what's the point of even having a title?

I have now been with Starbucks for a year and half and have decided it's time to throw a little curveball in my life. I just got a job working at a non-profit organization in the valley which I am very excited to start (on MONDAY!).

In other news, I have now been married for almost 4 months which has been the greatest adventure of my life so far. I love it, but I particularly love just getting to be with my best friend all the time. God has sincerely blessed me with a husband who is in so many ways, my polar opposite which is a huge blessing in disguise, because he rounds me out in so many ways.

Anywho, I've been doing a lot of D.I.Y. projects, so I figure I might start using my blog to document the crazy (or not so crazy) projects I take on. I guess we'll see if I get around to it. But, enough of that, I am going out of town for the day and a lovely Northern Arizona breeze is calling me at the moment, so with that being said, goodbye world.

there is no point to this post.

It's hard to keep everyone updated on life... newest piece of information for the world to know is that...(drumroll)...I'm engaged! While working as a shift supervisor for your friendly neighborhood/international coffee company, I am simultaneously planning a wedding. I know, I'm crazy.

As hard as I try to remember to blog, somehow the business of life always gets in the way. Besides, I feel like I'm always trying to keep track of whether blogging is currently trendy or not. :) I've decided that it currently is...but give it a couple months and then we will reassess where it's at.

Sometimes when life makes you go insane, you begin to think what it would have been like to be a monk somewhere off in some far away monastery that spent their existence in solitude. What the heck would THAT be like?? But to be honest, I don't think life was meant to be spent like that....wouldn't that just suck all the joy out of living? I don't know, it beats me, 1) because I've never tried it and 2) because I don't plan to.

Hopefully I'll post on this before June 24, 2011. If not, I'll have to go to all that hassle changing my name over and stuff. (which will be totally and completely worth it)

And there is none, is the answer to all of you asking the question as to whether or not there was really a legitimate point for posting this blog. I'm not a writer, y'all. I type what I think. the end.

yes, i am a slacker.

So, I figured my blog needed some updating. I mean, let's be honest, it hasn't been updated in nearly three years. And apparently blogging is now the new trendy thing....{again}

Also, when I am quite bored in the library reading my quite outdated books....this is pretty much the most entertaining thing to do.

So let's see......a little update here.

I live in Chicago now. Yes, ridiculous, I know. The rest of my family happens to be living in North Africa. I am a grad student in Intercultural Studies and I love my life. I have two of the best roommates out there and I love where God has placed me. . .

In the depths of Chicago winters thing that make my heart happy are:

• stepping in fresh snow that has not yet been stepped in.
• wearing bright colors that completely contrast the dull gray sky
• going outside at the most ridiculous times when it is too cold to do anything and going for an adventure.

......to be continued.

In other news, the fedora that I wore today got several compliments AND I talked the phone company into giving me a phone for free. This as given me quite a new sense of confidence and accomplishment. And now, I am abandoning this blog and the library for a cup of Tetley tea, which is, in all senses of the word, superior.

Learning to Breathe

The lyrics to this song really hit home for me right now, so I thought I would post them on here for all of you...

Hello, good morning, how ya do?
What makes your rising sun so new?
I could use a fresh beginning too
All of my regrets are nothing new

So this is the way
that I say
that I need You
This is the way
This is the way

That I'm learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that You and You alone
can break my fall
I'm living again,
awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

Hello, good morning, how ya been?
Yesterday left my head kicked in
I never thought I could fall like that
Never knew that I could hurt this bad

I'm learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that You and You alone
can break my fall
I'm living again,
awake and alive
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

So this is the way
that I say that I need You
This is the way
That I say I love You
This is the way
That I say I'm Yours
This is the way
This is the way

Learning to Breathe by Switchfoot

Lately...(a snapshot of my life over the past 4 months)

Wow...I haven't posted on here in a LONG time! sorry to all of my readers, if there are any! :) There is so much to say that I feel as though I could write a small book (perhaps, not so small). This summer was fantastic, although I spent the majority of it away from home. My family and I spent three weeks in northern Africa and then were able to tour Europe afterwards. It was an experience that I will never forget. We were gone a total of 5 weeks and by the time we got back home...I think we were all overjoyed that we didn't have to live out of a suitcase anymore. It was weird coming back because since we had been moving around so much during the summer, it felt abnormal to just stay put and NOT be getting on the next train, taxi, or some form of transportation to arrive at our next destination.

