the beauty of simplicity

Best Friends, Driving, Weddings & Coffee

2008-11-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

Those words pretty much describe my weekend last week. I got up early on Saturday morning and began my trek to Central California. A quick stop at Starbucks and to get gas and I was on the grapevine, where I was no-so-happily surprised by an hour delay (for no good apparent reason). I finally arrived in Fresno, quickly got ready for the wedding and drove up to camp. It was a beautiful wedding (a little cold... I forgot that seasons actually exist) and we're lucky that God decided to wait a few hours before he dumped an enormous amount of water on us. I enjoyed the company of the Piñas, the Kerr-Owens and Tyler and Christina. I then drove in the dark, on mountain roads, in the rain back to Fresno to spend some quality time with Elllelelelellelele (Ellen Green). And then the next morning I woke up and drove back down, out of the Valley.

During the weekend, I had 5 Starbucks drinks. Only 3 of them were my idea. But still, that's a lot of coffee for one weekend. I did have a midterm on Monday, so I guess it was imperative that I stayed awake.

I've decided that the Central Valley is quirky. You love it and you hate it. There's not always something to do there (but it is getting better...), but there is always someone I love there. Even though I didn't make it all the way up to Modesto, it felt like home just to be back to somewhere where I knew my way around, where not every square inch is taken up by concrete. Needless to say, being so close to home, I've begun to wish that Thanksgiving would come so much faster. I can't wait to be home, even if just for a few days. I want to see my family and friends. I want to be in a comfortable environment.

Don't get me wrong, I love school. I love LA. I love my friends here. It's just I wouldn't be who I am without my family and friends and the Central Valley. I think those three things have shaped me.

Welcome to my face

2008-11-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

So a couple weekends ago (seems like forever ago) I went to Catalina Island for what we call Fall Con. The topic was "I believe in Jesus as my Lord & Savior" and what that really means. Not the shallow meaning that most people would assume. We talked about how faith/belief requires compassion. We talked about how Lord gives authority, how it denotes who is in charge of your life. We talked about how Savior shows power and how Jesus has the power to make changes now. Well, what I need Jesus to change in my life is how I view myself. My practical step? Not wear make-up this week. And let me tell you, this is a difficult task. Now, I don't usually wear a copious amount of make-up, but I at least wear some. You know, my essential foundation and mascara. Also as part of this, I'm not straightening my hair, and attempting to wear it down (because I don't like my hair how it is). I'm not sure what I'm going to get out of this, but I'm hoping something. I hope that Jesus reveals something to me through this experience. And, as I will most likely go back to wearing my usual make-up, I hope that this wasn't a lost cause. But, hey, here's what I look like. Here's my face, I'm not hiding anything.

Incredibly Busy

2008-10-18T02:21:00.001-07:00

So, I've realized in the last couple of weeks that I don't see people (unless they're in my classes or they come to see me at work). I've become a hermit. I go to class, I go to work, I go to IV things. But as soon as I get back to my room, it's into recluse mode. I just get so exhausted these days that I feel like I just need time to recuperate. But I'm not really sure how much time is required. The fact that my days are so filled makes the days go by quickly. I can't believe I have midterms next week (3 of them, that is...). The other day at small group, our ice-breaker was to explain our day in a 5 word, grammatically-correct sentence. Mine was "I wasn't in the dorms." Sad, I know, but it explained my day perfectly. I went from class to a meeting to work to dinner and then to small group. I just don't know where I'm going to find the time to invest in people and build relationships.

Update

2008-09-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, classes have begun.
I am officially a sophomore. (yay wise fools!)
Which is weird, because I find myself giving people advice on classes and ways to get to class and where to eat and everything else.

I had to pack away my life again. I'm not a fan. I can't wait til I can settle somewhere and not have to pack up everything all the time. Eventually...

I wasn't able to read all those books, sadly. But I did finish:
How to Stay Christian in College - J. Budziszewski
I Once Was Lost - Don Everts & Doug Schaupp
Who You Are When No One is Looking - Bill Hybels
Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

and hopefully I'll be able to read the rest in the near future.

I miss my family immensely, but that was to be expected.

Leadership is exhausting. But so rewarding.

I got a job at a coffee house on campus. (Perfect job... Fuels the habit. hahaha). I'll start sometime in the next week I think.

I think that's all for now...

journal

2008-09-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

Never in my life have I completely filled a journal, until this summer.
I think it's quite an accomplishment, at least for me.
Now I get to reward myself with a new journal!
Woohoo!

Quote of the Day

2008-08-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

"I think anyone with a Monty Python name gets extra points." -Dad

Book List

2008-08-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

The books I'm trying to read before school starts (I have another month):

How to Stay Christian in College - J. Budziszewski
I Once Was Lost - Don Everts & Doug Schaupp (Required)
Who You Are When No One is Looking - Bill Hybels (Required)
Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
SexGod - Rob Bell
The Transitive Vampire - Karen Elizabeth Gordon
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
The Ragamuffin Gospel - Brennan Manning
Woe is I - Patricia T. O'Conner

I'm sure there are more. One down, and I've read portions of a couple of them.

Footprints

2008-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

(two blogs in one day... amazing I know)

So one of my junior highers brought up this poem/story in Bible study today...

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

It made me think about how amazing this is. The times when you feel like God isn't there, the times you feel the most seperated from God... that's when He's the most present. He's carrying you. Not just holding your hand, not just helping you walk.

So, the past week I've been reading "How to Stay Christian in College." Sounds corny, I know. I wasn't expecting much from it. But it turned out to be a really good book, it clears stuff up about life as a Christian in general. It has helped me realize (along with reflection throughout the summer of the past 5 years of my life) the times where I felt completely seperate from God. And it was my choice, my decision. But, He brought me back, somehow I realized His presence, He set me down and we began to walk together again.

shuffle

2008-08-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

You never know what you'll get when you put your ipod on shuffle.

So today, driving home from church, "Right Now" by Van Halen came on. (Now unless you knew me in high school or went to Johansen, this wouldn't be significant). This was our marching band show my junior year. As soon as it came on, it was like I was back there again. I could sing my part and I was picturinng where I would be at that point in the song on the field. It was weird. Things I don't think I would've remembered definitely came to mind. It was cool though, I need to take out my flute or piccolo and play. I miss it.

My Jesus

2008-08-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

This song by Todd Agnew really hits the spot. If you haven't heard it, listen to it here (you don't really need to watch the video, but listen).

And here are the lyrics:

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

So why am I posting this? I just find it very convicting. A few things I want to say about it...

It shows possession of Jesus. He is mine. He is yours. He is MY savior.
If I am trying to be like Jesus, why am I not spending my time with the least of these? I think it is a hard thing in our society (I'm not saying that it wasn't back then...). I'm hoping that this year as I'm in a leadership position with InterVarsity that I can make an impact and show people this side of Jesus.
There is so much truth in the line about Jesus' appearance and how we view Him. I know that as a kid I always pictured Him looking like me, and perfect nonetheless. But, yes, He bled. He was beaten. He did not look picture-perfect in those last moments.
The verse that hits the spot most of the time is "My Jesus would never be accepted at my church." We preach about what He did for each and every one of us. If we were really aspiring to be like Him, then our church would be filled with people like Jesus, people with blood and dirt of their feet.

Well, I hope this has made you think... The song inspires me and convicts me. I want to be like My Jesus.

20

2008-08-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

Last week was my half birthday... that means in just about 6 months, I will be two decades old. That's really weird.

Beauty in the Wilderness

2008-07-28T14:36:00.001-07:00

Grey's Mt.

Calvin Crest Lake

Fresno Dome

Iron Lakes

pictures.

2008-07-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

I took 375 pictures at camp in the past two weeks.
I'll have a sampling up in a bit.

2008-07-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting that cars aren't sound proof.

From the 1st day of VBS

2008-07-07T22:50:00.001-07:00

I was told "You have big knees."
It's much easier to completely simplify something than to do so partially. (makes sense right?)
[At what age do we stop feeding kids answers?]
Orange is not a flattering color to wear.
Mom and I should have bought two paintbrushes.
Dani and I are the only ones who want to be 'Mad Scientists.'
Hand motions for songs are really corny.
Owen and I want them to supply us with food.

