and the weekly countdown continues to the weekend. :)
we didn't go biking last night, it was a little too hot for us (90 degrees + humidity when i got out of work). maybe if we'd been biking all summer we would've gone, but we haven't gone since last july so we're a little (okay, a lot) out of shape. i don't think we ever went again last summer after marissa and i both ate it on the robinette's trail. that trail's insane, they don't keep the trail cut back so you're constantly dodging branches and washouts. marissa's wipeout was definitely the best - a full flip over the handle bars :) marissa you rock!!
so instead i went fishing with marissa, her dad, and bro. that was fun!! it was the first time i've ever bought a fishing license...that was weird. i always have fished without one, mainly because i never knew you had to have one until i went along fishing with friends. my dad raised me to break the law i guess...thanks dad! :D the whole license thing is kinda stupid if you ask me. it's like, here - let me pay money so i can catch fish and throw them back in the water because they're not big enough to eat...but oh well, i was legal last night and i felt guiltless!
how often i forget (sorry, changing topics here) how much i don't deserve things. i get frusterated with things or people because i feel like i've been wronged or they're not doing things like i want them to. it makes a world of difference when i remember i need to die to myself and live for Christ and God's glory. i need to die to my selfish desires and stop pouring myself into...myself and start pouring myself into others. it's how much i can honor God and help/love others, not how much i can get from other people - and get from God.
well the break time bell just rang so it's back to work. it looks like we're going to have kinda a chaotic day here today, BUT -
this is the day the Lord has made! so i will rejoice and be glad in it! :D
keep it real.
~jen~
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
a couple random things
this is why i refuse to camp in the U.P. (or in Alaska, for that matter):
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/27/bear.attack.ap/index.html
we're finally going mountain biking tonight!! it's about time.
i've decided i'm going to take up dirt biking in place of surfing. i will still continue to love the art of surfing and to watch it and maybe some day try it, but i realized i'd rather dirt bike where i know i can still get hurt but it'll be my own fault. with surfing, you can't control when a shark or other mean creature with viscious teeth is going to attack you, drag you under, and carry you to the depths of the seas. :)
the end.
keep it real.
~jen~
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/27/bear.attack.ap/index.html
we're finally going mountain biking tonight!! it's about time.
i've decided i'm going to take up dirt biking in place of surfing. i will still continue to love the art of surfing and to watch it and maybe some day try it, but i realized i'd rather dirt bike where i know i can still get hurt but it'll be my own fault. with surfing, you can't control when a shark or other mean creature with viscious teeth is going to attack you, drag you under, and carry you to the depths of the seas. :)
the end.
keep it real.
~jen~
Monday, June 20, 2005
wanted: to be satisfied.
a lot on my mind about church. but if i write about it i'll probably just find myself offending people and sounding like one of those pathetic bloggers that just use their blog to complain and tell about their troubles and cut down on people. i don't want to do any of that, so i'll watch my fingers (ah-ha get it? 'cause i'm typing...not speaking...so i can't watch my mouth...okay i'll stop...).
i want to be content in my church. yet every service i go to, i feel an unsettling feeling inside of me. why am i the only one who does? it must be my problem. i just want to be content.
i'm going to bed early. hopefully.
keep it real.
~jen~
i want to be content in my church. yet every service i go to, i feel an unsettling feeling inside of me. why am i the only one who does? it must be my problem. i just want to be content.
i'm going to bed early. hopefully.
keep it real.
~jen~
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
driving stories
so i have quite a bit i'd like to put on here but my break time's only 15 minutes, so maybe i'll have enough self-control to make myself sit down and write a longer post tonight before the piston's game.
some weird yet interesting driving stories. just 2 actually.
1 - for some reason, a few days ago i was thinking about the time a few of us girls went down to st. petersburg, fl for spring break and marissa was driving. we were stopped at a red light, and all of a sudden marissa takes off across the intersection...while the light was still red. the rest of us started shouting, "marissa! what are you doing?!?!" and horns started honking at us, but marissa kept going, saying, "oh...was it still red?!?!" - thankfully, there was no cross traffic coming at that moment or we probably would have had our spring break cut short rather abruptly. random memory.
1 - today i was at the stop light where you turn onto the road my office is on, and right next to me was the SAME EXACT truck i had been at the same exact spot with i think last Friday. crazy. and i know it was the same exact truck because it had window sticker things on the back that i had read the 1st time i was stopped next to him. kinda crazy. it's like the big truck i used to see on the expressway on my way to work every so often that had the heiroglyphic fox on the back. that was kinda intimidating.
anyway, back to work.
keep it real.
~jen~
some weird yet interesting driving stories. just 2 actually.
1 - for some reason, a few days ago i was thinking about the time a few of us girls went down to st. petersburg, fl for spring break and marissa was driving. we were stopped at a red light, and all of a sudden marissa takes off across the intersection...while the light was still red. the rest of us started shouting, "marissa! what are you doing?!?!" and horns started honking at us, but marissa kept going, saying, "oh...was it still red?!?!" - thankfully, there was no cross traffic coming at that moment or we probably would have had our spring break cut short rather abruptly. random memory.
1 - today i was at the stop light where you turn onto the road my office is on, and right next to me was the SAME EXACT truck i had been at the same exact spot with i think last Friday. crazy. and i know it was the same exact truck because it had window sticker things on the back that i had read the 1st time i was stopped next to him. kinda crazy. it's like the big truck i used to see on the expressway on my way to work every so often that had the heiroglyphic fox on the back. that was kinda intimidating.
anyway, back to work.
keep it real.
