I love this girl with my whole heart.

A few months ago I blogged about my friend Whitney in Prague. When she's in the states, she works at an after school program called Killearn. Here's a little video update she made for them. I'm pretending like she made this video specifically for me and this blog. Enjoy.

Did you see I waved?

First things first. I'm having my wisdom teeth taken out. I've been having major pain for the past week. No fun.

In light of the toothache, last night I went to the Lake City talent show with my sister. One of her best friend was performing so we went to show support. It was probably the best $5 I've spent in a long time.

Highlights:

- "My Redeemer Lives" sung in English and Spanish. This was a big hit. There were holy hands, "hallelujahs", "Amens", and standing ovations.
- 9th grade boy in a peach suit jacket, singing Brian McKnight's "Back at One"... All while sounding like Kermit the frog. Peach suit? Really?!
- 9th grade boy in a white suit, singing Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up".
- More holy hands.
- Awkward girl chatting with the crowd.
- Nervous girl in her Easter dress singing about Romeo and Juliette.
- And the best of all... an all girl spiritual warfare creative movement. Pretty amazing huh?


Easter is approaching, so in honor of this occasion I think I'm going to start posting some videos of Jesus Christ Superstar. Sound good? This is my favorite song.

RUDE

Real conversation at the dentist office today:

random girl: "Hey girl, you look cool."
Me: "Aw, thanks."
random girl: "Yeah, like you're real messy and you don't even care!"
Me: "um... thanks?"

Seriously? Am I really that much of a hot mess? I mean, yes, I was wearing a tshirt. Yes, my hair might have been a little crazy. But I don't think I'm just a generally messy person. Am I?

for your soul

I know I've posted about 293849 videos in the last week... but sometimes I just need to watch this one. It's good for my soul. And after some of the conversations I've had in the past few days, I think it's very relevant. Maybe it'll be good for your soul too.

march list madness

• I liked pretending to be a vampire this weekend. I even made blood brownies. Very spooky.


• Spring is here and my allergies are still going crazy. I sneeze about a million times a day. Good thing my sister sells drugs for a living and brought me some cetrizine hydrochloride... which is supposed to help. But it might kill me. We'll see.


• Camp is so soon! Only about a month and a half away. I'm so very happy about this. I love working with youth. I should start packing...


• Tonight I had a really good conversation about really crappy things. It mostly had to do with people, friends, community, and getting hurt. In the church world, we are always talking about community... but I don't think community can actually happen until people love each other. And I don't think people can love each other until they can trust each other. I know I'm part of the problem... and I hate that.


• I'm becoming the most crafty person in the world. Not really, but I did paint today and some this weekend. Need some art? I'll do it... and then you can pay me $1,000. It's a deal.


• The Big Love season finale was pretty great. Margene is always keeping the family together... and Nikki is aways ruining everything.

march movie madness

I like movies better than basketball. Here are a few I'm excited to see.

1. Away We Go


2. Sunshine Cleaning


3. Adventureland


4. The Education of Charlie Banks


5. Funny People

march music madness

Because I like this Sufjan Stevens better than basketball.

hands and feet

"In the poor we meet Jesus in his most distressing disguises."

-Mother Teresa

Photos can all be found here

makin it rain

This summer my great friend Sam and I were forced to create a rainy day playlist due to the massive downpours that seemed to happen every monday during registration. Since then, I've added a few... but it still doesn't feel complete. This needs to be the best rainy day playlist ever created.
This is what I've got so far:

flood - jars of clay
umbrella - rihanna
two sets of jones' - big tent revival
hurricane - bob dylan
cry me a river - justin timberlake
make it rain - fat joe

Help a sister out.

shine on me sunshine

Happy first day of spring! I love all things about spring except allergies. Sometimes they just ruin my life. In elementary school I couldn't play on the playground or go to PE during the spring. I had to sit in the nurse's office and get eye drops instead. I heard that eating locally grown honey can help seasonal allergies. I've been doing it for about a week and a half and there have been no improvements. Sad day. Maybe I should just wear one of those surgical masks around like everyone did when they were scared of getting sars.

Also, please go visit google and see the spring logo designed by Eric Carle, one of my fave artists.

somewhere someone dropped the ball

I was a youth group kid. I went to church, sunday school, youth group, youth choir, camp, winter retreats, etc. I listened to relient k and jars of clay. I wore Christian t-shirts and I didn't drink. I loved my youth group with my whole heart. I cared about them and I prayed for them.

It breaks my heart to see the drug abuse, alcoholism, promiscuity, self hatred, low self esteem, self mutilation, depression, lies, manipulation, and apathy that seems to have taken over my beloved high school youth group. What about the happy kids who loved Jesus? Where did they go?

What happened? Who dropped the ball? Parents? Youth pastors? Me? Why are we letting kids slip through the cracks? And not only that, how can we make sure this doesn't happen again? How do we stop other kids from being broken and hurt?

This is very distressing to me.

