Do you wanna Dance?

There are so many things I want to do. I was recently in Mexico (like last week) with my beautiful mother, and I kept thinking of things I want to do. Sometimes I feel like I'm having a mid-life crisis, where I'm ready to do the drastic, like chop my hair or buy a time share in Canada. My mom is constantly reminding me that I'm only 18, then I have to remind her that I am almost 19. Because we all know the few extra months makes a world of difference. Anyway, right here, right now, I am making a list of things that I want to do within the next 10 years.(Note: this is in no particular order after the first few goals).

1. Fall more madly in love with my Savior Jesus.
2. Develop a one-woman act portraying the joys and struggles of teenage girls.
3. Learn to Dance. Not just like "Hey baby, check this" dancing, but like, "That's right, I'm natural and sweet, but I'm twirling so fast that I can't stop to chat and I really hope my dancing partner catches me" dancing.
4. Write a Book.
5. Travel oversees. Possibly England, or Italy.
6. Begin working to require Spanish in Elementary School curriculums.
7. Get in shape.
8. Expand my plate collection. I love tableware.
9. Pay off college loans. Maybe not all of them, but a good chunk of them.
10. I really really want to learn to dance.

Sexual Abuse Tonight!

No lie, today I opened my e-mail where I had 2 new messages. The first subject line read, "Taylor Storey (Cedarville) has written on your wall" the subject line on my second e-mail read this, "Sexual Abuse Tonight!" Do you ever have those moments where you read something and move on then it sinks in and you think to yourself, "Good Gracious! That's not right" so you go back and read it again only to find that someone has made a horrible error. It was one of those things where I began to chuckle and I turned around to see if there was anyone around to share this experience with, but there was no one. Although, since it was a mass e-mail, I do wonder if there were any other souls out there who noted the irony in the e-mail heading. I always hear Jay Leno reading those weird typos on his talk show, and I laugh at the creativity of the hoax, but being the rational person I am, I always assumed they were made up. Now the good Lord has shown me the truth: people who mean well may write things like, "Sexual Abuse Tonight!" when they really mean, "Sexual Abuse Discussion Tonight!" I'm thankful that we can laugh at the comic events of everyday life.

We were merely Freshmen

Oh gracious... I live at Bethel University now, it's sad that I haven't even come close to touching this thing since before I moved. Quick update: I love my roommates Gwen and LeRoyce (I know what you're thinking, but she actually is white). My classes are ok. I feel like all I do is read. I read and read and read, and when I'm done I have class and get assigned more to read. Fancy that. Well I guess this is what it's supposed to feel like. Yeah that's pretty much my life right now. But now for what I really had to say.


All college freshmen are alike. Actually all freshman are alike. Highschool freshmen try to be like what they think regular highschoolers act like, when they are not mature enough to do so. While college freshmen try to act all adult like most college students, when they aren't ready for the responsibility that goes along with it. At Cedarville, my dorm was not really freshman housing, but now at Bethel I live on what is dubbed the "Freshman Hill" and oh boy is it eventful. Where the girls dress like highschoolers, the boys act like toddlers, and their parents all sit back and pray that this will be the year their babies will mature. Will it ever happen? I will have to see next year, when they're all sophomores.

3 little words

"You've Got Mail" That has got to be my all time favorite movie. Yes, I'm a silly girl, but there is something quaint about the movie. The romanticism of their love via letters (or the modern day e-mail) gets me everytime. I loved it in the origional, The Shop Around the Corner, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, and then again in our wonderful remake as You've Got Mail, with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. I don't know. They're lives just seem so simple. As I was watching this movie, as it was on tbs tonight, I got to thinking about life. There is one point where Meg Ryan's character, Kathlene Kelly, says to her enemy, Joe Fox (F-O-X), "No one will ever remember you, Joe Fox. And maybe no one will remember me, but plenty of people remember my mother, and they think she was fine. And they think her store was something. But you, Joe Fox, are just a suit." Ouch. She sent him home with something to think about. He spent his whole life working, and following in the footsteps of his disfunctional father and grandfather. From that moment on, his life began to slowly change. He didn't dedicate his life to deworming orphans in Somalia or anything like that, but he began to look for the joys in this life. He began to cherish what really matters in life (except for God, because heaven forbid they mention God as the reason for life in any romantic comedy). I really don't know if any of this makes sense, because I feel it is quite late. Well, not that late, but sure late enough for all my thoughts to be jumbled. Anyway, I guess all I'm trying to say is that I think life can be way more simple than people make it...than I make it. We, as Americans, run through life, always trying to get from one place to another. Can't we take time to breath, so we can know really what we should do? Hmmm. I'll stop rambling on. Anyway, Dial up will never be forgotten (in fact it may even be joked about in the same way we poke fun at 8 tracks). Breath.

