moving out the week she did.

I know that God is with them in this and that there are great things in store for them. My prayer is that they would always keep the love alive, and keeping Christ center is key. I have been so blessed with their prayers and support in my own life that I hope they know they have mine in their life together as well.

And I believe that God is doing and will continue to do great things through their life together, and that together as one they would be able to love God better than they did as two separate people.

Ben and Whitney may you always pursue each others hearts even when you’re 80 years old, and that you continue to make each other feel more alive with each passing year.

and I pray that your live together will always be ministry, where every you find yourselves, where ever God leads you whether that be loving on child soldiers in Africa or opening your home to children right here in KY who just need someone to love them the way Christ does.

I love you both very very much. Congratulations on you marriage!!

craft night

Etsy {which i'm obsessed with} posted a fun article on throwing a craft night!

How To Throw Your Own Craft Night

headband. LOST.

here is the headband i made katie for her birthday! yippie! i thought it was pretty! yay!! LOST party tonight to celebrate the fact that one of my best friends was born. i've never seen a single episode of LOST, it's fine. nbd!! {no big deal ;)}

habits

We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must “work out” our “own salvation” which God has worked in us...We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been.//Chambers

creative weekend.

i've had a creative weekend thus far and play on having a crafty and creative month, seeing as i won't have school and i don't start my job till the end of the month. :)

on friday i made a headband with these feather i got off etsy...it was sort of a bold statement bu i went with it...

the secret is to act like you can pull something off and no one knows the difference ;)

then then today Katie and I with some help from Kellie made invite for Whits wedding shower we are hosting

the ink took a while to dry on the paper we picked out

then Kel asked what she could do and we need to scallop the edges and katie give kel a looked and asks in all seriousness "can you scallop in a straight line??...."

then we finally get them done...

then we roll in heaps of laughter on the floor once i realized i tweeted something i shouldn't have and that the invites were a lot smaller than the envelopes...it's fine.

so it is safe to say that i'm am pretty pumped for these two lovely ladies to move in with me shortly :) !!! !!! but it is said that they are moving in cause others are moving out...but they're getting married so i don't feel toooo bad for em ;)

lady bug

here's a picture that one of my best friends {and i think most loyal blog reader ;) } took and i really like it...but i think it shows the beauty of nature and the wonderful mystery of God.

also i was reading job today and i kinda really liked it when God responds to job He's sorta like "who do you think you are? i'm GOD. i made all that is before you. what did you do?" it's like "boom". solid. love it.

Job 38:22-30 (The Message)

^22-30 "Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,
seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,
The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness
for times of trouble and battle and war?
Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,
or to the place from which the wind blows?
Who do you suppose carves canyons
for the downpours of rain, and charts
the route of thunderstorms
That bring water to unvisited fields,
deserts no one ever lays eyes on,
Drenching the useless wastelands
so they're carpeted with wildflowers and grass?
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,
the mother of ice and frost?
You don't for a minute imagine
these marvels of weather just happen, do you?

my white chicken chili

here's the recipe i tried to write for my white chicken chili...given when i made it i didn't measure or anything so some things might be slightly off...so there is room for making adjustments as you see fit ;)

Dupps’ White Chicken Chili

-about 4 large chicken breasts

-around 60-90 oz of chicken stock or broth

-1-2 C of grated pepper jack cheese

-1 can of chick peas/garbanzo beans {same things}

-1 can white northern beans

-1/4 cup canned green chilies or jalapeno

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-1 med onion, diced

-spoonful of flour

-salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken in large pot of water until done. When cooked through you can either dice with a chef knife or shred with hands. Helps to run under cold water first.

In large pot put a little oil on the bottom until warm. {around med high heat} Add garlic, onions, and chilies/jalapenos. Cook until onions are nice and translucent. Add a little chicken stock or broth, and a spoonful of flour and whisk well, add read and stir/whisk occasionally until shimmering. Add beans {can juice and all} and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Add chicken. Then stir in grated cheese until it melts real good and you can’t tell there’s hunks of melty cheese in it. Taste test, add any salt or pepper or more garlic or chilies or anything. If liquid gets low add some water.

modesty.

i'm a fan.

