Okay, okay... I promise I'll quit with the blogs only displaying links... after this one. Before I kick the habit, here's a few articles I've been reading and thinking about lately...

Two financial-y ones:
Ten Reasons You Aren't Rich

5 Everyday Things You Don't Need

A thinker for Christians:
Why I Don't Sing the Star-Spangled Banner

One that Made me smile (pope+twitter=awesome)
Pope Sends first Tweet

A few articles I've found interesting lately

Three Steps to Shrink Spiritually


How to Talk to Little Girls


Love Accommodates

Today is only Wednesday, and it's already been a long week...
Usually when I have a long week, I like to... "splurge" a little. Okay, that shouldn't be in quotation marks. I splurge. No "" about it. So after a long day of curriculum training, I was on my way to find a mall when I decided I'd like a manicure instead. I started combing the strip malls I was passing until I found one.

Inside, I met a man named Ten. He told me it was Vietnamese for "forward" (which is pretty great, I think). We started talking and he found out I majored in English. So he told me about his attempts to get a GED- all he has left is to take the writing portion. So while getting a manicure, I taught Ten how to write an essay.

I love the little ways in which life intersects with others. It makes me feel all connected-y...

Prayer, please

So... I decided randomly to google the organization that I've been looking into to go with to Korea... and what I found was not good. There were several different sites where these types of programs can be rated- and it was rated very poorly, especially on the integrity level (I don't think I ever saw more than one or two out of five). So this worries me. A lot. So I'm praying a lot about whether I should pursue this organization, if I should still go to Korea, if I should look into another organization, if I should look into going somewhere else, or if I should find something else all together... And I would appreciate added prayers.

Also, on the same note. My cousin, Andrew, just graduated high school. He had planned on going to a one-year intensive Bible training thingie called Arrowhead... well, he just found out they're not going to run this year. So Andrew has a summer job and then his fall plans have dropped out from under him.

Also, another note- My sister, Carli, is trying to decide what she's going to do this fall as well. She attended a Christian school for a year of college, and is trying to decide whether to go back or find somewhere else... She's headed on a great trip in July-August (trip being used loosely, here... while she'll be traveling far from little ole' Indiana, she will certainly not be on vacation!)

So I guess our family needs some major guidance... Which we're trusting God for. He has never let us down, and I don't think he plans on starting now... But, being human, we worry. So pray for each of us as we try to decide the right step for each of us in August? Thanks, guys!


This is a terrible picture of all of us, but it was the only one on Facebook of just the three of us... Carli, me, Andrew... pray for usssss :)

When it comes to God-sized Dreams, you might get the next step. You might catch a glimpse of the vision. You might know where you think you’re going. But then…our big, mysterious God shows up and you realize you don’t have a clue. His ways are beyond figuring out. This doesn’t mean you’re missing something, doing it wrong, or are wrong the path. It just means He’s God and we’re not.

That’s the best and hardest part all wrapped into one.
- Renee Loux

"Four things that can never be recovered: The stone after it's thrown, the word after it's spoken, the occasion after it's missed, and the time after it's gone."

The things I regret the most are the things I didn't do.
I hate missed opportunities but often miss them simply out of fear.

Welcome to Sarajevo

So I watched an indie film called "Welcome to Sarajevo" tonight with the people I'm living with for the summer.
I don't usually like stuff like this, to be honest. Because it makes me feel uncomfortable. And it's not "fun." And there are explosions and gore, but it's not all stylized or super-entertaining.
But it's based on a true story about the siege of Sarajevo (Bosnia) in 1992. I was four. The kids in the movie,though actors, were based off real children, real people. They're my age now. They lived through one of the more modern wars, and it was horrific.

I've had things so good here. I've been so blessed.
I'm feeling more and more lately that it's time to give back.

New-found treat!

So a week or so ago, I went grocery shopping with my mother, who so graciously bought groceries in what I consider to be a house-warming gift. I had to have yogurt-it's one of my favorite things to eat in this whole world. And I insisted that I loved plain yogurt (though I got questioning looks from my mother)... turns out, she was right. It's vanilla yogurt that I'm fond of. So this large container of gross, plain yogurt sat in the fridge, mocking me. I didn't want to throw it out- what a waste of money! But I certainly did not want to eat it.
Well, in a stroke of genius (or so I'd like to think) I decided to try something-- honey and cinnamon (both natural antibiotics, by the way) stirred in. Verdict? DELICIOUS!

New favorite summer snack? I think so.