Open Your Eyes

Happy Sunday everyone! What? What do you mean the day's almost over??? Schwat?? Un.believable. So, I'm finally starting to feel better (can you tell???)
hint---> all the unnecessary "???'s" that keep escaping from my mind onto the screen

Yesterday I actually got to get out of the house and get some fresh air. PS: being cooped up in your room for 2 days with strep throat is lame. Seriously. And no amount of Facebook, Twitter, TV, or yes, even James Morrisson's amazing voice could keep me from going batty. It was ridiculous. But yesterday I got to go downtown and do some shopping. Got some new makeup from Sephora. . . and I don't know HOW I WAS SURVIVING without Urban Decay's Primer Potion. Really. I also got to go to Pike Place Market, and bought some honey and just took in the beauty of the flowers in the stalls and was so quickly reminded of just how much i LOVE this city! Also, Blockbuster was going out of business in Crown Hill so I stopped by and got 4 movies for $20. And I got a coupon for a book at Barnes and Noble and bought SLEEPERS, which is one of my absolute favorite movies. I've been reading it on the bus and it hasn't made me fall asleep yet! :)

A really crazy cool thing happened this morning during Sunday School. Okay, so the fact that B— was the only one to show up wasn't that cool, but still I had a great talk with him as we played 3 rounds of pool. We talked about "disciplism," which was something I learned in Master's Commission from Dan Matlock. [more about "disciplism" here] and to start off, I asked B— what "discipleship" was. His reply was, "Something to do with being a disciple?" And we talked about discipleship for a bit. Then I asked him what "evangelism" was and he was like, "Evangelism? I've never heard of that. What's that?" And he was being dead serious.

I was astounded. It's so crazy the things I've taken for granted. Growing up in the "Bible Belt," you go to church and it's like, everyone knows EVERY Christianese word ever. Kids in 3rd grade know what discipleship, evangelism, prophetic, warfare, and the like all mean. They memorize verses about this stuff. But being up here in Seattle I've learned that there's so much that young Christian teenagers don't seem to know about. It really challenges me to put it in a way that makes it easily understandable and will help make it not a "churchy" thing. It gives me an opportunity to change the bland term "evangelism" into something that actually makes sense and doesn't teach a lifestyle of leaving trcts instead of tips and that a hand-out is meaningless without a hand-up. We had a great talk about how living an authentic faith-filled life that will help him leave a positive influence in his class that is made up of 95% athiests and how to develop habits that will help him live as a reflection of Christ.

I personally get hung up on some of the terminology used in Christianity, because having spent most of my life under a cynical perception of faith, certain terms have already left a weird impression on me. It was interesting when he said he'd never heard of the term "evangelism" before because it left me to wrestle with myself as to whether or not to continue calling it that or whether I should just lay it out there with a different catch-phrase. I ended up sharing a little bit about the misconceptions of that term and what I believe the Word of God means when it mentions evanelistic instances. I loved hearing what he thought and learning about some of his struggles with connecting faith and life. Being a mentor to these students is helping me grow just as much as it's helping them grow. I love where I am and what I get to do!

Northwest Highway

Day 4 Report from the "4th on the 5 Adventures"

This is the blog post that explains why I chose the title, "4th on the 5." My friends came up for the 4th of July weekend, and we spent the majority of our time on I-5. Whether it was driving to and from the airport, or getting lost in western Washington, we spent some truly quality time on the 5. ;)

We woke up Sunday morning in Forks, Washington ready for a fun time at La Push Beach! We weren't expecting it to be quite as chilly as it was. It was really cold. :( But we went anyway. But first we decided to do a little bit of driving around Forks. We went to the visitor center and took some photos near Bella's truck and then came upon some friendly looking guys. We were hungry and didn't know where to go, so we thought we'd ask:

Hahahahahahhaaha!

