He provides.

He provides what we need when we need it. in the past few days He's provided a great chill cabin, much needed conversations with fellow staff, healing for my weird finger blister things, a lake to cool down in, and the strength and energy needed to be here at camp and be with these girls 24/7.

opening day round 3

2A starts today! i had a wonderful session break with my sister and family, and got a really great sleep last night. my girls are already awesome, none of them seem super crazy.

on another, noncamp note, i have two weird blister things on my fingers... one on my pointer knuckle and one on my other ring finger... our thought is that they're some sort of allergic reaction to a scratch or bug bite and should be blisters but didn't have the chance to really fill up because they're on my fingers, the biggest on my knuckle. who knows what they are or what will happen with them but we'll see...

well i'm off to singspiration then nibble nook, then bed! :)

seeing a lightning bolt.

it's storming in the mountains. pouring rain. huge claps of thunder and flashes of lightning. you look out the window and you see a lightning bolt not 500 feet from you. it's crazy, scary and awesome all at the same time.

saturday morning.

sleeping in. getting laundry accomplished slowly but surely. open window. warm sun and a light breeze. reading what i want to read. listening to good tunes. procrastinating on homework and knowing you have almost all tomorrow to do it. not knowing what the day holds but trusting it can't start off this well and be bad in the end.

falling asleep to crickets and trains.

having an open window. falling asleep, feeling the natural air pour in with the subtle wind. hearing the crickets sing their neverending song. hearing the trains come and go. loud enough to hear but not loud enough to disturb. so. good.

alone nights on the balcony.

catching up on the world wide web. listening to great music. getting serenaded by the frogs. seeing the lights and sounds of gatlinburg with the shadows of mountains in the background. the big moon up above. nice time to just relax and be semi productive, encouraged by good music, and soak in the cooler night air. :)

smoky mountains.

i love the smoke on the mountains. it's so peaceful yet eery. i just love looking up and gazing at the magical tree-covered mountains in the distance. sometimes they're completely hidden by the mist and clouds and smoke. sometimes they're as clear as day. riding up to ober gatlinburg, i could see all the indentations and subtle shapes of the mountains. i want to be huge and jump from one to the other, explore their nooks and crannies with my fingers and toes. it's makes me think of how great God is, and wonder if that's how He formed these mountains, by molding them with His hands. many of them look like they have finger indentations down the sides. love it.

random dance parties with no boys allowed.

you know. you just get the urge to dance. and you can't hide it. so, thankfully it's after 9pm, which is the curfew for girls to be in guys rooms and vice versa. so you gather in a girls living room and break out. you don't have to worry about looking stupid or being scandalous cause no boys are watching or will ever see what goes on. good times. :)

mornings on my balcony.

it's still kinda cool. you can feel the breeze every now and then. looking down on the strip, seeing the town come alive slowly. catching up with the world on my computer. great music thats so loud and powerful i can't do anything but listen and sing. everything seems to apply to me. seeing people walk to work and yelling hello. the lush green mountains surrounding me. a great way to start the day. :)

frogs.

there are a lot of frogs here in gatlinburg. on our balcony (the only place i can get wireless) at night you can hear them (when the ac isn't drowning them out that is). looking out onto the city surrounded by mountains and hearing the frogs. wonderful. :)

a soft puppy to calm you.

thanks to summer project being tomorrow... i'm a bit high-strung. constantly thinking of what i'm forgetting or if i've packed too much. i've done all that i can right now and just have to accept that. a really soft puppy laying up next to me, covering my leg in soft fluffypuffyness, makes it hard for me to be stressed out. she's so relaxed. soft puppies are wonderfully calming. :)

summer night by the window.

its becoming one of my favorite things. getting practically ready for bed, putting on my glasses, then going to my little space in front of my open window. lately i've been reading through the transferable concepts online so lily has been accompanying me. something about sitting right by an open window to the cool summer night air, with a string of xmas lights and twirling cds swirling above my head. all while reading and learning more about my Savior. i really hope i can have summer night air time in gburg. :)

indecisive spring/summer weather.

