The empty blog space of three weeks tells this better than I can.... I HAVE NO TIME. None. It's 9 days until Christmas and the only Christmas decoration in my house is a green tablecloth. I have a total of three presents ready, though they are not wrapped. And honestly? I can't really think about Christmas until at least Sunday...

So I'm giving a quick update on my life.

1. Thanksgiving was relaxing. A weekend at my parents' house, cooking, baking, taking family photos and working on my photography website. Which is definitely coming along, though not all finished. But you can check it out anyway. www.naomielle.com :)

2. I took my roommate's senior pictures outside/inside after a winter snowstorm!! She's graduating from Penn State and in spite of the challenging lighting situations, I was pretty happy with the pictures! :)

3. My uncle passed away unexpectedly a week ago... And I couldn't go "home" (to Wisconsin) for the funeral. That was very sad. Though the saddest thing of all is that he didn't know Christ personally.... :(

4. I went to TWO college sports events in one week. A basketball game and a hockey game. The bball game was interesting, but the hockey game made me stand up and yell!! LOL I don't know what it is --- maybe the semi-constant fighting and people getting thrown out of the game that makes us more enthusiastic fans. And I don't even know half of the rules.. and I still get rowdy! :)

5. The weather is C-RAZY lately. We cancelled youth group last week, tried to hold out, but there was a possibility of ice. What do ya know? The roads were fine... and then Sunday, I go to church early (as usual) for worship practice. The roads were clear, and it wasn't even raining. Pastor walks out of his office, steps outside and the ground is as slick as glass. Four people grab their cell phones and start calling everyone. Everyone who was at the church, and a couple people already on their way got stuck. I personally had 2 teenagers in my car and a kid. We slid half-way down a hill, finally got to a gas station parking lot, stayed there for 1 1/2 hours and then made it to some friends' house to hang out for another 3 hours until the roads thawed... CRAZYness.

6. All my roommates are moving out in a month or so. That means two things: 1) It's gonna get a lot lonelier at my house. 2) My budget just went shoestring, aka. I have no extra money and I get another lesson in God being my sole provider. No wonder the Lord's been reminding me of how trustworthy He is! :)

7. I'm scheduled to second-shoot 2 summer weddings with one of my greatest photography influences: Kristen Leigh!! YAY!!! I can't say how super-super-excited I am about that, and I know I will learn ALOT. It's funny how photography is kinda taking over my thought processes. During the college bball game, I stared at the row of photographers by the court and was so distracted because one was using a Pocket Wizard and I couldn't figure out where the off-camera flash was coming from... hmmmm...

8. I went to a baby shower for my sister-in-law tonight. "Went to" makes it sound like I just attended. We planned it and co-hosted with her and her family. Classy pink-and-white everything, because it's a girl! :) The food was delicious and gorgeous, too. I liked the savory ham salad sandwiches the best... and the strawberry/cherry cheesecake trifle. MMMM!

9. Only a couple more parties, events and meetings... and then Christmas break! For (school) kids, that means vacation, sleeping in and hanging out. For me, it means time with the family, time working on photography stuff, time actually figuring out creative Christmas gifts--late, and my year-end sabbatical....
-considering my life.
-praying for the Lord's direction.
-making changes.
-setting new yearly goals.

And yet, in the hustle-and-bustle, we must remember... I must remember.. that this life is but a vapor. And I pray "Come quickly, Lord Jesus."

In case you don't read my other blog... all about my weekend there. Or least, the important, makes-me-cry part..

http://naomielle.blogspot.com/2009/11/cooper.html

In honor of New Moon's midnight movie premiere, let me point you in the direction of my personal take on the whole super-popular vampire frenzy.

http://jewelsoftruth.blogspot.com/2008/12/christians-response-to-twilight.html

Yes, I did extensive research on the subject. Read. Studied. And prayed for God's perspective on Twilight. I don't claim to have all the answers. And while I realize that popular opinion swings in the opposite direction, I don't think God's ways were ever popular. So I leave you to your reading.

My life is filled with abnormalities... What is normal anyway?

I spent 6 hours last night programming my new laptop.... me, two laptops on the dining room table, 5 program discs, 3 recovery discs, 1 external hard drive, a multitude of paperwork and an annoying mess of cardboard. Most of those hours, I just stared at a screen that said, "Updating... 33% completed." And 15 minutes later, "Updating... 42% completed." RAWR. But honestly, it's my. NEW. Laptop! Complaining is not an option. :)

Then I saw a mouse in my kitchen cupboard. Not scary. I did not scream. I simply clanged pans together and shouted, "THERE YOU ARE, WRETCHED CREATURE! YOU WILL DIE SOON!" He ran away. But I will keep that promise.

(honestly, you would have to live in my house to understand that this stuff really happens!)

Then I started out making devilled eggs at 9:30 p.m. to take to the work potluck... and then changed my mind and made homemade potato salad instead. And every 10 minutes, I would walk into the living room and ask my roommates if I could use some of their food. :) They're nice and let me have the food... Usually, I am better prepared!

Then one roommate walked in the door and nearly scared me out of my skin!! I jumped! Because I thought Caspian the kitty was opening doors by himself... He pushed open the bedroom door earlier in the evening.. it made sense in my mind... I am now recovered from my fright.

Then I was cleaning the kitchen about midnight. Listening to beautiful Christ-exalting music, scrubbing pans and singing to the Lord. Living out Pastor's message about doing the carnal things and being spiritual. But I didn't try - it just happened. Hmm. Food for thought.

Then... writing in my journal late in the night. Finally writing poetry again. After a lull of months and months. I guess, when God moves in my heart --- lyrics just happen.

And I want those abnormalities to become my normal reality.