Puzzled

Feel free to call me corny and to go write another self-help book for women that will be bought for it's amazing cover, and never touched after that by most women. Can I just say that if those annoying redundant books touch one soul, they were worth writing. So with that I'm going to share my little thought that I gathered while putting together a puzzle of Times Square New York, NY. Puzzles are something that I never thought I liked to do, but yesterday I sat down to our dining room table to take a stab at the action. It was a really difficult puzzle. You know, the kind where, out of the 500 pieces, at least 46 of them are all black, and all kind of fit in certain spots. So when I was putting this picture together, I would shove pieces in places where they fit, but I could feel there was some type of resistance. Luckily I was able to catch my mistakes and replace those pieces with the pieces that were designed to go in those designated spots. And I got to thinking: that's what it's like with us as Christians, or humans for that matter. We are each a piece that goes together to make a beautiful, detailed picture. However, if we don't do our job and fill in our spots, the puzzle cannot be fulfilled. Sure someone else (or another piece) can go in our spot, but they wouldn't get the job done the same way we could have. And we must know that we can't do it on our own, but that's why we have the church; to support eachother. So I guess that's why it's so important for us to search for where we belong. It's not always an easy journey to find where God wants us, but in the end we will be able to see how we impacted the big picture.

"Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church."
~I Corinthians 12:4-7

It's raining men

Who would ever think to write that song? Rip off the roof and stay in bed? Honestly, what is that? Everything about that song is so wrong, yet I absolutely love it. Maybe because I feel like it gives more power to women due to the fact that it completely belittles men to nothing more than a sex object, or maybe because it just feels great to dance to. I guess it is safe to conclude that I have no idea why I like it. Anyway, today I was listening to a mix my mom's friend Tammy made for my mom. The CD didn't work in any of our CD players except my car CD player, so my mom gave it to me. I put it in to listen to as I drove out to the Rock tonight. So as I pull out of my driveway, I began to listen to the wonderful You're So Vain, then that led to You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, followed by Anticipation which was trailed by about 3 more songs before it started Raining Men. By this time I was in Uptown looking for a parking spot, which I must say was a stressful situation for someone like me who hasn't parallel parked since my second drivers test. So I finally found a spot on Hennipen Avenue which I thought was legal, but wasn't completely positive, but I parked there anyway. It wasn't a spot where I had to parallel park, but it still took me a few times to back up and pull forward to get close enough to the curb. So while I'm going through this tedious process, I realized that I had my music on almost as loud as it can be. This isn't always a bad thing, but when your in uptown sticking out like a sore thumb because you have no clue how to park on the street and are listening to It's Raining Men, it can be quite embarrassing. And embarrassing it was. So I turned my car off and went into church where Mark Bowen gave a fabulous message on greed, which I suggest everyone must download off of www.Rockthechurch.com because chances are you are greedy. No offence, but being an American you are. Sorry about my mini sermon, so on with the story. After church, the lovely Ruth Bowen and I drove together to Mikey's house for a fun little birthday gathering for him. Ruth and I got in the car, I turned the ignition, and what comes blaring through my low-quality speakers? It's Raining Men. I quickly turned it down and apologized. Then, to my surprise, Ruth replies with, "No I love that song." So we turned it up and sang at the top of our lungs. Well maybe not at the top of our lungs, but we did sing along. Then when the song was over we turned it down and had some solid girl talk time. Aaah. Nothing brings the whole world together like music. Except for sports movies like Rudy or Remember the Titans or Waterboy (ok totally joking about waterboy). But that's for a whole different post.

