Northern Lights

Yeah, they make cool stuff for smoking too... OK I have tried to get this uploaded two different way and it won't do it so I am giving you alls the link: http://www.worth1000.com/emailthis.asp?entry=268214.
Thanks Nathan for recommending worth 1000 to me!!

stormy seattle

One more cool thing I found! The whole website, http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/, was fun to explore. Amazing the things you can do with a camera, or with Adobe Photoshop!

some things I think are cool...

What a work of art! This sport is called dressage. Once upon a time I used to take lessons in it...this pretty weather makes me want to be on horseback so badly!

which do you live in?

Past: What you did yesterday. Shapes what people think of you and to some extent, who you are. Fading, dimming, waning...its importance is disappearing day by day.

Present: What you choose to do today. Who you really are. Where you make decisions that reflect what's really going on in you. Bright, alive, reactive...be careful what you do with it.

Future: What you are going to do tomorrow. What will show if you've learned the lessons taught today. Something you should give to God because it's not really yours anyway. Fuzzy, foggy, uncertain...spend a little time daydreaming but then get back to real life.

somewhere

As you read this, somewhere, someone is stealing something. Someone else is getting something precious to them taken. Someone is dying. Someone is mourning their loss. Somewhere, a baby is being born. Rejoicing is heard.

Somewhere, the sun is rising and someone is watching it. On the other side of the world, it is setting on a day complete. In some house, there is arguing. Someone is yelling at someone they love for something that isn't even important. Somewhere someone is dancing in the sunshine. A little child is playing in the rain. An old man is walking down a street with his cane. Perhaps he is smiling. Perhaps he is tired of life and there is a grimace on his face that scares away the children.

There's so much more to the plan than what we can see.

simple yet effective

This is a French postage stamp. It reads: Your choice: Tobacco or health? I thought the design was quite cool and clever. Yay for graphic designers!

milkshake review

Milkshake under scrutiny: Double chocolate peanut butter sundae milkshake

Available at: Steak n Shake

For a measly: Three dollars and nineteen cents

Consists of: peanut butter flavored milkshake, whipped cream, chocolate chips, fudge sauce and a lovely maraschino cherry

Tastes: extremely good

Suitable for: dinner. Especially when lunch was a long time ago and it's after evening service and you are hungry and Andrew is paying for milkshakes because he got an internship.

Recommended for: you

Time recommended: now. Steak n Shake is open, trust me!

Aren't milkshake reviews better than movie reviews? No endings to be spoiled and they leave that dripping saliva feeling when you get done reading them.



I couldn't find a picture of what I had. This is the side-by-side milkshake. Apparently Steak n Shake's profits went up 17% when these were introduced. No wonder. It is a marvelous concept. As is the milkshake in general.

holes add character...

...to my jeans. Alas, sometimes when you go biking, your jeans get stuck in your gears. This can result in a hole on your right pantleg. Such a hole however adds interest and character to an otherwise boring pair of jeans. And if it gets too bad, I can go to Goodwill and try to find another pair. Or get some cute patches and find my sewing needle.

the story of my life

Starting a new phase of life has been compared to turning a page. Voila, a blank page and a pen poised to write.

But I'm here to tell you that that's not really how it works. Sometimes seeing a perfectly clean white page would be nice, but it doesn't happen in real life. What's done is done, whether good or bad. The ink is black and the paper is white. It's not pencil so you can't erase it. However, there is such a thing as a plot twist. You can choose to end the sentence with a small but important period. Then, start a new paragraph which drastically changes the whole story! What's written before is not gone, but it may no longer be important or part of the current story.

does this count....

I don't know if this counts as Thursday, because technically it's Friday I suppose. I've been looking at lots of art. I think I am getting some of it down, which is good considering the test is in about nine and a half hours.

Looking at someone else's art can be so inspiring. I can't even hope to be able to ever do what some of these artists have, but it still makes me feel like drawing or something. I love that "inspired" feeling. Really gorgeous sunny days make me feel like that too. And that's the best artist of all--God!

I shall post again when the test is over.

art and numbers

My life is back to the busy hum of schoolwork and activities. Today one of my articles made the front page (after a mad scramble to make the deadline last night), so that was nice. In the spare time that I don't have I have recently developed a fondness for Soduko puzzles. I wondered why so many people are addicted to them, and I guess I'm finding out.

I have a test on Friday in Art History which means I'm spending an unusually high amount of time looking up things like these...



Beautiful or hideously gaudy? You decide.

Well I was going to add some more art, but Blogger decided it wasn't happy with me for some reason. I'll let you imagine the paintings of Flemish peasant life, amazingly lifelike statues, and I will definitely let you imagine the nude goddesses since I wasn't planning on posting them anyway!

be real

Real men wear pink. Real men don't ask for directions. Real men eat steak and potatoes. Real men don't cry.

Yes, those might be some opinions of the world on what a "real" man is. But according to Dr. Blackwood's sermon this morning, at least one of those is wrong. Real men can and sometimes should cry. Dr. Blackwood preached on Genesis 23, which is where Sarah dies and Abraham mourns for her. He pointed out that it is OK to have sorrow at the end of a relationship with someone (in other words, when they die). Sometimes, he said, it is God's will for you to cry. It's one way of relieving your agony. I think I've heard that some hormones are released when you cry that make you feel better.

