what is your passion?


last night i started reading the book about Green Day that i bought recently. it's called Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz. besides being well written, the book is captivating because of the story of these three guys who are so passionate about their music, and the message behind it, that they're willing to sacrifice anything in order to play.

it's no secret that i'm not much of a musician, but it's also no secret that i love music a great deal. a good song can touch my soul (and even change my life) in ways that not much else can. as i was reading the introduction to this book i couldn't help but feel this longing to be a part of something like Green Day. their music and message have touched people's lives in very real and special ways, and i'm jealous of them. i'm jealous of their talent, and i'm jealous of their passion.

i say i'm passionate about a lot of things... like poverty, environmental issues, people (that's pretty vague, eh?)... the list goes on. but when was the last time i really sacrificed anything in order to further these causes that i'm so "passionate" about??? i'm not sure i ever really have. it's time to change that...



love to all...

calmer than the sky
far away so blue
land of Living God
grant your peace on earth
we can feel you move and cannot stay the same
the winds are blowing strong
God of heaven come

breathe peace
breathe your peace on us
so we might breathe you deep
breathe peace
breathe your peace on us
land of the living God

if we are in the way
move us to the side
God forgive our wrongs
rest your hands on us
all the world is yours
let us not forget
it was you who bore the cross
God of comfort breathe
breathe peace...

-Robbie Seay Band "Peace"

i'm bored i'm bored i'm bored i'm bored i'm booooooorrrrrrrred!!!!!!


ok, now that i got that out of my system...


i'm at catholic social services today. i was supposed to have one client today, buuuttttt he didn't show up. this is nothing new for this client, or most others for that matter. it's frustrating, but i shouldn't complain. i did a little reading, and got to chat with some friends for most of the day. the good news is that i won't have to do this kind of thing forever, and while i am doing it, perhaps i'm learning to be more patient (those who know me well are probably thinking, "where's the evidence of that?!?").

on a less whiny note... this past weekend was wonderful. i'm very much looking forward to living in lancaster again. it's always so hard to leave...

i'm also looking forward to this weekend. ceejer and i are gonna have movie night (or "chick night" as she called it today) on friday or saturday. that'll be a good time, as always.


i have such wonderful friends... i'm so blessed...


love to all...



(14 weeks)

I give up, I lay down
Rest my face upon this ground
Lift my eyes to Your sky
Rid my heart of all I hide
So sweet this surrender

How great Your love for us
How great our love for You
That grace could cover us
How great Your love

How marvelous, how brilliantly
Luminous, You shine in me
And who can fail to give You awe
To fear You, God, so sovereign and strong

I’m so bored of little gods
While standing on the edge of
Something large
While standing here, so close to You
We could be consumed

What a glorious day


-David Crowder Band "How Great"

*sigh*





116 days...




on another note... old friends are so wonderful... i've been so blessed by some of mine lately... even in the short time that i spent with them (or just talking to them)... i hope you all know how much i appreciate you...




love to all...

a little thought from our daily bread...

"...we can be at home in any dwelling, for our safekeeping lies not in the place where we live but in God Himself. We can dwell 'in the secret place of the Most High' and 'abide under the shadow of the Almighty' (Psalm 91:1). There, in His presence, under His wings, we find refuge. The eternal God becomes our dwelling place."


perhaps the reason God sometimes allows us to live in places we're not all that fond of is to force us into His presence. often, when we're comfortable we tend to forget about God. i think this is why He allows difficult circumstances. if only we could learn to keep Him first when life is easy...

117 days til the end of the semester!!!!



perhaps soon i'll be able to tell you why that's significant. *crosses fingers*


:)

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face"
-Victor Hugo






...which reminds me... i need to see my katie... and sooooooon!!!!

i had a wonderful christmas! i hope you all did as well.

i spent most of the day laying around, making dinner, eating dinner, and laying around some more with my family. i also received wonderful reminders that i have some very special people in my life, whose minds i must have been on at some point during the day (and who are often on mine as well) since i got text messages from them... which completely made my holiday. it's 'little' things such as these that make life worthwhile.



love to all...

it's 4am and i'm wide awake.



and i have to be up in 3 hours.




i've taken longer naps than that.

i read this in the daily bread this morning, and thought it was pretty awesome... so i decided to share...

"Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
-Hebrews 8:12

the author was talking about how pastors and Christians in general emphasize that God says He'll forget our sins. he continued by saying that this isn't always very comforting to people because God can always remember... he is God after all. then the author spoke about a time he heard a pastor say that the verse says God promises to remember no more. it doesn't say he'll forget. it says he chooses not to remember. that is so much more powerful than forgetting. he willingly chooses not to remember so that we can be right with Him.

awesome.

i heart lancaster county.

this weekend was fantastic. i got to spend most of saturday with my buddy, garrett from high school. it was absolutely wonderful to spend time with an old friend... especially one who loves God with all his heart, and cares so deeply about people. there's something so comforting about friends who know you well and with whom you can be honestly yourself. i hope we get to spend more time together soon.