~jen~
Thursday, June 02, 2005
enter the acoustic room
last night i went to Middleton's Music to get some more picks (guitar picks). it's probably been atleast a couple years since i've been in there, but i like that place 'cause it's smaller than Guitar Center and people leave you alone :) Guitar Center is fun to go to once in awhile though, just for kicks and giggles (and to see the Taylor guitars, since Middleton's doesn't carry any...sad).
so i walk in and they've remodeled, and i find a sign that says "acoustic guitars in here" next to a doorway. i know i just went to get picks but i couldn't help myself - i entered "the acoustic room". ahhhhh. anyone who loves anything about acoustic guitars can relate to the feeling i had when i walked in there. utter happiness, glee, giddyness. here i was, the only one in the room, with tons of acoustic guitars hanging on the walls and sitting on stands, all facing me - and all tuned. no, there weren't any Taylors among the masses, but that's okay (especially since i knew there were 2 beautiful Taylors waiting for me to play at the Elyea's :) although jeff's has a broken string...sad).
man i love guitars. i walked around the entire room and looked at all the guitars, picking up and playing a couple of 'em. i saw a lot of Washburns, which will always be a favorite of mine because that was the first guitar i ever played (josh's 1st one, the green one...that got busted by the youth group :( ). that's the kinda of guitar i wanted when i went to buy my 1st real guitar (my very first guitar was a classical guitar...and it wasn't a very good guitar. but that's okay, i have a better one now). but instead i got a Samick, which is actually made by the makers of Washburns.
eventually i had to leave the acoustic room. i picked out some new picks, handed over my dollar for 'em, and headed to the Elyea's to try them out on one of the Taylors.
last night i actually drempt about the acoustic room. except all the guitars were gone and there was just a couch. what a scary dream!!!
and so ends my story. as well as my break time here at work.
keep it real.
~jen~
so i walk in and they've remodeled, and i find a sign that says "acoustic guitars in here" next to a doorway. i know i just went to get picks but i couldn't help myself - i entered "the acoustic room". ahhhhh. anyone who loves anything about acoustic guitars can relate to the feeling i had when i walked in there. utter happiness, glee, giddyness. here i was, the only one in the room, with tons of acoustic guitars hanging on the walls and sitting on stands, all facing me - and all tuned. no, there weren't any Taylors among the masses, but that's okay (especially since i knew there were 2 beautiful Taylors waiting for me to play at the Elyea's :) although jeff's has a broken string...sad).
man i love guitars. i walked around the entire room and looked at all the guitars, picking up and playing a couple of 'em. i saw a lot of Washburns, which will always be a favorite of mine because that was the first guitar i ever played (josh's 1st one, the green one...that got busted by the youth group :( ). that's the kinda of guitar i wanted when i went to buy my 1st real guitar (my very first guitar was a classical guitar...and it wasn't a very good guitar. but that's okay, i have a better one now). but instead i got a Samick, which is actually made by the makers of Washburns.
eventually i had to leave the acoustic room. i picked out some new picks, handed over my dollar for 'em, and headed to the Elyea's to try them out on one of the Taylors.
last night i actually drempt about the acoustic room. except all the guitars were gone and there was just a couch. what a scary dream!!!
and so ends my story. as well as my break time here at work.
keep it real.
~jen~
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
the great outdoors
man, what a great memorial day weekend!! check out nancy's great re-cap of it on her site at www.justsomegirl.net - the entry from May 31, 2005. yes, i'm lazy. but it's mainly 'cause i'm tired and want to go to bed early...so i can get up and go to work all over again :P fun fun :) no, it's not that bad actually, work is fun, i just wish i could be at the beach on beautiful sunny days like today.
anyway, i've been holding off from posting since the weekend because 1, i'm hardly ever home and when i am, i can't stand sitting at my computer for very long (since it's what i do all day at work). and 2, i need to cool down still from a conversation i had this weekend that i still get worked up about and furious about when i think about it. i want to talk about what it was that infuriated (is that a word? it sounds good) me, but i don't want to do it in the wrong way or say things i'll have to edit later. so i better wait until i've handled it some more.
alright, to bed i go. kinda early!!
keep it real.
~jen~
anyway, i've been holding off from posting since the weekend because 1, i'm hardly ever home and when i am, i can't stand sitting at my computer for very long (since it's what i do all day at work). and 2, i need to cool down still from a conversation i had this weekend that i still get worked up about and furious about when i think about it. i want to talk about what it was that infuriated (is that a word? it sounds good) me, but i don't want to do it in the wrong way or say things i'll have to edit later. so i better wait until i've handled it some more.
alright, to bed i go. kinda early!!
keep it real.
~jen~
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
under the overpass
no, it's not some cool new saying i made up. that would be neat though.
i just finished this awesome book called Under the Overpass and it's changed my view completely about what it means to show Christ's love to others, and how my view toward the homeless/poverty-stricken population needs to change. i'll write more later, break time just ended.
in the meantime, check out www.undertheoverpass.com until i get back.
keep it real.
~jen~
i just finished this awesome book called Under the Overpass and it's changed my view completely about what it means to show Christ's love to others, and how my view toward the homeless/poverty-stricken population needs to change. i'll write more later, break time just ended.
in the meantime, check out www.undertheoverpass.com until i get back.
keep it real.
