Summer Plans

My so-called summer "to-do" list:

1) girl trip to Virginia to see cousins

2) D.C. visit as well

3) dye a streak of my hair hot pink

4) make a few trips down to the beach

5) my BIRTHDAY! planning and celebrating and the likes

6) be a counselor at camp of champions

7) play frisbee or softball or volleyball at least twice a week

8) picnics

9) experiment some more with tie dying

10) apply to YWAM

11) write and send out newsletter

12) hopefully visit family in Nashville again

13) be a counselor at Ikthoos Camp

14) finish at least the fourth season of Buffy

15) talk G.C. into getting me a great dane for my birthday

16) make lots of artsy crafty doodads

17) go swimming and enjoy it. . .water--yuck

18) wrap up small groups :(

19) cook in more and eat out less

20) go to the zoo

21) ride the Bruce more

22) spend more time with the fam

23) soak up every moment of the last summer i will have with all of my friends in the same town

This could possibly be the most bitter-sweet of summers i will ever experience but God is good and all He does is out of love. So, i'm hoping and looking forward to a terrific summer and i hope that you are as well because summer is AWESOME. Exactly.

~me

Lovely

Heck yes -- Monday:
early to rise -- it's hard
studying at the Bagel
work was boring -- minus the one regular couple
i think i did productive things later
...i can never remember mondays

Tuesday:
classes
freak out about quiz in SF ...no quiz (thank you!)
meeting with SF professor -- i may or may not have said something stupid
free day in psychology = sweet
the bakery is my new favorite place to be
studystudystudy
misunderstandings are dumb
Dooeys -- ridiculous and awesome convos
frozen yogurt has a special place in my heart
...ran into psych prof. -- we hang out at the same places. ha
CATAN -- camels. that's right.

Wednesday:
work -- i love the regulars, they just make me happy.
dentist evaluation -- wisdom teeth come out May 2nd!
...also, i'm NOT going under. woah
index cards
government is important yet boring.
Bible study prep. :)

Thursday:
no coffee
classes -- dear 6:45am, i do not love you... -me
cramstudycramstudy
band-aid conversations
govt. test
major headache onslaught
bible study -- longer than usual but good [<3]
biology homework -- fell asleep on the couch

Friday:
wake up early to work on that bio homework
rain -- why is it raining? whhhhhhyyy.
rode to class with G.C.
walked to class in the rain -- gave up on staying the least bit dry
sat in bakery to read war of the worlds...
tornado sirens -- very chill dudes: "that's just a firetruck...yea."
led to the tunnels under campus -- i love the tunnels
escaping and coaxing G.C. to escape too and meet me
plan worked
McCool Hall -- the laughing people, we loved them
City Bagel [<3 <3]
B. sat with us -- nice chat, new news
nap FTW!
work
taxes online
fell asleep on couch again

Saturday:
prayer walk
bagel cafe
work -- tips are so nice
buffy the vampire slayer -- Sid
K. is cute when it gets scary
cookie craving = satisfied
fell asleep on the floor...
also, i'm OK with this:

Sunday:
slept later than usual
yayayay
still managed to be late
*sigh*
guest speaker. . .
testing
lunch with the kids -- i love us :)
i also love olives
waitress lady recognized me from work -- we chatted about frustrating and confused customers. i think we bonded. it was awesome.
paper writing
i am going to make it. . . .i think
school, end soon please...kthanks

~me

Learning

Sometimes God says "wait" and i don't know why. I am ok with that though. HE knows what HE's doing, there's a purpose in it all, i don't have to sit around wondering what, why, when, or how. I just wait because i know HE is still moving.

Week 50

I'm sipping coffee in my new fuzzy socks and it is delightful.

My bible study for this semester rounded up on Thursday. My friend and i dressed as nuns. Praise habit -- habit of praise. Nuns. It was more than incredible. It always fascinates me that HE knows what needs to be spoken, to whom, through whom and when. I mean, HE is God, so it makes sense, it just never fails to amaze me.

Isaiah 61:1 -- "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners."

Isaiah 58:11-12 -- "The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings."



School is wrapping up and the town is feeling more and more vacant by the day. It's kind of nice actually...just quieter than what i'm used to?
I want to go skiing. Re-e-e-a-a-lly badly. Will you take me? I'll let you borrow my fuzzy socks....! Kthanks.

~Me

Everybody Wants To Be An Asian....

Long past week and a half. Life is lovely, not always, but on the grand scale it is so. I am always amazed how there always happens to be a rainbow after the storm...you sometimes just have to look for it.

