Constant Camera

I was thinking today about how in my middle level education classes we talk about how middle schoolers always feel like they have a constant camera on them. Wouldn't it be awesome if they made you're life into a movie? I mean, you could be in movie all the time! Have you ever thought about having your life be a movie? I have.

My life isn't all that interesting, but i wonder what it would look like in movie form. When I'm walking to class i would have a jack johnson song playing, and when i'm with Simeon, there would be a al green song playing.

Or what would a movie that filmed feet all day long be like? Do you think it would be interesting?

Random thoughts for no one...

Young Grasshoppa

I'm in my last year of college and there is so much to learn. In looking towards my future I see many things i don't feel prepared for. In nearly nine months i will be a wife. I don't know how to be a wife - i mean i have ideas from my mom and aunts, but nothing like the real deal! Will i be able to attend to Simeon's needs? Will i be able to keep a house? Will i be able to give up parts of my single lifestyle?

I'm going to be a math teacher. yeah, that was the goal years ago when i started school, but now its a reality. Will students understand me? Will i understand students? Will i be able to reach the unreachable? or the reachable? Will i be a good co-worker? Will i know my stuff?

Those are the thoughts on my mind as of late...they'll get answered eventually. Until then, i'll sit and wonder how God will work it all out.

Hard at work

I'm at work right now. As you can read...its a busy day here at badger brothers cafe!

Good Moods

I was in a good mood yesterday! You know those days when you're funny and happy and want to share it with everyone? Well, yesterday was one of those days. Even though i feel like this:



I'm still having a good day!! Perhaps its because i talked to my good friend Meredith...she's a cool kinda lady! Not to mention i'm getting married in less than 10 months, how cool is that??

Its True!

I'm engaged!

I get to spend the rest of my life with the man i love! How awesome is that??

I'm the happiest lady in the world!

pennies for thoughts and ponds

Perhaps i'm wasteful.

I love to know what people are thinking. To uncover the real happenings beneath the lives of those close to me. What was she thinking?! Will he ever grow up?! If anyone decided to disect me from head to toe to uncover what i was feeling about things, i'd be mad! Unfortunatly i try to do it with those close to me. If i did give my pennies to others for their thoughts, i'd be poor. And its about time for me to be rich in someone who knows my thoughts and everyone elses, but loves everyone the same.

Also, i'm finding myself wishing time away. Throwing my pennies in the pond to get somewhere fast. Where do i need to get though? Life is wonderful and i don't want to wish any day away even if it means that i won't necessarily be with Simeon or any others that i love. i need to start saving my pennies and counting on life being amazing with no wishes necessary. Time will come and go sooner than later and i want to enjoy my moments.

There you go, no pennies for my thoughts, its free today...

Summer Vacation!!!!!

Summer Vacation = Work, School, Work and Simeon when i can get him!

This is what it looks like:

This Face

This face is the only thing that gets me through long semesters like this!

Drowning...

So if you've ever thought of life as a big swimming pool, raise your hand.

(raising my hand).

If you've ever felt like you're drowning in this big pool of life, raise your hand.

(raising my hand).

I dislike finals time in ever sense of the word "dislike".

Things that Make Me Nervous (Part II)

So I saw a woman running like the wind into a building the other day. Then about 5 minutes later I saw two men running into a building as fast as they can.

Why are they running? Should I be running too? Should I be running the opposite direction?

It made me nervous...

Things That Make Me Nervous (Part I)

Wouldn't it be weird if you walked up to a girl you thought was named Lacey and thought you went to high school with her and then say, "Hey Lacey, how have you been?" Only to get the reply, "My name isn't Lacey, its Mitch!"

I just think that would be so weird, and i'm pretty sure it almost happened to me.

Ha

So funny thing happened today at the ol' UW-Plzzatteville. Power went out. Perhaps power outages = 20 years olds reverting back to a life of adolescence. "FOOD FIGHT!" "Maybe I get outta class!" Were among my favorites of things yelled...but do you know the favoritist? I bet you can guess...what would happen when any lights went out as a 13-yr-old? You guessed it:

"OoooOOOoOOOooo"

As if someone would start making out on the spot due to the lack of luminescence. Pfff.

Avoiding...

I'm supposed to take a test tonight, and I'm avoiding studying. Is that bad? But in my defense, advanced Calculus is the worst class every thought up. Who wants to be the smartest person in the world anyway?

Hurumph.

Crisp!

So i've decided that i think it should be fall all year round. Its wonderful! It is by far the prettiest season of the four and it has the crisp feeling :)

Fall is all about the change. It is no longer warm and sunny all the time. If its sunny, there's usually a storm on the way. If its warm, there's always a cool breeze. But its okay. Changes are okay, and i think they should be a regular part of life. Fall seems like a time of reflect and look at what life has been like for the last 3-4 months. What in life has changed? what have changed within ourselves?