Then we went down to the beach and me and Patsy drove to First Beach, while Joy walked the length of the beaches from Third to First on a path. Patsy was cold so she waited in the car and I decided to get out and enjoy the beauty of the overcast beach. Yes folks, it doesn't matter if it's sunny or not—i LOVE the beach. Being near the water is so freeing to me. I don't know why, it just is. Give me water over mountains any day! I got to climb on the rocks and sit along the water and I just got to take in the beauty of the scenery. I also got to relax and sing some songs that I made up while I was sitting there and just allow the words in my heart to come out of my mouth. I had such an amazing time! When Joy finally got to First Beach, we decided to re-walk the path she had taken and then go fly kites down near Third Beach. What she failed to mention was the hiking that took place to get there. The path led to a trail, and for those who REALLY know me, you know that i DESPISE hiking, climbing, etc. I'm not so fascinated with spikey leaves and bugs and rough terrain. Just. Not. A. Fan. At. All. But I did it and we got there and I got to fly my kite. :D I also got to take a swim in the frigid water! I kept debating whether or not to do it, but then I was like, "How often do I get to come to the beach?" So I did. And thought it took my breath away (literally) at first, it got better and I really enjoyed it.

As a recap of our adventures, here is a video blog:

PS: Stay on the 5 !

Long Journey

Day 3 Report from the "4th on the 5 Adventures"

i apologize that i haven't learned how to open my eyes yet. ;)

After we got back from Karaoke (around 2:30 a.m.) me and Joy had a long and productive conversation about our respective attitudes and differences and miscommunications. Though there is debate about it, I do believe that time has changed us, and that who we thought we each were is not the same. This isn't a bad thing though, just an interesting thing that brings new challenges and opens new insights. I don't remember what time we got to bed but I'm assuming it was close to 5 or 6 am. I could be wrong though.

In any event, we woke up around noon and began our long drive to Forks, Washington—The Twilight Zone. :D

When we were first planning the trip, Joy's big thing that she wanted us to be sure to do was to go to Forks to check out the roots of the movie "Twilight." Joy and I are BIG fans of Twilight, so I was pretty excited to go as well. Patsy enjoyed the movie but wasn't nearly as besotted as we were. We got lost a few times, but we made our way. :D

Joy and Patsy really wanted to stay the night, so we found a hotel (by some major miracle) and got to catch the fireworks show in Forks! It was amazing!

Here are some photos and videos of our time there:

taken from the ferry :D

patsy loved the ferry

car shot of the scenery around Olympic National Park

taking in the beautiful scenery

jacob black's house on the Quileute Rez!

we ate here twice—yummy food!

I went out on a limb (quite literally) to get this shot and it was SO worth it!

our hotel in Forks

Fireworks on the Fourth in Forks

Joy in front of our motel door

You Keep Me Warm

No really, Texas kept me warm during my vacation. . . 105+ degrees warm, to be exact. Whew! I gotta admit, it does feel quite awesome to be back in a cooler climate.

I had an AMAZING time in Austin! I got to bring Jessica and Christiaan with me and I loved sharing my life and friends and family with them! :D

It was a very emotional weekend—laughing at all the funny memories, crying because we all knew MCA was coming to an end, frustration because I seem to lose things left and right, warmth from seeing my family and friends, and a wide range of other emotions caused by the combination of lack of sleep + lots of coffee + busy schedule. But I'm so glad I got to experience everything :D

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my friend Rich about this big bittersweet weekend and I go, "You know, nothing like a funeral to bring the family together again." It really was so awesome to reconnect and to hear about how my fellow alums are doing. They have all played such a special role in my life and I am going to work super hard to keep in contact with them all. They mean so much to me! So to all my MCA Alums, thank you so much for keeping my heart warm all those years—I'm gonna try to get out to see all of you! :D In the meantime, utilize Facebook, Myspace and Twitter :D

Here are some pics from my time in Austin:

This lady was sleeping all the way through the graduation—hilarious! :D

I know that normally one wouldn't post a picture of a baby crying, but I ADORE these two angels (my nieces) and it just reminds me how different they are in all their adorableness! Because Vanessa couldn't be more go with the flow and Annabelle gets kinda finnicky. . . I LOVE their little personalities! :D I heart these little ladies! :D

Leslie, Austin's famous cross-dresser who ran for mayor one year :D