Harry Potter...

so here's the thing- i love books! we're talking obsessively and in an all consuming sort of way. i have a test you must take if you'd like to borrow my books and i form weird, emotional, and dysfunctional relationships with my books. i know, i know i need a life. but books have always been my escape. they don't let you down. from the first page they transport you out of whatever's going on in your life and let you live something else. through books i have crossed a river with huck finn and found true love with mr. darcy. as a reader i have solved crimes with sherlock holmes and fought in vietnam with tim o'brien. books are safe. they have taught me and been good friends.

so now the reason for this rant. i recently finished harry potter 7. ok by "recently" i mean i finished it the day i got it. couldn't wait. it was everything i wanted it to be and more. j.k. rowling is such an amazing author. the way she weaved in classic lit with her fresh story was a delight to look for. her dialouge is witty and sharp. she truly is one of the great writers of our time. she inspired me. i want to be more regular with my writing. who knows i may have the next harry potter?

Flight of Delight

Ok this is one of my favorite new shows. Everyone tune into HBO and laugh till your sides hurt!

Hmmm....

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan, You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79% Emergent/Postmodern 71% Charismatic/Pentecostal 61% Roman Catholic 54% Neo orthodox 50% Fundamentalist 43% Classical Liberal 36% Reformed Evangelical 29% Modern Liberal 21% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Summer So Far,,,

well, i have been offically home for only a few weeks so far, but it feels like a century. I have already taken my CBEST, gone to south carolina to visit my lala, been on ACTS tour, been working, and done VBC. the summer has barely started but i have been going 90 miles an hour. even though it's been insane i am already seeing how God is preparing me for next year. This summer is going to be full of surprises and i'm sure a few prat falls. so enjoy some pictures of what i've been up to. i promise to keep posting.

the golden year...

well i am offically done with another year of school in about 6 days. that is crazy. the thing is for the first time here at SPU i really don't want the year to end. this was my golden year. i had an amazing group of friends around me and i had fun. we had once a week family dinners, prank wars, weekly lost parties, holiday events, and most importantly we counted on each other.

i love my roomates. i love how smart and funny they are. i know that they are trustworthy, i know that i live with girls that God has blessed. each one is an incredible reminder that we are all special and beautiful. i don't think i could go on next year without them... so thank God i don't have to!

the other reason this was a golden year was becasue of the guy's house. these boys made me laugh until my stomach hurt. oh it was so much fun to have people that reminded me of home. tim, matt, jon, jake, and joel were just the icing on the cake. they are truly people i know i will always be friends with. i love you boys!

so i guess i have to wait and see what next year is going to look like. hopefully it will be as awesome as this one was... but i don't know. big shoes to fill and all that.

12 Gauge Panache - Remember When Me and Oliver

here is a video of my favorite band. this was an extremely rare occurance where they agreed to play for just a small intimate group. i was lucky enough to be invited!

For Rocks?

This weekend I watched a movie titled: Blood Diamond. Maybe you saw it, maybe you picked it up at Blockbuster because you heard that it was the action film of the year or perhaps you're a fan of Leonardo Dicaprio. Those are a few reasons I rented it. But I found that when I watched it I discovered more than a movie. That little piece of cinema changed a lot for me. I watched as children were handed guns and told to use them. I watched as men had their hand cut off and women were raped. Why? For some shiny rocks- for diamonds.

It brought up a lot of questions for me. Why do we continue to hate and kill? What causes us to completely ignore compassion and instead turn out attention to destruction? There is a quote from the movie that has stuck with me. It has been churning around and around in my head all weekend: Sometimes I wonder... will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize... God left this place a long time ago. Is it true? Has God left Africa?

No I think not. I think that God is there. But it is hard to find him. It sure feels as if He has turned his head. I think that the best possible thing I can say about that is I don't know the "why's." I have asked, pleaded, screamed at God and I have no answers. But this I know: I know that He loves these children. I know that He cares about what happens to Africa and I know that I have to do something. I cannot sit at home and pretend that everything is fine. Everything is not fine. But there is hope and I must cling to that. There are children who have been made to do horrible things, they have seen awful things, but they are still children and I can see no other purpose in my life than to love them. I want nothing but to love them. My hope is that I will soon figure out a practical place to put that love.