So, I didn't understand why God had asked me to stay here all those months ago instead of going to serve in Belgium, but now i do. I didn't think at the time that i would ever say this, but i am SO GLAD God told me to stay here this semester. I love my bible study girls. I love teaching them, i love hearing their stories, questions and insights. I love being a part of what HE is doing in their lives. I love what HE is teaching me about HIM (and myself) through leading this study. I am in complete awe of HIS wisdom and grace. I may have said this before, but can i do this until the day i die, please?

I had another person this week tell me i looked like an Asian. I'm starting to wonder if the entire world is going blind. Or maybe my parents just haven't told me something? Doubtful. For dinner G.C. and i made chicken soaked in wine and other tasty things. It was delicious.

I will leave you with this bit of awesomeness. My lovely friend and i made these super cool pumpkins using our vast imaginations. We decorated my living room with them for my roommate to discover later. (If you feel that you cannot take the following dorkdom, please exit now....!) Behold!


~ME

The Ramblings In My Head

So, i had a sudden burst of i-want-to-make-crafty-things this week. It involved buttons and some help from my roommate. Some friends of mine had been talking about doing a craft night and buttons were thrown into the mix of possibilities. So i went scouring the internets to see what kind of crafty button ideas i could find and came across quite a few. One of which i loved and decided to test out. It's a button bouquet, which i found here.
I looked for a salt shaker to put mine in as well, but we had an empty vase sitting on our shelf which i thought would add a some color to the ensemble of vases & bottles. Assembling it all didn't take too long, plus i had the help of my roommate, YAY! Here is our finished product... TA-DA!! Note the cute little girl that G.C. made...!

In other news... ok, well maybe it's not news, just more of the ramblings in Josie's head sort of stuff. So last week I went to the palmer home with G.C. and found wonderful things. I love vintage clothes, especially when they fit and are SO adorable. I also found a really cute old ceramic mug, its faded white on the outside and yellow on the inside. Love it.

We had bible study last night for the high school girls. One showed up. I was content with that. I like to see the way HE moves and speaks even among such a small crowd of people. If you're there and you're searching HE will be found. But it's the searching that is required and often so overlooked. We cannot always expect HIM to come to us, we have to meet HIM halfway. The journey and the discovery -- it's what makes my heart glad.

The "J-Birds" as my grandmother likes to call us grandkids, all went out to my parent's house for labor day supper. I LOVE IT WHEN MY MOTHER COOKS, OH MY GOSH! That had to be one of the 10 worst things about moving out...that and dad's banana pancakes -- MmMmMm! Anyway, we had supper and then competition arose over who was better at N64 Bond. I won't give any clues to who dominated or who was better, but fun was had by all...oh yes.

College football season has begun yet again. MSU is crazier than ever and the fans are still just as die-hard, even though you'd think they know better by now. Perhaps it's for the better that they have some good 'ol team spirit still, maybe it's the liberty they have to bring those cowbells back into the stadium that makes it more lively and exciting. Who knows. I got to go to the first game, which we actually won -- woot! I will leave you with these pictures and the piece of information that i am wearing fleece pj pants and a hoodie in September in MS, yes i am kind of hot. Don't judge... i love you too.



~ME

Ze Coffee Iz Good

Feeling the need to update my blog, but i may or may not have anything interesting to say. I'm good at rambling, i know that. So, let's go.

It's been a good week. School on Monday, traffic was insane. Passed a wreck on the way to school. My Western Civ. teacher has a gorgeous voice but he is a bit of a rambler, but maybe that will change as he gets the hang of things. He is new. Also having a class with Delo = supreme delight. Makes me not think about my hunger pains at lunchtime so much because i have someone to chat with. Also because we compete on pop quizzes and bet food. She is bringing me goldfish next class period. ;)

Bible study was on Thursday. Woke up that morning extremely unprepared. HE came and we chatted and i felt better after that. I love it when HE shows up at bible study too. I never know what i'm saying when i'm saying it nor afterwards. It's like i blackout, but not really, which i take to mean that HE is the one doing the talking. This makes me feel SO much better. We also made snowflakes after class. Black ones. In August. Awesome. We also decorated them with glitter. They were to signify how even in our most uncertain and difficult or dark situations we are still supposed to shine and not be so consumed with our own problems. Break out of the pity-party that you've thrown for yourself so as to allow HIM to take over and shine. Plus! snowflakes are all different, just like our circumstances, lives, backgrounds, and situations. Black, glittery snowflakes FTW.

So apparently my friends and i attract cops. Or maybe not. Either way, they find us. Last night we had a surprise party for my little bro at the winery near the campus. It was dark and so we decided to play sardines. Kids + dark + hiding = way fun. However, Fancy winery building + silent alarms = cops getting called. We were all hiding, waiting for the last two people to find us when we see headlights and jokingly say it's the cops. Turns out it was fact. After the cops called all 15+ of us out of our hiding spot and explained to us the deal-eo and left the kids seemed thoroughly impressed with the party. Cops being called = best birthday party ever. It was quite hilarious.

