Thank you to my two commentators. :) However, I know there are more of you. I'll just believe that your silence is a result of debilitating shyness. :) Stick around though. It only gets *more * interesting around here......

The Big News: I write different than I talk.

It's true. I wonder why that is? Maybe I just put more thought into writing? Maybe the vocabulary of the zillions of books I read comes out when I'm writing, and I stifle it at other times so I don't scare people (or mispronounce words). Maybe I'm ridiculously lame and funny in person, and alot more serious when writing? Actually I am funny in person. But before you find me arrogant, know that usually I am the one that cracks up laughing. I know George Washington says that it's not very classy to laugh at your jokes, but I can't help it-I'm just a happy girl. :) Which is also the reason I randomly break into song. But that's Biblical. For real! Check out James 5:13.

In other news, I was sick on Wednesday. Stayed home from work and everything. GRRRR. But God is faithful and I recovered in a incredibly quick amount of time!! Praise the Lord, my Healer!

Happy Leap Year!!! There was a rumor that this is the only day women are allowed to propose marriage to men. It must be a pagan tradition (I really don't know)... there's just something not right about that concept.

The End.

I know there's people that read this blog... so my question is: who are you? where are you from? what do you think? Make a comment, people. I'd love to hear from you! :)

Through a series of fortunate events, the Lord has got my attention. This weekend, He told me in no uncertain terms that my passion and attention has been focused on other things besides Him. I used to love Him more passionately, more dearly and desire Him more intensely. Slowly, that passion has waned.

It's not a time issue or a discipline issue or a life-decisions issue or a trust issue.... It's a HEART issue. Somewhere along the line, I transgressed the greatest commandment... "And you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."

Thanks to the fitting words of friends, yet another sermon on Love, several hours in a ski lodge with nothing to do but study the Word, Psalm 119 and the unfailing voice of the Holy Spirit. Today, I'm praying to love God more.... more passionately, intensely, completely.

"Always faithful."

It's the motto of the Marines. But to me, it's the most accurate description of my Lord. He is always faithful. He never changes, never turns, never betrays, never shows weakness or inability or anything that would cause me to doubt Him.


The Lord my God is perfect in all His ways... and His ways are faithful to me.

Tears streak down my face
As I walk the dusty road.
This heart inside is breaking,
And I fear I can't let go.
This offering required of me,
This lamb without defect.
It is the lamb that I have loved,
this lamb that is my best.
So tenderly I cared for it,
Like a mother with her child.
And now I lead to certain death,
To cover my soul defiled.
Wretched sinner am I!
For me, there goes the innocent.
Wretched servant am I!
To the One, I give my pet.
Because I'd rather keep my gift,
than kill this sacred lamb.
Because my soul still resists
This spiritual requirement.
Almost to the temple now,
This journey comes to an end.
The priest is at the doorway.
Now he takes the lamb.
I hear the lamb dying.
My self-will is crying.
But though my flesh cried out against it...
I have given the offering.

Most Non-Glamorous Moment: On my hands and knees last night, scrubbing away at a mystery stain in the youth room carpet. Jell-O or red punch? Hmmm.
Most Touching & Hilarious Moment: An unexpected gift of the most MASSIVE water bottle I've ever seen... And the obligatory story behind it: Every Wednesday at youth group, after worship and before preaching, I ask The Little Bro to get me some water. Cuz ya know, all that singing makes my throat dry. Why we've never thought to just keep a water bottle there for me, I have no idea! Anyway, my new water bottle is AWESOME! Drinking out of it is like tipping over an army tank, but it's all good. :)
Most Awe-Inducing Moment: Watching the mysterious beauty of a lunar eclipse. The moon slipped behind the earth's shadow as we watched from 8:46 to 10:10 p.m. I didn't see the whole thing, because nighttime should be for sleeping.. lol.. But what I did see was glorious!
Most Adorable Moment: Seeing The Papoose's face all scrunched up from drinking tangy cranberry punch. It was so cute that we all just kept giving her more. I guess she didn't expect fruit juice to have fizz in it! :)

And one last thought from our Youth Group Belated Valentine's Party:

Someone borrowed my car and "accidentally" hit a skunk. (I'll mention no names--Little Bro!!!) Five days later, and I can still smell it ten feet away! Let's just hope my coworkers don't noticed the special perfume that may be clinging to me...

I attempted to shoot a coconut. Six shots and all misses. I really need to work on my gun-handling skills. On the upside, the Little Bro's new six-shooter is sweeeeet!

Spent three hours on Saturday night with a scale drawing and a kitchen design book. No, I don't intend to take up home design as a side job. Or being a travel agent, for that matter. Too much frustration, not enough money in that.

On that note, I'm really liking my new correspondence course in photography! So much that I was tempted to read some materials yesterday afternoon... but I figure that homework--no matter how fun--is still considered work and not right to do on Sunday.

It was a great Lord's Day! Much time in church, good time with the Word, awesome time praying with other saints. Did some light reading. I consider it "light reading" if 1. the book was written in the last fifty years. 2. the font is large and the lines double-spaced. 3. the book is less than 200 pages, 4. it is a work of fiction OR 5. it is a work of non-fiction of a not-very-deep subject.