Weekends in Review help me remember the little things.. and big things... that change my life. Because weekdays seem a little mundane. Get up. Go to work. Go to the gym (when I'm good). Go home. Go to church. Go home. Go to bed. That's pretty much everything.

But weekends... Oh man, weekends are da BOMB! Yes, I'm a youth leader. Yes, I say weird things and use random outdated urban-ish language like "da bomb" and "WORD." Because I just think it's funny. And apparently, my youth think it's funny too. We are easily amused. :)

ANYway, back to important stuff.

Friday. I leave work at 4:00 pm and go straight to the lil' Starbucks cafe in Barnes & Noble. Good coffee and free wi-fi = other computer work, photography related. Except my laptop decided to be stupid. Major stupido. And we battled for about 1.5 hours. The computer won. Your time is short, my stubborn technological friend! .... onward to the Penn State ice pavilion for youth group activity. Slight snag on the times of free ice skating, but we had some major fun making short jokes, helping the bad skaters, twirling, spinning, mimicing the "Ice Princess," mocking (in a nice way) the 'lifeguards,' screaming over little children that fell down in front of us, doing psuedo-hockey-body-slams into the walls (middle school guys are so willing to get violent!) and making silly videos... And no, I did not fall down. Not once. Boo-yah! Then walking 7ish blocks up Penn State campus for the world-famous ice cream. Best flavor: Death By Chocolate! *Sigh* I (heart) Penn State.

Saturday. Another day for senior portraits... Only this one was a road trip. I love willing subjects. The Curly Girl just laughed and went along with me whatever I asked her to do... "Oh, a forest!... Oh, can you climb into that tree?.. Oh, a roof! Will you get onto it?.. Oh, look at those rocks!" LOL And it was wonderful that she was so willing. Because we had enough trouble trying to FIND locations. We ended up in a town 15 miles past where we needed to be, drove in an entire circle (for 15 minutes), decided to detour for the World's Best French Toast (not kidding), then went back 15 miles, through mountains, up gravel roads, still listening to that crazy GPS system, and finally, when the GPS told us to drive on a little bumpy, grassy, deep-tire-ruts trail, I refused. It knew nothing. It pretended to know where it was going... but that little GPS system was crazy!! Finally, we ignored it. Completely. And after about 7 calls to my parents (not joking), I made it to our portrait location. Which was a cool state park and awesome railroad tunnel. Worth the crazy drive? Hmmmm, maybe so! You can tell ME in a few weeks when the portraits are up on the photo blog! :) .... after that 6-hour-long senior portrait fiasco, I was beat. Saturday afternoon/evening positives included: Penn State winning the football game, a little nap, inspired to cook ridiculously great Italian food, then a British movie and chocolate chip cookie dough made with dark chocolate chips. MMMMMM. It's all about the details!

Sunday. And here, things get serious.
I don't know what to say... God is pressing on our hearts. He is challenging me to regain the spiritual fire that I once had. May I say again, "The zeal of God has consumed me!" During Pastor's sermon this morning, he talked about the marks of revival. Including deep repentance, the spirit of prayer, the spirit of expectation, total surrender, spontaneity of meetings, the absence of fleshly elements and Christ being pre-eminent.

What hit me the hardest was absolute surrender, and the word "abandon." Have I abandoned myself to God? Given myself, my future, my desires, and all that I am to Him? Without wanting to take back control of this life? Have I trusted Him with everything?

There is so much more that God is speaking... There was a new hunger for Christ, His Word and His Spirit rising in my heart again. There was a seriousness in our youth meeting tonight... and so I have nothing else to say.

Except.
No more mundane.
God is now reviving His people.
God is now reviving... me.

{True joy is passion in action.}


I've always been a passionate person. About many, many things. For me, loving something meant that I was passionate, intense, zealous, overenthusiastic, determined, immoveable in conviction, exciteable and always VERY emphatic!

Passionate about my sweet, adorable little kitty...
Passionate about blogging...
Passionate about roomie fellowship at midnight...
Passionate about talking to my sis...
Passionate about photography, new locations, sparkly eyes and cloudy semi-sunlit days!
Passionate about Christmas.. music.. in early November while baking...
Passionate about cooking for a crowd..
Passionate about why I hate the smell of Subway (personal quirk)...
Passionate about Penn State football.. and losing...

But all these things I'm passionate about... are simply noise. Noise that fades when the name of Jesus is spoken. Noise that becomes unimportant, insignificant and pointless.

On Sunday morning, I remembered Who I am passionate about. During a regular normal Sunday morning worship service, as we sang songs that we have sung many times before, as I played the same keyboard and looked at the same faces... something happened. Like rivers of rushing waters, I felt the moving of the Spirit. We worshipped, we sang, we were hushed, we prayed, and we waited on the Lord.... and through it all, I was stunned. I thought, How did this happen? And then, It must be God.

We listened to teaching... challenging us about past revivals, awakenings and spiritual movements. From the 1st Great Awakening and the experiences of great men like John Wesley, Charles Finney, and others, to the Pentecostal movement beginning in Cherokee County, North Carolina and extending to the Azusa Street revival, we started to see the marks of the Holy Spirit's moving. How He is not limited by time, He organizes how He desires, He always convicts sinners in a dramatic, life-changing way, He moves upon hearts that are diligent in prayer and holiness and His presence is heavy, sobering, and unlike any of the modern charismatic imitations of revival.

When God revives, He returns the Church to its intended state. Read Acts and you will know.

So my passion is challenged... and this evening, in talking around the kitchen with my roommates, I felt the stirrings of God's heart in mine. And began to ask myself serious questions.
Why don't I have revival in my own life?
Am I willing to pay the price? Be wholly consecrated? Totally surrendered? Instantly obedient?
Am I genuinely, fervently, wholeheartedly seeking God's presence?