it doesn't know what it wants to be yet. it's on the brink of summer weather. but it's still technically spring. one hour it rains, the next it thunders and lightenings. in a couple hours, it's bright and humid and sunny again. now it wants to be cool and cloudy. now hot and sticky. now foggy. now rainy. now torrential downpour. even maybe hail. it doesn't know what it wants to do or be yet. it's in it's developing teenage days. indecisive, so it chooses to be everything in turn. :)

ride of silence.

riding for 8.8 in silence. getting to go through all the red traffic lights. go on streets i would never ride on. being in a big mob of bikes. rain at the end to dance in. wonderful. :)

being a bat.

went to yoga with mom today. not as bad as i remember it being. the spiritualityness of it is kinda awkward for me. but we got to do wall stuff. and i got to be a bat like the people in this picture. i really want one of these wall things for my room!

swinging.

it makes you feel like a kid again. just swinging away, trying to go higher and higher. feeling the wind in your face. trying not to run into the tree the swing is attatched to. a wonderful de-stresser. who doesn't love swinging?

waking up at 4am

i know, it sounds really stupid. waking up at 4 am, a good thing!? well, i would not want to do it everyday. but. every once in a while, it is wonderful. you get up and no one else is awake. for some reason everyone's either asleep or in their own corner at 4 am... i feel like it's the slowest hour of the world. so no ones up and very few people are out on the roads. the night seems so much crisper and solid at 4 am. its still kinda cool. it's dark but if you look up you can see billions of stars. something about being up when the rest of the world is sleeping. and then getting up early so that you can hike to the top of a mountain and see the beautiful sun rise. as oddly as it sounds, waking up at 4 am and hiking was really redemptive for my soul. :)

an apology.

played ultimate frisbee today at the cru cookout. one time i got half-pushed and slid on the grass and wiped out. normal occurance for an ultimate game. when that play was over, the girl who pushed me gave me a hug and apologized. it wasn't a big deal or anything anyways, but it was nice. :) also, as with pretty much any athletic game you play where theres a whole lot of guys and a few guys, they seem to have blinders on half the time. like me or another one of the 3 girls would be completely open, and the guy throwing would just look past us throw to another guy. i don't know if our double x chromosomes blind them or something, but it pretty much always happens. it's not a huge deal, especially since this is all for fun, and as a girl i've grown used to it. but one of the guys yelled to all the other guys that the girls can catch and throw too and that we're open. i can't remember a guy standing up for the few girls on the team before. and then after we were all frisbee-d out and the park was gonna close, a guy apologized for not passing it to me. though they did not say so, i'd like to think he was admiting he was being a stupid guy caught up in the game. again, even though its not a big deal anyways, it's always nice when someone apologizes. :)

spring rain.

yes it is rain, so it is therefore still annoying at times. but its wonderful spring rain, making everything look so spring green. and it's not freezing cold. its warm. its humid. you can feel summer sticking its toe in the door. and even if you get wet, you don't feel cold and icky. at least not until you get inside to the over-airconditioned buildings... but we're gonna ignore that part for now. ;) spring rain. it's whats up.

tan lines.

i know i know... some people hate them. some people love them. i'm personally rather neutral on the matter... but they're a little thing that makes life interesting. though it may look weird or awkward... it's a sign that its warm and the sun has decided to grace us with it's presence again. :) so they make look stupid, but sitting for an hour and a half talking to a good friend about good stuff is much better than any stupid tanlines ;)

the underground chain of knowledge.

the underground chain of knowledge. i have experienced it the most this year with chemistry. no one really understands it when the teacher explains it, at least the first time. but if one person understands it, we'll be ok. most of us social ones anyways... because the person that understands it explains it to one or two other people, who then understand it and explain it to two or three other people. it's a wonderful thing really. us teaching other people if the teacher isn't doing so hot. now, it doesn't really replace good solid teaching, but it's a good enough substitute when theres a time crunch. and of course, it feels good to understand it yourself, and even better to help someone else understand it. :)

driving at night while it's sprinkling with your window down and music going that reminds you of whats really important. a time for your mind and soul to relax and breathe in Him and His promises and truth.

a cracked window to sleep by.