"Modesty is the ancient secret of allure. An oxymoron? I think not. When women choose to dress with modesty and dignity, it just might flip everything around...We were created in such a way that when we humans act without restraint and without any rule, we don't have as much fun! Modesty and dignity helps women protect their romantic hopes, challenges men to be courteous and honorable, and will turn the whole sexual revolution on its head. That is something to look forward to."

-Christa Taylor

finding some inspiration

we run with passion for your name we run

so last night they had the Passion 2011 live link thinger. there was a group of people from Uk that we went to passion with that were going to be viewing it in the basement of my campus ministry. and to be honest i didn't wanna go at first, i didn't really know what they were going to be doing for the live link and i didn't really know how i felt about the whole live web access worship thing. but i love passion so i went. and i'm really uber glad that i did! what a blessing it was to have an unexpected time of worship in community in the basement on a random monday night. esp since it had the fire of passion behind it. and what was really neat was that all over the WORLD there were little groups of people or individuals gathered together sharing in the same worship at the same time. it was incredible. it helped energize me for my week and helped me remember what it was like to be at passion while also getting me excited for the next passion and to just LIVE out the passion kind of life here in lexington kentucky.

also way OFF topic i click on Amazon today and it suggested this book for me about cakes that go wrong and i looked at the front covered to see what was wrong with it, it took me a little while to get why it was a fail and then i realized what had happened and i died. like later i thought about it and just started laughing to myself.

2:30am wake up call

so today's my utmost really hit home for me. it reminded me why i am going to csf at 3:30am so i can go serve pancakes to danceblue at 7am. have i received a ministry from the Lord?? Yes. then i had better be loyal to it and count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry. i really like my sleep, but sleep is part of my life and compared to the ministry that God has called me to it means little. so i will joyfully go. :)

here is My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers for today...i highlighted the parts that really hit home from me...

March 5, 2010
Is He Really My Lord?

. . . so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus . . . —Acts 20:24

Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21 ). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" ( Matthew 25:21 ). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — "I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake."

"Do you love Me?" Then, "Feed My sheep" ( John 21:17 ). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.

be humane :)

while doing some research for class i stumbled across this article about a database which was created to help customers find resturants that serve humanely raised animals for their meat! :) yay! i suggest to start small, buy only free range/cage free eggs! they tastes really good too!

Meat Your Menu

God gave me you.

i've been addicted to the new dave barnes song...God Gave Me You. i think i might like it more than any other barnes song...idk...

I’ve been a walking heartache
I’ve made a mess of me
The person that I’ve been lately
Ain’t who I wanna be

But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

There’s more here than what were seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You’ll always be love’s great martyr
Ill be the flattered fool
& I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I could baby, never undo

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you, gave me you.
Gave me you.

abandonment to Christ

"The reason some of us are such poor specimens of Christianity is because we have no Almighty Christ. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is not abandonment to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying-"Of course He cannot do anything," & we struggle down to the deeps & try to get the water for ourselves. Beware of the satisfactions of sinking back and saying-"It can't be done"; you know it can be done if you look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness is deep, but make the effort & look away to Him." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

ps.

it's harder than i thought it might be...idk maybe not. i knew it would be hard but it's really hard. lent seems like such a long time...

it seems so dumb that fact that i just wanna waste time on facebook and tweet things...shouldn't things be more important than this??

i just wanna give it up already...but i love my God and i want to do this for Him, to love Him more than time wasters.

Lord of Lords

i love a day when i get to have very meaningful and great conversations about God and prayer and so forth. i got to have good conversation about prayer and it was great...got me fired up and jazzed. i am truly amazed and smitten with my King.

Lord of Lords by Hillsong United

Beholding your beauty is all I long for
To worship You Jesus with my soul's desire
For this very heart you've shaped for your pleasure
The purpose to lift your name high

Hear and surrender in pure adoration
I enter your courts with an offering of praise
I am Your servant come to bring you glory
As is fit for the work of your hands

Chorus:
Now unto the lamb who sits on the throne
Be glory and honor and praise
All of creation resounds with the song
Worship and praise him the Lord of Lords

Verse 2:
The spirit now living and dwelling within me
Keep my eyes fixed ever upon Jesus' face
Let not the things of this world ever sway me
I'll run 'till I finish the race