Answer these questions and act upon them... and I know, this is true passion.

Time is short. And I will write quickly… I love the imagery of that phrase: The Scarlet Thread. If our lives could be compared to a strong, rough rope, there would be a vivid scarlet-colored thread weaving itself throughout. And as our lives intersect with others, the scarlet thread continues to bind us together…

Because that scarlet thread is Christ.

Conversations happening everywhere... while driving, in a museum, in a church nursery, in a foyer, while waiting, while eating, while walking, riding in a car, at a house party, by a piano, at the dinner table, after a youth meeting, at home, away from home, on the road… quietly, passionately, wonderingly, happily, intensely…

It’s simple. When you love someone, you talk about them. It isn’t forced or even intentional. You must tell the world about this love. You talk about them. You. Just. Do. And we love Christ. We love His name, His character, His love, His person, His works in our lives, His power, His glory revealed. We love all that He is and all that He does.

So over and over. All the time. Without question, the scarlet thread is ever-present. Challenging us, exhorting us, encouraging us, flowing from the deepest parts of our beings and moving the hearts of others.

This weekend was wonderful for many reasons… a little road trip, sight-seeing in DC with my lovely friends, joking on the Metro “If I jump into the air while the train is moving, will I slam into the pole?”, wide-eyed while learning history, surprise greetings with friends at the church of the ‘southern saints,’ girl-time, reveling over a beautiful old book, pie-baking, making choices at the pumpkin patch, catching up on sleep, singing in the kitchen at a house party, late-night pretty piano music (with a little Christmas music), being able to lift my hands in worship—woohoo!, good teaching, relaxing and delicious dinner with friends, long cell phone conversations, a carrot cake for pastor appreciation and a perfect weekend end—my birthday surprise awaiting at home—a kitten! Now named Caspian! :)

Through it all, I am most grateful for the scarlet thread of Christ uniting my heart with other saints. Sometimes I would simply stop and smile. God is glorious!

For my new bloggie visitors. I'm Naomi! An almost-27-year-old single girl from central Pennsylvania. I work full-time. Own a little house that I call "Sunnyside Cottage" and share with 3 roomies. Lead a youth group and a worship team. Am an aspiring photographer, among other things...


5:45 am. My alarm goes off... I'm trying to get back into the habit of a little more time in the morning, to eat breakfast, read my Bible and just generally not hurt myself by rushing through the house at a breakneck speed... but this morning, the lack of sleep (from the last 5 nights, at least) got to me. I ignored the alarm for a 1/2 hour. Ignoring for me = resetting my cell phone alarm to off in a few minutes. I don't know how to use the snooze button. And because I have a roommate, who actually shares a room with me --- I don't use snooze anyway because it might wake her up! .... okay, now I'm rushing. On to a 10 minute shower, 2 minute lunch packing, and out the door...

6:32 am. I'm on the road to work. Generally I don't turn on the radio or any music. It annoys me --- I know, strange attitude for a musician and songwriter, but I like the silence. And also time to pray. Sometimes I dash on a little makeup at the stoplights. But this morning I'm being more responsible and only put on a little mascara right before I walk in the door to my office.

7:00 am. I'm at my desk at the HVAC, plumbing and electrical service company that I've worked at for the last 7 years. Even after all that time, I still know very little about HVAC, plumbing or electrical. But I DO know a little about accounting and data entry, since that's my job. So I'm unforwarding our 3 phone lines from the answering service. Checking various inboxes around the office. Murmuring "good morning" to various coworkers that also work the 'early shift' - 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for me. We're not much for conversation until later in the day... I'm convinced that early mornings make people cranky & antisocial. :) After I get a little breakfast from the vending machine, I feel happier... no, that's not a usual occurence. But no time + no milk = no breakfast at home. :(

9:15 am. Still working. Data entry takes alot of finger energy, but not alot of brain power. So I'm always thinking about life, relationships, jobs, family, situations, people, and a myriad of other things. My brain is going non-stop. So I have to keep a post-it pad at my desk to write down any details I remember while at work.

11:00 am. It's time for my lunch break.. but I have people waiting in the conference room for a meeting and a rather persistent salesperson holding for someone... so I wait.

11:03 am. Loose ends are all tied up. And so I head out of the office. On a five-minute drive over to the local YMCA, I chat with my mom on the phone. Yup, I talk to my mom almost every day. Sure, I see her several times a week but that's just not enough! I always have plenty to ask her/tell her/joke with her about... a quick smile to the former coworker at the YMCA's front desk, then I change into workout clothes and go to try out the elliptical machine. My conclusion: Didn't burn as many calories as running, but I didn't hate it as much either. :) Working out at the gym usually means --- avoiding eye contact with everyone and catching up on ESPN news. The other TVs are tuned to major news networks (too depressing), entertainment news (stupid), and the Ellen Degeneres show (gross). So sports is my best bet! And I like it. And it rarely makes me angry like the news channels. And it means I can converse semi-intelligently about sports. Which I also like. Random sidenote: After working out and ignoring the "pebble" in my shoe the entire time, I realized that it was actually an earring. Weird!

12:00 pm. Back at work. Warming up some leftovers for lunch. Coworkers comment because the leftovers smell good. I guess that's a compliment. :) I always feel slightly guilty that I don't have enough to share...

