Hosea: a love story.

We just started a new series at church on the book 

of Hosea. I'm excited for it, mainly because I've 

not studied this book, & partly because the idea of

redemptive love is something I would love to understand better. 

Here are parts 1 & 2 in video form. These videos are great because:

a. They're filmed well 

b. They tell a story with no dialogue

c. They depict a biblical story in a modern way, without being [too] cheesy

d. all of the above.

Settled.

 Something unsettling inside me seems to appear this time of year.

I get antsy for newness, just when the dust begins to settle from whatever change I just experienced. The new year is not only here, but is moving ever so
quickly, as all years seem to do.
I'm settled back into Nashville.
I am just weeks away from this semester's half-way mark.
All I can think of is "what's next?" 

It gets exhausting living in those two words.
Weeks like the one I just had & the one before me don't allow
for me to look that far ahead. In fact, sometimes it seems like
I am unable to settle into a single hour of each day-I just pass through
each one without a notice of what those moments offer me.

This is what I need to hear today:

[I'm letting that settle in my heart today.]

Read this: Tesla, sexuality, & Wes Anderson

There is a short list of things I love that I

 hope I never come to change my mind about. One of those is learning.

While I've wondered lately why I chose to stay in school, &

threaten to drop out frequently on the verge of a mental breakdown, 

I find myself in moments of clarity remembering that I love to learn.

I have always been this way, & I hope things don't soon change. 

The more I learn, the more I realize I have yet to learn. 

While this overwhelms me at times, it mostly excites me, 

& if I could, I would become an expert on an ever-growing list of topics

ranging from Nikola Tesla to minimalist movie directors & the inspirations 

behind their films. 

But unfortunately for me, I can't.  

At least not while I'm in school. So until then, I get my fix

of trivia, fun facts, & new information from the brilliance of others

who do have the time [& the talent] to report on such things. Here

are a few of my favorite recent blog readings: 

Nikola Tesla. You might not have heard of him, but chances

are you've heard of Thomas Edison. This will blow your mind. 

I love all things Prodigal Magazine. This article on current perceptions

of sexuality is excellently done. After working as a campus director here in undergrad, 

I have a special place in my heart for this topic, particularly as it relates to my generation.

Wes Anderson. I love the way this article was written almost

as much as I love Wes Anderson's films. [& that's saying a lot.]

This week in pictures [2]

I noticed an interesting trend following last week's 

post about selecting of my top picture texts of the week: 

I received approximately twice as many picture texts in these past 7 days. 

Coincidence? Probably not. Friends unashamedly wanting their picture featured?

Probably. The influx of pictures this week left the task of choosing four

nearly impossible. So, this week- & this week alone- I chose 6. 

Next week, the competition for top four is back in business.

January 29- February 5

Clockwise from top left: 

1. CSU's intramural field. I miss everything about this picture.

2. My friend Sarah & I at our friends' "Death of our 20's" party. 

3 cheers for only being 23. 

3. Stencils made by [this guy] that will make their way onto a shirt soon. 

Creative people like this would make me mad if they weren't so cool. 

4. Training for this race.  [this girl] snapped this

creepy pic during our run. Her bravery earned her a win this week.

5 & 6. Let's make one thing clear: I have no human nieces or nephews. 

Either Bella [my niece-dog]or Luna [my niece-cat] will make the cut every week. 

Happy Tuesday!

Thoughts on mattress shopping

The moments when I have my deepest, most contemplative

thoughts always seem to hit me in unexpected places. I've had epiphanies

in grocery stores before that appear so swiftly that I lose track 

of what I'm doing & walk out without a single item. Twice, I've

frantically pulled my car over to scribble a thought onto

whatever I could find because I didn't want to risk losing it on the drive home.

My most recent moment like this happened in an empty mattress

store this weekend as I helped my roommate look for a new bed. 

In the middle of a conversation with the sweet saleswoman who

was helping us, I sat on a pillow-top, out-of-our-price-range, mattress

& thought, 

"Your life probably isn't going to happen the way you're planning it to." 

All of a sudden, I couldn't shake the feeling that I 

had control over nothing more than what I did in that very moment. 

I felt powerless & slightly un-hopeful. But the idea consumed me. 

For anyone who knows me, I am fairly stubborn. I want to set goals & achieve them.

I want to work hard enough for whatever it is that I want to get to. It was

sobering in that moment to realize that while I can do my best to put myself

in a position to get where I want to go, I am ultimately at the mercy of each 

moment. I hate to not be in control, & while I have pondered what surrender

looks like, I don't think it clicked until that moment that I am designed for now.