Chorus 2:
Singing unto the lamb who sits on the throne
Be glory and honor and praise
All of creation resounds with the song
Worship and praise the Lord
Now unto the lamb who sits on the throne
Be glory and honor and praise
All of eternity echoes the song
Worship and praise him the Lord of Lords

Bridge:
Holy Lord
You are Holy
Jesus Christ is the Lord

Chorus 3:
Now unto the lamb who sits on the throne
Be glory and honor and praise
Call all the saints to join in the song
Worship and praise him the Lord of Lords

Ending:
Lord of Lords
Lord of Lords
Lord of Lords

lent: day 1

so i must admit that there have been multiple times today that i wanted to get on twitter. i mean really?? why do i care about twitter so much anyhow? how silly. oh well, it's something that has a hold on me. also i'm currently fighting the urge to get on facebook right now...i already got on for my one time today, so i WON'T. it wasn't that hard at points today but there were other time when i was like "i just wanna get on facebook!!" so dumb, yet it has a hold on me. it's so funny how i know these infatuations with these things are silly and especially when i compare them to knowing Christ how even sillier they seem! {phil 3:7-8, but whatever was to my profit i now consider loss for the sake of Christ. what is more i consider everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake i have lost all things. i consider them rubbish that i may gain Christ. !!!!!!}

tonight at core group i shared my lenting plan for this year and we were talking about mine and others and i found it so interesting what has a hold on each of us, cause it such different things! which is neat i think. i remember how one year one of my good friend gave up hitting boys, it may seem silly but it wasn't that silly to her. i mean, it's nothing i've ever had an issue with but doesn't mean it's anything "less".

have i ever mentioned that i've really really grown to love my core group. at first the whole idea of it wasn't so attractive to me...i just sort of saw it as something else to take up my time, but i love it. last semester was a little different experience for me considering out of the two weekly meeting times the only one i could attend was just boys. me and boys. now that's something that doesn't happen very often. i see myself as very awkward around the male sex and i have very few male friend friends. this year has been different for me cause i've actually talked to and related to guys more than i have in a long time...like since high school. it's something i'm still trying to get use to and trying to approach it in an appropriate and Christ honoring way while still keeping myself pure--in all areas--for my future husband. i mean i shouldn't have a relationship with a guy now that wouldn't be appropriate to continue to have once i get married. but how much is appropriate???? YBH{yes but how!}

ok i'm about to fall asleep...i feel like i should try and update this morning during my lenting esp to keep track of it all...and of course for all my avid readers, ok all two of them.

lent 2010

so today is mari gras aka fat tuesday! woo GO and get some cajun food and bake a yummy king cake! i happen to be staying home sick today BUT my sister is uber great. she texted me and suggest that we go and get Bourbon and Toulouse {which is so good and we got it last year} but i told her i was staying home and suggested that she picks some up on her way home from campus today and she said she will! yippie!

so i was just laying in bed resting some and i was thinking about the whole lent thing...i hadn't decided if i was going to give up anything this year or not. i have only given things up two years...my freshmen year of college i gave up chocolate. it was kinda a joke cause i just ate a lot of carmel instead. last year i had decided way in advance that i would give up tv/movies...and i did and it went really well. i also decided to just read and reread the gospels in that time. the no tv thing wasn't as hard as i thought it would be, it was at times but by the end of it i accomplished what i wanted, i had cleansed myself of just wanting to waste lots of time in from on the tv, now i hardly ever watch tv and when i do i watched something with a purpose, i don't just turn it on and watch whatever i can find for hours like i used to. so needless to say i'm not doing that again this year cause it would be pointless, it wouldn't be a huge sacrifice.

so i was thinking "what can i give up this year??" i was thinking i wasn't going to end up doing anything but i think i am...it's gonna kinda be a combo of different things as opposed to just one thing that i'm completely cutting out. one of the most classic things to do is to give up meat {well that wouldn't be a real sacrifice for me either since i hardly ever eat meat} so that is going to be one of the things i'm going to do. i think it's important to pick things that aren't going to be too easy but also that you know you're just gonna fail at! also a big thing that takes up time in my life is facebook, obviously. but i would be COMPLETELY out of the loop if i gave it up for lent, like i wouldn't know what's going on or if plans and things change, so i'm going to incorporate it somehow. also i think it's important to not just cut things out of your life but to set a goal for getting more Jesus into your life. also a lot of people do whatever it is they gave up on sundays, seeing how if you cut out all the sunday's in lent it would be 40 days...but i don't, i'm sort of an all or nothing kinda girl. so here's what i think i'm going to do...