after hanging out with garrett, i went to reading to see the kateness, which was wonderful as always. we spent the evening driving around berks county looking at people's christmas decorations. some were very nice, others were completely ridiculous, and we had a wonderful time making fun of the latter and laughing like idiots. it was great.

on sunday i went to church and saw some people i haven't seen in a while... like jess kerr... the coolest girl in youth group! i miss her so much. after church mark and i went to lunch and then to borders and target. it was an experience, as always.

speaking of missing things... i miss lancaster so much. i absolutely love being there. i'm so much happier when i'm in that county than i am any other time. i can't really put into words how i feel when i'm there. garrett asked me what i love about it, and i didn't really have a good answer. i said it reminds me of bloomsburg in some ways, but it has good aspects of a city. that doesn't nearly describe why i love it.

i love it because to me it's home...

huzzah!!! classes are over for the semester!!!

AND i'm going to lancaster this weekend to see some of my most favorite people in the whole wide world! woo!

and now i present a survey... stolen from the roommate...

Name Four Bad Habits You Have:
1) Eating junk food late at night
2) Talking to myself in public... I've gotten so used to doing it since I now live alone, that I forget that I shouldn't do it when other people are around
3) Sitting with my leg under me, so that it cuts off the circulation and makes it "fall asleep"
4) Cracking my ankle incessantly before I fall asleep at night

Name Four Things That You Wish You Had:
1) My favorite people nearby
2) Something shiny (hahaha... I was just perusing jewelery stores with a bunch of giggling women)
3) A doctoral degree, so that I could just get on with my life already! hahaha
4) The ability to draw and paint well

Name Four Scents You Love:
1) My parents' house
2) My vanilla cookie candle
3) Fields in the summer
4) Christmas trees

Name Four Things You'd Never Wear:
1) Fur
2) Camoflage
3) Ridiculously long fingernails
4) "Ug" boots (or whatever they're actually called)

Name Four Things You Are Thinking Now:
1) "I'm up way past my bedtime."
2) "I'm old."
3) "We're getting our Christmas tree tomorrow!!!"
4) "I have a lot of work to do!!!!"

Name Four Things That You Have Done Today:
1) Went to 2 classes from 9 am- 3pm
2) Drove home from Scranton
3) Went to dinner with my parents, and had this amazing penne with vodka sauce at Balzano's in Bloomsburg (i highly reccomend it... the food is fantastic, and Mr. Balzano gives you a hug and kiss when you walk in)
4) Went shopping in downtown Bloomsburg during their "Late Night Shopping" event with Ceej, Brenda, Erica, and Mama

Name the Last Four Things You Have Bought Recently:
1) A shirt
2) Bread
3) Aluminum foil
4) Krispy Kreme donunts (mmmmmmm....)

Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink:
1) Diet Orange Slice (or Sunkist)
2) Cranberry apple juice
3) Water
4) Chai tea

Last Thing You Laughed At?
Ceej flirting with the cute jeweler

What's Under Your Bed?
I'm not entirely sure

What Time Did You Wake Up Today?
7:00 am

Current Hair?
A ponytail in disarray (did i spell that correctly?)

Current Clothes?
Pajamas!

Current Desktop Picture?
Johnny Depp playing the bass guitar *sigh*

Current Worry?
School, future, life in general ;)

Current Hate?
Petty girls

Last CD You Bought?
um... All American Rejects "Move Along"... total impulse buy... it's fun to listen to, but nothing to write home about

Favorite Place To Be?
Pretty much anywhere in Lancaster County

Least Favorite Place?
Pretty much anywhere in Lackawana County (Scranton, in particular)

Favorite Color?
Blue, or teal, or purple... depends on the day and the object

Favorite Day?
Saturday

1 week to go.


oh yes, then there's the next three semesters...





is it weird that i want to be a grown up?

*sigh*

so much on my mind...


i wish i could turn it off...

15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

Colossians 1:15- 20 (The Message)

once again, i'm at catholic social services, and i'm bored to tears.

the only difference is that today my head feels like it's going to explode, and i'm feeling a bit nauseated. it's fantastic.


can't wait to get home...

first of all, i feel i must warn those of you who read this blog on a regular basis that i will probably be posting a lot of excerpts from the irresistible revolution for the next couple of weeks. forgive me, but i just can't seem to help it. it's like the guy read my mind.

so here are some thoughts from mr. claiborne for today...

"Over and over, when I ask God why all of these injustices are allowed to exist in the world, I can feel the Spirit whisper to me, 'You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet'" (p 65).

"...I had no idea who St. Francis of Assisi was, but somehow the divine whisper that he and those young radicals heard in Italy in the thirteenth century was very familiar: 'Repair my church which is in ruins'. Now hundreds of years later, another bunch of young dreamers was leaving the Christianity that smothered them, to find God in the abandoned places, in the desert of the inner city. I felt so thirsty for God, so embarrassed by Christianity, and so ready for something more" (p. 65).

and finally...

"We do indeed have a God of resurrection, a God who can create beauty from the messes we make of our world" (p. 67).


good stuff...

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves... and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."
-Romans 8:26-28 (The Message)


*sigh*