something about that bit of fresh air. even if it's not that much. and the sounds, oh the sounds. something so calming about being able to hear the leaves move in the trees and the ebb and flow of nature and car sounds. having a cracked or open window to sleep by is one of the things that is spring to me. its finally warm enough that you can take advantage of nature and not have to regulate your own temperature anymore. and then waking up. as always, on a nice spring day, it is wonderful to look or go outside and see the bright green of the trees and the bright blue of the sky. though you can't really see those things when the blinds are down. but you can hear the sounds of morning. the birds singing in the new day. the cars going by, the occasional school bus. some people hate having windows open, but i absolutely love it. :)

time with people.

though i would still consider myself an introvert, i have grown to love people and hanging out more. something about just being with people, it makes me happier and feel loved. it doesn't really matter what we're doing. though there are some activities i prefer over others, just because i enjoy them more... but when i'm with someone else, i like just having the time with that person. whether thats eating a meal or going shopping (like walking through ikea for hours) or hiking or anything really. it's esp good when you're doing something, but you're still capable of talking. like a movie theater isn't too conducive to chatting... but a car ride is. often times i enjoy the carride to a metro thing with cru people more than the actual event. just the easy going ebb and flow of conversation and just being with eachother. living life together. even if that means only really seeing some people at meals, because they're so busy otherwise. everyone's gotta eat. just time being with people and enjoying their company. :)

getting all the classes you wanted.

registration is rather stressful. what if you don't get the classes, the sections, the teachers you need or want? if you get behind in one thing, you might have to take classes in a summer or prolong graduation. especially when you're a freshman and you register last. ohmygosh. theres only 4 spots for the class i need! ahh! well, people were freaking out last night. i almost got caught up in it. but stopped myself and breathed in His peaceful presence. theres nothing i could do if 4 people's computers got them registered before mine did. so i trusted. woke up early, refreshed the page til registration opened and clicked through the pages. and i got everything i needed and wanted. though life is so uncontrollable and crazy sometimes, it's nice when things work out the way you'd planned. :)

a good text conversation.

though i definitely would prefer to have a conversation with someone in person. but sometimes it's gotta be over texts, or it just won't happen because both parties are too awkward or apprehensive or whatever to make it work in person. its times like that where i'm glad for technology, where we can talk and get instant responses, while still getting to hide behind our little curtains. though i really would like to tear those curtains down, you gotta move one step at a time. :)

creeks.

barefoot. creek exploring. walking through the creek and on the rocks. feeling the slippery rocks under your feet. walking through the brush and such along the sides. finding the paths. getting snagged on little prickly things. having some minor scraps on your legs and arms. the feeling on your feet afterward. delightfully natural and kinda dirty. exploring. feeling one at nature, not really disturbing it, seeing how the water and moved the rocks. seeing a couple frogs. seeing how deep the water gets. stepping over and going under branches. earth. nature. creek exploring. :)

fabric flowers.

its hard to be sad while sewing an adorable fabric flower like this. :)

a homemade dress.

its exactly what you want because you made it. it fits in all the right places. it might not have come out as you expected, but it's still wonderful. and the looks you get when you tell people you made it, makes you think that you traveled to the moon and back or something. perfect for a lovely spring day. :)

4 @ 40

well, not really 40. more like 70... but. driving down the highway with all the windows down, keeping it cool with the shining sun. listening to great music, turned up so you can hear it over the wind. having the feeling that you're going somewhere, but not really in a rush. for me, being able to drive with all the windows down is a signal of spring. its warm enough to do it and not freeze from the air/wind. really, what can beat good tunes, the lovely sun, and the wind in your hair? :)

aimlessly running errands.

running errands with mom. having a purpose, but not really. trying on crazy shoes. pointing out everything cute. feeling everything. laughing about piggy bank plugs, beds in bags, chicken sirts, and butt pockets. wishing i was little again and could fit in the cute little girl clothes and shoes. not really buying much of anything. but getting so much. quality time. mother and daughter. :)

blue sky and flowering trees.

walking out of a chemistry test. the blue sky, though dotted with clouds, and budding and flowering trees. instant mood lift. still wish it was warmer again, but it will come in due time. the simple beauty of a flowering tree against the blue sky. yum. :)

daffodils.