~jen~
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
b to the izzy
yeah, sorry for lack of updates to anyone who checks this. i got home here in michigan friday night and have been going non-stop pretty much ever since (except monday...ahhh i slept in that day! good times). i've been working 8 1/2 hour days at work...but i'm not complaining, it's fun to see the company doing so well now. plus friends from church are starting to get hired there so that makes it even more funner (hehe i just like that word).
josh gave me my 1st guitar "lesson" last night. it was pretty frusterating on both of our ends, but we'll get there eventually. most of the time consisted of the following circle:
me: "okay josh, teach me how to strum, i know how to play the basic chords"
josh: "...i can't teach you how to strum, i don't know how i do it, it just comes naturally"
me: "well still, just teach me how"
josh: "i can't..."
:::silence:::
josh: "here, start playing this song how you normally would"
me: "no, see i don't even know how i would strum it because i just don't even know how"
josh: "yes you do, just start"
:::silence::: (both of us staring at the songbook)
josh: "go!"
:::silence:::
me: "josh i can't! i'm strum deficient! i don't know where to even start!"
...a little bit later...
josh: "i can't teach you how to strum, i can teach you how to play chords and how to pick, but i can't teach you how to strum"
me: "fine, teach me how to pick then"
josh: "...well first you need to know how to strum..."
...
it can only get better from here :)
one day i WILL be able to play with the best of them - look out shane barnard.
okay i'm going to bed. work tomorrow and then straight to our softball game which we are almost guaranteed to lose, since we've never won a game. :) but we sure have fun losing!
keep it real.
~jen~
josh gave me my 1st guitar "lesson" last night. it was pretty frusterating on both of our ends, but we'll get there eventually. most of the time consisted of the following circle:
me: "okay josh, teach me how to strum, i know how to play the basic chords"
josh: "...i can't teach you how to strum, i don't know how i do it, it just comes naturally"
me: "well still, just teach me how"
josh: "i can't..."
:::silence:::
josh: "here, start playing this song how you normally would"
me: "no, see i don't even know how i would strum it because i just don't even know how"
josh: "yes you do, just start"
:::silence::: (both of us staring at the songbook)
josh: "go!"
:::silence:::
me: "josh i can't! i'm strum deficient! i don't know where to even start!"
...a little bit later...
josh: "i can't teach you how to strum, i can teach you how to play chords and how to pick, but i can't teach you how to strum"
me: "fine, teach me how to pick then"
josh: "...well first you need to know how to strum..."
...
it can only get better from here :)
one day i WILL be able to play with the best of them - look out shane barnard.
okay i'm going to bed. work tomorrow and then straight to our softball game which we are almost guaranteed to lose, since we've never won a game. :) but we sure have fun losing!
keep it real.
~jen~
Monday, May 09, 2005
Saturday, May 07, 2005
bittersweet saturday
hey that title would make for a cool name for a song, eh? eh!!!! (can you answer a question with an "eh!"? ... shoot, i'm not sure, i thought i had learned all the in's and out's of using the canadian fun phrase by now).
so yes, today was a bittersweet saturday. let's start out with the sweet part, 'cause that's always funner. today was my first saturday in lynchburg in over...2 months i think, that i didn't have to work all day!! AMEN! it was absolutely amazing and everything i could have dreamed of and less! HA, fooled ya :) just seeing if you guys are really reading this or just skimming. anyway, i had my last shift at j crew last night, and i am job-less now until about...may 17th. but then i'll be working for my dad and with fun people so that's cool. plus it sure makes for a fun, flexible schedule! (i'm spoiled, dad, aren't i? okay i'll admit it...you, mom, & sadie were right all along)
so this morning started out superbly (ah - great word) with a delicious pancake breakfast at tara's house with some of my most favorite people in lynchburg! it was the spring break crew, minus jamie and plus sarah, who was being the good one of the group over spring break by going on a missions trip. hehehe :) good times, as always, this morning!
OH! and then we drove by the site for our new house for next year! they finally dug a hole for the foundation. that's a good place to begin i suppose. there's not much else there yet, but there is a port-a-john, so if all else fails, we'll have that as a multi purpose room. SO stoked about next year!
then later this afternoon, me and benton (jessica, for those of you less familiar with the beautiful cali-sister blonde i spend much time with) went to roanoke to get a hollister fix in. mmmm! i got a track jacket, that's it. but that's more than enough to satisfy me. and i also stocked up on some much needed CD's i've been holding out for. i got Vertical Momentum-Trading My Sorrows (a various artist worship CD with this amazing song called Search Me, Know Me), Jack Johnson-Brushfire Fairytales (ROCK ON!), and Lauryn Hill-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (_____-fill in the blank, i don't know what to say right now, but it's a good CD). um...i think that's all i got. yeah, it is. and another plus about going to the r-to-the-oanoke is that my cell phone goes back to digital service so i can send and receive pictures & update my phone's "roaming capabilities" as the verizon lady always says when i call her. it's great, you always feel like you have a new phone when you do that. i do, anyway. oh the joys of small things in life.
then the bitter part of my bittersweet saturday. i got back to campus and went to make coffee (yeah, imagine that) and realized jen's (the other one, not me) coffee maker was gone. so i checked her room and all her stuff was gone, too. for those of you that don't know the background, jen sorta disappeared on us right before spring break. she came back a couple days after spring break just long enough to pack a suitcase and then she was off again to "go home just for Easter". we didn't see her again for a couple weeks, but then she popped in just a couple times. i still haven't seen her since that one day right after spring break. no one's seen or heard from her now for...i don't even know, atleast 3 weeks i guess. anyway, because of some other things that went on, i was (and still am) really worried about her not only for her well-being, but also for her spiritually. there's just some stuff that went on that led me to believe there was a lot more going on inside of her than just "rebellion" or whatever you'd call running away. i've been praying so much for her, praying God would bring her back to Him soon and also bring her back to us. yeah, it's been weird not having her around, but i felt like as long as her stuff was here, we'd see her again. but now that it's all gone...it's just hit me all over again that this is real and i may never see her again, this girl that i had gotten to know and love thru living with her thru the majority of this school year. even if i never saw her again, i would settle for just knowing she was following God with her life and was His child. urgh - it's SO FRUSTERATING and discouraging and...empty feeling with not knowing what's going on and not seeing her come back. it's really unsettling.
