Tell Tails at Sea

Today Sarah, me and the Joshes went to the lake and went sailing. Absolute blast! Swimming, fishing, and sailing...not a better summer day. I must post the pics later.

Other than having a wonderful day...here are some funny things that Sarah said while in the boat.
1. Is that from Josh's bike? (Pointing to the boat motor handle- clearly NOT from a bike.)
2. Hannah, I am going to give you a booty boost.
3. What's the pH of the water out here?
Josh G- I don't know.
Well, it's about to change.

There were tons of thers, but I can't recall them now.
Off to two-step now. Giddy up.

5 Happy Things:
1. The dinner serving fork that Fernando was eating with at dinner last night.

2. A beautiful morning on the water started the day off great.

3. I got sunburned, but maybe my face will look a little tan now.

4. I am at home for the weekend.

5. I have a JOB! woohoo.

Captivating Titles

Oh my goodness. So I discovered another interest of mine as I traveled through B&N today. It is so much fun to walk down the aisles and read book titles. Titles of anything are fun, but especially books. Sometimes they make me just want to curl up in the aisle and draw in my sketchbook. It is so stimulating....:) Me and inspiration. I guess that I am a weirdo. I want to go back now and just think of the first things that come to mnd as I glance down the aisles. hehe fun.

5 Happy Things About Today:
1. I worked for the first time at B&N. Not anything special, but I got to log my hours for training. Woohoo.

2. I met several new people at the store. Another goal of mine for the fall. ***NOTICE- I must meet at least one new person each day. If I don't meet this requirement, I must meet at least 5 in one week. I will record this and give my first impressions of them. It's always fun to look back at these kinds of things.

3. I get to go home for the weekend. I love home.

4. I found a wonderful artist/author/creative genuis on flickr. I bought one of her books last summer, but now I see her work on flickr too. Keri Smith is a very talented girl. Check out her website and see some of the fun, creative things she thinks of.

5. I ran at sunrise today! Running the last stretch down the Berry/Belaire hill towards the east. The wind and sun were directly ahead of me and it was glorious! Thank you Lord, for memories like this one.

A movie with good motives

I saw Bourne Ultimatum tonight. It was on the edge of my seat exciting. Definitely worth a ticket. Take a friend. You may need for them to remind you to breathe in some of the action scenes.

Tomorrow is training day at the bookstore. I can't wait to meet more people and see how everything works.

It's been quite the day, but a great one!

5+1 Happy Things About Today:
1. I love my dad so much that I woke up at 5am to drive to Hurst and paint the house before it got too hot. (let's just say it wasn't enough time!)

2. Josh is finally in FW! The times we have are always exciting. Never a dull moment...never.

3. Sarah and I actually got to ride to church together tonight. I always love the company...and who better than Sarah to share the 25 minute drive with?! No one. :)

4. Ana and I got to talk at church tonight about life and coffee, working, and more life....

5. Jamie and I were partners for Lean on Me. By the time the song was over, we were really leaning on one another. Thanks girl for sharing such a moment as that. Haha.

6. Tomorrow night is another chance that I get to share happy times with the crew at FCCC. I secretly wish that Shanda has her baby tomorrow so that we can go to the hospital instead of watch the football game. Haha boyz.

Because sometimes we have that miracle called grace

Short story:

I read bits & pieces of my Mimi's Still Higher For His Highest each time that I go to her house. I came across a journal entry of mine from November 23rd (two years ago); note all of this is from Oswald Chambers, not myself.

There is nothing Higher than Jesus Christ.
"If there is a breath of confidence anywhere else, there will be disaster, and it is by the mercy of God that you are allowed to stumble, or to be pain-smitten, until you learn that He does it all- He keeps you from stumbling, He raises you up and keeps you up, He sends from above and delivers you."

Whenever there is a complication in your cirumstances, do NOTHING until you see the Highest- not sometimes, but ALL the time.

I looked and looked for this online to post it, but only My Utmost is online, but it's great too. Just not what I was looking for. I know for everyone, there are complications in life, but how many times do we really stop everything and type in "help me" to the Creator of the Universe? and not the nearest computer or furthermore, person (sometimes dealing with completely different issues)?

A captivating thought for today: Take captive of every thought today, and give it to the Creator of the Universe. If that thought is negative, I pray that He change the situation and/or the thinker's heart to solve the situation. If the thought is positive, than praise be to Him who gave you the thought in the first place. All that is good comes from Him who is good. Be blessed today that you were given another day to do something for the Savior.

Blazing Saddles! (hey we live in TX, right?)

Drink some of this today,

all of the heat will go away

NO it isn't alcohol...

It's PINK lemonade!

This post comes at the beginning of what is expected to be...a blazing day. High 100. Humidity = too hot to handle. Stay in doors and drink some lemonade friends, because Texas heat is here and we are all going to feel it. Laugh if you get cranky, and take a nap if you can't laugh. :) (That's just my advice.)

Earlier this year, we had a snow-covered ground & sweet man named Roger who lived by us.