daffodils. beautiful bright flowers. reminding you that there is hope and that spring is on its way. when you're used to seeing dead grass and bareness, little bright flowers are a nice punch to the normal drab. so pretty and colorful and different varieties too! :)

a beach sunset.

so beautiful. with the waves crashing and the vastness of the ocean in front of you. and the sun slowly going down then quickly disappearing off the face of the earth. the gorgeous colors of the sky. who could look at something like this and think it all came from nothing and that there wasnt something greater and that created it all?

swing dancing.

i forgot how fun it can be. the music is upbeat. you dance and learn how to do cool spins and twirls and even flips if you're daring. and it takes your mind off everything else while you're trying to keep up with the rhythm. so. much. fun. :)

doves.

this past weekend, when i woke up, i could hear them. hear the doves singing outside. i could hear them as i walk between classes today. when birds are singing, it can only mean one thing. it is finally getting warmish and spring is coming! :)

a hot car.

you know when you get in your car in the parking lot and its hot and stuffy and you can't wait to roll the windows down? well, it might seem annoying. but it's amazing. it means that it is finally getting warm and almost spring! it seems that your car is either freezing cold or stuffy and hot when you get in it, and i'd much rather take hot and have the windows down and instantly feel cool and summery. :)

(ignore the drivers ed thing... ;)

a cliche (preferably romance) novel.

ya know. the kind thats cheesy but good and keeps you wondering whats gonna happen next. whenever you have free time, you wanna read it so you know what happens. are they gonna fall in love!? are they gonna move across the country to be with each other!? even though you know it's totally cheesy and gonna end cliche. gotta love it though :)

peanut butter on a spoon.

so simple. so delicious. so nutritious. :)

painty hands.

it means you've done something. you painted. its proof that i've created something. and my hand is uniquely dirty everytime. that blend of random colors in random places. ah. :)

not so little, but i'm thankful for seizures, however weird that might be.

this is not little. it hasn't been a tiny, miniscule thing in my life. but i figure this blog is all about being thankful. for everything. especially the little things. but also for not so little things. and things you wouldn't expect someone to be thankful. like my epilepsy and weird joint problems and my body practically revolting. you wouldn't expect someone to be praising and thanking God for such not good things. you hear someone has seizures, or is in pain to some extent everyday, and you don't immediately think 'thank God!', if you're human, you probably think 'man, why do things like this have to happen to people!?' which is what i have said for quite some time. but ya know what? i'm realizing how much of a blessing they have been. the bad things. the having to take daily meds and having not been able to drive for a while and all that. i know it sounds cliche and stupid, but. the suffering in life makes the good things so much sweeter and you so much more thankful for everything. and i'd like to think it toughens me up too. i'm not so wimpy and powerless anymore. its rather hard to explain, since you have not gone through the exact things and feelings and thoughts that i have. but. i dont know. i've just had this overwhelming thankful attitude for the not so great crap in life. it pushes me out of my comfort zone, helps me grow. i highly doubt i would be the person i am today if i had not gone through the things i have. i'm not sure that i can pinpoint a lot of specific instances. but, for example. seizures. theres not really much of anything i can do to stop them. i mean i can take drugs and not do certain things or whatever. but i can't control everything my body decides to do. if my brain's gonna go crazy, its gonna go crazy. period. this lack of control has helped me a lot with just going with the flow of things. its just a sort of gradual attitude change. even more reason to be thankful for them is the fact that God can do amazing things. well, that He could design something as intricate and amazing as the human brain. that though he gave/allowed my brain some nice crazy neurons, he made them calm down. not at all saying that they could go crazy at any point in my life again. but that they could stop. for them to be so easily controlled and mild in the first place. things could be so much worse. though, i think that if they were, i'd find a way to thank God for everything in one way or another eventually. great lessons and things can come from not so great things. afterall, the object of life is not to avoid pain or trouble. beautiful things often require pain and trouble. beautiful things such as my intense faith and discovery of God and the person i am today and my attitude towards things, they required trouble and lack of comfort to develop. you grow so much more when you're not comfortable. there are so many things you learn when you are not in a content, comfortable place in life. so yea. i'm thankful for my seizures and all my weird body quirks. even if it sounds crazy... i don't care. :)

gilmore girls.