i know God is just and He is good, yet it i still struggle with understanding why He would let His child to continue down the wrong road and allow the powers of satan to overtake His child's life...it must have to do with that whole "free will" thing...but i sure wish sometimes that we didn't have a free will when it came to these things. it's like...i'm praying so much for her and don't see why God would withold answering my prayers (and other people's, because i know others are praying for her too) for His child to come back to Him. but then when i start questioning God like that, i feel guilty and know i have no right to question His ways. so then i just feel bad like i'm going against God by questioning Him. i've concluded it's a lose-lose situation.
but then i know that's where faith comes in. because i KNOW God is just, He is good, He is merciful, and He is love. sometimes all we'll be able to do is come to Him with our burdens and trust that He's in control, no matter the outcome.
and so concludes my rants and raves about my bittersweet saturday. :)
sike - just kidding, i remembered something else. tonight benton got a call from her friend she was going to have an apartment with next year. her friend decided she wants to live on campus next year, so now benton has no idea what she will do. :( so that was a big bummer for her, and a bummer for me 'cause i feel bad for her. :( we'll see what we can do.
okay, i'm concluding now, incase any of you are still with me here.
keep it real.
~jen~
so yes, today was a bittersweet saturday. let's start out with the sweet part, 'cause that's always funner. today was my first saturday in lynchburg in over...2 months i think, that i didn't have to work all day!! AMEN! it was absolutely amazing and everything i could have dreamed of and less! HA, fooled ya :) just seeing if you guys are really reading this or just skimming. anyway, i had my last shift at j crew last night, and i am job-less now until about...may 17th. but then i'll be working for my dad and with fun people so that's cool. plus it sure makes for a fun, flexible schedule! (i'm spoiled, dad, aren't i? okay i'll admit it...you, mom, & sadie were right all along)
so this morning started out superbly (ah - great word) with a delicious pancake breakfast at tara's house with some of my most favorite people in lynchburg! it was the spring break crew, minus jamie and plus sarah, who was being the good one of the group over spring break by going on a missions trip. hehehe :) good times, as always, this morning!
OH! and then we drove by the site for our new house for next year! they finally dug a hole for the foundation. that's a good place to begin i suppose. there's not much else there yet, but there is a port-a-john, so if all else fails, we'll have that as a multi purpose room. SO stoked about next year!
then later this afternoon, me and benton (jessica, for those of you less familiar with the beautiful cali-sister blonde i spend much time with) went to roanoke to get a hollister fix in. mmmm! i got a track jacket, that's it. but that's more than enough to satisfy me. and i also stocked up on some much needed CD's i've been holding out for. i got Vertical Momentum-Trading My Sorrows (a various artist worship CD with this amazing song called Search Me, Know Me), Jack Johnson-Brushfire Fairytales (ROCK ON!), and Lauryn Hill-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (_____-fill in the blank, i don't know what to say right now, but it's a good CD). um...i think that's all i got. yeah, it is. and another plus about going to the r-to-the-oanoke is that my cell phone goes back to digital service so i can send and receive pictures & update my phone's "roaming capabilities" as the verizon lady always says when i call her. it's great, you always feel like you have a new phone when you do that. i do, anyway. oh the joys of small things in life.
then the bitter part of my bittersweet saturday. i got back to campus and went to make coffee (yeah, imagine that) and realized jen's (the other one, not me) coffee maker was gone. so i checked her room and all her stuff was gone, too. for those of you that don't know the background, jen sorta disappeared on us right before spring break. she came back a couple days after spring break just long enough to pack a suitcase and then she was off again to "go home just for Easter". we didn't see her again for a couple weeks, but then she popped in just a couple times. i still haven't seen her since that one day right after spring break. no one's seen or heard from her now for...i don't even know, atleast 3 weeks i guess. anyway, because of some other things that went on, i was (and still am) really worried about her not only for her well-being, but also for her spiritually. there's just some stuff that went on that led me to believe there was a lot more going on inside of her than just "rebellion" or whatever you'd call running away. i've been praying so much for her, praying God would bring her back to Him soon and also bring her back to us. yeah, it's been weird not having her around, but i felt like as long as her stuff was here, we'd see her again. but now that it's all gone...it's just hit me all over again that this is real and i may never see her again, this girl that i had gotten to know and love thru living with her thru the majority of this school year. even if i never saw her again, i would settle for just knowing she was following God with her life and was His child. urgh - it's SO FRUSTERATING and discouraging and...empty feeling with not knowing what's going on and not seeing her come back. it's really unsettling.
i know God is just and He is good, yet it i still struggle with understanding why He would let His child to continue down the wrong road and allow the powers of satan to overtake His child's life...it must have to do with that whole "free will" thing...but i sure wish sometimes that we didn't have a free will when it came to these things. it's like...i'm praying so much for her and don't see why God would withold answering my prayers (and other people's, because i know others are praying for her too) for His child to come back to Him. but then when i start questioning God like that, i feel guilty and know i have no right to question His ways. so then i just feel bad like i'm going against God by questioning Him. i've concluded it's a lose-lose situation.
but then i know that's where faith comes in. because i KNOW God is just, He is good, He is merciful, and He is love. sometimes all we'll be able to do is come to Him with our burdens and trust that He's in control, no matter the outcome.
and so concludes my rants and raves about my bittersweet saturday. :)
sike - just kidding, i remembered something else. tonight benton got a call from her friend she was going to have an apartment with next year. her friend decided she wants to live on campus next year, so now benton has no idea what she will do. :( so that was a big bummer for her, and a bummer for me 'cause i feel bad for her. :( we'll see what we can do.
okay, i'm concluding now, incase any of you are still with me here.
keep it real.