We're studying James in small group, and i think the majority of what he calls us to do is evaluate our life and motives in order to realign with God's. That's why it should be fall all year long. Continually looking to what is changing and seeing what can be realigned with God.

Huh....

An Oldie but a Goodie

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little old… I’m not old. I’m a ripe age of twenty-one, but in the context of school and all that comes with it, I’m old. This is the start of my fourth year of college. Wow. It seems crazy to say, but it’s the truth!

When I was a freshman, I made the analogy of being thrown into a big pool and being told to just breathe and stay afloat. Well, I’ve passed the pool stage, and in a year, I’ll be thrown into the ocean… A much bigger and harder place to “just breathe.” It’s deeper, less protected, and much, much harder to stay afloat.

Granted, that’s in a few years, but something that is happening to me now, is the feeling of being disconnected. The new freshmen have come to school, they are everywhere, but I increasingly feel like I’m disconnected from the entire campus. I’m off it more, I’m in classes with only five people, I have a love of my life who I want to spend all my spare time with, and I’m old.

I was talking to one of my friends dad and he said that even though we’re moving on and leaving all the freedom and joys that we had before, we encounter new challenges and fun times – having home projects, creating a budget, buying substantial items because we have a salary, etc. I don’t know if those are joys, but they are something to look forward to!

Its just weird to be facing that point in my life – when I was twelve that was the thing I wanted to most was to be dating a man who I love, about to get a job, and be on my own. Now that its here, I can’t seem to run away from a job and being on my own fast enough! The boy part is great, don’t get me wrong, but the rest can stay away.

At least I’m not as old as my brother ☺

Umbrellas, Who Knew?

It’s raining today. Rainy days and me have a love-hate relationship. I love them because it means a good solid day to stay inside and read and watch movies without feeling bad because you’re sitting inside. I hate them because it means no work and no money during the summer, not to mention they are kind of gloomy.

Recently, however, I have found a new appreciation for rainy days. Umbrellas. Are we talking about those crazy things with wire and cloth? That’s it! I really like umbrellas! Today, I came across a revelation though – why do I like them so much? It is because, they have a symbolic meaning. Let’s think about this, shall we?

Rain is usually no fun. Its wet, it makes you cold, and its constant. Nobody wants to be in the rain. Sin is no fun. Its bad for you, its appalling to God, and its constant as well. Nobody wants to be living in sin. Can you see the similarity? So…let’s say sin is the rain…

The Umbrella protects us from the rain. Its sole purpose is to keep us out of the rain. God is there to keep us away from sin. He protects us from evil desires and from getting hurt. In Psalms it says, “For he has delivered me from all my troubles and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.” Then to ensure full protection from a life of condemnation, he sent his son. Umbrellas don’t have sons, but there are such things as ponchos and rain boots.

Granted God can’t stop us from sinning, and we will even in his grace, but he wants us to learn too. He teaches us through specific instances and gives us lessons to learn from. Umbrellas can’t fully protect you from the rain. They are there as a covering. But who’s to say if you don’t have those rain boots, your feet won’t get wet? We learn. The next time we bring rain boots. Then who’s to say our arms won’t get wet with the wind and rain? We learn. The next time we bring our poncho. God wants us to see the world, but not be living for the world; so we can hear the rain, feel the cool air of rain and see the rain, but the Umbrella is there to keep us dry and warm.

Some people do like to play in the rain, but what does that usually end up in? Pneumonia and typhoid fever (it does, trust me). So even if we play in sin and dabble in it, it is not good for us and usually results in something much worse, such as sickness.

So as you can see, Umbrellas are amazing! I love being protected, yet being able to see and feel and be aware of what can come at me. Next time you see its raining, make sure to take your umbrella with you.

Circa 1987?

It wasn’t just yesterday that “Walk Like an Egyptian” was playing on the radio. It wasn’t just yesterday that scrunccies and leg warmers were in high fashion. So why have I been seeing them lately? Have things from the eighties become popular again? And if so, WHY?

I will stand firm in the statement that only two or three things that actually came from the eighties was worth while: Yours truly and your’s only (Simeon). Granted DIVO and electric synthesizers are pretty stellar, but think about the other things: big hair, sad and cheesy ballads, shoulder pads, side pony-tails, etc!

Granted, I am not a fashion expert. I will be the first to admit that I wear more layers than most people can ever fathom, which is unfortunate for some. However, I don’t think that hair was meant to poofy and I don’t think pony-tail were meant to be worn to the side. I don’t think neon colors are safe for the eyes and I don’t think any guy should ever wear a cut-off shirt or tank top. These are just things that I can’t justify as cool and I don’t think ever will be!