2:47 pm. Speaking of feeling guilty, we realize that we missed my supervisor's birthday yesterday! BAD. There are mutterings about ice cream cake.. Pleeeease.. I guess that will happen later in the week. Darn it. Anyway, this inspires me to talk about Christmas. It is only 58 days 'til Christmas, after all! I hum a few bars of a Christmas song, talk about the Christmas tree displays at Walmart, and how my roommates watched Elf the movie on Sunday night. Which all contributed to my sudden burst of Christmas spirit. I don't tell my coworkers this, but my personal reason for starting my Christmas season in October---I hate Halloween and so I ignore that 'holiday.' And therefore, I want to focus on better things and feel completely justified in focusing on Christmas early!

4:00 pm. Work is over (for this job), and I quickly change into casual clothes - because now I am going to do a senior portraits shoot for one of the girls in my youth group! :) On the drive over, I chat on the phone with my sis. Yes, I have a daily call with her, too!! She's making cookies with her two little girls while we talk, so the conversation goes something like this, "how was your day?---no, (older girlie) don't lick the sugar!--yes, (small girlie) Mommy will help you--I'm sorry, Naomi." Of course, I laugh and listen to the little girl requests for cookie dough to eat and in between, my sis and I talk about everything from funny stuff, mundane life stuff, important Biblical thoughts, etc. She's my chief encourager in life and I'm very grateful for the consistency of her friendship. My blood sister is my sister-in-Christ and that is awesome!

4:33 pm. I am super-excited about this photo shoot, because I haven't really done a senior picture shoot for a high school senior since last summer and because I love this girl's sky-blue eyes and because I have some creative ideas for locations/posing!... Of course, it was FUN. Lots of joking and sillyness and creativity. I feel like I'm starting to "get" this photography thing. I'm still not very good--mind you---but the lightbulbs of understanding seem to alight fairly often in my brain! In the meantime, we wandered through the park, onto a railroad track, in a field, on some steps in front of an old schoolhouse/now apartment building, and a brick wall. And I shared Sour Patch Kids with the girls. :)

6:13 pm. Back at home. YAY. On Monday and Tuesday nights, I'm at home for the evening---which means cleaning, studying, general house work, computer work and fun stuff like that. Wednesday and Thursday evenings are church meetings. Generally, every other Friday is a youth group event. Saturdays are always different. And Sundays are all church... needless to say, I'm happy to spend time at home. :) Anyway, tonight I was surprised by one roomie & her friend leaving. Like BOO-surprised. :) Unloading the dishwasher. Straightening the kitchen. Because I like it when the kitchen is clean. :) Making my version of taco salad for supper...

6:37 pm. One roommate arrives at home from work, and tells me about the drama of her day. I am appalled at the craziness of people these days and commiserate with her and encourage her that "wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." That's one of my favorite verses and I always apply it when I have done right and yet the response is wrong/negative/etc. Sometimes you just can't help what people do, and so you must simply continue to do right! Anyway, we continue to chat about random things as I sip my new favorite drink, IZZE - sparkling blackberry juice! :-D

7:15 pm. I haul all of my stuff upstairs. Everyday, I carry a backpack, book bag, purse, lunchbox and (today) camera bag with me... and so after work, everything is dropped in the dining room until I take it upstairs. *sigh* I guess, the saddest part is that every single object I carry daily---is black. Because I like to match. :) ... spend some time being distracted by some light reading.

7:45 pm. My Bible and journal come out. I'm reading in the Gospel of John right now, been focusing on learning more and more about Jesus. Who He is. And truly knowing Him.

8:10 pm... I'm pretty sure that sitting on my bed to read my Bible was a bad idea tonight. As well as being sleep-deprived, because I fall asleep...

8:47 pm... That was a nice nap. I feel refreshed! And a little confused that my Bible is now 2 feet away from me. How did that happen? Hmmm. Anyway, back to reading after apologizing to the Lord for not focusing. Remember how I felt guilty about not sharing my lunch? Feeling guilty for falling asleep while reading my Bible is like 100x worse! ... but God is gracious to me anyway. :)

9:11 pm. I made a decision last week that watching television during the weeknights is not a good thing for my productivity level. Great in theory. Hard to practice. The only night that I really miss it is on Tuesdays, because I like the Navy crime dramas - NCIS and NCIS: Los Angelos. And it seems incredibly shallow to write about TV. So all that to say, I didn't watch any TV... I get out the camera and start uploading photos. From last night's family shoot and tonight's senior portraits. My computer is soooo slow; this takes forever. I try to multi-task at the same time, checking email and writing sermon notes for youth group... but that just slows down the computer further.

9:45 pm. I'm still uploading photos. It's chilly in my room, so I'm buried under the blankets on my bed with the laptop and camera and books around me. It's a good thing this is a double bed! ... my (literal) roommate comes home for a few minutes to pickup some clothes before she spends the night at someone else's house. She also brings one of my youth group girls with her---who shows off her new short haircut! Shocking., but I remember doing crazy things when I was a youth group person.. so 'whatever floats your boat,' as my daddy would say. :)

11:07 pm. I'm a hermit who hasn't emerged from her room in several hours... some of my to-do list still remains undone. Of course, that's a perpetual problem so I try not to think about it. The last thing I do... write this little blog entry to give a glimpse into my very-random day. Let's see how long this takes... :)

Goodnight.

I like people.
Which is a good thing, because this weekend was filled to the brim with people. Small people. Tall people. Young people. Old people. Happy people. Sad people. Family people. Friends people.
All sorts of people.