1.) no meat.

2.) only check facebook once a day, in the evening.

3.) no twitter, at all.

4.) go through {on top of my normal devotionals times} John Piper's book The Passion of Jesus Christ which if 50 reasons why Jesus suffered and died for us...so if i do one a day and a few days do two i'll go through them all

and maybe i'll think of something else to add before the day is up...i'm looking forward to focusing on the cross and falling more in love with my King.

nothing says love

nothing says love more than a clearance valentine ballon from your sister, the day after valentines day

and in case you were wondering, yes it does say "Whoa Valentine! You have stolen my ♥ " and yes there is a boy thief and a hott lady cop.

thanks sis!!

where you're suppose to be

have you ever had one of those times where you're just where you're suppose to be? we spend so much times in our lives {at least at this stage of life} where we are just always trying to figure out where it is we're suppose to be or what we're suppose to be doing. i once heard someone teach on how "God is more concerned with who you are than what you do". if you prayerfully focus on who you want to be and who God wants you to be then you'll wind up doing what you're suppose to, don't worry about that. because a person who's life is centered on our Lord and He will fix out all the details...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
~Proverbs 3:5&6

He will direct us and lead us and will put us where He can use us, and isn't that the most important thing? no matter where it is, that we live this life of a Christ follower as richly as we possibly can and that we can life poured out lives for HIS glory ("But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you." Philippians 2:17). and that if we "Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." {Ps. 37:4}. That doesn't mean that if we take 5 minutes to pray and profess to love Jesus He is going to give us the things of the world that we so badly want, no it means our desires will be for His will and for Him to be glorified and for His Kingdom to come because if we truly delight in Him the things of this world will not hold the luster that they once did, we will desire heavenly things and they will have a romantic hold on us. when you stop waiting for your life to start, to see where you're suppose to be and just wake up to the fact that you are somewhere right now, and you can live truly and deeply for your precious King, it changes everything.

i don't know if i've ever felt so sure that i'm where i'm meant to be. God is just so great and so faithful and i can't wait to see what He is going to do in me and through me.

bump it

so i managed to pull off a bump it bump without using a bump it...(even thought i'll admit i own one!)

check it.

Jesus Way

"Jesus is not interested in diverting us from life, but in revealing the 'more' that is in life beyond what we can cobble together on our own, dimensions of beauty and challenge, depths of gladness, our mouths 'filled with laughter' (Ps. 126:2)...The way of Jesus is not a sequence of exception to the ordinary, but a way of living deeply and fully with the people here and now, in the place we find ourselves." -Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

ranting to come

i've had a whole blog post in the works going on in my head today but i'm too tired to attempt it right now. it's all about fulfillment in Christ and how i don't understand why people always think they need to be in a relationship with the opposite sex to be fulfill and how i've noticed that my views on guy/girl relationship--on every level--is conservative when compared to others, even other christians. it was all spurred on when i overheard a girl in the bathroom telling her friend that she "needs to start dating someone" cause she's alone. like really?? really?? i mean i wanna have someone who loves me just as much as the next person but it is not what drives my life. take it from someone whose been single for the past 5 years, it won't kill you! and i'd rather not date someone than date the wrong someone. plus it means that my heart has been saved from being spoiled as much. ok i need to go to sleep...more to come soon!

jane austen

let it be known that i believe i would prefer to watch a movie based on a jane austen novel than any other movie i could watch. tonight after 608 i went home and at 9 turned on KET aka PBS and watched Masterpiece Classics....tonight they had part 1 (of 3) of Jane Austen's Emma...(which for those of you not familiar with JA happens to be the novel that the movie Clueless was based off of...). now this is a version i had never seen...so far so good. the thing i find most funny is that actors that are in Jane Austen movies tend to also be in other Jane Austen movies...and sometime their character is so different, it's funny.

"The one claim I shall make for my own sex is that we love longest, when all hope is gone."
— Anne Elliot in Persuasion

Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.

Jane Austen, Emma

I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way.

Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey