You Remind Me of Home

I've sort of always wanted to live in the ghetto and I'm positive that this next year will quench that desire. I moved into the new house this week and well, it's in the ghetto. It's funny that the Casa de Fun Fun was in the nicest nighborhood in Rock Hill, but it's the most disfunctional house in the state of South Carolina. The new place is pretty much the opposite. Grace, Brittany, and I decided on the "Cabin" as our home name. It's a weird thing among my friends to name their houses and so the tradition lives on. I did not make up the definition stated below:

Cabin; n.
1. a room used as living quarters in a ship or boat
2. a small simple dwelling: a log cabin
3. the enclosed part of an aircraft in which the passengers or crew sit

I mean how perfect of a name is that? Grace loves boats and she's a pirate. Brittany is going to fly airplanes one day. I love the outdoors and camping. It's a beautiful thing. But how do I feel about moving out of the casa? The dwelling that has seen me through 2 crucial and emotional years in my life? I'll just save those emotions for later if you want to ask. I can tell you that I will not miss the random window units that supply small amounts of air in the summer. Or the oven that burns everything, or the heaters that don't give off any heat. And I especially won't miss my closet room with one outlet. I'm moving on to bigger horizons where I will do my laundry, the fridge will be cold, and my room has light purple walls which I already love waking up to. And I won't fail to mention that the company is going to completely rock. Cute furry pet included.

If you're a celebrity, I wouldn't go outside for a few days. geez.

The Ninety and Nine

I ate too many skittles and I can't go to sleep. Whether one is the direct result of the other, I'm not so sure.

If I were the twittering addict type and you were the follower of such tweets, your head would have spun from the number of things I did this week. Most days I went straight from work to Crocodile Dock also known as our Vacation Bible School. Greg and I started planning for this week in March and for it to be over is a sigh of relief and a sigh of good sadness. It felt like summer camp. Kids got saved. Kids who didn't ask of Jesus the offical request left knowing a little more about God and for that we must rejoice. Kids had fun and felt loved. After a week like that I can't understand WHY I would want to live for anything less than that. To live to serve the Lord and to long for others to do the same. When I think about the calling of a Christian and the cost that that entails it is a huge thing, it's intense. And if it hits me in the right way, it won't go down easily. It's meant to be intense and personal and crazy and the opposite of what I used to know. Most of the time I don't do it right. Most of the time my thoughts aren't right and my actions don't match my words. But the way God pursues us and won't stop until He gets us makes it all worth it. It makes answering that calling a possibility.

I'm reading up in Luke 15 about the lost sheep and I wonder how the sheep got lost in the first place. I mean did the little guy just see something better and left to get it instead? Or did the little guy just lose focus for just a while and didn't realize that the crew had left without him? All I know is that I used to be a sheep. And God didn't stop until He got me. He's not satisfied with 99. As I read through that this week, I realized that VBS would have been a success even with just one kid. If one kid came to our church for 3 hours a night it would have been worth it, and we wouldn't have done anything different.

quote of the day

10:25pm
Erica: "I want to do something to someones house."

God is Great, Beer is Good, and People are Crazy

After a long day, I like to think about the things that I hate. Like when people SEE that you have sun burn on your arms and the way they start the conversation is "Whoa, you got sunburned..." and then BAM! They hit you in the arm or poke it and draw as much attention as possible to the fact that it's red and it stings. I can't tell you how many people I had that exact conversation with in church yesterday, and how amazingly my arms were even more red after church than before from people wanting to be funny and punch me. Dang it.

I also hate facebook chat. Really, I do. I get on just to see what someone kindly wrote on my wall and while I'm trying to write something completely random and stupid on your wall, you pop up and there goes my night. When I have nothing better to do I love it because most of my friends don't live within 100 miles of me anymore so it's good. But most days I just don't want to chat. And not only does it make that annoying sound, but it also takes me away from the page I was on and that's just frustrating. Don't get discouraged from me admitting this, it's just something I had to communicate. I also HATE waking up at 7:05 in the morning. You'd think I would just get over it after a year, but no. I hate it more every morning.

and you know how I feel about Cheez-it party mix, so I won't go there again.

How He Loves

We hiked up a Mountain sunday night and it was beautiful at the top. I looked out over the smallness of everything I saw and wondered WHY God did that? Why did he make things so beautiful for a world that is so gross and broken? We sat on the very edge of the top with our feet hanging and we just enjoyed the weather and laughed a lot. When I think about the people I get to spend my time with I wonder why He loves me despite how gross and broken I am. It's the most simple things in my walk with Jesus that will always amaze me and it's the most simple things I will have to learn over and over again. I think the most wonderul things in the world are the things you just can't quite figure out. The things you don't understand, the questions that you can't answer yourself. Jesus and what he does makes no sense. It aint normal, people. It's rediculous and strange and overwhelming and not easy to get a hold of. He is the exact opposite of who I am and He loves me enough to give me this life that I've done absolutely nothing to deserve. He gives me chances continually and I can pick up right where I left off and that love never quits. I don't think about this fact as often as I should. We say Jesus loves us so many times because thats what Christianity is based on, but I never really take the time to look at my life and see the tons and tons of proof that He actually does. He does!

Things and Things

I told you (or maybe I didnt) that I would update you concerning my summer to-do list. I've sanded my rocking chair and I have the paint, I just need the time to do it. And seeing as how a little time to myself seems to never be a possibility, we'll see how long it'll take. I did in fact go to a Charlotte Knights baseball game last night. Me and my long lost college classmate Amy, hit up a slow Wednesday night game where we got good seats, a visit from another sport management classmate who promises us free tickets for the rest of the season, a picture with Homer the Dragon, and a FREE funnel cake from a fellow yankees fan. The team itself is pretty terrible, but the experience is really relaxing with good summer weather. The company was swell too. It's so great to spend time with someone who you literally have everything in common with, and my pal Amy is that person. All of my closest and best friends are wonderful, but let's be honest, I don't have hardly anything in common with some of them. And that too, is a good thing!

Today I am celebrating my 1 year annivesary with the Parks and Rec department. It's also my beautiful friend Brooke's 23rd birthday and I'm proud of her! I am also unoficially officially enrolled in graduate school. I say that because I'm in 3 classes for the fall. Legal Issues in sport and fitness administration, statisticcal analysis & design of physial activity, and financial management of fitness and athletic programs. whew. For that to be only 9 hours of class, that sure is a mouth full. 600 level courses, watch your back cause I'm bout to take you all down.