My ripped pants

That's me. And my ripped pants. Yeah.

It all started with an innocent leadership retreat for my church. The leaders for DV8 (middle school), Wired (High School), and H2O (college & career) headed to Deep Creek for the weekend to refocus, connect about the upcoming semester, and just hang out together. It was an amazing time together.

On Saturday night, after we had an amazing time together sharing about what God had done in our lives the last year, some of us started dancing around like idiots (because that's what we do when there is an open space and music playing). Well, as a few of us were just dancing around, we were jumping up and down from the floor, acting kind of like monkeys (don't ask. Really).

Well, that was the point I heard a rip. And I immediately just sat down where I was. And scooted on my butt to the side of the room where there was only one other person sitting on a couch (my roommate for the weekend Deanna). I realized pretty quickly that it was not a small rip, or just the pocket. No, it was a bit too drafty for that.

Most people really didn't realize what was happening, to my delight. I did find out later that Cameron was trying to get me to show people cause he didn't think it ripped all the way through. But oh did it.

Eventually my friend Jamie went and got me a pair ow sweats to wear, and I changed and all was well again. And then everyone got to see how badly I ripped my pants. Hilarious.

The only problem being they were one of my favorite pairs of jeans that I have worn a ton since I got them 2 years ago (probably why they were weak enough to rip like that). And now I am down to 1 pair of jeans that fit well, and 1 pair that will fit with a belt. Oh issues.

Oh yeah, and a pair of khakis that I really love. That as I looked at yesterday I realized were getting small holes at the corners of each back pocket. Grr. No dancing in those I guess.

Done!

Busy? Me. No. That could never define my life. Ok, maybe. Always. But whatever.

I finally finished writing my proposal for my dissertation. Turning it in to my committee was one of the most liberating and terrifying experiences. You see, now I don't have to worry about writing it everyday, but I also can't change anything, so if there's a mistake it's there for good. Now I just have to make a seminar to present what I wrote.

It didn't really hit me how quickly this has all happened. I just got the official email announcing my seminar next Wednesday though, so it is completely official. I have to present my research plan for the next year and a half in 5 days. And then have a committee meeting about it the next day. Where they will hopefully not fail me. I don't really like the whole failing thing.

And as disenchanted as I have been for the past year with research, I really don't want to fail. I don't want a reason to quit. I may dread it sometimes, but I do want to finish it out. Whether or not I do this long term after I graduate is another story....

Wanna do me a favor?

I've gotten in a habit of listening to podcasts of sermons recently, mainly being inspired by my friend Josh Vance, who has listened to some so many times that he can directly quote whole sections!

It's been good to have some other podcasts to listen to instead of my normal geeky MIT opencourseware on biotech stuff or Philosophy Talk from Stanford. Although both are great.

Recently I've been listening to some sermons by Francis Chan from Cornerstone Simi church. I will say that I have gotten a ton out of each that I have listened to. This morning as I was listening to one (Living with Urgency Pt. 1) I really loved the illustration used, so I thought I'd share it with you.

When someone asks you to do a favor for them, what is your typical response?

If you're like me and most other people, you immediately say, "What is it?"

Now, admittedly there are a few people I don't even question, I just say, "Sure, what do you need me to do?" But often the "sure" part is left off til I find out what is required of me.

So Francis Chan asks his congregation in the same manner, if I read you something from the Bible, will you unquestioningly do what it says? Most of us will think, well... what are you going to read us?

Isn't that funny?

We say we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. We believe we should follow what it says, but we still will have some reservations about agreeing blindly to follow it unless we know what we are agreeing to.

Shouldn't we just say yes, whatever is in the Bible we will follow as the word of God, regardless?

The issue that was then pointed out in this part of the message was "don't slander". And although there was a great emphasis placed there, and it is of great importance to take that to heart and learn to truly love those we would want to speak badly about, there is a deeper message being put forth.

What would it look like if we all said no matter what it is, if God tells me to do something, I will do it without questioning it. I'll follow him regardless of whether it fits with my plans. Regardless of it fits with what I want, or what is sensible.

What if we did that for just one day? What could God accomplish through us in that time being totally committed to Him and His plan instead of being blinded by our own ideas?