But what makes something fashionable and other things not? Like why were the eighties so awful? Well, I think the use of everything synthetic kind of hurt that one, but I don’t have the answer to that. I think the only thing needed to remember was that, these things weren’t just yesterday, they were clearly TWENTY years ago…its time to move on ☺

Pulling an Abraham

I was thinking the other day, you know how when you do something stupid or out of the norm, you say, “pulling a Brandon” [or insert name here] to be like someone who has done something in the past. Well, I was thinking that I’d want to “pull and Abraham.”

In Genesis we read about Abraham and his coming faith. He is chosen by God to undergo trials and tribulations, but also to learn who God is upfront and personal. God tests him by not giving him children until he’s like 90 years old. Then he God goes ahead and asks him to sacrifice this child that he’s waited so many years for by going up to a mountain and killing him. What does Abraham do? Grabs a knife and gets going.

Um, cello? Who in their right mind would do this? This is something that he’s waited a lifetime for, just because God promised him nations and blessings for doing his will, would you kill your own son? Well, we have to realize back then, Christianity is new, this idea of a “religion” and a God who is just and at the same time loving is kind of a new thing. Not to mention, we didn’t have a Jesus back then to make it real to us, we hadn’t seen God in man yet. So its even more of a big deal that Abe was like, well, gotta do what I gotta do.

So what I’m saying is that, I would love to have that sort of giving and sacrifice in my life. Granted, I don’t have a child and I’m not a ninety year old man, but I want to give to God those most important things, even if means I’m letting go of everything that I’m comfortable with. I was talking with someone the other day and they had an idea of what they wanted in life, where they wanted to live, a time frame of when they’d like to be married and have kids. But here’s the thing, they weren’t willing to give that up! They weren’t willing to make sacrifices in their life in order to show their faith to God.

And that’s just it, when we do actually make these sacrifices, we are demonstrating our faith in the Lord that he will provide and that he loves us. When Abraham did this, it was credited to him as righteousness. God is the only one and thing that can give us righteousness, and to have it credited to Abe, means God’s saying, I know Abraham is faithful and that he loves me, so I’m going to make him the father of nations and bless him abundantly.

Can you imagine if we do these little things of giving up our schedules or the things that hinder us, the fun that isn’t good for us, the things that we like to do, but know that it hurts other people – what if we gave that up? Adding up all those little things, is our way of showing our faithfulness to God and how he can see, God, we’re with you! By giving up these things, it hardly hurts us, instead, we gain from it! How amazing is that?

So I think we should all try to “pull and Abraham,” and give up something that we aren’t willing to yet.

Screwdrivers and Orange

So I was thinking today, when did we grow up? When did we take the turn from being a young kid who hardly knew what anything meant and didn't mind, to knowing everything there is to know about things that you thought you wanted to know? I'm not saying I know everything there is to know about everything, but i know things now that when I was 12, I was oblivious to.

If I asked an adult, how do you make a screwdriver? Most would reply, "You take vodka and orange juice and mix them up." If I asked anyone under the age of, oh let's say 15, how do you make a screwdriver, they would reply, "I dunno, maybe with some kind of metal and a plastic handle?" I’d be in the latter category of thinking of a tool, not a drink. Does that make me too naïve? I don’t think so, but maybe some others think of me that way. Maybe I haven’t escalated past the kid stage….maybe I haven’t even grown up!

I was at the pool the other day when this little boy was talking about going to the races. He asked, “when do you think you’d have to go to the races? I think they start in the morning and go through when its orange and then into the night too.” When it’s orange? I think that means at sunset or dusk too. But isn’t that great? He didn’t even know what that time was called – but he knew enough to make him happy and content.

So my question is: Which is better? Being in the Quiet or in the Loud? Maybe that’s just the key – know enough to make you content, but not too content that you don’t want to learn more. Kids are always learning, they’re growth curve of knowledge is astounding! Adults know a lot, and they’re growth curve isn’t too steep – it actually kind of levels off.

I guess when it all comes down to it, you’re supposed to have a childlike faith about things, and I think I might take it a little further, but I’m happy, and I’m glad that even the little things still make me happy by just discovering and not knowing – if it makes me naïve, then I guess that’s where I’ll be…sitting in the orange playing with metal and plastic ☺

Mom and Dad...they look so happy together :)

This is Simeon...and me of course!

This is Brandon and Lindsey...they are tall, but cute together!

Me and Simeon again, at one of our many weddings we went to this summer!

This is katy and chad...they're having a baby! If you cross your eyes, you can maybe see what Ella will look like...she's going to be a BABE!