~jen~
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
shoot...shouldn't have drank that coffee
HA!
here i sit, wanting to go to sleep but unable to because of 1 simple culprit - brazillian sunrise coffee. it's a dark roast, which means it's a strong brew. i thought i'd drink that tonight at 10pm because i thought i would be up late studying for a humanities test tomorrow and doing a math quiz i thought was due tomorrow. well, the studying didn't take long and i found out the math isn't due 'til Friday afternoon...so now i'm being kept up for now reason :)
i got to go home last weekend for jared & kristen's wedding!! awwww, great time! they're so awesome, i love 'em! and seeing my family makes it all most excellent. i sure do love them!
sunday night was really encouraging - i went with becky & tiff to applebee's after church because they've been going every Sunday night to witness to this waitor there. it was so cool to see the friendship they've built with him just by showing up there once a week. since tiff's leaving for colorado for the summer next week, hopefully i can get to fill in for her while she's gone :) it was just so awesome to see the girls getting out there and sharing the love of Christ with strangers they meet.
i left my notebook of sermon notes in the pew at church. sad. i hope someone finds it and knows it's mine! there's a lot of good stuff in that thing.
OH! i read Lamentations this past week out of pure curiosity. wow, i think it's my favorite book of the OT (at the moment, anyway - hehe). i don't even understand half of it i'm sure, but i still got some amazing things out of it. the Lord has destroyed Jerusalem and the people are in horrible shape and all. and i'm not totally sure why He did it, so if someone has the background on it, please fill me in! i think it was because they had fallen into so much sin? don't quote me on that though. anyway, the first half of the book is Jeremiah lamenting about what's happened. but then all of a sudden, he switches tones and totally praises the Lord for who He is, His justness, His righteousness. like...that just SO amazes me. here he was, along with the rest of the people, suffering horrible things at the hand of God's wrath, and yet he still acknowledge's God's goodness and total justness. amazing. it sure convicted me in that so many times when i "suffer" things, i tend to think "oh, woe is me...". but here jeremiah was, knowing that the events happening were because of his and the people's sin (i think?), and he's not bitter about it. and then i was reading some of the Psalm's that are cross referenced with the end of Lamentations, and it was so cool to read the Psalm and now understand what David was dealing with when he wrote it. (or did Jeremiah write the Psalms that coorespond to Lamentations?)
hehehe so obviously i don't have a good grasp of what all is going on in the book, but i still love it!! and i want to learn more! can anyone fill me in on if Jerusalem ever gets put back together?
alright, i suppose i'll just get in bed and read 'til i fall asleep.
keep it real.
~jen~
OH PS - funny story. okay, the setup for this story is i just walked into the room tonight and kristen was in bed but i knew she wasn't asleep yet.
so i asked "hey kristen, can i listen to luke smith's cd real quick? i'm borrowing it from boonie"
kristen: "of course, you know you can listen to whatever you want as loud as you want. it doesn't bother me"
me: "aw, cool thanks!!"
:::a few minutes pass. during which time i have some silent expelliations of gaseous material:::
kristen: "okay, i can take music playing, but i can't take the smells!!!!!"
hehehe oh the joy of being an anosmic.
here i sit, wanting to go to sleep but unable to because of 1 simple culprit - brazillian sunrise coffee. it's a dark roast, which means it's a strong brew. i thought i'd drink that tonight at 10pm because i thought i would be up late studying for a humanities test tomorrow and doing a math quiz i thought was due tomorrow. well, the studying didn't take long and i found out the math isn't due 'til Friday afternoon...so now i'm being kept up for now reason :)
i got to go home last weekend for jared & kristen's wedding!! awwww, great time! they're so awesome, i love 'em! and seeing my family makes it all most excellent. i sure do love them!
sunday night was really encouraging - i went with becky & tiff to applebee's after church because they've been going every Sunday night to witness to this waitor there. it was so cool to see the friendship they've built with him just by showing up there once a week. since tiff's leaving for colorado for the summer next week, hopefully i can get to fill in for her while she's gone :) it was just so awesome to see the girls getting out there and sharing the love of Christ with strangers they meet.
i left my notebook of sermon notes in the pew at church. sad. i hope someone finds it and knows it's mine! there's a lot of good stuff in that thing.
OH! i read Lamentations this past week out of pure curiosity. wow, i think it's my favorite book of the OT (at the moment, anyway - hehe). i don't even understand half of it i'm sure, but i still got some amazing things out of it. the Lord has destroyed Jerusalem and the people are in horrible shape and all. and i'm not totally sure why He did it, so if someone has the background on it, please fill me in! i think it was because they had fallen into so much sin? don't quote me on that though. anyway, the first half of the book is Jeremiah lamenting about what's happened. but then all of a sudden, he switches tones and totally praises the Lord for who He is, His justness, His righteousness. like...that just SO amazes me. here he was, along with the rest of the people, suffering horrible things at the hand of God's wrath, and yet he still acknowledge's God's goodness and total justness. amazing. it sure convicted me in that so many times when i "suffer" things, i tend to think "oh, woe is me...". but here jeremiah was, knowing that the events happening were because of his and the people's sin (i think?), and he's not bitter about it. and then i was reading some of the Psalm's that are cross referenced with the end of Lamentations, and it was so cool to read the Psalm and now understand what David was dealing with when he wrote it. (or did Jeremiah write the Psalms that coorespond to Lamentations?)
hehehe so obviously i don't have a good grasp of what all is going on in the book, but i still love it!! and i want to learn more! can anyone fill me in on if Jerusalem ever gets put back together?
alright, i suppose i'll just get in bed and read 'til i fall asleep.
keep it real.
