favorite photos from february.

celebration

I really like concerts.  I like all of the crazy lights and the fact that you can sing at the top of your lungs and not even the person standing right next to you can hear how awful you sound.

Tonight I went to see Chris Tomlin perform at a church in Des Moines.  It was funny because when I saw him, he was not at all what I was expecting.  It's funny to me how we picture people a certain way even though we may not know them at all.  But anyways, Chris was really great and sounded awesome live.

Louie Giglio is the speaker that is traveling on this tour with Chris, and he was fabulous too.  Thanks to Sarah for suggesting I write down his quotes.  Here's some of my faves:

"All I want to do is be a light.  Be a light of God on this world."

"We have the fingerprints of God on every part of our being."

"Humanity has a theme.  When we see something we consider has great worth, we celebrate.  (He proceeded to show pictures of sports teams and such, then he shows Jesus.)  I'm wondering why I yelled more for them, than I do for Him."
This one was my favorite.  It made me realize that I don't really celebrate God, but I cheer and yell and scream at sporting events or when I manage to score tickets to a Taylor Swift concert or when I make it to the top of a rock climbing wall.  This isn't right.  I think I've always known that, but nobody has ever forced me to think about it before.  This keeps happening in my life.  In my religion class, my professor has been forcing us to try and really think about what we're reading and talk and argue in class.  At first I thought it was really annoying, but after this realization, I'm thinking that maybe she's right.  I will never be able to define who I am if I simply accept whatever someone else says as true.  I need to really do some thinking and figure out what I think instead of just restating what other people think.  I'm working on it.

jealousy

Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value.  Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point - that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you.  There is only one alternative - self-value.  If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved.  You will always think it's a mistake or luck.  Take your eyes off others and turn the scanner within.  Find the seeds of your jealousy, clear the old voices and experiences.  Put all the energy into building your personal and emotional security.  Then you will be the one others envy, and you can remember the pain and reach out to them.  ~Jennifer James

Jealousy is hard to deal with.  Jealousy comes so easily to people.  Jealousy rules the world.  
People are always so jealous.  Jealous of other people's belongings, relationships, experiences, friends, hair, family, and so much more.  I have always thought that jealousy was a difficult thing to overcome, and to be honest, I still don't know how to get past it.  However, I think this quote is getting at it.  You have to value yourself and love yourself and be happy with where you are.  


This is what I'm striving for... again:
"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." -Phil. 4:11-13

"I do my ballet stretches every morning like a giddy kid and I love it."

This is Natalie.

This picture is over a year old, but I really like it.

Natalie is really one of the only people I'm still friends with from high school and that I regularly talk to.  We've been friends since grade school, were in the same Girl Scouts troop, sat next to each other in band in middle school, played tennis together in high school, and made cupcakes instead of going to prom.

I got to chat with her earlier this afternoon on Facebook and over texting, neither of which I'm really a fan of as far as friendship communication goes, but we both really do not like talking on the phone, so anything else works for us.  We talked about decisions, husbands, dance classes, friends, and being 26 and 9 at the same time.

Recently, I've been analyzing my friendships (I'm strange, I know), and today I realized why Natalie and I are friends: we're both very mature for our age, but, at the same time, have the hearts of nine-year-olds; we can talk about almost anything, and our friendship has never seen drama, which is something I can't say about most of my other high school friendships; and we love each other and are happy when the other's happy and there when not everything is going right.  I'm thankful for this.

Church Search: Lutheran Church of Hope

So this morning Yvette and I went to church with Emily at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines.  Emily had talked about her church before and it was on my list to try out, so the three of us went together.  I've always been semi-skeptical about the mega churches that have cafes and gift shops in them.  However, I had heard so much about Hope from Emily, as well as people I've met here through Young Life, and they all had nothing but great things to say about Hope.  And after attending, I feel exactly the same.  I really loved it.  The worship center is huge, and there are so many people, but I think the kind of church I need right now in my life is one like Hope.  I liked the modern songs, the pastor, the fact that YouTube videos were incorporated into the sermon, the real and relaxed atmosphere, and the fact that I could feel God there.
I'm going back.  It's decided.

"friendship isn't a big thing, it's a million little things."

Friendships are difficult.  They take a lot of time and effort and love and care and time.

Tonight I got to spend a lot of time with my friend Yvette.  We went to dinner together, and ended up sitting and talking for over two hours.  I really liked that.  We got to stop and take a break from homework and the stress of being "pre-pharmacy kids" and just sit and talk and relax like normal people.  This kind of time is so rare for us, so I'm so thankful for it.  After dinner, we had a super-fun Saturday night complete with 4 loads of laundry, countless homework assignments, chips and salsa, laughs, and chats.  Now we get to have a sleepover like we're seven years old again.

I like our friendship because we can be so honest with each other.  It is so easy for me to talk to her about whatever is going on from homework to friends to careers to life in general.  We didn't really do anything big or fabulous tonight, but by simply doing little things together and spending our time with one another, it was great.

I really want relationships to be a main focus in my life, and I feel like they are especially important right now in my life.  I want to work hard and devote time to strengthening my relationships and making new relationships.  I don't want to forget about friends or put them on the back burner even if I have hours of homework to do.  I want to be proud of my friends and my friendships.  I want them to be part of my life definition.

(I've been really bad about taking pictures lately, but this is Yvette and me during recruitment this year.)

beauty.

"Being beautiful is more than how many boys you can get to look at you, or how much makeup you can wear. It's about what you live for. It's about what defines you. It's about the heart that you have and what makes you special. It's about those little quirks that make you, you. It's about knowing that you are a creation of God, created in His image. It's about shining for Him, no matter what else is going on around you. It's about going against the flow, and living out what you honestly think. And that is a beautiful thing."

I wish every girl could hear this.  And believe it.  One of the things that really bothers me is walking by a group of middle school girls who are decked out in Hollister and Abercrombie, carrying their Coach purses, with more make-up on than I have ever worn in my entire life.

I hate to see girls this young pull out their Too Cool Card and miss out on being young.  I wish I could tell them to enjoy being young.  Especially since all I want to do is be that young again.  I don't want them to miss out on everything that is so great about childhood.  They just don't even realize that everyone older just wants to be younger.  I think it's actually kind of funny how nobody is happy with their age.  It seems like all kids do is wish to be older, and all adults just want to be young again.

I'm really excited to be a counselor this summer and have the opportunity to model for younger girls that boys, clothes, and make-up don't make you who you are.  God loves you just as you are, and I want girls to be able to see that.  No matter what age group I work with, I hope to help my girls realize this quote is true, that God loves them without make-up on, that I love them no matter what they wear, and that they are all beautiful.