Oh yeah, and I did an unintentional 180 degree turn on an icy road this morning. FUN. Stunt-driving is not in my career path either. Wow, I guess I'm doing the whole process of elemination thing while making life decisions. :)

Anyway, that was a snapshot into my life's weirdness. You're welcome. I know you enjoyed it. :)

I am…

Grateful. There was a girl I know who tried to commit suicide last weekend. She almost died. Maybe even did die. But by the intervention of God, she draws breath again today. We prayed for mercy---crying out to God for another chance so she could submit to Christ. Does she know how close she came to the tortures of hell? She wasn’t promised one more day, and yet God granted mercy. Because He wills that none perish, but ALL come to repentance…. And so, He is seeking the lost sheep again.

Saddened. Because the soon return of the Lord will be here any moment, and there are so many that are not ready! Like those that dabble on the edge of religion. They like to possess the name of “Christian,” but reject the Lordship of Christ that is absolutely necessary for salvation. They consider themselves ready, but they’re foolish and unprepared. They don’t even know the One who is coming! Christ will come, and they’ll be left behind---reeling in agony and pain.

Comforted. Because I have the promise of Christ: the rescue of His people, His righteous judgments of the world, His victory over satan, the antichrist and all evil, my home in heaven, a new body, the absence of tears and a place in the presence of the Lord forever.

He is coming quickly!! And I am so happy!

Today is Valentine's Day. I've never been the bitter and cynical single, or the weeping and groaning single, or the "I hate men" single girl. In the world's eyes, I probably should be depressed or desperate, because I am 25 years old: have never dated, never had a boyfriend and never been kissed. *Gasp* I know-shocking, isn't it? I will admit that I did not expect to be unmarried now. But trust means giving myself wholly to the One who has seen my entire life, and knows each step that I should take. It means giving my life to the Lord without reserve or condition, for every moment until my last breath. And so I trust in God!!

With all that said, I'd like to share a bit of poetry that I wrote over five years ago. The style is simple, but it captured my heart's determination and desire.

Though I am sorry to have gone so long without posting, the reality is that blogging is my lowest priority. Truly! On the "To-Do List," it gets a C rating, which means it's not urgent and not very important. So, while I enjoy giving everyone something to crrrr-iticize, alot of things come first. :)

With all that said, I've been enjoying a book called "Stepping Heavenward" by Elizabeth Prentiss. It's an odd sort of book and reminds me of "In His Steps", because it is a fictional story with challenging spiritual ideals. Because I don't have alot of reading time, I've taken to reading for 15 minutes or so before I go to sleep. This has been a good thing though. Usually I read a book so fast, I can hardly remember it. (The curse of being task-oriented!). With this book, I read and ponder, and read and ponder. Stepping Heavenward is written as a girl's personal journal from age sixteen onward. It chronicles her struggles, victories, spiritual conversion, engagement, marriage and all the challenges that follow thereafter.

Reading it has been uncomfortable, because my own failures have become clearer than glass to me. My selfishness and impatience are evident, in the very days I am most challenged in those areas. I realize more and more how incapable, in and of myself, I am to walk the Christian life. And that the things I long for will be mine in the timing which God ordains. In this life, His character will be burned upon my heart through trials and fire.

I know this may seem like a muddle to you, but the material point is this: God is working in me. And that makes me happy, happy, happy!!!

"If you don't care what other people think of you, you can feel comfortable anywhere."
Bill O'Reilly

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
G.K. Chesterton

"Small sins become great when they are regarded as small."
C.F.W. Walther

Spent so much time with The Church family this weekend.
It. Was. Wonderful!

Friday:
-Stopped at The Sparkly Girl's house to borrow a pair of scissors. I crocheted a pretty chenille scarf for a birthday gift, and only an hour before the party, I still had to finish it. Nothing like waiting til the last minute! The chicas talked to me while I snipped and knotted the ends, and then flew out the door like a birdie with my tail-feathers on fire!

-Went to a 16th birthday party for The Hazel-Eyed Girl on Friday night. We watched "old school" Disney movies and constantly quoted them back to each other (flashback to my youth group days!) and hovered around the food table to sample the chocolate fondue. Actually got to see the campus group girls-I really should give them blog names-which is a rare social pleasure. Sat on a floor cushion, making conversation about random topics like Spanish, Scientology and I really can't remember anything else. The night had grown long....

Saturday:
-Ate a "second breakfast" (for me--cause it was at 9:30 am--late!) with The Church ladies. We stormed with our brains, laughed, told snow & ice removal stories, got off-topic and then back on-topic, and generally had a great time.

-Took The Witty Kid home with us so he could hang out with The Little Bro. Mostly they were outside fighting ice and snow in unusual ways, but we did see them both later. At their request, it was a homemade pizza night. The creative juices must've been flowing because after the normal pizzas, I made a yummy apple dessert pizza without a recipe.

Sunday:
-Worship practice in the morning, and then Sunday School, and then Church!! We're still on the most excellent series on Love. This Sunday, it was about "The Excellence of Love."

-The unexpected joy of a "fellowship meal" immediately following the service. Laughing hysterically from across the room at The Little Bro's almost-soaking. Topics were sports, dress clothes, and making the first move when loving your Christian brother/sister. Isn't it great that we get to practice what we're learning from the Word?!

-A lively Superbowl gathering at The Pastor's house. There was alot of wonderful food and the company was class-A caliber. :) It's always more fun to watch with people who 1. have the same standards of godliness, 2. are cheering for the same team (or just the commercials), and 3. possess the same sense of humor. In the exciting last two minutes, we were on our feet, screaming at the TV. And after the game, I skipped around in a circle outside, chanting, "GIANTS WIN! GIANTS WIN!" Haha. Awesome.