~jen~
OH PS - funny story. okay, the setup for this story is i just walked into the room tonight and kristen was in bed but i knew she wasn't asleep yet.
so i asked "hey kristen, can i listen to luke smith's cd real quick? i'm borrowing it from boonie"
kristen: "of course, you know you can listen to whatever you want as loud as you want. it doesn't bother me"
me: "aw, cool thanks!!"
:::a few minutes pass. during which time i have some silent expelliations of gaseous material:::
kristen: "okay, i can take music playing, but i can't take the smells!!!!!"
hehehe oh the joy of being an anosmic.
Monday, April 25, 2005
the small things that bring great joy
i have finally found it! great tasting water in Lynchburg! 
ONLY available at Sheetz
this water is definitely blog-worthy.
um...
our cafeteria considers this scalloped potatoes...
i'd rather they just call it what it is - a chunk of potato.
mom...dad...look at what they're feeding me here. please send food.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
cowbells - continued
i just realized i never explained why i labeled the last post "cowbells". well here's the explaination for all you curious minds out there. i love this song by Jack Johnson called "Flake" from his Brushfire Fairytales CD because it has cowbells in it that come in in the middle of the song and keep coming in 'til the end of it! it's awesome!! and it reminds me of the cowbell skit with will farrell. scrumptillacit.
i just asked kristen "aw, isn't this song beautiful"? (it's the Mesmerized song by Meredith Andrews) and she said "yes, but not as beautiful was your mom." awwwww! that was sweet. kristen, that was nice. punk.
today is Sunday, let us all rejoice.
i went to campus church this morning. i'm so hooked on this series that johnnie moore's doing. it's called "Holiness Means Wholeness". today he spoke on Galations 6:6-10. i'd like to entitle it "You Sow What You Reap" because that's what he kept saying. :) anyway, the following summary comes out of what he said, so i can't claim all of the following ideas as my own. i'm not that smart.
how many times in life do we start a ministry and then think "what good is this doing for anyone, anyway? this ministry isn't having an effect on anybody". or how many times do you go to do something that you know is wrong but you reason "this one time isn't going to have any consequence, i'm just going to do it this once." these are lies that mock our great God who is all-powerful.
believing our ministry is ineffective and useless proves how near-sighted we as Christians can be sometimes. we only see the "here and now" outcome, but we fail to look at the bigger picture. when we take the time to invest in people's lives, we get discouraged if they don't respond right away the way we want them to. we lack faith in believing God will use us for His glory and He will accomplish much through each of us. Galations 6:9-10 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
and then back to "how many times do you go to do something that you know is wrong but you reason 'this one time isn't going to have any consequence, i'm just going to do it this once.'" johnnie specifically brought up alcohol and porn right away but then he showed us how relationships can be ruined by 1 "tiny, little" choice to sin. with alcohol and porn, it was pretty obvious - the drunk at the bar probably didn't drink his 1st sip of alochol thinking, "this is it - with this one drink, i'm going to become a drunk for the rest of my life." of course not. but he took that first sip, and continued to allow the "poison" into his veins more and more until he couldn't get enough. those 2 areas are talked about a lot in the Christian-circle. but then he talked about a less-obvious area. all it takes is one or two times of losing our temper with somebody, or doing something unjust to somebody, and then we continue to do it more and more until we've hurt so many people so many times that people start distancing themselves from us. and when we come to a point where we need a friend to be there for us, no one is around to help. wow...talk about being nearsighted. and how is it mocking God? because it's like we're saying, "Look God, i know You don't like what i'm about to do and You've warned us against doing it in Your Word, but i really don't care right now - i'm going to do it anyway, just this once." it's like we're mocking God's authority, His commands, His desire for us to be pure.
i realized how often in life i am nearsighted with decisions i make. i don't think of the "down-the-road" consequences of decisions i make, even things i think are tiny and insignificant.
Galations 6:7-8, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
one point of application is this: this week at LU is "Unplugged Week". this group on campus is urging everyone to go unplugged from a part of media. you can take that extra time to spend in God's Word, preparing your "soil" to be in good condition to reap a harvest this summer while we're at home or wherever you're going.
alright, stepping down off the soapbox now. i just wanted to recap what i learned at church today so that, if for no other reason, i can read this later down the road and be reminded to stop being nearsighted. :)
keep it real.