so yea. its a chick series. it might be cheesy or bad or whatever else you want to call it. but when you're having a questionable night, and you get together with a bunch of girls and watch gilmore girls for like 3 and a half hours, it makes you happy. i dont know if it would be as good if i were alone, but laughing about things and making comments and just being with people while watching it makes it rather enjoyable. oh, and brownies help too. ;)

a quick walmart trip.

its definitely an unexpected blessing! going to walmart can be a time-consuming experience. almost anytime you go, its busy and not efficient. so when i left work at 430 and went to walmart and got everything i needed and got back home by 515. 45 min! to get there, get what i needed, and back! that never happens! especially at rushhour when everyones getting off work! :)

that feeling after finishing an essay.

you know what i'm talking about. you have an essay or big project that you need to get done, but you're dreading it and procrastinating. you sit down and get it down. and oh man. that feeling. that release. you no longer have to worry about it. its done. ahhhh. :)

blankets.

what would a bed be without blankets? they're warm. comforting. soft. getting up in the morning, throwing them off you and starting the day. on a lazy day, going back to lay in your bed to watch tv. and finding them still warm. the pressure they provide when going to sleep. i'd much rather wear a cami and shorts and have to use seven blankets then wear pants and a longsleeve shirt and only use one or two blankets. i dont know, the pressure, the warmth, the softness. combine them with soft jersey sheets, and oh man. this might be weird, but i notice it... the way your blankets smell like you. they smell like your room and the ones that are closest to your body smell like you. blankets just feel safe. :)

after church brunch.

we go to church. we drive back and park on the street by cromer. we all go to the caf. we get a long table, sometimes pushing two together. we put our stuff down. we get food. we eat. we talk. about life. little things. big things. surface things. deep things. just being with each other. eating, talking, listening. don't get me wrong, church itself is great and wonderful. but i look forward to lunch afterward almost as much or maybe more if i'm feeling especially socially needy. we don't even have to have any deep conversations. we could talk about middle school memories and upcoming tests and it'd still be great. just being with other people who i know believe what i do and care about me. i feel comfortable. even if i dont talk. or if i talk the whole time. it's just so comfortable and wonderful. i can totally see why fellowship is so important. cause after church brunch is the bomb dot com.

things coming up.

i was worried that i wouldn't know what to do with a whole saturday with absolutely no plans coming into it. well things come up. and it's nice. it gives me something to do. i still had time to chill but i'm also being productive, delivering flowers and ordering glasses and babysitting later tonight. its just another example of the fact that theres no use really worrying about what's gonna happen or what you're gonna do, cause things will probably come up and things will always work out one way or another. :)

strawberry yogurt.

its so good. smooth. simple. flavorful. creamy. cool. just slides down your throat. makes me think of being a kid again. licking the yogurt off the lid. scraping the last bit out of the bottom corners. yummm. :)

walking alone on a cold dark night.

so i had to stay after for a short bit after cru tonight. everyone else that lives in my dorm had already left. so i walked alone back to my dorm, across campus. i know, i know, probably not the safest thing to do in these days. but. it was amazing. the cold crispness of the air. the way it was so dark that it seems like you can see all the stars. and the lamps along the sidewalk, glowing in stark contrast to the dark sky. but soothing and warm at the same time. and just looking up at all of those stars and constellations. and seeing the outlines of the bare trees. just feeling alive. you can feel the cold air you're breathing. you can feel your face and fingers tingling from the cold. everything seems so vivid and alive, yet calm and subtle at the same time. and looking up and around the whole walk helped keep my mind off potential bad things that could happen to a girl walking alone at night... ;)

piano.

only 15 minutes needed. longer appreciated. doesn't necessarily have to sound good, though that is a definite bonus. it's not just about making pretty music that sounds good. theres a physical and almost spiritual benefit to it too. back to that expression thing again i guess. being able to play something soft and soothing, but also being able to play something loud and crazy. its just amazing. it's a little thing (well, to some extent) in my life and it makes it so much better!