Sweet home Minnesota

Well I just spent like a half hour writing out all I wanted to say about my trip to Ohio to move out, and I accidentally erased it. Maybe that was the Lord telling me that I said too much. So here's what I'll share:
It was sad to leave Cedarville. I didn't realize how many true friends I had until it was time to go. I love Cedarville and all the wonderful people there, but I know Bethel is where the Lord wants me to be, and I have a total peace about it all. He's got the whole world in his hands.

I'm still writing 2005 on my checks

I come home and suddenly I become too cool for blogging. Well, maybe too cool isn't the issue. How about too busy? or too preoccupied? That sounds more like it. It's crazy how busy life gets. So I'm home in Minnesota! I love the beautiful cold. Let me explain. Ohio (where I have spent the last 4 months) is cold, not as cold as Minnesota, but cold nonetheless. However, in Ohio, the sun never shines, and it always rains...except for when it snows. When it snows, the snow melts then turns straight to ice. That leaves us with icy sidewalks, brown grass, a non-frozen Cedar Lake, and a grey sky. Though Ohio weather is miserable, it really allows me to appreciate Minnesota's lovely winters.

I feel like I have so much I want to share, but I'm afraid that if I write too much no one will be willing to read what I had to share. Well, I don't think I'm going to let that hold me back. I suppose I could talk about my days at Bare Escentuals where I spent eight hours a day swirling, tapping and buffing mineral make-up, but honestly, that would be worthless chatter. We had a fantastic Christmas with family then with the Sims, our adoptive family who is finally home (well most of them) from the far away land of Belgium. A few days after Christmas my mother, Joe and I headed of to the third annual Faithwalkers Conference in Missouri. And that's where this story really begins...

My mom and I have been to Faithwalkers every year, and it's been different every year. The first year I can honestly say changed my life. The main thing I took from the 2003 faithwalkers conference was to read my Bible daily, and I did for a long while, but then after 6 or 7 months I forgot my priorities. The 2004 faithwalkers could have been a lot better had I not focussed on mingling with my great friends. It was a blast, but I didn't really put anything to practice, but this year was different. Holy smokes! God is so good. Can I just say that I am so thankful for the men and women of Great Commission Ministries who have paved the path for us fellow faithwalkers? This year I took home a lot. It all boils down to me needing to die to myself so that I may be fruitful! I spent the week with my mother and the beautiful Terri Erhardt. I love them both dearly, and I am so thankful they were there to help me grow. I hope to take my gift of faith and someday do missions. Really I just want to follow the Lord where ever he may take me. He's a good God. I just wish everyone could know him the way we know him, because he saves lives, changes lives, heals lives, and loves those who live their lives with his purpose in mind.

"The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone -- a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels -- a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who despise their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them."
~John 12: 24-26

Chew on that for a while, and see if it changes your life.

And now it's 2006! I hate writing 6's, but I guess this is the year to perfect it. I hope I have my 6's down by June, because then I'll have to write 6-something-06. For now I'll just worry about January, and take each month as it comes.