Several (5+3) Happy Things Today:

1. We received a street notification that it is getting repaved. (again.) For those unaware, we received one of these notifications back in May during finals (also the reason my car flooded), and it is now August and we are still roadless. For runners, this is misery. For livers (haha that's a funny word), it is difficult to see with all the dust flying everywhere, and for others, it is also a clean-car-person NIGHTMARE. Rach, dear, I am sorry. Your blueberry in the driveway kind of looks like a sugar-dusted fruit these days. Just imagine it as a blueberry cake donut. haha. Not long (hopefully), until that pearl shines again. :)

2. Today, one of my greatest friends on earth is coming home. I can't wait to laugh with him again.

3. Thursday night is the Refuge party at The Palm's. {AKA Carl, Shanda, and Will's house.} We are having BBQ (not the girl fave, but mostly a f-ball thing among the boyz), and soaking the fellowship up with lemonade and sweet tea.

4. Friday is lake day. Hopefully. Considering the high prediction that day is 102. What's good about 102? Well it ends in a 2; my fave #, and 100 was once the high grade that smarty pants' received in HS.

5. School starts in...13 days. Ouch & Yea. All at the same time. Senior year. Another one, yet I bet this one is a little harder than the last....and hopefully more rewarding. (I'll have a degree this time!)

6. Yesterday was a happy day for me...more details to come. GOD is soooo good. (In the sound of Kelly Droke's voice.)

7. I got mail yesterday. A precious card from a friend that was handmade. I love handmade things. Especially when they are surprises, too. Oh, how sweet it is to receive mail. I think I need to go write my Mimi now. :)

8. Because I have to end on an even number...I got a new CD yesterday from Wally World. Dreamstorm. All of you fans that enjoy listening to rain. I highly suggest it. Anyone who doesn't, don't make fun. Someday you'll enjoy nature at its finest. :)

The Finer Things in Life

Riding with the best sister in the world never gets old.

So, the interview(s) are underway and I hope and pray that today's goes well at B & N. Imagine that...a walk in and interview for the cafe in the same day! Well, it happened, so ready or not here I come. Other things about today, I have cleaned my room (well almost totally), vacuumed out my car (including the nasty glove box), and now I am about to shower and spif up before the interview.

A captivating thought that ran across my mind today: what does it really mean to live with the finer things in life? Most of the US would think having a nice car, house, a couple of kids, maybe a dog, cat, and goldfish. The house would always be kept clean, the cars as well with the boat out back that was cherry red. Church on Sundays and Wednesdays, school during the week, and various practices/sports/events throughout the week.

Well...as a college student none of these apply and I realized this afternoon (when I was vacuuming out my 14 year old Honda) that I am happy with my life. This morning I was bummed at not having a job, the great Senior year about to begin, not having a significant other, and wondering how in the world I will manage after May comes.... But rest assured, I have so many things that make my life much finer than ever imagined before. I have a family. Two parents (still married- 25 years, in fact) and a sister whom is my best friend. I have a church body, a way to go to college, and I live in a house with two wonderful roommates that love the Lord and keep me company even when I do act like a crazy girl.

I believe that the finer things in life might go like this (for me; everyone else has his/her own):

1. Being able to rise in the am with a breath that only God himself gave me.

2. Feeling the wind blow in my face as I run down the street.

3. Watching the sun rise without a cloud in the sky.

4. The access to water to shower.

5. Being able to choose out my clothes for the day (yes, actually getting to choose and not wearing something dirty, old, or torn).

6. Having a car to drive and a phone to reach people with.

7. Being able to search for a job and people take an interest in my skills and talents.

8. Lastly, having people that care so much for me that they would tell me how I have made an impact in his/her life.

These truly are finer things to life. Forget the new, fancy car and all the things that make you smell good, look good, feel good....all of these things are TEMPORARY. Heaven is eternal. Therefore, my gifts and talents go to storage in heaven, so that one day I will hear those longed words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Thinking today...

Many words/phrases came up in service this am that are worth repeating on my blog. One of which was "Teach a man to fish, and he'll never go hungry." As I plan for theupcoming semester, I pray that I can keep this in mind when speaking to my friends and other fellow students, nurses, dr's, etc at the hospital and around campus. I pray that this semester would be filled with all kinds of miracles and stories. This statement stuck with me for several reasons: a) I just recenting learned how to fish (and it's incredible), b) many men in our world have forgotten what it means to teach a man to fish (it's straight discipleship and loving on them), c) the verse, "Man cannot live on bread alone, but on the Word of God."(it's so important that we teach the Word and not the everyday blah blah blah that is heard on the radio, TV, and now...grr the Internet.

I read Thoreau's, "Life Without Principle" this weekend and it is definitely worth sharing with you who may (I say this because I have no idea who reads this) read this. READ IT ALL. The language can be difficult, but sift through it, I assure you it will make you come away with something to tell others about or question your own self.

"It is so hard to forget what it is worse than useless to remember! If I am to be a thoroughfare, I prefer that it be of the mountain brooks, the Parnassian (13) streams, and not the town sewers." {Paragraph #13}

Captivating, isnt it? To be reminded that heaven is so close to each of our hearts and we continue crowding it with junk.

5 Happy Thoughts:
1. The pasta salad that Mom and I made for lunch was delicioso.

2. I found out of 2 mission trips coming up in my near future that I can't wait to be a part of.

3. My run at 5:50 am was exhilerating, hot, and really really sweaty. (but it happened!)

4. The Fray CD is one of my new faves.

5. This week will be a great one! Full of fun, people I love, and well...it's still summer, so I cant wait. :) Happy Sunday.