THINGS I LIKE : 01

This week has been a pretty relaxing one. I had the week off work, so I got in a lot of much-needed alone time (and managed to be somewhat productive in the process). I'm trying to enjoy these few weeks between the end of classes and the start of the fall semester. Although I'm not taking any classes, I will be working on my thesis + wedding planning + renovating a house (more on that soon!). It's about to get crazy again!

Here are a few links and things I've been liking this week. I hope you enjoy them, too!

Have a happy weekend!

- DIY constellation coasters by Almost Makes Perfect. These are currently at the top of my DIY list. Stars and constellations are some of my favorite things, and they need to be in my house.

- The Civil Wars new album. So great! Current favorite tracks: "From This Valley," "Eavesdrop," "Devil's Backbone," and "The One That Got Away." (This week only, it's on sale for $7.99 on Amazon!)

- And in And bracelet from ModCloth. Because it's a bracelet with an ampersand and why not?!

- iPhone Challenge by The Small Change Project. My own personal "rules" I'm trying to live by may be slightly different, but this just furthers what I talked about earlier this week.

- Your Life is More Epic Than You Think. I love this article from Relevant. "The ordinary life we wake up to every day is full of its own magic, beauty, wonder, and meaning; we just choose to ignore it most of the time." YES!

- The Day I Stopped Saying "Hurry Up." This article from The Huffington Post is one more good reminder of the value of stopping and enjoying life in the moment instead of always racing to the next.

- Meet the Racists! A great post on A Deeper Story from a couple of weeks ago. I don't agree with her on every point, but her underlying point--how racism and the like really all come down to the basic sin of pride--is excellent. (A Deeper Story is one of my favorite blogs because it is such a honest, varied look at life and faith. I don't always agree, but that's part of why I love it.)

Some of my favorite pins this week...

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TAKE A BREAK

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed over the past couple of weeks. It's just that time of the semester, I guess. Luckily, spring break starts at 11:50am today. I'm still stuck in Cleveland (yay, work), but hey, it's a break--I'll take it. Honestly, I'm just ready to be done with school. As much as I love learning, I'm ready to move on to new things. I know, I know--I'll miss it so much when it's over, but I'm ready to start a new adventure and focus on other things.

I want to have more time to:

Write more.
Blog more.
Take more pictures.
Go hiking.
Read.
Go on adventures.
Plan my wedding!
Make things.
Be creative.

I want to have time to just be.

I have a few things that have to get done this week, but I'm hoping I can manage to work in a little me time, too (...that doesn't somehow get eaten up by internet or TV or any other mindless activities. Technology is such a time suck).

A few pictures and pins I'm liking (and that just so happen to describe exactly what I'm wanting):

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight

Top photo credit: one / two (lettering by me)

THINGS I LIKE : MUSIC EDITION

Currently thankful for: Sun shining through the clouds on an otherwise cold, rainy day; being productive; inside jokes; listening to the random conversations that occur on third floor Humanities; unexpected opportunities

Finals week: time for more procrastination! Yay! I only have one more to go, but I am so unmotivated, like I can't even begin to say. Hence the reason I'm writing this. I'm pretty sure you all know by this point that I like music...a lot. It's pretty much impossible for me to pick all-time favorites, but I figured I'd share some stuff that I've been liking lately (I've may have mentioned some of them before, so sorry in advance for any repeats!). So, in no particular order...


1. Matthew Mayfield

"Sing 'til you mean it and love 'til you feel it
'Cause I still believe in your heart
Don't let the waves push and pull you away
Now you're free and it sets you apart."
- Matthew Mayfield, "Now You're Free"

 I love those lyrics! Ever since I got his Now You're Free album off of NoiseTrade (best site ever!), I've been a pretty big fan. I like his sound a lot, and the lyrics are pretty great, too!