Rain forced my hand on Friday. Executive decision to change the youth event at the last minute. A house filled with rowdy teenagers and the savory smell of homemade pizza baking. Sounds of game wars - Monopoly, Blurt and Catchphrase. Best facial expressions go to The Joker for wanting to kill anyone who interrupted his card-reading. Hahaha. Best game (in my opinion) was the super-fast, super-violent, super-funny round of Catchphrase about FOOD... and since my sis & her two little girlies were staying at my house for the weekend, I loved to see the little girls curled up next to my youth, listening to storybooks. :) ... after the monstrous crowd of youth found their ways home, it was just me & the roomies & The Sis. Some good girlie time. :)

It was still steadily dripping rain on Saturday morning. And here's a clue about future motherhood - small people don't sleep in. Haha. Good motivation to get on with our day! Breakfast. Chattering. Relaxing in my living room. And then off to the library. And the toy store. And that little drug store that sells penny candy! And then another toy store. Lunchtime & chattering with another roomie. (I like having three roommates -- it means there is almost always someone to talk to!). :) Naptime for the little girlies, and walk for me, then relaxing with some reading. My sis has a talent for organizing so throughout the afternoon and evening, we went from one little project to another! My to-do list is getting smaller. THANK YOU, SIS! Another late night with The Sis & random roomies.... Must. Stop. That. The social pull is often too much for me! :)

Now we get to see church people! WOOT. I love church. And church people. I guess that would be the same thing! :) Lunch with family people. Maturity @ the pizza place = family bantering, drinking straw covers flying through the air, lame jokes and general fun. At home, family + friends --> cheering for the Steelers = victory. And no nap for me! (Cheering is very loud)... The weekend is almost done. Youth meeting. Chatting with The Pastor & his Wife. :)

Sooo many people.
I like people.

And now methinks I need some alone time. :) hahaha...

That means... Weekend in RRRRRRReview! :)
And what have I been doing?

Grocery shopping
Garlic hunting
Christmas music humming
Cake baking
Snow still falling... earliest snow in central PA's history!
Roomie bonding
Photo uploading
Movie watching
Weekend sleeping
Saturday waking
Cleaning, cleaning...
Cake frosting
Family phone-calling (on 3rd day without electricity. It's hard living on a mountaintop).
Spontaneous photography driving
Rain falling and freezing
Camera drying
(More) Photo uploading
Food prepping
Family welcoming
Victorious football watching
Girlie family bonding
Photography logo editing
Funny face-making (with little people)
Anniversary cake serving
Family hugging
Computer struggling
Website is winning!
More TV crime fighting
Weekend sleeping (YES)
Cell phone ringing
Worship team practicing/smiling/singing
Pseudo-mocha drinking
Sunday School storytime laughing
Stuck-in-the-nursery ordering ("I need to get out of here. Really. I do!")
New song introducing
Mission trip announcing!
Loud preaching and then Amen-ing
Sunday lunch leftover consuming
Roomie cozy pull-out couch bed movie watching
Yummy food blogging
Restful dozing
UNIT preparing
Animal talking... it's unavoidable. I talk to animals.
UNIT discussion quoting
Sermon file transfering
Deep discussions while driving
Roomie pedicure bonding (we bond alot.)
......

and now....
BLOGGING!

And my favorite quote of the weekend:
The Crazy Kid's response to people who believe in the Big Bang Theory...
"Do you use a grenade to clean your room?"

HA! I love it!

I hosted a family gathering on Saturday afternoon/evening... because Penn State was playing Minnesota. College football rocks. And Penn State won --- which made the evening much sweeter! But in the meantime, there was funny little nieces and a nephew running around (and around and around the kitchen island!). And lots of delicious food!

Appetizers seemed appropriate, and I had a vague memory of mini-toasts with bacon and cheese from several years ago. So I thought and thought and could not remember the recipe. So one roommate and I created these little beauties! With good use of ranch dressing and Caesar dressing and CHEESE. Yummy!

Football means burgers & brats. Zeph, the 20-year-old younger brother, showed some ridiculous chef skills. Mixing meat with spices and worcestershire sauce and grilling to perfection. I was sufficiently impressed!

And I've been waiting to try this recipe for Roasted Garlic & New Potatoes... This is the "before" picture. After they were golden-brown, I was too busy burning my fingers on roasted garlic to take an "after" picture! :)


And the additional reason for this family gathering:
Celebrating my parents' 30th wedding anniversary!!!
*clapping* *yelling* *general happiness*
And so I made a cake.

Fudgy, moist chocolate cake.. with peanut butter frosting.. and dripping luscious chocolate-peanut butter ganache topping.
Confession: I'm not a real cake fan. And not really a lover of chocolate & peanut butter together, unless they are in perfect proportions.

But I really loved this cake. REALLY.

• Changing wires and being confused with The Little Bro and The Tall Guy.
• “And these three buttons do… absolutely nothing. And this button also does… absolutely nothing!” – The Tall Guy
• Playing “The Happy Song” faster and faster and faster… and then stopping completely to give the drummer (The Little Bro) a withering look. His only response was to smile mischievously and say “I wanted to see how fast you could play!”
• Smiling outrageously during new song practice – I. Love. New. Songs!
• Musical microphones. Musical instruments.. Yes, you use these to make music. We make music while switching around from mic to mic and instrument to instrument. Aka. our version of musical chairs!
• The Green-Eyed Girl’s happiness at those musical “lightbulb” moments as she played the electric guitar. “I can play it! For real! Yay!”
• Yeah, I like music loud and fast… methinks it’s a church preference. I always end up telling people to play their instruments harder. I like when drummers beat the drums to death. :) And of course, as a keyboard player, I pretty much rock that keyboard. Literally, I mean. The keyboard rocks because I play it so hard! LOL
• Repeating MILA (My Life Is Average) stories during youth practice with The Crazy Kid… and then laughing so hard that I threw my head back and cracked it on the corner of the wall behind me! OUCH.
• And you know it was a good worship practice when… my pinkie finger is sore.

Our youth group motto used to be “Pray hard. Play hard.”
I love that motto.
It illustrates the principle that we should be passionate and hard-working in everything that we do. During the short teaching time when the worship team met, we learned that worshipping is simply another opportunity to serve Christ and serve others. Through humility. With “secret” practice, or non-visible and therefore non-recognized service.