car rides

sometimes you end up in the car for a couple few hours. and at first, it's not an exciting idea. but. some of the greatest things happen on those long car rides with friends. you get to talking. you talk about life. things get serious. just lots of fun. and so much of it is about attitude. just going with the flow and talking and just being in eachothers company. :)

expression. inspiration.

it doesnt even have to end up pretty or beautiful (though that's definitely preferable). but if its meaningful and helps you express yourself and inspires you, it's art.

cookies and creme

oh. cookies and creme ice cream is so good. it's simple yet timelessly delicious. whenever you see it in the caf, you have to make sure to get some when you can because it disappears quick. oreos are delicious. even better in ice cream form. the ice cream itself tastes like the inside creme then you have the chunks of cookies. so good. some cookies and creme ice cream on a cone = amazing way to end a not so good caf dinner. :)


*pretend that's cookies and creme ice cream on the cone... ;)

threat of ice.

so ice can be a very bad thing. it can make trees break and power lines go haywire. but. the threat of ice also cancels classes. and canceled classes means getting to go home a half day early and hopefully missing the ice on the road. :)

rainboots.

oh they are so lovely. especially in good old hickory. i was not informed of this when i applied here, but they do not have a drought here. i don't it's just been wet alot lately everywhere or just here. either way. rainboots are amazing. they can be stylish. they are fun. you can stomp in the puddles like a little kid. you can use them in snow or rain or mud. and they usually have at least some traction so you dont die from slipping. they keep your feet warm and dry. rainboots are wonderful.

prayer.

again. not so much of a little thing. but. it is so often a little thing in our day. lately i've been able to have extra time alone due to the winter weather we've been having. so i've had more time to just be with God and be in prayer. it's really wonderful and it makes me think about what i could ditch in my daily life that would give me more time to spend with Him. this morning i met with a girl and we prayed in the little campus chapel room in the student center. it was really nice to be in His presence with someone else. i ended up a bit late to chemistry, but it was worth it. we lost track of time while talking to God. now i'm not gonna make it a habit or use it as an excuse or anything. but i feel like God wouldnt mind me being late one day to chemistry because i was spending quality time with Him. its part of my routine to end the day with Him. but starting the day that way is super good too. it just starts the day off on the right foot and helps me to keep focused on God throughout the crap of the day. so yea. prayer is an awesome thing that is often too little of a part of our lives, but is a little thing that we can do to help us along the way.

god's love.

alright. it's not little but i loved this too much to not post it on this blog in addition to my other one. God's love. such a huge, amazing thing. i know that personally i so often look for His love only in certain places. like at church or a conference or whatever. well. i've had a mini revelation kind of thing tonight. so often we're only expecting His love to show up in certain places or times. but ya know. His love is EVERYWHERE. it is in people. it is in circumstances. it is in nature. it is in you. it is in me. it is EVERYWHERE! this has so much to do with noticing the little things in life. the way the sun looks as it rises. the way the falls and the thought that every flake is unique. the way people accept you and welcome you in. if you look for His love, you find it EVERYWHERE. when things don't go as planned, maybe that's your opportunity to open your arms and say 'give me what you want Lord, i'll take it'. do things you wouldn't normally do. hang with people you wouldn't normally hang with. i think that God's love is even in those that don't believe in Him. His goodness radiates out of all of us. it's whether we embrace and focus it or turn against us. instead of looking at what could have been, look forward to the here, the now, the opportunities. instead of always focusing on the big picture, trying to plan whats going to happen, trying to manipulate things, focusing on what you cannot change. focus on the little things. you might not be able to change them either. but its so much easier to approach things when they're broken down. when all you focus on is the beauty of the snow, it is almost impossible to not feel His love radiating down and through you. for me anyways... again. i know i do this too, but i feel like we all are looking for big, miraculous things to happen, things that knock us down and make it impossible to not feel His love. and i do not doubt at all that those things do happen. but not as often as we would like. we will not meet our future spouse on a random beach or in paris. i mean, it's possible, but really... anyways. maybe the big miraculous things that are happening are all the little tiny things happening all around us everyday. nature. the care of others. even a simple head nod to appreciate that the other person exists. His love is EVERYWHERE. you just gotta look for it. ALWAYS.