B35

I think I am spoiled when it comes to flying. I usually love the airport. How could I not? The Minneapolis airport is like a whole shopping center. Now I sit here in terminal B35 in the Columbus International airport, thankful for free wireless connection. I honestly don't know what I would do with out my Mac. Read? I guess. I only have one book on my carry on. Don't Waste your life by John Piper. I have had it for a while and I kind of wanted to read it before faithwalkers, so I guess this is the perfect time. I just realized that I forgot to tip the guy at curb-side check. Oops. I didn't have any cash anyway. I hope he actually puts my baggage on the flight. Now I'm just being paranoid. I think it's kind of fun to watch people and guess what their lives are like. For example, to my left is a woman in her late 20s/early 30s who just finished her chinese food and is now munching on a bag of Doritos. She is reading USA Today. Is she leaving home, or going home, or merely at a layover? I wish we could know these things. She looks like a business Rep for some small firm. She looks like she's from Ohio (that's not a bad thing, it's just a fact). She lacks a wedding ring. 30 and single. That's got to be rough on a woman when it seems like the rest of her world is married. Maybe her food comforts her. I actually think she's going to Detroit, because that flight leaves about 2 hours before mine. She'll arive to her hotel around 9 tonight, take off her shoes and try to find something worth while on TV. Home Decorating channel, no doubt. Once again her thoughts will return to how she wishes she could just have a family so she could decorate her little house. After 2 and a half hours of a Ty Pennington marathon, she will pull the nasty comforter off the bed and sleep with the blankets still left on the mattress. She'll only be in Detroit for 3 days tops, for business, then come home and go over to her brother and sister in-law's home for Christmas. Maybe I should stop analyzing peoples lives, because I think she's getting a little weirded out that I keep looking over there. Well, now that I have established that the airport is thoroughly boring. I think I'm going to either read or find something to eat. I'll be home for Christmas.

Fellowship

"Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him."

~Malachi 3:16

They loved to think about him. I don't know what else there is to say about that.

Gotta have my Pops

I try so hard to eat healthy. I've come to the realization that portions sizes are almost impossible to control when I don't live at home. It doesn't help that there are so many choices. I swear no matter what I eat, I feel like I always have to eat Kellogs Corn Popsat the end of a meal. Even now, I'm sitting at my computer eating Corn Pops out of a baggie that I stole from the Caffeteria. I just can't get enough of them. Here's the catch: everytime I eat them, I need to sneeze. I'm not sure why, and I just can't seem to figure it out. I hate sneezing too, especially when there is food in my mouth like Corn Pops. Hhhmm...I just don't know why I do what I do.

I Heart X-Mas

I love Chistmas. It seriously is the most wonderful time of the year.

My hall of girls has spent the past 2 days turning our hall into the most beautiful gingerbread house in the whole wide world. It was our theme for the annual Christmas Decorating Contest! We had awkward time of open dorms where guys (and gals I guess) could come through and view our mad decorating skills. I honestly am not a fan of having boys in our dorms. All I wanted to do tonight was sit in my bed and watch "I love Lucy" reruns, but instead I had to attempt to entertain a bunch of guys who I've only met once, and act like I was happy to see them. I spent all afternoon baking cookies for this thrilling event. NO: it was not my famous Chocolate Chip Cookies, but just some slice and bake sugar cookies I picked up at Krogers the night before. Never fear...they were frosted with sprinkles. Once people started showing up, I stopped offering the cookies, left my door open (because it's required during open dorm times for certain reasons), turned off all the lights that weren't classified as "twinkle" or "Christmas" lights, popped in the "I love Lucy" reruns and layed in my bed to watch them. It was quite nice. I was able to socialize, yet be in the comfort of my cozy 11x13 dorm room decorated with ripped out pages from the Christmas Cookie edition of Martha Stewart Living. Hmmm. Christmas is good...even in Ohio.

Expired?

I live in a small town. It hit me today; I feel like it hits me a lot. My roommate (ie Tory) and I walked down the road to the local SuperValue Grocery Store that is connected to the gas station. I picked up some milk that had no price and it was a brand that I never heard of. The word "Sketchy" didn't even go through my head. I got back to my room to put it away. As I put it in the fridge, I looked at the expiration date it read 01 DEC. Quickly take time to look at the date at the beginning of this entry. Hmmm. I have to drink an entire carton of milk tonight. Wish me luck.

