A post without a point

I often feel like the times when I'm in the bloggiest* of moods. . . I can think of nothing world changing to say. I know this sounds freakishly geeky but I read blogs a lot! I enjoy them. It's fun to see what the rest of the world has to say in a creative and artistic way.

I've found that there are so many amazing women out there who work and/or go to school, have a husband and kids, and STILL manage to decorate their houses, create a photography website, bake delicacies, change people's lives, and BLOG about it all! It almost makes me want to throw in the towel as I doubt I will ever accomplish such feats. . . but then where would I be? Blogless.

And that would be sad to me. There's a certain sense of accomplishment that comes from writing a blog. Just the knowledge that it CAN be read by other people is exciting. So here I write, without a purpose. . . simply for the sake of posting a blog and sending out into the blogosphere with a little piece of my current state of mind.

*Bloggiest: The emotional state of wanting to blog.

Pain

I’ve been thinking quite a lot about pain this week during my many hours of pain induced rest. Pain, whether it’s physical, emotional, or psychological is invisible. No one can look at another in pain and say, “I see your pain has reached the __ degree!” No, pain is singular to the one experiencing it. It can be described but never experienced by another through communication.

In a recent conversation with my mom, she mentioned that pain is obviously an evil: there is no better way to cause a person to only think of them self than to inflict pain. When in a state of pain, one’s heart isn’t willing to take on the burden of another, or even sympathize with another person as a Christian is called to do. The heart and mind are focused inward on the self.

Yet, through Jesus’ pain, suffering, and death I have been set free. Because his pain was selfless I have the ability to escape it. What an awesome Lord.


To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:21

This weekend can top them all

I am so happy to say that two very great things happened this weekend.

The first was the {secret} engagement of my cousin Autumn and boyfriend {turned fiance} Ryan. I have actually known about the upcoming plans for the engagement for a month and have had to perpetually lie to Autumn about it! {To my own dismay (and relief in this case), it turns out that I am truly a convincing fib-teller.}

The second was the {unexpected} engagement of our family friend Kalyn to her {fiance} Jake.

Congratulations!!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Based on how excited I was when I opened my Easter basket, [I think] I'm growing up. :)

Spatulas

Spoons

Paring knife

kitchen timer

measuring spoons

basting brush

grocery list tablet

Also:
Meet my new [used] car Maxine

:-)

Reading this book is similar to stumbling upon a pot of [eternal] gold

Don't Waste Your Life

by: John Piper

"Delighting in God [is] not a mere preference or option in life; it [is] our joyful duty and should be the single passion of our lives."

A Little Inspiration for the Day

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship.
-- Louisa May Alcott

This One's for Aurora

Love in a Cactus
:)

Sneak Peak

I am now a qualified elk whisperer

Cathedral Rock In Sedona, AZ

Angels Baseball in Phoenix, AZ

More to come later! Maybe even a slide show? :)

Goodbye California

. . . Hello Arizona!
I love spring break!

Leave a Candle Burning

It is unbelievable how fast I can come down with a serious case of burn-out when I’m not feeding myself with the daily sustenance that only God can supply. I can quickly reduce to a small piece of smoky ash. Similar to a match, I’ll be on fire for just seconds before I have nothing left to give.

The flame of my life is so much brighter, more fulfilling, and it even smells good when I remain connected to the source of eternal nourishment.

Just today's food for thought. =)

Life in the fast lane

I think it’s time to admit, I have an addiction to speed. Typical of a Southern California driver, I’m in the fast lane more often than not. If I ever get a ticket, I’m pretty sure it will be for speeding. This need for speed doesn’t only impact my driving; I also notice it when I’m on the ski slopes. It is SO hard for me to simply weave my way gracefully down the mountain. I have to race. When I type, I have to make sure that my fingers are practically flying across the keyboard. Instead of building a quality sentence from the start, I race right along and consequently hit the ‘backspace’ button at least a dozen times.
This principle follows me into my overall perspective on life! I always have to be ahead of the pack, the overachiever, the one who’s overly prepared, the one who’s always five minutes early, the one who accomplished the most. . . first. This is both something that I’m proud of and something that I find shameful to admit.
It has begun to sink in that life is not all about accomplishing some goal in the most economic, efficient, organized, and time-conscious way possible. It is so much more about the sights along the way!! How sad is it when I’m in the fast lane and all I can see is the center median on my left and a solid line of cars on my right!? I think it’s pretty unfortunate to miss the beautiful landscape along the way. Even if it means that I reach my destination a little later than I had planned, maybe it’s worth it to glide along in the slow lane.
I don’t understand why I’ve always had this notion that I need to plow through my school years full speed ahead. As always, the Lord’s timing for my life is not my own! The motto for my life should definitely be some version of “let go, let God.”
So I’m going to focus on taking it slow. . . spend more time in the slow lane. Enjoy the feeling of coasting down the ski slope, take pride in a well constructed sentence without needing to hit ‘backspace’ after every fourth letter. And maybe even take an extra semester to graduate from college. What’s the harm in that?

If I Were. . .

If I were a month, I’d be April.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be Sunday.
If I were a time of the day, I’d be mid-morning.
If I were a planet, I’d be Saturn
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a Sea Turtle.
If I were a direction, I’d be East.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a bookshelf.
If I were a liquid, I’d be coffee.
If I were a gemstone, I’d be a (non-conflict) diamond.
If I were a tree, I’d be a Liquid Amber.
If I were a tool, I’d be a level.
If I were a flower, I’d be a Lily.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be clear skies with a high of 90 degrees.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a cello.
If I were a color, I’d be yellow.
If I were an emotion, I’d be peace.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a peach.
If I were an element, I’d be Sodium (Na).
If I were a sound, I’d be the waves crashing on the shore.
If I were a car, I’d go fast!
If I were a food, I’d be a chocolate cake without frosting.
If I were a place, I’d be the coast.
If I were a material, I’d be cotton.
If I were a taste, I’d be fruity.
If I were a scent, I’d be vanilla.
If I were an animal, I’d be a swan.
If I were an object, I’d be a book.
If I were a body part, I’d be eyes.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a big dimpled smile!
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be rainbows.