2. The Walla Recovery
They're not very well-known, but I've really been liking their folksy, cello-driven sound lately (but really, when don't I like folk music? Especially when it includes an instrument like a cello? Yes, please!). Their songs have a lot of great spiritual themes without being cliche about it. Their song "Spoils of Warring Hearts" is excellent.

3. Andrew Belle
I love his music so much! It's a perfect balance between happy and contemplative...at least that's how I feel about it. He has so many good ones, but this song is one of my absolute favorites:

I'll admit, I don't completely get the video...but it's still kind of cool (and I still love the song).

4. Hymns in general
I know this is kind of odd, but I have been absolutely loving old hymns this semester. "Be Thou My Vision" has pretty much been my theme song since like, September, and I still sing it all the time. Others include (but are not limited to): "In Christ Alone"*, "How Firm a Foundation," "Solid Rock," and "Jesus Paid It All."

So. Freaking. Good.

5. Mat Kearney
This guy is just awesome. His Young Love album is amazing. It's so upbeat and happy and I just can't help but love it! I'm actually going to see him in concert with some friends next month, and I am super excited about it. A few of many favorite songs of his: "Ships in the Night," "Down," "Count on Me," and "All I Need" (from Nothing Left to Lose).

That's all I have for now. After tomorrow, I am free until January!(!!!!) Half of senior year: DONE. Scary thought!

*If I could choose one song to be my absolute all-time favorite, "In Christ Alone" would probably be it. For me, it says it all.

WAITING, ALWAYS WAITING

Wait. That's the only thing I seem to hear lately. It's probably one of the most frustrating answers to get: a mix between hope for a yes and the reality that the answer may still be no.

I hate uncertainty.

It doesn't help things that I'm the kind of person who loves figuring things out. I love finding the connections between things (and, oh, the connections I find!). Basically, I tend to be a big picture kind of girl when it comes to stuff like this. I'll try to wrap my mind around the entire thing when God just wants me to focus on the detail work that it takes to actually get there. I see so many of these big connections, yet in the context of where God has me right now? Those things don't matter. Just because something is there doesn't mean it's relevant at the moment.*

Psalm 27 has come up so many times over the past month or so. Seriously, it's been everywhere! The verses that have stood out the most:

“My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!' Your face, LORD, I will seek.” - Psalm 27:8 (NIV)

and

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” - Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

Both line up exactly with what I feel like God's telling me lately: “Wait. Be hopeful. Be content with now. Don't worry about what happens next; just focus on Me. Just wait.”

That's hard for me. I struggle with being present. I'm great at looking back--I can analyze the past like nothing else (which I do...often). I'm also good at looking ahead--predicting the future seems to be a favorite pastime of mine (but one I'm really, really bad at). But focusing on right now? Not my thing. Yet I know that it's exactly what I have to do. There's a reason He hasn't answered yet. I have to go through the process of now to get to the end result...whatever that may be.

Ultimately, the wait is exactly what solidifies everything I've been learning up until now. All the lessons in faith, hope, trust, etc.--they're so important, and they're in my heart, but at the same time, if the process ended here? I'm pretty sure I'd lose it all within a month or two. Waiting can be really dull because the excitement of learning so many new things isn't there, but I'm starting to think that it's the most important part of all.

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” - James 1:4 (NIV)

Some things I'm liking lately:

• These birds-on-a-wire photo clips are wonderful. $10 for a set of 8 is a little on the pricey side for me, but I'm almost thinking it's worth it.
• Pretty silver leaf necklace from Morgan Prather on Etsy. Simple, nature-y...of course I like it.
• This ampersand print. (Actually, anything with an ampersand is probably something I like... That's probably kind of cliche. Oh well.)
• Pallet art. This is one of my favorite hymns, and I absolutely love this particular lyric. So good.

*That being said, it's definitely relevant in the long run. Sometimes, though, it does more harm than good to focus on the end result. If I'm so caught up in where I'm ultimately supposed to be, I lose my focus on the task at hand, and right now is necessary in getting to where I need to be. It's all a process--it can't happen all at once.