Ultimately, in worship team… and in life, we want to disappear.

That Christ alone is seen.

And worshipped.

And glorified.

My weekend went something like this....

• I'm pretty sure that I have turned into the typical youth leader.. Giving rides to the youth, spending alot of time gathering up snack/scavenger hunt lists, shushing people so I can give directions and clutching my hot mocha while talking. Hahaha.... Non-typical youth leader stuff: I'm a girl. I tell stupid jokes. And I laugh at them myself.
• Two hours in the pouring rain in search of scavenger hunt items. My shoes, socks, jeans, coat and hair were all soaking wet. The raindrops washed down my face constantly.. but we kept a good attitude. Like my daddy says, "You can only get so wet." (I like rain. I like puddle-jumping. And I like making good memories in the rain)... In my defense as a youth leader, it wasn't raining until we started!
• Twenty youth in a living room. With marshmallows and a blazing warm fire in the fireplace.
• Flash, flash, flash!! Taking pictures of all my wonderful youth and young adult leaders with the gorgeous new flash that I just bought... It is only gorgeous because it's large and quality and expensive. And if it gets hurt, I will cry. The end.
• Oh, and some thoughts on the scavenger hunt. My team was the only one in possession of a dead rodent! And we still didn't win. :( LOL But we certainly made an effort!
• 3 hours of photography instruction. I love the Internet.
• Meeting the bridal party at a wedding that I was 2nd shooting. A.k.a. assistant photographer. Pretty autumn flowers.
• Having my toes stepped on 3 times by large men. They said they didn't even see me... Seriously? I didn't think I was *that* short!
• Quacking at the ducks before wedding portraits. What is with me communicating with animals? Hmmmmm.
• Playing peek-a-boo with a cute little kid @ the wedding.
• Looooooong British classic movie. The worst one I've ever watched. Jane Eyre is a depressing, twisted, weird movie. Don't watch it.
• SILLY roommate conversations, pillow fights, throwing candy wrappers, etc. We are mature.
• In Christ alone, my hope is found... tears when I remember that Jesus is my Rock, my foundation, my help and my hope. When I remember the pain that He endured for me. When I remember that He accomplished victory!!
• Intense concentration during the preaching of the Word. Pretty sure that I forgot to "amen" most of the time. Except when Pastor started bashing the over-sharing on Facebook. You know I had to AMEN that!
• Roomie conference. LOL. Actually, just a lunch-time conversation that turned into an hour-long discussion about why fictional characters need Jesus. And then we decided to pull out the couch's hide-a-bed so we could cover it with blankets and pillows, and relax while watching TV. Because we are just the best roomies ever!
• Thinking missions trip, missions trip, missions trip! I have too many things to think about to have a one-track mind... but when something excites me, watch out! Because I am consumed!! And right now, it's a MISSIONS TRIP.
• UNIT. What shall we do to work the works of God? How can we "behold" Christ? Loving John 6:26-40. And getting specific about living the Word.
• Joke sharing, brownie eating and playing a violin for the first time in my life! I picked up the violin in the house and started to play... so fun and sounded pretty good! I (heart) moody violin music! :)

My friends know... I have short-term memory loss. I don't remember ALOT of things. The Golden Girl just told me a whole story about how we had a conversation a few months ago and she told me random information about Pentecostal church history. I didn't really believe her (I guess-I don't remember). And then The Pastor confirmed the information in his sermon this morning. She was all excited and was gonna say 'I told you so' to me, but... she didn't. Because she knew I wouldn't remember the first conversation.

And I don't.
And I really don't remember people's names.
And I hardly remember what I did on Friday... give me a second, I'm sure it will come to me!

In the meantime, one great aspect of short-term memory loss is that I don't remember bad things. I don't remember when people have wronged me. When I have been hurt. When I have made mistakes. When I did something stupid. When I spoke out of turn.

I have no regrets, because I have no memories of things to regret.

Trust me, it's a great way to live! :)

Hahahaha. Okay, so maybe I regret a few things.. but they are few and far between. And I am still working on remembering my weekend. :)

Friday. Grocery shopping. Cleaning. Laundry. Book organizing. Reading. Porch-swinging. Moonlight. Hot tea. Contemplating and dreaming. Sometimes I really love solitude. Maybe because it is rare, and therefore very appreciated.
Saturday. Lovely morning in the Word, with some homemade hot cocoa. *Sigh* I really thought it was a chilly day... and then I went to my youth boys' football game. And the sun nearly burned me alive! What? Okay, favorite parts of that football game? Waffling between two opinions, a.k.a. different sides of the fields because my boys were on different teams. Once, I forgot who I was cheering for and got slapped upside the head! LOL Yeah, we're family. We do that. :) Love the muddy field. And one kid's red shoes. And taking pictures.... Back home for more football! Penn State proud this week! Then rooomie night. Long British movie, with jokes and yummy cinnamon flop and text-messaging each other and pranks and five hours of me working on photography business stuff while socializing with my favorite roomie girls! :)
Sunday. Here in Your courts where I'm close to Your throne, I found where I belong... Two sessions of Pentecostal history, which definitely brought back good memories of my Bible college days. :) Restful afternoon. 1-minute drive to the place where youth UNIT would be tonight. I had never been to this house before and I LOVED it. Old farmhouse style, with high ceilings, stone fireplace, secret-ish rooms, many stairways, wood floors, the third-floor attic bedroom with windows on three sides... and my absolute favorite part---sliding wooden panel doors in the living room!! Just. TOO. Awesome. We had a great meeting. But I just had to say how enthralling the house was. :)

And now, good night. :)

I love to travel! And sometime in August and September, I visited Gettysburg twice.. just passin' through. :) See Gettysburg through my eyes.
Monuments and dramatic clouds.