If it seems that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. - 2Corinthians 5:13-14

getting warm after being wet and cold.

playing in the snow is so much fun. it's so much fun that you don't realize how cold you are alot of the time. until you get inside that is. and then the snow that was solid starts to melt and you have cold water everywhere. and then you realize just how amazingly cold and wet and numb you are. but thats not the point of this post. it's the hot warm shower you take that turns you from freezing wet to steaming wet. and then you get dried off and put on your warm comfy clothes and be lazy. playing in the snow is super fun, which is obvious. but that getting warm and dry is the bomb.

knee sledding.

its the bomb dot com. who needs a sled? i mean come on, we're poor college students and the caf was closed last night so we couldn't even steal trays. so. go knee sledding. you run, you fall, you slide down the hill on your knees. it is amazing. even if it makes your jeans a bit discolored and weird where you repeatedly slide, they're just jeans. i mean really. jeans vs. memories of a lifetime. i vote memories. fo sho. oh, just don't do it on asphalt cause its not so comfy, bruises may occur... so yea. knee sledding. :D

falling snow.

it's so graceful and serene looking. it just floats down to the ground. before long, the sky and the ground are the same color almost. you can see the snow drifting down against trees and other dark things. and slowly accumulate. it might be really annoying when its just slush and ice and stuff on the ground, but you can't say its not pretty when it's falling!!

birds.

yesterday, i was sitting on the russell house porch swing, waiting for people to come for the weekly prayer thing for cru. it had torrentially poured the night before. but it was warm(ish) and i was in the sun and there werent many clouds out. and the birds were singing. it was wonderful. it was still pretty cool outside, especially since the wind was blowing. but those birds made things nice. i didn't so much as notice the coldness, but the beautiful sun and sky. and the happy birds that had to get wet and cold the night before but rejoiced in the warm sunshine of the new day. shouldn't we all be like that? the simple pleasure of having warm sunshine after a storm enough to make us sing out? i wanna be like that. even with crap going on, many of it battles inside of me, i want to find the joys in the small things and sing out about them. not focus on the negatives, not try to think ahead to the future which is out of my control, not interpret things to be more than they are. but focus on the small beautiful things. like the way the sky looks. the crisp air and wind. focus on God and the amazing things He has, is and will do. when we focus our lives on Him, everything else just seems to fall into place and i at least just seem to be happier. its hard to notice the mud you're standing in when you're looking up at the beautiful sky.

an escape.

ya know when it seems like the world is sorta against you? like nothing could go right and everyone seems to be against you. and theres no way you can stop thinking those negative thoughts. you want to be positive, but it just isnt working so you sorta give up. an escape can be a wonderful thing. today i had 3. they were wonderful. the weekly prayer time for cru was great as usual. that deep communication between us and God. but i was expecting for it to be good and a nice break. the other was unexpected. while waiting for a friend for lunch, i was sitting in cromer and the people that came and sat down and chilled then went on their way gave me a happiness. i dont know if that makes sense, but yea. like some people i didn't know. and one guy read an excerpt of mere christianity and it was amazing. and then him and another guy had a random deep conversation. it was cool. and. the even more expected escape was chem lab. it was really long and rather confusing but it was nice. it got my mind of things. i came in there just wanting to get done. three hours later, as i was leaving, i couldn't really help but be happy. it's pretty scary that chem lab was an escape, but it was. even though sometimes it seems like the world is against you, God provides escapes and little things, that if you notice them, can help you get through the day :) oh, and a 4th escape will prob be eating dinner with one of my favorite people.

a freak downpour (monsoon).