FRIENDS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

Photo Credit: Johan Lind

I've made a new friend this semester.

His name is Roy, he's 83 years old, and he's one of the sweetest men you will ever meet. Also, he really, really likes soccer.

I first noticed him at the very beginning of this semester. He was sitting by himself on a bench by the soccer field, as he does nearly every single day, and I had such a strong urge to go and talk to him. That doesn't happen to me all that often, and as soon as the thought came, along with it came a million excuses for why I shouldn't.

"I don't know him."
"What would I even say?"
"That's kind of an awkward thing to do."
"I'm not all that great at initiating conversations with people I don't know."
"I've never been good at talking to elderly people."

Blah, blah, blah.

Still, the silly excuses won out, so I smiled (I can do that) and kept walking...and felt really lame about it afterwards.

A couple of weeks later, I had to drop off something before my 3:00 class, so I left 10 minutes earlier than usual. He was sitting there again, and I had to walk right by his bench on my way. I smiled at him, and he gave me a huge smile in return, along with, "Hey! How are you doing?" Well, there was no way I was going to keep walking then, so I went over to him and we chatted for a couple of minutes. He told me all about the soccer game from the night before, and about how great the team was doing, and how much he loved the nice weather. Eventually, I had to continue on to class, but just those few minutes brightened my whole day. Since then, I always try to stop and talk to him when I see him, even if it's only for a second.

So anyway, today has been really rough for me. Overall, I'm doing okay, but there are just those days, you know? After classes, I was feeling really lame, so I just went home and poured a bowl of cereal for lunch (my cabinets are empty--definitely time for a trip to the grocery store!). I took a bite and immediately gagged. Nothing like a spoonful of spoiled milk. Ugh. Off to the PCSU for Chick-fil-A it was. On my way over, I saw Mr. Roy sitting on his bench again. Honestly, I didn't feel like stopping to talk, and was going to settle for a quick wave and a smile and be on my way. Just as I was about to cross the street, though, I couldn't. All I could think was, It's just a minute of small talk. Why pass up the chance to brighten someone else's day, just because I don't feel so awesome? So I made a quick turn and went over to say hi. We chatted for a second, he asked how I was, and I told him I was heading to get lunch. He paused for a second, then asked, "Well, where are you going for lunch?" I told him. Another pause. Then, "Well, can I come with you? Maybe we can sit and eat together!"* Obviously, I wasn't going to pass that up, so off we went to the PCSU. I bought his lunch, so he insisted on buying me a Coke, and we went and sat outside to eat.

It wasn't much, and honestly it was a little awkward at times when I didn't know what to say, but at the same time, it made my day so much better. I was hoping to give what I could to brighten his day a little, but I'm pretty sure he did a million times more for me than I did for him! He even asked me to come sit and watch the soccer game with him on Saturday :) It's just another one of those little things that come from the most unexpected places. Those are always the best.

Until next time (a slightly more serious list of things I like)...

• MacBook Pro. My computer decided to randomly die over fall break, so I decided it was time to make the switch. I am so glad--I love it.
• Psalm 33:20: "We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield." (NIV)**
• SCL: Why I Hate Surrender. I love Jon Acuff and I love Stuff Christians Like. This is one of his serious posts, but it's a good one.
• A Holy Experience: Why It's Worth It to Keep on Hoping. This is from the same blog that this post came from, and it affected me in the exact same way.*** Absolute perfect timing.
• "Jesus Paid It All." This song says everything.

*This was so precious to me. He was so sweet and eager and excited about it. I love it.
**Actually, I really like that whole section--verses 16-22. I can't rescue myself from any situation; I'm not strong enough...even at my strongest. Only God. Even when it seems like He's nowhere to be found, I have to trust that He's going to help me, because seriously, what other hope do I have? Without Him, I'm screwed.
***I have never been a crier, but good grief. God keeps sending me little things that are so perfect at just the right time, and they hit me so hard. I can't help myself!