17:THREE!

John 17:3. This is eternal life, that you may know You, the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ.

17:THREE is our new college/career/18-35ish gathering.

It is there to provide a place for people to connect with God, connect with each other, and get involved in serving in the community, the church, and the world.

The first time was pretty awesome.

I was able to head up to the balcony area at one point and see what was happening from a different perspective, and take some pictures to document the occasion.

I thought I'd share some pics from the night.

We weren't entirely sure what to expect, but we had about 180 people show up! How cool!

So if you're interested in coming, we are having our next event Thursday, September 4, 8pm at the Met in downtown Morgantown. Come have an awesome time with us, and then come hang out afterwards at sozo for some good coffee and fellowship, and Rock Band! Check it out!

My bruised...

Ego? Leg? Well, insert what you will.

This little table sits about 12 inches off the ground (at the most) at sozo. A couple weeks ago, we were open on a Monday night for Fall Fest.

We were kind of tired of being there by midnight when we closed ( I had already been there 8 evenings in a row before that) so we were closing as quickly as we could, with help from many of our friends who had stopped by.

Well, in turning my head to ask someone to turn off some lights, while heading to the restrooms to restock TP, I ran into the table. Hard core. Like almost all the way to the ground.

I still have a bruise. Over two weeks later. Oh and a knot on my leg. Seriously. That is one hard core bruise.

A Collision...

No, not the David Crowder Band CD. Although that is good. My car.




This is what my car looked like yesterday after I mis-judged a turn and side swiped a telephone pole. And no, this was not a pole made from an int so that it would be walking around. In fact, it still looks like this.

Needless to say I was a bit upset. I have been really overwhelmed and stressed with everything I've had going on, and that was the final straw. I just broke down and cried for about 20 minutes when I got home.

After that I got to talk to a few of my friends who shared many words of wisdom. After all, it is just a thing. Yes, a very expensive thing, but a thing. And it still works fine. It's only aesthetic.

And, as someone reminded me, a quotable guy long ago said not to worry about tomorrow, it has enough worries of its own.

I realized at that point though that I should take a step back though. I just spent some time praying and reading the Bible. Amazing stuff.

Here's some cool stuff to encourage you today:

Psalm 27: The lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?... I am certain I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be courageous and let your heart be strong. Wait for the Lord.

Psalm 46: God is our refuge and our strength and helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil.

John 14:1: Trust in God, trust also in me.

And really, if you need more encouragement, read Job. I mean, come on. It can't really get a whole lot worse that what he went through!

So in all, life may be crazy but I can rely on God, He is my strength.

How have you learned to rely on God in times of need?

Tagging Friends....

OK, so I guess I am somewhat required to do this post since I was tagged by my friend Billy in his post earlier.

You see, there is some sort of blog chain letter going around. Here's the deal:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

So here goes:

1. I speak Portuguese and can understand a good bit of Latin, Italian, and Spanish. Something about taking too much foreign language in high school.

2. I peed outside for the first time this summer while on a 24 mile in 24 hour death hike. Ew.

3. I started dancing en pointe in ballet 6 months after taking my first dance lesson.

4. I was a cheerleader when I was barely 5, but soon learned the error in my ways and gave it up. Still, I was the smallest but loudest on the squad.

5. I am obsessed to some degree with reality TV. The high class kind, like Survivor, ANTM, TLC shows. None of that trashy crap like the Bachelor or Bid Brother or the Mole or anything. ;)

6. I can say the alphabet backwards in English and Portuguese. Very useful life skill.

Alright, now for my tags:

Jennifer Garton - My sister who writes blogs from the perspective of a stay at home mom on all sorts of subjects.

Rebecca Moran - A friend that I work with at our little coffee shop on High street, sozo.

Cameron King - Or Camford as I like to call him... one of the leaders of H2O @ CRC!

Cassie Annan - One of my close friends and soul group peeps who I love!

Nikki Buchanan - One of my fav's from Nashville. Definitely was adopted into their family for a while when I was still living there!

Beth Chase - Yay Beth! I heart this woman! She definitely inspired me to get involved at my church and is an awesome example to me!

So take a minute and check these out... and HAPPY READING!