California Dreamin'

Well - I am off to Cali for 8 wonderful days!!! Keep me and my travels in your prayers. My friend Leslie is going with me - so I won't be stuck in the airport by myself. =) Expect great posts and pictures when I get back!!

Love you all!

The Great Pirate/Ninja Debate

Ok, so I got such great amusement out of the Pirate-Ninja debate Nick, Lane and Mary were having, that I just had to join in myself. I took the question to work, and people were all about it! I haven't seen people that excited about anything since our last GM got fired!! Anyway, I took a quick survey people there, and came up with 6 Pirates, 5 Ninjas, and 2 undecideds. I asked one guy, "Logan, given the choice, would you rather be a Pirate, or a Ninja?" To which is literally almost competely collapsed on the floor, pulled himself up with a groan, and ran out of the room. I stood there with a couple of other people - we were all dumbfounded at his response. He ran back up to me and said very serious-like, "Oh, dude! No. Man! You don't even know what you just asked me!! That is like, oh, that is like the greatest question of my life!! Man! I have been trying to figure that out since I was little boy! You can't expect me to just answer! That is too much pressure! Man! Ahhh!" Wow is about all I can say to that...

Being slightly on the fence myself, I decided to get reasons for people's decisions.

The Benefits of Being a Pirate:
*It is like one big drunken fest
*There is always rum
*There is a sense of community that Ninjas miss out on
*They get a parrot
*They get booty (of both varities)
*They get to live on a boat
*They are always on the water
*Pirates just simply have more fun


The Benefits of Being a Ninja:
*They are more dangerous (which I guess equates with "cool")
*They are "stealthy" (Valerie - you aren't allowed to take off points for a direct quote!)
*They have cool clothes/They get to wear all black
*They are smarter
*The lifestyle is cooler
*They get to drink saki
*They are assasigns not murderes (meaning, they kill for other's benefits, rather than for their own benefit)
*They can kick a Pirate's ass

That all being said, I think I choose to be a Pirate. Growing up on the water, I know how good it is for my soul. And I've always wanted to be tan.....

Myfaceblogbookspace.com

I know I missed the discussion on blogging vs. facebook vs. myspace earlier this week, so I am starting my own discussion here. Call me hopelessly addicted, but I have to admit that I have one of each. Wait wait, don't leave, let me explain! There is good in each - it is a way for me to connect with different worlds.
Blogs: Here, I connect with my "college world" - Stephanie, Lane, Mary, Nick, Valerie, Heather, and a few new ones added in for fun. Here we have the rants and lively discussions that I know would be just as humerous and/or insightful if we were all sitting at McCalister's (which I miss so much by the way - they don't have one in Lexington.) Here I can read daily updates of people I love, but get to see maybe once a year. You all were very formative in my life, and so being in the blog-sphere and having the chance to reconnect with a lot of you is super important and exciting. The downfall - blogs are patterned little screens - you can choose from only a handful of backgrounds, and there is no venue specifically for pictures (unless you want to post directly in your blog, which I will do right here and right now - partly to prove a point, partly to show off my super cute pup)














Facebook: Another point of connect. Living in Kentucky I have met a whole new slew of friends, mostly through work. They pretty much all attend UK - and Facebook is the big deal. "Come Liz - every one is on it now!" If you will notice, those who facebook, (and yes, Facebook is both a noun and a verb) I have more "friends" from UK than I do pretty much all of the other colleges combined!! Not to say I don't have friend else-where, I mean, I am pretty loveable in many states, but mainly just because that is my way of connecting with people here. It is a great place to post pictures galore and catch up with people I see, but not necessarily on a daily basis. Downfall: It is limited only to those with a valid school address, which means I can connect only with the smart people I know. =) (just kidding)
Myspace: Enter world three - those who don't believe in blogs and don't go to school. They are a limited few, but they do exist. Honestly, I started a myspace because Kris wouldn't leave me alone. So I had an account so I could read his posts and see his pictures, but didn't actually do anything with mine until just this week. Now, I am fully decorated, have music in the background and pictures for browsing. While I know that the greatest downfall is how wide open myspace is for pervs and the like, and everyone and their mom has a myspace, it does have its good points as well. I love that I can search music on here. It gives me the opportunity to discover new music - a gift I always took for granted when living near Stephanie and Mary (new find: Kate Laurel Smith - wow!) I can just type in Patty Griffin, and see who lists her as great, then see who else they have listed. I have spent my morning discovering some really talented ladies on myspace.

I think the important thing to remember here is that blogs, myspace, facebook - we can't allow them to become our lives. My friend Alice told me once, "If it ever gets to the point where I am checking your blog instead of calling you on the phone to see what is going on, then we have a problem." Yes, this world is easy and convient, but physical time will always trump time in front of a screen. Stephanie came to visit yesterday, and I can't think of time better spent then walking around (in the cold!) catching up, discussing in person the same things we bring up here. I love the community this has created, just, let's not forget that phone calls, letters in the mail and visits are WAY better. =)

So, here's to myfaceblogbookspace.......happy typing.....