so. its been sorta dreary and rainy the last couple days here in the hky. well. we went to go eat then to go to bstud which is across campus from our dorm. so we drove cause it was sorta sprinkly and they were calling for rain. no rain before dinner. some rain from dinner to bstud. get out of bstud. it is pouring. like not just raining hard. sheets of water are coming down. and of course none of us brought an umbrella or anything (not that that would really help in this...) so we ran to the car. some slipped. some lost phones and bibles. drove to our dorm. ran back to our rooms. the steps leading down to our dorm have been conveniently converted into a babbling waterfall. and the usually little puddles at the bottom are now ponds. got completely soaked. it will take at least a day for my sneakers and jeans and sweater to dry out. its one of those rains where every piece of ground is wet. like in at least a fourth inch of water. not just wet, shallow river quality. now. usually such rain is looked down upon. it isnt really great to get soaking wet and freezing. but. i'm finding the amazingness in this. the amazing power that God has given His creation, to make all of this rain come down at once. the memories made of running through the rain. if it was warmer rain, i'd dance in it. it's a bit cold though, dancing might risk hypothermia... and the way the steps are a waterfall. i could stand under the covered part and just stand and listen to the rain and the waterfall noises all night. there is good in everything. even torrential downpours that threaten to ruin your leather shoes.

Superchick - Stand In The Rain.mp3
Superchick - Stand In The Rain

it made me think of this song :)

an unexpected warm day.

when its winter and has been freezing, a warm day in the 60s is wonderful. you dont have to wear a coat. its warm in the sunshine. warm enough to lay in the sun and do homework. its hope that winter will soon be over and it will be summer soon. oh how i love unexpectedly warm days!

falling asleep to rain.

ya know when it's raining and you can hear it on your window or the roof? and you fall asleep to it? yea. its the best. i personally really like it when its on the roof, but i dont get to experience that in my dorm, so i have to rely on the window pitter patters. pouring or just lightly raining, it's amazing. the only thing is when it gets to be thunder and lightening, it can keep you awake instead of soothing you to sleep. it hasnt thunder stormed in a while though... i sorta miss it. gotta love the rain pitter patter. it's especially wonderful on a tin roof. :)

crafts.

like paint by the number and stuff like that. stuff from when you were a kid. its so nice to just chill and relax and relive your childhood. having fun with the simple things. making bracelets. walking down the kids crafts and remembering doing all of them. and then doing them again. i dont know. its sorta hard to explain. crafts just bring the child out of anyone. couldn't we all use more of that?

that after swimming feeling.

the soft cleanness of your skin. the aroma of chlorine when you smell your skin. that good kind of tired. the hunger you get after exercising. the afterswim shower hair. putting it up in a bun after you shower and taking it down late at night and it still being damp and crimpy and smelling wonderful. that wonderful mix of chlorine and the yummy shampoo and conditioner. remembering that feeling of being underwater. its like another world. it makes me wish i had gills.

a cold morning.

now when i first get out of bed and think of the fact that i have to go out into the cold, i'm not thinking happy thoughts. but. usually when i get outside, i cant help but be happy. the sun is still rather low in the sky, having waken up not even an hour ago. much like me. the sky is beautiful. i try to focus on the refreshing nature of the cold, not the fact that i feel like my bones are being frozen. just breathing that cool crisp air and seeing the sun and beautiful sky. it makes waking up for an 820 class not so awful. it is a wonderful way to start the day. oh. and when its cold and i walk by cromer, i can smell the fireplace they have going. it is amazing. erin has been rather instrumental in helping me see the good in the cold, not just constantly thinking about how i want it to end.

a small comment.

sometimes its the smallest, off hand comment that makes your day. like when a friend tells you that you're their only true, real friend here at school. that they don't mind doing things for you because they know you're thankful and sincere and that you'll help them whenever they need it. that you're the one that waits for them even when it cuts into your own time. yea. it probably wasnt a big thing in their mind, but small comments sometimes make a bigger impact than long deep conversations.

the sun.

thank God for the sun.
it wakes me up. its especially nice when its the thing that wakes me up when i oversleep and have to run to class.
it keeps things warm. its especially nice when its a cold fall or winter day and i can feel the rays of warmth.
it makes me happy. who can't be happy when they look at a sunrise or sunset, especially on a mountain?

so on this little blog i'm doing, i'm going to focus on the little things. the things that i'm thankful for. so often we look at the negatives. i want to look at the positives. no matter how small they may seem. so yea. i'm not quite sure what this will turn into, but it's all about the little things in life that make it great. :)