Yes, well, those are my random thoughts... because I have to be up in 7 hours. woohoo!

The impact

2008-07-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how many people someone can impact in 80 years. This past weekend was my grandpa's 80th birthday. And I spent the week prior organizing cards, letters and pictures and compiling them into 3 large books. Each one held great memories of experiences they have shared with my grandpa. Some made me laugh and some made me cry. Every interaction you have with someone, whether you buy groceries from them, see them at church, or live down the street can mean so much to you or to the other person. I'm trying to learn to treasure those who I have been blessed with. Sometimes it's a more difficult task than it seems.

first year.

2008-06-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm done. It's over and it's quite bittersweet. I want to be home, but I want to be with my friends at school (Needless to say, I get to spend an extra week with them at the beautiful Catalina Island...). I don't think it has hit me yet that I have to go 3 months without seeing these people (since I live so far away). But I'm looking forward to this summer, I think it will be a time of change and growth...

(I think I'm parentheses happy today)

Do you ever...

2008-06-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

After studying for a long period of time, do you ever find yourself like an inch away from the page you're writing on? I do. And then I think, wow, my eyes are really close to this page. Oops. haha. Then I sit back up, and about 20 minutes later I'm back ridiculously close to the page. Maybe it's time to sleep...

Studying

2008-05-14T14:59:00.001-07:00

I need to learn how to study. I can sit in front of my book for hours and not get anything out of it. That's just not productive. Seeing as I never really studied in high school, this has been a new thing to me. Well, hopefully I'm getting better. But, it's so hard. I have 26 hours before my midterm and a third of a quarter's information to learn. Lovely, right?

A Long Weekend

2008-05-11T17:40:00.001-07:00

So I just finished up a very long weekend of intense manuscript study in Mark. As our group usually consists of about 40 people, this group of 20 was much more intimate and I feel as if I got so much more out of it. Maybe it's the fact that we spent 4+ hours on each passage?

Some things I learned:

I need to be vulnerable with other people and be willing to share my story (This came from the story of the Bleeding Woman)
I need to acknowledge that Jesus' power is not limited to my understanding (When Jesus walked on water)
I need to believe that Jesus will provide (When Jesus fed the 5000)
I cannot blame sin on other people or my interactions with those people, because it comes from my heart (From the story about defilement)
I need transformation that only God can perform (From both the Bleeding Woman and the Defilement)

It's amazing how much you can just skip over when normally reading these passages. There is so much more to each of these stories than I thought before. So, spend a little more time, read a little deeper into the text and see what God is trying to tell you.

<|3

2008-04-26T23:31:00.001-07:00

Heartbreak makes me sad.
It doesn't matter if it's me or not.
It still makes me sad that people have to go through it.
I don't know how to comfort someone who's going through it, but I'm always turned to.
It just makes me really sad.

Sometimes

2008-04-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the education system is a little ridiculous. When such specific guidelines are laid out for an essay, is it really allowing us to learn how to structure an essay for ourselves? When we're required to turn our brainstorming in a certain format, is this teaching us to think for ourselves? I don't know, but sometimes, I think it's just a little bit ridiculous.

It's inevitable

2008-04-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Of course the day that I get basically no sleep, throw on a sweatshirt, put my hair in a pony tail and pin up my bangs, and don't put on make-up before I go to my 8:00 class... I see pretty much everyone I know.

what's the difference?

2008-03-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

So I was at Teazer's in Fresno the other day, and I bought some loose leaf tea. And since I don't like eating leaves in my tea, I went to Cost Plus to buy something to steep it in. And I found that they had Tea Enfusers and Tea Strainers. What's the difference? And what should I have gotten? Because I ended up with a tea enfuser.

It makes me happy

2008-03-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

It makes me happy when I watch commercials during March Madness and see places at UCLA on them. Like Pauley or the bookstore. It's just cool, because I can say, I've been there! haha.