Chancing upon a few Civil War re-enactors.



The man who spoke words of freedom: Abraham Lincoln
And so we contemplate life and death, war and peace, temporary and eternal..

Random travel delights, like a little early autumn color.

An old movie theater that reminded me of a favorite movie, called "The Majestic." :)
Just because I love unique doors. It's a personal quirk.

Because this image speaks to me...

From Gettysburg

Weekend in Review: Just because I like lists...

• Sharing supper with the parents. :) "Don't put bread in the soup! It will be soggy! I hate soggy breadcrumbs in my soup!"
• Coooooold and rainy and coughing through a high school football game. Handing out tracts. Talking to a former youth grouper. Whole conversation and I could not remember their name! :-/ They never knew.
• Telling lame jokes about pigs (and laughing).
• Board game wars. And who is the Connect Four champion? That'd be my little bro. I should've won though... it was the shoes, man!
• Late night---early morning. I'm getting too old for this.
• Road-trip with my mom. Packing heat because I'm going to meet some guy from Craigslist. Or because I'm really a secret agent. I'll just let you wonder... * insert creepy music now*
• Honey Creek Inn. Remember that name. Because it has the BEST French Toast in the entire country. Seriously. My dad sampled this French Toast for the first time about 8 years ago. And I remember his ravings about it. I thought, for sure, this French Toast must be overrated!! And then I tasted for myself. Wow. Not overrated.
• DayQuil + Naptime = Impossible.
• Football party at my house. Lots of food. Lots of people. Lots of screaming/yelling/utter despair. Pretty sure that Penn State fell to itty bitty pieces. And crashed and burned. Several times over... On the upside, I saw JoePa without glasses for the first time ever---I didn't recognize him.
• Upside-down apple cake. Melts your heart with its luscious goodness. I kid you not.
• Read a whole book. In an hour. Half-asleep.
• Coughing like crazy for the entire weekend... even through worship practice on Sunday morning... but when we started to worship, no coughing. None. At all. Not once!! Truly miraculous!
• Great Word about seeds, grass, being aggressive, fighting battles for yourself, living within your means, action while you're "waiting," etc.
• Conversing with the Eskimo girl --- my niece dressed in a hooded white sweater. :) Cute!
• Wedding showcase @ the Bryce Jordan Center. Gorgeous-looking free food, which I pretty much ignored to stare at the wedding photographers, chat a little bit and grab some business cards. It's called "networking!"
• Great roomie conversations. :)
• NAAAAAAAAAAP. It's funny how naps seem lame throughout the young ages, and then become amazing when you become an adult.
• Ice-breaker musical chairs variation game with the youth. "I'm a girl" and The Crazy Kid screams and runs for a different spot. We look confused and then laugh hysterically. He looks confused and then laughs hysterically.
• Discussing a seed's life. Again. Spiritual growth. Again. God is showing us a theme! Because things that are alive.. grow! It's just what they do.
• Whale noises and light-up keyboards with youth. LOL
• Endless Princess Bride quotes.
• Coming home to the sounds of prayer... That never gets old.

Dichotomy = division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups: a dichotomy between thought and action.

Tears and laughter. Silence and noise. Crowds and loneliness. Sleep and sleeplessness. Smiles and frowns. Time passing by slooowly, and rushing too quickly. Good conversation and missed opportunities...


Welcome to my Weekend in Review.


I invited people over for dinner on Friday night. Last minute (because that's just how we roll). New recipe. And be amazed -- there is now one Giada DeLaurentiis recipe that I don't care for! * shrug* Ya know what they say though: "If, at first, you don't succeed... give up! Try something else!" HAHA! 'Twas a late night Friday. Errr, rather, an early morning. Between fighting the ever-present computer battles, uploading pictures, talking with folks and bonding with friends and family, I finally found sleep at 2 am.


And THEN. I woke up. Took a shower. Got ready for the awesome Saturday... came back to my room. The clock said, "3:09." As in morning! Wow. Just wow. What a promising start to the day.


On the road with The Little Bro. Redeeming the time with financial work, reading, and journalling. Because he is a good brother and drove those nice two hours for me! At HersheyPark. Bumper cars, roller coaster and a crazy falling ride. In one hour. Bumper cars were the best though. Honestly? Ramming perfect strangers with electric vehicles? The stuff I only dream about! :) Then much, much time hanging with the (northern) Virginia people. I loved the matching T-shirts. It was like playing Where's Waldo? all day long! :) Best chocolate milkshake ever. ZooAmerica with the three stooges. Talking to, barking at and throwing an acorn at prairie dogs. And the stupid animals STILL didn't bark at me. Ugh! (No animals were harmed in the making of this blog entry). Saying goodbye. Walking back-and-forth 7 times to find someone. Meeting new friends. Introductions. Encouraging conversation. Roller coaster in the dark. Then, there was only 3 people left and myself. They went on some crazy roller coasters. I didn't. 3 roller coasters later and I'm still chillin, taking pics in the dark, texting, shivering in the cool of the evening.... The Little Bro, "You have to try this one! Now! Don't knock it 'til you try it." Me "Nothing you can say will make me ride that roller coaster." The Golden Girl "We'll buy you dark chocolate AND coffee!" Hahaha... "No, not even that." -Me. :) Fun driving home. One hot mocha with a double-shot of expresso. It gave me quite a buzz. Singing along to the Supertones... Good times.

