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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The weirdness of life in general.

Hello dear blog friends!

Just needed a study break and I thought I'd share with you some of my thoughts as of late, the ones that I revert to as I'm avoiding studying.

I'll just preface this: I think a lot, and I think that I think about weird things.

So, I wanted to tell you about a few things that I think are so cool and that are amazing and weird, really, when you think about them.

1. The fact that we don't fall more often. I mean, we are walking around on these two stick-like things, and it's kind of a big deal and rare if we fall. I mean, children fall all the time, but if an adult falls, it's like detrimental to their health sometimes.

2. Driving in cars and not having more wrecks. We zoom past people all the time, both going 45 mph and around a curve, and we don't even hit the other car.

3. Why are roaches so scary? I'm not saying I'm not afraid of them, but what makes them so much more disgusting and repulsive than say, flies or grasshoppers.

4. The leaves all change during one season. They could all change at different times of the year.

5. Sleep. Like why do we sleep? What happens when we sleep to make us feel better? Isn't it weird that we go into this state that is like we're dead, in a way, for like a third of our life?

6. Hair in general. We have this stringy stuff that flows off of our body. I mean, that is WEIRD. And eye brows, they are strange too.

7. What if I saw green the way you saw yellow, but we both called it green? We'd never know that the other person saw it differently.

8. Do blind people see in their dreams? Do deaf people hear?

9. Names are strange. Your parents just pick a word that becomes your identity. A word that, if someone says it or something close to it, you immediately turn around.

10. Getting married. That means that I'm going to be with that one person for the rest of our lives; even if I get annoyed or mad or whatever may happen. That's scary, but maybe just because I don't know who that person is.

11. Airplanes. They weigh sooo much and they are just floating in the sky. It's absolutely insane.

12. Singing at church. Like okay, I have a bad voice, and do you think that God hears everyone's voices collectively, or that He hears mine alone and the person next to me alone? I sure hope He listens collectively for His sake.

13. Watching tv, going to movies, reading books. Have you ever found yourself praying for someone who is not even real? Well, I have and I totally feel justified for it. Those people become so real, and I truly become concerned. I can't even count how many times I found myself praying while I was reading My Sister's Keeper.

14. God is so creative in making so many different people. It's strange that more people don't look more alike. And how do we differentiate between all the people we see every day and the people who we have only met once, yet remember them all? Minds are really impressive.

15. Why are the numbers on a calculator, a phone, and the keyboard all differently placed? Wouldn't it be easier if they were all just the same. No wonder I always type the numbers in my password incorrectly.

16. What would we do if it were the old days and all there was to drink was water, milk, and tea? How boring that would be! No orange juice, coffee, diet cherry vanilla dr pepper, or pumpkin spice lattes. Emily would have fit in really well in those days.

17. What would I do with my time if there was no internet? That would mean no blog stalking, no facebook, no email, and no youtube.

18. When someone asks, 'what do you do in your free time?' what is the right answer? Like, do they want to know that you shower, read your bible, watch tv, sit there aimlessly staring at walls, shop, think, blog, and eat. Because that's what most people do during their free time if we're going to be honest. I hate that question. Maybe it's just me because I never have a good answer.

19. What's the deal with toenails and fingernails? Why do they grow? Who came up with the idea to paint them? That sounds like something an ancient Indian tribe would do- paint parts of their body in bright colors. Or even weirder, dark colors that look like they could be rotting.


20. And lastly, when did yelling, clapping, standing up, crying, or getting angry at the TV during football, basketball, whatever sporting event or emotional movie, ever become acceptable behavior and even normal?

So anyways, please let me know if you have any answers. And please don't judge me for my random thoughts.

And let's praise God for all the intricate little details and quirks of life; it makes everything much more interesting.



This is just a random picture that I saw as I was browsing through my pictures. It is just awesome because I was loving this time of the year: it was springtime and we had just gotten out of school. (Side note: we were sailing and I was with Mere, Merd, John and Rosson, and I just did not handle the experience very well.) But, at any rate, it's so cool how I can be loving Fall right now and how I loved Spring then. They are so different but awesome in their own ways.

Seasons are awesome.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Lost?... How?

I went home this past weekend and had a lovely time there. My wonderful cousin Merd was in town from college and my grandparents were in town as well, so we had a grand ole' time eating a feast, watching football, and shopping.

It was the picture perfect fall weekend, with that brisk weather and the gorgeous leaves, plus the football and food. Everything about the weekend was great... And I just did not want to leave home to come back to school.

So, let me tell you about my trip from home to school. It usually takes me a little bit less than 2 hours to get back. It's really not a bad trip at all! Yesterday I left home at 4:00 on the dot and got back to school at 8:11, with no time change.

And frankly, I don't even want to talk about everything in between. But that's why I'm blogging about it. Because I was so stupid, I feel like you might get a smile on your face because you are thankful that you didn't do this.

If I could put my thoughts from last night into pictures, it would look like this.

So here's the deal: I saw traffic ahead on the interstate right as I was pulling into Knoxville, and it looked really bad and I had to go to the restroom, like I realllly had to go and couldn't stand to sit in traffic. So I decided to get off on the wrong exit and find a way back to my apartment, which was about 20 minutes away usually. Some other cars were doing the same thing, so I thought I'd just follow them. Easy enough, right?

Negative.

I couldn't figure out which cars to follow, so I was just left following one car through the Oak Ridge National Lab (yes, that's the place where they like make bombs or something) and we come to a sign that says, UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES NOT ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT, because that's where they make the bombs and they don't want us to get blown up, I guess?

So both the car and I turn around, and yes, it is a little bit embarrassing because the car knows that I am following him.

