Downtown.

Life Update:


*The girls are finishing swim*


*Nick had a birthday*


*It's been raining here and makes the streets shimmer*


*Kiley came out to my house one night and we ate chocolate. She then took a shower and I sat on the toilet (seat was down) talking to her about life. She popped her head out and started laughing at me. She called me a fatty and I was perplexed. She said that I should look in the mirror... I had chocolate ALL over my face. It was lovely, really.


*I took the younger two on a date last week. Our game was this: let's see who can take the cutest picture inbetween here and Starbucks! The challege was this: everyone has to take a picture of a complete stranger :) I took one of a lady at the bus stop. It was great fun!


*Shooting straws FTW!*


*Drew decided to climb into a trashcan and I happen to think that she's adorable*


*My shot -- cactus*


*Drew's shot -- sprinklers






*Favorite of the night? I think so. This is just so us.*

Upside down.

It has been lovely, here in Phoenix the past few days. On Monday, as I was walking into my house after a long day, I noticed a large amount of bird poop on the sidewalk. Thinking that this was abnormal, I was propelled to look up.

Low and behold, I discovered a massive amount of birds perched above, on the power lines. You see, we have recently over-seeded our lawn, so my hunch is that they're preying on what little seed they can get.

As I was looking up at them, glaring actually, I noticed that one of the birds among them was little; it was still learning how to balance, how to belong. It made me smile and thank God for His faithfulness.

I then spent some time just watching him (do I know that he was a boy? no. he just seemed cute like a little boy). The first thing I noticed, was that he was holding on to the power lines for dear life! He would look up towards the sky and his tail would be low -- pointing towards the ground. Next thing you know, the wind would hit and the bird would be upside down -- eyes facing imminent death (or at least that would be my bird assumption -- as it was facing the asphalt below) and tail foisted high in the air. Every time, he would manage to get back up -- to persevere in the bird culture and be.

I must admit that I felt like I could resonate with this little birdie. There are weeks when I feel light, I feel on track, I feel hopeful, I feel bulletproof. These weeks happen to be the weeks when I am looking up, facing homeward.

And still, there are other weeks when I feel as if I've lost my balance, my rhythm is off, my cadence is sour. It is in these weeks when perseverance is necessary, faith is hoped for, and the hope of Jesus is the only thing keeping me from falling.

All in all, the beautiful thing about this walk of faith, about watching this bird, is the realization, that I am not alone. I am surrounded by seasoned followers and am merely learning what it looks like to follow Jesus. Together, we are Jesus' culture and together, we belong.

Isn't redemption the greatest?

What is the world?

Last Thursday, God gave me a few mental pictures. One of which, I just now remembered! It couldn't have come at a more perfect time, I tell you. I have a math quiz tomorrow (passing grade = 100%), interesting news to process today, and the list goes on. My life goes on.

The picture was this:

I had a mental picture of the whole world on top of my head. I felt as if the weight of the world was driving me into the ground -- in the same way that a mallet crushes the head of a whack-a-mole, so the world was crushing me.

The Spirit of God then graciously reminded me that He created the world, so what does the world weigh to Him?

To take that one step further, He responded (to my delight) and reassured my soul that He is in me... so what is the weight of the world to me?

I was created to be free. I am free indeed. Our God is great, surely our God is good.

What does the world weigh to those who are filled with the world's Creator? Be encouraged this day, the world has NO weight on you.

Bucket List

(Chompey, my favorite dog)

I am a perpetual dreamer. Yes, ask anyone who knows me well, and they will attest to this fact. Some may find this portion of me rather annoying, but dreaming is what keeps me excited, focused, in the present moment. Point in case: Community Health. That class has potential to be rather boring, but instead of tuning out completely, I let my mind wander to exciting new places... like working for the World Health Organization. Well, at least that's where my mind took me today!

On that note, for the past while I have been keeping track of my rather precious dreams and have decided --just now-- to share them.

Things I wish to accomplish in my lifetime:
*Build and plant a successful garden, a square foot garden
*Learn how to cut hair, and well
*Buy a nice camera and learn how to take quality pictures
*Learn how to work on cars
*Learn how to play the guitar and take voice lessons -- learn how to harmonize
*Become fluent in a foreign language (Which might just happen this summer -- Check it out here)
*Get my International Drivers License
*Study HIV/AIDS -- Stanford's program?
*Staff for a summer at Hume Lake (Which might just happen this summer)
*Learn how to shoe a horse
*Own a Rhodesian Ridegeback (here)
*Start a Home-Based Care program in the US
*Be a foster parent (here)
*Work with the homeless
*Get my Masters in something cool like this
*Doctors Without Borders (looky here)

That's all :)

On a side note, I was sitting on my porch in Phx this afternoon, reading the Word and taking in the rain and read this...

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit" -- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil."

All that to say, if God so wills, maybe a few of these items will come to pass :D

Oh, and last thing! After today, I am convinced that the rain will come in our lives, and it will go, and when it does, it will leave behind piercing clarity and the hope of a bow -- a testimony of the Faithful one. Hold fast, the storm will one day cease.