Sickness was trying to overwhelm me. By the power of God, I made it to church. And sang during the worship service! Which still amazes me. Very appropriate sermon about "Faith that Takes." As in, aggressively takes hold of the promises of God, rather than passively recieving. Picnic at Hidden Haven. Water baptisms!! Back to our town for UNIT meeting. Including passionate prayer for souls.. and then laughter about funny songs "I work at Subway (Loser!)". :) Still fighting sickness, but I know that Christ is my Healer!

In my region of the great U. S. of A., traditions are held dear. Particularly of the last-days-of-summer country fair tradition. In central Pennsylvania, Grange Fair is THE tradition (second only to Penn State football). Grange Fair began 135 years ago!! Its claim to fame is the longevity of this tradition... and the unique tented city fair residents. Tent spots are so highly coveted that they are passed down from generation to generation. As I am a Texas-transplant without multiple generations in the area, I only visit Grange during the day.

And why would I go to the fair?

Because everyone else does...


For the exhibits... that make me hungry..


For the games (which I am convinced, are rigged!) and fabulous prizes...


For the scary-looking rides...

For the unhealthy, but ridiculously yummy fair food!

For the country experience...


For the cute animals... (which one is Wilbur? I wonder)



The real reason I go! Just to look at the photography exhibits! Excitement of all excitement, this year I won a few contests!
1st Place for these photos: (they don't give real ribbons out. How depressing!)



3rd Place for this one:


The fair was good to me this year. VERY good. Here is one last look..

I guess that is me returning to blogging with a BANG! I had a bit of a revelation... I have a serious lack of short-term memory. Without a Weekend in Review, I quickly forget what happened in life... Sad, but good for all of you blog-followers! So I'm returning to Jewels of Truth. Probably not full-force. But enjoy what you can get!

Friday.
Rain, rain, go away!! The evening was cloudy, chilly and downright miserable.. and once again, our tract outreach was postponed. I spent an hour hanging at Barnes & Noble, obsessively checking the weather, taking many phone calls and mass-text-messaging the youth group. Change of plans: Game night! Including pizza! Loud & crazy games! Music (with budding songwriters)! Smoky fireplace!... after we figured out the flue, it was interesting how quickly the smoke cleared. :) I (heart) fires! The warm ambiance. And s'mores.... Then chilling with The Chatty Girl. Laughing over silly TV. Deep conversations. We know how to laugh and then be serious! It's a gift.

Saturday.
5:48 a.m. Awakened by my ringing cell phone. So sleepy that I don't remember the conversation... :) 2.5 hour drive to an all-day seminar. Except I slept the whole way. And my dad drove. YES! Letting Dad taste my coffee. Meeting new people. Listening to one of the best seminars in a long time. Big fan of Larry Kreider & Joel Comiskey. Humble, powerful men of God. And humorous, too. I (heart) Christians who are funny.... Typical happening: People assuming that I am waaaay younger that I am. Untypical happening (i.e. CRAZYNESS): Random encounter with someone that I went on a missions trip to Mexico in 2006! She's from North Carolina. Wow. I never expected that! And she loves books, too.... More drive time. A little family business swimming pool work. Driving through Gettysburg. Clouds and monuments... Dinner. More driving. Reading by cell phone light... Home again.

Sunday.
CHURCH. How did I lose my worship team binder? If anyone knows its location, please let me know! Learning about backsliding/apostates in Sunday School. Serious stuff. Worshipping the Lord "Father, I see that You are drawing a line in the sand..." The Word preached! Challenging our hearts about believing God's Word, faith, prayer, laying hold of the promises and giving glory to God... Restful afternoon... Youth UNIT meeting. Ya know what you get when you ask a youth what they would like someone to say at their funeral?? (ice-breaker question) A youth guy smacking his own head three times and then declaring he just took 21 seconds from his life. Sometimes I just laugh and laugh...

Welcome back to the blog, y'all!

During my quick trip to a beach at New Jersey, I spent alot of time following my brother around. He was attempting to surf. He's a snowboarder... similar, yet very different.... Here were the results.


Many spectacular falls.


And he's up.. kneeling.


And falls again.


That's a look of determination, if I ever saw one!


Victory at last!


Zeph gives me a smile! Congrats of getting your surfing on, bro!

My parents live on a mountaintop. Amongst state game lands, hunting camps and wilderness. We call the family homestead, Hidden Haven. Because people must follow the explicit written directions or they get lost, and because the mountain is peaceful, serene and relaxing. Hidden Haven always seems to have many guests. For parties, picnics, weekend visits, dinnertime, etc. Because my parents possess a gift of hospitality. There's a steady stream of almost-family, relatives, church folks, friends, acquaintances, friends-of-friends and perfect strangers that journey through Hidden Haven, and we seem to have a high concentration of creative folks. Musicians, artists, actors, photographers, etc.

The latest crop of guests ("latest" is relative: since this blog entry is long-overdue. The visit was mid-June!! You can stone me later!) were a mixture of weapons enthusiasts. Several were actors by trade. One was a photographer. They were doing weapons training and some pre-production for a movie. Truly fascinating day!

"The early bird gets the worm" or so they say... In my case, the early bird gets a wonderful experience. And pictures to prove it! Finally, I was home on a Saturday morning. In my little town. Wide awake and strolling about town before the cool morning mist had dissipated.

Ah, the sights and sounds. Here's one beautiful little thistle. Painful and pretty.


I (heart) farmer's markets.



And the sight that literally made me stop in my tracks. And do a double-take. (even the farmer noticed! "Oh! Something caught her eye!)
PURPLE PEPPERS!... amazing. And yes, I did buy one. Still contemplating its future...

Perfect morning stop at the neighborhood coffee shop for a specialty mocha & breakfast scone. People-watching and meeting new friends. British ones! :) I adore accents. :)

And finally. A street fair! In my little town!