I came home & read this: 

"You can find me only in the present. Each day is a precious gift from

my Father. How ridiculous to grasp for future gifts when today's is set before you!

Receive today's gift gratefully, unwrapping it tenderly & delving into its depths."

-Jesus Calling

I needed that. I'm thankful for moments like that in empty

mattress stores. 

What I'm listening to.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be concerned about my

apathy about certain things. Its the Super Bowl today

& all I can think about is how excited I am that coffee shops

are probably super empty so I can get homework done 

without a crowd. I had the thought this morning that maybe 

I should care about football more, but then I realized that I 

have enough obsessions, & it's probably a good thing that sports

are not one of them. With that said, music is one of my obsessions, 

& I have been listening to lots of good stuff lately that is all new to me. 

Enjoy. 

This week in pictures

I've been sick again. [shocking.] I realized

a couple weeks ago that I receive a lot of picture message via text. 

I thought it would be fun to keep a collected of my favorite

ones. This week's theme? 

Mountain life & puppies. 

Not sure if there is anything better in the world than those 2 things. 

Clockwise from top left.

1. My favorite niece-dog, Bellatrix. Her ears kill me. [Harry Potter namesake ftw!]

2. My backyard, sent from Dad. Luckily, I get one of these almost every day. 

3. My favorite stuffed animal look-alike Tomalo.

4. A herd of deer hanging out near our house. I think this one was

sent to rub in the warm CO weather. 

Happy Tuesday. 

What it looks like to trust

I've been wanting to write for a few days now, 

but I've struggled to wrangle my thoughts into something

that follows a cohesive path. Since the start of school a few weeks ago, 

it seems I've struggled to do anything in an orderly fashion. For some reason,
this week has made me painfully aware of my introversion & deep need
to be alone & reflective. As I sat down tonight to grab a few silent minutes
 before starting a 14-hour-day tomorrow, I was delighted
to read the perfect encouragement for a night when I find it hard
to trust that all this busyness has a purpose:

"If you believe that I am sovereign over every aspect of your life,
it is possible to trust me in all situations. Don't waste energy regretting
the way things are or thinking about what might have been. Start at the present
moment-accepting things exactly as they are- and
search for my way in the midst of those circumstances."-Jesus Calling

Tonight, trusting Him looks just like that. Accepting things the way
they are [as disjointed & busy as they may be] & looking for Him there.
I can do that.

New Day

It's been dreary and rainy here for a week now. 

I know this is normal for parts of the world, but my

sunshine-loving Colorado soul is missing the 300+ days

of sunshine we get yearly back at home. My first thought upon

waking this morning was, 

"I think I've forgotten what the sun looks like."

I immediately realized that this was a rather melodramatic

thought. But this whole internal conversation got me thinking about 

how momentary-minded I am as a person. 

When I'm sick, it's all I know. 

When I'm stressed, I can't remember peace.

When it rains, I forget the sun. 

By midday, the sun had dissolved the clouds & everything seemed new.
I even got a short bike ride in, which I've been itching for lately. Suddenly it felt
like I hadn't just spent the last several days wishing for the sun to shine-once it came,
it was all that mattered. I've talked about it before here, but I've been thinking
a lot lately about how quickly our perspectives, emotions, & perceptions change.
I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, or even if I need to decide one way
or the other. But I do know that I am thankful for the newness that comes
with each new day. 

To see in 2013

I'm only halfway through my second week

of spring semester & I'm already finding my productivity

at a new low & my media consumption at an equal high. 

If I could get paid for the hours I spend listening to music, 

watching movies & researching what is coming out in either of those 

topics, I would not be in school for OT. Anyone who knows me

well, knows I love movies. I've spent an embarrassing amount of time

making a list of old movies I want to see this year. I should probably be

preparing for my day of class tomorrow, but instead, I'm 

going to make a list of my most anticipated movies coming out in 2013: 

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

 [duh. Part 1 of this movie was honestly one of the best movies I've ever seen.]

2. Mama. 

[Yes, I will have nightmares for days. But my love for Guillermo Del Toro is unending.]

3. After Earth 

[I am1 of 5 remaining M. Night Shyamalan fans. & I lose all my credibility as a movie critic when I say I'm excited about this. But it's got Will AND Jaden Smith. 

4. Don Jon's Addiction

[My love for Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also unending.]

5. The Lone Ranger

[Johnny Depp. love.]

6. Untitled Terrence Malick Project

[Music. Austin, TX. Christian Bale.]

7. Gangster Squad

[Because who doesn't love gangsters?]

It's also a good year for books made into movies: 

8. Ender's Game

9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

10. World War Z 

[haters gonna hate]