fIvE-5...

...things on my to do list:
1-finish filling out rental application
2-laundry (always need to do this, it seems)
3-clean the kitchen
4-pack, pack, pack
5-clean out our cars

...snacks i love:
1-sweet tea
2-peanut m&ms
3-almonds
4-whole wheat goldfish
5-hummus

...things i would do if i were a billionaire:
1-be able to actually pay for ryan and i's education straight-up
2-pay for other people to go to school
3-support all the missionaries i wish i could now
4-buy some diamond earrings (and wear them every other day)
5-if i had it today, i would try to figure out some way to get it to help aid efforts in Myanmar

...bad habits:
1-worrying
2-eating too many sweets
3-easily annoyed by other people's bad habits (smacking/crunching loudly on their gum/food...ryan!)
4-not being organized
5-nagging (only sometimes...)

...places i have lived:
1-montevallo, al
2-various apartments in riverchase/inverness
3-sebc dorms (the new and the old!)
4-big house at 1716 triple h ranch road
5-little tiny apartment at same place

...jobs i have had:
1-hydra spa
2-disney store
3-recreational assistant
4-student admissions recruiter
5-receptionist

been searching for inspiration

but haven't really found any just yet, so this blog might not be of any interested to any one reading...ryan and i have been having some lazy days this week. he is finishing up at work this week, so he still has to get up early...but, me, i get to sleep in, until at least 9:15 or so (which is when my body makes me get up for some reason!). i just kind of piddle around-cleaning this, thinking about packing that, and looking at housing options online...all the time wondering if we really are going to make this move. two weeks and less than one day now, and counting-but it still doesn't quite seem real that we are about to pack up all our meager belongings and move west. you know, it's interesting, in the the book of Genesis, every time someone moved west, it was a sign of them following God and a sign that good things were coming...but when people moved to the east (or went east), it was always a sign that they were not heading in a good direction. so, a little hope there that things are going to be okay?? :) really, i'm nervous about moving (okay, scared is a more fitting word), but i feel very peaceful about it at the same time... like i know that it's where God is leading us, even though it's going to be a BIG transition. so anyway, we are about to go west and start a new life, in a way... i keep calling it a journey, for some reason...and i keep thinking about that michael card song, "joy in the journey":
There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born in the Spirit
And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey...

i wish i knew how to link the song on to here, because it's really a beautiful song...one of those that touches you deep down. but, alas, i know not how...

congrats

we had the proud honor of attending the graduation ceremony of my step-mom, bette, this weekend at the university of montevallo. after two years of working hard for this degree (along with working full-time still, and teaching at the u of m on the side), she finally received it: her Ed. S.! just wanted to say a special word of congrats to her! we are so proud!

we really needed a zoom lense, but she IS in this picture:

the happy graduate and proud husband:

a profile shot of me and my dad...i think we do kind of look a like, in a strange sort of way..what do you say?:

"who wants to be a legalist?"

we have been making our way through the book of galatians at church. when my pastor asked the question a few weeks ago, my eyes quickly shot around the room to see who would put their hand up...or at least, who should put their hand up. as a balcony sitter, i have the opportunity to see almost everyone in our congregation (minus those people who sit directly under the balcony-i've been working on my x-ray vision, so i can see through the floor, but i haven't quite perfected it yet). as you might imagine, no one raised their hand, though quite a few people did lower their eyes, me included (after, of course, my quick glance around the sanctuary). the obvious answer to that question, though, is "no one, of course!" i mean, hello-what a terrible way to live, always trying to make sure you are doing better than your next door neighbor, fellow sunday school teachers, and bible college associates, right?? as terrible as it seems, i find myself right there in that pitiful little camp all to often. and pride is no better than any other sin. it's easy for me, all to often, to think it's just a small little sin that doesn't really affect anyone but me...oh but it does. you know where it has reared it's ugly head for me? at sips n strokes, yep. when you go there, after you pay, they give you a little pallett for your paint and some paint brushes. you then go over and stand in a line to get the actual paint, which is in these big squirt bottle things. there's a nice little sign right directly in the line of sight that says, "please only get 2 squirts of paint to begin with. remember you can always come back for more" (or something like that). and those silly ladies, some of them get like ten squirts. it's so obvious, as they walk away with the paint practically dripping right off the sides of their palletts! can't they read the sign?!? well, when it's my turn, i, of course, just get the two squirts-but those two measely squirts gave me like no paint. i'd have to come back every two seconds to have enough to actually paint the picture if i just got two.. so, i quickly squirted a few more... even as i did so, i realized my sin. not the sin of getting too much paint, but the sin of looking down on those who went before me and got too much..and then hypoctitically, i went and did exactly what i was judging them for...but justified it in my own mind! sin is a terrible thing. this past week has afforded me the unfortunate opportunity of seeing and feeling the affects of other's sin. and let me tell you, it is not a good feeling. all i know to say is that sin really is a horrid thing...and i pray that God would keep me near and that i would be ever mindful of what a huge offense my sin is to Him-even in paint class!

on a totally different note, how about that softball team in washington? i just watched a news clip that told about these two college softball teams playing a game to determine who would be in the division 1 playoff. a girl hits a home-run, and as she was taking off on her journey home, she somehow skipped first base, so she turned around to go back and touch it-and when she did, at some point, she turned oddly and tore her knee...becoming unable to get up and finish running around the bases to complete her first ever home-run. the umpires said that the point wouldn't count unless she touched all of the bases, and that if her teammates touched her (to help her), then they would automatically not get the point either. so, you know what happened? two girls on the opposing team picked her up and carried her around the bases-allowing her first ever home-run to count, and at the same time, sealing the hurt girl's team's victory-it sounds like. that's right, the helpful team ended up losing the game, thus losing their chance to go to the playoffs. that is pretty amazing, if you ask me...

weep with those who weep

isn't it so much easier to rejoice with people who are rejoicing? but what a blessing to be able to weep with others? i was reading friends blog and she said something about hoping that it's comforting to those hurting that other people are hurting with them... and i thought "what a huge comfort that is?" we are called to walk alongside our sisters and bear their burdens with them. i think, personally, that is so much easier when you have an encouraging word or some sense of "everything is going to work out in the end"....but on those days when there is nothing to be said, no words that seems fitting, i think it best to follow to words of the Scriptures and simply weep with those who are weeping....

a word

the Lord is near to those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him faithfully.. psalm 145:19