I have City Bagel coffee and it is sooo yummy. Be jealous. My day is looking rather full. Prayer walk, breakfast, work, dinner, movie, yay. Busy is good. Thursday is my day of rest. I love Thursday dearly -- it treats me well.

~ME

Tree Hugger

So i'm pretty sure that my new favorite thing in life is my tree. This tree makes me smile and it also kind of makes me want to be a literal tree hugger. It started off as a huge pvc pipe, a cardboard box for the base and cereal boxes cut up for the main limbs. Attach it all together with paper mache and love and you have created what Saucy thought looked like a baobab tree. See Comparison:

vs.

It is not a baobab tree. It is an oak tree. Promise. Anyway, after many much sticky hands due to paper mache it was looking more and more lovely. Jason then had the fabulous idea of getting real sticks from the back yard to make the smaller limbs; GREAT idea. I had run plumb dry on thoughts about how to go about that and it turned out so amazing. It was a very tedious process, but the results were awesome. See for yourself:

So you're probably wondering why on earth i made a tree. I don't make trees usually, as a friend said "isn't it God's job to make trees?" And yes, in fact, it is HIS job. I find it funny however that i made my tree out of paper instead of making paper out of trees. Does that make it a paradox? Anyway, as I was saying, I made this tree for my high school girls bible study class, as a visual aid of sorts. We are studying the Psalms and going through David Crowder's book Praise Habit, which is a great book. Psalm 1:3 says "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." And so i had this grand idea, or perhaps HE gave it to me, to make a 3D tree to provide as a reminder. The girls worked on it last night for hours and it turned out AMAZINGLY. Behold -- the tree!!

So, to say the least i am currently very in love with trees at the moment. I want a bumper sticker that says "i love God and i love you...oh and trees too!" But maybe not really, just kind of...

Making this tree with my friends reminded me a lot of how HE shapes and forms us along this journey. We don't start out pretty and we all have different parts that make us who we are, but in the end we turn into a masterpiece if we allow HIM to work and not get in the way. Struggling against the hand of The Craftsman tends to cause more damage than good and slow the progress of creating a work of art. Also, trusting HIM through the storms is easier because you know you're rooted in HIM, because you know you will stay firm and immovable. I think HE is so awesome and i like HIM for making trees and many much more things.

So, I went to go see Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and may i say it was SO good. I was thoroughly impressed with the music, the acting and the way they pulled stories together. It was very entertaining and there was never really a dull moment. I think i may have to buy this one when it comes out. Also, I want hair like the main chicks -- except pink.

Different

I'm pretty sure this has been one of the more exciting/boring summer with many highs and just as many lows. Still trying to decide what exactly to make of it really. I had grand thoughts and wonderful ideas and brilliant plans, but only a few of those have actually come to pass. HE is bigger than my dreams, even if mine do seem rather wonderful from this viewpoint...

Well, for one thing, I never thought I would be leading a high school girls bible study this summer. It = the biggest highlight of my summer thus far! We're going through David Crowder's book Praise Habit and it is remarkable. I've read it 5 times before, but actually taking it and breaking it down even further and connecting it back to other stories in the bible and discussing it with these wonderful girls has made it so much more enjoyable this sixth time around. Tomorrow night for bible study we're doing Psalm 40 & 50 and incorporating Giligan's Isle and leis. I am so excited. Preparing for a bible study is more work than I ever imagined but the reward of seeing a light bulb go off in their eyes each week and then seeing them walk before HIM is awesome. I want to do this for the rest of my life.

One of the more interesting happenings of this summer began with an email. I got a FWD message from my mom from the Petrie's who are missionaries in Belgium. Mrs. Petrie, due to a tragic fall, is paralyzed from the neck down and is in need of constant care. I was excited to go serve her, made the preparations, budgeted my trip, even had what I felt was a confirmation through a dream. However, it wasn't for me. Another girl got the slot before I did and I was beyond devastated. I would say that this was THE major downfall of my summer, but really it was probably the greatest lesson ever. "MY will before yours." If I had gone to Belgium I would have missed where HE has called me; which is with these high school girls. I still want to go to Belgium, but will leave that up to HIS timing. However, I didn't miss it.

Sometimes I wish I knew all of the answers and all of the right turns and things to say, but the truth is I would never learn anything if that were the case. We don't come into life knowing everything, it's a continual journey of being taught, whether you refuse the lesson or not. The lesson of being the follower rather than the leader is one I should have learned long ago, my stubborn nature must have gotten in the way though...

Listening to the cicadas roar outside my window. Summer is upon us. Had a lemon-lime fruit slush today. It made my cheeks do that weird sour face. Moving houses next week...hard to believe it's been a whole year.

~Me