~jen~
i just asked kristen "aw, isn't this song beautiful"? (it's the Mesmerized song by Meredith Andrews) and she said "yes, but not as beautiful was your mom." awwwww! that was sweet. kristen, that was nice. punk.
today is Sunday, let us all rejoice.
i went to campus church this morning. i'm so hooked on this series that johnnie moore's doing. it's called "Holiness Means Wholeness". today he spoke on Galations 6:6-10. i'd like to entitle it "You Sow What You Reap" because that's what he kept saying. :) anyway, the following summary comes out of what he said, so i can't claim all of the following ideas as my own. i'm not that smart.
how many times in life do we start a ministry and then think "what good is this doing for anyone, anyway? this ministry isn't having an effect on anybody". or how many times do you go to do something that you know is wrong but you reason "this one time isn't going to have any consequence, i'm just going to do it this once." these are lies that mock our great God who is all-powerful.
believing our ministry is ineffective and useless proves how near-sighted we as Christians can be sometimes. we only see the "here and now" outcome, but we fail to look at the bigger picture. when we take the time to invest in people's lives, we get discouraged if they don't respond right away the way we want them to. we lack faith in believing God will use us for His glory and He will accomplish much through each of us. Galations 6:9-10 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
and then back to "how many times do you go to do something that you know is wrong but you reason 'this one time isn't going to have any consequence, i'm just going to do it this once.'" johnnie specifically brought up alcohol and porn right away but then he showed us how relationships can be ruined by 1 "tiny, little" choice to sin. with alcohol and porn, it was pretty obvious - the drunk at the bar probably didn't drink his 1st sip of alochol thinking, "this is it - with this one drink, i'm going to become a drunk for the rest of my life." of course not. but he took that first sip, and continued to allow the "poison" into his veins more and more until he couldn't get enough. those 2 areas are talked about a lot in the Christian-circle. but then he talked about a less-obvious area. all it takes is one or two times of losing our temper with somebody, or doing something unjust to somebody, and then we continue to do it more and more until we've hurt so many people so many times that people start distancing themselves from us. and when we come to a point where we need a friend to be there for us, no one is around to help. wow...talk about being nearsighted. and how is it mocking God? because it's like we're saying, "Look God, i know You don't like what i'm about to do and You've warned us against doing it in Your Word, but i really don't care right now - i'm going to do it anyway, just this once." it's like we're mocking God's authority, His commands, His desire for us to be pure.
i realized how often in life i am nearsighted with decisions i make. i don't think of the "down-the-road" consequences of decisions i make, even things i think are tiny and insignificant.
Galations 6:7-8, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
one point of application is this: this week at LU is "Unplugged Week". this group on campus is urging everyone to go unplugged from a part of media. you can take that extra time to spend in God's Word, preparing your "soil" to be in good condition to reap a harvest this summer while we're at home or wherever you're going.
alright, stepping down off the soapbox now. i just wanted to recap what i learned at church today so that, if for no other reason, i can read this later down the road and be reminded to stop being nearsighted. :)
keep it real.
~jen~
Thursday, April 21, 2005
cowbells
helloooooooo!
i think of things each day that i'm like "oooh, i want to write a post about that" and by the time i get back to my room, it's all i can do to keep my eyes open long enough to get emails. boo. it doesn't help that i'm fighting a stupid cold right now, which makes me even more tired.
man, this last month of school is so busy. work is making everyone work extended and overtime hours, and that means i'm working 32 hours a week (Tuesday-Saturday). sad. it's a nicer paycheck, but it's not worth the sacrifice of social time and homework time (which i really probably wouldn't do much of anyway, but that's not the point...). i hardly ever get to hang out with friends now, which is sad because the year is drawing to a close and some people won't be coming back (big j adams - LU's still accepting super seniors for next year, c'mon).
the worst part is that my quiet time with my Savior has been lacking the past week or so because i'm not making the time to get alone with Him. i love that time alone with Him and i do it out of pure desire to know Him more, not because of some "unspoken Christian law" that says you have to spend a set amount of time each day with God. but yet, if i desire that time so much, how come i have such a hard time making the time for it?
i don't even know if that last paragraph made sense, but i'm on the phone w/marissa so i'm going to just post this and get back to it later. so disregard any randomness or uncompleted thoughts.
:)
keep it real.
~jen~
i think of things each day that i'm like "oooh, i want to write a post about that" and by the time i get back to my room, it's all i can do to keep my eyes open long enough to get emails. boo. it doesn't help that i'm fighting a stupid cold right now, which makes me even more tired.
man, this last month of school is so busy. work is making everyone work extended and overtime hours, and that means i'm working 32 hours a week (Tuesday-Saturday). sad. it's a nicer paycheck, but it's not worth the sacrifice of social time and homework time (which i really probably wouldn't do much of anyway, but that's not the point...). i hardly ever get to hang out with friends now, which is sad because the year is drawing to a close and some people won't be coming back (big j adams - LU's still accepting super seniors for next year, c'mon).
the worst part is that my quiet time with my Savior has been lacking the past week or so because i'm not making the time to get alone with Him. i love that time alone with Him and i do it out of pure desire to know Him more, not because of some "unspoken Christian law" that says you have to spend a set amount of time each day with God. but yet, if i desire that time so much, how come i have such a hard time making the time for it?
i don't even know if that last paragraph made sense, but i'm on the phone w/marissa so i'm going to just post this and get back to it later. so disregard any randomness or uncompleted thoughts.
:)
keep it real.