God taught me many, many things over the summer...some easier to explain than others. The main thing that I think I learned was that I need to rely totally, utterly, and completely on God. Spending 5 weeks away from home was not easy, on the contrary, it was VERY difficult, but I learned that God IS everything that I need...and that's it! He is my all...that was eye-opening.

I also learned how lightly I can take my own faith sometimes. I got a chance to see, throughout my vacation unstoppable faith and trust in Christ, lived out. I think we so often take for granted the blessings that we constantly have around us, and I was able to tangibly see what it would be like to live without them. I had to question my own faith and ask myself, "Back home in my everyday life, do I live like the verse "to live is Christ and to die is gain"? " My outlook and view of God was stretched considerably as I saw just HOW MUCH He is truly capable of doing. Wow...I don't think I will ever doubt His power again!

The third thing I learned is very close to my heart and very applicable to the stage of life that I'm in right now. God showed me that He, and He alone, must be #1. That sounds so basic, but I, many times, in my stupidity, forget to apply that to all aspects of my life! My passion is missions and sharing the gospel, but I really had to stop and ask myself, "Am I really willing to give up whatever it takes for God's glory? Or is it only under certain circumstances that I will sacrifice for the sake of the call?" Overall, there is so much to say about the summer that I could go on forever, but those are just a few things that God opened my eyes to while I was away.

Now, I am in school, and busy as ever, finishing up my senior year in college! yikes! I am worried about grades, essays, midterms, finals, homework, and much much more! But, I trust Christ to get me through it...He has never let me down...and so...I press on.

Summer Camp '007

So...i finally got a chance to write another blog...I got back from camp about a two weeks ago and God did big things.


I don't even know where to start. I learned so much. Camp was fun...girl time, group time, game time, but especially God time. At this camp there was a really great opportunity for me to spend time just talking to God and growing my relationship with him. I was really able to see Him working in my life and I was able grow closer in my relationship with Him. Many people think that God is an impersonal God, God showed me in many, many ways this camp that He cares about me and wants to have a relationship with me.


The main thing that God showed me was my sin...but at the same time His grace. His abounding, incredible, surrounding, forgiving, merciful grace. Recently, I have almost had an obsession with God's grace and the realization of it. I was overwhelmed by God's grace and my sin and they both coupled together into a beautiful love story. I was also overwhelmed and overjoyed by the fact that God saved me in spite of me. Tom said something that really hit home for me: God who is everything, takes you who is nothing, and makes you something. The essence of that is so simple yet so profound.


God also increased my love for the lost because I had opportunities where I was able to tangibly minister to people who weren't believers. Bethany, a girl in my group (and also my really good friend), said something to me and it made perfect sense to me. We were talking about lives before knowing Christ. She said, talking about life without Christ, "you don't really know what empty is until you're full". The beauty of being filled by Christ is something that i guess I have taken for granted since I have become a believer but if I think about life without Him, I don't know where I'd be and it's a scary thought to be sure.

God also taught me to trust Him. I know that He's in control of the details, but actually trusting Him with the details seemed to be easier said than done. I was having a hard time doing that but God just revealed to me that it is foolishness not to trust Him, because whether I trust Him or not doesn't change what happens because the truth is: He is in control of my life and all the details that go with it no matter what.

Aside from what God taught I was really able to grow the friendships with my d-group girls and other amazing people in my life and that fellowship was a huge blessing. I am really excited that God has me in Student Ministries and I am there with a purpose. I hope I will be able to serve Him in my last two years of Student Ministries. I want to make His name is known in whatever way I can and I want to serve Him with all of my heart! I know that He has me on this earth ultimately for a purpose, which is to bring Him glory and spread His name and I pray that He would give me the courage and the strength to accomplish my mission; to finish the race set before me!

a longer blog is coming soon...

Hey everyone! I just got back from camp! God did some amazing stuff! I promise I will make sure to post as soon as I possibly can I just need to get my thoughts together a little bit more so check back for posts soon!