Fine Print

The guy at US bank said it would be more convenient for me if the bank sent my statements to my parent's home instead of my address at school. Ok, he must know best. I was just home for thanksgiving and my mom was like, "You need to talk to US bank; you over drafted" Ouch. One thing you must know about me is that I am a religious checkbook balancer. There is no way on this earth that I could have over drafted. Apparently I overdrafted on 2 items. There was a $33 charge on each. So I was $66 in the hole. Yeah that stinks, so I went down there today to work it out. Apparently they charge you $7 for every day you neglect to take care of the issue. Since I don't recieve my statements, I didn't know about this until this weekend and wan't able to take care of it until today. At the end of the conversation with the bank teller I asked how much I owed. Are you sitting down? $150. Unbelievable; I cried. In fact, I'm still crying. I forgot to record one transaction that I still have the reciept for. The first time in the 3 years that I've had a checking account. US bank has no grace.

Don't you hate those days that you just pray and pray for a blessing because you know that's the only way you can make it. It's one of those days, and I haven't seen a blessing yet.

Bucks and Boots

So I recieved my UGG boots in the mail. Yeah the ones I ordered a MONTH ago. It's funny how I can be so in love with a pair of boots that put the UGG in UGGly. Maybe it's the comfort factor. Yeah. That's it.

Big Buckeye v. Michigan game today! I'm not watching it because I am spending my Saturday studying for my Bio test on Monday! Let's see if I can pass this one. Did you know the little Buckeye mascott has a name? He does...it's Bruetus (HM?). People in Ohio are crazy when it comes to Buckeye Football. They seriously idolize it. Heaven forbid that you may step infront of the TV during the game, because there is a very likely chance that you may be hurt by your friends and family. Yesterday I walked into my Biology class late (it's 8 am, give me a break) and everyone was standing up listening to a song. Unsure of the song at first, I put my hand over my heart. Then I realized what we were giving our respects to...OSU. It was definitely the OSU fight song. Professor Jones then explained why he did this, and I quote, "I was walking past one of the nursing classes the other day when they were taking a test, and up on the power point was Michigan State. And I thought to myself 'How can anyone take a test in this sort of learning environment' So now I'm getting my payback!" I am so thankful that I have a Biology professor that cares about my learning environment. He's so thoughtful to get us all smart by soluting the Buckeyes! Oh Boy.

Caribbean Pink

The other day I was reading this book my mom had suggested: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It's an amazing novel. A quick read too. I would love to go into the litterary details of the book, but it leave us both better off to just have you go and read it. Here's a short conversation between a girl named Lily, and August, an elderly Beekeeper.

"There is one thing I don't get," I said.
"What's that?"
"How come if your favorite color is blue, you painted your house so pink?"
She laughed. "That was May's doing. She was with me the day I went to the paint store to pick out the color. I had a nice tan color in mind, but May latched on to this sample called Caribbean Pink. She said it make herfeel like dancing a Spanish flamenco. I thought, 'Well, this is the tackiest color I've ever seen, and we'll have half the town talking about us, but if it can lift May's heart like that, I guess she ought to live inside it.'"
"All this time I just figured you liked pink," I said
She laughed again. "You know, some things don't matter that much, Lily. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart -- now, that matters. The whole problem with people is--"
"They don't know what matters and what doesn't," I said, filling in her sentence and feeling proud of myself for doing so.
"I was gonna say, The problem is they know what matters , but they don't choose it. You know how hard that is, Lily? I love May, but it was still so hard to choose Caribbean Pink. The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."

Rainy Days

Hmmm. Who would have thunk that it would take me a year to figure out how to sign in to this thing. I think I'm quitting xanga. I'm sick of it. So from here on in....this is where you'll find out about me.

Last night it rained really hard. It wasn't cold by any means, just wet. I met a friend for coffee around 10 last night then had to come back in the rain. I love the moments when you realize that no matter how fast you go, you're still going to get wet. My sprint home from Viccinos turned into a walk that had a little bounce to it. There is a type of joy that can be taken from those moments, or you can complain and ruin the moment. Life is wet, and there's nothing we can do but enjoy what comes our way.

My First Blog

Well, this would be my first blog. I have a xanga, but this is way easier and looks better. I think I'll use both. We'll see if I can handle both. Wish me luck. I really just signed up so I could post comments on my fellow bloggers blogs.