~jen~
Monday, April 11, 2005
ah, clean clothes
okay so let me apologize first for the disorganized pictures of my board. i still don't totally understand how to put pictures on this thing and have it be neat and tidy. i like neat and tidy. i know my parents probably don't think that, judging by my overwhelming clean room (HA!) that i have when i'm home. but i really do like things neat and tidy.
i am so proud of myself. i finally did my laundry today after a month of not doing it. AND!!! and i finally used up my first bottle of laundry detergent (or whatever the liquid stuff is called that you put in the washer). isn't laundry detergent the powdery stuff?
i was just going to post real quick 'cause i want to go to bed. then i realized my laundry's not done and i have to wait to put it in the dryer before i can go ten toes up on my bed. sad.
today's ted's birthday. i'm pretty sure he'll never see this in his life, but ted, if you ever do, happy birthday buddy. i had a party for you in my heart. okay not really.
on a more serious note, i read a really interesting (and good) book this past week. and what proves that it's a good book is the fact that i read it in under a week. i'm still working on other books that i started over a year ago. and those are really good ones too (like Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper - can i get an amen on that one, anyone?), i just don't finish them...haha :) but this one was short and totally what i am going through right now.
it's called Stop Dating the Church - Fall in Love with the Family of God by good ol' Joshua Harris. you know, the guy who wrote all the "i kissed dating goodbye", "boy meets girl"...all those relationship books. :) i saw this book in the LU bookstore about a month ago and wanted to read it so bad but didn't want to put up the money for it. it's really not expensive, it's like $10. but sometimes that just sounds like a lot more. anyway, i'd been thinking about it a lot since i saw it, and the other night i was waiting for friends to meet me at Barnes & Noble to get coffee and so i decided to find the book and sit down and read a few pages. but by the time people got there, i was too drawn in so i HAD to buy it. :) i like to justify it by thinking "well who really would want to buy that book now anyway, now that i've had my hands all over it?" good reasoning, i know.
okay so do you think i could just get on with this already? sorry. ANYWAY, this book totally summed up when i've been doing in regards to the church. well, not totally, but i could relate a lot to it and indeed label myself as a self-admitted church dater. i'm not going to summarize the whole book, but there's this point/question i want to bring up real quick. josh harris says you can boil down all the points you're looking for in a church into these 3 broad catagories. You want a church that: teaches God's Word, values God's Word, and lives God's Word. so i took that and looked at how my church back home matches up with that. it matches up pretty stinkin' well. and one thing this book brought up that made me thankful about my church back home is church discipline. a ton of churches have disregarded that. so that's something i learned to value in that church.
the question is...so...okay, a church matches up with those 3 catagories. great, right? but like...what if the church lacks passion for Jesus Christ? is that a reason to leave a church? so the church has a ton of knowledge about the Word and about theological stands and doctrine. that's all important (well, to an extent)...but what if it doesn't have a passion for just simple yet profound things - like Jesus Christ and His desire for us and His desire for us to desire Him back? and the joy and excitement that comes along with that? is this a valid reason for leaving a church?
anyone who reads this, any thoughts/ideas/opinions/facts are welcome. :)
alright i'm going to check on that laundry. i want to go to bed. jack johnson rocks. he's playing in my room tonight and is keepin' the atmosphere laid back and relaxed. rock on, jack johnson.
keep it real.
~jen~
i am so proud of myself. i finally did my laundry today after a month of not doing it. AND!!! and i finally used up my first bottle of laundry detergent (or whatever the liquid stuff is called that you put in the washer). isn't laundry detergent the powdery stuff?
i was just going to post real quick 'cause i want to go to bed. then i realized my laundry's not done and i have to wait to put it in the dryer before i can go ten toes up on my bed. sad.
today's ted's birthday. i'm pretty sure he'll never see this in his life, but ted, if you ever do, happy birthday buddy. i had a party for you in my heart. okay not really.
on a more serious note, i read a really interesting (and good) book this past week. and what proves that it's a good book is the fact that i read it in under a week. i'm still working on other books that i started over a year ago. and those are really good ones too (like Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper - can i get an amen on that one, anyone?), i just don't finish them...haha :) but this one was short and totally what i am going through right now.
it's called Stop Dating the Church - Fall in Love with the Family of God by good ol' Joshua Harris. you know, the guy who wrote all the "i kissed dating goodbye", "boy meets girl"...all those relationship books. :) i saw this book in the LU bookstore about a month ago and wanted to read it so bad but didn't want to put up the money for it. it's really not expensive, it's like $10. but sometimes that just sounds like a lot more. anyway, i'd been thinking about it a lot since i saw it, and the other night i was waiting for friends to meet me at Barnes & Noble to get coffee and so i decided to find the book and sit down and read a few pages. but by the time people got there, i was too drawn in so i HAD to buy it. :) i like to justify it by thinking "well who really would want to buy that book now anyway, now that i've had my hands all over it?" good reasoning, i know.
okay so do you think i could just get on with this already? sorry. ANYWAY, this book totally summed up when i've been doing in regards to the church. well, not totally, but i could relate a lot to it and indeed label myself as a self-admitted church dater. i'm not going to summarize the whole book, but there's this point/question i want to bring up real quick. josh harris says you can boil down all the points you're looking for in a church into these 3 broad catagories. You want a church that: teaches God's Word, values God's Word, and lives God's Word. so i took that and looked at how my church back home matches up with that. it matches up pretty stinkin' well. and one thing this book brought up that made me thankful about my church back home is church discipline. a ton of churches have disregarded that. so that's something i learned to value in that church.
the question is...so...okay, a church matches up with those 3 catagories. great, right? but like...what if the church lacks passion for Jesus Christ? is that a reason to leave a church? so the church has a ton of knowledge about the Word and about theological stands and doctrine. that's all important (well, to an extent)...but what if it doesn't have a passion for just simple yet profound things - like Jesus Christ and His desire for us and His desire for us to desire Him back? and the joy and excitement that comes along with that? is this a valid reason for leaving a church?
anyone who reads this, any thoughts/ideas/opinions/facts are welcome. :)
alright i'm going to check on that laundry. i want to go to bed. jack johnson rocks. he's playing in my room tonight and is keepin' the atmosphere laid back and relaxed. rock on, jack johnson.
keep it real.
~jen~
Saturday, April 09, 2005
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