But just because it's OK to cry sometimes doesn't mean that we should let our emotions run our lives. Over break I've been reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. He mentions that in God's eyes, love is not that fuzzy feeling or passionate lust. The world might define love as a feeling, but to God, it is an action. God says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commands." He doesn't say, "If you love Me, you will get warm fuzzies around your heart." I Corinthians 13 talks about more actions love takes. Love is patient and kind. Love doesn't keep track of all the things someone has done against you. Love is also an attitude. Love does not seek its own. Love is hopeful and bears all things. Not some things--all things. Love is unconditional.

"...you will keep My commands..." Part of those commands are to seek God and meditate on His Word. But part of them are also instructions on actions that we need to take.

I still don't know about the wearing pink thing, and I think asking for directions can be quite wise, but what I know for sure is that real men (and women) cry. But then they get up off their knees and go live life the way God told them too.

one thing

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19

"But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are so worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are really necessary, really only one..." Luke 10:41-42a

"One thing have I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temples." Psalm 27:4

So these are random verses that came into my life today and yesterday and somehow, in my head, they all fit together very nicely to show me what the focus of my life should be. And there are many more in the Scriptures that match very well.

good times

Today the weather was perfect for running. Now that we've got that out of the way...

If you want to know what I've been up to lately, read this post. If you don't really care, read the end and leave a comment :-). Spring break has been rather bad for my standing in the blog contest I fear...

Tuesday I had a job interview that was great even though I still don't know if I will get the job or not. How often do you have to turn in a written testimony along with your resume? And get to talk about what God has done in your life vs. what you have accomplished and how great you are yada yada?

Then, Kara arrived from Bloomington and I had a dinner party. It was great. Everyone said the food was good and I kind of thought so myself, too, not to brag or anything. Speghetti and meatballs, green beans, salad, garlic bread, cheesecake, and brownies. Afterwards we hung out and ended up playing spoons. It got to be a bit violent. Bekah can be viscious (haha I love you!) and she won. Then Amber, Bekah, Kara, Jess, Jeremiah, Ana and Jacob helped me do dishes!! I have great friends! You guys are awesome!

Wednesday, Kara, Jessica, Amber and I went Goodwill hopping. That means we went to three Goodwills and two thrift stores and had a ball. I got a skirt, a tie (to go in my hair--89 cents!!), and some glasses. No furniture for the apartment although there was one promising end table.

That night Kara and I went over to the Faris'. It was cool :-).

Then Thursday, we took the train to Lafayette and picked up Bonnie, and then on to Chicago! You girls are awesome to go to art museums with!! (Meaning: they don't care that I like to wander around for hours, because they do too!) We had famous deep dish pizza and walked out to Navy Pier, too. It was a lovely day (not really in terms of weather, which was windy and freezing, but in terms of good times with good friends).

We returned to Indy about one o'clock this morning and my dad got me at the train station. Today I went to the mall with my sister in search of a present for my aunt...didn't find one but we did get some stuff my mom needed so it wasn't a totally wasted trip.

Now I'm off again...spring break is wonderful. I miss you Indy people!! Good friends are a gift from God. I think He knows I need you guys.

I'm at home

...sitting at my kitchen table. Need I say more? :-)

Qu'est-ce que je cherche?

I know it's in there
Somewhere deep inside
You can find it
Search the twisted caverns

I'm a little bit lost
The compass has been shook
I'm not quite sure
Somewhat disoriented

There are signposts along the way
Pointing heavenward
They say it's in there
Don't stop looking

my feet are wet

I think that's what happens when it's raining and you wear flip-flops to class. My hair is wet, too. That might have something to do with the "umbrellas are for sissies and I love rain!" philosophy.

i have knowledge

I know who hacked into Nathan's profile. 99.73% positive, anyway. And it's not me. I don't possess that kind of computer know-how or opportunity.

I must say I find it rather humorous. It reminds me of the fun Kara and I had with "Stephen's" and "Isaac's" blogs. As long as people find it funny as I do, I don't see any problem with occasionally doing things such as these. MOAB and Edom sometimes just need to take a chill pill and remember that none of this will matter in ten years anyway. Unless, that is, things turn too serious and people start saying things that really wound. Let's try to keep it away from that, shall we?

i love school

Today I went to class after class after class after lunch after class after study session after test. Or something like that....busy day. I also had time for a little fun with Kara hee hee. There is a picture of our artistry on her blog, although it's from a distance so it's a bit hard to tell exactly what we did. There are better examples on Patrick's blog of artistry of last week.

Now I have to study because lo and behold, midterms are not over yet.

fourteen seconds of my life

Today I picked up a newspaper as I was waiting for French class to commence. I saw a headline that caught my attention and started reading the article. To my surprise it was written by me. How cool is that? It was a story I'd written about a week and a half ago so I'd forgotten they hadn't run it yet. Furthermore, it was on the second page instead of buried deep within the paper. I'm moving up in the world! But I'm about to move down if I don't get started studying...midterms aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!

sunshine

I am glad I got out of bed today. It did take half an hour from when my alarm went off, but I'm still really glad I did. I'm glad it was sunshiny at 7:30 this morning. I'm glad I worked out for the first time in way too long. I'm glad it was so beautiful that I ran around Tark and Wiley just for the fun of it when I got done working out. I'm glad I didn't have class until 10:30 and I'm glad I understood 100% of Chem lecture. I'm glad I studied hard enough for my French vocab quiz. I'm glad spring break is really soon and I am gonna have loads of fun even if all I do is go to Goodwill with my sister.

There's stuff I'm not glad about, too, but life is better if you focus on the happy things.