Greatest Disappointment of my life....

Honestly....Patty Griffin is coming to LEXINGTON!!!!! To the Kentucky Theater no less (one of the coolest venues this town has!) I have tickets - and what happens??? The stupid airline totally screwed up my ticket to California and has me coming back the DAY AFTER PATTY LEAVES!!! While I am not complaining about an extra day in Cali, I am competely and utterly disappointed to miss Patty AGAIN!! I may never get to see her!! =(

You all should be jealous!

....because I got to see Heather yesterday!! She and Corey were here visiting Asbury, and I got to join them (somewhat illegally) for lunch, then I took Heather around town. After the 2 minute tour, we got a little time to catch up. =) Yay for old friends!!!!!!

Hurt

First off, sorry to be so disconnected here lately. I feel like a puppet whose strings are being pulled in four different directions. (see previous posts) One of these days I'm lible to lose a wooden limb.














So let me just jump right in by telling you what is on my heart. What has been on my heart lately: people. Hurting people in particular. I have a friend who, out of respect for his privacy, I will call "J." For the past five months I have been walking alongside of him in the greatest trial of his life. I am not really sure why I was chosen to be this person, the listener, the comforter; but it is a reality I have humbly accepted. This situation is one like I have never experienced. I have had friends go through hard times before. I have played this role with them before. But never before have I felt another's hurt so deeply. I feel like I have internalized his pain, taken on his burden, in a way that causes me to hurt with him in such a deep way that I have rarely felt, even in my own pain. (and let me remind you here, I am an empathizer at heart) There have been times of weeping over him and for him. There was one night in particular when my prayer time for him failed to produce anymore words - only groanings in my spirit. There was such a call to intercession for him that I didn't have to have the words to pray, the Lord was directing my prayers and visions for him. That night the Lord used my desire for healing to minister through prayer. (that is another post for another time)

There have been times of questioning: questioning his own strength, God's character, love and hope. I didn't have the answers then. Now, in retrospect, I think that he wasn't so much looking for answers as he was looking for an avenue in which to vent his anger. He wanted to know that it was ok to cry and that it was ok to yell at God. I am pretty sure God can handle our anger. More than that though, I know that Christ is weeping with J right now. In as much as I feel J's pain, Jesus does even more - and it is breaking His heart. Knowing this, knowing God's heart for J in his suffereing, I just want to cry out, "No matter what season, no matter what circumstance, you are not alone. You are never alone!" Going through stuff like this could easily make one feel like God has abandoned us. I felt that to some extent when we went through the Fall in Alabama. I have heard other Christ-followers speak of the same feeling previously in their life. But what I learned, and what I have heard others echo (usually more eloquently), is that all bad things must come to an end. To everything there is a season, and in that, there is much grace.

In reading Genesis, we read the story about Joseph. Joseph found himself in a position of being lower than low. He was despised by his own brothers. So much so that they plotted to kill him!! They threw him down into a dry pit and were going to leave him there to die. A situation that you think can't get any worse. Then a rope dropped down in the pit. I can only imagine that Joseph thought, "Hope! A way out!" But when Joseph reached the top of the pit, he quickly realized that he was being rescued, only to be sold into slavery!! The story continues with more trials before his life is restored. But through everything, Joseph never lost his hope. He overcame the hoplessness of each situation and became a leader who later saved the lives of the very brothers who tried to destroy him.

Our circumstances can try to destroy us, but this isn't the end. It may seem like you've grabbed onto hope, only to be lifted out of the pit and sold into slavery. But Jesus offers hope for the hopeless, and rest for the weary. For J, the story is not over. It is not easy, but it is not over. God has not forsaken you J - I promise.

"I"

I am: tired all the time
I think: so many things I never have the courage to express
I know: I am loved
I hate: my alarm clock
I don't: like my roommate's girlfriend
I can't: help it
I can: make a mean LIT
I will: finish reading the last three books I started
I won't: start anything else until I do
I miss: my dad
I fear: missing out on things
I feel: the presence of God more now than ever
I hear: the wind
I smell: like Tony Roma's
I crave: cheese
I wonder: how many times I will get lost on the subway this summer
I regret: not giving C.T. a chance this summer
I love: my little house
I dream: in color
I care: so much that sometimes it hurts
I always: brush my teeth before bed
I am not: hard-hearted, just cautious....
I believe: in God's Grace
I sing: like I don't know that I sing off-key=)
I smile: back at every child
I laugh: at my dogs when they play together
I collect: photo albums
I play: Soduku at work when my managers aren't looking
I write: things I know I am never going to share
I await: graduation day
I cook: for others
I trust: less than I used to
I intend: to study a lot more than I actually do
I search: for new houses all the time (product of my parents)
I look: at the glass half-full
I shout: in my car in the driveway when I'm frustrated
I whisper: prayers over people I work with everyday
I conquer: fears of insecurity and lonliness
I listen: to Patty Griffin when I am happy, when I'm sad, and when I miss my Alabama friends
I live: expecting