This time, I am leading the way for the other car and, mind you, I still haven't found a bathroom because apparently nothing is allowed to be around this lab and there are just woods everywhere. Plus, I'm low on gas and starving. But in about 20 minutes of aimlessly driving around, I made it out of the black forest and found a Krystal (yes, I love fast food when I'm frustrated.)

Leaving the Krystal, I thought I saw the interstate and began driving that way to find no interstate at all and just a few dark roads. At this point, I've been driving for about an hour not knowing where I am. So, I called my mother almost in tears because I remembered I had two homeworks due the next day which I hadn't started and still didn't know where I was.

My mom asked me where I was, and I had no idea, but she got on mapquest and tried to find the places of things I was passing. I told her I passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Powell because I had seen churches named like, Oak Ridge Baptist or Clinton Presbyterian. After about ten minutes we figured out where I was and she told me to keep driving... For another thirty minutes until I found the interstate.

I finally arrived home after 4 hours and 11 minutes... A record time; And with 9 miles left to go on my car until it is out of gas.

So, my friends, that is what I get for being impatient in traffic: getting totally lost while driving somewhere that I've driven 3o times before, almost running out of gas, dinner at Krystal, bathrooms at Krystal (even better), and a 45% on my homework.

But guess what I learned?

It's better to face the trials at the beginning than to find an alternate route because the consequences aren't quite as bad the sooner you face them.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Half-Heartedness.


I have missed you, dear blog of mine! I think about you all the time. I consider what my next post is going to be about as I sit in class. I dream about who is going to comment on my entries.

Is it bad that I am considering skipping finance class, (yes, the same class that I got a 56 on my last exam) just to blog?

Update: I was on Fall break last week, where this picture was taken in Florida on the lake. My life has been crazy as of late. And the thing is, I can't figure out why or what has made it crazy.

I feel like I have a pretty normal college life, not too many activities, yet I feel like everything I'm doing, I'm doing half-heartedly. And half-heartedly doesn't make me happy. I've been going to classes sometimes, blogging, homeworking, studying, reading, quiet times, conversations- all with half of my attention. And my other attention, well I'm not quite sure where it's going.

My current thinking, though, is that I'd rather do nothing than do all of these things with half of me there, and half of me floating in Mel-land.

So yesterday I sat down and was reading John 4 because I thought that I should keep the story fresh in my mind because my small group and I are memorizing is John 4:28-29.

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"
It seemed to me like kind of a strange verse to memorize. But, the catch is.... there is so much more to it than it seems, and that's what I learned when I sat down to read the entire story and think about it.

This was the first time in a while that I had put everything into reading my bible. And guess what? I got so much out of it. I think that's how stuff works, you have to put a lot into it to get a lot out of it.

The thing that I realized is that this woman left her water jar. To me, that represented the things that she got caught up in, the things she might be worrying about, the things that were causing her to lose sleep at night.

And, right now, I can totally relate to this woman. I have to leave my troubles behind with Jesus and go tell people about Christ.

I can't get caught up in this busy world. I can't allow the busyness to effect my relationship with Christ and the way I view this world. I can't put my hope in my grades, my relationships, my parents, my roommates, my friends or my sisters, my location, or the weather.

I have to make time for what really matters. Jesus has given me the freedom to just get to love Him and everyone else. And that's it, that's all that matters. He doesn't care about those other things that I'm caught up in.

Everything that seems like it matters, well it does not matter. And everything that doesn't seem so important to the world, that's what matters.

Backing up a little bit, before she leaves her water jar at the well, she and Jesus are talking. She says that she knows the Messiah is coming and that He will explain everything to them.

And the reply that she gets?

"I who speak to you am He." From JESUS.

How awesome is that? She's just sitting at the well and the MESSIAH comes and talks to her. I am trying to imagine how she would have felt, and it makes me excited to even think about it.

And guess what? We can talk to the Messiah every single day. And He cares enough to come find us where we are, whether we're at a well or in the library. And even better, we can leave our jars with Him.

That's it. The woman didn't do anything that was that hard. Not nearly as hard as I make it in my mind. She wanted to tell people about Jesus. She willingly left her trouble with Jesus. And I wonder what joy she experienced because of that.

So, this is my hope and prayer: that you and I will both leave our headache of the moment in God's hands; that we will forget these light and momentary troubles; and that we can rest in knowing that the answer is Love; and that you and I will find joy in talking to the Maker of these beautiful autumn colors.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Wall of Randomness

I'm a college student. And so are my roommates. That means that we have practically no money for decorating our apartment.

We had a huge, white, blank wall in our living room. And we had no idea what to do with it. At least, no affordable ideas about what to do.

We discussed and we figured, heck, when else in our life can we just write on our walls?

And so, Gavin went out and bought paint pens. Blue, green, and brown, of course, to match the colors of our living room. (Keepin' it classy.)

After about a half minute of discussion, we just began writing our names on the wall. The neighbors came over and signed their names. And then my cousins left their love. And then a random guy from Oregon who was visiting the neighbors belowAnd by the time the weekend was over, the wall was half covered.

We thought that it was going to take up just one little section of the wall, but it's already almost covering the wall after two weekends.

So here it is. Here is our Wall of Randomness. If you'd like to contribute, please come on over!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

It's really bright out here.

In Charlotte at Mary Ann's we decided to take a picture on the last day. We hadn't seen the sun all weekend, and we thought a picture on the patio would be nice.

But surprise surprise, the sun peeks around as soon as we go out there!


Didn't realize how bright it was out here... Cute squinty eyes.


This isn't working out so well.

Ouch.


This isn't worth it... Let's go inside.


Finally... we got smart and moved to the sofa.
And we added Mol!

Missed you this weekend Mary Ann!