I only know how to use itunes

At my last job, I worked with a bunch of oldies who didn't know how to text or use excel. They thought I was so technologically savvy. They had me make spread sheets, set up their voice mail, set up their printers so they could print on envelopes and make copies on the fax machine. I was a god and they were super impressed. I'm really not at all a computer wiz though. I can use word, excel, access, itunes and maybe a little illustrator. And honestly, I can't use any of them well. I just pretend I know what I'm talking about... or I google. When that doesn't work, I ask my friend that's ACTUALLY computer savvy. All that being said, today I was having some issues with skype and microphones. It was frustrating and just made me feel dumb. So, I'm sticking with what I know... itunes and google.

In honor of that decision, here are my current top 25 on itunes:

heart in a cage - chris thile
seeing and believing - wild sweet orange
in my time of need - ryan adams
quinn the eskimo - bob dylan
come together - the beatles
ten dead dogs - wild sweet orange
wash my feet in the waves - chuck ragan
fix you - coldplay
great divide - hanson
oh my sweet carolina - ryan adams
way over yonder in the minor key - billy bragg & wilco
the seeker - dolly parton
be thou my vision - pedro the lion
behold the river - the snake the cross the crown
thirteen - ben kweller
that girl - anna becker
the weight - the band
hallelujah - jeff buckley
help - the beatles
fight - ben kweller
when you were young - the killers
with god on our side - bob dylan
paper candy - mike dunn
murder in the city - the avett brothers
american music - violent femmes

drink water from farm wells

This is for you.

Of all the people in the world...

Joan Baez is following me.

I looked up 4 completely different songs on itunes and Joan Baez just happened to have recorded all 4 of them. These aren't songs she wrote. Just random songs like Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. 4 songs in a row! Coincidence? I think not.

Now, I'm not trying to be hateful. She was in good with Bob Dylan... and any friend of Bob Dylan is a friend of mine. However, I can only take so much of her voice. I feel like maybe she is a bird pretending to be a person.

I wish Ryan Adams or Dolly Parton or Seth Rogen or Chris Thile was following me around instead. Okay, really I just want those people to date me. Except Dolly. I want to be her best friend forever. I think we would get along.

Come to think of it, if Joan Baez circa 1965 is following me, that's pretty cool. She had fun clothes. I just don't want Joan Baez circa 2009 following me.

Yes


No

A few years ago "Take On Me" by aha followed me around. I was pretty okay with it though.

a is for azaleas

It's officially spring! I love the warm weather and the sun staying out until 8pm. I like smelling flowers when I walk outside. Spring feels new and fresh. It makes me wants to take walks and take pictures.


My grandmother died when I was 7, so I don't have many memories of her. One I do have is of us walking around her neighborhood in the spring picking azaleas. The houses were big and the sidewalks were cracked. There was a plethora of azaleas in every color. Spring makes me remember my grandmother and I love it. She was wonderful.

This video is pretty.

slummy dogs. spring. sister.

Last night I saw Slumdog Millionaire and I loved it. I mean REALLY loved it. I was expecting it to be good... but I wasn't expecting to get so invested in the characters. I'm very affected by stories involving the poor and oppressed. That's multiplied when it's involving children. Also, I've been wanting to go to India since I saw Darjeeling Limited (I'm clearly super influenced by movies) and watching Slumdog made me want to go that much more.
Please enjoy this dance number.


In about an hour I will be springing forward. That really just means I will be needing extra caffeine and concealer for church tomorrow. Thank you daylight savings time.

Oh! My sister has a blog. She's cute and funny.

sing with your head up

I have a pretty bad voice... so I pretty much never sing. However, I have a list of songs I would sing if I could sing. I've decided to share a few with you today.
1. All I can do - Dolly Parton
2. With God on our side - Bob Dylan
3. Jackson - Johnny Cash
4. Sunny Days - sesame street
5. Trolly Wood - eisley
6. Give Me One More Chance - Jackson 5
7. My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
8. ghosts - Laura Marling
9. Be Thou My Vision
10. Constitution Preamble - schoolhouse rock

the world is full of beautiful things...

Sometimes I see beautiful things that just need to be shared.

That picture reminds me of this picture.

...beautiful people too.

Photos from wehearit

Atticus, you're my hero.

To kill a mockingbird is my favorite book. Atticus Finch is my hero.


He knew there was no way a black man accused of raping a white young woman would ever go free. He knew society was racist. He recognized the violence, hypocrisy, injustice, and ignorance of the world he lived in. He knew he is going to lose. But that didn't matter. He went to court and fought the fight as best he could. Not because he had to, but because it was what he believed in.

I can be apathetic when it comes to ceretain things... Especially if I know I'm going to lose. I need to be more like Atticus.

"This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience-Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man."
-Atticus Finch

indian embrace

I'm part indian (and when I say "indian" I mean native american) and I have decided to embrace my heritage. My first step was changing my wardrobe. Please notice the very authentic vest shown below.

I also have several pairs of moccasins and indian headbands. I'm also an expert at war paint. My next step was learning a rain dance which clearly worked Saturday night. Your welcome.

Now, to make this real, I'm gonna have to move into a tee pee. Don't worry, I've done this before. I watch survivorman so I'm pretty sure I can make it. Okay... I might start with a tent.


Last but not least, according to this photo I will also have to learn to play the banjo. Score!

Photo credits go to weheartit.