Much to Think About

I know it's late, and bed is definitely calling. But there was much to think about, and here's one way I can process it a little better [i.e. by writing].


Nostalgia. This week has been full of nostalgia. First, on Sunday I went to a small group from church, and ohhhhh, did that feel good. I miss both Core and Village from school, though Core much more, since I stuck with it and got to know people better than through Village. It's so good to be able to gather with a small group of people to eat and talk and laugh and play and build community; it is such an integral part of the Christian life. Just read Acts--the early church lived in community. They also shared in a very God-centered, communistic manner, but that's another story. (Read it and find out:) Anyway, after getting back to the house of the people I carpooled with to small group, (carpooling: another nostalgia-inducing, "this-reminds-me-of-college" event) I was invited in for chit-chat and such, and in the course of that was invited to a Phantom of the Opera party on Thursday. It felt almost overwhelmingly good to have friends. Yes, I've had friends for a while now here, but this is evidence that we are becoming even better friends, that I can hang out at people's houses and that we can have fun together on a regular basis:).

Tuesday, a friend & I planned an old-movie-athon for Monday--further evidence of real friendship:D.

Thursday, we watched Phantom of the Opera with our other friend and then planned more details for Monday.

In between, on Wednesday, another few friends planned a Midnight Bowling party for Friday (today/technically yesterday).

Today was soooooo much fun!!! Oh. my. goodness! We bowled--always fun--and then went in search for ice cream. Baskin Robbins was closed, DQ was closed; we settled for Walmart, which for the record has cheaper pints of ice cream than Safeway, at least right now. First, we girls stopped by the bathroom while the boys wandered off. Second, we girls looked at clothes, while the boys were presumably gazing at ice cream. Third, we girls found the boys in the ice cream aisle. Fourth, we spent a considerable amount of time choosing kinds of ice cream, and I made an excellent choice: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Macademia--soooooo good! Fifth, we wandered the store looking for boys shorts with a size 30 waist, which proved difficult, to say the least. Ended up looking at a lot of clothes, then wandering back to ice cream, then fiiiiinally paying and heading to the parking lot, where we cranked up the music (but not tooooo loud), ate ice cream, and danced around in the rain and watched the lightning give its most incredible performance yet.

Note about Thursday: There was also a guy giving a girl guitar lessons at the house while we watched Phantom of the Opera.

All these things remind me SOOOOO MUCH of Pullman Life. SOOOOO MUCH. Making our own fun, buying pints of ice cream, dancing in the rain as if without a care in the world, the music. Maybe some people lived like this before college and continue to do so after it, but I haven't had the opportunity. I left Pullman life in Pullman approximately 8 months ago, and I never knew how much I missed it until this week, tonight especially. Having friends everywhere, having music everywhere, having people be sooo laid-back and amiable. Being outside in the rain. THANK YOU, GOD. It's been incredible. And the best part? Fun didn't and doesn't end with Pullman; TBIYTC--the best is yet to come!

If alllll the raindrops were lemon drops & gumdrops,
oh what a rain it would be.

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,
ahh-ahh-uh-uhh-uhh-uhh-uhh-uhh-uhh.

If allll the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops,
oh what a rain it would be.

~SDG. [Soli Deo gloria]

Deep Breaths

Well, I've discovered that if I don't put any spaces in my titles and labels, they don't turn out Arabic. Haven't figured out any other way to fix that, yet, or had time to try Brian's suggestion on it.

This past week has been surreal, in both speed and happenings. The weekend of the 4th, I went to Spokane for a wedding, then spent Saturday doing yardwork with a friend in Reardan. Good times:). Sunday was church and a lunch at the house of some friends from church, which ended up cosuming the large majority of the day. Monday began as write-to-people day and ended in chaos. You see, my uncle in Alaska died, very unexpectedly. I have only one memory of the man; a good memory. But, needless to say, it hit my grandparents, parents, and aunts and uncles pretty hard. He is the second child my grandparents have lost, and no one is sure whether he ever committed himself to Christ. But I'd rather not dwell on it. I prefer to latch onto the hope over the darkness, and I trust God, no matter what. Tuesday was college group, Wednesday was my first day as official youth intern (thus, youth group), Thursday my dad & aunt & uncle flew to Alaska to put their brother's affairs in order, Thursday I also spent 8 hours at an ex-teacher's house working/doing yard work (7 1/2 hours yardwork, 1/2 hour lunch), Thursday I also went to my high school's graduation ceremony, Friday my mother and I drove to Spokane for a wedding rehearsal + to finish my bachelorette party pottery project, Saturday was the wedding, Saturday we drove home, Sunday was church--including Sunday school with the youth--and dinner at three with my mom's parents and dinner 6 to almost 9 with the youth group's graduating seniors, and today my dad's parents came for dinner.

Point in fact: I am currently overwhelmed. I need lots of deep breaths and some slowing down, which is coming. I have been gone from home every weekend since school ended, due to weddings and housesitting and pikcing up my sister from school. I will be gone the next two weekends, housesitting. But hopefully the fact that I will not be going ANYWHERE out of the valley for the next good while means I will have a chance to breathe, relax, and wind down, besides being enthusiastically involved in productive work, such as interning and possibly volunteering and/or finding some kind of compatible work. (It'd have to be really flexible work...)

Point in fact 2: Praise God from whome all blessings flow. Through it all, he is here. Through it all, he gives me guidance and inspiration and love for even the people I completely do not understand.

Point in fact 3: I have decided, due to the hecticness of not only MY life, but those of almost everyone around me, that I do not want a full-time job next year. I want a part-time job that will allow me to be involved in my church and my community in meaningful and eternally significant ways. All around me are people "too busy" to spend real time with other people. If you are one of those people--and even I qualify, for my barely-employed life has been rather busy in exhausting ways for the past month and a half--I a) suggest you read Colin Beavan's
No Impact Man, b) suggest you reevaluate your desires and priorities for your life, and c) suggest you take action when you realize that God has provided ways for you to live a meaningful and abundant life--because he has. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," John 10:10 [NIV].

It's not easy. Lack of structured time, or more concisely time management, is something I really struggle to use wisely. I'm struggling now, I've struggled in the past, and I will likely struggle in the future--possibly my entire life. But that is no reason to give up. There is victory in Christ. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me," 2 Corinthians 12:9 [NIV]. Boasting about my weaknesses is another thing I find difficult, but another area God can work on in me. Life's a process, and I'm not going to suddenly just get it all right. But, as a very wise girl just told me, "I think this is good though. I think, in the end, I have a Savior. :)" And that pretty much sums it up: It's all about him and completely, totally not about me. Not. about. me.

In the vein of weddings, two of my favorite songs that weddings remind me of, one of which I've only just met:
"Margie Ann" by Fernando Ortega (about his wife:)
"Lemonade" by Chris Rice

OK--sleep well, friends.